Chapter 308

Chapter 308: Unexpected

Luo Ming Yue said: “If it is the Skyvault Sect, we will not even need Little Shuang to act. Junior Sister, you just stay last to anchor the lineup. Leave the rest to us.”

Among the Sword Sect disciples, other than Li Shuang, the only ones at the Divine Transformation Stage were still Luo Ming Yue and Jiang Rong Yi.

The rest were Nascent Soul Stage disciples.

At Emotionless Peak, Liu Jun Cheng had powerful spiritual roots and superb sword arts; though only at Early Nascent Soul, his combat power barely squeezed him onto the roster.

Jiang Yi and Sui Jin, for this team competition, could only watch from the side.

Once their opponent sect was set, the first round of the round robin would start in half an hour.

Jiang Rong Yi discussed the order and matchups with the Sword Sect disciples.

Li Shuang did not need to join that talk, since she was placed last anyway.

She glanced over the crowd.

The round robin was about to begin.

Yet Ye Zhao Zhao still had not appeared.

[Is she planning to skip the first match?] Li Shuang frowned.

[If Ye Zhao Zhao goes on later, the time to expose her true face will be pushed back too.]

For now, Li Shuang could only wait.

When the round robin officially started, disciples from every sect rushed to Cangyuan Sect.

Cultivators from across the land gathered together, and Cangyuan Sect became livelier than ever.

From the crowd, Li Shuang spotted Sui Jin and Jiang Yi.

Then she saw the few from Ling Xu Peak.

After several years apart, the faces from Ling Xu Peak had grown faint in her memory.

Many times, those ten years felt like a dream.

Seeing Sheng Yuan and the others again now, Li Shuang felt no ripple in her heart and simply looked away.

What worried her now were the Devil Sects, and the future of the Nanlan Continent.

The matters of Ling Xu Peak no longer deserved much room in her heart.

Her gaze swept past.

Sheng Yuan’s pupils suddenly shrank.

He asked in a low voice: “Just now, did Li Shuang look at me?”

Shen Yue gave him a helpless look, saying: “First Senior Brother, does it still matter whether Senior Sister Li looks at us?”

Had these years not taught Sheng Yuan anything?

Because of what happened before, Ling Xu Peak’s name within the sect was poor.

The other Ling Xu Peak disciples had all run off, leaving only a few of them huddling together for warmth.

If Li Shuang had even a trace of feeling left for them, how could she have watched Ling Xu Peak fall so far?

She had already stepped over them and rushed toward her grand future.

Her future had nothing to do with them, and there were no roles left for them to play.

“You do not understand,” Sheng Yuan said stubbornly, still staring where Li Shuang had been.

Shen Yue and the others did not understand. When he entered the sect, he was still a child. It could be said that Li Shuang had personally brought him up. He could not let go, and Li Shuang should not have let go either.

Chang Le An spoke with a mocking tone, saying: “First Senior Brother, spare us the ‘you do not understand.’ Back then, were you not the most active in going after Li Shuang? She will not come back.”

This First Senior Brother truly was strange. After he and Shen Yue realized they had misunderstood Li Shuang, they no longer dared to push forward. Yet Sheng Yuan kept jumping out in front of Li Shuang, as if he were deliberately showing off his presence.

Would that not only make Li Shuang hate him more?

If he had not forced Li Shuang to leave seclusion when Tyrant Blade Sect came to provoke Sword Sect, exposing his malice and drawing the Supreme Elder’s anger, Ling Xu Peak might not be this miserable now. Better to not show that kind of presence at all.

Sheng Yuan pressed his lips together and said nothing.

After a brief discussion time, the grand sect competition officially began.

The Skyvault Sect was nearly at the bottom among the ten sects; in this round, Sword Sect was almost certain to win. Everyone felt little pressure and sent as many new disciples as possible to gain experience.

Set last, Li Shuang would basically have no chance to go on stage.

The few from Ling Xu Peak blended into the crowd to watch.

Suddenly, a strange voice rang in Sheng Yuan’s mind.

Before he could react, his body moved on its own.

Shen Yue called out, saying: “First Senior Brother, where are you going?”

Sheng Yuan did not look back and simply walked away.

Shen Yue paused in confusion, then withdrew his gaze and said no more.

Sheng Yuan walked on and, without noticing, reached the back mountain of Cangyuan Sect.

The back mountain was empty, except for a tiny bottle resting on a stone.

Dazed, Sheng Yuan picked up the bottle.

The instant he touched it, a single thought filled his mind.

He had to find a way to scatter what was inside the bottle onto Li Shuang.

[Scatter it on Li Shuang?] The thought flashed by and he struggled for a moment. [What is in this bottle? Why should I do this?]

Then a voice sounded in his mind, saying: “Only then will Li Shuang see you. Even if she will not forgive you, she will remember you with a hatred carved into her bones.”

The voice was deeply tempting.

Sheng Yuan’s lost look slowly turned firm.

As long as the look in Li Shuang’s eyes toward him could ripple again, even if it was hatred, it would be better than the way she now looked at him like a stranger.

He muttered as he left the back mountain with the bottle, saying: “Scatter what is in the bottle on her. Scatter what is in the bottle on her.”

The first round of the round robin ended with all results decided on the first day.

Sword Sect won easily.

Cangyuan Sect also took the win.

The surprising parts were Absolute Resolve Sect versus Flowing Moon Sect, and Unity Sect versus Tyrant Blade Sect.

As members of the Upper Six Sects, Absolute Resolve Sect and Unity Sect should have held absolute advantages over the remaining four sects.

Absolute Resolve Sect did beat Flowing Moon Sect, but both sides fought down to their last disciple, so Absolute Resolve Sect won by a hair.

Tyrant Blade Sect was even more shocking.

They directly beat the old, established Unity Sect and took two Merit Points in the first round.

This result shook the Upper Six Sects.

They had thought only Sword Sect was weak and most likely to be replaced.

But now, it was not only Sword Sect.

Both Flowing Moon Sect and Tyrant Blade Sect clearly fought at an Upper Six level.

If their top fighters matched that level too, then the Upper Six would see a reshuffle.

When the first day’s round robin ended, the Upper Six Sects felt a sudden tension. Their disciples were called together to draft the next steps overnight.

A trace of worry rose in Li Shuang’s heart.

[If Flowing Moon Sect and Tyrant Blade Sect become part of the Upper Six, they will gain more resources and more say. Given time, the whole Nanlan Continent might fall.]

This time, she had to expose Ye Zhao Zhao in public and, using Ye Zhao Zhao as the opening, pull the curtain off the plot behind her.

Otherwise, everything would truly be too late.

Night fell.

While Li Shuang breathed in Lunar Starlight, a voice sounded outside, saying: “First Senior Sister. Are you inside?”

Li Shuang frowned.

[That voice… Sheng Yuan?]