Second Senior Sister Has A Highly Dangerous Profession - Chapter 60
Chapter 60
Everyone was still immersed in the unparalleled sword intent of the Yanxiao Sword.
Some wondered, The Second Senior Sister is said to still be in the early stages of Qi Refinement.
How could someone at this stage possibly fight with a sword, let alone defeat Wang Gu, who is in the early stages of Foundation Establishment, with a single strike?
What is her true cultivation level?
Others quietly contemplated the sword intent, thinking, So this is how the third form of Taiqing Gazing Moon can be used. It’s always been said on Taiqing Peak that the first three forms of Taiqing Gazing Moon are just basic sword techniques, not much stronger than the Gentle Qingfeng Liuyun Sword.
Clearly, that rumor is absolute nonsense.
The daze of many was interrupted by a single sentence from the girl arriving on a tree branch.
Everyone looked toward the horizon.
The girl, far from elegant, stood on a pale green yet leafless branch.
Her bangs were blown back by the wind, revealing a pretty, slightly frantic but still smiling face.
No matter how one looked at her, she didn’t seem like someone capable of wielding such sword intent.
…Some even began to wonder, Could it be that the Yanxiao Sword wielded itself instead of this excessively cute Second Senior Sister?
Yi Zui was almost moved to tears of joy.
The young man let out a long sigh of relief, thinking, “Stalling for time earlier was definitely the right move. Hopefully, Second Senior Sister will go easy on me when she decides to punish me later.”
But then, the elder with the purple clay teapot beside him let out a puzzled “Huh.”
The old man, who had been tapping his leg just a moment ago, now stopped in apparent shock.
He scrutinized Yu Xizhi and asked, “She’s standing on a tree branch? Where did that tree branch come from?”
“She probably tossed her sword aside to fly here, but then needed something to step on midair. Seeing the Lone Forest of Ten Miles nearby, she must have casually snapped off a branch,” Yi Zui speculated.
“What’s so strange about that?”
The old man slowly lowered his raised leg and spoke with both gravity and astonishment, “She dared to break a branch from the Lone Forest of Ten Miles?”
Yi Zui was puzzled. “Why wouldn’t she dare? Second Senior Sister’s hairpin has always been a small branch from that forest. What’s the big deal? Besides, I’ve seen Junior Master Uncle casually breaking branches there all the time.”
“Do you think it’s the same when he breaks them and when you do?”
The elder bellowed.
Hearing this mention of her hairpin, the elder instinctively glanced at Yu Xizhi’s hair, only to see a pen tucked there instead.
“The Tianzhao Brush?!” The elder furrowed his brows, disbelief etched even deeper on his face.
“What’s your Second Senior Sister’s background?
What kind of family does she come from?
Why does she stick all sorts of things in her hair?”
Yi Zui scratched his head, utterly confused.
“What’s so shocking about a broken brush or a tree branch?”
—He didn’t understand why the elder cared so much about the branches.
After all, in the eyes of many, Yu Xizhi’s previous hairpin had been the truly extraordinary item.
People had even laughed quietly when she replaced it with a mere branch.
As someone born in Baiyu Pavilion and raised surrounded by countless brushes, Yi Zui naturally didn’t find the Tianzhao Brush remarkable.
The elder, angered by Yi Zui’s nonchalance, trembled in indignation.
Just moments ago, the tea Yi Zui served had made the elder think slightly more fondly of him, but now all goodwill was gone.
The elder snorted coldly and sipped from his purple clay teacup, muttering, “Ignorant!”
With Yu Xizhi now here, Yi Zui no longer needed to linger by the elder’s side.
Hearing this rebuke, he didn’t bother to retort.
Instead, he cheerfully got up and ran off with Yu Si to greet the Second Senior Sister, who was descending on her branch.
Yu Xizhi landed steadily.
Wang Gu conceded, and the barrier naturally dissipated, allowing the Yanxiao Sword to spin back to her side.
She reached out to take the sword but didn’t sheath it.
The newly broken branch was slightly long and awkward to handle, so she dusted it off and tucked it into her storage pouch.
Having won, she naturally needed to stay and defend the arena.
She nodded slightly at Yu Si and then glanced at Yi Zui, Huang Li, and Cheng Luocen in turn, her gaze carrying a hint of “Wait until I get back to settle the score with you.”
Only then did she give her sword a light shake and address Wang Gu:
“Thanks for letting me win.”
Wang Gu, who should have left the arena, hesitated when he saw Yu Xizhi up close.
He pursed his lips before finally speaking.
“Second Senior Sister Yu,” he began, struggling to hold back but ultimately failing, “could you tell me…what is your current cultivation level?”
—How could she defeat him with just sword control? He was already in the Foundation Establishment stage. Could she have quietly reached the late Foundation Establishment stage, or even a complete stage?
After all, the Qianya peak tribulation had been directed at Senior Brother Yi Zui.
Aside from that, only Senior Brother Yu Si of Kunwu Peak had faced such a tribulation.
Wang Gu felt he was already stretching his imagination to the limit.
If that were truly the case, then Second Senior Sister was likely only one step away from crossing the great threshold and becoming a True Immortal.
Wang Gu felt a bit dejected.
He had once thought reaching Foundation Establishment made him exceptional, but now, calculating carefully, he realized he was just a frog in a well.
Thinking his surroundings were the world, he had forgotten to look up at the sky.
“You can think of me as whatever cultivation level you believe I am,” Yu Xizhi replied, smiling faintly without giving a clear answer.
In truth, she had already formed her Golden Core.
After practicing swordsmanship with Xie Junzhi for so long and reading countless books, she naturally understood the distinctions between cultivation levels.
Although her breakthrough had been silent, she was keenly aware of her own progress.
Thus, without needing Xie Junzhi to remind her, she realized the moment she opened her eyes: after being sliced through by the sword intent permeating the entire mountain, though her innate sword body was still incomplete, she had directly advanced from mid-stage to complete stage of the Golden Core.
Wang Gu was silent for a moment.
“Could it be that Second Senior Sister has already reached Overseeing the World?”
“That depends on whether I have the chance to face my elder brother,” Yu Xizhi replied with a calm demeanor, neither confirming nor denying.
It wasn’t that she was deliberately being vague; it was just that explaining this would require her to address why her breakthrough occurred without any accompanying phenomena.
Before reaching the Golden Core stage, this wasn’t an issue, as the signs were typically limited to clouds of colorful light.
However, if one were to reach Overseeing the World without any thunderous tribulations, it would likely overturn the entire cultivation world’s understanding.
Better to keep things simple—unless absolutely necessary, Yu Xizhi chose not to reveal more.
“Then I shall wait and see,” Wang Gu said, cupping his hands respectfully.
“To be defeated by Second Senior Sister’s hand, I concede wholeheartedly.”
The young man hugged his sword and leapt off the arena.
Only then did Steward Chen raise his flag.
“Victory to Yu Xizhi of Taiqing Peak! Wang Gu of Ziyuan Peak is eliminated! Next up, Shi Tian of Xuecan Peak!”
The one called out turned out to be the very person who had been the loudest earlier, opposing the idea of swords fighting on behalf of their masters.
The young man still bore a look of discontent.
Perhaps knowing that the decision had already been made and further objections were futile, he raised his sword and declared, “The one who advanced earlier was your sword, not you. I will fight your sword.”
An uproar instantly erupted in the crowd.
“Well, that’s… not entirely wrong. I can’t seem to find a way to refute it.”
“Right… if we go by the earlier logic, the sword represents the person. If you’re challenging the sword, you’re still challenging the person, right?”
“That’s true, but to be fair, everyone knows that wielding the sword personally represents one’s full strength. By doing this, Shi Tian is essentially handicapping Second Senior Sister Yu.”
“Exactly. Is he just assuming he can’t win otherwise? Still, being defeated by a sword alone isn’t exactly an honorable outcome either.”
“Right. Wang Gu’s loss wasn’t shameful, but openly saying you’ll fight only the sword… that’s really…”
The crowd buzzed with chatter, with everyone making valid points but failing to reach a consensus.
Ultimately, all eyes turned to Steward Chen.
Steward Chen thought to himself, “What karmic debt have I accumulated to end up judging this arena?”
He maintained a fragile smile and looked at Yu Xizhi.
“What does Master Yu think?”
Yu Xizhi stared at the Yanxiao Sword with a strange expression.
Is this the so-called “mature sword that can fight in the arena on its own”? She wondered.
“I’m fine with either,” Yu Xizhi said without a trace of anger.
She bowed slightly to Shi Tian and added, “Since Junior Brother Shi values the Yanxiao Sword so highly, I shall fight by controlling it. However…”
Her tone shifted.
“If Junior Brother Shi’s preference is because your sword intent is similar to Junior Brother Wang’s and you find it easier to engage with a sword alone, then I have no objections. The Sword Selection Conference places importance on rankings, but the true purpose is to improve through sparring, to recognize that there are always higher peaks and greater masters beyond oneself.
“However, if Junior Brother Shi thinks that fighting my sword instead of me will give you a greater chance of winning, I fear you may be sorely mistaken.”
On the sidelines, the elder with the purple clay teapot took a sip of water, nodding quietly in approval. At least there’s still a disciple here who understands reason, he thought.
Shi Tian’s face changed slightly, as her words hit home.
Still, having already spoken, there was no turning back.
He lightly turned his sword and held it horizontally before his chest. “Please summon your sword, Second Senior Sister.”
Summon your sword was a euphemism, but the meaning was clear.
Yu Xizhi gave him a faint smile, her words having reached their limit.
Saying no more, she left the sword in the arena while stepping back to the sidelines.
She didn’t leave the stage entirely, instead retreating to its furthest corner to sit cross-legged.
Then, as if suddenly recalling something, she said, “Wait a moment.”
Steward Chen, who was just about to wave his flag, asked, “What is it?”
“Why am I still being introduced as Yu Xizhi of Taiqing Peak?”
She straightened her posture and tugged at the front of her robe, emphasizing the embroidered words “Qianya” on it.
“Look here.”
She pointed at the two characters.
“Next time, please announce me as Yu Xizhi of Qianya Peak.”
Steward Chen thought to himself, Why are these senior and junior disciples so alike? Yet, he couldn’t avoid repeating the same spiel from earlier. He assumed Yu Xizhi, like Yi Zui, would reluctantly agree. However, after a moment of contemplation, the young woman spoke again:
“I don’t know what happens afterward, and it’s none of my concern. But for the next ten or so matches, it seems I’ll be troubling Steward Chen. Please remember to correct the announcement in the upcoming matches.”
—She was openly declaring her intention to play through all ten rounds, advancing directly to the round of sixteen.
Having said this, she turned back to the young man before her, raised her hand slightly, and said, “Please.”
Steward Chen was left speechless, but Yu Xizhi’s words, though not phrased as a command, carried enough force that he had no choice but to comply.
Resignedly, he raised his hand and waved the flag:
“Second match, Yu Xizhi of Qianya Peak versus Shi Tian of Xuecan Peak—begin!”
Since she was the senior, it was natural for her not to make the first move.
The Yanxiao Sword hovered mid-air, tracing a small semi-circle before settling into a defensive stance.
Shi Tian’s cultivation level was slightly higher than that of Wang Gu earlier.
He was one of the personal disciples of Xuecan Peak, and he had previously been on good terms with Gao Xiude.
However, after Gao Xiude followed Yu Xizhi on a trip to the Kongti Desert, he became noticeably distant from his former comrades upon his return.
Shi Tian had always been resentful of this and harbored some hidden animosity toward Yu Xizhi because of it.
He raised his hand and unsheathed his sword.
Wang Gu, at the early Foundation Establishment stage, could not defeat her.
Then, as a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, could he stand a chance?
Would he be able to fight on equal footing?
