Chapter 64

Chapter 64: First Battle Lost

After Wei Yun Ting worked through the key point, she leaned close and whispered a few words to Wei Zong Hao, setting the overall direction for how they would handle things.

Two steps away, Wei Yun Qing’s expression shifted again and again. Even though she could not hear what they said, it was not hard to tell from the Wei Family siblings’ faces that everyone was unhappy with her.

At that moment, a heroic, sharp-looking female cultivator jumped onto the arena. She pointed at Wei Yun Qing and said, “Since your Wei Family people are all here, stop wasting everyone’s time. You go first.”

The Wei Family disciples all turned their eyes to Wei Yun Qing. No one said a word. They just looked at her.

Wei Yun Qing bit her lip, full of resentment. She was the highest cultivation among the Wei Family disciples right now. Why were they all ignoring her like this?

If Yun Xi had known what she was thinking, she would have snapped back: You caused this mess yourself. You were the one who sent the challenge letter. When you were stirring trouble, why didn’t you think about the Wei Family disciples’ situation? Now that the fight is here, are you really going to make them charge in for you?

In the end, Wei Yun Qing had no choice. She tapped her toes, leaped onto the arena, drew her mid-grade spirit sword, and saluted. “Senior Sister Mu, please advise!”

The female cultivator called Senior Sister Mu said casually, “Sure. Let’s spar a bit.”

She instantly fired off a spell. Green vines wrapped around Wei Yun Qing’s feet. Senior Sister Mu lowered her body, dodged the sword swing Wei Yun Qing sent at her, and cast another spell. This time, five fireballs shot toward Wei Yun Qing’s face.

Wei Yun Qing relied on the defensive artifact on her body and ignored the five fireballs. She slashed through the vines at her feet, freed herself, and kept charging with her sword.

Those five fireballs were also blocked when Wei Yun Qing’s defensive artifact activated.

Senior Sister Mu blinked, but she did not give up on the fireballs. She continued using spiritual sense to control them, keeping up the pressure on Wei Yun Qing. At the same time, the vines grew crazily and kept tripping Wei Yun Qing up.

Yun Xi crossed her arms and watched from the arena’s edge, her expression hard to describe. Wei Yun Qing had the cultivation of the eighth layer of Qi Refining, yet she did not even know basic offensive spells. She only relied on being thick-skinned and tanking hits, and her swordplay had no order at all. It was truly an embarrassment to the Wei Family.

The other Wei Family members could see the gap too. Wei Yun Ying showed no mercy and said, “Tsk tsk, that’s the level of the eighth layer of Qi Refining? Her cultivation can’t be real, can it? So embarrassing. She has no right to represent our Wei Family’s combat strength.”

The one who spoke the least, Wei Zong Yu, actually spoke up. “She will lose.”

Wei Zong Jin did not want to admit it, but he knew Zong Yu was right. He could only sigh.

Yun Ting and Zong Han’s faces were so dark they looked like they could drip water. If Wei Yun Qing kept this up, the Wei Family would probably become the public enemy of the Outer Sect disciples.

Things unfolded exactly as Zong Yu predicted. Under Senior Sister Mu’s relentless fireball attacks, Wei Yun Qing’s shell finally cracked. Then Senior Sister Mu lifted her foot and kicked Wei Yun Qing off the arena.

“Huh. I didn’t expect Senior Sister Mu to also be a body cultivator,” Yun Xi said, rubbing her chin that had gotten a bit slimmer.

Zong Yu spoke again. “Senior Sister Mu’s specialty is swordsmanship. Body cultivation is required. She just didn’t even use her sword in this match.”

With that, the meaning was obvious. Yun Ting’s expression turned even uglier. The other side did not even use her best weapon and still knocked their Wei Family’s most talented, highest-cultivation person off the arena. It was humiliating beyond belief.

When Wei Yun Qing was kicked off the arena, she looked dazed. She could not believe she had lost so quickly. And none of the three Wei Family sisters stepped forward to help her up, which made her even more awkward. Resentment started to grow in her heart.

Wei Yun Ting took a deep breath and steadied herself before asking, “Wei Yun Qing, you lost this round. Do you admit it?”

Wei Yun Qing heard the anger in Yun Ting’s voice. She lowered her head. “I lost.”

Then she climbed up from the ground herself and went to stand to the side with the Wei Family group.

Seeing this, Senior Sister Mu raised an eyebrow, said nothing, and jumped down from the arena. She sent up another fellow disciple at the seventh layer of Qi Refining.

This time it was a male disciple. He was a bit thin, but his face was steady. At a glance, he was not easy to deal with.

Before Wei Zong Hao went up, he glared at Wei Yun Qing. Unfortunately, it was a glare wasted on a blind person. Wei Yun Qing kept her head down, like she was thinking about something, and she did not even spare an extra glance at Wei Zong Hao. That made him even angrier.

“I’m Zhang Yan. Please advise!” the male disciple said.

“I’m Wei Zong Hao. Please go easy on me, Senior Brother,” Zong Hao replied with a smiling salute.

Then the two of them revealed their weapons. Zong Hao used a spirit sword, while Zhang Yan used a black staff.

The two attacked at the same time, as if by unspoken agreement. Because Zong Hao had real combat experience, his mindset was steady. And with his chubby build, his stance was stable. He quickly dodged the staff striking at his feet, then raised his sword to block the staff’s follow-up attack.

The disciples watching around them were fascinated. This felt like real sparring. At least the two of them went back and forth, far more exciting than the first match.

At this time, Wei Yun Qing finally stopped keeping her head down. Watching Wei Zong Hao’s smooth swordwork, she realized the gap between them. Even though her cultivation was higher than Zong Hao’s, if she truly faced him, she had no confidence she would win.

The moment she noticed that gap, it felt like someone had slapped her hard across the face. The more smug she had been about having the highest cultivation among the Wei Family disciples, the more ashamed she felt now.

Wei Zong Hao had just gone through a real battle, and his cultivation at the seventh layer of Qi Refining had been further tempered. His condition was at its peak. The longer he fought, the faster his moves became. And because his spiritual energy reserves were greater than his opponent’s, he eventually forced Zhang Yan off the arena. That round counted as their win.

Zong Hao did not get carried away. He saluted Zhang Yan. “Senior Brother Zhang, thanks for yielding.”

“I learned a lot,” Zhang Yan replied with a salute.

He did not lose unfairly. Toward the end, he ran out of steam, while the other side’s sword speed stayed steady and the spiritual energy on the blade remained full. Wei Zong Hao only forced him off the arena and did not cut him. He had followed the rules.

Wei Zong Hao jumped down from the arena. The Wei Family siblings quietly praised him, and their attitude was nothing like how they treated Wei Yun Qing earlier.

Now the onlookers, and even Senior Sister Mu facing them, could see it clearly. The Wei Family disciples had stepped up, but they were not supporting Wei Yun Qing. They were fighting for the Wei Family.

The third person to jump onto the arena was a young girl at the sixth layer of Qi Refining. She looked about the same age as Yun Xi. She kept a cold little face and went for a cool, icy-senior-sister style.

Yun Xi rubbed her chin and stepped forward on her own. “Sister Yun Ting, let me fight her.”

“You?” Yun Ting asked.

“Yes. She’s young. If Sister Yun Ting goes up and wins, it’ll look like bullying, and that would be a cheap win. The Wei Family doesn’t do something that tasteless.” Yun Xi spoke while flicking her eyes toward the silent Wei Yun Qing.

Sure enough, Wei Yun Qing’s fist clenched again, but this time she had learned her lesson and did not make a sound.

Wei Yun Ting knew Yun Xi was right, so she nodded. “You just broke through not long ago. Do your best, and don’t let yourself get hurt.”