Are you really trying to cultivate immortality? Something feels off.

"You're just a little girl, don't be so mean all the time," Fu Yao glanced at her, "Alright, go back to sleep, there's a big competition tomorrow."

Several people responded.

Shen Chunri wanted to take two more pieces of pastry.

Yu Xintang reacted quickly, raising her hand and slapping the back of her hand.

"Ah!" Shen Chunri exclaimed in shock, "What are you doing!"

"Eating too many pastries tonight will give you indigestion," Yu Xintang said, closing the box. "You'll eat yourself to death."

"Perfect, Little Snake won't have to fight when he goes on stage tomorrow," Fu Yao said with a smirk. "He can just spit on his opponent and make them back down."

Shen Chunri was unconvinced and wanted to say something more.

Nie Zhao grabbed her ear: "Go to sleep."

"Sleep, sleep, sleep—" Shen Chunri tiptoed to follow him, "I'll sleep, senior sister, let go..."

Yu Xintang followed behind with a smile, and slowly returned to her room.

Fu Yao watched them return to their room, breathed a sigh of relief, got up and stretched, intending to go and rest as well.

Suddenly, a cold light flashed past the window.

Fu Yao turned her head instantly, her eyes narrowing slightly.

Someone's here?

sieve--!

A flash of cold light streaked past, but Fu Yao had anticipated it. She turned and dodged, kicking the attacker.

A sudden surge of spiritual power caused Fu Yao to raise an eyebrow.

Late stage of Nascent Soul Realm.

With such low cultivation level, how dare they challenge the Feng Hua Sect? Wouldn't it be better to just jump off a cliff and die?

Seeing her speed and clean, efficient movements, the man in black's eyes darkened slightly, indicating that she was a highly skilled cultivator.

I thought the elder leading the Feng Hua Sect this time was just an unknown figure, but I didn't expect him to be so unassuming.

Just as he was about to gather his spiritual power, the purple figure moved as fast as a blade, closing in instantly, and a fierce and dense aura of lightning descended upon him in a flash.

"Shut up, the children are asleep," Fu Yao said calmly and casually, her fist crackling with violent lightning as she slammed down without hesitation. "Be quiet."

*

"How are we supposed to live?" Xie Weixing leaned on Tan Suiting's shoulder, his eyes barely open. "Does the cultivation world also have to start at 8 a.m.? I'm so sleepy."

Shen Chunri was still rambling on about which restaurant to go to for dinner after the fight.

She hadn't even fought two matches, but she had already figured out which restaurant in the main city of Jingzhou had the best signature dishes.

"Stand up straight!" Fu Yao, who had come up from behind, kicked Xie Weixing in the butt. "You have no manners! Is this even acceptable?"

Xie Weixing quickly stood up straight, feeling refreshed and invigorated by the kick from his junior uncle, who was in the late stage of the Taixu Realm. He felt as if his skull had been cracked open.

Yu Xintang was also a little listless: "Fighting before dawn is so annoying. I don't even have to get up this early in the sect."

Nie Zhao glanced at him: "When have you ever gotten up early in the sect? Who would see you, Young Master Yu, before noon?"

Yu Xintang narrowed her eyes slightly, licked her lips, and remained silent.

The Tianxuan Sect and Zixiao Palace members were already seated.

Xie Weixing asked curiously, "Why do I only see the Dao Seeking Sect in the inn? Weren't we supposed to have accommodations arranged uniformly? What about the other sects?"

"There are too many sects, and one inn can't accommodate them all," Tan Suiting said. "We've arranged for them to stay elsewhere."

"Oh, then we're pretty lucky," Xie Weixing said, "we were assigned to the nearest inn."

Tan Suiting glanced at him and said indifferently, "It's not because we're lucky, it's because Master has a close relationship with Sect Leader Duan and gave us special treatment."

Xie Weixing: ...

Oh.

"Didn't Master ignore that old man?" Shen Chunri sat down and yawned. "His eyesight is failing. He brought a descendant of witchcraft from the Southern Frontier into the sect. It's one thing for Huo Jiangmei to ambush Senior Sister, but if he had to argue, he could have said that the capable should be in charge and all's fair in war. Su Boyu even dared to use the Reverse Heart Gu to control Yu Xintang. That's just plain despicable."

"Master didn't directly attack the Dao Seeking Sect because of our long-standing friendship," Nie Zhao said calmly. "If he still wants to remain friends, that's absolutely impossible."

Which sect leader doesn't cherish their personal disciples? They're practically the lifeblood of the sect elders, let alone Feng Jilan, who's known for protecting his own.

The friendship that Duan Qitian had built with him for over a century was completely destroyed by Su Boyu.

Fu Yao sat in the main seat, yawning. Her black hair was loosely tied into a lazy cloud-like bun, with a few strands of dark hair falling to the side of her neck. A purple jade hairpin was inserted diagonally into her temple. She glanced up at the entrance of the mountain gate.

Half an incense stick later, a group of people slowly walked over. It was the Qingyun Sword Sect, which had suffered a crushing defeat against two members of the Fenghua Sect in yesterday's competition.

The female elder at the head of the group visibly narrowed her eyes when she saw them.

Fu Yao looked up, a slight smile playing on her lips, and said, "Good morning."

The female elder had a cold expression and seemed unwilling to say anything more to her.

Fu Yao wasn't annoyed. She raised her hand, and a bloodstained earring fell from her fingers: "Do you look familiar?"

The female elder's eyes widened instantly.

Yesterday, the Qingyun Sword Sect was repeatedly humiliated, with four disciples seriously injured. They might not even survive the first stage of the competition, let alone this year's grand competition, where they could forget about even placing. She was so angry that she sent word back to the sect and dispatched her senior brother, who was in the late stage of the Nascent Soul Realm.

Based on general observations, and considering that the leader of the Feng Hua Sect looked so young and unfamiliar—neither the renowned Sword Sect leader nor the famous alchemist—she guessed that the opponent's cultivation was at most at the Nascent Soul stage. Even if she couldn't kill him, she could at least severely injure him, preventing them from participating in the competition later.

But she hadn't received a reply from her senior brother by morning, and she's been feeling uneasy ever since.

The blood-stained earring in Fu Yao's hand now clearly belongs to her senior brother.

Her eyes were bloodshot, her fists clenched, and her voice trembled slightly: "...What did you do?"

"It's nothing," Fu Yao said, her appearance strikingly beautiful, her eyebrows not with a gentle curve but slightly upturned. "I just felt I should return it to you."

The female elder had a bad feeling and trembled all over.

"After all, it is," Fu Yao said with a smile, her eyes seemingly containing a casual mockery, "a keepsake."

"You!" The female elder's eyes widened, and she could no longer maintain her composure. "What insidious tricks did you use?!"

They actually killed their senior brother, who was in the late Nascent Soul stage, without anyone noticing!

Duan Qitian, who was high up, looked over and frowned slightly.

"Keep shouting," Fu Yao said casually. "It would be best if everyone knew what you did and that you knew the owner of this earring."

The female elder stood there like a mad duck with its throat choked, her eyes bloodshot, while several disciples behind her grabbed her arms.

"What's wrong, Elder?"

"Don't be impulsive, we can go to Sect Leader Duan to reason with him."

The female elder trembled all over.

Should we seek justice from Duan Qitian?

If Duan Qitian knew that someone dared to secretly hire someone to assassinate a disciple participating in the sect's grand competition, he would tear her apart alive!

If the Qingyun Sword Sect were to gain such a reputation, it would lose all face in the Three Realms, and how could she possibly return to the sect to report back!

Fu Yao took in her reaction and slowly said, "Yesterday, an assassin attempted to kill my sect's disciple, a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator."

"It's a pity," she said, her lips pale and always pursed in a half-smile, her tone flat, "that I killed her."