Chapter 392: Chapter 25 Shi Liuli Also Wants to Participate in the Great Competition
The journey to Penglai need not be mentioned.
Before Luo Yan had time to release the seal on the Heavenly Weaving God Shuttle, he was solemnly summoned by Elder Shi Ding to a secret meeting inside the Heavenly Craft Workshop.
“Luo Yan, there is something you need to listen to carefully. Do not spread word of it outside,” the elder said.
Luo Yan instinctively straightened his posture and listened intently to his master’s instructions.
“Before long, our Three Pure Ones Orthodox Sect will jointly hold a grand competition,” Elder Shi Ding began, stroking his beard. “Although it’s nominally to deter the minions of the Demonic Path, in reality, it is an internal contest within the orthodox sects to vie for the top title.”
After hearing this, Luo Yan inwardly exclaimed in admiration.
Indeed, Master has hit the nail on the head.
The White Jade Capital’s grand competition was initially proposed by the Shushan Shangqing Faction, with the stated purpose of showcasing the talents of the younger generation to deter thieves of the Demonic Path.
Yet the competition is to be held within the secluded realms of White Jade Capital, which outsiders cannot enter to witness; where is the deterrence they claim?
In truth, it was because Shushan aspired to surpass Kunlun’s leading position but did not wish to be too direct and risk harming relations, using the competition as a pretext for a showdown with Kunlun.
I had been blind to the schemes as an insider; the Sword Immortals of Shushan had been in power for too long, their straightforward mentality assimilated by brutes, oblivious to the high-level stratagems at play, tsk tsk.
“Since it’s a struggle between Shushan and Kunlun,” Luo Yan asked with a serious expression. “What stance should we from Penglai take?”
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Seeing that he had quickly grasped the crux of the matter, Elder Shi Ding felt a sense of gratification and decided to speak frankly:
“No particular stance. Our Penglai doesn’t excel in terms of combat strength compared to the other two factions, so as long as we don’t lose face in the competition, that would suffice.”
“It is said that, based on the competition results, the top twelve will be chosen, corresponding to the twelve cities of White Jade Capital.”
“The consensus within the Pavilion is that, among the twelve cities of White Jade Capital, our Yuqing View must secure at least one position; that is the minimum goal.”
Luo Yan:……….
Suddenly, a small theater played in his mind, where the Ziwei Master of Kunlun announced loudly:
“This represents our position as the leader of the Orthodox Sect!”
The Jade Capital Sect Leader from Shushan said with a cold laugh:
“To rebuild the glory of the Orthodox Sect is our unshirkable duty!”
The Master of Xuandu from Penglai echoed:
“To reach the top twelve would count as success.”
What a huge gap between them!
Seeing Luo Yan’s strange expression, Elder Shi Ding couldn’t help but feel a mix of laughter and tears, he sighed and said:
“You know the situation in our Pavilion; everyone enjoys delving into the Dao and doesn’t like bravado or violence, otherwise, we wouldn’t have suffered such a defeat at the hands of the Demon Cult last time.”
“There have been Orthodox Sect competitions in the past, but every time our Penglai Pavilion had trouble even gathering the number of participants, we had to rely on various internal workshops to reluctantly allocate spots and force disciples into participation… no one is really willing to go.”
Fearing that Luo Yan might get cold feet, Elder Shi Ding suddenly added:
“However, Luo Yan, you have traversed the Five Qi Dynasty Yuan Cave, passed through the Treasure Ship Secret Realm, defeated cultivators from Moon Island, and discovered the Lianshan treasure hoard. Others may rely on a draw from within the workshops to decide spots, but you have long been earmarked as a participant—the Pavilion Master remembers your name.”
Luo Yan then forced out a smile uglier than crying.
“Don’t worry,” Elder Shi Ding soothed him patiently, “in order for you to break into the top twelve this time, our pavilion will tilt resources towards several of our potential disciples during this period and will also invite renowned teachers from each family to provide guidance.”
“All you need to do is to properly accept the training and give it your all during the competition. Even if you end up outside the top twelve seats in the end, the Pavilion Master won’t say anything… After all, there are too many formidable cultivators in Kunlun and Shushan, and it’s quite normal for us to not be able to compete with them.”
Wow, the competition hasn’t even started yet, and you, Master, are already preparing for defeat, huh?
After bidding farewell to Elder Shi Ding, Luo Yan left the inner chamber sulkily, only to bump into Shi Liuli outside.
“Little junior brother, little junior brother!” Miss Shi started with her signature double-hit junior brother greeting, then skillfully clung to his arm, coquettishly shaking it, while starting a triple chant, “You help me, okay? You help me, okay? You help me, okay?”
“Stop!” Luo Yan hurriedly held her arm down, “Miss, temper your charm, will you? I’ll help you, all right? Spit it out, what mess do you want me to clean up this time?”
“What, you think I’d only come to you for those lousy reasons?” Shi Liuli reflexively wanted to put her hands on her hips and glower, but then remembered she needed something from him and could only speak in a gentle and soft tone, “I want to participate in the White Jade Capital competition.”
“Master won’t let you join the White Jade Capital competition?” Luo Yan asked in surprise.
“It’s not that,” Shi Liuli twiddled her fingers, speaking with difficulty, “Father said I could sign up, but my strength has to be up to par, otherwise even if the pavilion allows it, he would not agree to let me go.”
“Well, that’s a bit difficult…” Luo Yan was about to tease her a bit, but got interrupted by an angrily embarrassed Shi Liuli who moved behind him and hugged his neck, “You little scoundrel, junior brother, dare you question your senior sister’s strength?”
She probably meant to choke Luo Yan’s neck to force him into submission.
But Miss Shi’s strength was far too weak, and the actual pressure on Luo Yan’s neck was even less than that on his back.
Of course, Luo Yan wasn’t foolish enough to point this out, so he just exaggeratedly cried out:
“Wuwuwu, senior sister, stop choking me, I can’t breathe!”
Synchronization Value slightly increased.
Seeing him submit, Shi Liuli let go of him with a triumphant air and said:
“With my current strength, taking down a seat in the top twelve of White Jade Capital will be a piece of cake, won’t it?”
“Of course, of course,” Luo Yan could only agree, “With senior sister’s level of ability, it’s not guaranteed to take the first place in the Yuqing View, but ranking in the top three is beyond doubt.”
“It’s just that Master, being a father, subconsciously views the senior sister as a child and is thus reluctant to let senior sister take part in the big competition. As the saying goes, ‘as long as parents are alive, one should not travel too far away.’ Senior sister should also understand the painstaking care of our Master…”
As Luo Yan spoke, the Synchronization Value increased, but Shi Liuli got muddled by his grand reasoning and decided to just feign ignorance:
“Little junior brother speaks well, but let’s not talk about it anymore, I don’t understand it.”
“I want to convince father to let me participate in the White Jade Capital competition. If little junior brother can help his senior sister, that would be great; if you can’t help senior sister, then she will have no choice but to be a little tea-serving maid for junior brother, sneaking into the Yuqing View team that way.”
Daring to threaten me here! Luo Yan immediately felt a surge of anger inside him.
If Elder Shi Ding knew that Shi Liuli was pretending to be my maid to sneak out, wouldn’t he blame me for it?
Alright, Master, being keen-eyed, would definitely guess that it was Shi Liuli’s own doing, but it doesn’t mean he wouldn’t hold a grudge against me… Hm, Miss Shi in maid attire, I’d like to see… But with Shi Liuli’s strength, representing the Yuqing View is definitely enough. Maybe Master just thinks it’s a waste of time, and doesn’t want her to use it as an excuse to play around outside.
At that thought, Luo Yan suddenly had an epiphany, understanding his Master’s true intentions.
During the great competition of the Orthodox Three Pure Ones, there would certainly be all sorts of tedious formalities. Miss Shi wouldn’t be able to stand that!
Not to mention anything else, just listening to the Ziwei Master’s long-winded speech, Shi Liuli would definitely lose patience.
If something unpredictable happened at the meeting, wouldn’t it be our Heavenly Craft Workshop’s face at risk?