Category: The Saintess Has A Showdown

Chapter 125: Berserk

“The Saintess of Gray Shadow Mountain wants to see me? Could it be… she wants to commit suicide and give me her position?”

The Saintess’s sudden summons gave Gong Lianyue a glimmer of hope, and she braced herself.

A short while later, under the black-robed woman’s forceful escort, she was pushed and shoved into Gray Shadow Mountain’s Saintess Hall. Without the protection of a senior instructor, Shui Qingyue was now just a disposable pawn.

–Within the dark and gloomy palace, an oppressive aura, like that of a graveyard, hung heavy in the air, shadowy figures flickering in the corners.

This was the Saintess Hall, also known as the Bone Hall.

At the far end of the hall, a woman with black-painted nails sat on a white bone throne, her legs crossed, her gaze condescending and aloof.

This was the Bone Saintess of Gray Shadow Mountain, her main spirit beast supposedly a mid-rank Bone General…?

The silver-haired girl, her situation precarious, stood in the center of the empty hall, calmly observing her surroundings. The shadowy figures in the corners gradually coalesced into eight humanoid forms.

Gong Lianyue instantly realized that the Bone Saintess’s spirit beast wasn’t a mid-rank Bone General. However, one of the eight Spirit Masters guarding the hall did possess a Bone General.

“What are you looking at?! Those are the Saintess’s elite guard, the Eight Bone Demons! Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Keep staring, and your eyes might get plucked out.”

Hearing the black-robed woman’s sharp reprimand, Gong Lianyue almost chuckled. A strange thought crossed her mind.

Once upon a time, there was a Wind Realm. Within the Wind Realm was the Gray Citadel. Within the Gray Citadel were the Ten Citadels. Among the Ten Citadels was Gray Shadow Mountain. The Bone Saintess of Gray Shadow Mountain said to the Eight Bone Demons: Once upon a time, there was a Wind Realm…

Although it seemed perfectly normal to others, Gong Lianyue knew she would forget all these Wind Realm factions by tomorrow.

What Eight Bone Demons? Even mid-rank Spirit Masters had such arrogant titles?

As Gong Lianyue mocked them inwardly, the Bone Saintess rose from her throne, a strange smile on her face.

“Shui Qingyue, how pathetic. You contracted with a high-rank spirit beast, yet you can’t even join Gray Shadow Mountain.”

“I heard you didn’t even take me seriously, even tearing up the Sorrowful Saintess of the Sea Concubine Palace’s portrait?”

“Now you have nothing, and with a single word, I can send you to the mines!!!”

The Bone Saintess circled the silver-haired girl, her smug expression gradually fading, replaced by a look of surprise.

The silver-haired girl’s expression remained calm, showing no signs of anxiety or fear, her aura as still as the surface of a calm sea.

This was her first time meeting Shui Qingyue. She hadn’t expected her to be like this.

Logically, someone who would say, “My teacher is a senior instructor!”, should be a cowardly, opportunistic person, arrogant and conceited because of a bit of talent.

But this woman, just by standing there, made her feel uneasy, her own aura fluctuating. It was unsettling.

The Bone Saintess felt no sense of superiority, only a strange pressure emanating from the girl’s dull, gray eyes.

Just then, Gong Lianyue spoke.

“I want a spot at the Wind Realm Overlord’s birthday celebration. Give up your position as Saintess, and I’ll spare your life.”

“Remember, you only have one chance.”

Her words were calm and flat, a simple statement of intent.

A heavy silence fell upon the Bone Hall, everyone stunned by her audacity.

The Bone Saintess froze, a drop of cold sweat trickling down her forehead, her pupils constricting.

The girl’s words held a chilling indifference that was beyond human comprehension. This wasn’t arrogance or confidence, but something far more unsettling.

This woman…

“Pfft!”

“Hahahahaha”

A snort of laughter came from one of the Eight Bone Demons, followed by a chorus of mocking laughter.

The girls clutched their stomachs, rolling on the floor, tears streaming down their faces.

This Shui Qingyue, still so arrogant even without a senior instructor’s protection… It was almost amusing!

Although most found it funny, one person didn’t.

“I was just going to send you to the mines, but since you’re so eager to die, I’ll grant your wish.”

A purple-haired woman with a bone marking on her forehead emerged from the laughing crowd.

A dark aura enveloped her like armor, her ferocious presence even more intimidating than the other Eight Bone Demons.

“Uh oh, Big Sister is angry…”

Seeing the purple-haired woman’s fury, the laughter died down, and the others quickly backed away, their faces pale.

The leader of the Eight Bone Demons. In a lower-ranked Citadel, she would be a Saintess!

The purple-haired woman approached Gong Lianyue.

“Don’t—”

The Bone Saintess tried to warn her, but a chilling cold, as if freezing her very spine, silenced her.

As her face contorted in horror, the purple-haired woman’s spirit energy surged.

The next second, the stone floor within a ten-meter radius turned to mud, and a massive sand crocodile, its body covered in swirling sand, burst forth.

“Roar!!!”

More than ten meters long, drool dripping from its massive jaws, the sand crocodile roared deafeningly.

A mid-rank Sandstorm Crocodile. This was the purple-haired woman’s strongest spirit beast, the source of her power as the leader of the Eight Bone Demons!

As the beast’s bloody aura washed over her, Gong Lianyue glanced at the terrifying creature, then at the Bone Saintess.

What was she planning?

Under the girl’s cold, piercing gaze, the Bone Saintess felt a shiver run down her spine.

The ferocious Sandstorm Crocodile was right in front of Shui Qingyue. Why was she looking at her…?

Suddenly, several people noticed something strange.

The silver-haired girl’s hair began to flicker, shifting between silver and sea blue, like a glitching image.

Blue, silver, blue, silver, blue, silver, blue, blue, silver… A few seconds later, the flickering stopped.

A splash of water, and the girl’s hair turned a vibrant blue, swirling around her. She opened her eyes, revealing her strange, ice-blue, teardrop pupils, her gaze sweeping over everyone present.

“All members of the Bone Hall will die in an earthquake. No survivors.”

As Gong Lianyue declared their fate, a terrifying chill filled the air.

Game over…

---

Chapter 126: Iron Jade Ice Scorpion Evolves, One Punch Destroys the Saintess Hall

–Gray Shadow Mountain, Bone Hall
“All members of the Bone Hall will die in an earthquake. No survivors.”

As the cold voice echoed, the atmosphere in the Bone Hall froze.

The girl’s sea-blue hair flowed like a waterfall, and she slowly opened her ice-blue, teardrop eyes, her appearance almost divine.

The change in hair color to blue was a common trait among Wind Realm-Sea Region hybrid Spirit Masters when their emotions surged. As long as her makeup wasn’t recognizable, she wouldn’t be immediately identified as the Sorrowful Saintess.

Gong Lianyue knew it wasn’t time to fully reveal her identity yet. She was only here for a spot at the birthday celebration.

Ignoring the Sandstorm Crocodile right before her, she turned her gaze towards the alluring woman on the throne, the Bone Saintess.

The lives of the Eight Bone Demons were insignificant, but the Bone Saintess had to die.

A dead person’s life was worthless.

“Kill her!!”

As Gong Lianyue remained silent, the purple-haired woman, leader of the Eight Bone Demons, shouted.

Receiving the command, the massive Sandstorm Crocodile’s aura intensified, its body covered in hard scales and teeth, impervious to blades, fire, and water.

Facing the petite, blue-haired girl, the giant crocodile swung its massive tail, a ten-meter-long blur, the force of the blow creating a sonic boom.

Bang!!!

A deafening clang of metal on metal, a cloud of dust erupting.

The resounding boom echoed in their minds.

A few seconds later, as the dust settled, the blue-haired girl stood unharmed, her cold, teardrop eyes looking down at them as if they were already dead.

“…”
“…”

As the Eight Bone Demons recovered from their shock, a massive shadow filled their vision, engulfing the hall in darkness.

A malicious aura, a terrifying pressure, a bone-chilling cold, spreading rapidly.

It was difficult to describe this being. Just standing there, its silent presence evoked a suffocating despair, driving them to madness.

The Sandstorm Crocodile’s tail attack hadn’t even scratched it, only drawing blood from the crocodile itself. Just how durable was its shell?

It looked like a giant scorpion, but its form was strangely distorted and asymmetrical. Its left pincer seemed ordinary, but its right…

The jade pincer, shimmering like a diamond, was covered in an illusory silver arm guard, which, in turn, was covered in dark green scales.

The massive right pincer, dragging on the ground for dozens of meters, swollen and bloated like a metal balloon about to explode, was several times larger than the scorpion itself.

A high-rank spirit beast, the Iron Jade Ice Scorpion. Its current form was almost unrecognizable.

“Whoosh~~~~”

The giant scorpion exhaled a chilling mist that filled the Bone Hall.

Then, it slowly raised its massive, swollen right pincer, like a battle axe, smashing through the ceiling, sending debris raining down.

Wasn’t Shui Qingyue’s spirit beast the Silverblade Fox?

What was this thing?

And this terrifying aura…

Staring at the Iron Jade Ice Scorpion, the Bone Saintess’s mind raced.

Suddenly, she realized something strange. Although her mind was still functioning, she couldn’t even move a finger.

Not just her, but as the scorpion raised its pincer, the aura in the Bone Hall distorted and intensified, a chilling dread creeping into her very core, her scalp tingling.

“I’m… going to die…”

Although the Sandstorm Crocodile, the strongest of the Eight Bone Demons, stood before her, the Bone Saintess knew, with chilling certainty, that this attack would obliterate her.

Giant Bone King, protect me!!!

Seeing the scorpion’s pincer descending, the Bone Saintess screamed inwardly, her body instinctively encased in a layer of hard bone. At the same time, a massive, terrifying giant emerged from the void behind her.

Gong Lianyue vanished, retreating into the Water Element Commander’s Crystal Chamber.

A second later, just as the Bone Saintess had foreseen—

The Iron Jade Ice Scorpion’s massive pincer swung down in a perfect arc, striking the empty space where she had been standing.

As countless eyes watched, the descending pincer easily sank into the ground, as if it were tofu or cotton, not solid stone.

Ignoring the Sandstorm Crocodile beside it, it had struck the ground instead.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM

Boom, boom, boom!!!

The world turned upside down, vision blurred, a deafening explosion, sound and sight vanishing.

As if the laws of gravity had been broken, the surrounding structures and beings were annihilated, the world collapsing.

With the point of impact as the epicenter, everything within a hundred-meter radius was lifted into the air, the very air itself cracking and shattering.

The Bone Hall exploded like a splattered cake, the stone structure weaker than liquid, the beings within bursting one after another, reduced to bloody mush.

The Sandstorm Crocodile, dead!

The Eight Bone Demons, dead!

The Bone Saintess, dead!

Whoosh~~~~~~

As the violent shockwave subsided, the massive Bone Hall was reduced to a desolate ruin.

Just as Shui Qingyue had declared, all members of the Bone Hall had died in an earthquake. No survivors.

Half a minute later, emerging from the Crystal Chamber, the blue-haired girl surveyed the scene, her gaze settling on a white figure in the distance.

“Eh? Still alive?”

Gong Lianyue was slightly surprised to see the Bone Saintess still clinging to life.

The massive corpse beside her must have been the high-rank Giant Bone King, now shattered into pieces, instantly vaporized.

Also a high-rank Dead Sea Stage spirit beast, the Giant Bone King hadn’t even been able to withstand the aftershock of the Iron Jade Ice Scorpion’s attack, sacrificing itself to protect its master.

[Jade Shatter]
[Steel Moon]
[Nether Stone]

Having absorbed the Saint-rank Hidden Scale Mountain’s soul core, the Iron Jade Ice Scorpion had gained a partial, incomplete version of its abilities, unlocking a new Saint-rank battle technique—[Nether Stone].

This was Hidden Scale Mountain’s arm-strengthening technique, but the Iron Jade Ice Scorpion, a mere high-rank spirit beast, couldn’t fully control it. Thus, it only affected its right pincer, coincidentally synergizing with the half-formed Steel Moon armor.

That was why only one of its arms had become so grotesquely distorted and swollen.

The original Jade Shatter and Steel Moon Chapter, combined with the newly inherited Saint-rank technique, Nether Stone.

This terrifying combination of three powers had been enough to obliterate a same-rank spirit beast with a single blow…

Unfortunately, the scorpion couldn’t withstand the recoil of this terrifying power. A single punch had shattered its own arm, preventing it from attacking again for a while.

She hadn’t expected the Bone Saintess to survive. Sensing several powerful auras approaching, Gong Lianyue reluctantly abandoned the idea of finishing her off.

Quite resilient, actually. Making a fool of her, the Saintess.

After a moment of hesitation, she recalled the one-armed scorpion and then quickly swallowed a bit of the little fox’s residual pollen, her sea-blue hair turning silver-gray once more.

Chapter 123: The Snow Monarch’s XP

“Ow~~”

In a small house tucked away in a corner of Gray Shadow Mountain, a pitiful girl, missing an eye, was cradled in the arms of a beautiful woman in a snow-white shroud, her body writhing and squirming as she whimpered in pain.

Of course, her eye hurt. It had exploded.

This was the price of carelessly peeking into the realm of legends. It wasn’t that the technique was flawed, but that her mortal body couldn’t withstand the strain of glimpsing a legendary being’s secrets.

After all, deciphering the secrets within that parchment would increase her chances of contracting with a legendary spirit beast by tens of thousands of times.

For example, hypothetically, what if the Snow Monarch’s XP (fetish/preference) was short-skirted, big-breasted girls in white silk stockings?

Then, by donning a sexy white silk outfit and stuffing a little fox into her bra, wouldn’t she be able to easily capture the Snow Monarch’s heart (and other body parts)?

Exploring the realm of legends came with a price.

Unless one possessed the courage to be reduced to ashes and still consider it a worthwhile trade, embracing the philosophy of “I would gladly die after glimpsing the truth,” they could never approach a legendary being.

Seeing the girl’s pain, the Frost Snow Woman gently cupped her face and blew cold air into the empty eye socket, trying to soothe her master.

The chilling air flowed through her nerves, and the pain actually subsided slightly.

A few minutes later, just as hair and nails regrew after being cut, the girl’s eye regenerated, the beautiful, ice-blue teardrop pattern reappearing.

Rubbing her newly restored eye, Gong Lianyue breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn’t expected the first entry to be about the Snow Monarch. Unfortunately, in her current state, she couldn’t continue reading.

“What if she had the Frost Snow Woman read it and then relay the information to her?”

With this thought, Gong Lianyue looked at the Frost Snow Woman, who, in a rare display of fear, was shaking her head and tightly closing her eyes, as if terrified of the parchment.

Right, the pressure Saint-rank spirit beasts felt when facing a higher-ranked being was far greater than that of humans. She herself had exploded her eye just from reading a few lines. The consequences for the Frost Snow Woman would be far worse.

Although she could endure the pain of exploding her eyes hundreds of times to record the information, she was currently in the Wind Realm with limited resources. Crippling herself would be pointless.

She would have to put the secrets of legends aside for now…

Storing the parchment in her Crystal Chamber, Gong Lianyue turned her attention to the stone bracelet.

The abstract patterns carved into the bracelet radiated an ancient aura, clearly requiring some kind of… blood contract ritual for activation.

A relic from the same era as the parchment, she wondered what secrets it held…

Gong Lianyue put on the bracelet and shook her wrist. A stream of ice-blue water flowed around it, like a cool, flowing garment.

A few seconds later, the spirit energy dissipated, and the bracelet became inert, like an ordinary stone.

The girl’s expression remained unchanged, unsurprised. Since spirit energy didn’t work, she would try a blood contract.

Plink!

A drop of crimson blood from her bitten fingertip landed on the stone bracelet, disappearing without a trace, like a drop of water in the ocean. The bracelet remained unresponsive.

Seeing this, Gong Lianyue frowned.

Besides spirit energy resonance and blood contracts, were there any other ways to activate a spirit artifact?

No, wait…!!!

This bracelet was a relic from the Dark Ages. The standards for crafting spirit artifacts back then weren’t based on humans. Even the blood required for a contract would have to be from a spirit beast.

Realizing this, Gong Lianyue summoned the Water Element Commander. Although she also had the Frost Snow Woman, using Saint-rank blood to activate a spirit artifact seemed excessive.

A few minutes later, she held a drop of dense, pure water, the essence extracted from near the Water Element Commander’s core, its energy equivalent to blood.

Plink!

As the Water Element Commander’s essence touched the stone bracelet, the ancient carvings glowed with an icy blue light. The water flowed along the carvings, quickly turning the bracelet into a beautiful, shimmering ice crystal.

The contract was successful. Gong Lianyue eagerly channeled her spirit energy.

With a whoosh, an illusory space, about the size of a combat arena, appeared in her mind. It was exactly like a spatial storage ring from a fantasy novel, similar in function to the Water Element Commander’s Crystal Chamber, though it couldn’t store living beings.

If that was all it could do, it would be too insignificant to be placed alongside the other two items. Spatial storage items were commonplace, only valuable to ordinary mortals.

Therefore, Gong Lianyue suspected this storage bracelet was just a disguise, concealing the true treasure!

She quickly scanned the space and, as expected, found a lifeless core in the corner.

With a thought, the diamond-shaped crystal appeared, floating in the air, radiating a desolate, oppressive aura.

Its dull, dark appearance seemed unremarkable, but the few gray scales on its surface were incredibly hard, their swirling patterns like the claws of a beast.

A Saint-rank soul core!

Its owner had been dead for countless years…

“What a pity…”

Gong Lianyue sighed. Just from the core’s appearance, she could tell its owner had been incredibly powerful, an unparalleled offensive spirit beast, perhaps even an extinct species.

If it were still alive, it would have been like finding a free Saint-rank spirit beast.

But since it was dead, there were only three possible uses: one, use its residual spirit energy for cultivation; two, use it to refine spirit artifacts or elixirs of the same attribute; three, have another spirit beast consume it to enhance its abilities.

She immediately dismissed the first option. Even a Saint-rank core that had been dormant for tens of thousands of years was too valuable to be used as a simple energy source. The second option was also out. She knew nothing about refining. That left only the third.

“The Water Element Commander, the Nine-Colored Cloud Dream Flower, the Iron Jade Ice Scorpion, and the Frost Snow Woman… who should eat it…?”

---

Chapter 124: The Saintess’s Downfall

“Water Element Commander, Nine-Colored Cloud Dream Flower, Iron Jade Ice Scorpion, and Frost Snow Woman… who should eat it…?”

Gong Lianyue first ruled out the Ice Spirit. As a pitiful, weak, low-rank spirit beast, it likely couldn’t withstand the energy of a Saint-rank core and would explode.

But before making a decision, she needed to identify the core.

If it was an offensive type, then only the scorpion was suitable.

If it was a support type, she would consider the other spirit beasts.

However, just as Gong Lianyue was about to examine it, the Frost Snow Woman beside her picked up the scale-covered core.

Holding the core in her hand, the icy aura flowing around it, yet its surface remained frost-free.

The Snow Woman’s beautiful eyes flickered as she examined the core, a familiar look on her face, as if recalling something.

After a moment, to the girl’s surprise, the Frost Snow Woman opened her mouth and, with great difficulty, uttered three words: “Hidden Scale Mountain”.

Due to her unclear pronunciation, it took Gong Lianyue a moment to understand.

“Hidden Scale Mountain.”

This was the soul core of the Saint-rank spirit beast, Hidden Scale Mountain!!!

Hidden Scale Mountain, its body as large as a mountain, its appearance pig-like, one of the largest Saint-ranks, its size rivaling even some legendary beings.

After the end of the Dark Ages, massive spirit beasts like it, whose insatiable hunger caused widespread destruction, were forbidden from roaming freely. Unable to find enough food, they had all starved to death.

This scale-covered core belonged to a Hidden Scale Mountain. The three items they had found in the prison cell must have been its belongings.

As for how the Frost Snow Woman recognized it, there was no need to delve too deeply. Spirit beasts’ origins and lifespans far exceeded those of humans. Perhaps an elder from her clan had encountered a Hidden Scale Mountain before.

Since it was a Hidden Scale Mountain core, the only suitable candidate was the Iron Jade Ice Scorpion, also a biological, offensive type.

A moment later, the Frost Snow Woman returned to her spirit space, leaving the girl and the scorpion alone in the room.

---

A week had passed since entering Gray Shadow Mountain. Today was the day of the novice trial.

Thousands of tasks were listed. Completing any one of them was enough to pass and officially join Gray Shadow Mountain.

In the trial hall, twenty or so young girls waited nervously.

Among them was the silver-haired Shui Qingyue, casually playing with a strand of hair.

Her reputation had spread throughout the mountain. Initially admired, she was now notorious, all thanks to her arrogant and wicked behavior.

Even more widespread than the rumors about her personality were her infamous quotes, which had become popular memes within Gray Shadow Mountain:

My teacher is a senior instructor!
Do you want to defy a senior instructor?
Do you want to be sent to the mines by a senior instructor?

Such a despicable personality, yet she was a talented, high-rank Spirit Master. They were powerless against her.

In the center of the hall, a woman held a list of names, her expression serious.

“I will now announce the results of the novice trial.”

“After careful evaluation by the Gray Shadow Mountain higher-ups, a total of seventeen participants have passed.”

“First place, Liu Xiaoqin, completion rate 0.021%.”

“Second place, Feng Ruru, completion rate 0.019%.”

“…”
“…”

As the seventeen names were read, everyone stared at the silver-haired girl in disbelief.

Shui Qingyue hadn’t passed?

Just by breaking through to the Illumination Stage and contracting with a high-rank spirit beast, she had already surpassed ninety-nine percent of previous participants. How could she have failed?

The woman cleared her throat and continued,

“Shui Qingyue, completion rate 72.84%, deemed unqualified due to character flaws, by unanimous decision of the instructors.”

“My teacher is a senior instructor!”

Gong Lianyue, her hands on her hips, her chest puffed out, remained defiant, showing no remorse.

Seeing this, the Gray Shadow Mountain higher-ups observing from the shadows sighed and shook their heads, giving up all hope.

Such incredible talent, yet her personality was spoiled. With such arrogance, she wouldn’t go far.

“I’m sorry, but that instructor has withdrawn their offer and refuses to take you as a disciple.”

“…”
“…”

This time, it was Gong Lianyue’s turn to fall silent. She lowered her head and thought for a moment.

A sound judgment.

Although Gray Shadow Mountain was far from a true powerhouse, their decision was undoubtedly correct.

To become so arrogant and conceited just from being noticed by a single senior instructor… if such behavior was rewarded, it would reflect poorly on the Gray Citadel and its subsidiary forces, the Ten Citadels.

She had come here to play the villain, embracing the saying, “Good people die young, while evil lives for a thousand years.”

But if she were a true villain, she wouldn’t constantly boast about her senior instructor. She would have silenced anyone who opposed her, preventing those ridiculous memes from spreading.

So, she hadn’t been playing a villain, but a fool…

“Oh well~~”

Gong Lianyue sighed, turned, and left the trial hall.

The other girls, initially shocked by the silver-haired girl’s dismissal, then exchanged delighted glances.

It was like witnessing the downfall of a hated bully, a satisfying sense of justice.

They still remembered her cold and dismissive attitude. They hadn’t expected her to fall so quickly.

Even Gong Lianyue hadn’t anticipated this setback. It was truly unexpected.

Her chances of attending the legendary being’s birthday celebration seemed even more remote now. She would have to find another way. She had underestimated the factions of the Wind Realm…

Rejecting even a high-rank Spirit Master… they had some backbone.

However, before she could leave the hall, a woman in a black robe stopped her.

Gong Lianyue paused, recognizing the woman who had been handing out flyers in the herb gathering area, seemingly a member of the Saintess’s faction.

The black-robed woman looked at the silver-haired girl with a smug expression, as if looking at a stray dog.

“No senior instructor to protect you now? Then come with me. The Saintess wants to see you.”

A powerful wave of spirit energy erupted. Feeling the oppressive aura of the Dawn and Dusk Stage Spirit Master, the silver-haired girl nodded helplessly.

She was led away, a perfect example of the typical, cowardly antagonist’s downfall.

However, at this moment, facing impending doom, the girl’s mind was filled with a ridiculous thought.

“The Saintess of Gray Shadow Mountain wants to see me? Could it be… she wants to commit suicide and give me her position?”