Aspiring to the Immortal Path

Chapter 287: Romantic Rival

But Tang Jie chose to sit with Xu Miaoran and talk with her. Xu Miaoran had already dropped her disguise and returned to her original appearance.

Tang Jie was clutching Xu Miaoran’s hand as if he was afraid that she would run away. “Hurry and tell me. Why did you only come and see me now?”

Xu Miaoran harrumphed. “You think I didn’t want to keep a watch over a lecher like you a little earlier? But the moment I arrived at Red Plum Ridge, Senior Brother Lan and the others caught me and had me train with them. It’s only now that they’ve finally let me go.”

Tang Jie was very unhappy. “When did I become a lecher?”

“That’s exactly what you are. You already have me… and you come here and try to marry the little palace lord!” Xu Miaoran glared.

Tang Jie seemed drawn to the first part of her sentence. Perking up his ears, he asked, “Who did you say I already have just now? I didn’t quite catch it.”

Xu Miaoran blushed in shame and kicked him. Tang Jie threw his head back and laughed, his heart rejoicing.

Although the two of them had been exchanging letters for some time, they were still rather restrained when they spoke to each other. While they both liked each other, neither of them was willing to make that last step. For Xu Miaoran, it wasn’t that she lacked the courage. She just wasn’t sure about her own feelings. The more Horizon Ocean Pavilion emphasized one’s authentic feelings, the more she felt like she didn’t understand herself.

It was the exact opposite for Tang Jie. He was very sure that he liked Xu Miaoran. Perhaps because of the era he was born in, most of the women here were too rigid and inflexible for him, and those that weren’t were of the conspiring sort. Women like Xu Miaoran—candid but not depraved, smart but not cunning, fiery but also cognizant of her limits—were few and far between. But he had made an enemy of Godhead Palace, and his future was hard to predict, and he was only a minor servant student besides. In trying to be with her, he was bound to face stiff opposition, so he had put the matter to the side for the time being.

But today, with his new plan, he saw hope in the future, which was why he was in the mood to tease Xu Miaoran. He was slowly working his way toward taking that last step during the Immortal Fortune Conference.

As they talked and exchanged sweet nothings, on the stage, tigers and dragons were fighting.

On the first day, the Basking Moon Sect’s opponent was Horizon Ocean Pavilion.

As the first competitor, Peng Yaolong lived up to his reputation as Great Brother. After only a few moments, he easily defeated the student from Horizon Ocean Pavilion, and the Basking Moon Sect’s victory in the very first match was greeted with thunderous cheers.

But in the following battles, things weren’t as easy.

The students who could participate in this tournament were all elites who had been selected by the six major sects, and they all had some skill. Most of the students had already reached Mortal Shedding, and no matter what level they were at, they were all rich with combat experience.

In the Basking Moon Sect’s second match, Cheng Fengshan was pitted against Horizon Ocean Pavilion’s Ma Tianguo.

Cheng Fengshan was of the same year as Peng Yaolong, and he was also at the Hundred Refinement Period of the Mortal Shedding Realm. While he wasn’t on par with Peng Yaolong, he was quite the excellent student among his peers.

The six major sects had selected their competitors starting from the upper limit of age and moving down to the lower limit. Only underclassmen with comparable strength would be picked over upperclassmen, as those who could earn the title of “genius” would be more likely to draw the little palace lord’s attention.

Take Qi Shaoming for example. It was said that though he was a fifth-year, he could even sweep over the seventh- and eighth-years. While it was possible to find several dozen people in the seventh and eighth year that were stronger than him, in situations where the gap in strength wasn’t that obvious, Qi Shaoming’s lower year and his reputation as a genius would allow him to be more easily recognized by the little palace lord. This was why he had been recommended.

Thus, while Cheng Fengshan wasn’t as famous as Qi Shaoming, in terms of real strength, he was stronger than the likes of Qi Shaoming and Cai Junyang.

But a student like this fought Ma Tianguo for an entire hour before finally achieving victory.

Tang Jie couldn’t help but sigh in admiration. “Ma Tianguo didn’t look that impressive on paper. I didn’t expect him to be this strong, forcing Senior Brother Cheng to work this hard to finally win.”

“Alas, he still lost,” Xu Miaoran muttered.

“There’s nothing to be done about that. Horizon Ocean Pavilion is a primarily female sect, after all. This Immortal Fortune Conference is rather unfair to Horizon Ocean Pavilion. Otherwise, our Pufeng County Lord would have swept through Senior Brother Cheng like an autumn breeze sweeping up leaves.”

He was seated among the Basking Moon Sect members, yet he was flattering a girl from Horizon Ocean Pavilion. Everyone angrily glared at him.

Cai Junyang squeezed out, “Shameless!”

Peng Yaolong clenched his fists and barked, “Traitor!”

Ye Tianshang whispered, “Scum!”

Wei Tianchong gave a thumbs-up. “Admirable!”

He was the only one to praise Tang Jie’s actions.

Qi Shaoming was going to say something, but he didn’t have the time.

He was Number 3, and he was up.

Xu Miaoran was the only one to take heart from these words, and she softly smiled.

Sitting among the Basking Moon students and loudly chatting with Tang Jie, she naturally drew a few looks. Given her status, some of these looks were extremely unfriendly.

Xu Miaoran wasn’t afraid. She just grabbed Tang Jie’s shoulder and said, “Hey, your senior brothers don’t seem to like that I’m sitting with you.”

“Of course. You’re from Horizon Ocean Pavilion and I’m from the Basking Moon Sect. Our two sects are fighting right now on the stage, but we’re avidly chatting in the audience. It’s very normal for them to not like it and would be very weird if they approved. Right, don’t just point at my side. Look at your Horizon Ocean Pavilion. Aren’t there a bunch of people staring at me with looks that could kill?” Tang Jie pointed at the other end.

Xu Miaoran turned to look, and sure enough, there were many male students in the Horizon Ocean Pavilion section that were staring at Tang Jie with eyes that were spitting flame. It was almost like they wanted to eat him.

Xu Miaoran could no longer hold herself back and started laughing, causing even more people to look at her.

The battle between the Basking Moon Sect and Horizon Ocean Pavilion stopped holding as much attention, and Tang Jie and Xu Miaoran started to become the focus.

This might have been Xu Miaoran’s goal.

Through this method, she was warning that little palace lord that she should give up on Tang Jie if she knew better. Tang Jie isn’t coming for you!

Through this method, she was saying that Tang Jie was hers. Nobody should try and take him from me!

But she was young and had overlooked something. Sometimes, an object’s value was manifested through how people fought over it.

Most importantly, her attention raised Tang Jie’s value by itself. It had to be understood that she was the daughter of a Violet Palace True Lord, and her value was on par with the Wandering Palace’s little palace lord.

To openly disregard gender and sex difference to publicly talk with a student from another sect was very rare. Perhaps only a “fiend woman” like Xu Miaoran was capable of such a thing.

Thus, for a moment, countless students looked over. These were students from all the sects, not just Horizon Ocean Pavilion and the Basking Moon Sect, and not just male students, but female students as well.

While the men had eyes full of envy, anger, and even hatred, the female students had looks of surprise, admiration, arousal, and even a little desire. A man who could earn the favor of a True Lord’s daughter had to be worth a little attention.

Like this, Tang Jie and Xu Miaoran became the center of attention.

But the two of them didn’t seem to care. They continued to whisper to each other and laugh, commenting on the battles taking place on the stage while ignoring the gazes of everyone else.

On the stage, Qi Shaoming was in a tough battle. His opponent was Tong Hui of Horizon Ocean Pavilion, who wielded a giant blunt sword. As he swung the sword around, he unleashed furious waves of spiritual energy that slammed at Qi Shaoming from various directions.

While Qi Shaoming was nimble and his Passing Shadow Phantom Clone Slash was sharp, he was gradually tiring out in the face of this Tong Hui’s vigorous blows. He had used the Passing Shadow Phantom Clone Slash several times, but it had failed to do anything much besides consuming large amounts of spiritual energy. He had even started to slow down, and he was no longer as nimble when retreating and advancing.

Even Xu Miaoran said, “That Qi Shaoming is in trouble now. While his Passing Shadow Phantom Clone Slash is powerful, Senior Brother Tong specializes in defense. You have to realize that Senior Brother Tong has already entered Mortal Shedding. If a Spirit-Sea-Tier fights a Mortal-Shedding-Realm and can’t win fast, they will undoubtedly lose in a battle of stamina.”

“I don’t think so,” Tang Jie replied. “Shaoming is still a nine-cycle genius of my Basking Moon Academy. While he’s been focusing on improving his cultivation in the last two years, he also hasn’t been slacking on his spell arts. He developed the Passing Shadow Phantom Clone Slash a few years ago, so that’s not necessarily his only skill.”

“You think he’s still hiding something?”

“We’ll find out if we keep watching.”

On the stage, Qi Shaoming was gradually losing ground to Tong Hui’s slashing waves. As each wave grew stronger than the last, Qi Shaoming’s eyes suddenly flashed.

He fiercely roared, and the Autumn Water Sword exploded with light as it swung. It struck Tong Hui’s giant sword, instantly halting its movement. At the same time, Qi Shaoming lunged forward, and then he seemed to slip as he jumped, almost falling toward Tong Hui. His left hand thrust upward as if he was trying to grab hold of something for support.

This palm seemed to lack strength, but with a bellow, Tong Hui suddenly went flying into the sky and right off the stage.

This immediately drew an uproar from the crowd, and even the Celestial Heart True Persons were surprised. Someone even stood up and said, “The Vast Sea Trifold Wave!”

Tang Jie also called out, “The Windlass Sword, Tumble Rush, and Swelling Ocean Hand… I see.”

Qi Shaoming had blocked, staggered, and thrust out his palm, but these were actually all low-level spell arts. However, in being used just then, they had unleashed a frightening power that had instantly defeated Tong Hui. The key behind this was that Qi Shaoming had used these three low-class spell arts in a combo.

Qi Shaoming hadn’t come up with this method all on his own. Many cultivators knew how to use variations and combinations of spiritual energy to use several spell arts in a row, doing so in the shortest time for the least amount of energy and to maximum effect.

And the Windlass Sword was one of those with a set combination move. This move was one of the classic combos, known as the Vast Sea Trifold Wave.

In the Basking Moon Sect, the one most skilled in the Vast Sea Trifold Wave was Li Hongyang—the same True Person Hongyang who had joined together with Xiao Biehan and Ming Yekong to stop Shi Wunian, one of the 19 Celestial Chiefs of the Basking Moon Sect.

Tang Jie now understood.

The master the Qi Clan had chosen for Qi Shaoming was none other than True Person Hongyang.

But Qi Shaoming had taken a master in such an inconspicuous manner that nobody knew that he had become Li Hongyang’s disciple until he used the Vast Sea Trifold Wave.

It was no wonder that he had been able to come up with the Passing Shadow Phantom Clone Slash. Perhaps Li Hongyang had already been instructing him in secret. This guy had really hidden it very well, and if not for the Immortal Fortune Conference, Qi Shaoming might have still been hiding it.

But for Qi Shaoming, this wasn’t really something to celebrate.

The first battle had forced him to use his ultimate move. His lack of cultivation time compared to the others was an inescapable weakness.

Even so, when he returned to his seat, everyone clapped and said, “Good job.”

Qi Shaoming bitterly shook his head.

Even he knew that if this kept up, his path of Immortal Fortune would end at this round. But no matter what, he could lose the match, but not his dignity. Even if he were defeated, he had to live up to his reputation and show off his power.

In contrast, Horizon Ocean Pavilion was getting rather embarrassed after losing three in a row.

Since they couldn’t vent their emotions on the stage, they could only seek out a target in the audience.

A Horizon Ocean Pavilion student appeared at the Basking Moon Sect seats and said to Xu Miaoran, “Senior Sister Xu, Senior Brother has asked me to call you back.”

Without even turning her head, Xu Miaoran asked, “Senior Brother Lan?”

“Yes.”

“Then tell him that it’s not his place to worry about me. I can sit wherever I want.”

The student said, “Senior Brother knew that you would say this, so he told me that if Senior Sister did say such a thing, I should tell you that this isn’t a personal matter, but a matter of the six sects. The six major sects are vying against each other, and while they are doing their best to not hurt the relationships between each other, they each have their own principles and standpoints. At this special time, it does not make sense either objectively or emotionally to sit with the disciples of other sects. Senior Sister, please understand.”

Xu Miaoran’s eyes opened wide. “Isn’t it just that he can’t stand to see me sitting with Tang Jie? Just say it, then! There’s no need to call upon such righteous pretexts.”

The student grinned but said nothing. He clearly understood that using the dignity of the sect against Xu Miaoran was still rather effective.

Just when it seemed like Xu Miaoran would be forced to leave, Tang Jie pushed her back down into her seat.

“Since it’s for the sake of the sect, it’s even more important that Junior Sister Xu remains here.”

“Huh?” The student was surprised.

Tang Jie replied, “Only by staying here can she understand the ins and outs of the enemy. Only by staying here can she gather intelligence. Only by staying here can she use this opportunity to develop herself… Your senior sister was even begging me to go easy just now. Maybe when I go onto the stage, I’ll just concede and let a student of your sect get a point?”

The student froze, not knowing what to say. As for Xu Miaoran, she was laughing so hard that she see-sawed on her seat. Vigorously nodding, she said, “Absolutely right! I’m doing this all for the sect, sacrificing myself to the tiger. The heavens and earth have borne witness to my devotion! Tell Senior Brother to not detain me and give me this chance to serve my sect.”

She collapsed into Tang Jie’s embrace and kept laughing, completely devoid of the coyness a noble daughter should have. Some people even glared at her for this, with some commenting, “As expected of a fiend woman.”

The Horizon Ocean Pavilion student had no choice but to go back.

Tang Jie watched that student return to the Horizon Ocean Pavilion section and whisper a few words to a tall and slender youth with a handsome face and wearing a blue robe.

This blue-robed student suddenly turned in Tang Jie’s direction. He first glanced at Xu Miaoran before matching eyes with Tang Jie.

Tang Jie stared back, and sparks practically exploded between them.

Tang Jie instantly understood.

He didn’t understand that this person was Lan Yu. Rather, he understood that Lan Yu… also liked Xu Miaoran.

“You never told me that I had a romantic rival,” Tang Jie muttered.

Resting her face on Tang Jie’s thigh, Xu Miaoran said in a garbled voice, “Senior Brother Lan is a good person, but he’s not particularly open-minded, and I don’t like that, so there’s nothing to talk about.”

With that said, she fell asleep.