Chapter 68 - 1#

Chapter Sixty-Eight#

Pei Huang held Xue Jingci’s hand and turned away, no longer looking at the master and disciple. The two walked back onto the street and bought many more delicious things.

In the evening, they received a message from Shi Ting-shuang, saying that all had been peaceful after entering Absolute Dust Valley, and no one had come to assassinate the demon cultivator disguised as Pei Huang.

It was unclear whether the disguise had been seen through or if they truly intended to carry out this martial arts competition and deal with Pei Huang openly.

With the competition being tomorrow, Xue Jingci and Pei Huang did not delay and entered Absolute Dust Valley overnight.

As soon as they entered, they heard someone shouting and cursing.

“You Wind Demon faction are way too shameless! Even if it’s said that every tribe can send people to watch the match, you… you’ve brought too many people!”

The speaker was a round-faced youth carrying the mark of the Water Demon Tribe, shouting at the top of his lungs: “Don’t think I don’t know; you’re just here to leech off the demonic Qi.”

The demon cultivator standing opposite him showed a flattering smile: “The scroll only stipulated that each tribe sends thirty people to participate; it didn’t specify the number of spectators. If there isn’t enough room to stay, it doesn’t matter; we brought our own bedding.”

With that, he took out a straw mat from his storage bag, sat directly on the ground, and assumed a meditation posture, taking a satisfied breath of the surrounding demonic Qi.

The round-faced youth was almost laughed with anger, but he also remembered that the scroll indeed hadn’t specified the number of spectators.

He turned around to receive people from other demon tribes, no longer looking at this group of troublesome people.

Seeing him leave, the Wind Demon cultivators were no longer restrained, pulling out straw mats and meditating on the ground one after another, creating a spectacular scene.

Xue Jingci had heard of the Wind Demon Tribe before and knew they were the weakest and had no ambition, having huddled in a corner for years.

The two did not disturb the meditating Wind Demon cultivators and followed another small path to the Fire Demon camp.

Shi Ting-shuang had already arranged a room for them, gave a few instructions, and left.

Shortly after she left, water vapor spread through the room, soon condensing into a human figure.

Xue Jingci had long been accustomed to the River Demon’s elusive nature. He looked up once and then continued studying the techniques in his hand.

Demon cultivators were different from righteous cultivators; they tended to be more hot-tempered. Along the way, Xue Jingci saw many demon cultivators start fighting over the slightest disagreement, with various attack methods, which gave him a chance to observe.

These people could all be Pei Huang’s opponents; he had to study them well.

The River Demon looked at Pei Huang and said: “I’ve scouted the Water Demon side. Among those sent for the competition, six are disciples of the Demon Lord Fu Yin; you must be exceptionally careful.”

Pei Huang nodded. Shi Ting-shuang had mentioned that Fu Yin was currently the strongest in the Demon Realm; his disciples naturally shouldn’t be underestimated.

After some conversation, the River Demon suddenly closed his mouth and switched to sign language.

Pei Huang was about to say it wasn’t necessary as there was nothing Xue Jingci couldn’t hear, when he saw the River Demon sign: I saw Xiao Xun.

He instantly closed his mouth, not wanting Xue Jingci to hear anything more related to that person.

Pei Huang signed: What about him?

The River Demon’s expression was a bit strange as he continued signing: His shoulder was pierced by sword Qi and he’s seriously injured, but with his cultivation, healing wouldn’t be difficult. Yet the man is acting crazy—he actually caught a Gu bug and put it on the wound. Every time the wound is about to heal, it’s torn open again… and he’s talking to himself, saying something about it being left for him by his Master.

Pei Huang was speechless for a moment. This man had committed so many crazy acts, yet now he had the face to play the victim.

Wu Huai, seeing Pei Huang’s grim expression, reminded him: This competition was cooked up by him. Now that he’s here in person to watch, he’ll likely target you. Be careful.

Pei Huang signed: I’d be more worried if he didn’t come. I intend to take Xue Jingci as my master publicly.

Wu Huai had long known about Pei Huang’s feelings for Xue Jingci and couldn’t help but be surprised: Truly want to become master and disciple? Aren’t you towards him…

Pei Huang waved his hand: When have I ever cared about worldly etiquettes. Since Xue Jingci wants a disciple, then I can be a disciple.

Wu Huai thought that made sense too. He looked at the time and suddenly let out a mischievous smile: Since we’re signing, outsiders can’t hear. Why don’t we chat about things we should chat about at night.

Pei Huang was stunned and signed to ask: What are things we should chat about at night?

Wu Huai looked at Xue Jingci, only to see he had fallen asleep at some point.

So he kindly introduced some things to Pei Huang.

The more Pei Huang listened, the hotter his ears became. Just then, A-Su suddenly appeared, and Wu Huai’s movements stopped instantly.

He signed: Never mind, I’ll tell you the rest next time. Sign language is limiting my performance.

With that, he grabbed A-Su and they jumped out the window together, disappearing into the vast night.

Only Pei Huang was left sitting by the window, contemplating amidst the cold wind, his mind filled with the things Wu Huai had just said.

He got up and drank a few gulps of tea, then sat cross-legged in meditation, finally suppressing that unspeakable dry heat in his body.

Xue Jingci didn’t sleep for long. His mind was on Pei Huang’s competition, and he soon woke up.

Seeing that Pei Huang wasn’t sleeping but was still diligently cultivating, a gratified look appeared on his face.

With his disciple being so hardworking, it was no wonder the system points had soared again upon waking up.

However, thinking that Pei Huang had to face over a hundred demon cultivators alone, Xue Jingci still couldn’t help but worry.

It wasn’t that he was worried about whether he could win, but he was afraid someone would take the opportunity of the match to play dirty and hurt him.

Pei Huang heard the movement and soon opened his eyes, walking toward the martial arts stage with Xue Jingci.

At this moment, stages were set up in Absolute Dust Valley, and there was also a high platform for the Demon Lords of various tribes to watch the competition.

After the two arrived at the scene, they met that round-faced youth from yesterday again. He was holding a lot-drawing cylinder, and his expression was even worse than yesterday’s.

“Someone withdrew from the competition today. If your luck is good, you’ll have a chance for a bye.”

Hearing this, Xue Jingci and Pei Huang immediately thought of that group of Wind Demon cultivators from yesterday.

It seemed they were too busy leeching off demonic Qi to come and compete.

This actually helped Pei Huang. Since he was facing so many demon cultivators alone, if he got a bye, he could meditate and adjust his breath in time.

Xue Jingci quietly tucked Little Strawberry Berry into the lot-drawing cylinder before letting Pei Huang draw.

The two coordinated perfectly, and soon Pei Huang sensed Little Strawberry Berry holding up a lot and scratching his palm.

Pei Huang grasped it and took it out to see; it was indeed a bye.

He drew nine times in a row and held all three bye opportunities in his hand.

The round-faced youth muttered something about good luck and went off to find other demon cultivators with the lot-drawing cylinder.

Soon, the war drums sounded, and the first round of the martial arts competition began.

Pei Huang didn’t have to participate in this round, so he sat aside to meditate and adjust his breath to elevate the demonic Qi circulation in his body to the extreme.

Xue Jingci went to other stages, wanting to see who the participants were.

Unexpectedly, this check allowed Xue Jingci to see an unexpected person.

Lin Heng had actually come to the Demon Realm too and joined the Thunder Demon Tribe!

Xue Jingci approached the stage without drawing attention to watch Lin Heng fight with others.

He was still using the natal sword that he had given him back then, but besides the sword, he also used hidden weapons with superb skill.

Originally, Lin Heng was almost about to lose, but at the last moment, he unleashed countless flying daggers.

Those flying daggers were shaped like flower petals, but their edges were extremely sharp. As they spun and flew, they cut countless gashes on his opponent’s body.

His opponent let out a cry of pain, his body swayed, and he slumped heavily to the ground. He couldn’t stand up for a long time and was eventually judged to have lost.

A smile appeared on Lin Heng’s face. He was about to jump off the stage when his gaze suddenly fixed on a certain direction.

He subconsciously took a step forward and almost fell off the platform, only managing to steady himself with difficulty.

Lin Heng pushed through the crowd with his fastest speed and rushed straight to Xue Jingci’s side.

“You, you are Xue…”

Seeing that people around were turning their gazes toward them, Xue Jingci said in a low voice: “Let’s find another place to talk.”

Earlier when Lin Heng was fighting, his every move was neat and ruthless, but now he was nodding like a chick pecking grain, looking very obedient.

The two walked out of the crowd and found an open space. Lin Heng could no longer hold back.

He directly reached out and hugged Xue Jingci tightly.

“You, you’re not dead. That’s truly wonderful!”

Xue Jingci instinctively wanted to push him away. Lin Heng sensed his movement and sheepishly released him.

Looking over Lin Heng’s face, Xue Jingci couldn’t help but remark: “You’ve changed a lot.”

The Lin Heng in his memory was still a sheltered young master, always followed by a group of people, acting arrogant and overbearing.

Later, although he was kept in check by Lin Su and restrained himself a lot, his features always carried a sense of flamboyance.

Now, Lin Heng’s face had scars, and he had a ruthless air when silent, truly looking like a demon cultivator.

Lin Heng had heard this from many people. Regarding his demon cultivation, Lin Su had almost completely broken ties with him.

He gave a bitter smile: “You didn’t expect I’d cultivate as a demon either, right?”

Xue Jingci now understood the opposition between the righteous and demonic paths. He looked at Lin Heng and said: “It’s a bit of a surprise, but your character is still as good as before.”

Lin Heng had stayed in the Demon Realm all these years and hadn’t heard such praise for a long time. For a moment, he didn’t realize Xue Jingci was talking about him.

After a long while, he pointed to the person he had just beaten until they were bleeding profusely and asked: “My character is good?”

Xue Jingci said: “Your skill in hidden weapons is already superb, yet they aren’t poisoned.”

Lin Heng was left speechless by Xue Jingci’s words, and for a moment he thought of what happened ten years ago.

The first time they met, he went to trouble Xue Jingci. Looking back now, he felt he was arrogant and very annoying.

But Xue Jingci only gave him two beatings and didn’t hold a grudge, even going to save him later.

Finally, he even gave him his natal sword, encouraging him to go to the lower realm to find the path he wanted.

This person’s eyes seemed always able to see things that others couldn’t.

Only when Xue Jingci needed him most, he left because of his petulance and couldn’t help him one bit.

Lin Heng took a deep breath and took out a box from his bosom: “This is what you gave me back then. At first, I practiced the art of hidden weapons thinking that one day I would be able to open this box.”

Later, he did open the box and found an extremely exquisite hidden weapon hidden inside.

He thought to himself that Xue Jingci truly understood him, and he must find Xue Jingci to thank him in person in the future.

And also let him see that he had completely changed, no longer the youth who was cowardly inside but bullied others using status.

Only in the end, he learned of the news of Xue Jingci’s death from Shu Mo.

In the countless years following, Lin Heng had been filled with regret.

He always thought, did Xue Jingci die because he gave him his natal sword?

Lin Heng almost developed an internal demon because of this, until later, when he was being chased in the Demon Realm and was about to die, he successfully counter-killed because of the hidden weapon in that box.

In the dark, Xue Jingci had saved him again.

Lin Heng looked at Xue Jingci, various emotions clashing in his heart, almost overwhelming him.

But in the end, Lin Heng didn’t say anything, just staring at Xue Jingci and murmuring: “You’re still alive, it’s good.”

Then, he thought of something and lowered his voice to say to Xue Jingci: “Since you’ve hidden in the Demon Realm, I assume you’re currently an undocumented person. I have some status in the Thunder Demon territory now, and I have five or six people under me. Why don’t you come and work with me?”

Thinking that Xue Jingci loved delicious food, he added: “Eating and drinking enough will definitely not be a problem.”

Xue Jingci thought about the people Pei Huang managed and said after a moment of silence: “No need.”

Lin Heng thought he was just being polite; after all, Xue Jingci’s character was cold and he had always been a loner in the sect.

He patted his chest and said: “Think it over. If you’ve decided, come find me on the Thunder Demon side. The Demon Realm is dangerous; I can protect you.”

Xue Jingci glanced at him and changed the topic to ask what other hidden weapons he was proficient in.

Speaking of this, Lin Heng immediately took out many hidden weapons from his storage bag and introduced them one by one to Xue Jingci: “This is called the Plum Blossom Sleeve Arrow. Ordinary sleeve swords can only fire one projectile at a time, but this has five openings and can fire five at once…”

Xue Jingci listened intently until the drum for the next round of the martial arts competition sounded from afar, and he then excused himself.

Although Lin Heng felt reluctant, he didn’t force Xue Jingci to stay, just repeatedly instructing him that the Demon Realm is hard to survive in, and if he can’t make it, he must remember to come find him.

Xue Jingci heard the words “can’t make it,” looked up at Lin Heng, and seemed a bit hesitant to speak.

In the end, he didn’t say anything and just silently returned to where Pei Huang was preparing.

Although Pei Huang was meditating on the spot, he had been keeping an eye on Xue Jingci. He knew that he had gone to watch others’ matches and went to a quiet place to talk with a participant.

Pei Huang recognized that person; it was indeed Lin Heng, who had gone to the Ghost Pearl illusion with them before.

He hadn’t expected him to come to the Demon Realm too.

Previously, he had learned from Lin Su that after Lin Heng returned to the upper realm with them back then, he was supposed to join the Sword Peak.

But Lin Heng had been obsessed with making hidden weapons since childhood, yet he was always criticized by others for neglecting his proper duties. He actually escaped to the lower realm alone on the eve of the apprenticeship ceremony.

He only told Xue Jingci about this, and Xue Jingci not only supported him but also gave him his natal sword.

Pei Huang wasn’t the type to get jealous easily, but at this moment he inevitably felt jealous.

As for Xue Jingci’s natal sword, he had only touched it a few times as a child, only remembering it was very heavy and as cold as snow just like Xue Jingci.

Seeing Xue Jingci walking toward him, Pei Huang suppressed his complex emotions and asked as if casually: “That was Lin Heng? I didn’t expect him to be in the Demon Realm too. I saw you two chatting for a long time just now…”

Pei Huang was just about to ask indirectly what Xue Jingci had said to Lin Heng when he was interrupted.

Xue Jingci leaned to his ear and said in a low voice: “Lin Heng has improved a lot in these ten years. You must be careful when you face him. I’ve scouted it all; the hidden weapons he’s good at are these…”

Xue Jingci spoke for a long while, only to see Pei Huang staring fixedly at him, appearing a bit dazed. He waved his hand in front of his eyes: “Did you remember them all?”

Pei Huang coughed, feeling a bit awkward. He truly hadn’t expected that Xue Jingci’s initiative to talk to Lin Heng was actually to help him scout the opponent’s background.

Although he felt a bit sorry for Lin Heng, Pei Huang couldn’t help but smile: “I remembered.”

Xue Jingci was relieved and gave Pei Huang a few more instructions before continuing to go around the stages to scout others.

This time he had good luck and happened to see a demon cultivator from the Water Demon side fighting with someone.

The Water Demons were the strongest and were the most unwilling to see someone unify the Demon Realm. They might take this opportunity to act against Pei Huang.

Xue Jingci focused his gaze.

On the stage, a female cultivator was making her moves.

Her weapon was very special, a piece of azure blue silk. At first glance, it seemed soft and harmless, but it could tightly strangle an opponent the moment it wrapped around them, like a venomous snake hunting its prey.

Not only was the dharma treasure eerie, but this female cultivator looked young yet had exceptionally profound power. Clearly, the stage had an array to isolate power fluctuations, yet Xue Jingci could feel the intense killing intent around her.

This person would be a formidable opponent for Pei Huang.

Xue Jingci’s expression became solemn, and he even diverted some of his attention to specifically listen to the discussions of the people nearby.

This actually allowed him to learn quite a bit of useful news.

It turned out that among those sent by the Water Demons this time, seven were from the same master, and their master was exactly the Demon Lord Fu Yin.

The technique they practiced was called the Overlapping Wave Art. The most powerful point was that it could stack the cultivation of disciples from the same master to deal a fatal blow to an enemy.

The female cultivator fighting on the stage was named Xi Feng, the last disciple of Fu Yin and the most favored one.

Before she went on stage, several of her senior brothers and sisters had used the Overlapping Wave Art on her one after another, which was why her strength was so great.

“By the way, Ling Jiang, the first disciple of Demon Lord Fu Yin, has also come this time. I wonder if he will go on stage.”

“I heard he is the most valued by Fu Yin. Fu Yin even passed his natal dharma treasure to him. That Dragon-Escape Sword has the strange phenomenon of dragon roars when swung, and it’s not even inferior to the divine artifacts of the immortal families. I wonder if I’ll be lucky enough to see it today.”

Hearing this, Xue Jingci’s expression turned grim.

This Ling Jiang would likely be even more troublesome than the Xi Feng before his eyes.

As the last disciple, Xi Feng hadn’t been taught by Fu Yin for long, yet she was already this powerful.

Ling Jiang, as the first disciple, would only be stronger, and he even had a formidable dharma sword in his hand.

While thinking, the match on the stage ended, and Xi Feng indeed won without any suspense.

She jumped off the platform nimbly and approached a few people to talk intimately.

Xue Jingci looked carefully and saw that one person had a steady temperament and carried an ice-blue long sword on his back, so he guessed this was Ling Jiang.

He turned back to find Pei Huang and warned him to be exceptionally careful of the disciples from Fu Yin’s lineage.

Pei Huang nodded. The drum for the martial arts competition sounded, and he leaped onto the stage with a light tap of his toes. His opponent was precisely the Xi Feng who had just won.

Although he was now the new Demon Lord of the Fire Demon tribe, not many people knew him.

Xi Feng, however, sized him up seriously and asked: “You are the new Fire Demon Lord?”

Upon hearing this, the gaze of the crowd toward Pei Huang instantly changed, and many who originally intended to watch other matches also surged over like a tide.

Dong.

As soon as the war drum sounded, the expression on Pei Huang’s face instantly vanished. He took a step forward, his footwork eerie, and his figure merged with the tree shadows falling on the stage, making it hard to distinguish.

Xi Feng squinted, putting away the contempt in her eyes. Her figure spun rapidly as she pulled out a long sword from behind her and swung it in the air, attempting to break Pei Huang’s illusory art.

Xue Jingci’s expression sharpened. He hadn’t expected that Pei Huang didn’t draw a match with Ling Jiang, yet that man had lent his Dragon-Escape Sword to his junior sister.

In an instant, demonic Qi surged on the long sword, rising like waves, and finally turned into a giant dragon that leaped out, breathing a plume of scorched black dragon breath toward where Pei Huang was.

She had actually used a killing move right from the start.

Several demon cultivators from the Fire Demon faction couldn’t hold back and even wanted to rush onto the stage to save him.

They had long known the Water Demons were up to no good and wanted to find a way to eliminate Pei Huang, but they hadn’t expected them to be so bold as to actually try to kill Pei Huang in full view of everyone.

However, there was an array at the edge of the stage, blocking them all.

Xue Jingci’s palms were also sweating. He had experienced many fights, many of which were more dangerous than this, but he had never been as nervous as he was at this moment.

Almost in an instant, Pei Huang’s figure moved, and overlapping sword shadows leaped out from behind him, crashing down toward that black dragon.

However, just as the sword shadows were about to pierce the black dragon, Pei Huang’s wrist turned slightly, and those overlapping sword shadows actually instantly switched directions, flying toward his rear like white rainbows.

There was actually another dragon shadow there!

Pei Huang killed two dragon shadows in a row and swung his sword at Xi Feng without hesitation. The demonic Qi in his body was majestic, and there was almost no pause in his every move, which was seamless, directly forcing Xi Feng to the edge of the stage.

Xi Feng only felt her scalp tingling; that powerful and sharp sword Qi brought an extremely strong sense of pressure.

The dust settled.

The surrounding crowd finally managed to open their eyes, only to see that on the stage, Pei Huang’s sword was pressed against Xi Feng’s neck.

Xi Feng’s face was ashen. Remembering her master’s instruction, she shouted: “I surrender.”

With that, she jumped off the platform nimbly.

She reached up to touch her neck and found no wound, a look of astonishment flashing in her eyes.

Pei Huang’s strength far exceeded her imagination, but even more terrifying was his control over this power.

If an ordinary demon cultivator performed such a powerful sword move, they would inevitably have their temperament affected and lose themselves in a killing frenzy.

Even she was full of killing intent when she attacked earlier, and most of her previous opponents had left the stage seriously injured.