Meiqiu completely wrote off the previous day's grievance of being called a "golden pheasant" and hopped around Zhai Bairong playfully. Nie Shiyun felt that if the man and the bird could get along, it would be for the best. Once Meiqiu became more proficient in using the Phoenix Essence Fire, he could assist Zhai Bairong during alchemy, which would surely yield twice the result with half the effort.
That night, Nie Shiyun and Zhai Bairong simply lay together and chatted. They had been intimate many times over the past two days; while one could never say they had enough of each other, they simply hadn't had much time for idle talk. They spoke aimlessly for several hours about the various interesting things Nie Shiyun had encountered in Prosperous Flower City after Zhai Bairong’s departure, as well as the somewhat monotonous but peaceful days at Yunqing Pavilion. The time passed quickly.
"The matches tomorrow morning will still be held simultaneously, but the afternoon matches will be held one by one. I’ll come to watch you then," Zhai Bairong said before leaving.
"I have to win against Du Zhi first," Nie Shiyun said with a smile.
Zhai Bairong felt that Nie Shiyun had a great chance of winning. However, after that victory, Nie Shiyun would inevitably face Xu Yehua in the afternoon. That battle worried him slightly.
After Zhai Bairong left, Nie Shiyun headed to the Yunqing Pavilion's quarters. To everyone's surprise, Qi Miaohan had also come to visit early in the morning. Despite her familiarity with Yunqing Pavilion, she still made several bold, provocative remarks before heading to the venue ahead of them. Nie Shiyun reflected that if she was this arrogant even when calm, she must have spoken even more harshly in the original novel when new and old grudges were added together. It was no wonder she had inevitably and thoroughly enraged the "white lotus" Duan Mingyu and his harem.
Aside from Nie Xing'an’s worried expression, Nie Shiyun and Du Zhi—the two who were about to face each other—were perfectly harmonious, chatting and laughing as they prepared to head to the venue together. Such a sight was truly rare in the current tense atmosphere.
The two arrived at the venue a bit early. Aside from some Yunqing Pavilion disciples, not many others had come to watch this match. The audience was scattered among the various "protagonists." There were even rumors circulating about many male cultivators being mesmerized by Duan Mingyu’s graceful figure as he performed a sword dance. Nie Shiyun had known about these settings for a long time and wasn't surprised. However, it infuriated many female cultivators who were usually the ones being pampered. Female cultivators were already rare in the cultivation world, let alone those with high cultivation bases, so men naturally showed them more courtesy. But now, at this Great Immortal Cultivation Assembly, the attention of many men was drawn to a male who, without even trying to be provocative, always maintained an air of pure, innocent ignorance. This left the female cultivators fuming.
When Nie Shiyun subtly mentioned this on the way, Du Zhi had no reaction, only expressing slight surprise. "Ah, so that person we met that day is so popular? Among human cultivators, are members of the same sex more attractive than the opposite sex?"
"Not exactly. That’s an outlier," Nie Shiyun shook his head.
"I thought so. That wouldn't fit the laws of nature," Du Zhi analyzed from a fundamental perspective, quickly putting the topic out of his mind.
Nie Shiyun thought to himself that it seemed Du Zhi, the fourth harem member, had indeed been fanned away by the butterfly's wings. He wondered if Duan Mingyu would randomly pick a backup to fill the slot or if a position in the harem would remain vacant forever.
In the original work, the main reason the harem members could coexist harmoniously was Duan Mingyu’s wish, but the underlying reason was—though a bit pragmatic—a mutually beneficial relationship. The four harem characters were equal in cultivation and talent, each excelling in different areas, encountering constant opportunities and getting whatever they desired. Based on these requirements, a mere "backup" probably wouldn't suffice. If there truly were such a suitable person, Duan Mingyu would have already taken them into his collection in the original story.
The time arrived. Nie Shiyun and Du Zhi exchanged a polite "Please guide me" before stepping onto the stage.
When he had only read the text, Nie Shiyun always had a fixed mindset based on modern boxing or wrestling matches, imagining a very small platform. In reality, he found the arena was over five *zhang* in length and width, giving the cultivators plenty of space to move. There were no guardrails on the stage, but a barrier of faint green light surrounded the perimeter. If more than half of a cultivator's body left the area, they would automatically be judged the loser—a method of judgment far more advanced than the human eye. At the same time, any attacks that hit the barrier would be absorbed, so there was no need to worry about injuring the spectators or the surrounding landscape.
Once on stage, Nie Shiyun dispensed with further formalities and summoned a Grade Two, mid-tier spiritual tool—the Red Flame Spider Sword. A flash of sword light flew out. Du Zhi nimbly leaped backward to dodge, then unhesitatingly retreated several more steps.
The disciples watching from the sidelines thought that while Du Zhi usually seemed carefree, he was surprisingly cautious on the stage. But just as this thought crossed their minds, a burst of fire erupted above the spot where Du Zhi had been standing before his retreat, the exploding embers resembling a mist of blood. A chill ran through the crowd; had they been on the stage, they would have certainly been hit.
"You recognize what this is made of?" Nie Shiyun was somewhat surprised. Although Du Zhi was a half-beast and should naturally know a lot about beast materials, Nie Shiyun had refined the Red Flame Spider's silk and down into the sword's body. One shouldn't be able to discover the secret just from the spiritual tool's appearance without taking a hit first.
Du Zhi shook his head. "I just instinctively felt danger, that's all."
That was likely animal instinct. Nie Shiyun had no choice, but he hadn't expected to win easily with just that; otherwise, the level of this former harem member would be too disappointing.
"When there's a chance later, you must teach me!" Du Zhi shouted from the other side of the arena, his eyes full of curiosity despite the setting. However, his movements were not slow. He drew a Purple Copper Saber from his storage space and attacked from an extremely tricky angle.
Nie Shiyun responded hurriedly. The last time he had engaged in actual combat with an opponent of similar level was many years ago. This past year at Yunqing Pavilion, he had sparred a few times with Nie Xing'an, but those were always restrained. Du Zhi’s offensive movements were bold and lacked formal structure, but his wolf-tribe lineage meant his attack speed and momentum were beyond what ordinary humans could compare to. Nie Shiyun felt he had to focus with twelve-tenths of his attention just to keep up. Du Zhi’s previous opponents in the preliminary rounds had all been taken down by this sudden, overwhelming momentum.
Nie Shiyun managed to stabilize his footing. The poisonous mist carrying fire energy from the Red Flame Spider's explosion wouldn't poison a cultivator, but it would leave burns on the skin that were temporarily impossible to heal. Although the affected area wasn't large, being hit multiple times would be truly troublesome. Since Nie Shiyun had refined it into a sword, the effect was naturally diminished compared to the Red Flame Spider's own ability, and it required a period of time to recover spiritual energy before it could be triggered again. However, Nie Shiyun was in no hurry to attack, sometimes triggering the effect and sometimes only attacking with the sword's inherent spiritual energy. Du Zhi, on the other hand, had to defend against every strike. When a continuous offensive failed and he was met with a counterattack, he was forced to retreat several steps. Having crushed his opponents all the way here, he felt a stifling sense of his rhythm being forcibly choked. Before long, sweat broke out on his forehead.
The two were at a stalemate. Most of the spectators were Yunqing Pavilion's own disciples. They already knew that Du Zhi would likely be accepted as an inner disciple in the future, and they felt somewhat begrudging about it. But seeing the two fight back and forth, they gradually realized that this half-human, half-beast cultivator was indeed on a different level from them.
"Senior Nie’s sword looks truly rare. What is it made of? Why haven't I seen it before?" someone finally began to whisper.
"Don't you know? Senior Nie’s magical treasures are like consumables. I doubt he even recognizes his entire inventory," a disciple who had known about Nie Shiyun’s habit of hoarding treasures since before the Secret Realm of Mists muttered softly.
The long stalemate on the stage suddenly shifted. Nie Shiyun seemed to finally be mentally exhausted, revealing a flaw under Du Zhi’s onslaught. Du Zhi’s eyes were now bloodshot with battle lust, devoid of his usual carefree flightiness. In an instant, he flashed in front of Nie Shiyun, the sharp edge of his Purple Copper Saber pressing directly against the Red Flame Spider Sword. Rather than attacking Nie Shiyun directly, Du Zhi chose to prioritize disabling his spiritual tool to eliminate future trouble. The offensive power of the pure Metal spiritual root could be said to be the highest among all attributes. The moment Du Zhi struck, a crack appeared on the Red Flame Spider Sword; it would be completely shattered with just another surge of strength from Du Zhi’s wrist.
Du Zhi was overjoyed at finally breaking the predicament, his expression fully revealing his delight. Nie Shiyun, however, did not panic. Instead, he thrust the Red Flame Spider Sword forward while raising his hand to summon a defensive treasure in front of his eyes. Du Zhi froze, a sudden sense of panic washing over him. At this moment, his Purple Copper Saber was wedged into the body of the Red Flame Spider Sword. Before he could figure out why, the entire blade of the Red Flame Spider Sword exploded. Du Zhi abandoned his saber with the fastest reaction speed possible, but he was still injured across his entire arm by the aftershock of the explosion.
The disciples below the stage: "..."
What did they just say? Senior Nie decisively blew up a "consumable" just like that.
Nie Shiyun gave Du Zhi no time to take medicine or spiritual recovery pills. He shifted his offensive, summoning another treasure of the same grade—a Cinnabar Pen—and began a sharp attack.
He didn't have a weapon he was particularly specialized in; in other words, there was nothing he wasn't proficient with. Because he was comfortable with all weapons, Nie Shiyun enjoyed trying out various magical treasures.
To Nie Shiyun’s surprise, however, Du Zhi began to fight with his bare hands despite his injuries. After a moment of thought, Nie Shiyun asked in shock, "Do you only have one magical treasure?"
Du Zhi knew the outcome was likely decided. The bloodshot battle lust from earlier had vanished, and he said mournfully, "I spent all my money on travel expenses to get here! I sold all my other treasures!"
"..." *And I was the one who bought them all,* Nie Shiyun thought.
The battle might have lasted a while longer, but because Du Zhi’s only treasure, the Purple Copper Saber, had been destroyed by Nie Shiyun’s self-destructing move, the match soon ended in a rather friendly atmosphere.
Du Zhi jumped off the stage and swallowed two spiritual recovery pills to heal his injuries. Seeing that he was taking low-grade pills and had to take several before the burns on his arm began to fade, Nie Shiyun couldn't bear it and tossed him two high-grade pills. Du Zhi swallowed them with a look of suspicion, but upon seeing his skin restore to its original state in an instant, his face filled with the shocked expression of a country bumpkin entering the city for the first time.
By the time Qi Miaohan, Qi Xuan'er, and Nie Xing'an arrived, the match had just concluded.
"What? It's already over?" Qi Miaohan shouted.
The sect disciples watching nearby saw the seniors and hurried to greet them. Qi Miaohan waved them off, her demeanor as natural as if she were a member of Yunqing Pavilion herself.
The result on her side went without saying. This was the first time Qi Miaohan had engaged in a serious battle after obtaining the Lotus Leaf Whip and the Grade Eight Lotus Pedestal. She hadn't deigned to use her full strength against the minor characters she faced earlier, so Nie Xing'an had suffered for it. Once on stage, Qi Miaohan had treated him like an enemy, using him as a test subject for her treasures. Between the two of them, one was a mid-stage Golden Core whose power was still rising, while the other had been stagnant for a long time after forming his core. The result was predictable.
"We came a bit late. What a pity," Qi Xuan'er said with some regret.
"It... it's not really a pity." Du Zhi felt that his loss just now wasn't very graceful and scratched his head in embarrassment. Great, now everyone in Yunqing Pavilion would know he was dirt poor.
Nie Xing'an remembered the business at hand. "There are only four matches in the new round this afternoon, and they will be held one by one. We can cheer for everyone then. For now, Cousin and Fellow Daoist Qi should head back to rest and recover so as not to delay the matches."
"He's right. Senior Brother, and Sister, go rest quickly. I borrowed the small kitchen provided by Pinyin Pavilion for cultivators this morning and made some spiritual food and snacks. Let's all share them," Qi Xuan'er added.
"Junior Sister is very thoughtful."
The group from Yunqing Pavilion wasted no time and returned to their quarters. On the way back, the results of this round had already been posted in the square. Nie Shiyun took a quick glance and wasn't surprised. Just like in the original work—except for the slot where he had replaced Du Zhi against Xu Yehua—the remaining three matches were Zhai Bairong against a cultivator from Pinyin Pavilion, Duan Mingyu against a fellow disciple from the Yingyue Sect, and Rong Lü against Qi Miaohan.
Although Nie Shiyun felt he had been low-profile enough, the top eight spots had now been decided. Among the positions usually swept entirely by the four major sects, there was now a cultivator from "Yunqing Pavilion." Others finally began to take notice of this fact.
