Today, there was a Grand Competition within the Thousand Arms Sect.
Before Mu Qiu Ying went to watch the matches, she called for Chen Juenian.
“Watch more, it will be good for you… You broke through?”
“Yes. Senior Mu, this junior has broken through to the mid Qi Refining Stage.”
“Good.”
Mu Qiu Ying nodded, then walked ahead of Chen Juenian.
Those familiar with her might find it strange—it was just advancing from the early to the mid Qi Refining Stage.
How could that possibly deserve her praise?
In truth, even Mu Qiu Ying herself hadn’t noticed that she was always inexplicably lenient when facing Chen Juenian.
—
As Mu Chunxiang took her seat on the high platform, the previously noisy arena instantly fell silent.
“Sit.”
“This junior can stand behind you, Senior.”
“Fine. Elder Li, you may begin.”
Elder Li, acting as the referee, acknowledged the order, then leaped down from the platform, landing in the center of the arena.
‘First match, Zhao Da, Qian Er…’
“…”
Chen Juenian watched as two men walked onto the stage below.
The weapons they carried were different—he could even see a long halberd, something almost unseen in this world.
To be honest, Chen Juenian didn’t want to watch this kind of competition.
Mu Qiu Ying thought it would be useful for him, but to Chen Juenian, it was no different from children fighting.
“Who do you think will win?”
“This junior believes the senior brother wielding the long halberd will emerge victorious.”
The crisp sound of clashing weapons echoed through the arena, and the other disciples who had quieted down gradually began to murmur and discuss.
“Keep watching.”
After watching for a while longer, Mu Qiu Ying slowly spoke.
“I thought a young man like you would choose the sword without hesitation, not that long halberd you’ve probably never even seen.”
At some point, the ‘sword’ as a weapon had gradually been mythologized, becoming the so-called strongest weapon.
It was true, in the Ninth Heaven Beyond the Sky, there was indeed a sect that followed the Way of the Sword, and within it, there was indeed a Great Emperor who had proven his Dao through the sword.
But that didn’t mean the sword was the so-called strongest weapon.
On the contrary, among all weapons, the sword couldn’t even be rated as mediocre by Mu Qiu Ying.
“Can you explain why the one with the sword will lose?”
As her words fell, the match below had already been decided.
The disciple with the sword held it horizontally in front of him, trying to block the halberd, but in the end, he and his sword were both sent flying by a single flick of the halberd.
Elder Li acted, using her power to catch the sword-wielding disciple mid-air, then announced in a deep voice:
‘First match, Zhao Da wins.’
“The senior brother with the long sword was passive from the start, almost having no way to deal with the other senior brother’s weapon… This junior believes it doesn’t seem to be a difference in strength between the two senior brothers.”
“Not detailed enough, but correct. Do you want to go down and fight a match?”
Hearing this, Chen Juenian quickly and tactfully declined.
He didn’t want to be treated like a stray dog and beaten down instantly.
Although he was proficient in countless martial techniques, without cultivation, he could be defeated by a wooden training dummy.
What more could he say?
Without cultivation, no matter how proficient he was in martial techniques, it was all fake.
“Mhm—Indeed, there are no Qi Refining Stage disciples within my Thousand Arms Sect.”
Mu Qiu Ying thought about it.
The worst in her sect probably had at least early Core Formation Stage cultivation, right?
Early Core Formation was the baseline for the Thousand Arms Sect, and such disciples were usually recruited just for sweeping.
One could only say…
Chen Juenian’s situation was indeed extremely special.
“But you usually only focus on raising your cultivation without any actual combat experience. This will make your cultivation appear extremely unstable and hollow in the end.”
Although Chen Juenian didn’t have much cultivation to speak of anyway.
“Alright, starting tomorrow, I will find you for sparring practice. Be prepared.”
“This junior understands.”
“Good.”
What satisfied Mu Qiu Ying was that Chen Juenian didn’t show any fear.
‘Even when facing me, he can remain this calm? Although his cultivation is lacking and he probably has no practical experience, at least he’s quite intelligent and has some courage.’
For almost every subsequent match, Mu Qiu Ying would ask Chen Juenian who would win or lose, and Chen Juenian was always able to accurately predict the final outcome.
Moreover, although his answers weren’t detailed, they always hit the key points.
“It’s over. Xuanyuan Nian, follow me back to the main hall.”
“Alright.”
As the two on the high platform turned and left, the disciples, who could no longer contain their gossipy hearts, immediately began discussing.
Even though Elder Li hadn’t left yet.
Well, to be honest, the disciples had never been very afraid of Elder Li.
This old lady was generally very gentle and tolerant.
The one they were truly afraid of was their own Sect Leader.
“Who is that man? Which elder’s disciple is he? How come I’ve never seen him!”
“Are you stupid? Standing behind the Sect Leader means he’s the Sect Leader’s disciple, right?”
“?”
“You don’t know? Let me tell you—”
Hearing the know-it-all start to explain, the surrounding disciples who were unaware of the truth all gathered around.
Then they understood.
So it was a young master from the Xuanyuan Clan here to gild his credentials.
Although the Xuanyuan Clan resided in the Sixth Heaven Beyond the Sky, no one dared to look down on them.
As a force from the Sixth Heaven, they possessed two Tribulation Transcending experts.
You have to know that their own major force in the Eighth Heaven, the Thousand Arms Sect, only had one!
“Also, if I’m not mistaken, that man should only have Qi Refining Stage cultivation… and… it seems like he just started on the Immortal Path.”
“Early Qi Refining Stage? He looks about sixteen or seventeen, right? Starting on the Immortal Path at that age?”
Which one of those present hadn’t reached Foundation Establishment by fifteen?
If you couldn’t establish your foundation by fifteen, with such poor innate talent, you couldn’t even step through the sect’s threshold!
And yet, that young master seemed to have just started on the Immortal Path.
“That’s definitely…”
“I can hear everything. You should know what should and shouldn’t be said.”
As Elder Li, who was handling the match results nearby, spoke up, the discussion below gradually quieted down.
—
“By the way, half a month ago, on the day your mother came to find you, what were you doing before she arrived?”
After returning to the main hall, Mu Qiu Ying turned and asked Chen Juenian.
“This junior was wandering around the Thousand Arms Sect that day.”
“Did you happen to see a woman wearing luxurious gold and white robes?”
“I have not seen her.”
“Mmm…”
Actually, Mu Qiu Ying had been thinking:
Should she tell her older sister about Xuanyuan Nian’s existence?
Although, if her sister knew of his existence, she would most likely come and kill this child…
Forget it.
The good ending where her sister lets go of the past and spares Xuanyuan Nian was destined to be a small probability.
To ensure this child’s safety, she absolutely must not mention this child’s existence to her sister.
“Look up.”
Chen Juenian looked up toward the ceiling of the main hall and saw hundreds of weapons suspended in the air.
He had always wanted to complain.
Wouldn’t it be better to keep these weapons in a spatial ring for easy access?
Why go through the trouble of setting up an array to suspend them up there?
It always made Chen Juenian randomly imagine these weapons suddenly falling and hitting him or something.
“If there’s one you like, then it’s yours. Later, during our sparring sessions, I will also teach you the corresponding martial techniques for the weapon you choose.”
“This junior wants that weapon.”
Chen Juenian pointed to a bow.
What?
Mu Qiu Ying was troubled.
How was she supposed to teach something like a bow?
Would they just shoot at each other during sparring to see who’s more accurate?
But she had already said it, and the child indeed wanted the bow.
There was no other way.
Mu Qiu Ying raised her hand, pulling the bow to herself, then handed it to Chen Juenian.
“This bow has no arrows. You only need to draw the string to shoot Spiritual Energy with extremely strong destructive power.”
“This junior understands.”
“Why did you choose this?”
Chen Juenian was stunned for a moment.
The reason he chose this was entirely because he didn’t want to spar with Mu Qiu Ying.
What was the point of sparring?
Either he pretended to be clumsy to deceive Mu Qiu Ying and was forced to learn weapons he already knew, or he didn’t pretend and aroused suspicion, ultimately exposing himself.
It was a dead end either way.
Better to solve the problem at its root.
Who told Mu Qiu Ying to keep this bow here anyway?
“Because this junior is very interested in such a weapon.”
“Fine.”
Mu Qiu Ying gently placed her hand on the bowstring of the bow in Chen Juenian’s hand, then slowly infused her own Spiritual Energy into it.
“The bow is indeed quite suitable for you now. However, only for now. The limitations of this weapon are too great. Once you reach the Core Formation Stage, it will… In short, it is indeed very suitable for you.”