Many years later, when facing Di Nvfeng, whose name was known throughout the land, the Great Scholar Sun would always recall the afternoon when Master Huang took him to see the baby in swaddling clothes.

At that time, who would have thought that the baby with eyes full of innocence would grow up to be what she is now?

Master Huang seemed to understand the sigh in his eyes and looked back with an equally meaningful gaze: “It was you who proposed to entrust her to Tian Lingxin for upbringing. You should have foreseen this day.”

Great Scholar Sun glared, his gaze filled with anger: “Wasn’t it because of your unclear and indistinct relationship with Tian Lingxin that I made that suggestion? And you didn’t refuse, did you?”

Master Huang’s eyes flashed with panic, blinking frantically: “Don’t talk nonsense! She and I are just ordinary friends!”

Great Scholar Sun’s eyes revealed mockery: “Heh.”

Di Nvfeng was puzzled: “What are you two winking and gesturing about? The competition has already started.”

“Oh, oh, oh.” The two old men hurriedly turned their heads back to the arena, their movements harmonious and uniform.

At this moment, the competition was the center of attention, as it was Jiang Yuebai’s match. Many disciples from within and outside Shu Mountain were shouting in unison: “Jiang Jiang will win!”

Master Huang quickly joined in the cheering.

For a contender like Jiang Yuebai, there were few opportunities to go all out in the preliminary matches, and she would more or less hide some of her strength. Only in such high-level competitions would it become slightly more exciting. Her opponent today was her own senior sister from the same peak, Xue Jiang.

Xue Jiang had a plain appearance, not particularly beautiful, with a somewhat indifferent temperament, somewhat similar to Master Yan of Shu Mountain. The female disciples of Bi Luo Peak all had a bit of their master’s style. Jiang Yuebai, dressed in neat white clothes, looked like a Heavenly Immortal, needless to say.

Xue Jiang clearly understood Jiang Yuebai very well. As soon as she made her move, she went for close combat with big and powerful strikes, seemingly trying to win with her swordsmanship at close quarters. In a long-range fight using divine spells, she naturally couldn’t compare with Jiang Yuebai. But Jiang Yuebai was also unfazed by this, allowing her to approach. The two female sword cultivators each forced out a sword light of about three feet, engaging in a dangerous close combat! The scene was both beautiful and thrilling.

After just a few exchanges, the onlookers were surprised, especially the martial cultivators from Heavenly Strength Sect. Everyone knew that Master Yan of Shu Mountain had an unmatched sword technique, but they didn’t realize she also had such profound basic swordsmanship. The exquisite sword moves of the two disciples showed that their martial cultivation was also not low, definitely well-practiced.

Chu Liang’s tactics in the forbidden area would probably not be able to defeat these two in a few breaths’ time. It could only be said that Mu Yueting was weak in this area and was caught by Chu Liang.

Sword light wove through the air, manifesting into dazzling patterns. Any slight touch would result in the loss of an arm or leg. After forty or fifty exchanges, with the sword light getting shorter and more urgent, and the onlookers holding their breath in suspense, a sudden change occurred. As Xue Jiang and Jiang Yuebai’s battle circle shrank, Xue Jiang, in a mid-air turn, suddenly drew another long sword.

Dual swords in hand!

The rules of the Shu Mountain Summit allowed only one flying sword and one magical artifact on stage. Such a display meant that her magical artifact was another flying sword, which was within the rules. If it were a long-range bombardment, having an extra flying sword might not mean much, but now that the two were closely entwined and evenly matched, having an extra blade was a huge advantage! Seeing Xue Jiang wielding a pair of sharp swords, her sword light overflowing in an instant, she immediately suppressed Jiang Yuebai. Jiang Yuebai wanted to retreat, but Xue Jiang’s dual swords were fierce, immediately launching a pincer attack. She had sacrificed a magical artifact slot to gain this advantage, clearly planning to win in close combat. How could she possibly give Jiang Yuebai an easy chance to distance herself?

The sword momentum was like a dragon!

“Jiang Jiang…”

There was silence below the stage, and the audience supporting Jiang Yuebai all felt tense. Although she was strong, the sisters of Bi Luo Peak were also not weak. With the prepared taking on the unprepared, there were always upsets at the Shu Mountain Summit. Before this battle began, some were worried that Bi Luo Peak might let Xue Jiang easily lose to preserve Jiang Yuebai, allowing her to conserve more strength for later matches, as there had been such cases before. But now, it was clear that Xue Jiang had no intention of giving up and was fiercely determined to win!

But just as everyone was tense for Jiang Yuebai, she finally made her move.

Swoosh.

Her figure disappeared in an instant, reappearing at the edge of the arena several meters away.

Shrinking the ground to an inch.

Xue Jiang’s gaze was calm, and with a grit of her teeth, her figure also flashed.

Swoosh—she too performed the shrinking the ground to an inch!

In an instant, she caught up with Jiang Yuebai’s figure, pressing on step by step! There were consecutive gasps from below the stage. It was no secret that Jiang Yuebai could perform the shrinking the ground to an inch in Shu Mountain, but many visitors from other sects were still somewhat surprised to see such a fairy technique used so effortlessly. But when Xue Jiang followed suit, it truly shocked everyone. She had always been low-key at Bi Luo Peak, never showing off, yet she had such strength!

But in the next second, the mouths of the crowd that had opened wide could no longer close.

Because Jiang Yuebai’s figure moved again, swoosh, swoosh—she blinked twice in succession, instantly moving to the opposite edge of the arena.Xue Jiang’s eyes flashed with surprise as the figure before her vanished; she immediately guessed that her junior sister had appeared behind her. However, her mastery of the “Shrinking Earth into Inches” technique was not as proficient as Jiang Yuebai’s, and she could only use it once in a short time, which was already her limit, preventing her from keeping up. By the time she turned around, she caught sight of a massive sword light. Jiang Yuebai finally stopped entangling with her and raised her hand to perform the Heavenly Sword Art!

This sword art was a simplified version of the “Heavenly Sword that Supports the Sky,” one of the strongest among the immortal techniques.

With nowhere to dodge, Xue Jiang could only conjure the same Heavenly Sword Art to counter. The two colossal sword lights collided, filling the entire arena with overflowing brilliance! In the blink of an eye, Xue Jiang’s sword light was shattered by Jiang Yuebai’s.

It crumbled upon contact!

In the realm of close-quarters swordsmanship, where she excelled, Jiang Yuebai was not the slightest bit weaker than her. And in the domain of divine abilities, where Jiang Yuebai excelled, she stood no chance. Her defeat was not unjust.

Without waiting for the Heavenly Sword Art to reach her, she leaped back and voluntarily descended from the stage. Jiang Yuebai also immediately withdrew her sword art and flew over, taking her senior sister’s hand. It was evident that despite the fierce offense and defense on the stage, the relationship between her and Xue Jiang was still very good.

The two girls left hand in hand.

Meanwhile, the arena was filled with shouts of Jiang Yuebai’s name, and the entire square was enlivened by her excellent performance. Even as the next pair of competitors took the stage, the chants of “Jiang Jiang” continued unabated.

Now standing on the stage was Ling Ao, his body radiating intense fighting spirit as he faced a Golden Elixir realm opponent from Jade Sword Peak. Once again, he unleashed his formidable physical strength and crushed his opponent with a single punch! Since the start of the competition, he had maintained a record of victory with one strike! Four attempts had secured him a place in the top four, second only to Chu Liang. After his victory, he still looked around with a burning battle intent, and suddenly, he glanced at Chu Liang.

For some reason, Chu Liang suddenly felt a strong hostility directed at him from Ling Ao.

Why was this? It puzzled him. I haven’t provoked you, have I? Well… probably not?

…

The results of the three matches in the quarterfinals were not too surprising, and the four new talents of Shu Mountain were determined: Xu Ziyang, Jiang Yuebai, Ling Ao, and Chu Liang.

These individuals could be said to have bulldozed their way here with overwhelming advantages… If intellectual dominance counts, one could foresee that the semifinals would be absolutely thrilling.

Currently, Xu Ziyang remained the undisputed favorite, but many believed that Jiang Yuebai had the strength to challenge him, while the mysterious Ling Ao, with his divine state of cultivation, had repeatedly overcome stronger opponents and gained a following. Naturally, Chu Liang also had his supporters, though they were mostly limited to Silver Sword Peak and its surrounding areas.

But Chu Liang had no time to concern himself with these matters.

Because on the second day of the main competition, it was time for the entertainment events, and today was the semifinals of the mahjong tournament.

And for the first time, he faced a formidable opponent in his life.

The other three at the table were all acquaintances: a lively and excited-looking girl from Jade Sword Peak, Xu Ziqing; a slim and sharp-eyed youth, Lackey A; and a breathtakingly beautiful girl in white, sitting there as if she were a painting… Jiang Yuebai. Xu Ziqing and Lackey A were both a bit clever, so it was not surprising that they had broken through the preliminary round, but it was somewhat tricky that Senior Sister Jiang was also in this group. Interestingly, two of the top four competitors in the main competition were at this table, drawing many eyes to this spot.

Lackey A looked left and right, knowing full well that he couldn’t beat Chu Liang, but with Senior Sister Jiang also beside him, should he hope for Big Brother to win or for Jiang Jiang to win?

That was indeed a question.

Xu Ziqing’s eyes sparkled with stars, wow wow wow…

Senior Brother Chu and Senior Sister Jiang ended up together, is this fate? Will they flirt with each other? I don’t mind losing, but I’m so curious if they do, will Senior Brother Chu let Senior Sister Jiang win, or will Senior Sister Jiang let Senior Brother Chu win? It should be Senior Brother Chu who yields. After all, it seems like he should be the one to take the initiative.

“Hu.” Not three rounds in, Chu Liang once again swept the mahjong tiles, his expression somewhat solemn.

He had no intention of yielding at all! Xu Ziqing muttered in her heart.

Across from her, Jiang Yuebai’s eyes lit up slightly.

The second game began, and Jiang Yuebai only drew two tiles before knocking down her hand, “Hu.”

Chu Liang looked on and nodded slightly. A fighting spirit rose in both their eyes.

The third game started, and the pace suddenly slowed down.

Chu Liang’s undefeated record was actually due to his super-strong memory and deductive abilities, remembering the flow of all the tiles from the start of the first game, thereby knowing what cards everyone including himself would draw. By deducing in such a scenario, what choices the other three would make, and how he could achieve his goal faster in this situation. Usually, just after drawing the tiles and before starting to play, he would have already figured out which round he wanted to win with what tiles. Under such deduction, playing against smart people is actually simpler than playing against fools, because the smart person’s playing path is completely traceable and not hard to predict… whereas someone who plays haphazardly might slightly disrupt Chu Liang’s deduced path.

But there’s another scenario, which is playing against someone extremely smart.

That is, the opponent possesses the same mental strength as Chu Liang, also mastering the ability to predict each next move, making it very difficult for both sides. It’s more like playing chess, thinking ahead every step while also trying to predict the opponent’s next move. And since the opponent is also a strong player, she will predict your moves and try to disrupt your plans. In such a case, who can think one step further requires a prolonged battle.Chu Liang and Jiang Yuebai both seemed to be experiencing this kind of evenly matched pressure for the first time. After tentatively testing the waters in the first two rounds, the third round suddenly intensified with their back-and-forth moves, as an invisible aura of fierce competition blazed up around them.

On the side, Xu Ziqing and Follower A were also silently calculating the progress of the game in their minds. However, their calculations were vastly different from the other two players. Although they were all sitting at the same table, in reality, they were in two different worlds.

Feeling the pressure from both sides growing stronger, Xu Ziqing’s eyes darted left and right, while Follower A’s gaze also swept around cautiously. Both of them sensed that suffocating feeling as if sparks were colliding with the earth!

“It’s… it’s igniting!”