As the old man announced the results,
No one applauded.
All that could be seen were faces frozen in shock.
Li He of the Martial Hall,
A top contender in the Martial Hall, pursued by countless aristocratic families and dynasties, with a history of defeating foes above his own level.
Now, he had actually been defeated by the virtually unknown Ye Qiubai.
Anyone with eyes could see that Ye Qiubai was relaxed the entire time, as if he hadn't even used his full strength.
Above, Headmaster Qin Tiannan smiled and said, "Looks like Chang'sheng's eye for talent is as sharp as ever."
Dean Ru of the Confucian Faction nodded in agreement, saying, "This one's talent truly is outstanding."
Meanwhile, the Sword Hall Elder watched Ye Qiubai with a peculiar look, lost in thought.
At this moment, the old man stood beside Ye Qiubai, his expression odd as he asked, "Ye Qiubai, you now have 200 contribution points. Do you wish to keep challenging? But if you lose, you'll have to give all your points to the victor."
Ye Qiubai didn't hesitate for a second. He had come here for the sake of live combat, to break through his limits.
"Let's continue," he replied.
The old man nodded and read out the next challenger's name.
"Array Hall, Qiu Ming."
Qiu Ming looked at Ye Qiubai, his tone serious, "You're strong, but I wonder if you can break through my formation."
With that, a flurry of array flags shot out from Qiu Ming's fingertips.
Encircling the entire martial arts arena, the flags formed colorful mist that enveloped the space.
Someone in the audience cried out in surprise.
"That's Qiu Ming's Seven Illusionary Array! Anyone trapped inside will experience seven different illusions. If you can't escape, you'll be trapped for life!"
"Then isn't this bad news for Ye Qiubai?"
"Come on, everyone is ruled by the Seven Emotions and Six Desires, right?"
The Array Hall Elder watched with a laugh. "Qiu Ming is my disciple. I personally taught him that Seven Illusionary Array. Ye Qiubai's in real trouble now."
But the Sword Hall Elder shook his head. "A sword cultivator can't be held back by mere illusions."
"Well, let's wait and see," someone else replied.
Ye Qiubai, trapped inside the Seven Illusionary Array, came face to face with the first illusion: the scene of his family testing his talent.
"Next, Ye Qiubai!"
Surrounded by fake yet vicious mocking faces, Ye Qiubai stepped forward.
Each sneering face was like the cruelest insult the world had to offer, stabbing at Ye Qiubai's heart.
But—
Those words could no longer shake Ye Qiubai's state of mind.
He pressed his hand against the Sky Penetrating Stone, and in an instant, radiant light exploded outward, sword qi rampaging through the illusion!
Crack!
And with that, the first illusion shattered!
Soon after, the second, the third, all the way to the sixth illusion, were broken by Ye Qiubai in a flash!
In the seventh, a little girl stood before Ye Qiubai.
The girl chased after a little boy, giggling all the way.
Calling out, "Brother Qiubai!" with every breath.
The two played and cultivated together.
The boy was hailed as the first genius in Tianyuan City.
A perfect pair, they'd been betrothed since childhood.
Ye Qiubai stared at the scene, eyes filled with nostalgia.
The image shifted.
The girl had grown into a beautiful, enchanting woman.
The boy, on the other hand, had lost his talent in one fateful training accident.
Now the woman arrived at the boy's family home, holding the betrothal contract, tore it up, and left without a backward glance.
Afterwards, she even sent people to hunt him down.
The scene ended there.
Ye Qiubai sighed, "What's past is past. If I owe a debt, I'll repay it. If I'm wronged, I'll settle the score."
"How could I possibly sink into self-pity here?"
"The Sword Dao demands we press ever onward!"
Ye Qiubai's eyes were clear and bright; a sudden understanding dawned in his heart. He slashed out with his sword.
The seventh illusion was shattered!
Outside—
The crowd was still debating whether or not Ye Qiubai could break the formation.
But right then, Qiu Ming's expression changed.
The layers of colorful mist began to disperse!
"Impossible!"
Qiu Ming scrambled to restore the formation, but the array flags simply collapsed!
Qiu Ming spat up a mouthful of blood and collapsed!
Formation backlash!
The audience shuddered.
They had all been sure Ye Qiubai couldn't break the array.
Yet not only had Ye Qiubai shattered the formation, he'd done it in just ten breaths!
Ten breaths to break the Seven Illusionary Array—what did that even mean?
The Sword Hall Elder above shouted, "Sword Heart Profundity!"
Qin Tiannan's face was tense.
The Array Hall Elder was utterly stunned.
"So young and already grasping Sword Heart Profundity—his future is limitless!"
With that, the Sword Hall Elder suddenly flashed down to the martial arts arena, stared at Ye Qiubai, and asked eagerly, "Will you join my Sword Hall? Take me as your master?"
Qin Tiannan and the others exchanged looks, half laughing, half crying.
The surrounding crowd erupted with shouts.
"Even the Sword Hall Elder came down himself to recruit!"
"Ye Qiubai must be incredible!"
"Seriously, even the elders are fighting over him now!"
Ye Qiubai was stunned for a moment, but didn't hesitate—he cupped his fists and declined, "I'm already a disciple of The Cottage, sorry Elder."
The Sword Hall Elder pressed, "You're a sword cultivator, and our Sword Hall has boundless Sword Dao heritage. If you join, you could even grasp sword intent within sixty years... But in The Cottage—"
Sword intent...
Ye Qiubai's expression turned strange, but he simply shook his head, "I already have a master."
Seeing this, the Sword Hall Elder could only sigh, "Fine, but Sword Hall will always welcome you."
He then tossed Ye Qiubai a sword-shaped jade token.
"This is Sword Hall's token. Anytime you need help with Sword Dao, you can seek me out."
"Thank you, Elder," Ye Qiubai said respectfully.
With that, the Sword Hall Elder vanished from sight.
Afterward,
Ye Qiubai continued his winning streak,
defeating challengers from every hall.
The Cottage's name started to resound throughout Hidden Dao Academy once again.
Decades ago, The Cottage was famous everywhere.
Now, with The Cottage once again taking on disciples, it was back with a vengeance.
Qin Tiannan soon arrived at The Cottage,
bringing the news to Lu Chang'sheng.
Lu Chang'sheng's face twisted strangely, "Why does that kid love showing off so much? If everyone tries to join The Cottage, how am I supposed to slack off?"
Qin Tiannan's face darkened, "If you've got the talent, why not take on more disciples?"
"What talent?"
Lu Chang'sheng spread his hands, "I've said it before, I don't even understand my own cultivation, how could I teach anyone else? As for that kid Qiubai, he's just a natural genius—that's all."
Qin Tiannan sighed and patted Lu Chang'sheng's shoulder, "I know you've got it in you, you just like to be lazy."
With those words, Qin Tiannan left directly.
Lu Chang'sheng looked as innocent as ever.
Seriously, you tell the truth these days, and no one believes you?