Food Fairy Lord

Chapter 805 Feather Scales (Part 8)

The ninth day of April.

On the last day of the Feather Examination, people crowded around the Winter Sword Platform early in the morning.

Many figures who had not appeared in the past few days have now appeared here, either hidden in the crowd or, like the Crown Prince, standing on the platform. In short, countless new and more significant eyes are looking over.

Ming Qitian is a newly born legend in the martial arts world, unparalleled since his birth.

People actually know that she is not yet twenty-two years old, and they also know that she has only participated in one Feather Scale Trial. In any case, those who have been or have the potential to be ranked first on the Crane List have all emerged out of nowhere and then spent nearly ten years accumulating experience before they could compete for that position.

This is only Ming Qitian's first attempt; her success should come six or nine years from now.

But intuitively, it seems like she absolutely has to win this time.

Because she is Ming Qitian, some people still believe that she is not a real person, but a celestial being descended from heaven.

There should be no setbacks in the world that can stop her, not even Wang Jiuqiao, who stood for nineteen years.

But with each defeat, it's as if some dream bubble has been punctured, and people wake up to the realization that "oh, so she's just a slightly more capable person after all."

Pei Ye sat on the seat of the Sword Cultivation Academy, and this was the atmosphere he felt.

He knew that Miss Ming wouldn't care, and he was indeed more nervous than the woman.

The Winter Sword Platform is 200 zhang in diameter and was built in front of the Imperial City. Its upper half occupies the lower edge of the vast square in front of the Imperial City, while its lower half occupies a quarter of the Vermilion Bird Avenue and the two side streets beside it.

On ordinary days, this sword platform lies silently, letting carriages and horses come and go, and children climbing up and down with their friends. But when the winter sword gathering is held, its inner circle, a hundred feet long, rises up to become a vast and magnificent platform for the swordsmen of the capital to compete that year.

Only when the Feather Scale Tournament begins does this mountain-like sword platform reveal its majestic fullness under the guidance of Tong Shilu, standing before the imperial city, blocking the Vermilion Bird Pass, and buried between the two wards.

There are numerous places to view the sword platform:

The viewing platform left over from the construction, integrated with the sword platform, is staggered in height, resembling a small hill, and occupies nearly one-tenth of the circumference. The participating sects, the royal family, and the five surnames are seated on it, each with their own place. The Sword Cultivation Academy also enjoys a good location.

The pavilions and towers in the two buildings are either gardens or restaurants. Tall trees and flying eaves surround the huge sword platform like grass, as if they were edging it.

The Five Clouds Pavilion is located there, where celebrities and the wealthy spend lavishly to gain a higher vantage point.

Then there were the many rooftops in the neighborhood, where young people climbed and scrambled to occupy the space, in groups of three or five, and occasionally there were some small sects or lone wanderers of the martial arts world.

Finally, there's a large open space. Surrounding the long edge of this sword platform, you can always find a place to stand.

Placed beneath restaurants or clustered in the heart of Zhuque Avenue, they filled the remaining spaces with poets, scholars, Taoist priests, wandering knights, officials with empty pockets, and江湖人 (jianghu people) who preferred not to show their faces.

After all, today is the decisive day of the Feather Trial.

The vast platform was temporarily empty. Pei Ye looked north and saw the tall, thin figure of the old man.

Li Jian. This is the first time Yu Lin has appeared here in the past few days.

In terms of his life, this figure is now his great support, the reason why he can safely manage [Baishui] and Xiting in Shenjing and take a break.

However, Pei Ye hadn't seen him since they parted in March. "I sincerely thank all the heroes of the various sects for this year's Feather Scale Gathering." Li Jian lowered his head, holding a small notebook. "Three years have passed, and many new faces have appeared. Heroes come and go, but the martial world remains the same. I, Li Jian, extend my greetings to everyone."

"Since the establishment of the Immortal Terrace, I have relied on your support and assistance to travel. Now it is a sturdy carriage, which you can ride with the wind to pass through the dark and muddy places." Li Jian raised his eyes and paused. "The years of war and chaos have lasted for only thirty years, and now another three years have passed. I hope that you will continue to work together to bring light to the martial world, stability to the Tang Dynasty, and order to all things."

Several faint but clear responses rang out from the four-sided platform.

Li Jian bowed deeply and said, "I have nothing more to say. Let the descendants of Fei Teng cleanse our filthy eyes."

Pei Ye pondered for a moment, then turned to Shi Zanxue beside him and asked, "Master Li said he was a 'junxue' (a junior scholar), what does that mean?"

This Heavenly Maiden arrived at his seat earlier than Pei Ye today. She knew far more about the martial arts world than Pei Ye. Although she might not have touched on the real secrets, her knowledge was broad and comprehensive, which greatly surprised Pei Ye.

"Young Master Pei, working under Master Li, doesn't even know the background of your superior?"

Pei Ye smiled and said, "I have only met Master Li a few times, and we are not very familiar with each other."

Shi Zanxue smiled and said, "Master Li is a descendant of the former Directorate of Astronomy. The Directorate of Astronomy has always been in charge of astronomy and calendrical calculations, and is involved in the I Ching, Yin and Yang, and celestial phenomena... These are not prominent fields of study in the martial arts world or the imperial court, hence the humble title."

“Hmm.” Pei Ye nodded slowly, “But the platform master is very powerful.”

"If aristocratic families are known in the martial arts world because of their size, then the Imperial Observatory has really been silent for the past few hundred years, and Zanxue is unaware of it either."

“Miss Shi, please do not refer to yourself in that way again.”

Shi Zanxue smiled gently.

At this moment, the voice of the Immortal Terrace Feather Detective reached the sky: "First round, third place, Yunlang Mountain, [Gushe] Ming Qitian, right, fourth place, Bailu Palace, [Dao Gui] and Hongzhu."

The massive crowd stirred slightly at the mention of those two names, like ripples on a still lake. A man in white and a woman in red ascended the sword platform from either side.

A sword and a blade, facing each other. The morning breeze fluttered their robes, Ming Qitian like a gently drifting cloud, and Hongzhu like a burning fire.

He Hongzhu lowered her head and slowly pulled out her knife, inch by inch, as if she were drawing out three years of arduous training.

"Ming Qitian, I'm about to draw my sword."

"please."

A beam of clear light instantly sliced ​​through the entire sword platform!
With a "clang," the jade shattered and the gold resonated. The long hair of the two women flew wildly and scattered at the same time. They pressed the knife tightly against the glass, no more than two inches away from Ming Qitian's throat.

Ming Qitian twisted and dislocated He Hongzhu from behind, placing her in front of him. With a pull of the clear, lustrous light, he opened a bloody gash on her spine. At the same time, cloud-white, wispy, and surging true energy, guided by the sword, instantly spread across half of the sword platform, making the woman at its center appear like a deity.

At this moment, the "Gushe Heart Sutra" completely released its restraints, and Pei Ye almost saw the Gushe Heavenly Heart descend into the real world in an instant.

Ming Qitian's indifferent eyes fixed on the woman in red in front of him.

He twisted and spun the blade. She spun so violently that the blood that splattered out drew a semi-circle around her body and splashed onto her chest, but the gleaming blade flashed out from her disheveled hair.

She was half-crouched on the ground, looking up at him; she truly was a sword god and a knife demon.

(End of this chapter)