To Crouching Dragon Mountain
The tournament came to a conclusion at the end of the third day. Green Pine Sect won eighteen of their nineteen matches, the one loss being Xiaohu’s defeat at the hands of Mu Yu. Gu Yitian lost to one of Green Pine Sect’s Foundation Establishment Realm Ninth Layer disciples before losing to one of Jiuhua Sect’s disciples of the same level. Jiuhua Sect’s disciple lost to Green Pine Sect in the end. Jiuhua Sect racked up eighteen wins, as well, but Green Pine Sect was declared the final winner in accordance with the rules. Universe Sect came in third place to everyone’s amazement. Mu Yu’s popularity dropped. He only one eight matches before withdrawing, leaving Dustfallen Sect in twelfth place.
Mu Yu and Cheng Yan prepared to head to Crouching Dragon Mountain to investigate the elemental demons, while Feng Haochen planned to return to DustfallenSect.
“Shifu, be careful.”
“You two be careful out there,” reminded Feng Haochen, unfettered as always despite giving the impression he was aware of something.
Daoist Qing Song didn’t head the operation at Crouching Dragon Mountain, entrusting it to Reverend Jiuhua. It was an appropriate delegation given Reverend Jiuhua was considered second only to Daoist Qing Song. Since the elders were sitting out to let the younger generation gain experience and put their lessons into practice, Reverend Jiuhua had Bai Lang and Ju Wenxing assume full command.
Forty people from twenty sects set off toward Crouching Dragon Mountain in grandeur fashion. It took half a day to go from Green Pine Sect to Crouching Dragon Mountain. Instead of sending Xiaohu with them, Qing Mei was sent. Cheng Yan and Mu Yu followed right at the end of the group, both wearing gloomy expressions.
Cheng Yan wrestled with how to explain his shifu and Daoist Qing Son’s predicaments to Qing Mei. He couldn’t be with her until the ordeal was over. Hence, he stared at her back. Ignorant of the problems, Whenever Qing Mei instinctively looked over her shoulder, Cheng Yan averted his gaze.
Bai Lang had them stop two and a half kilometres away from the entrance and commanded, “I am flattered the elders have entrusted leadership to me. If we all enter at once, we will alert the enemy. As such, we need to split up into six teams of six. The last four will form another team. We will enter the mountain separately and scout different zones. Do you have any opinions you would like to voice?”
“No, Brother Bai Lang,” replied Ju Wenxing.
Nobody was going to argue if Ju Wenxing was in agreement. Bai Lang gave him a nod of gratitude before continuing, “I shall give everyone some time to find teammates, then. If you cannot find a team, how about joining me?”
It was a prudent strategy. If Bai Lang unwittingly put enemies together, he would be adding hazards for no reason.
Cheng Yan approached Gu Yitian. “Brother Gu, seeing as Daoist Bo Yang has always been kind to us, how about our sects form a team?”
Unlike Gu Yitian, the maiden joining him from his sect wore an affable smile, giving her an approachable aura. Her name was Hong Yan, a Foundation Establishment Realm Second Layer cultivator roughly twenty years old. The pretty maiden answered, “That would be great! My name is Hong Yan. It is a pleasure to meet you Brother Cheng Yan, Brother Mu Yu.”
“Hmph, Shifu thinks we need someone to protect us, but I argue otherwise,” opined Gu Yitian.
“Senior Brother Yitian, put a sock in it,” fumed Hong Yan, before turning back to Mu Yu and Cheng Yan. “Sorry, Brother Cheng Yan, he is rather frank and is still hung up over his losses.”
“That’s no biggie. You won against sixteen other sects, didn’t you?” Mu Yu chimed in.
“Like the way you threw your match against me? I also lost to two other sects, but the issue is I despise fixed matches!”
Mu Yu knew first hand Gu Yitian had enough in him to put away everyone at Foundation Establishment Realm.
Hong Yan let out a big breath. “Brother Cheng Yan, on account of our sects being on friendly terms, I shall not hide the fact Shifu told Brother Yitian to forfeit his matches, but Brother Yitian refused to budge until Shifu went to great lengths to persuade him. Shifu didn’t want to aggravate the four biggest sects; we can’t afford to. If we take first place, surely they will give us grief.”
While it was worth celebrating Universe Sect’s newfound talent, the tunnel vision was a headache to deal with.
“It takes time for a sect to grow. Daoist Bo Yang understands that well as a patriarch. Brother Gu, you should try to value his wisdom.”
“I don’t need you telling me what to do. Have you two no shame, hiding your true abilities?”
Cheng Yan didn’t find Gu Yitian’s mindset of never going down without a fight or his jab offensive. “We have different pursuits, so there’s no comparison. We cultivate our mind and prefer not to compete. You cultivate your body and worship absolute might. Neither is better than the other. It’s merely a question of preference.”
“Which I take is being a coward.”
Mu Yu also regretted not being able to go all out against Gu Yitian. He calmly stated, “All right, I’ll fight you again properly if the opportunity presents itself.”
“I’ll be waiting,” responded Gu Yitian, before shifting his gaze to Cheng Yan.
Cheng Yan was far ahead of Gu Yitian, so he shook his head. “I won’t fight you.”
“Okay, let’s stop fighting. There are four of us now. We need another two people,” interjected Hong Yan, knowing Gu Yitian wouldn’t throw a fit anymore after Mu Yu agreed to a rematch.
Other sects refused to take the initiative to offer their assistance despite the two dark horses being in the team. The reason was it could be interpreted as them lowering themselves to sects that had always looked down on.
Soon, there were apparent teams and stragglers. Though Hong Yan passionately spoke to other sects, they felt joining the team was humiliating because Gu Yitian defeated them. Of course, she had the figurative door shut in her face on numerous occasions.
“Are you still short on team members?” Qing Mei asked from behind Cheng Yan.
Cheng Yan flinched. His heart skipped a beat when he turned around. Being on the same team as Qing Mei was a dream come true. Qing Mei’s desire to be with Cheng Yan was as a clear as day; her attempt to hide her desire failed miserably.
“Senior Sister Qing Mei, did you want to join us?” queried Mu Yu.
Somewhat awkward after Mu Yu caught her with Cheng Yan, Qing Mei replied, “I happen to have not chosen a team yet.”
Mu Yu decided to play the villain for Cheng Yan. “Green Pine Sect must lead the team of four. After all, Brother Bai Lang is stronger than us. I will have to kindly turn you down.”
“B-.”
“My junior brother is right. We can’t be together.”
Qing Mei’s face was washed blank with shock, as if she didn’t believe her ears. Cheng Yan’s response suffocated her. Though his choice of words appeared to be a rejection in response to her offer, she felt uneasy.
“Understood.”
Mu Yu: No she didn’t!
Qing Mei couldn’t help looking to Cheng Yan in search of the reassuring gaze he reserved especially for her. She noticed he was deliberately avoiding something since they left Green Pine Sect. She wanted reassurance that he wasn’t implying anything, but he looked away.
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