Chapter 16
Chapter 16: The Six-Month Contest
“Tian Bai, what a bold mouth!”
One of the three cultivators forced back by that pressure—a middle-aged man with a long beard—shouted the words like a curse.
Radiant light surged over his body, as if he’d been cast in gold. Vast spiritual power exploded outward and took form: a gigantic palm of force that slammed toward True Lord Tian Bai, even as it clawed toward the lightning dragon.
Techniques were divided into tiers. The higher the grade, the deeper the mysteries—and the harder it was to replicate.
A truly top-tier Dao scripture couldn’t be borne by written words at all. It was the manifestation of the Great Dao’s rules, unique in the world. In any era, there would be only a single inheritor.
The Three Classics and Five Canons passed down by the True One Yuan Sect were exactly such things.
The lightning dragon before them was the incarnation of the “Cavern Mystery Jade Pivot Thunder Scripture.”
Subdue the dragon, and you seized the scripture.
Behind Tian Bai, the totem scroll grew clearer. Blades and swords, spears and warhorses leapt from it, shadows made solid, tangling in midair with the manifested palm.
Tian Bai’s lips curled. Her confidence lived openly in her brows and eyes. “I specialize in killing arts,” she said, almost amused. “And I’m late Sixth Realm. How could the three of you compare to me?”
Her words proved true.
Spells slammed into each other again and again, shaking the air. The lightning dragon roared, its body bucking like a living thing, but Tian Bai’s scroll wrapped it tighter and tighter. The dragon’s form shattered. White lightning compressed, compressed again, until it collapsed into a single Gold Page covered in ancient runes, arcs of thunder snapping along its surface.
The Three Classics and Five Canons held eight world-shaking scriptures hidden within the True One Yuan Sect. They had long since ceased to be dead objects. Each had birthed intelligence, able to manifest on its own and choose a master.
“Right now,” Tian Bai said softly, savoring the moment, “there are only four human cultivators in the sect who have obtained the Three Classics and Five Canons. This ‘Cavern Mystery Jade Pivot Thunder Scripture’ isn’t the most supreme among them… but it’s still among the finest in the world.”
Her gaze sharpened like a blade. “And thunder arts are fierce. They match killing arts perfectly.”
The other three cultivators’ faces twisted. But sect rules were iron. No matter how unwilling they were, they couldn’t ignore them and turn this into a life-and-death battle.
In the end, they left in bitter frustration.
Tian Bai adjusted her breathing once, then turned into a streak of light.
She flew until an immortal peak rose before her, its cliff face wrapped in drifting clouds. A cave residence waited there, quiet and still.
At the entrance, a girl with her hair pinned up by a Lotus Jade Hairpin bowed respectfully. She wore plain white embroidered with a silver hawk.
“Congratulations, Master, on seizing the ‘Cavern Mystery Jade Pivot Thunder Scripture,’” she said. “May Master’s Seventh Realm be within reach.”
Beside her stood three other young cultivators, all fine-boned and bright-eyed. They offered their congratulations as well.
Tian Bai clasped her hands behind her back and lifted her chin, smug satisfaction plain on her face. “Today, the ‘Cavern Mystery Jade Pivot Thunder Scripture’ appeared in the world, and your teacher seized it. Once I comprehend its thunder mysteries, I’ll use it to attempt a breakthrough to the Seventh Realm.”
Her tone shifted—practical, almost casual. “But a domineering scripture like this must be cultivated starting from the Third Realm to wield its greatest power.”
She looked over her disciples. “I’ve cultivated for a thousand years. My immortal foundation is already set. Switching techniques now has too many variables. The cost and risk aren’t worth it.”
A pause.
“So,” Tian Bai said, and her eyes gleamed, “in half a year, inside the Mystic Moon Secret Realm, whoever takes the most Shattered Moon will get a chance to try subduing this Dao scripture.”
All four disciples felt their hearts surge. Each bowed, agreeing at once.
The earliest disciple to join was a male cultivator named Chen Yu. He tried to hide it, but the corners of his eyes still lifted with joy and confidence.
After Tian Bai entered her cave residence and sealed herself in seclusion to study the scripture, Chen Yu turned to his junior brothers and junior sisters with a smile.
“The Mystic Moon Secret Realm opens once every sixty years,” he said, voice warm and assured. “Rumor says it was formed from a fragment of the Tai Yin star. The qi inside is incredibly abundant—a rare cultivation holy ground. It also scatters treasures like Shattered Moon.”
“When the time comes,” he added, “it will be a huge help to your cultivation.”
A girl in green looked at him with a half-smile and a sneer. “Senior Brother, why put on an act? Don’t talk about the benefits of Shattered Moon. What I want is the ‘Cavern Mystery Jade Pivot Thunder Scripture.’”
Her eyes sharpened. “Let’s see who’s better and who can win Master’s chance.”
She turned and left without another word, not caring that Chen Yu’s smile froze and his face darkened.
Jiang Yun Jiang took her leave more gently. She bowed with a soft smile. “Eldest Senior Brother, Third Senior Brother, I only just entered the Qi Induction Realm not long ago. I’ll go consolidate my cultivation first.”
Her assigned cave residence lay near the foot of the mountain. She formed a Wind-Riding Art she’d learned only two or three days ago and slipped away on the breeze.
Dan Hua’s voice sounded in her ear, cool and measured. “That ‘Cavern Mystery Jade Pivot Thunder Scripture’ counts as a world-shaking classic. Your three senior brothers and senior sister are Mid Grade aptitude. Even the best among them is still far inferior to you.”
A faint pause, then: “It’s just a pity they joined earlier. With careful guidance from a Sixth Realm cultivator, they’ve already stepped into late First Realm.”
“When this True Lord was young,” Dan Hua continued, “I also entered the Mystic Moon Secret Realm. It only allows First Realm cultivators inside. Right now you’ve only condensed two furnaces of spiritual power. With half a year, even if I refine spirit pills to assist you, you’ll barely reach mid First Realm at best. You won’t be their match.”
Jiang Yun Jiang’s steps stayed light, but her thoughts moved like a blade.
“Master insists on using the number of Shattered Moon to decide who can try comprehending the scripture,” she answered silently. “What else can I do? I can only give it everything—raise my cultivation as quickly as possible without shaking my foundation.”
Her fingers curled, tight. A rare flash of viciousness rose in her eyes.
“Besides, fighting over Shattered Moon isn’t a face-to-face duel. I may not lose.”
“And Chen Yu, Jiang Chu Rong, and Song Fei Sheng are all Mid Grade aptitude,” she thought, the certainty hardening into something cold. “How could the scripture ever acknowledge them? How could they possibly compete with me?”
Jiang Yun Jiang slowed, then stopped outright.
Ever since she entered the Qi Induction Realm, the Heart-Bewitching Eye had fully awakened. A purple sheen flowed through her clear amber eyes, making her gaze eerie in the bright day.
“I almost forgot,” she murmured. “I need to go to the outer sect.”
From that distance, Shao Heng could only make out the massive True Dragon of white lightning. Something wrapped around it, binding it tighter and tighter, until it vanished from the sky as if swallowed.
The soul-shaking thunder stopped with it.
Shao Heng withdrew from the window, rubbed her chin, and thought for a beat. Then she swept the pen holder and the seedlings into her storage ring and pushed open the door.
Outside, the courtyard looked wrong.
Several disciples lay sprawled on the ground, unconscious where they’d fallen. They must have been caught by the thunder while walking around.
Shao Heng stepped around them without a second glance, thinking almost kindly, [Cultivation is hard. Look at them all sleeping so soundly.]
She headed straight for the Wondrous Dharma Tower. According to the schedule, the teaching elder should still be on the fourth floor lecturing to the disciples.
After that fright, her first step—of course—was to seek help from the guiding elder. She also wanted to know what had happened in the inner sect, and whether Elder Zhao Tang could tell her anything useful.
From afar, the tower’s outline was already visible. The gatekeeper disciple looked weary, but he still stood straight at his post.
Shao Heng stopped before him and sent her thoughts toward the Gray Cocoon in her qi sea and dantian.
[Loosen the aura suppression a bit. Just enough that when people look at me, they’ll think I only just entered the Qi Induction Realm.]
Under that thunder, everyone else had passed out. Shao Heng hadn’t.
Her excuse was ready: she’d only just completed entry into the Qi Induction Realm, washing her marrow and tempering her body, so her mind had barely stayed clear.
But it wasn’t only an excuse.
Shao Heng wanted to reveal a portion of her talent on purpose. It would save her trouble later.
Back at the Law Enforcement Pavilion, she’d seen exactly why Xia Huan’s arrogance had crumpled into politeness. It was an unspoken rule she’d learned long ago in the Kun Fan Domain.
Polite manners rarely earned real respect.
Status and power did.
In the cultivation world, cultivation and strength were the bedrock beneath every rule.