Chapter 59
As dusk approached, Heng Yu and Liaowu rode a crane back to their lodgings. Liaowu landed gracefully and, seeing her about to jump down from the crane’s back, subconsciously reached out to her.
Heng Yu landed steadily and, noticing his outstretched hand, took two steps forward and pinched the tip of the index finger she had nibbled earlier. It wasn’t an overly intimate gesture, but it carried a hint of ambiguity because of what had happened before. Such an action was actually more potent than holding hands.
Liaowu instinctively retracted his fingertip. Although her fingertips were slightly cool, the part of his skin that had touched hers felt burning hot.
“Lord Luo, let go.”
Heng Yu asked earnestly, “I’ve already used my mouth, is it too much to use my hand now?”
Liaowu didn’t answer.
Heng Yu’s fingertip traced his. “I’ll let go if you answer my question.”
Liaowu still remained silent. He simply turned his wrist, took her hand, and said, “It’s not too much. This poor monk will escort you back.”
With that, he led Heng Yu forward.
Heng Yu was stunned for a moment, then subconsciously followed his pace.
After watching Heng Yu enter the sea of irises, Liaowu turned and left.
Within the sea of irises, Heng Yu reached out and took out the identification jade pendant hidden at her waist. She silently injected spiritual energy into it.
Admiration Points – 6800.
Heng Yu spent the following days studying formation books in her room. She had finished reading all the formation books Liaowu had given her and was now going through the books her master, You Yun, had sent over.
In the blink of an eye, the day of the Dharma Assembly arrived.
Early that morning, Heng Yu finished her meditation. She got up, washed, and changed her clothes. Estimating that the time was about right, she opened the door and walked out.
Outside the sea of irises, over a hundred Hehuan Sect disciples were already gathered. The male disciples were uniformly dressed in black attire, while the female disciples wore red dresses. Although the styles were different, judging by the revealing and flamboyant designs, anyone could guess which sect they belonged to.
Chi was already standing at the front of the group, leading the way to the Sword Testing Grounds. Seeing Heng Yu, he opened his folding fan, gave a graceful salute, and said, “Lord Luo, you’re early.”
“Lord Chi,” Heng Yu returned the greeting and greeted the other young masters. As she greeted them, she took in their appearances. In the cultivation world, due to the constant refinement of their meridians by spiritual energy, beautiful people were common. And the Hehuan Sect was especially full of beauties, each with their unique charm.
These young masters were all of different types, with their only similarities being their excellent figures and stunning looks.
After a moment of appreciation, Heng Yu withdrew her gaze and stood there holding her sword, waiting.
Soon, Wu Mei and Mu Huan also came out. Once everyone had arrived, Chi, the leader, raised his right hand and said with a smile, “Everyone, let’s go.”
Following his command, everyone used their own methods to travel to the Sword Testing Grounds.
When they arrived, the grounds were already packed with people from various sects. As a top-tier sect in the Canglan Continent, the Hehuan Sect was assigned a prominent position, right between the Sword Sect and the Undying Sect.
Heng Yu stood among the crowd and looked up towards the front. At the very front stood Nascent Soul cultivators in flowing robes. Her nominal master was among them, chatting animatedly with a female Nascent Soul cultivator from the Sound Sect.
Seeming to sense his disciple’s gaze, You Yun turned his head, his sharp eyes sweeping over the crowd and quickly landing on Heng Yu. Their eyes met across the distance. You Yun opened his folding fan, hiding his sly smile behind it, and then turned his attention back to the Sound Sect cultivator.
Without making everyone wait long, the Sword Sect Leader slowly walked onto the high platform. He drew his sword from his waist. Such a simple action caused the swords at the waists of countless people to vibrate, as if they wanted to break free from their owners’ control and bow to the Sword Sect Leader’s sword.
Heng Yu pressed down on the sword at her waist, her eyes fixed on the Sword Sect Leader. This was the prestige of the number one swordsman!
“Let the competition begin!”
As the Sword Sect Leader’s voice rang out, one hundred and eight platforms rose from the ground behind him—these were the competition arenas.
“This Dharma Assembly is hosted by my Sword Sect. There are twelve events in total, including sparring, formation battles, pill refining… Everyone must participate in the sparring event, while the other events require registration.”
“For the first ten days, only the sparring event will be held. From the eleventh day onwards, the other events will gradually open. Please take note.”
The Sword Sect Leader’s voice was calm and steady. After briefly explaining the rules, he announced the official start of the Dharma Assembly.
“The Sword Sect is so straightforward,” Mu Huan muttered beside Heng Yu, yawning lazily. “The last Dharma Assembly was hosted by the Black and White Academies. Their Sect Leader was incredibly long-winded. I stood there and slept for a whole hour, and when I woke up, he still hadn’t finished speaking.”
Heng Yu: “…”
Compared to that, the Sword Sect was indeed straightforward.
The Dharma Assembly had begun, and the crowd naturally began to disperse.
Mu Huan stretched her wrists and offered, “Want to go register for the other events together?”
Heng Yu shook her head. “No, you go ahead.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Wait for someone here.”
Mu Huan immediately guessed who. She curled her lip, thinking that between Dao Zhuo and Senior Brother Liaowu, Senior Brother Liaowu should be the more taciturn one, so why was he so much more proactive than that fool Dao Zhuo?
With this thought, Mu Huan gritted her teeth, determined to find a way to speed up her own pursuit.
Watching Mu Huan disappear into the crowd, Heng Yu stood there, sword in hand, waiting. She didn’t have to wait long. Liaowu, dressed in his moon-white robes, walked up to her and said gently, “Lord Luo, let’s go.”
Heng Yu smiled. “Let’s go. What events are you planning to register for?”
Among various miscellaneous studies, Liaowu excelled at pill refining. Although only at the early stage of Core Formation, he could already refine sixth-grade pills, surpassing his cultivation level.
He replied, “Pill refining competition, mental fortitude test, and Dao discussion.”
Heng Yu had also already decided which events to participate in. “I plan to participate in the formation battle and the mental fortitude test.”
She had initially wanted to participate in the Dao discussion as well. The so-called Dao discussion was a debate about one’s understanding of their chosen cultivation path. Heng Yu now had some understanding of the Path of Freedom, but having only been in this world for a year, her comprehension wasn’t deep enough. She felt that participating in this event would only expose her shortcomings after a couple of rounds, so she decided not to register.
“Then let’s register for the mental fortitude test first, then this poor monk will accompany you to register for the formation battle, and then you can accompany this poor monk to register for the other two?” Liaowu turned to her for her opinion.
What opinion could Heng Yu have? His arrangements clearly prioritized her.
Heng Yu and Liaowu made their way through the crowd, asking for directions, and successfully found the registration area for the mental fortitude test. Registration was simple, requiring only a swipe of their soul tokens.
After making their rounds, it was almost afternoon when they finished registering for all the events. Returning to the center of the Sword Testing Grounds, Heng Yu found that the Sword Sect had already arranged the matches for the next two days.
The match arrangements were recorded in jade slips. Heng Yu received a jade slip from a Sword Sect disciple. She probed the jade slip with her divine sense, reading the information within, and quickly located her and Liaowu’s names.
After confirming the details, Heng Yu withdrew her divine sense and said to Liaowu beside her, “I have a match tomorrow morning against Chang Xiyi of the Sword Sect. Do you know anything about this person?”
Liaowu thought for a moment, but he had no impression. It seemed her opponent wasn’t very famous within the Sword Sect.
Heng Yu nodded, feeling confident about tomorrow’s match. Unless her opponent was hiding their true strength, her victory was assured.
“Your opponent is Li Wufeng from the Netherworld Sect. Your match is also tomorrow morning,” Heng Yu told Liaowu.
Compared to Chang Xiyi, Li Wufeng was much more famous—the closed-door disciple of the Netherworld Sect Leader, who had condensed a Slaughter Golden Core and walked the path of slaughter, a ruthless individual.
Liaowu also knew of his reputation. It could be said that Li Wufeng’s fame had been carved out through bloodshed. However, he remained calm. At this moment, he was more concerned about another matter. “Didn’t Lord Luo say she was tired earlier? Let’s go back.”
Heng Yu stretched and agreed with a smile.
Back in her room, just as Heng Yu was about to change out of her dress, a knock came at the door. Along with the knocking came a familiar, languid voice. “Disciple, your master has returned. Come and open the door.”
Heng Yu went to open the door. You Yun, dressed in a green robe, stood outside, casually playing with his folding fan. Seeing the door open, You Yun looked Heng Yu up and down, a satisfied smile appearing on his face. “Your cultivation progress is good, and your foundation is solid. You’re just one opportunity away from breaking through to the Core Formation stage, right?”
Heng Yu smiled. “Master, please come in.”
After inviting You Yun in and offering him a seat, Heng Yu poured him a cup of tea. “I thought Master was too engrossed in the company of beauties to find the time to see me for a few more days.”
You Yun took a sip of tea, then closed his folding fan. He tapped the table with the fan. “What do you mean, engrossed in the company of beauties? Your master is a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator. This trip, I represented the sect’s image, and every action I took was carefully considered. Disciple, you can’t just look at the surface.”
Heng Yu listened silently as he spouted nonsense.
When he was finished, Heng Yu asked, “Master, roughly how much admiration value is needed to break through from Foundation Establishment to Core Formation?”
You Yun casually threw out a number: “Twenty thousand.”
Heng Yu: “…”
She had thought her 6800 admiration points were a lot. But… was this even considered a lot?!
Seeing her speechless expression, You Yun raised an eyebrow. “How many admiration points do you have now?”
“…” Heng Yu waved her hand and asked seemingly casually, “Master, why do our sect disciples need to rely on admiration value to aid in breakthroughs? Cultivation emphasizes natural progression. Won’t using admiration points in the long run damage our Dao foundation?”
Hearing Heng Yu’s seemingly innocent question, the smile on You Yun’s face froze, then slowly faded. He subconsciously raised his hand and rubbed the mark on the side of his left ear.
From Heng Yu’s position, she could vaguely make out the shape of the mark—a bewitching red spider lily.
At that moment, Heng Yu suddenly remembered that Mi Yi also had a hibiscus flower mark near the corner of her eye.
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