The morning breeze on the Sword Plain that day was much stronger than usual.
The green-yellow flag, the straight sword bamboos, and everyone’s clothes were fluttering against the wind. This stirred a sense of nervousness in everyone, as though a storm was coming.
Xiao Ran’s words felt like a stone tossed into the water, creating ripples in the disciples’ hearts and spreading into tidal waves.
The Inner Disciples who were incredibly eager among the scattered crowd seized up their young Junior Uncle on the platform again.
The Sword-Wielding Elder would not have really picked a gifted genius, would she?
No one dared make a move, but someone spoke.
A greasy middle-aged disciple cupped his fists before Xiao Ran and probed ever so politely, “It’s said that Junior Uncle Xiao is an expert at life skills like constructing and farming. Today’s challenge isn’t going to…”
Xiao Ran shook his head with his arms behind his back, cutting the person off straightaway.
“We have no time for that. We’re only talking about battling and talent today.”
The other person was taken aback. He gave it some thought before asking as though he was troubled, “But Junior Uncle, you…”
“There are two ways.”
Xiao Ran stuck two fingers out.
“One, restrained cultivation base. We fight with the strength of a mortal, with physical techniques or swordsmanship, so the spiritual weapons used are limited to mortally classed ones as well.
“Two, disregarding cultivation base and spiritual items. There are no handicaps or rules in battle. As long as one’s life isn’t threatened, any method is valid.”
The Sword Plain was dead silent save for the billowing wind.
Before they could think over what Xiao Ran had said, he continued. “I’ll be waiting here for two hours. If no one comes for a challenge, don’t come up with a boring battle like this again in the future.”
The wind howled and whistled. The man’s words bore their own weight.
The very few disciples who had come to watch the challenge dispersed immediately, taking Xiao Ran’s words with them and swiftly disseminating them to every mountain and corner of the sect.
A small pebble made a huge splash—the 18 mountains of the inner sect buzzed with commotion as a result.
“A boring battle? Are you sure that Direct Disciple said that?”
“Two choices were given to the challengers? I thought that the Direct Disciple’s limiting the use of cultivation base and only contends with swords and physical techniques!”
“Why is a mere mortal so brazen? Has he hidden his actual ability?”
“Perhaps the Sword-Wielding Elder’s already hidden somewhere and will aid him in secret?”
“How’s that possible? I heard Junior Uncle Lin Yunzi say just now that the Sword-Wielding Elder’s gone out to tend to something and will only come back after staying three days away from the sect!”
“That’s her alibi. She’s already given her Direct Disciple some secret spiritual weapon that will enable him to battle above his level!”
“I think that’s possible, but I lean toward Junior Uncle Xiao concealing his real ability. You didn’t see his aura just now. That’s not the demeanor a mortal should have!”
“Is he trying to make an empty show of strength to bluff? Is he giving two options intentionally to either bring himself up or hint that he has a trump card and then force the challengers to pick the first choice?”
“You make sense too. That said, we can only watch. We mustn’t act recklessly. Senior Sister Jiang and Junior Brother Ye must be more on edge than us. Besides, there’s also Junior Uncle Chen, our human indicator. His true self will be revealed soon enough.”
“Whatever this is… it’s going to be an interesting show today!”
Similar discussions took place on every mountain.
…
On Cricket Hill…
Just as the female cultivators had found out that Jiang Chuyan was going to join the Sword-Wielding Mountain and become the Sword-Wielding Elder’s precious grand-disciple, they caught wind of bigger news before they could cheer, celebrate, or throw her a farewell party.
Chuyan’s master, the mortal Direct Disciple of the Sword-Wielding Mountain, Xiao Ran, had landed on the Sword Plain right on the first day of the disciple challenge.
“What a dominating man. Has he disguised his real ability?”
“It’s no wonder Big Senior Sister would bow down to him as a disciple!”
“Let’s go tell Big Senior Sister!”
“Where’s Big Senior Sister? She was packing just now…”
“Big Senior Sister went to the central mountain for her transferring procedure.”
“So she’s on the central mountain too? Let’s go take a look!”
“Let’s go, come on!”
…
On the Hundred Herb Hill…
Rustles came from the medicine farm, as though a snake was slithering inside.
Chunwa and Qiuchan were weaving around the medicinal shrubs to catch pests and weeds, oblivious to what was happening on the central mountain.
Both of them had longhorn beetles in one hand and nine-spotted ladybugs in the other when they ran into a pair of long straight legs that were soft and warm.
Upon looking up, they saw it was their master, Yinyue Zhenren.
“Senior Brother Xiao Ran is accepting the disciple challenge on the central mountain’s Sword Plain right now. Do you two want to go over and cheer him on?”
Both girls scratched their heads and picked up their hair clips, which had fallen in the bushes, to wear them again. Then, they asked carelessly, “What do you mean… Senior Brother Xiao Ran?”
“Master, just go ahead if you want to see him. No one says that Elders can’t watch the match. We need to weed!”
“Besides, no matter how you look at him, Master, he’s still someone else’s disciple.”
“If I must comment, instead of coveting somebody else’s disciple, I’d say you might as well treat your disciples better. Can’t we have more candied haws from the imperial capital?”
Yinyue Zhenren scowled and said sternly, “Remove all the weeds on the entire mountain today. You’ll only eat when you finish this task.”
Both girls sprang up and stood straight, their small heads slightly taller than the medicinal shoots. Their frog and cricket hair clips were exceptionally eye-catching in the field, as though they were both living things.
“We’ll go cheer on Senior Brother Xiao Ran right now!”
…
On the Sword-Tempering Mountain…
In a certain mystical crystal rock cave, Gao Shi, who was wearing his blinding rings, was grinding swords on a few mystical crystals of different texture tediously. He had to simultaneously ascertain the sharpness of the blade and the resilience and intricateness of the spiritual pattern.
It was an incredibly complicated process.
Gao Shi forbade himself to hear or look at anything outside, endlessly repeating the same movement that looked monotonous but incredibly professional.
However, his thoughts strayed far away, his secretly amplifying divine sense searching around the mountains.
“Master, Junior Brother Xiao Ran, who you’re concerned about, has surprisingly appeared on the Sword Plain of the central mountain and is awaiting the disciple challenge.”
“What does that have to do with you?”
An impassive, dry old voice came from the top of the cave.
Moxia Zhenren was repairing and maintaining the mountain guarding array in another cave. He, Bo Yunzi, and Huangfu Qun would share this responsibility after the Sect Leader entered resting cultivation.
“Didn’t you want Junior Brother Xiao Ran to visit the Sword-Tempering Mountain? If Junior Brother Xiao Ran sustains a severe injury in the ring, it’ll take him a long time to recuperate before he can come to the Sword-Tempering Mountain.”
“It doesn’t concern you.”
“The Sword-Wielding Elder went out this morning, and the one hosting the disciple challenge this time isn’t Senior Brother Chen but Senior Brother Luosheng. This disciple thinks that it’s very necessary to go cheer on Junior Brother Xiao Ran lest he’s bullied.”
“Luosheng isn’t the type of person you think he is. He’s someone who’s gone through the disciple challenge as well. If Xiao Ran can’t even pass the disciple challenge, he isn’t capable of visiting the Sword-Tempering Mountain either.”
“This disciple thinks that Junior Brother Xiao Ran may have an outstanding hidden ability since he dared attend the challenge so early. Isn’t Master the least bit interested?”
“Of course I’m interested, but what does it have to do with you?”
“…”
…
On the central mountain…
The wind on the Sword Plain was getting stronger.
A quarter of an hour after Xiao Ran appeared, several thousand Inner Disciples had gathered on the Sword Plain, forming a mass of black with their heads.
The sight was as grand as a concert but not as merry. Instead, there was a solemnity in the atmosphere, as though they were preparing for a war.
Xiao Ran glimpsed at the scattered jade slips on the ground before scanning the crowd.
He was certain that the disciples who had submitted the challenge jade slips were all among them except for Chuyan. He just could not tell who was who. He was not even able to find Ye Fan.
Other than the Inner Disciples, there was a number of Inner Sect Trainers and important figures from Zongzhi Mountain’s sub-sects who were there to spectate the match.
Even Lin Yunzi was there, but due to his lower status, he dared not greet Xiao Ran in public and had only nodded and cupped his fists before him from the crowd.
People had occupied all the visual blind spots everywhere. As mentioned earlier, the black mass felt like a sea of spectators and challengers, yet the place was completely silent save for the billowing wind.
This inevitably made Xiao Ran nervous. Closing his eyes and tuning in to the world to resonate with heaven and earth barely calmed him down and enabled him to maintain his forged high and mighty personality.
Suddenly, he felt his shoulders being weighed down.
Upon opening his eyes abruptly and snapping his head around to check it out, he saw that Chunwa and Qiuchan had sat on both his shoulders somehow—one on his left and one on his right, their buttocks half sitting on him and half in the air.
Their fleshy little hands stroked the back of Xiao Ran’s head like an elder family member, while their stubby little legs swung back and forth, their soft heels rhythmically hitting Xiao Ran’s chest.
This made the initially tense ring feel a little ludicrous.
The sun shone on the flag with pre-war anxiety, but here was Cute Xiao Xiao…
Xiao Ran’s aloof image, which he had been working hard to upkeep, was instantly crushed by these swinging stubby little legs, and there was even a tickling massage effect.
“What are you two doing!”