Chapter 23
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Chapter 23: Admiring Muscles
Perhaps due to the special climate of the island, as night approached, the wind blew particularly strong. Cherry blossom petals danced in the air all over the island. Under the faint light of the Spiritual Array, it truly looked like a heavy snowfall gifted by heaven.
Shen Xinghai stood at the courtyard gate holding his sword. Because the Soundproof Spiritual Array had not been fully reinforced with spiritual jade, the various noises coming from inside were especially clear.
Especially the loud voices of the two senior martial brothers-"
Zhu Erchong, "It’s been said that the knife cultivators from the Jiang family will also be here today. We should review the lines Junior Brother Shen taught us a few days ago so that we don’t fall behind in front of them."
Bao Pilong also agreed, "Martial Brother Zhu, rest assured. I practiced the phrase ‘My fate is in my own hands’ a thousand times last night. I guarantee I won’t lose to anyone from the Jiang family in terms of momentum."
Martial Sister Mengran furrowed her brow, "I kept hearing noise from outside the dormitory last night that disturbed my sleep. It was you all along!"
Shen Xinghai looked helplessly at the senior martial siblings as they began to argue, almost drawing their swords. He quickly changed the subject, "Have any of you seen Martial Sister Wen? The Swordsmanship Contest is about to begin, let’s not be late."
As soon as the words fell, a clear voice came from the farthest room–
"I’m here."
Everyone looked towards the sound, then stood frozen in place.
Wen Yun was beautiful, standing out even among the beauties in the cultivation world. Anyone with eyes could see that.
But the Qingliu Sword Sect valued simplicity. Sword cultivators spent all their money and time on their swords. They didn’t have time to care about the latest fashion trends in the cultivation world, even if they wanted to… and they couldn’t afford to anyway.
That’s why the outer disciples of the Qingliu Sword Sect wore green robes, while the inner disciples wore white shirts. Sometimes, those who cared about their appearance would add decorations to their disciples’ attire. For example, Wen Yun’s handsome Second Master Brother Xu Wanfeng had painted some green bamboo on his white shirt.
Compared to other sects, the sword cultivators of the Qingliu Sword Sect always wore those semi-old white garments, without any decorations, coldly holding their priceless swords.
It might sound magical, but in reality, the sword cultivators generally looked plain. Even Wen Yun, who used to be different, now held a even plainer wooden sword.
So when Wen Yun appeared in front of everyone, the breath of all present seemed to pause.
In the past, her cold and plain face was carefully made up beautifully. Her eyes shone brightly, her hair was flowing like black ink down to her waist, the white dress she wore seemed to be enveloped in mist, with occasional shimmering light like moonlight. As she walked slowly, she appeared like a fairy from a painting coming to life.
Shen Xinghai gazed at Wen Yun’s face for a moment, then his cheeks started to feel warm. He pinched his palm to snap out of it, lowered his gaze, and whispered, "Martial Sister Wen, you look stunning in this outfit."
As soon as he spoke, everyone else realized.
No female cultivator could resist the temptation of a beautiful dress. Martial Sister Mengran seemed very interested, her eyes sparkling as she asked Wen Yun, "Martial Sister Wen, where did you buy this dress? How much was it?"
Wen Yun truthfully replied, "I bought it at Wanbao Pavilion for one hundred top-grade spiritual jade."
Martial Sister Mengran’s face changed drastically, and she quietly took a step back, saying, "Sorry for the disturbance, I’ll take my leave."
The senior brothers finally shifted their gaze away from Wen Yun’s face, staring at the dress with envy, muttering, "She’s wearing a top-quality fire spirit stone."
"Martial Sister Wen is wearing almost half of my sword on her."
Wen Yun asked a bit unwillingly, "Don’t you think my new dress looks pretty?"
The senior brothers were holding their swords, frowning and complaining, "It doesn’t look good, it would be better if it could be replaced with a gemstone sword."
"…"
Although that’s what was said, the group of sword cultivators from the Qingliu Sword Sect felt quite proud when they arrived at the Swordsmanship Contest venue.
Almost all eyes turned towards them, completely stealing the spotlight from the Jiang family.
It was not until Senior Zhu Erchong overheard a cultivator from Blizzard Island whispering next to him—
"This girl is so beautiful, she would be more suitable for our Blizzard Island, why did she become a sword cultivator at Qingliu Sword Sect instead? What a pity, isn’t it?"
Zhu Erchong stopped and drew his sword, his cold eyes glaring, "In thirty years’ time, fortunes change. Don’t underestimate the young!"
His stance and tone were all learned from the true teachings demonstrated by Wen Yun that day.
The disciple from Blizzard Island looked at Zhu Erchong’s carefree and wild beard on his face, paused for a moment, and softly said, "Senior, calling yourself young might not be quite fitting, right?"
At that moment, the people from the Jiang family came over. They were all tall and strong, with the leader, Jiang Si, looking especially young and confident, making Zhu Erchong feel small in comparison.
Jiang Si held a old-fashioned big knife in one hand, his bright eyes scanning the area until they landed on Wen Yun, whom someone had pointed out to him.
After looking at her closely, Jiang Si couldn’t hide his admiration and amazement in his eyes.
Jiang Si casually stuck the knife into the ground, then gracefully bowed and thanked Martial Sister Wen for helping him outside the battlefield, saying loudly, "Thank you, Martial Sister Wen!"
Ignoring the people from the Qingliu Sword Sect, Jiang Si kept his intense gaze on Wen Yun, offering, "If fate allows us to meet again at the Qianzhen Tower, I would be happy to help Martial Sister Wen reach the top."
Before Wen Yun could respond, a sarcastic voice from nearby interrupted,
"Help her reach the top? Maybe you should worry about whether you can even climb a few levels yourself."
The disciples of Blizzard Island separated into two groups, allowing the colorful Qian Lishen to strut confidently to the front. With a look of disdain on his heavily made-up face, he leaned back on a reclining chair.
A Blizzard Island disciple quickly brought him a reclining chair, and Qian Lishen lounged comfortably on it, looking relaxed as he mocked Jiang Si, "You brainless fools still think you can take over Qianzhen Tower with your swords like you did the other day?"
Qian Lishen rolled his eyes and pointed to the person next to Jiang Si, saying, "Trying to show off in front of a female cultivator is not a good idea…"
He wanted to make a sarcastic comment, but then he finally saw the face of the female cultivator clearly. In the next moment, his hand trembled almost imperceptibly and he quietly retracted it.
Looking at Wen Yun with uncertainty, he said, "Why is it you again?"
Wen Yun smiled at him and said, "I’m here to participate in the Swordsmanship Contest. It’s been two days since we last met, fellow Daoist. I was quite worried when I saw you looking pale and lost when you arrived on the island."
Qian Lishen felt a sharp pang in his heart from this unexpected concern.
However, Jiang Si, standing nearby, decided to add fuel to the fire, "I almost forgot, on the day Martial Sister Wen broke through Junior Brother Qian’s barrier to enter the island, I realized her strength is extraordinary. Qianzhen Tower is probably a piece of cake for you."
Qian Lishen’s expression darkened as he warned, "If you disrespect Blizzard Island again, I will make you see the power of formations!"
Jiang Si laughed heartily, readying his sword and said, "Perfect timing! We still have a little time before Qianzhen Tower opens. I’ll come and challenge Junior Brother Qian’s formations!"
Wen Yun stood by with her senior brothers, watching the commotion with swords in hand. She also used her spiritual energy to communicate with Ye Shubai next to her.
"In the world of cultivation, they really like fighting."
Ye Shubai said, "Actual combat can quickly improve your own strength. If you want to excel in swordsmanship, the best way is to spar with others."
Seeing him looking like he was encouraging himself to fight with Jiang Si and the others, Wen Yun quickly refused, "No, thanks. My wand will get damaged."
Even though she was now developing towards the path of a melee mage, she thought about the situation of exchanging blows with Jiang Si’s big sword using a wooden sword…
Oh.
She decided to change the subject, hinting to Ye Shubai, "I came over tonight and found many people secretly watching me."
Without glancing sideways, Ye Shubai continued to focus on the two people practicing magic in front of them. Just like when she asked him if she overshadowed everyone when they went out together, he maintained a cold and silent demeanor.
Wen Yun increased the hinting, "Martial Brother Shen also said I’m pretty."
Ye Shubai calmly replied, "We cultivators should judge based on strength, why bother with appearance?"
The girl with a wooden sword leaned against the tree, her eyes bright, "But if someone is strong and good-looking, wouldn’t that be even better?"
She wanted to boast about being beautiful and strong, but at that moment, Jiang Si and Qian Lishen were having a lively fight.
Qian Lishen quickly threw a spiritual jade from his hand, and a thunderstorm struck Jiang Si’s sword from the sky. He roared as his black armor on the upper body burst open suddenly.
The originally hidden muscular body was instantly exposed to everyone. The handsome man with sword-like brows and starry eyes, bare-chested and holding a sword, made almost all female cultivators and a few male cultivators unable to take their eyes off him.
The sword cultivators from the Qingliu Sword Sect grumbled, "How annoying that the spotlight of the sword cultivators has been overshadowed by the knife cultivators!"
Regrettably, Wen Yun, also a sword cultivator, was earnestly admiring Jiang Si’s physique.
Wen Yun was viewing it purely out of admiration. In her past life in the Magic World, she had mainly interacted with frail-looking, pale-faced mages and had never seen muscles as beautiful as Jiang Si’s.
She didn’t think it was wrong. Just like when others admired her beautiful dress, it was only natural for her to admire Jiang Si’s physique now. The right to appreciate beautiful things couldn’t be exclusive to male cultivators, right?
"Is he handsome?"
A cold voice suddenly came from beside her.
Wen Yun immediately looked away and said seriously, "It’s not good to compare, knife cultivators are not as carefree as sword cultivators."
"Why are you always watching Jiang Si?" Ye Shubai glanced at her lightly.
He was about to remind her not to just focus on Jiang Si’s physique, but also observe how Qian Lishen, who is not good at close combat, handles the dominating knife cultivator, and learn from it properly…
Wen Yun turned to him with a surprised look in her eyes, "You’re jealous."
She stated it with certainty, not as a question.
Ye Shubai slightly frowned, "No."
Wen Yun put on a caring smile and said indulgently, "It’s okay, in terms of looks, Jiang Si can’t compare to even half of you. If you were to show off here, even though I dressed up carefully today, I would admit defeat and be overwhelmed by your charm."
Ye Shubai stood tall, his face still indifferent, not giving her even a hint of response, only a faint blush creeping up on the tips of his ears.
After a long time, a very quiet voice floated from the side——
"You don’t need to dress up…"
Wen Yun didn’t hear what he said in the second half because there was a loud noise coming from that side, all the gates and factions were in place, and the Qianzhen Tower was about to open.
