“Then, this disciple shall take his leave?”
“Ah, of course!”
After receiving permission from the referee, He Qiu glanced one last time at the fallen Zhou Hang before walking over.
He paused for a moment, nodding as if hesitating over something.
‘Zhou Hang, what a strange villain…’
Although the man seemed to harbor a deep prejudice against him, as far as results went, it was only because He Qiu had fallen for his hidden move during the combat that he was able to suddenly realize the practical meaning of the second layer of his sword techniques.
In a way, Zhou Hang had given him a free lesson.
‘I should probably help this predecessor heal. He’s quite pitiful…’
Looking at the unconscious Zhou Hang, He Qiu ultimately decided to do a good deed for once.
Reaching out, he condensed a bit of the chilling spiritual energy from his sword and tapped on several pressure points, injecting it into Zhou Hang’s body.
*Hum!*
A faint light flickered as the latter’s body began to heal at a visible rate.
Much of the bruising on his face stopped bleeding, and the swelling began to recede.
Seeing this, He Qiu nodded secretly before standing up and walking away.
He had used the small amount of spiritual energy he had left—energy cultivated from the Fine Snow Sword Manual that incorporated the icy intent of the Dao of the Sword itself.
Since Zhou Hang was also a Sword Cultivator, He Qiu’s spiritual energy was sufficient to provide basic healing.
As for the portion of spiritual energy that the deer spirit Yun Qing had lent him, He Qiu had no intention of sharing that with Zhou Hang.
He wasn’t generous enough to use Sister Yun Qing’s precious energy to save an opponent.
That would be like trying to be charitable with someone else’s wealth.
That was the Spiritual Qi Essence of a deer spirit with 10,000 years of cultivation; its value was likely astronomical.
He Qiu intended to keep it for himself and use it sparingly.
As for his own spiritual energy?
Please—the tiny, weak trace of spiritual energy produced by his Wasted Spirit Vein had no practical value anyway.
Keeping it was just for show, so he might as well use it to help Zhou Hang heal.
‘Alright, today’s match had a good harvest. Time to go back to the pavilion and slack off~’
Humming a little tune, He Qiu was in a good mood as he stepped out of the Martial Arts Arena.
At that moment, the referee behind him suddenly shouted in a high-pitched voice, “The winner of the second round: He Qiu!”
“This judge announces that Junior Brother He Qiu shall retain his place in the Inner Gate! Zhou Hang of the Outer Gate shall return to his original sect status!”
As the words fell, thunderous cheers erupted from the spectator stands.
Junior Brother He Qiu had participated in the match and crushed two predecessors while being at a lower level, washing away the slander of being a “nepotism hire.”
Was there a more inspirational or hot-blooded story in the entire Longyin Sect?
No.
Even if there was, it would have been several years ago when An Lingran was crowned the Saintess and first showed her brilliance.
Looking at it now, Junior Brother He Qiu’s profound sword techniques and peerless talent were not at all weaker than the Heaven’s Gifted Daughter, An Lingran, back in her day!
The most touching part was the special relationship between An Lingran and He Qiu.
Just look—when He Qiu barely won earlier, the look of anxiety on An Lingran’s face as she rushed off the stage to check on her Junior Brother showed just how much she cared!
Furthermore, the two of them had touched each other’s faces in public.
Their relationship was clearly intimate!
Thirty years in the east, thirty years in the west—the youth had washed away his stained reputation, defeated his wicked enemies, and the hero had won the heart of his beautiful Senior Sister…
It was enough to bring tears to one’s eyes.
Truly, how could one not be moved?
‘It’s so inspirational, everyone! He’s practically the model protagonist for a modern-day underdog novel!’
At this moment, regardless of whether they were Inner or Outer Gate disciples, everyone’s impression of Junior Brother He Qiu soared, and they felt deep admiration in their hearts.
He Qiu had become a sensation within the Longyin Sect.
—
In the Primordial Saint Pavilion, a person and a deer sat facing each other.
“Yun Qing, when Junior Brother was fighting, he used your natural spiritual energy…”
An Lingran’s tone was soft.
Rather than questioning the act, she sounded more like she was offering a belated thanks.
The girl with the pale golden hair hummed a tune, sitting politely in a “duck sit” position with her small feet tucked under her bottom.
She said leisurely, “He Qiu has no spiritual energy, so he couldn’t forge a Sword Spirit. That’s why I lent it to him.”
With that, Yun Qing’s eyes shifted, and she asked An Lingran back with a bit of a complaint, “As his Senior Sister, Ranran, you didn’t even think of that. If I hadn’t secretly helped him yesterday, do you think Brother He Qiu could have won today’s match?”
“If He Qiu had lost, Ranran should understand better than anyone what a miserable end he would have faced!”
“B-but… I only found out today that Junior Brother had already self-studied the forging of a Sword Spirit…”
“The result is that Ranran, as a Senior Sister, is incompetent. You always have been.”
Yun Qing folded her arms like a teacher scolding a child who had made a mistake, her gaze stern.
An Lingran was speechless.
She had originally intended to thank Yun Qing, but before she could even speak, she was rebuked until she felt like sinking into the ground.
Everything Yun Qing said was the cold, hard truth.
An Lingran had been making mistakes constantly these past few days.
She didn’t know what was wrong with her.
Every time it involved Junior Brother He Qiu, her usual values and way of handling things were repeatedly slapped in the face.
Her cheeks felt hot every single day…
As expected, respect between people was mutual.
An Lingran had initially harbored ill intentions toward He Qiu.
She thought he would be like those common mortals—easily angered, prone to giving up on himself, and then fading from the public eye according to her plan…
But she was wrong.
He Qiu was not the Mortal she had perceived him to be.
He was not only a rare genius seen once in 10,000 years, but also a kind, gentle, and noble youth.
That was why An Lingran had repeatedly failed and fallen into a cycle of making mistakes, self-reproach, being scolded, and feeling guilty…
The fundamental reason was that her set of values could not be applied to He Qiu.
In this Myriad Realms of Spiritual Cultivation, not everyone was shallow and narrow-minded; there were still many people worthy of respect.
Finally realizing this, An Lingran let out a helpless, bitter smile.
She lowered her head, setting aside her pride as the Ice Mountain Saintess, and began to reflect on herself like a child who had done wrong.
“Yun Qing is right. I was too shallow. I was the arrogant fool…”
“Having sat firmly in the position of Saintess for so long, and with people constantly praising and flattering me, I actually started to believe I was some Heaven’s Gifted Daughter or the Primordial Saintess… Hehe, she’s right. Since when did I start taking it for granted that I was an indispensable celestial maiden of this world?”
“Without the cultivation granted by a heavenly opportunity, without the title of Saintess supported by the masses, without the beauty given to me by my parents… what would I, An Lingran, even be? With my arrogant and shallow character, do I truly deserve a gentle and noble Junior Brother?”
“It seems I really need to reflect properly…”
With her head lowered, 3,000 silver strands of hair draped over her skirt.
An Lingran’s beautiful eyes were deep and her expression serious.
She suddenly understood.
Over these past seven days, it wasn’t she who had taught her Junior Brother sword techniques.
Rather, it was her Junior Brother who, with his noble character and practical actions, had given her a vivid and profound lesson in cultivating the heart.
Cultivating one’s character and learning how to treat others…
Her father, An Daosheng, had tried to teach her these principles before.
It was just that An Lingran always felt she understood how to be a person.
She was intelligent and felt she was mature enough to see through everything, so she had selectively ignored them and never took them to heart.
But looking at it now, she was still far from it.
Cultivation was not just about the body; it was about the heart and the nature.
‘I see. Junior Brother must have gained a profound understanding of these levels, which is why he could practice the Fine Snow Sword Manual so quickly. That is why he could self-study the Thousand Snow Sword Heart in seven days, summon a unique Sword Spirit, and make such a ferocious Sword Spirit willingly submit to him.’
With layer after layer of sudden realization, An Lingran felt more and more that He Qiu possessed a deep, unfathomable foundation.
‘Just what level has Junior Brother reached?’
‘How shameful. Even though I am the Eldest Senior Sister, I can only perceive one or two layers of his veil…’
“Sigh—”
With another soft sigh, An Lingran’s estimation of He Qiu’s importance rose yet again.
If she had the chance in the future, she would definitely have a long talk about life with her Junior Brother!
***
*Achoo!*
Inside the pavilion, He Qiu suddenly sneezed.
“Tsk, who’s talking about me behind my back again?”
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