Chapter 395: Chapter 28 Luo Yan had already decided
“Why has Liuli been practicing her swordsmanship so diligently lately?” Elder Shi Ding asked with surprise.
“She must have felt the good intentions behind Master’s rigorous training and thus is inspired to make great efforts and no longer slack off,” Luo Yan said earnestly.
Elder Shi Ding could not help feeling immensely gratified, although he knew his disciple was buttering him up, but as it was in praise of his daughter, he was still overjoyed.
Luo Yan’s synchronization value also shot up, his innate talent to grasp a thousand nuances from a scent became even more harmonious, and he too was overjoyed.
While the master and disciple were having a pleasant conversation, Shi Liuli still diligently practiced her swordsmanship, controlling the Purple Extreme Han Yuan Sword flawlessly.
Of course, just looking at the swordsmanship, the Penglai Jade Pure Pavilion’s East Sea Coral Sword is not exceptionally intricate, but its advantage lies in its ability to cooperate with magical treasures and talisman scripts, thus it is not altogether without merit.
If Miss Shi were to practice the rigid Kunlun Sword Technique, or the complicated Shushan Sword Technique, she might not be able to endure the loneliness or withstand the hardship… Considering her usual use of various magical treasures, Luo Yan thought that the East Sea Coral Sword suited her better.
After a few days, the people from the Pavilion Master’s side finally began to take action and quietly gathered Luo Yan and the others together.
“What is this about?” Shi Liuli asked in confusion.
“It’s probably about the matter of the White Jade Capital competition,” Luo Yan replied softly.
The seven people who were summoned to the main hall of the Yuqing View (incredibly, all seven were able to gather), excluding Luo Yan and Shi Liuli from the Heavenly Craft Workshop, there were also the son of the Master of Xuan Du, Tian Zhang, a disciple of the Divine Elixir Pavilion, Bi Lian, a disciple from the Heaven-Sign Tower, Han Xiu, a disciple from the Liurenyun Platform, Jian Qin, and a disciple from the Yu Zhang Pavilion, Lin Ruohu.
Tian Zhang was the very person whom his elders wanted to matchmake with Shi Liuli, and had later approached Luo Yan privately expressing that he “couldn’t stand the Miss”; Bi Lian was the one who had been rescued by Qiu Changtian in the past and later formed the Chief Qiu Fan Club. Both were acquaintances of Luo Yan.
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The other three, although Luo Yan had not interacted with them, having been at Yuqing View for so many years, he had heard of their names and rumors.
Han Xiu was from a family in Jingzhao with generations of calligraphy masters, and there were no shortage of family members who were officials in the current government;
Jian Qin hailed from the Jian Family of Qingzhou, the maternal aunt of Qiu Changtian’s junior sister Jian Qingnan, and was also a member of the fan club (although Qiu Changtian had never even met her).
Lin Ruohu had the lowest profile among the seven; it was said that Yu Zhang Pavilion really couldn’t find any suitable candidates and had to draft her by process of elimination. Additionally, she was the niece of Jin Gang Peak’s elder disciple from Shushan, Lin Duanshan… It was evident that the Three Pure Orthodox Sects were almost entirely occupied by prominent clans, deeply intertwined with complicated relationships and obligations.
The seven gathered in the main hall, with Shi Liuli, Bi Lian, and Jian Qin clustering together, chattering nonstop.
Tian Zhang then came over to Luo Yan, complaining about how the forthcoming White Jade Capital competition was crowded with “freaks of nature”:
“Qiu Changtian, the Chief Disciple of Kunlun, is said to practice the Immortal Sect’s secret technique, the ‘Nine Heavens Clear Entrance True Mantra’, with extremely vigorous True Yuan in his Qi Sea, and his signature Daoist Magic is known for its destructive power, the Five Thunder True Law, making him nearly unbeatable among his peers.”
“His junior sister, the Phoenix Immortal, Xu Yinglian, wields the Great Bright Fire that can burn mountains and boil seas. If one does not possess a way to resist fire, facing her often means suffering more defeats than victories.”
“Additionally, there is their junior brother, Guan Zhan, previously unknown, but who has recently risen to prominence. It is said that on the front lines against the Demonic Path, he has continuously slain several villains, earning the nickname ‘Desperate Guan’. Facing him, one fears mutual destruction.”
“The top of the Shushan Immortal Sword Ranking is An Zhisu, whose swordsmanship attainment is supremely sublime, and who is ruthless and decisive in combat, often slaying enemies with her Flying Sword, earning her the nickname ‘Weed-Cutting Sword Immortal’. Some people even say, ‘Better to meet Qiu Changtian than to face An Zhisu,’ showing the deep apprehension everyone has towards her.”
“Below the Weed-Cutting Sword Immortal are those who cut through mountains, divide seas, shatter moons, and break clouds.”
“Among them, Lin Duanshan’s swordsmanship is full of changing patterns, unpredictable; Duan Fenhai’s swordsmanship is extremely tight, watertight; Guan Shanyue’s swordsmanship is resolute and merciless, adept at seizing flaws; Ling Poyun’s swordsmanship is strong and vigorous, favoring overwhelming killing moves.”
“These four individuals have their unique strengths in swordsmanship, each creating their own system. Unless one has superior fighting techniques, they too are extremely difficult to contend against.”
As Luo Yan listened to his endless chatter, he laughed and said,
“Three and five make eight, with four more seats left in the twelve spots of White Jade Capital, it won’t be difficult for our Yuqing View to secure one, right?”
“It’s hard to say,” Tian Zhang sighed, “The reason I’m bringing up these eight people to you is that my father has assessed that the chance of surpassing these eight is too small.”
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“The remaining unmentioned individuals are the true competitors in this grand competition we face!”
Luo Yan let out a wry chuckle, pondering slightly. He had to admit, Tian Zhang’s words weren’t wrong.
Even the weakest among them, Guan Zhan, had to rely on listening to his fellow disciples discuss the scriptures and teach himself, due to lack of direct mentorship… Yet his combat experience was far richer than anyone from the Yuqing View.
The intellectuals of the Yuqing View, how could they outfight him?
In other words, according to the higher-ups of Penglai, the top eight spots were definitely out of reach from Kunlun and Shushan.
They were competing for the ninth to twelfth spots… It really was a case of “making it into the top twelve is considered a success.”
Luo Yan mulled over this silently, finding it somewhat absurd, but when he thought about it, what was the purpose of Luo Yan’s character setting?
To strive for a higher status within the Yuqing View, until he could reach the Wan Xiang Immortal and then seize the Heaven-Mending Stone fragment he possessed!
So, how to elevate his status?
Of course, by ranking among the top contenders in the White Jade Capital competition!
Upon careful consideration, with his current level of swordsmanship attainment and the magical treasures he possessed, he was just about qualified to vie for one of the twelve seats.
But to advance further, he would need to reveal more of his hidden cards.
Such as Ling Yunpo’s Seven Kills Sword Technique… Obviously, that was impossible. Wouldn’t Senior Sister An go ballistic if she saw it?
Similarly, he couldn’t use Qiu Changtian’s techniques, or his cover would be blown right there and then.
Wei Dongliu’s methods were infamously devious, like the Hundred Poison Gold Silkworm Gu and the Myriad Demons Evil Spirit Sword, and they were naturally out of the question.
Long Long’s offensive techniques and various divine skills were mostly tied to the Ying Long Bloodline, which also weren’t suitable to use.
Thinking it over, only Luo Yan’s Postnatal Five Elements Great Extermination Divine Light was barely suitable to reveal.
As for where he got it from… he could just claim that he obtained it from the Lianshan treasure vault. After all, this secret technique was once Moon Island’s Daoist legacy, so acquiring it in the vicinity of Moon Island wouldn’t seem problematic.
Having thought things through, Luo Yan finally made his decision:
Firstly, since Moon Island was no more, he needed to fabricate a reason to let his master know that he had “obtained” the Five Elements Divine Light.
Secondly, to aim for the top positions in the White Jade Capital competition, thereby attracting the attention of high-level officials within the Pavilion, and even entering the sight of Wan Xiang Immortal—for Qiu Changtian obtained the attention of the Chi Song Immortal by breaking the Intercepting Cult Sword Formation.
Luo Yan could follow the same model!
Moreover, if possible, he could also take Miss Shi into the top twelve. It wasn’t out of the question.
This was mainly out of gratitude for Elder Shi Ding’s support and nurturing.
As he was reflecting on this, he saw the Sect Leader of Xuandu emerge from the back hall.
Everyone hastily bowed and gave their respects, greeting the Sect Leader.
The Sect Leader of Xuandu gestured for everyone to dispense with the formalities, and then cleared his throat, bracing himself to start a leading speech—causing Luo Yan to shiver, thinking to himself how such an Orthodox Sect Leader could be so verbose?
In the White Jade Capital competition, not being able to beat Kunlun, did he really have to outdo the Ziwei Master in this respect?
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