Li Fei burst out laughing. “Call you Senior Brother? I won’t do that.”
Lei Xiuyuan pinched her cheek, then lifted her chin, gazing at her intently. After a while, he said softly, “You seem to have lost some weight?”
“Really?” Li Fei touched her face. Without Lei Xiuyuan by her side, she had indeed been a bit distracted from eating, and her disciple robe’s waistband had loosened slightly. Not wanting him to notice, she quickly smiled and said, “I’ve grown taller, so I just look thinner.”
Lei Xiuyuan let out a long “Hmm,” which immediately annoyed Li Fei. “I have grown taller! What are you ‘hmm-ing’ about?”
He remained silent, just looking at her. Li Fei felt a bit embarrassed and averted her gaze, her eyes falling on his hair. His long hair and skin seemed to have a faint, dull golden glow, though she wasn’t sure if she was seeing things. When Li Fei picked up a strand of his hair to examine it closely, the dull golden light disappeared.
A hand covered her eyes as Lei Xiuyuan held her tightly, his voice very soft: “If you don’t sleep now, you won’t want to sleep at all.”
Li Fei felt a warmth on her lips as he kissed her lightly. His lips lingered on hers as if hesitating. After a long moment, he kissed her again before slowly pulling away. She pushed his hand away from her eyes, feeling his heart beating rapidly in his chest. Her face gradually grew hot, and for some reason, she started laughing.
Lei Xiuyuan cupped her face and rubbed it unceremoniously. Li Fei quickly grabbed his hands, chuckling softly, “I’m not sleeping now. Let’s talk for a bit.”
She quietly shared the interesting events and cultivation experiences of the past few months with him. She talked for an unknown length of time before drifting off to sleep again. When she woke up the next day, Lei Xiuyuan was gone, with only the window slightly ajar. Li Fei wondered if Lei Xiuyuan’s visit last night had been just a dream.
Barely making it through the morning cultivation session, she skipped lunch and flew on a cloud to Yaoguang Peak. There, she saw the Yaoguang Grand Hall crowded with people, including elders from other peaks and several of Elder Guangwei’s disciples, except for Hu Jiaping. In the center stood a young man wearing a tea-white disciple robe with three black stripes on the collar and cuffs. The surrounding personal disciples and elders were all talking to him. He wore a faint smile, his appearance handsome and refined. It was Lei Xiuyuan.
Last night wasn’t a dream. Li Fei gazed at him from afar, noticing his personal disciple attire. A prodigy who had broken through the second bottleneck at just eighteen, several years earlier than Hu Jiaping, who had once shocked the entire sect. Praises and envious remarks filled the air, but none of them knew the desperate efforts behind his success, nor the reasons for his relentless pursuit.
“Junior Brother Lei has become a personal disciple,” Su Wan, who had arrived unnoticed, patted Li Fei’s shoulder with a smile. “I can’t believe we were at the same level just a few months ago when we went to Chestnut Valley. He’s left us far behind now.”
Suddenly noticing tears in Li Fei’s eyes, she asked in surprise, “What’s wrong? Did something sad happen?”
Li Fei remained silent. Su Wan looked at her, then at Lei Xiuyuan. This straightforward yet sensitive girl seemed to suddenly realize something. She smiled again, putting an arm around Li Fei’s shoulders and patting her. “Cheer up. Junior Brother Lei didn’t become a personal disciple just to make you cry.”
Li Fei also broke into a smile. When she and Lu Gongzhen first met this clever and cunning boy, she never imagined that one day she would come to like him so much. With so many people at the Grand Hall, she could always spot him first in the crowd. Lei Xiuyuan had taught her the meaning of being one of a kind.
The news of Lei Xiuyuan becoming a personal disciple spread throughout Wuyue Court within days. Countless disciples flocked to Yaoguang Peak to catch a glimpse of the prodigy. However, unlike the once approachable Hu Jiaping, this genius had an air of aloofness and pride, making him seem unapproachable. Over time, even the female disciples who were initially attracted by his handsome appearance became reluctant to approach him.
Cultivating disciples were different from ordinary people; each had their pride and wouldn’t lower themselves or lose face.
On the twenty-first day of the first lunar month, Wuyue Court’s decennial Dharma Duel Competition officially began. This trial was mandatory for all disciples except those who had joined less than ten years ago. It was also a form of assessment, as selecting the most outstanding disciples was always the top priority for immortal sects.
The Dharma Duel Competition would last at most ten days, serving as a vacation for the hardworking new disciples. Even the elders were too busy to guide them, with even the usually leisurely True Person Chongyi being dragged in as a judge.
Given the varying cultivation levels of the disciples, the competition wasn’t a free-for-all. There were six groups, from the first bottleneck to the fifth, with a total of six groups. The top two hundred from each group would pass this decade’s trial.
For ordinary disciples below the Cloud Sea, this was their only chance to ascend. If they could rank in the top two hundred of their group, they would be accepted as elite disciples under an elder, no longer having to be ordinary disciples who paid annual tributes. For disciples above the Cloud Sea, it was a matter of advancing or being forced down if they didn’t qualify to stay.
The first five days of the Dharma Duel Competition were for disciples who had broken through the first and second bottlenecks. These two bottlenecks had the most disciples, accounting for about 70-80% of the total, with ordinary disciples below the Cloud Sea making up a large portion. It took a full five days to select the top two hundred winners from these two groups. It wasn’t until the morning of the sixth day that the Dharma Duel Competition truly became interesting.
Breaking through the third bottleneck meant being able to cultivate high-level immortal techniques. Beyond that, breaking through bottlenecks became increasingly difficult, with being stuck at one bottleneck for decades being quite common. After breaking through the sixth bottleneck, one was on the verge of becoming immortal.
Regardless, watching duels with high-level immortal techniques was far more interesting than those with five-element techniques.
Early in the morning, Li Fei traveled from the Cloud Ascending Platform to below the Cloud Sea. It was her first time visiting the lower levels in the five years since she had joined the sect. Unlike the dense, concentrated spiritual energy above the Cloud Sea, the spiritual energy below was much thinner. Moreover, with pavilions and buildings stretching endlessly and crowds of people coming and going, there were even shops and clothing stores, making it more like the city of Guangsheng Assembly than an immortal sect. It resembled a city rather than a cultivation sect.
At the northern end of this city were over a dozen enormous arenas, each white tile looking brand new and spotless. The areas around and above the arenas were already packed with disciples, the air filled with a cacophony of voices. Disciples from above the Cloud Sea waited for their turns in higher places, while ordinary disciples didn’t dare to go up. The distinction between above and below the Cloud Sea was clear – this was Wuyue Court.
Lei Xiuyuan looked at the paper slip in his hand, which had the character “Bingmao” written on it, presumably the name of the arena. Occasionally, ordinary disciples passing by would see his personal disciple attire and respectfully make way, unconsciously creating a small clear space around the two of them.
“Junior Brother Lei! Junior Sister Jiang!” Deng Xiguang excitedly waved at them from afar. He and Su Wan were standing on a cloud at a higher elevation. He pointed at the arena below, which must have been the one numbered Bingmao.
Li Fei and Lei Xiuyuan quickly flew over. They saw that two disciples were already engaged in a duel in the Bingmao arena. Gusts of wind, raging flames, thunder, and lightning clashed spectacularly. A Wuyue Court elder hovered at the edge of the arena, watching intently. As judges, the elders couldn’t relax for a moment. Immortal techniques were indiscriminate, especially these high-level ones; a moment of carelessness could result in more than just losing a hand or foot.
“All of Junior Brother Lei’s opponents are disciples who have broken through the third bottleneck. I’ve specifically investigated, and Junior Brother Lei’s opponents are these—”
Deng Xiguang had already done his homework, pulling out a stack of papers with the names of disciples who had broken through the third bottleneck. Su Wan was both surprised and amused. “My goodness, Senior Brother Deng, how long did you spend investigating this? Wait, don’t tell me it’s all-female disciples’ names?”
Deng Xiguang immediately clutched his chest, hurt. “Junior Sister Su! Do you think I’m such a lecherous person in your eyes?! This concerns Junior Brother Lei’s matches, how could I only investigate female disciples?!”
Su Wan laughed even harder, giving him a heavy pat on the back. “Stop wasting time, quickly tell us who we should watch out for.”
Deng Xiguang gave her a resentful look, instinctively moving away from this girl who was more masculine than most men, muttering, “Keep this up, and no one will want to… Ahem, I carefully studied this last night. None of the people on this list are particularly scary. The one we need to watch out for is Senior Brother Qin Yangling. He’s already at the peak of the third bottleneck, just one step away from breaking through to the fourth. I heard he’s incredibly skilled in restraining techniques. His most famous is the demonic bone flute at his feet, made from the spine of a moon demon. That demon, you know, was trapped by him for three days and three nights, unable to move, and was finally slowly ground to death by his Tai’a technique. You can imagine how twisted Senior Brother Qin’s mind must be…”
When disciples exterminate demons, apart from taking their bodies to refine into magical treasures, they usually kill them quickly and cleanly, using high-level immortal techniques if they can. To prefer using the low-level Tai’a technique to slowly torture a demon to death, Senior Brother Qin is truly terrifying.
“Junior Brother Lei…” Deng Xiguang advised earnestly, “If you can avoid competing, it’s best not to. Once he restrains you, you won’t be able to escape. His cultivation is also higher than yours. Why don’t we just forfeit?”
Lei Xiuyuan smiled, about to speak when the elder at the Bingmao arena called out his name: “Lei Xiuyuan, Gu Wensheng.”
Deng Xiguang exclaimed, “So fast! Wait, let me see what this Gu Wensheng is capable of…”
Lei Xiuyuan covered the papers in his hand and said with a smile, “Senior Brother Deng, just watch quietly.”
With that, he descended on a cloud, bowing to the elder and his opponent Gu Wensheng: “Disciple Lei Xiuyuan, please guide me, Senior Brother Gu.”
Gu Wensheng had already heard of his reputation and didn’t dare underestimate him due to his youth. He immediately returned the gesture: “Junior Brother Lei, please.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he raised a layer of earth wall. Lei Xiuyuan had a single metal spiritual root with formidable attacking power. The copper wall technique might not be very useful, so using an earth wall was safer.
The next moment, a huge, brilliantly glowing golden sword fell from the sky. Lei Xiuyuan slapped the giant sword with his palm, and it instantly turned into a mist of golden light. Shimmering like it had a life of its own, it attached to the earth wall. In the blink of an eye, the transparent light wall crumbled into powder. Gu Wensheng hastily retreated several steps and erected three more earth walls. He transformed into a cloud of black smoke and flew up into the sky. Thunder rumbled, and over a dozen lightning bolts struck the arena, creating a spectacular scene.