Chapter 368: Chapter 367: I Think I’m Seeing Things
In the blink of an eye, several more days passed.
During this time, Li Lei almost spent every day diligently refining his external skills, though he felt that the Body Forging techniques weren’t particularly beneficial to him as he wasn’t practicing the Forging System cultivation technique.
But after seriously cultivating for a while,
he realized that his senior sister truly lived up to her reputation.
She was indeed impressive, possessing wisdom beyond his previous experiences.
Though it was akin to last-minute cramming, this kind of nearly torturous refining... left him in pain even during sleep, twitching all over.
After more than ten days,
Although his power had not progressed much, he could feel that his raw strength had greatly increased. Indeed, the body is a ship; only by strengthening and solidifying it can more people stand upon it.
My senior sister really is good to me.
I’ve decided... from now on, I should speak more kindly of her in front of Old Xu.
I used to worry that Old Xu would mock me for relying on my sister-in-law, so I never dared to mention it. But now, my momentum has been established, and I’ve become a master in late-stage Hui Chuan.
I heard that Old Xu took the top spot in the Four Mansions Trial.
It’s perfect, I’ll just snatch the top spot in the Five Sects Martial Arts Competition to complement him, and it’ll become a perfect story to spread, then he won’t dare to mock me.
Thus,
In Li Lei’s increasingly eager anticipation,
the Five Sects Martial Arts Competition finally began.
For the premiere martial arts display, Han Xu Yang naturally attached great importance to it.
A platform towering three meters high and over a hundred meters wide was built right at the entrance square of the Imperial Capital. On both sides of the platform, each sect’s leaders and disciples sat calmly.
Han Xu Yang sat at the head, observing the elite disciples brought by each sect below. These people’s strength was no less than that of the Martial Mansion and even surpassed it in certain aspects.
These were the pillars of their Great Xia Empire.
Hmm, this is how it should be...
The Martial Mansion alone couldn’t stand alone; flowers must bloom in pairs.
Thinking of this, he turned his head to look at Han Qingxue beside him and smiled, "Qingxue, you indeed gave Father a good idea, letting these sect members showcase their abilities in front of the entire Imperial Capital. It can cultivate their confidence and combat experience, and also increase their sense of belonging to our Great Xia Empire. It’s a good idea."
Han Qingxue forced a smile and did not speak.
Could she say that the suggestion for the Five Sects Martial Arts Competition was entirely Zhou Qianmo’s idea?
He was just aiming to take down Bei Xuanwu Martial Mansion, but who would have thought that as the competition started, he was already dead... so the plan naturally died prematurely.
Now, it seemingly became someone else’s wedding dress for free.
Only, who will end up wearing this wedding dress?
Thinking of this, her gaze swept over the people below and she suddenly froze, showing a strange expression.
Hesitantly, she said, "Father... this... am I seeing things?"
"What’s the matter?"
"That... why is Xu Lingjun sitting in the Cuowu Sect’s area?"
"Well..."
Han Xu Yang clearly didn’t want to linger on this topic and murmured, "He is one of the sect’s participants this time."
"What?"
Han Qingxue stood up in shock and exclaimed, "Isn’t he a Martial Mansion student? How did he suddenly become a sect disciple?"
Han Yun City said with a hint of speechlessness, "Exactly, and it’s Cuowu Sect... Didn’t Sun Bumie previously declare he wanted to destroy him? I really can’t believe Xu Lingjun would join Cuowu Sect and become one of their disciples."
"He’s not a disciple in Cuowu Sect; he’s there as their ancestor."
Han Xu Yang shook his head and said, "Even Sun Bumie now has to respectfully call him Martial Uncle... I’m suddenly a bit skeptical whether Zhou Qianmo was trying to harm Xu Lingjun or actually help him. If to help, he framed Xu Lingjun for murder, but if to hate, he pushed him up to the position of Supreme Elder of Cuowu Sect."
"Wha... what?"
Han Qingxue blinked in confusion.
Han Yun City shook his head and said, "Probably lifted a rock only to drop it on his own feet. Before Zhou Qianmo died, he turned into a good guy. Also, I heard you rewarded Xu Lingjun with the Thousand Slaughter Blade Technique? Hmm... Zhou Qianmo really was a nice guy, sacrificing himself to illuminate Xu Lingjun. I suddenly suspect if Xu Lingjun might be Zhou Qianmo’s illegitimate son to receive such favor."
Han Qingxue: "..............."
Han Xu Yang said with speechlessness, "And what’s more frustrating for me... despite becoming Cuowu Sect’s Supreme Elder, Xu Lingjun has been in the sect for less than a year, which means he still qualifies for the martial arts competition as per the rules. Old Sun Bumie really knows how to exploit loopholes."
Han Qingxue said with difficulty, "What if the top spot in both the Martial Mansion and the sect belongs to the same person..."
Han Xu Yang sighed, "Hopefully, the sect has outstanding disciples who can prevent Xu Lingjun from stealing the limelight, or else this Five Sects Martial Arts Competition will really become a one-man show for Xu Lingjun, just a wedding dress for him alone."
Han Qingxue: "..............."
Beside her, Han Yun City sneered with disdain.
Thinking about how outstanding a disciple would have to be?
Old Xu was someone who could take down an Upper Realm Grandmaster, even though he borrowed external power, the power gap was such that external means couldn’t compensate... the absolute combat power of this kid might even surpass his bloody battle prowess honed over decades on the battlefield.
Thinking of this, Han Yun City couldn’t help but raise an intrigued eyebrow.
Strangely, if he knew someone of the same age had strength surpassing his, he wouldn’t rest until they fought to the death—not out of jealousy, but because a strong opponent of the same generation is truly a rare find and when encountering one, a fierce battle is a must.
He, Han Yun City, just wouldn’t accept it.
Yet knowing now that Xu Lingjun’s strength surpassed his own, Han Yun City was surprisingly convinced in his heart.
With the heads of the various sects taking turns speaking,
Lastly, Han Xu Yang went up to summarize.
His words were the usual dry remarks, but the citizens gathered below were the opposite of bored, filled with eager anticipation.
They knew these sect disciples, who are usually so high above, were rarely seen, and now they could watch them compete against each other; the novelty alone was enough to keep them excited.
And below...
Guo Zheng had especially skipped class from Central City Martial Mansion and mingled in the crowd, holding up a placard and shouting, "Go Leizi! Go Leizi!"
Li Lei gave a thumbs up to his old friend he hadn’t seen in years.
He watched as two sect disciples leaped onto the stage as they registered.
They were elite disciples of the Xuan Yuan Sect and the Divine Wind Alliance.
With the referee’s shout,
The two immediately clashed fiercely, with intense palm wind and fist force scattering everywhere.
Both were late-stage Hui Chuan experts.
Evidently, while the sect’s overall strength might not yet surpass the Martial Mansion, their top-level strength was indeed much stronger. These two, if placed in the Martial Mansion, could at least rank in the top ten upper tier.
But here, they seemed only in the lower half of the top ten disciples.
Soon, the fight concluded with a victor.
The Xuan Yuan Sect disciple won.
And though victorious, the Xuan Yuan Sect disciple went down to rest... Clearly, while the newly set rules might not be loophole-free, they aimed to minimize possible rotating battles, ensuring the disciples could always maintain their best form.
In the next match,
When the referee called out Li Lei’s name,
Li Lei agilely leaped onto the platform, feeling that his whole body brimmed with power.
He confidently gave Guo Zheng a thumbs-up, thinking that he would finally showcase his powers well in front of his best friend unseen for years.
Letting him know that these years weren’t spent idly eating.
But he suddenly realized that Guo Zheng, who was enthusiastically cheering with his sign, slowly froze his hand stiffly.
Somewhat embarrassed, he put away the sign.
And then fairly waved his hand and shouted, "Go Leizi! Go Old Xu!"
"What? Old Xu?"
Li Lei puzzledly turned back and saw Xu Lingjun slowly walking up from the bottom of the platform.
The Sun and Moon Bright Sect Leader immediately exclaimed a "Damn" and looked shocked at Sun Bumie.
Only to see Sun Bumie in a tactfully calm demeanor, he leisurely called out, "Martial Uncle, make sure to take care of yourself. Don’t injure yourself over a mere competition."
"Mar... Martial Uncle?"
The Sect Leader Ming Ri: "............"
Isn’t this person of a seniority higher than mine?