Chapter 185: Li Jing Rang’s Good Days Are Over
This novel is translated and hosted only on BCatranslation
The leaders and elders of the Five Elements Sect were all smiling, their faces glowing with pride—except for Master Qing Yan. He remained as calm and serious as ever, his sharp features revealing nothing. The others couldn’t help but wonder what Yu Zhao had done to upset Master Qing Yan so much. If they had a disciple like Yu Zhao, they would have cherished her, protecting her from any harm.
After the sixth round of matches, the top twenty contestants were announced. Yu Zhao, Yao Wuji, Situ Xuan, and other strong contenders all made the list. This secured their places on the Floating Island, with the next challenge being the fight for the top three spots.
As the competition neared its final rounds, with the top sixteen about to be determined, Yu Zhao glanced at the competition stage ahead, a smirk playing on her lips.
“Li Jing Rang’s good days are over,” she thought to herself.
On the competition arena, Li Jing Rang stood nervously on the stage, facing Liu Zheng and Ji Han Zhou. They both looked confident, while Li Jing Rang’s face was tense, his palms slightly sweaty. He knew that losing this match would not only cost him his chance to enter the Floating Island but also bring him complete humiliation.
Why am I so unlucky? he thought in frustration. Why did I have to face someone from the Heavenly Sword Sect now? If only this match had been one round later!
The disciples from Taibai Academy shared his feelings, complaining about their bad luck. Still, they held onto a bit of hope. They knew that Senior Sister Liu Zheng from the Heavenly Sword Sect was engaged to their Senior Brother. Maybe she would go easy on him, not fighting too hard.
Meanwhile, the disciples from the Heavenly Sword Sect were excited for the match to start, ready to give it their all.
“Let the match begin,” the elder from the Achievement Pavilion announced.
As soon as his words echoed, the sound of swords humming filled the air, and a powerful sword aura erupted from the ground.
“Liu Zheng…” Li Jing Rang began, but a sharp sword light cut him off, racing toward him. His face changed, and he quickly pulled a brush from his sleeve, sweeping it downward in a fierce stroke.
The spiritual light from his brush collided with the sword light, causing a loud explosion. An invisible shockwave swept across the stage, but more sword lights followed, cutting through the air and neutralizing the shockwave’s impact, then continuing toward the Taibai Academy disciples.
“Form the array!” Li Jing Rang commanded. Four disciples quickly lined up behind him, a golden beam of light appearing above each of their heads. The beams connected, finally converging into Li Jing Rang’s body.
Li Jing Rang’s aura surged immediately. He lifted his brush high, his face set with determination as he shouted, “With a stroke, I command the storm!”
Boom!
The tip of the brush fell, and a massive black rune descended from the sky, darkening the heavens as if the world itself was about to be swallowed. The sheer force of it drew gasps from the crowd.
“This is the true power of Taibai Academy? It’s so strong! I’m afraid only a Nascent Soul cultivator could withstand this!” someone exclaimed.
“You’re speaking too soon. The Heavenly Sword Sect isn’t to be underestimated.”
“Look! The Heavenly Sword Sect is fighting back!”
Beneath the shadow of the gigantic rune, the five members of the Heavenly Sword Sect showed no sign of fear.
“Junior Brothers and Sisters, lend me your strength!” Liu Zheng rallied.
“Yes!” they shouted back in unison.
The five quickly formed a sword array, their flying swords arranging into a pentagram shape before shooting out at high speed. The sharp whistling of their flight sliced through the sky.
Li Jing Rang stared upward, his heart pounding like a drum. I have to win! I must win!
But luck wasn’t on his side. The sword energy from the five flying swords shattered the black rune into countless pieces, and light reclaimed the sky.
“Go!” Liu Zheng commanded, pointing two fingers at Li Jing Rang.
The five swords spiraled in the air, then dove toward Li Jing Rang. Panicked, Li Jing Rang frantically drew several runes with his brush.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The newly formed runes burst upon contact, and the sword energy closed in on Li Jing Rang’s face.
“Return!” he shouted desperately, biting his tongue to spit blood onto the brush tip. He quickly wrote the character for “return.”
The five swords stopped in mid-air, trembling as if trying to break free.
Seeing this, the Taibai Academy disciples cheered and launched an attack on Liu Zheng and her team. Lights of different colors burst forth as they released their spiritual powers, pushing forward with intense force.
On the high platform where only the VIPs sat, the head of Taibai Academy squinted his eyes. With his experience, he didn’t need to see the end to know how this would go. Taibai Academy had no chance of turning this battle around. Li Jing Rang and his team had already shown their full strength, but their opponents were just too strong.
Thinking about the recent rumors spreading everywhere, his mood darkened even more.
Zing—
A flash of white light cut through the air, leaving a sharp pain on Li Jing Rang’s cheek. Suddenly, a white hairband flew past his eyes, followed by a shower of black hair floating around.
“Ah! Liu Zheng! I’ll kill you!” Li Jing Rang shook with anger. Liu Zheng had dared to cut his hair with a sword! This was the ultimate insult, the ultimate disgrace!
He screamed and charged at Liu Zheng, ready to use all his strength against her. But after a few steps, he stopped. Liu Zheng was pointing her sword directly at him, its sharp tip shining coldly. His anger started to fade as he realized… he had lost.
“Li Jing Rang, today, in front of everyone in the cultivation world, I formally declare that our engagement is over! From now on, whoever you write poetry with has nothing to do with me. I, Liu Zheng, will never marry a loser who was defeated by me!”
The crowd was still shocked by Liu Zheng breaking off the engagement when she took out a green jade sword ornament and smashed it on the ground. The jade broke, and Li Jing Rang felt like his heart shattered with it.
He didn’t love Liu Zheng, but he couldn’t bear her breaking off their engagement publicly and saying such things!
A loser?
“Pfft!” Overwhelmed by anger, Li Jing Rang coughed up blood, unable to speak before he closed his eyes and fell backward.
“Senior Brother!” The Taibai Academy disciples caught him, yelling at Liu Zheng with grief and anger, “It’s you! You pushed Senior Brother to his death!”
Liu Zheng twirled her sword and sheathed it calmly. “First, he’s not dead. Second, if he dies from anger, it’s not because of my words but because of his own weakness.”
She had given Li Jing Rang a chance, but he didn’t take it. Besides, calling off the engagement wasn’t a big deal. If he really died from anger over it, it was his own fault for being petty and weak-minded.
“There’s not even a scratch on him, and you’re blaming our Senior Sister? That’s ridiculous.”
This novel is translated and hosted only on BCatranslation
“Exactly! Instead of complaining, you should get him medical help.”
“Or maybe you’re just sore losers, looking for an excuse.”
The Heavenly Sword Sect disciples, who had been holding back their frustration, finally had a chance to vent. The Taibai Academy disciples couldn’t fight back or argue. They had no choice but to carry their unconscious Senior Brother away, their faces red with anger and shame, while the cheers of the Heavenly Sword Sect echoed behind them.
They hung their heads low, their cheeks burning with embarrassment, and they even started to resent the unconscious Li Jing Rang. If it weren’t for Senior Brother’s careless flirting, their relationship with the Heavenly Sword Sect wouldn’t have been so tense.
Senior Brother was really too foolish!