Chapter 85: It's My Turn to Show Off Again

After the other sects had taken their seats, the master of the Heavenly Jade Sect finally rose. Luo Qingyu’s gaze followed her, for this person was her own mentor.

The head of the Heavenly Jade Sect—Zhu Qing.

In her youth, she too was a beauty in her prime, pursued by countless prodigies from sixth-grade sects. Now, most of those men were themselves sect leaders or elders, wielding true power within their orders. Yet even now, though her youth had faded, her grace remained. Every glance, every movement, radiated a woman’s allure. The eyes of masters and elders from the sixth, seventh, eighth, and even ninth-grade sects lingered on her, the affection in their gaze undiminished by the years.

“I am overjoyed to see you all here today. It feels just like the old days,” Zhu Qing said warmly.

“Qing’er, you jest…” someone called out with a chuckle.

“Yes, yes, that’s too much, Qing’er…”

A stream of such remarks followed, full of familiarity and banter.

“A bunch of shameless old fools,” Ye Jiuyao cursed inwardly.

At this moment, Zhu Qing’s face bore no trace of her previous severity. Instead, she smiled as she looked upon the gathered sects—many of them old acquaintances. She smiled gently and spoke,

“Today is the day our sect’s Saintess chooses her Dao companion. We have established a challenge platform, defended by Qingyu and the other disciples of my sect. The victor will earn the right to enter the Heavenly Jade Hall and become one of the candidates for Qingyu’s companion.

The final choice, however, rests with Qingyu herself. Whomever she selects, I shall not interfere. All youthful geniuses present have a chance!”

“Now, let the challenge begin!”

No sooner had her words fallen than a grand hall appeared, its stairs numbering in the hundreds—this was the Heavenly Jade Hall, its long stairway leading straight to its doors.

Catching Ye Jiuyao’s eye with a reassuring look, Luo Qingyu floated forward, followed by eight hundred and eighty-one female disciples. Led by Luo Qingyu, they spread themselves along the stairs to the Heavenly Jade Hall, their combined presence surging skyward.

Over eight hundred disciples moved as one, their vital energy flowing together in seamless unity, encircling the area.

“Falling Leaf Sect’s Duan Ya, requesting a challenge!”

From the crowd stepped a striking young man, robed in snowy white, his hair tied high, his phoenix eyes sharp and captivating.

“Please,” Luo Qingyu intoned, her crystalline voice tinged with an icy chill. Outsiders, unable to sense the undertone, assumed it was simply her natural temperament.

Only Ye Jiuyao, shaking his head as he listened, understood otherwise. This enchantress clearly still held a grudge; with her true nature, she would never act so coldly otherwise.

Duan Ya advanced, each step through the air adding to his momentum until he set foot on the first stair of the Heavenly Jade Hall.

“Fairies, forgive my offense,” he declared, then unleashed his full strength. The female disciples were ready for any threat, and as soon as he moved, they transformed their formation.

A zither appeared in Luo Qingyu’s hands. Her slender fingers danced across the strings, sending forth stirring music that rallied the other disciples. Instantly, they erupted in a wave of power, surging toward Duan Ya.

Behind Duan Ya, his aura soared to its peak, breaching the boundary of the mortal and celestial. A long sword materialized in his grip, its blade flashing like a rainbow cutting through the sun as it swept toward the disciples.

Suddenly, Luo Qingyu’s fingers shifted upon the strings. The music, once fierce, sank into a deep, brooding tone—yet within it raged a tempest.

“Attack!” she commanded.

The disciples launched forward, blasting a terrifying force at Duan Ya. But he was no mere weakling from the Falling Leaf Sect. With a sudden shift, his sword swept out, casting down blade after blade of sword-light like a rain of steel.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Explosion after explosion echoed across the field, the crowd watching each move with clarity.

“What strength…”

“Which sect is this Falling Leaf? How did they nurture such a powerful disciple?”

“Is the Falling Leaf Sect from Xuantian Town, a ninth-grade sect, really so formidable?” wondered a master from an eighth-grade sect who recognized the name.

“What?! Falling Leaf is a ninth-grade sect?!”

“A ninth-grade sect raised a disciple of this caliber?”

The great figures from the eighth-grade sects could hardly believe that Duan Ya, steadily advancing up the stairs, was a product of a mere ninth-grade sect.

Those from the ninth-grade sects, well acquainted with the Falling Leaf Sect, watched Duan Ya’s dazzling ascent. Glancing at their own strongest disciples, they could only shake their heads.

Ye Jiuyao, too, fixed his gaze on Duan Ya. There was a sense of threat about this man—perhaps a formidable rival.

Duan Ya’s swordplay grew ever more fierce, a sharp, swirling sphere of wind forming around him. Ye Jiuyao’s eyes narrowed, a note of solemnity crossing his face.

“Danger!” Ye Jiuyao exclaimed, and in the next instant, someone cried out,

“Gale Sword Technique!”

Sword energy whirled around Duan Ya, forming a vortex that swept outward in all directions. Instantly, the air trembled, space itself splitting with sharp, tearing sounds as sword energy lanced outward.

“Hah!”

The female disciples shouted in unison, surging forward to break Duan Ya’s assault—but it was wishful thinking.

“Forgive my offense!”

With those words, Duan Ya’s gale sword technique crashed into them. One by one, the disciples were blasted away, tumbling down the steps of the Heavenly Jade Hall.

Duan Ya strode upward, his pace unhurried but covering dozens of stairs in a single step.

“My turn to shine!” thought Ye Jiuyao to himself. As the crowd marveled at Duan Ya’s strength, Ye Jiuyao boldly stepped out, charging straight at him.

“Saintess, step back—leave this to me!”

He hurtled forward, shouting with a fearless air. If Luo Qingyu hadn’t caught his quick wink, she might not have agreed so easily.

Among the fallen disciples, one girl’s eyes widened in disbelief at the sight before her.

Ye Jiuyao had shed his disguise, revealing a staff in his hands as he charged ahead.

“He… he’s a man?” she whispered, dazed.

Even Zhu Qing was caught off guard, as were all in attendance—save for Duan Ya, who reacted instantly, readying to intercept.

“Slash!”

But his sword was too slow.

“Stellar Staff Technique!”

Stars rose behind Ye Jiuyao, a shower of starlight cascading over him and flowing into his staff.

With a single strike, stars shattered.

Boom!

Two great forces collided, sending tempests roaring skyward. The very air was torn apart, collapsing into black voids like gaping maws.

Yet the battle was not over.

In the next moment, the two clashed again. Ye Jiuyao’s staff spun like a spider’s web, weaving a deadly net around Duan Ya—a lattice of fatal blades.

But Duan Ya did not falter. His Gale Sword Technique became a cage of wind, staving off the staff’s relentless assault.

“Out of my way!” Duan Ya bellowed at his unexpected opponent.

Shock swept through the crowd.

The great figures of the gathered sects involuntarily straightened in their seats, staring with astonishment, even terror, at the spectacle before them.