Chapter 53: So Strong

Wen Xu had not expected to have this kind of luck either.

Feeling the gazes converging on him from all directions, Wen Xu slowly raised his hand. “Wen Xu of Guochun Peak, present.”

Since he was present, he had to take the stage. Given the current situation, everyone assumed the referee was gifting this Little Grand-Uncle Master an easy victory. After all, no matter how one looked at it, Junior Sister Jiang Ying’s chances of winning were now practically nonexistent.

Truth be told, this was the first time Wen Xu had appeared in public. As the only disciple with a mutated single spiritual root in Yonglu Mountain in recent years, he had remained a topic of discussion within the sect, despite keeping a very low profile.

The moment he stepped onto the stage, the crowd of cultivators gathered around Arena B grew by another ring.

Bian Chunzhou and Chen Zui stood at the very front. Without even trying to listen, they could hear what the disciples behind them were discussing. Geniuses, after all, were always the center of attention.

“Can you believe it? I was standing right behind him just now. Heavens, I didn’t even notice!”

“…Right? He’s clearly so easy to recognize. You must have been too focused on the fight on the stage.”

“True. So that’s the legendary Little Grand-Uncle Master. His seniority is truly terrifying. Can you tell what his cultivation level is…”

“I can’t. Geniuses are indeed terrifying. How long has it even been? I’m already at the peak of the seventh level of Qi Refining, yet I can’t see through him at all. And he’s different from Senior Brother Chen. This guy literally started cultivating from scratch!”

Talent was indeed the most unreasonable thing. A realm that took others years, or even decades, to reach was something some people could grasp just by standing on their tiptoes. One could not dwell too much on this disparity; thinking about it too much would only shake one’s Dao heart.

Everyone knew that this newly minted Little Grand-Uncle Master of Yonglu Mountain came from the Mortal Realm. Although they did not know how he had entered the path of cultivation, they wanted to see just how powerful a Mutated Wind Spiritual Root could be in a fight!

“His cultivation is higher than yours, so of course you can’t see through him.”

Why does everyone feel the need to take a dig at me? The disciple turned around in annoyance, only for his expression to change at lightning speed. “S-Senior Sister Huo, it’s you.”

Huo Shengyin possessed a three-element spiritual root and was at the peak of Qi Refining. Although she was an outer disciple, she was the outer sect’s brightest hope for entering the inner sect in this Sect Tournament. This was because she had not yet begun her path as a musical cultivator during her initial Mountain Exam, which had led to her placement in the outer sect.

Later, she happened to enter the Dao of the Qin^[1], and there was no stopping her from then on. Of her three spiritual roots, the metal element was the thickest, while water and wood were very thin, making her a perfect fit for musical cultivation. Rumor had it that if not for Yonglu Mountain’s strict rules regarding inner sect recruitment, Huo Shengyin would have been promoted to an inner disciple long ago.

In truth, Huo Shengyin had only entered the sect seven years ago. She was twenty-seven this year, only a single step away from Foundation Establishment. In this Sect Tournament, she had also drawn Arena B. She had not expected to share a stage so soon with the genius who had only joined the sect last year.

Huo Shengyin was strikingly beautiful. While no cultivator was truly plain, she stood out exceptionally even among a crowd of them. Because of this, she rarely smiled, and since she never showed mercy in battle, many outer disciples were terrified of her.

After all, Senior Sister Huo’s music could literally be lethal. It was no laughing matter.

“Just watch the match. If I’m not mistaken, he should be at the peak of the eighth level of Qi Refining, a full minor realm higher than you.”

…Thanks for the info, but the second half of that sentence was really unnecessary. He was still capable of such basic math.

But the peak of the eighth level of Qi Refining?! Seriously?!

The disciple immediately locked his gaze onto the stage. By now, Junior Sister Jiang Ying had recovered slightly, having taken a Qi Replenishing Pill and a Blood Recovery Pill. Still, almost everyone believed it was impossible for her to win this match.

Yet Jiang Ying did not give up. Her weapon of choice was a second-grade, non-attributed spiritual sword. Non-attributed magic treasures were highly suited for five-element spiritual root cultivators. Because they lacked a specific attribute, the wielder could channel their power freely, casting whichever elemental spell held the advantage against their opponent’s spiritual root.

However, to achieve this level of mastery, a cultivator had to be exceptionally proficient in all five elemental spells. After all, while exploiting elemental counters offered an advantage, how could someone with only a superficial understanding defeat an opponent who had dedicated themselves to mastering a single, specific path?

In theory, a five-element spiritual root was the most powerful offensive spiritual root because it could attack and defend, fight at range or close quarters, and had almost no weaknesses. But… its demands on a cultivator’s comprehension and perception were far too harsh. With the mutual generation and overcoming^[2] of the five elements concentrated in a single body, a cultivator had to completely master every single spell and combination of the five elements. Just thinking about it was a monumental undertaking.

If one wanted everything, the end result would only be mediocrity in all of them.

Therefore, most five-element spiritual root cultivators focused on only one or two offensive methods while ensuring their cultivation progressed. After all, even for them, the five spiritual roots were rarely of equal thickness. Most of the time, they had two thick and three thin roots, or three thick and two thin roots.

The thicker the spiritual root, the more abundant the stored spiritual energy. This was precisely why single spiritual root cultivators were so highly esteemed.

Wen Xu had heard the outer disciples mention earlier that this Junior Sister Jiang’s five-element spells were highly formidable. His heart tensed slightly, and a spiritual sword materialized in his right hand out of thin air.

The two spiritual swords clashed, producing a crisp, slightly grating ring. Wen Xu tilted his head slightly, yet he felt no incoming attack from any five-element spells.

Was he not worthy of her using her trump card? Or was Junior Sister Jiang too exhausted to cast them?

“Huh, Wen Xuxu didn’t use the Wind-Folding Fan. I wanted to see what the repaired Wind-Folding Fan looked like.”

Chen Zui’s focus, however, was elsewhere. “Do you know Wen Xu’s opponent? Something is off with her.”

“What’s off?”

Chen Zui was stubborn and literal-minded, but such people sometimes possessed the sharpest eyes. Moreover, as one of the few at the peak of Qi Refining present, it was not surprising that he was the first to notice. “She seems… about to break through.”

Bian Chunzhou’s expression instantly changed. “What? A breakthrough?”

Chen Zui nodded and pointed toward the stage. “Look, Wen Xu has noticed it too. That’s why he didn’t strike hard right from the start.” In a sparring match between fellow disciples, taking advantage of someone’s vulnerability was truly pointless. Fortunately, his friend was not that kind of person.

What was this? A sudden turn of events? Although it was common for cultivators to break through during combat, this was a bit too coincidental.

“Junior Sister Jiang is about to break through mid-fight!”

“Amazing! Little Grand-Uncle Master actually stopped. Is he waiting for Junior Sister Jiang to finish her breakthrough before fighting again? How gentlemanly!”

“I remember Junior Sister Jiang is at the sixth layer of Qi Refining, right? Even if she breaks through, she’ll only be at the seventh layer. Didn’t Senior Sister Huo just say Little Grand-Uncle Master is at the peak of the eighth layer of Qi Refining…”

“Ahhh! Look, Junior Sister Jiang is actually rising two minor realms in a row! Is she crazy? How does she dare?”

As the chatter rose and fell, more and more cultivators gathered around Arena B. Even the cultivators waiting for their opponents on the neighboring stages couldn’t help but quietly prick up their ears.

Was it really this exciting? This was only the first day! Junior Sister Jiang truly deserved to be called the role model of the outer sect. If she won this, wouldn’t that mean…

Everyone’s eyes couldn’t help but fall on the handsome, blindfolded man holding a sword on the other side of the stage. Little Grand-Uncle Master didn’t seem affected at all. Could it be that… he still had some trump card up his sleeve?

This was so exciting! Hurry up, they loved to see this!

Compared to the excited spectators below the stage, Wen Xu was very calm. After all, he had fought someone at the peak of Foundation Establishment before. Even if his opponent successfully established her foundation mid-fight, he wouldn’t panic.

He couldn’t control how strong his enemies were. All he could do was make himself stronger.

Jiang Ying had a delicate face but a resilient personality. Any outer sect disciple who had heard of her knew she was a relentless cultivator. She cultivated when others cultivated, and she cultivated even harder when others rested. While cultivators rarely grew lazy, it was truly rare to find someone who pushed themselves to her extent.

At this moment, as she broke through on stage, many of her fellow disciples below were anxious for her. Fortunately, breaking through a minor realm did not take long. Soon, Jiang Ying, who stood holding her sword, opened her eyes. A bright gleam flashed in them, indicating a successful breakthrough.

“Junior Sister Jiang, congratulations.”

Looking at her opponent’s unchanged expression, Jiang Ying felt a brief pang of frustration, but she still responded politely, “Thank you, Senior Brother. Shall we continue?”

Wen Xu nodded, the spiritual sword in his hand flashing with the light of an array. “Alright.”

The interrupted match resumed instantly. This time, Jiang Ying went all out. Her attacks were primarily metal and fire spells, which was not surprising. Metal and fire were the two elements with the strongest offensive power, and they possessed the most offensive spells.

But Wen Xu was not afraid of ordinary metal and fire spells.

After all, his sparring partners were Chen Zui and Bian Chunzhou. The former excelled in wide, sweeping saber techniques; even without stacking spells, Chen Zui’s saber play was destructive enough. The latter possessed a Water-Fire Spiritual Root, so Wen Xu was quite experienced when it came to dealing with fire attacks.

“Why does it look like they’re evenly matched?”

“No,” Huo Shengyin shook her head. “Junior Sister Jiang is laying down an array.”

Oh? Setting up an array? Bian Chunzhou thought. Isn’t that a coincidence? Swordplay isn’t what Wen Xuxu is best at. He loves to secretly stack arrays. In fact, wherever he can stack them, he will…

“Ah, look! Junior Sister Jiang’s Blazing Fire Array is complete! This time, Little Grand-Uncle Master is probably…”

On the stage, centering on where Wen Xu stood, scorching flames instantly erupted. The fire was incredibly fierce, surging into the sky in the blink of an eye and completely enveloping him.

The flames even showed signs of tightening around him as the scorching heat wave drew closer, but Wen Xu smiled faintly, as if he had been waiting for this fire all along. Beneath the sky of blazing flames, he spun the spiritual sword in his hand, and it instantly transformed into a dark, elegant folding fan.

Specks of starlight dotted the folding fan. Upon closer inspection, it was actually a swirling Gale Formation.

Then, without hesitation, he threw the folding fan from his hand. The Gale Formation on it seemed to come alive, lunging at the flames like an invisible iron palm. Unable to withstand the force, the fire instantly bent backward and collapsed.

On the stage, the flames surrounding Wen Xu instantly scattered in all directions. Just a second ago, Jiang Ying was still proud of her handiwork; the next second, a wave of scorching heat rushed straight toward her face. She had no time to defend herself, and by the time she reacted, she had already been forced off the stage by her own array.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

“Wen Xu of Guochun Peak wins this round.”

At the same time, the fire on the stage vanished without a trace. The blindfolded young master stood holding his fan, without even a speck of damage to the hem of his robes.

So strong.