Volume 1 Chapter 37

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Volume 1 Chapter 37: Choice

After all the matches of the top eight competitions ended that day, Xu Qingfan said goodbye to Jin Qinghan and Bai Qingfu, and returned to his cave on the back mountain, preparing to meditate and rest for the night so that he could be in his best condition for the match against Feng Qingtian the next day.

The moon was bright and the stars were few, with a soft night breeze. A gentle starlight spilled into Xu Qingfan’s room, but it reflected a somewhat gloomy expression on Xu Qingfan’s face.

"Sigh…" Xu Qingfan let out a sigh and slowly opened his eyes, coming out of his meditation, ending his quiet rest, as complex emotions flashed in his eyes.

His meditation this time was not very successful; his mind kept wandering, making it hard for him to calm down. Thoughts of Feng Qingtian’s impressive match during the day kept flashing in his mind, along with Bai Qingfu’s fleeting, mysterious smile after his defeat. A faint sense of unease lingered in his heart, but upon deeper reflection, he realized it wasn’t because of the match with Feng Qingtian the next day. Yet he could never pinpoint the true reason.

With another sigh, Xu Qingfan pushed aside his inexplicable feelings, knowing he could not settle down to meditate tonight. So, he reluctantly got up from his bed and opened the door to step outside.

Outside the door, the stars twinkled, and the moonlight flowed like water.

Taking a deep breath of the air filled with a faint scent of flowers, grass, and earth, Xu Qingfan finally felt a little calm in his heart.

He bowed gently to Yue Qingru’s tombstone not far away, then turned to walk towards Yue Qingru’s room. Since Yue Qingru’s passing, his former room had remained empty; Xu Qingfan often tidied it up as a memorial. Everything in the room was just as it was when Yue Qingru was alive.

After walking into Yue Qingru’s room, Xu Qingfan suddenly saw in his mind Yue Qingru sitting at the desk, focused on reading.

"Is my senior brother up in the sky still reading?" Xu Qingfan suddenly thought of this funny idea.

With a gentle smile, Xu Qingfan quietly walked to the bookshelf in Yue Qingru’s room, took out a book called "Tales of Mountains and Seas," and began to read carefully. In the strange stories, Xu Qingfan gradually relaxed his mind, and time passed like water.

But Xu Qingfan did not know that at this moment, there was someone else feeling just as restless as he was.

On Jiuhua Mountain, near the peak, an ancient mansion stood there. The whole mansion was made of bricks and tiles, with unique eaves and stone carvings, showing the former owner’s nobility and grandeur. But now, this large house only had one young man living in it, Feng Qingtian, the last heir of the Feng family, who was known as the greatest genius of Jiuhua Gate.

To restore his family’s former glory, to maintain his position as the number one among Jiuhua’s lower-level disciples, and to take revenge for his clan… All these heavy responsibilities have weighed on Feng Qingtian since he was young, making his heart grow cold and proud as he pushed people away while working hard and tirelessly.

To achieve these goals, Feng Qingtian’s efforts were beyond what ordinary people could imagine. He spent all his free time on training since he was six years old. Entertainment and leisure activities, which everyone else enjoyed, were luxurious for him, making Jin Qinghan’s previous defeat to him seem reasonable. As a result of his hard work, he became the first person in the Feng family in three thousand years to master the "Flame Phoenix," one of the family’s three ultimate skills, at the age of twenty-two!

However, Feng Qingtian knew that with his current strength, seeking revenge was still far from enough. A hundred years ago, his family had more than five masters at the Condensed Core Stage, and combined with the unique techniques of the Feng family, they could capture attention even in the entire cultivation world, shining brightly for a time. Yet, even with such strength, they were all wiped out by the traitor of Jiuhua Gate, "Heaven Snake Star Lord" Zhang Xusheng. Although there were reasons for a sneak attack, it was clear how powerful Zhang Xusheng was.

Therefore, even with the glory of being Jiuhua Gate’s greatest genius, Feng Qingtian continued to work hard and tirelessly. He showed no sign of laziness or arrogance; instead, he became even more diligent and hardworking. Genius? To Feng Qingtian, a genius without achievements could only remain a genius and never become a master, let alone reach the level of someone like Zhang Xusheng.

But today was strange; Feng Qingtian could not calm down and practice no matter what. His mind kept showing Wang Qingjun’s ordinary and expressionless face.

After the match, Feng Qingtian thought carefully and found that everything about the contest felt odd. Wang Qingjun’s strength was stronger than he expected, forcing him to use his special move "Flame Phoenix" to fight back. But what was stranger was the last stage of the contest; Wang Qingjun’s power seemed equal to his own. Although his "Flame Phoenix" had incredible attack power, Wang Qingjun shouldn’t have been able to resist it so easily, right? The most mysterious part was when his "Flame Phoenix" should have hit Wang Qingjun; it suddenly lost control and vanished into nothing!

Feng Qingtian liked to keep all changes in his hands, but today’s contest made him feel that things were slowly slipping out of his control.

"Wang Qingjun, who are you really?" Feng Qingtian stood proudly on the old house roof, facing Jiuhua and turning his back to the moon, looking down at the darkness below Jiuhua Mountain, murmuring to himself.

In that darkness, two mysterious figures were hiding and talking secretly.

"Number Five, you did not complete your task well," a slender figure said from the darkness, his voice plain with no emotional fluctuation, but it had a hint of accusation.

"My business is none of your concern, Number Seven," another larger figure replied. "Our task in this competition is to attract the attention of the Jiuhua leaders without placing in the top five, in order to gain their notice and support. I have accomplished that."

The other voice fell silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "There has been a change in the task; our master wants one of us to enter the top five of this contest to participate in the Newcomer Competition hosted by the six Holy Lands ten years from now."

"Is there a change in the task for ten years from now?"

"These are not things we should know."

"Is it you or me who will go?" Listening to this person, it seemed like getting fifth place was very easy for them.

"I will go. This matter suits me better."

Another voice was silent for a moment, then sighed, "Alright."

"Number Five, are you hesitating?"

"We have come this far; what is the use of hesitating? Can we turn back?"

"You know it’s best. Stay loyal to the master, and you will naturally benefit. If you dare to betray, don’t even mention the master; I will not spare you." As the voice faded, the slender figure slowly disappeared, until it was gone.

The large figure let out a soft sigh, then slowly vanished as well. Only the deep darkness remained, quietly waiting for the next plot to unfold.

Whenever people regret past impulses or the lack of them, there is a deep sense of helplessness. Because many things, once done, can never be undone.

This is probably fate playing tricks on humanity.

During the day, Jiuhua Mountain is always filled with dazzling sunshine. Under the reflection of the magical mist and clouds, it shines with beams of fairy light, creating a scene of immortals.

At the foot of Jiuhua Mountain, in front of Linghua Hall, the crowd was lively and bustling, as if all the cultivators in Jiuhua Mountain had gathered here. People were discussing who would win or lose, eagerly anticipating the start of the competition. The impact of the top four contest in the hall was clearly evident.

When Xu Qingfan arrived in the square, the crowd naturally made way for this young genius who had stood out impressively in the competition. However, the looks in their eyes were filled with sympathy or schadenfreude. To them, it seemed certain that Xu Qingfan would lose this match because his opponent was Feng Qingtian, the number one talent of Jiuhua Gate.

A dark horse can only ever be a dark horse.

Xu Qingfan paid no attention to the strange gazes from the crowd; he just stood quietly off to the side, waiting for the competition to begin. He knew full well that he was at a disadvantage against Feng Qingtian in every way. His reaching the top four was partly due to luck; both Li Yuhan and Sheng Yushan were indeed stronger than him, and Dongfang Qingling was not any weaker either. Therefore, he felt calm about participating in this match. If he lost, so what? He had nothing to lose. After all, Xu Qingfan joined this competition to retrieve Lu Huayan’s relics, and getting third place would be enough.

For Xu Qingfan, his only hope in this match was to try to force Feng Qingtian to reveal more of his hidden strength, which would help Jin Qinghan.

"Senior Brother Xu." At that moment, Jin Qinghan’s voice suddenly came from behind him.

"Junior Brother Jin, you’re here." Xu Qingfan turned around and smiled before speaking.

Jin Qinghan nodded and then looked at Xu Qingfan seriously and said, "Senior Brother Xu, just do your best in this match, and don’t push yourself too hard."

When Xu Qingfan heard Jin Qinghan’s words, he felt warmth in his heart and smiled as he said, "Got it, I will do that, you don’t have to worry."

At that moment, the sound of bells began to ring out, echoing all over Jiuhua Mountain, signaling that the first match of the day was about to begin.