FIMA Ch155: Loud and Clear

What had originally been a fairly quiet space in front of the Gongfa Pavilion suddenly became like a pot of water exploding into a boil.

“Are we finally going to see the unfinished final battle from the Five Mountains Competition two years ago?”

“When is it happening? I have to go watch!”

“A clash between Da Shixiong and Ji-shixiong… this is too exciting…”

There were only a dozen or so people at the entrance of the Gongfa Pavilion, yet they sounded like a whole flock of ducks let loose onstage, chattering so heatedly that no other sound could be heard.

Xie Xueyi’s bright eyes swept over Gu Siyuan’s face, and he said with a grin, “As expected of Da Shixiong. Not only are you imposing, you’re decisive too.”

Gu Siyuan glanced at him. “Weren’t you just saying you were angry?”

Xie Xueyi blinked, and his eyes instantly lit up with excitement. “So you’re really doing this because of me, and that’s why you proposed to—”

Gu Siyuan cut him off flatly. “No. It just happened to be convenient.”

“Oh, gege, don’t be shy.” Xie Xueyi clung sweetly to his sleeve like a three-year-old child pestering for candy. “I know. Your heart mirrors mine.”

“No… I’m not, I didn’t mean…”

Not far from the two of them, Ruan Li was listening to all this uproar with a deathly pale face.

He had only wanted to prick at Gu Siyuan with a few verbal barbs. How… how had it turned into this?

Ji Jinghuan had already not been very pleased with him lately. If he kept acting on his own too much, Ji Jinghuan would only grow to dislike him more…

Especially since Jinghuan-ge had already lost quite a bit of cultivation to save that bitch Xiao Xinchi. Not long ago, Ruan Li had even overheard the clan elders saying Ji Jinghuan should enter seclusion for a while and not casually fight anymore, otherwise it might damage his foundations.

And now this…

In his panic, Ruan Li instinctively looked up toward the third floor of the Gongfa Pavilion.

From the corner of his eye, Gu Siyuan caught the movement and raised a brow. “Ji-shidi is here too? Then all the better. Let’s settle the time and place.”

“How do you kn—” Ruan Li’s eyes widened, but halfway through, he shut his mouth.

By then, though, everyone present had already reacted.

One disciple said, “I think I really did see Ji-shixiong on the third floor.”

“Oh, right, I remember now. This morning was Ziji Shan’s Dao Discussion Assembly. By custom, after the discussion, everyone comes by the Gongfa Pavilion to choose or switch spirit skills.”

“Right, right. I think Ji-shixiong even led them over earlier. That’s why the Gongfa Pavilion was full of disciples in purple robes just now.”

As they were speaking, a wave of people came out from inside the Gongfa Pavilion.

What met the eye was a sea of purple robes, with only a few scattered in green, white, red, and other colors mixed in.

They had originally been inside choosing cultivation methods and spirit skills, but once they heard the noise outside—that Da Shixiong and Ji-shixiong might be arranging a duel—they had immediately put down their jade slips and run out in high spirits to watch the excitement.

“Is it really happening? Where’s the fight?”

“I’m definitely going to watch when it happens. Tell that whoever-it-is to stop secluding themselves too—missing this fight would be a lifelong regret!”

“Exactly. I’ve always thought Ji-shixiong and Da Shixiong should’ve fought sooner or later.”

Seeing the matter spiraling farther and farther, and that more and more people were hearing about it, Xiao Xinchi looked at Ruan Li with a pained expression. “Biao-ge, you shouldn’t have deliberately provoked Da Shixiong just now.”

Ruan Li had originally been in a complete panic, but the moment Xiao Xinchi opened his mouth, his panic turned wholly into irritation.

This bitch Xiao Xinchi, always pretending to be so understanding—what right did he have to lecture him?

“What did I do wrong? Wasn’t I just speaking the truth? If Jinghuan-ge hadn’t been injured and his cultivation hadn’t become unstable from saving you, then what would be wrong with him fighting now? Jinghuan-ge is obviously the true Da Shixiong in name and reality.”

Among the disciples who had just come out of the Gongfa Pavilion were several from Qingchen Shan, and naturally they stood on Gu Siyuan’s side.

Hearing that, they instantly flew into a rage. “You people from Ziji Shan are really something. During the Five Mountains Competition, you failed to follow the rules and had your final-battle qualification revoked. Now Da Shixiong is being high-minded enough to give you another chance, and you’re already making excuses about injuries…”

“Heh, in the end it’s all the same—one excuse after another, just unwilling to fight openly and fairly. Acting like petty riffraff from the mortal world, only good at talking behind people’s backs and wagging your tongues.”

“Hmph. Going by that logic, then actually I should be the chief disciple of Ziji Shan. Why? No reason. Just because I think I should be. I think I could crush every last one of you from Ziji Shan.”

“Hahahaha, shixiong, I think you should be the chief of Ziji Shan. That thought process fits them perfectly—no need for reasons, no need to actually win, as long as you’ve got a mouth.”

The provocation in those words could not have been clearer.

The Ziji Shan disciples immediately exploded too. “What did you say? How dare you insult Ziji Shan!”

“You looking for death? If you’ve got the guts, come fight!”

The entrance to the Gongfa Pavilion turned completely into chaos.

The few Qingchen Shan disciples looked at the dozens—nearly a hundred—people opposite them and suddenly felt rather awkward.

Damn it, today really was unlucky. Of all days, it had to be Ziji Shan’s Dao Discussion Assembly, so half those purple-skinned bastards had ended up here at the Gongfa Pavilion.

At that moment, a set of light footsteps came closer and closer, one step at a time, steady and powerful, strangely pleasant to the ear.

A tall, straight figure walked forward and stood in front of them, shielding the few Qingchen Shan disciples behind him while facing that boiling mass of emotion alone. His voice was clear and cold:

“If you want to fight, then start with me.”

A wave of shock swept the whole scene.

The Ziji Shan disciples looked at that figure opposite them, and their expressions changed slightly. Whether they admitted it or not, since he had come first in the Five Mountains Competition, he was the rightful Da Shixiong of the immortal sect.

If they really dared attack him, that would be an offense against a superior.

And those few Qingchen Shan disciples, looking at their own Da Shixiong’s back, somehow suddenly felt like crying.

But even more than that, deep in their hearts, they felt reassured.

In an instant, all their courage swelled. They no longer cared that the other side outnumbered them by dozens, and they directly shouted at the top of their lungs, “Come on then, fight! Who’s afraid? We Qingchen Shan aren’t like you—we didn’t just grow one useful mouth.”

“That’s right, let’s fight now!” one young Qingchen Shan disciple shouted. Then he turned toward Ruan Li in the distance. “You’re Ji-shixiong’s fiancée, right? Then hurry up and call Ji-shixiong over too. Let’s settle everything at once so there won’t be endless excuses later.”

Others immediately chimed in. “Right, right—call Ji-shixiong too. Let’s settle it all in one go.”

“I… I… no…”

Faced with all this, Ruan Li’s still somewhat pretty face had turned deathly pale. He was completely out of his wits.

How could he dare?

What would Ji Jinghuan think of him?

…

At the window of the third floor of the Gongfa Pavilion, an old and a young figure stood watching everything below.

“Go down and bring him away,” said the elderly man in gray. “Huan’er, you are excellent in all things except your affairs of the heart. How could such a fool ever be worthy of you?”

Ji Jinghuan’s face looked rather ugly, but he did not know what to say. He only nodded and turned to head downstairs.

The Gongfa Pavilion had five floors.

Each floor had a pavilion-guarding elder, all with Nascent Soul cultivation. The elder guarding the third floor came from Ziji Shan and was precisely Ji Jinghuan’s martial grand-uncle.

On the plaza before the Gongfa Pavilion, Xie Xueyi looked at Gu Siyuan’s still-cold face and wondered how this was all going to end.

The Qingchen Shan disciples numbered only a handful, yet they had somehow stirred up a confrontation involving a hundred people.

“Ji-shixiong’s fiancée, what are you still waiting for? You were the one who spoke first to insult others, yet now you’re shrinking back like this. What do you take Qingchen Shan for?”

Ruan Li stumbled backward a few steps in panic, almost wishing he could flee the scene outright.

At that moment, a voice rang out: “Ji-shixiong.”

Ruan Li abruptly looked up. He didn’t even care that those words had been spoken by the person he hated most, Xiao Xinchi. Looking at the man who had just emerged from the Gongfa Pavilion, he seemed to come back to life in an instant.

He called out mournfully, “Jinghuan-ge…”

But Ji Jinghuan acted as though he hadn’t heard. His gaze brushed lightly over Xiao Xinchi’s face beside Ruan Li, and then he walked straight toward Gu Siyuan in the middle of the crowd.

Ji Jinghuan cupped his hands in greeting. “Shixiong.”

Shixiong, not Da Shixiong. Even now, his pride remained.

A gust of wind stirred along the mountain path, and leaves rustled softly.

Gu Siyuan raised his eyes to the man in front of him, his expression indifferent. “Ji-shidi has finally arrived. You’ve kept everyone waiting.”

Ji Jinghuan shook his head, his emotions hard to read. “Though the five mountains compete, in the end we all belong to the same immortal sect. I truly did not wish to step in midway and stir up even more conflict. I had only hoped shixiong would resolve it appropriately. I never imagined things would escalate to the point of drawing swords.”

At those words, Xie Xueyi’s face darkened with displeasure at once.

How interesting. He spoke as if it were due to his own reluctance, yet between the lines he was clearly blaming Gu Siyuan for handling things badly.

Gu Siyuan narrowed his eyes and said mildly, “I am not as capable as Ji-shidi, able to sit calmly on the fishing platform while having a fiancée so loyal and protective, charging into battle on shidi’s behalf.”

Ji Jinghuan’s mouth twitched slightly.

Was that implying he had instructed Ruan Li to act this way, which caused the whole thing to explode?

“Ruan Li grew up in the countryside and has a naturally innocent temperament. He often acts improperly. I feel deeply regretful for this, and in the future I will certainly restrain him more.”

Gu Siyuan looked at him and said coldly, “So then, shidi has no intention of arranging a duel with me?”

Ji Jinghuan carried himself gracefully as he answered in a clear voice, “Naturally not. At the ceremony back then, I failed to arrive on time and therefore lost my qualification. No one else was to blame. Since shixiong won first place according to sect rules, how could I now privately arrange a challenge with shixiong? Would that not be disrespectful toward the sect and its rules?”

Xie Xueyi gave a cold laugh.

So he says Gu Siyuan won according to sect rules, which really means not according to actual strength, huh.

This Ji Jinghuan really was good at playing word games. Every sentence had a trap in it.

Just then, Gu Siyuan spoke.

“Shidi truly is smooth on all sides. I won first place according to sect rules, but not according to strength—that is what you mean, yes? It is indeed regrettable that I did not get to fight shidi back then. I only hope that, just as you say, shidi truly does respect the sect and its rules and will not again commit lateness at an event as important as the Five Mountains Competition, thereby causing all these baseless disputes.”

Xie Xueyi widened his eyes at Gu Siyuan.

He and gege really did think alike.

“…” Ji Jinghuan, on the other hand, froze in embarrassment.

What was wrong with Gu Siyuan? Men of their standing weren’t supposed to speak this bluntly.

This was far too direct, far too lacking in restraint, far too inelegant.

After a moment, Ji Jinghuan slowly said, “It is my fault in conduct that caused shixiong to misunderstand. I am truly ashamed.”

Gu Siyuan had no desire to continue a battle of words. He glanced at Ji Jinghuan, then at the crowd of Ziji Shan disciples opposite, and said, “Since that is the case, then today’s matter ends here. As disciples of the immortal sect, we should place sect rules first, speak and act with care, restrain ourselves, and keep proper decorum.”

“We respectfully accept Da Shixiong’s instruction,” everyone answered in unison.

Gu Siyuan and Xie Xueyi turned and walked toward the Gongfa Pavilion.

They had been here so long, and still had not done what they actually came for.

Ji Jinghuan led Ruan Li, Xiao Xinchi, and the others down the mountain, but his eyes were dark and unreadable.

Ruan Li hardly dared breathe a single word.

Just then, they happened to pass one of the massive black pillars on the plaza that shot high into the clouds.

Ruan Li secretly glanced at Ji Jinghuan’s expression and tried to please him. “Jinghuan-ge, your name is at the very top of the Trial Strength Pillar. Eighty-six zhang and nine cun. You have the body of six yangs, and the might of the Ziyang Fentian Gong—who among your peers can withstand it? Even the holy son of Mingguang Xianzong only just reached eighty-seven zhang after cultivating their sect-defending heart method to the fourth level. He’s only your equal at best, let alone certain other people…”

Xie Xueyi, who had just stepped over the threshold into the Gongfa Pavilion, stopped at once. He turned back and looked at this hopeless fool, his eyes lifting at the corners. “You still haven’t learned your lesson?”

Ruan Li’s expression changed, but he still stiffened his neck and said, “I… I didn’t say who I meant.”

The crowd, which had only just quieted down, grew restless again, with people immediately starting to whisper among themselves.

Gu Siyuan and Ji Jinghuan’s fight had failed to happen. No matter what had happened today or who had been in the wrong, battle strength was still battle strength, and everyone naturally had their own thoughts.

Especially since this Trial Strength Pillar measured the might of each disciple’s strongest strike. It represented raw paper strength.

Within Taixuan Xianzong, the person with the best result was naturally Ji Jinghuan: eighty-six zhang and nine cun.

Gu Siyuan had tested himself a year earlier and scored exactly eighty-five zhang.

That difference of nearly two cun was exactly why most people in the sect believed Ji Jinghuan to be the strongest of the younger generation.

Xie Xueyi clenched his fists.

Then, from the corner of his eye, he saw the person beside him suddenly move. He whipped his head around at once.

Gu Siyuan slowly extended his right hand.

His broad open palm looked as though it were welcoming the Silver River of the Ninth Heaven to descend.

And in the next instant, countless silvery-white lights flickered between his fingers, dazzling and condensed, like a fallen star resting in his palm.

At the same time, a wind blew in from nowhere.

Gu Siyuan’s black hair, loose over his shoulders, suddenly began to fly.

Everyone present—especially those with stronger cultivation and spiritual power—shuddered faintly. For no reason they felt a chill down their spines, as if something dangerous were about to appear.

It was still afternoon.

Yet the sky over that entire area seemed to darken in an instant.

Then the heavens filled with glittering stars.

And the starlight that fell from that sea of stars in endless specks and motes, like summer fireflies, all gathered toward Gu Siyuan.

A layer of silver-white starlight gradually spread over and around his body.

“Stellar Manifestation…”

A phantom figure formed from countless streams of starlight spread outward from him, then extended and expanded inch by inch until it became a giant figure of starry light several meters tall.

That star-formed figure shone with blinding brilliance. The sky, which had darkened so abruptly, instantly became bright as broad daylight.

Gu Siyuan raised his hand, and the Stellar Manifestation raised its hand too, then lightly pressed it forward.

In the next instant, the towering Trial Strength Pillar blazed with light.

“Heavens… this… this is the Stellar Manifestation!”

“The Stellar Manifestation has appeared! Da Shixiong’s Jiutian Xingchen Jue has reached the fourth level!”

“It really is the Stellar Manifestation—Da Shixiong is testing himself right now?!”

“A year ago, before Da Shixiong had formed the Stellar Manifestation, he reached eighty-five zhang. I wonder what it’ll be this time?”

On the Trial Strength Pillar, a ray of light shot up from the first cun with the force of a meteor. It rushed past eighty-five zhang, past eighty-six zhang, past eighty-six zhang nine cun, past eighty-seven zhang, and finally stopped at eighty-eight zhang four cun.

“It surpassed it! It surpassed it!”

“It beat the Mingguang holy son by one zhang four cun!”

And so, in that instant, the sound of Gu Siyuan’s palm striking the Trial Strength Pillar—though it had been light, so very light—felt like a slap landing across the faces of quite a few people present.

Ruan Li’s face went white, then red, then white again.

Thinking back to what he had just said, and feeling the gazes of the people around him, he only wished he could vanish where he stood.

In Ji Jinghuan’s eyes, a dark storm gathered, too subtle for others to notice.

“The Stellar Manifestation is incredible!”

“Hahahaha, the Stellar Manifestation really is amazing, and there’s also Zhaixing Shou…”

“Hahahaha, what does Mingguang Xianzong have left to brag about now? Hahaha, number one under heaven belongs to our Taixuan Xianzong!”

“Da Shixiong is amazing!”

Everyone was thrilled to the extreme and turned to look for their own Da Shixiong—

Only to realize he was already gone.

The ten-thousand-zhang starlight had also faded.

Only the name and mark at the very top of the Trial Strength Pillar remained to prove what had just happened.

While everyone else stayed out on the plaza, Gu Siyuan and Xie Xueyi had already entered the Gongfa Pavilion.

Xie Xueyi walked backward playfully as they went forward. “Gege, you were really imposing just now. Why can’t I learn even ten percent of that cool, face-slapping style from you?”

Gu Siyuan said flatly, “It’s boring and a waste of time. There’s no need to learn it.”

Xie Xueyi smiled. “How is it boring? It felt amazing, alright? So before, did you really want to fight Ji Jinghuan and the people from Ziji Shan, just to shut them up once and for all?”

Gu Siyuan nodded. “Why not?”

Xie Xueyi chuckled. “A big group fight does sound exciting, but their side had more than ten times as many people as us. Even if you wouldn’t lose one-on-one, weren’t you afraid they’d all rush us together and we’d take a huge loss?”

Gu Siyuan glanced at him. “If you’ve already prepared to fight, why would you care about a minor thing like taking a loss?”

Xie Xueyi nodded. “True enough.”

Gu Siyuan seemed to deliberately tease him and added, “Besides, from a distance I saw that today the elder guarding the first floor of the Gongfa Pavilion was Elder Lu. He comes from Qingchen Shan and is one of the mountain lord’s junior brothers. Presumably, he wouldn’t let us suffer too much.”

Xie Xueyi blinked. “A pavilion elder should be a Nascent Soul cultivator already, right?”

Gu Siyuan nodded.

Xie Xueyi frowned. “If a Nascent Soul cultivator acted, then the Ziji Shan pavilion elder definitely wouldn’t sit back either, right? Wouldn’t this blow the matter up completely? It might even alarm the mountain lords and the Sect Master.”

Gu Siyuan pinched his cheek and said mildly, “If the mountain lords and Sect Master all came forward, do you think the fight would still happen? Would they let two mountains fight to the death over a mere quarrel of words?”

“…” Xie Xueyi.

With genuine admiration, Xie Xueyi sighed, “Truly worthy of being Da Shixiong.”

Others are only thinking about step one, and you’ve already finished planning the next three.

He had spent all those years among the demonic path and still had never seen plotting this deep.

“Your Qingchen Shan line has produced another fine seedling,” came an old sigh from deep within the Gongfa Pavilion.

The pavilion elder who had originally been on the first floor had appeared here at some unknown moment and now said with a soft smile, “The conflict between righteous and demonic grows harsher by the day, and the world is heading toward chaos. To be too clever is not necessarily easy either.”

“The capable must shoulder more,” said the first voice from the depths. “The Xianling Secret Realm is about to open. This time, the immortal sect may very well gain an unexpected harvest—something that could greatly influence the situation in the future.”

“Let us hope so.”

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