VHSTS CH21

Luo Jianqing’s first match ended in barely the time it takes an incense stick to burn¹Incense Stick’s Time / Yizhuxiang (一炷香): A traditional Chinese measurement of time based on how long it takes a standard stick of incense to burn down, roughly equivalent to 15–30 minutes..

Mu Tianxin specialized in alchemy; although she was one of the Seven Scions of Taihua, she had been the ninth among their generation to form her Golden Core, so her direct combat strength was not particularly high. Nobody held back in the Sect Grand Competition, and this time Mu Tianxin happened to draw Luo Jianqing. Even after pulling out all the stops and throwing every magic treasure and medicinal pill she had into the fray, she failed to inflict even a scratch on him.

Even among the Seven Scions of Taihua, the gap in strength was this vast.

Once the bout concluded, Mu Tianxin tugged on Luo Jianqing’s sleeve and huffed lightly, “Shixiong, you didn’t go easy on me at all.”

Luo Jianqing replied helplessly, “Little Shimei, I already gave you time to throw out your Heaven-Shaking Thunder treasure—how much easier do you expect me to go on you?” The unspoken implication was that Luo Jianqing could have ended the match in far less time, and for the sake of his little shimei’s pride, he had already tried very hard to let her showcase her moves.

Mu Tianxin pouted glumly and turned her head away, refusing to spare Luo Jianqing another glance, as though genuinely angry. Yet when Luo Jianqing ascended the stage for his second match, she still fished a bottle of medicinal pills out of her storage ring and stuffed it into his hand, muttering softly, “Anyway… anyway, I won’t be needing these anymore, so Shixiong might as well take them.”

Luo Jianqing didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

The opponent Luo Jianqing faced this round was not one of the Seven Scions of Taihua.

Ninth Shidi had barely entered the Golden Core realm for a single year. Facing Luo Jianqing now, he bowed cautiously in salute—and before Luo Jianqing could even make a move, Ninth Shidi stepped backward in timidity, lost his footing, and tumbled right off the martial arena on his own.

Xie Zizhuo stared open-mouthed: “So Eldest Shixiong actually has such insane luck! No wonder you weren’t jealous!”

Luo Jianqing: “…”

In front of Lingyun Hall, the visiting disciples who had accompanied their elders to spectate were equally baffled by these two matches.

In the first bout against Mu Tianxin, all they saw was Luo Jianqing dodging for a long while before finally forcing her back with a single streak of sword qi. Then in this second bout, Luo Jianqing had barely steadied his stance without uttering a single word before his opponent fell off the stage all by himself!

“Is Taihua Mountain’s Eldest Shixiong… really as formidable as the legends claim?”

“My Shifu always says luck is a form of strength too. Look at their Second Shixiong—didn’t he draw a bye as well?”

“I came ready to watch a fierce, exhilarating battle—how did it turn into this…”

After two rounds of matches, only Luo Jianqing, Wei Qiongyin, and the lucky Zuo Yunmo—who had drawn a bye—remained in the bracket.

Taihua Mountain’s random draw order this time was truly atrocious, pitting opponents with massive disparities in strength against one another every time. Forget the visiting cultivators—even Taihua Mountain’s own disciples were left bewildered, watching matches end almost before they began.

Seeing the murmurs of the visiting cultivators grow louder and louder, Taihua Mountain’s disciples huffed in dissatisfaction and began cheering loudly for their shixiong and shijie.

“Go, Wei-shijie! Wei-shijie, hurry up and draw your sword to show them what we’ve got!”

“Zuo-shixiong is guaranteed to win!”

Sure enough, in this semifinal round, Luo Jianqing happened to draw the bye.

Helpless, Luo Jianqing stepped down from the stage to wait for Zuo Yunmo and Wei Qiongyin to finish their match. The visiting disciples kept sneaking glances in Luo Jianqing’s direction; alongside their initial admiration and awe, a trace of indescribable doubt had crept into their eyes.

Unbothered, Luo Jianqing lifted his gaze toward the martial arena.

This match was genuinely dramatic, worlds apart from the earlier bouts.

Wei Qiongyin drew her sword for the first time, whereas Zuo Yunmo kept his blade sheathed, watching her with a gentle smile. Their figures blurred into afterimages across the arena; after battling for nearly half a shichen, blood appeared at the corner of Wei Qiongyin’s lips as she finally conceded defeat.

Zuo Yunmo cupped his hands with a smile. “Shimei, my apologies.”

Wei Qiongyin returned the salute equally, walking off the stage with an icy expression to tend to her injuries.

This match finally silenced the visiting disciples, leaving them holding their breath as they looked back and forth between Zuo Yunmo on the stage and Luo Jianqing below. Without letting them down, Luo Jianqing soon tapped his toes against the ground and drifted lightly onto the martial arena, smiling: “Shidi, in the hearts of our shidi and shimei, you’ve already become a great hero.”

A self-deprecating smile crossed Zuo Yunmo’s refined face. Shaking his head, he slowly drew his longsword from its scabbard and said, “Shixiong, I have prepared seven years for this battle—make sure you’re ready to receive it.”

Barely had his words fallen when an overwhelming storm of sword shadows cleaved toward Luo Jianqing. The dense web of sword shadows sealed off every escape route, drawing gasps from the spectator stands—yet standing at the very center of the onslaught, Luo Jianqing merely curved his lips calmly without a trace of fear.

“First Form of the Azure Yang Sword Formula—Blazing Sun Sword!”

Zuo Yunmo rapidly shifted his hand seals as the Azure Cloud Sword in his hand shot swiftly toward Luo Jianqing. Behind him, a fiery crimson sun slowly rose, scorching the earth with intense heat and radiating boundless brilliance.

Luo Jianqing dodged effortlessly amidst the torrent of sword shadows, seemingly unfazed by the terrifying technique.

At last, that crimson sun rose fully above the horizon, transforming instantaneously into a massive fireball that hurtled straight toward the evading Luo Jianqing.

Outside the arena, the disciples felt the air temperature spike sharply, many breaking out in sweat from the heat. Before Lingyun Hall, Haoxingzi Zunzhe stroked his beard in satisfaction and raised a hand to reinforce the arena’s protective barrier with another layer, immediately bringing the temperature back down.

Just as that blazing sun pressed down upon Luo Jianqing, threatening to scorch him to ash, brilliant blue-green light flared between Luo Jianqing’s brows. In a split second, a treasured sword measuring three chi and seven cun materialized in his hand. Shimmering with glaze-like hues along its blade, Luo Jianqing simply raised his sword without executing any fancy stance, holding it steadily in front of the descending sun.

Bang!

A single blade halted the blazing sun’s momentum, reducing the scorching orb to nothingness in an instant.

In the very next second, however, Luo Jianqing suddenly sidestepped as a sword pierced straight through the exact spot where he had been standing.

Holding his sword with a smile, Zuo Yunmo said, “Shixiong, you must be careful—never underestimate your opponent.”

Luo Jianqing replied calmly, “Shidi, you’re the one who needs to be careful.”

As his words fell, the sharp clang of clashing metal rang out abruptly. Their figures moved so fast they blurred into afterimages, colliding repeatedly across the arena. Even Wei Qiongyin couldn’t follow their movements clearly, and the visiting disciples stared in utter bewilderment—only the elders seated before Lingyun Hall gasped aloud in unison.

“Is this truly a bout between Golden Core cultivators?!”

“The Seven Scions of Taihua certainly live up to their reputation! Truly worthy of Luo Jianqing, whose birth cleared the Luo River!”

Up on the arena stage, Luo Jianqing tapped his toes lightly, parrying every single one of Zuo Yunmo’s strikes with effortless poise. He fought with dashing grace, upholding Yuxiao Peak’s prestige just as Xuanlingzi Zunzhe had instructed the night before. Yet just as Luo Jianqing swept his sword upward once more, Zuo Yunmo let out a soft chuckle.

Luo Jianqing’s eyes widened as a sudden sense of foreboding struck him—yet before he could retreat, Zuo Yunmo murmured in a low voice: “Shixiong, you let your guard down after all.”

The moment those words landed, an expanse of vast, azure sky materialized directly above the martial arena.

Haoxingzi gasped softly in astonishment: “Yunmo has actually cultivated to such a realm?!”

That azure sky expanded wider and wider, filling the entire arena with majestic, domineering momentum as boundless righteous aura rained down from above. Zuo Yunmo, who had already expended considerable spiritual power earlier in the fight, suddenly found his reserves completely replenished. Standing beneath that blue firmament with his robes fluttering in the wind, he unleashed torrential spiritual power through the Azure Cloud Sword.

“Second Form of the Azure Yang Sword Formula—Azure Cloud Sword!”

As Zuo Yunmo’s voice fell, that entire expanse of sky came crashing straight down toward Luo Jianqing. The sheer force made the protective barrier shudder violently; even Luo Jianqing narrowed his eyes, rapidly forming hand seals as the Shuangfu Sword hovered eagerly in front of him.

The crushing pressure of the descending sky kicked up a fierce shockwave across the arena, forcing Luo Jianqing back two steps before he could steady his footing.

At the exact instant the azure sky was about to crush down upon him, the Shuangfu Sword suddenly split into nine blades, spinning rapidly as they shot upward to pierce the heavens.

“One Sword Transforms into Nine Lotuses!”

Vast banks of dark storm clouds abruptly rolled across that azure firmament, blotting out the blue sky. Heavy and oppressive, the clouds unleashed thick bolts of lightning that surged alongside the Shuangfu Sword to clash head-on with the Azure Cloud Sword in mid-air.

All at once, lightning flashed and thunder roared as the firmament collided with heavenly thunder!

Haoxingzi hastily swept his sleeve to reinforce the barrier once more.

As smoke billowed across the arena stage, everyone stared anxiously toward the center—only to see the handsome, white-robed Eldest Shixiong panting heavily with blood dripping from his fingertips. Standing opposite him, Zuo Yunmo—who had been smiling calmly moments before—coughed up a huge mouthful of blood and staggered backward more than a dozen steps, managing not to collapse only by propping himself up with the Azure Cloud Sword.

Clenching his fingers tightly as blood trickled down his hand, Luo Jianqing said, “Shidi, concede defeat.”

Zuo Yunmo curled his lips into a smile, gazing gently at the white-robed youth before him as he murmured, “How could I possibly concede just like that?”

Barely had his words fallen when another expanse of azure sky began rising once more. Watching this in shock, Luo Jianqing called out urgently, “Shidi, you’ll completely exhaust your spiritual power doing this—why push yourself so far…”

“Shixiong, when we spar, we must hold nothing back. Besides… Jianqing, didn’t you say yourself that you would give it everything you had?”

Looking at Zuo Yunmo’s smile, Luo Jianqing froze abruptly.

Luo Jianqing lifted his head to gaze at that boundless azure sky, narrowing his eyes. Suddenly pointing all five fingers toward the ground, an intangible force condensed from his palm. With unstoppable momentum, that force pierced straight through the arena’s protective barrier—timidly skirting around the Zunzhe and elders seated before Lingyun Hall, yet passing directly through the crowd of disciples.

This force wildly plundered the springs and autumns of every plant and tree within a one-li radius atop Cangshuang Peak.

Countless specks of starlight invisible to ordinary eyes rose into the air and converged upon Luo Jianqing’s body. These brazen wisps of energy carried the starlight right past Haoxingzi Zunzhe’s eyes, yet the Sect Master remained entirely oblivious, still holding his breath as he watched the scene on the arena stage.

In the very next instant, Luo Jianqing’s aura began surging upward—ten percent, twenty percent, thirty percent… Even after returning to his peak condition, the skyrocketing aura did not stop, continuing to stack wildly higher!

The Tribulation Transcendence elder of the Soul-Severing Sect exclaimed in shock, “What cultivation technique is this?!”

Haoxingzi knitted his brows tightly and replied, “Jianqing cultivates our Taihua Mountain’s supreme scripture, the Nine Lotuses True Heart Record.”

Everyone instantly understood: “So it is the legendary Nine Lotuses True Heart Record—no wonder it is so extraordinary!”

Luo Jianqing slammed his palm onto the stage, leaving a ten-meter-long handprint etched into the stone surface.

“Plundering Springs and Autumns!”

“One Sword Transforms into Nine Lotuses!”

Luo Jianqing’s sword transformed into a blue-green lotus, shooting skyward at blinding speed.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Dazzling, brilliant sword light pierced straight through the firmament, shattering that azure sky domineeringly into countless fragments. The explosive momentum surged outward, slamming against the protective barrier beside the arena—everything changed in the blink of an eye as the barrier shattered abruptly, sending boundless sword qi hurtling directly toward the spectator stands.

Haoxingzi’s eyes contracted; stomping his foot against the ground, he manifested a new barrier just outside the arena, intercepting the escaping sword qi in the nick of time.

After the thunderous roar subsided, Luo Jianqing stood pale-faced inside the arena, while Zuo Yunmo had been blasted backward, lying unconscious and drenched in blood.

Luo Jianqing immediately hurried over to check on him, while little shimei rushed up to feed Zuo Yunmo a medicinal pill. Before long, disciples from Qinglan Peak carried Zuo Yunmo away for treatment.

Dead silence hung over the entire venue.

Visiting disciples and Taihua Mountain disciples alike stared in sheer awe and shock at the elegant, white-clad cultivator.

Only after a long moment did the referee elder snap back to his senses and shout, “Golden Core victor: Luo Jianqing, mid-stage Golden Core!”

The final results of the Sect Grand Competition spread across all of Taihua Mountain within a single day. When the visiting elders departed with their delegations, quite a few outside disciples still glanced cautiously at Taihua Mountain’s refined, handsome Eldest Shixiong, scarcely able to believe that someone so breathtakingly good-looking possessed such terrifying lethality.

Although Luo Jianqing had sustained minor injuries as well, they were trivial compared to Zuo Yunmo’s. After seeing off all the guests, he was summoned once more to Lingyun Hall by Haoxingzi Zunzhe, who instructed him to recuperate properly before setting out for Flowing Flame Valley in seven days.

Agreeing to everything, Luo Jianqing flew back up to Yuxiao Peak.

This time, Xuanlingzi had not returned to closed-door seclusion. Wearing white robes remarkably similar to Luo Jianqing’s, embroidered with intricate golden patterns along the sleeves, he stood at the edge of the cliff with his hands clasped behind his back, gazing up at the sky.

Seeing this, Luo Jianqing froze slightly before bowing respectfully: “Shifu.”

Xuanlingzi remained standing at the cliff’s edge, fierce mountain winds whipping his robes with sharp snapping sounds.

Luo Jianqing stood silently behind Xuanlingzi; after an indeterminate amount of time, he finally heard an indifferent voice speak softly: “Jianqing, in today’s Sect Grand Competition, how did you inflict such severe injuries upon your Second Shidi?”

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Footnotes:

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  Incense Stick’s Time / Yizhuxiang (一炷香): A traditional Chinese measurement of time based on how long it takes a standard stick of incense to burn down, roughly equivalent to 15–30 minutes. ↩︎