A faint glimmer passed through Mo Jinghong’s phoenix eyes, as exquisite as a painting, and he remained silent.
Liu Canglan set down his teacup, a hint of a smile flickering in his warm eyes. “Wenyue, if you were willing to show your true abilities, you could advance directly to the finals too.”
Baili Wenyue blinked his pair of fox-like eyes, his brow full of pride. In a helpless tone, he said, “I’m only at the early Nascent Soul stage. Unlike Eldest Senior Brother, who’s already at the God Transformation stage, how could I possibly advance straight to the finals?”
“Six months ago, Wenyue wiped out eight Void Gods with a single musical killing technique. That story has spread throughout all four great sects by now, and you’ve become an idol to countless people,” Liu Canglan said, his voice gentle and warm.
“Eldest Senior Brother, the more you talk about this, the angrier I get,” Baili Wenyue said indignantly, slapping the table for emphasis.
Liu Canglan was just about to open his mouth to console Baili Wenyue when, to his surprise, the anger on Baili Wenyue’s face vanished in an instant.
Rubbing his chin, Baili Wenyue mused, “Eldest Senior Brother, do you think that ‘Startling Visitor in the Human World’ secretly admires me? Why else would they portray me as so ‘dashingly handsome and heroically divine’? Now I can’t even go out without putting on a disguise!”
A helpless expression surfaced on Liu Canglan’s gentle face, and he didn’t respond.
Ning Shiyue rolled her eyes. “I’ve seen narcissistic people before, but never anyone more narcissistic than you. That person was just writing about the Bear Tiger Ridge incident and happened to include you along the way!”
“The way they wrote about Little Junior Sister was way cooler! ‘With one sword, the Blue Luan slays Void Gods; her incomparable graceful shadow moves like a roaming dragon, as radiant as the morning sun rising over the dawn clouds, as dazzling as a lotus blooming atop green waves.'”
Ning Shiyue’s eyes sparkled brilliantly as she made a funny face at Baili Wenyue.
If she didn’t take him down a peg, he’d soon be flying straight up to the heavens.
Feng Qingran, the one Ning Shiyue mentioned, kept her head down, quietly drinking her tea. Whenever they brought up that ‘Startling Visitor in the Human World,’ she couldn’t help feeling a pang of guilt.
The key thing was that none of them had noticed there were two ‘Startling Visitors in the Human World’ in the Nine Provinces Record.
The things Fifth Senior Sister mentioned weren’t written by her at all.
They were written by another person. She had asked Qinghe Tower to investigate several times, but they had never been able to find out where this other ‘Startling Visitor in the Human World’ was located.
“Wait a minute, Startling Visitor… Startling… Could that person be you, Seventh Junior Brother?” Ning Shiyue’s lively eyes sparkled as she stared at the silent Mo Jinghong.
A slight smile curved on Mo Jinghong’s crimson lips. He cast a sidelong glance at Feng Qingran, who looked thoroughly guilty, and said in a deep, jade-clear voice, “Which ‘Startling Visitor’ is Fifth Senior Sister referring to?”
Meeting Mo Jinghong’s cool, clear gaze, Ning Shiyue shook her head. “I must have been overthinking it. How could Seventh Junior Brother possibly enjoy writing this kind of gossip!”
Baili Wenyue chimed in, “Of course not. Our Seventh Junior Brother has always been aloof and proud. Aside from Little Junior Sister, who can make his expression change, he would never put so much thought into other people’s affairs.”
Liu Canglan’s gentle eyes grew subtly profound. Hadn’t Seventh Junior Brother’s words just now contained not a single hint of denial?
Were these two off on their own wild theories again?
Liu Canglan clearly had no intention of exposing the truth. He just quietly watched Ning Shiyue and Baili Wenyue bicker. Suddenly, he recalled what Fourth Junior Brother had said: ‘The peach blossoms on Wenyue Peak are in full bloom right now.’
Indeed, they were flourishing.
Unfortunately, Mu Qianjue couldn’t see them at the moment.
Over at Lingyun Sect, Mu Qianjue, who was refining artifacts with desperate effort, sneezed several times in a row. He rubbed his nose, took a bite of a spirit fruit, and continued his work without daring to take even a moment’s rest.
The scene shifted back to the private room. Feng Qingran’s apricot eyes flowed with light as she looked at Liu Canglan. “Eldest Senior Brother, hasn’t Fourth Senior Brother finished refining his items yet?”
A year ago, Mu Qianjue had taken on the order list Liu Canglan gave him. After that, Qianjue Peak had been completely sealed off, and no one was allowed to enter.
“He still has a bit left to do, but Qianjue’s competition won’t start for another two months. There’s definitely enough time,” Liu Canglan replied with a calm, unruffled smile.
He was completely unaware that Mu Qianjue was so frantic he was about to set the entire Qianjue Peak ablaze.
A faint light flickered in Feng Qingran’s eyes. There was actually another matter she wanted to discuss with Eldest Senior Brother, but so many years had passed, and she didn’t know how to bring it up.
While Feng Qingran hesitated, Liu Canglan took out a stack of jade slips and said warmly, “Here’s some information about tomorrow’s matches. Han Yan and Jian Yi haven’t arrived yet, so take a look for yourselves first…”
——————
“Welcome, fellow Daoists, to the selection tournament. Before we begin, there are some rules I need to explain clearly.”
Xiao Hongyu’s voice boomed out, vast and imposing.
The thousands gathered in the square instantly fell silent.
“The purpose of this tournament is to select one hundred outstanding juniors to travel to Huoling Prefecture and participate in the Dou Ling Grand Tournament.”
“The very fact that you are all here to take part in this competition means you are already exceptionally talented. Therefore, even if some of you are eliminated in the subsequent rounds, there is no need to be discouraged.”
“Now, I will announce the competition rules. For sword cultivators, spirit cultivators, and body cultivators, the first three rounds will use a single-elimination format. Once you lose, you are immediately out.”
“In the third round, we will switch to an arena format. Arena defenders who win ten consecutive matches can advance to the finals. The finals are for ranking purposes only; no one will be eliminated. Arena rules stipulate that the party with higher cultivation may not challenge someone of a lower stage.”
“As for the competitions in talismans, alchemy, artifact refining, formations, and other such categories, those will commence in two months. Please make the necessary preparations.”
“Additionally, the five God Transformation cultivators participating in this tournament will advance directly to the finals. Therefore, the fourth round of selection will only allocate ninety-five remaining spots.”
