Chapter 196

Chapter 196: Petty Struggles Year After Year
The others from Greenwood Sect also had not noticed Ye Cong Xin’s presence. When they suddenly heard You Fei speak, they were all shocked.

You Fei said: “Forget it. Work with me to hold off Fang Cheng Lang and the others. I will deal with her.”

You Fei did not dare relax his guard.

The psychological shadow Yu Zhao had left in his heart was far too deep.

When he went to Wending Pavilion and learned that Yu Zhao would not be taking part in the sect competition, he had almost burst into tears of joy.

He would rather stay in Greenwood Sect and run errands for the Alchemy Hall disciples than ever fight Yu Zhao again. It hurt his pride too much.

At You Fei’s command, the other disciples all responded at once. Fang Cheng Lang and his group instantly felt the pressure multiply.

Taking advantage of the opening, You Fei flicked his hand and threw a short sword less than an inch long from his sleeve.

With a whistling sound like wind and lightning, the short sword shot straight toward Ye Cong Xin behind Quan Ye.

Ye Cong Xin saw the short sword and cried out for help: “Fifth Senior Brother!”

But Quan Ye was in the heat of the fight and did not hear her call at all.

Lan Zi Yu and Su Ming on the other side did hear it, but they were too far away. They wanted to turn back and block that sword for Ye Cong Xin, but it was already too late.

Ye Cong Xin pressed her thin lips together, a ruthless light flashing in her eyes.

In truth, she had already earned the right to enter Floating Island. She did not need to fight with her life on the line like this.

But she refused to accept it.

Why could Yu Zhao shine brilliantly on the dueling platform while she had to hide like a rat that could not see the light?

Her starting point had clearly been higher than Yu Zhao’s. Yu Zhao was an orphan with no father or mother, while she was the daughter of an elder of the Five Elements Dao Sect. She lacked neither ability nor grit. She should have been the brightest person in this Cultivation World Grand Tournament.

But Heaven was unfair and had given her a broken body.

[If petty, shameful struggle year after year was the fate set for her, then she would defy Heaven and change her fate. She would turn all those great Fated Ones into her blood bags!]

“Barrier!”

Ye Cong Xin quickly formed a series of hand seals and summoned a palm sized Prismatic Exquisite Pagoda.

The pagoda’s body shone with multicolored light, wrapping her inside.

Clang!

The flying sword crashed into the colorful light and let out a shrill screech.

Ye Cong Xin’s face turned pale. Her legs stumbled back several steps in a row, and she almost fell off the dueling platform.

There was no joy on You Fei’s face. Instead, his expression was solemn.

This strike had not used his full power, but there was no way a late Foundation Establishment disciple should have been able to block it.

Yet Ye Cong Xin had done it.

Could it be that everyone from the Five Elements Dao Sect was as strange as Yu Zhao?

“Junior Sister!”

Only now did Quan Ye finally notice that Ye Cong Xin was in danger. He flew into a rage, and the blood in his body boiled violently.

Red veins spread from the corners of his eyes down to his cheeks, and specks of gold appeared in his dark pupils.

“Careful!”

You Fei sensed Quan Ye’s violent aura and thought: [This is bad.] He was just about to use his short sword to stop him when Quan Ye smashed out a punch.

This punch seemed to carry the weight of ten thousand pounds of force. As it swung, it even caused a terrifying sonic boom.

The Greenwood Sect disciple fighting him raised the magical artifact in his hand on reflex.

Bang!

The tooth aching creak of bones was drowned out by the huge impact.

The massive force, weakened a little by the magical artifact, still poured into the Greenwood Sect disciple’s body.

The man felt a sharp pain in his chest and was thrown out in an instant.

Bright red blood scattered in the air.

With a loud crash, he hit the ground below the dueling platform and lost consciousness.

“Junior Brother Wang!” You Fei was shocked and furious. His gaze toward Quan Ye turned icy cold as he shouted: “You dare injure my junior brother? You are asking for death!”

You Fei and the other three disciples swarmed forward, no longer caring about Ye Cong Xin or Fang Cheng Lang and the others.

Of course, Fang Cheng Lang and his group would not just stand there and watch Quan Ye get beaten up. They rushed up to help him. But You Fei and his people hated how Quan Ye had no sense of measure. They were willing to lose the match just to vent their anger on him.

One incense stick later, You Fei and the others walked off the dueling platform with their heads held high.

Lan Zi Yu and Su Ming supported Quan Ye, whose face was beaten so swollen and bruised that his original features could no longer be seen. As they watched the Greenwood Sect disciples cheer and praise You Fei’s group, they felt both angry and helpless.

They had won, but it felt as suffocating as losing.

The sect competition was different from the individual competition. It stressed holding back once the point was made.

Quan Ye’s punch had clearly broken the rules, so it was no surprise that it stirred up the anger of everyone in Greenwood Sect.

They had no mood to celebrate either. They quickly sent Quan Ye and Ye Cong Xin back to rest. There was an even more important match waiting for them tomorrow.

The next day.

Another round of matches came to an end.

Yu Zhao, Si Tu Xuan, Yao Ji, and a body cultivator entered the Top Four.

As for the Top Four of the sect competition, the Five Elements Dao Sect took two spots. The other two went to Heavenly Sword Sect and Hundred Flowers Valley.

On the third day, Yu Zhao fought the body cultivator and won.

Yao Ji fought Si Tu Xuan, and Yao Ji won.

For the sect competition, Zhou Jin Yue’s Five Elements Dao Sect Team faced the Hundred Flowers Valley Team, and the Five Elements Dao Sect won.

Fang Cheng Lang’s Five Elements Dao Sect Team fought the Heavenly Sword Sect Team, and Heavenly Sword Sect won.

At this point, both the individual competition and the sect competition were about to draw to a close.

Everyone was waiting for the final day’s ultimate showdown.

Si Tu Xuan had thought he would meet Yu Zhao at the very peak in the final match. When that wish failed, he felt very upset and went to a quiet place to brood alone.

“Fellow Daoist Si Tu.”

Si Tu Xuan glanced at the person who came, then lowered his head again.

An unrelated person was not worth his time.

Ye Cong Xin did not mind Si Tu Xuan’s rudeness at all. She sat down beside him with a bright smile.

Si Tu Xuan had been born into a great clan. He was proud and had a high opinion of himself, unlike the average person who was easy to approach. She had already prepared herself for this and had even thought up topics that might catch his interest.

But before she had a chance to say all the things she had prepared, Si Tu Xuan frowned and almost jumped three feet high.

He snapped: “Who gave you permission to sit next to me! Do you have no eyes at all? Can’t you see I’m in a bad mood!”

Ye Cong Xin bit her lip in grievance and said: “I… I only saw that you weren’t happy, so I wanted to comfort you a bit.”

“Do we know each other, that you need to come comfort me? Where do you get such a thick skin!” Si Tu Xuan lifted his chin, his eyes full of contempt, and said: “I’ve seen plenty of people like you who fawn on the powerful. Don’t you just want to use me to climb up to the Si Tu Clan? Keep dreaming!”

Ye Cong Xin waved her hands in a panic and said: “No, that’s not what I meant…”

“Whether it is or not, you know it in your own heart. You don’t have to tell me. From now on, when you see me, stay far away. Don’t let me see you again!”

Si Tu Xuan left while cursing under his breath.

Behind him, Ye Cong Xin almost ground her white teeth to pieces.

[What stupid Young Heir of the Si Tu Clan. He really thinks he is something. So what if he is from the Si Tu Clan? My master is Master Qing Yan!]

[If not for seeing that Si Tu Xuan’s Fortune was so strong, I would not have been interested in talking to him at all.]

Ye Cong Xin’s hands trembled. She suddenly felt a strange sense of loss and sadness.

She kept feeling that things should not have turned out like this.

There were indeed many people with strong Fortune at the Cultivation World Grand Tournament, but it was also very hard to get close to them. For some reason, some people would avoid her the moment they saw her.

For example, Bu Yan, and now Si Tu Xuan.

[If I had a helper, would absorbing Fortune be much easier?]

She suddenly remembered the person she had met, badly injured, back in Dragon Roar Valley.

She had thought she would meet that person again at the grand competition, and had even worn accessories that matched the Moonlight Stone Hairpin she had purposely left behind.

But nothing had happened.

[If I had known he was so useless, I would not have wasted a pill to save him.]

Now there was only one day left before the Cultivation World Grand Tournament ended. What else could she do?