Chapter 435 - 155: First Place
As Liu Rou spoke, the envy in her eyes deepened.
She was just an ordinary outer disciple of Lingxi Peak and could only use the D-grade Training Rooms on a normal day. She had no idea what a B-grade Training Room looked like or how effective it was for cultivation; she could only imagine.
Beside her, Lin Wenxuan nodded in agreement. "It’s not just the B-grade Training Room. There are also Elixir rewards, which are hugely beneficial for one’s Martial Dao cultivation. These are all things that we ordinary disciples can only dream of."
Liu Rou shook her head gently, her voice tinged with wistfulness. "It’s not something you can just envy. Senior Brother Yang earned every one of those rewards through a series of hard-won battles. Ordinary disciples like us might go our whole lives without ever receiving rewards of that caliber."
...
Yang Jing sat cross-legged below the Cyan Qilin Platform. He pinched a round Rejuvenation Pill between his fingers and raised it to his lips.
Once ingested, the elixir dissolved into a gentle, warm current that swiftly circulated through his meridians, spreading to every corner of his body.
The Inner Strength he had expended during his fierce battle with Zhao Chong was restored at a visible rate, and even the aching soreness in his limbs vanished completely.
A moment later, he slowly opened his eyes. They were perfectly clear, yet held a razor-sharp glint.
Next, he would face Yuwen Mingjue. This duel would decide first place in the Cyan Qilin Battle, and he had to give it his all, holding nothing back.
The scene from before the Cyan Qilin Battle began flashed through his mind: Yuwen Mingjue, looking down on him, had shot him a glance before making a cold, throat-slitting gesture.
Yang Jing remembered that provocative and contemptuous gesture perfectly.
He wasn’t one to seek revenge for every slight, but he was certainly no pushover who would just swallow an insult.
Today, he would return Yuwen Mingjue’s provocation from yesterday in full.
A cold smirk touched the corner of Yang Jing’s lips.
’He had no interest in trash-talking. Soon, on the Cyan Qilin Platform, they would see who would be beaten to a pulp.’
A cold glint flashed in his eyes at the thought.
His animosity toward Yuwen Mingjue wasn’t just because of the provocation, but also because of how the man had harassed Sun Ningxiang.
Yuwen Mingjue, relying on his status as a top expert at the Inner Strength Level and his background from the Yuwen Family, had repeatedly pestered Sun Ningxiang. If it weren’t for her stubborn nature, she would have long since been driven to her wits’ end by his advances.
’He’d never had a chance to face him directly before. Now, with the official stage of the Cyan Qilin Platform, he could finally let loose and fight.’
...
Time slowly passed, thick with the crowd’s anticipation and unease. The time it took an incense stick to burn went by in an instant.
The buzz of discussion around the Cyan Qilin Platform grew louder, with nearly every conversation revolving around the final match for first place between Yang Jing and Yuwen Mingjue.
"Who do you think will win? Yuwen Mingjue utterly crushed Qin Wenbao before. His power is unfathomable!"
"But Yang Jing is no slouch either! He defeated Zhao Chong in just a few dozen moves, and Zhao Chong’s a powerhouse on the same level as Yuwen Mingjue!"
"It’s hard to say, really! They’re both top-tier fighters. This showdown is guaranteed to be incredible!"
Previously, the vast majority of disciples had been certain that Yuwen Mingjue would take the top spot. After all, he had crushed every opponent on his way here, his dominance unmatched.
But Yang Jing’s sudden emergence had shattered that certainty.
His record of defeating three top fighters—Wei Dongting, Zhou Tong, and Zhao Chong—was enough to make everyone reconsider the final match. No one dared to claim that Yuwen Mingjue was a shoo-in anymore.
...
「On the other side.」
Yuwen Mingjue sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, but his brow was slightly furrowed.
His fingertips tapped lightly on his knee. While he appeared to be calmly meditating and regulating his breathing, his mind was in turmoil.
’He considered himself a cut above Zhao Chong in strength, but even he would need more than a hundred moves to secure a victory. Defeating him in just a few dozen moves was absolutely out of the question.’
’But Yang Jing had done it. That was enough to prove that Yang Jing’s strength was far more astounding than he had ever imagined.’
An unprecedented pressure weighed on him like a mountain, and a faint sense of panic began to stir within him.
Yuwen Mingjue took a deep breath, and the tapping of his fingers on his knee gradually slowed.
’I must be overthinking this. Yang Jing can’t be that strong. Perhaps Zhao Chong had been slacking in his training lately, making little progress, and Yang Jing just got lucky.’
’My All Things Return to Origin Fist has reached a state of perfection. There’s no way I’ll lose to some upstart from Lingxi Peak!’
As time passed, news of the final battle for the top spot in the Cyan Qilin Battle spread like wildfire throughout the Xuanzhen Sect.
More and more disciples rushed over upon hearing the news. The already crowded area around the Cyan Qilin Platform soon became packed so tightly that not even a drop of water could get through, and a restless energy filled the air.
Just then, an exceptionally loud commotion erupted in the distance. The crowd, which had been packed shoulder-to-shoulder, parted like a receding tide, spontaneously clearing a wide path.
A handsome young man in a golden robe was seen striding in.
He had a tall, straight posture and a handsome face, with an air of innate nobility and aloofness in his brow, as if he were born to stand above all others.
The disciples along his path bowed one after another, their voices filled with awe. "Greetings, Senior Brother Chu!"
Even a few of the Stewards hurried forward to greet him, their faces wreathed in deferential smiles as they struck up a conversation.
Yang Jing, who had been meditating with his eyes closed, was disturbed by the loud commotion. He couldn’t help but open his eyes and look in that direction.
The moment he saw the gold-robed young man, he was taken aback.
Not only was the man handsome, but he also exuded an extraordinary presence. The deferential way everyone treated him made it clear that his status was anything but ordinary.