Chapter 185: The End of Li Jing Rang’s Good Days
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The other peak masters and elders of the Five Elements Dao Sect were all beaming with joy, except for Master Qing Yan, whose face remained as stoic as ever. His sharp and defined features betrayed no emotion.
The crowd couldn’t help but secretly speculate.
What grave mistake had Yu Zhao committed to deserve such obvious disdain from Master Qing Yan? If their sect had a disciple like Yu Zhao, they’d be eager to cherish and protect her every day.
As the sixth round of the competition concluded, the top twenty candidates for the individual rankings were announced. The popular contestants, including Yu Zhao, Yao Wu Ji, and Si Tu Xuan, were all among them. These contestants had earned the opportunity to enter the Floating Island, with the next step being the contest for the top three spots.
Meanwhile, the sect competition was approaching its final round, which would determine the top sixteen contenders. Yu Zhao’s gaze shifted toward the competition platform ahead, her lips curving into a subtle smile.
Li Jing Rang’s good days were over.
On the competition platform, Li Jing Rang faced his opponents—Liu Zheng, Ji Han Zhou, and others from the Heavenly Sword Sect. His expression was stiff, and a thin layer of sweat formed on his palms. If he lost this match, his chance to enter the Floating Island would slip away, leaving his reputation in tatters.
Why did it have to be now, of all times? Facing the Heavenly Sword Sect at such a critical stage—if only the encounter had been postponed by even one round!
The disciples of Tai Bai Academy shared Li Jing Rang’s frustrations, silently cursing their bad luck. They held onto a sliver of hope, reasoning that since Senior Sister Liu from the Heavenly Sword Sect was engaged to their eldest senior brother, she might go easy on them during the fight.
However, the disciples of the Heavenly Sword Sect had no such hesitations. They were eager to make their move, brimming with energy as they awaited the order to attack.
“Begin the match,” the elder from Aspiration Pavilion declared.
Instantly, the air was filled with the hum of swords. A terrifying sword intent surged into the sky.
“Liu—”
Li Jing Rang tried to speak, but a whistling sword aura interrupted him. His expression darkened as he swiftly pulled a brush from his sleeve and slashed downward.
The brush emitted a radiant glow that clashed with the sword aura, resulting in an earth-shaking explosion. The shockwaves from the collision swept outward in all directions. Yet, several streaks of sword aura cut through the residual force, continuing toward the Tai Bai Academy disciples.
“Form the array!” Li Jing Rang shouted.
At his command, four disciples moved into position behind him. Above each of their heads, a golden pillar of light materialized. The pillars connected and ultimately merged into Li Jing Rang’s body.
His aura surged dramatically. Raising his brush high, his face twisted into a fierce expression as he bellowed, “Brush Stroke, Storm and Tempest!”
Boom!
As the tip of the brush descended, a massive black rune emerged in the sky. For a moment, it seemed as though the heavens and earth darkened.
The sheer magnitude of the attack drew the attention of onlookers.
“Is this the true strength of Tai Bai Academy? It’s overwhelming! Only a Nascent Soul cultivator could withstand that blow!”
“You’re speaking too soon. The Heavenly Sword Sect won’t back down so easily.”
“Look! They’re counterattacking!”
Beneath the massive rune that blotted out the sun, the five members of the Heavenly Sword Sect showed no signs of fear.
“Junior brothers and sisters, lend me your strength!”
“Yes!”
The five quickly formed a sword array. Their flying swords converged into the shape of a pentagram before shooting forward.
A piercing sound echoed as the swords cut through the air.
Li Jing Rang stared intently at the void, his heartbeat pounding in his ears like a drum.
I must win! I have to win!
But fate wasn’t on his side.
The sword qi from the five swords shredded the black rune into countless fragments, restoring light to the battlefield.
“Attack!”
Liu Zheng extended two fingers, pointing directly at Li Jing Rang.
In the sky, the five flying swords circled once before diving straight toward Li Jing Rang. Alarmed, he waved his brush, hurriedly drawing several talismanic seals in quick succession.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The freshly created seals shattered instantly, leaving the swords hurtling toward his face in a blink.
“Retreat!”
In this moment of crisis, Li Jing Rang bit the tip of his tongue, spitting blood onto his brush tip. He swiftly wrote the word “retreat.”
The five flying swords froze mid-air, trembling with a continuous hum of resistance.
Seeing this, the disciples of Tai Bai Academy rejoiced and launched their assault on Liu Zheng and her group. Spiritual lights of various hues flickered, their powerful auras pressing forward.
From the high platform, the head of Tai Bai Academy’s expression darkened.
With his strength, he didn’t need to wait for the end to deduce the outcome. The battle was already lost. Despite Li Jing Rang and his peers demonstrating their full potential, their opponents were simply too strong, leaving no hope for a turnaround.
The head of Mo Xin Academy, seated nearby, thought about the recent swirling rumors. His mood soured even further.
A flash of dazzling white sword light broke the tension.
Li Jing Rang felt a sharp sting on his cheek. In an instant, a white ribbon fluttered before him, followed by large tufts of black hair scattering in the air.
“Liu Zheng! I’ll kill you!”
Li Jing Rang trembled with rage. Liu Zheng had dared to cut off his hair—a humiliation beyond bearing!
He shouted and rushed forward, ready to fight her to the death. However, he stopped after only a few steps, forced to cool down as Liu Zheng pointed her sword at him. The sharp tip gleamed with an icy light.
His boiling anger gradually froze. He… had lost.
“Li Jing Rang, today, in front of all the seniors and peers of the cultivation world, I formally declare: our engagement is annulled! From now on, whoever you compose poetry with has nothing to do with me. I, Liu Zheng, will never marry a defeated loser!”
The crowd was still stunned by her bold annulment when Liu Zheng pulled out a jade ornament shaped like a flying sword. She smashed it to the ground with force. The jade shattered.
Li Jing Rang felt as if his heart had shattered along with it. He didn’t love Liu Zheng, but to be publicly rejected and mocked as a “defeated loser” was unbearable!
“Pfft!”
Overwhelmed by fury, he spat blood uncontrollably. Before he could say anything, his eyes rolled back, and he fainted.
“Senior Brother!”
The disciples of Tai Bai Academy quickly caught him, their sorrow turning into anger. They screamed at Liu Zheng, “It’s you! You drove our Senior Brother to his death!”
Liu Zheng twirled her sword effortlessly before sheathing it. Her face was expressionless as she responded, “First, he isn’t dead. Second, even if he did die from anger, it would be due to his own incompetence, not my words.”
She had given Li Jing Rang a chance, one he chose to squander. Furthermore, breaking an engagement wasn’t some catastrophic event. If he truly died from such anger, it would only highlight his petty and fragile heart.
“He doesn’t even have a scratch on him. How is this our Senior Sister’s fault? Such nonsense.”
“Exactly! Instead of shouting, why don’t you hurry and take him for treatment?”
“Or are you just sore losers trying to shift the blame?”
The disciples of Heavenly Sword Sect, brimming with pent-up frustration, seized the opportunity to vent.
The Tai Bai Academy disciples, unable to win in battle or argument, could only retreat, carrying their unconscious senior brother. Behind them echoed the cheers of Heavenly Sword Sect’s victorious disciples.
Lowering their heads, their faces flushed red with shame. Their resentment toward the unconscious Li Jing Rang grew.
If not for their Senior Brother’s flirtations outside, relations with the Heavenly Sword Sect wouldn’t have escalated to such hostility.
How foolish their Senior Brother had been!