Chapter 191

Chapter 191: Drawing Lots and a Bye

Looking at Dian Dian’s hopeless face made Yun Xi want to rub her forehead. But if Dian Dian was drooling like this, Wei Yun Qing had probably gotten something truly good. To be honest, Yun Xi felt curious too.

While kneading Dian Dian in her hand, Yun Xi thought about an excuse to go to Alchemy Peak. Anyone with eyes could tell what kind of relationship she had with Wei Yun Qing. If she acted too eager, it would only raise suspicion, so she needed to take her time.

She told Dian Dian, “Don’t rush. No matter what Wei Yun Qing planted, it can only be on Alchemy Peak. After the tournament ends, I’ll find an excuse and take you to Alchemy Peak to look.”

“Okay, Master,” Dian Dian said.

With that promise, Dian Dian instantly cheered up. It stopped drooling too. After Yun Xi set it down, it went to chat with Fei Xia.

Since Yun Xi had her first-round match the next day, she cultivated as usual. Early the next morning, she went to Dueling Peak.

She arrived neither early nor late. She wore a newly bought white robe with blue-green patterns, and matching white boots with the same patterns. Her long black hair was half pinned up with a green bamboo hairpin. She had also switched her earrings to matching white-jade drops.

On her wrist was the storage jade bracelet her Master had bestowed. An identity jade token hung at her waist. She looked fresh, clean, and sharp.

But her slightly young face still made her the focus among the Golden Core True Masters. When someone discovered her bone age was under sixteen, their curiosity only grew.

Elder Yu Yang of Law Peak recognized her a little. He turned to True Master Dan Yang beside him and said, “Dan Yang, that girl is the disciple you favored back during the entry examination, right? Why didn’t you take her in? You let someone else get the benefit.”

True Master Dan Yang smiled. “Just look at the little girl’s cultivation. What could I teach her? But I do have my eye on her clan brother. Zong Hao has some talent in alchemy. If he performs well in this tournament, I plan to take him as a personal disciple.”

“I remember the Wei Family also had a dual-spirit-root girl back then,” Elder Yu Yang said. “She seemed to go to Alchemy Peak. How is she doing now?”

When Wei Yun Qing was mentioned, True Master Dan Yang lowered his eyes almost imperceptibly. “That girl is now the Peak Master’s registered disciple. She’s quite skilled at cultivating high-grade spirit plants, and she wants to formally take a master through this tournament. It’s just unclear whether she’ll get her wish.”

“That girl’s aptitude really is good,” Elder Yu Yang said. “It’s just her temperament… forget it. You and I have limited cultivation, and she might not even think much of us. Better to leave a prickly disciple to a Nascent Soul True Lord.”

Yu Yang wasn’t obsessed with taking disciples.

While the two spoke quietly, the Golden Core participants had already surrounded Yun Xi. Everyone wanted to get to know this well-behaved little junior sister.

Yun Xi wasn’t shy at all. She clasped her hands in salute, smiling before she spoke, her almond eyes curved. “I’m Wei Yun Xi. I took True Lord Yu Ling of Soaring Snow Peak as my master. By a fortunate chance, I was lucky enough to advance to Golden Core.”

She continued politely, “I’m participating in the sect tournament mainly to gain experience, and to learn from all Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters. Please don’t hold back with your guidance.”

Yun Xi spoke modestly, and with her misleadingly young face, the Golden Core cultivators all lowered their guard. Everyone exchanged communication jade slips in a friendly mood and chatted briefly.

Someone asked curiously, “Junior Sister Wei, do you know True Master Wei Chen Yin of Law Peak?”

“Chen Yin is my elder,” Yun Xi replied. “In the family, I should call her Ancestor.”

The Golden Core male cultivator nodded in understanding. “So that’s how it is. No wonder I thought your styles were similar. You’re usually both low-key, but you always manage to shock everyone.”

Yun Xi only chuckled and didn’t respond.

She felt she truly got along well with Ancestor Chen Yin. Setting aside seniority, the other woman was sincere and dared to resist injustice and break through restraints. Yun Xi admired that.

While Yun Xi was talking with the Golden Core True Masters, Sheng Yu Hong watched from not far away. A heavy sense of loss pressed on him, as if that dazzling girl should have been standing beside him. Yet now she had left him far behind.

He was also shocked by Yun Xi’s luck. She had only returned to her clan once, and when she came back, she was already a Golden Core True Master. She had even indirectly ruined an evil cultivator’s arrangement in the mortal world.

Other disciples in the sect didn’t know about that, but as the Sect Master’s senior disciple, Sheng Yu Hong knew very clearly.

True Lord Qing Zhu of Hundred Flowers Pavilion had even personally visited Hao Ran Sect. Sheng Yu Hong had handled the reception from start to finish and learned what truly happened. But his junior sister kept a low profile. After accepting the defensive treasure Qing Zhu gave her, she pushed the credit onto the Hundred Flowers Pavilion disciples.

True Lord Qing Zhu came to Hao Ran Sect not only to highlight Yun Xi’s contribution. He also wanted to join forces with the sects, cultivation clans, and the Independent Cultivators Alliance to send cultivators to the mortal world to monitor the situation, stop evil cultivators, and protect ordinary peace.

The first group of disciples had already been stationed in the mortal world before the tournament. At that time, Yun Xi still hadn’t returned to the sect.

Sheng Yu Hong had wanted to visit Yun Xi after she came back, but she only returned half a day before the tournament started. After returning, she went straight into Soaring Snow Peak. After that, she met with the Wei Family disciples, so Sheng Yu Hong never found a chance to talk to her.

When he learned Yun Xi had registered for the Golden Core competition, he felt she was being reckless. That was why he had waited here early, planning to warn her a little. Yet even now, he still hadn’t stepped forward.

Yun Xi had noticed Sheng Yu Hong long ago, but she had no interest in talking to him.

When the time came, all the Golden Core cultivators began the first round of drawing lots for one-on-one matches. A total of one hundred and twenty-one Golden Core True Masters were competing, so the first round had one bye spot.

Yun Xi casually lined up behind a Golden Core female cultivator and drew her lot. By sheer luck, she drew the bye and directly advanced to the second round.

Wei Zong Hao said to Zong Yu beside him, “Yun Xi’s luck is really good. She got a bye.”

Zong Yu didn’t agree. “The first round is just a warm-up for the Golden Core True Masters. Yun Xi needs to fight on stage if she wants to gain experience.”

Zong Jin added, “Who would use their trump card in the first match? The second and third rounds are much more interesting.”

Yun Ting and Yun Ying also agreed with Zong Jin. Zong Han added, “If Yun Xi doesn’t fight, she can watch other people fight. Knowing yourself and knowing your enemy is still good.”

Yun Xi thought the same as Zong Han. She also planned to watch matches and learn her opponents’ strength.

Since she returned too late, she hadn’t had time to gather information about the Golden Core participants. This time, everything depended on how she reacted on the spot.

Originally, she thought she would be eliminated in the first round and was already prepared to treat it as “participation matters.” But she had drawn a bye and entered the second round, so she needed to prepare properly.

Just as Yun Xi chose a platform to watch, Sheng Yu Hong walked over. He clasped his hands politely. “Senior Sister Wei, it’s been a while.”

Yun Xi returned the salute just as politely. “Junior Brother Sheng, you’re too polite. Looking at the aura around you, you’ll probably break through soon.”

She was telling the truth. Sheng Yu Hong’s cultivation was now at late Foundation Establishment peak, just one step away from forming his Golden Core.

Sheng Yu Hong looked at her with a strangely resentful gaze. “I’m still one step behind you, Senior Sister.”