Chapter 85: The Dragon's Reverse Scales
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Qiu Changjian was intimidated by Xia Jingyu's intense look. Slightly startled, he gave an affirmative nod, "Yes, only the ten great Holy Disciples will be brought along."
Only the ten great Holy Disciples would be brought along? Xia Jingyu filled with hope.
"I will participate in the Storm Competition." Xia Jingyu's clear eyes were determined.
Qiu Changjian slightly quivered. He could almost feel Xia Jingyu's hidden strength awaken and fill the room.
Long Xiaoyue could not bear to watch. "Jingyu, you have just recovered from a fatal injury, therefore not advisable for you to participate," she whispered.
Xia Jingyu stepped outside of the house, raising her head as she gazed up at the snow-filled sky.
Under the heavy snow, her pair of beautiful eyes watered, "I have to go... That was Su Yu's last wish. To make the trip to Fenghuang Valley, and on his behalf, and tell Xianer that he fought for her to the very end."
Looking at her lonely figure, gradually covered by snow, Long Xiaoyue was at a loss.
Xia Jingyu had lost her soul...
The Storm Competition had finally arrived. The Sanctuary would soon be dissolved, so this would be the last Storm Competition.
The Storm Competition would be divided into two segments.
The competition between the prospective Holy Disciples, and the individual rankings of the ten great Holy Disciples.
The venue would be in front of the Holy King's Great Hall.
Xia Jingyu had braved the snow to reach the venue. Her eyes reflected the snowflakes which filled the skies.
The snow-white beauty was incredibly alluring. But she appeared unreachable, like an ice sculpture—frozen in body and soul.
Su Yu's tale was spread among the prospective Holy Disciples.
Burying himself along with the Slayer King was both commendable and unfortunate.
Xia Jingyu had gone against the Slayer King together with Su Yu… She was alone now, however—the only survivor.
She had to take care of herself, now.
Dong—
The holy bell sounded once again. The battle of the prospective Holy Disciples was about to begin.
The gates of the Holy King's Great Hall had not yet been opened, but nobody doubted whether the Holy King was watching everything.
The competition of the prospective Holy Disciples utilized the arena system; there would be consecutive challenges. The one who defeated all would become King of Prospective Holy Disciples.
Qiu Changjian would host of the matches.
He casually grabbed a name off the list and his expression became perplexed, "Xia Jingyu, come up the stage!"
Swoosh—
She flew onto the stage agilely.
The celestial beauty's unmatched elegance contrasted against the snowy background. Her ice-cold beauty and snow-like eyes made her appear inhuman.
"The challenger will be chosen according to last year's ranking, from bottom to top. After every victory, you may rest for an hour." Qiu Changjian announced the rules.
"The first battle!"
The first contestant was the hundredth and one ranked disciple, a level Five Upper Tier.
"I admit defeat."
"The next battle!"
"I admit defeat."
Xia Jingyu's level Seven Upper Tier gave her an overwhelming lead, which caused the low-ranked people to all give up.
Only the top ten prospective Holy Disciples would challenge Xia Jingyu.
"Junior Jingyu, I cannot match you. I give up." The lowest-ranked senior sister Liu cupped her fists and retreated.
Zhang Mingyi, ranked ninth, had fallen in the Evil Forest.
Swoosh—
Liu Dong—ranked eigth—was level Seven Lower Tier.
"I'll battle you!" Liu Dong licked his lips as he gazed at Xia Jingyu's unmatched beauty, his eyes revealed a flash of passion.
Even though he might not be her rival, he wouldn't mind battling this beauty.
Xia Jingyu stood still on the arena floor, not moving a single inch.
Her shoulders were covered in snow, which turned her hair white.
Finally, she moved.
Her jade-like feet remained footed on her original spot, but her jade-like fingers waved slightly—a stream of vital energy lashing out.
Ah—
Liu Dong screamed in pain as he fell off the arena, defeated.
Like a seasoned veteran, Xia Jingyu's eyes remained calm as she slowly lowered her finger.
Swoosh—
"Ranked seventh, Zhang Xiaohua— get in the arena!"
Xia Jingyu raised her finger.
Ah—
"Ranked sixth, Yang Ling—get in the arena!"
Xia Jingyu raised her finger.
Ah—
Du Lin, ranked fifth, had fallen in the Evil Forest.
"Ranked fourth, Zhang Qian!"
Zhang Qian was level Seven Upper Tier, only one step away from becoming a level Eight expert!
Flying into the arena, Zhang Qian stood with her hands clasped behind her back. She couldn't contain her envy of Xia Jingyu's beauty.
"Junior Xia has considerable strength. Senior will give you a handicap of three moves," Zhang Qian laughed.
With her level Seven Peak Tier strength, she felt she was more than capable of overwhelming Xia Jingyu's level Seven Upper Tier.
Xia Jingyu shook her head with an indifferent expression, "No need, one move is enough to defeat you."
Not only did she fail to insult Xia Jingyu, but she had been insulted instead. Zhang Qian was furious. "Your strength is not adequate—you only know how to use your looks to seduce people. Rumors say Junior Su Yu was seduced by you, and therefore willingly died for you," she said furiously.
Xia Jingyu's body shook slightly, and her cold, elegant eyes lit up.
She did not refute her, nor did she explain herself. She did not have an explanation to share.
Su Yu had, indeed, died for her.
That fact would eternally haunt her.
Zhang Qian silently gloated. "Junior Su Yu… To actually be manipulated by a woman to the extent that he lost his life. To put it nicely, he must have greatly valued relationships. To be blunt, he was just a simpleton," she chuckled.
Qiu Changjian frowned as he tried to contain his unhappiness. The death of a person is sacred. Zhang Qian had gone overboard by bringing up Su Yu.
But the competition was sacred, he had no right to intervene.
Even if he had the right, it was inconvenient for him to do so.
Zhang Qian was the girlfriend of the ranked eighth Holy Disciple, Liu Qing.
In the past, Zhang Qian was dispossessed and her talent was ordinary. However, she was pretty, and it just so happened Liu Qing harbored warped thoughts about her. To climb up the social ladder, she became Liu Qing's girlfriend.
With Liu Qing supporting her, nobody dared upset her. Even Long Xiaoyue avoided her.
In the arena, a cold light reflected in Xia Jingyu's snow-like eyes.
Her rage and murderous intentions were made evident as she spoke lowly, "Those who dare insult him, die!"
This was the first time she spoke since entering the arena.
If only she had been insulted, Xia Jingyu would not have cared at all. But, to insult Su Yu—this was Xia Jingyu's weakness, the single soft spot in her frozen exterior.
A dragon has its reverse scales—their weak spots. They would kill anyone who dared touch them there.
Such a violent expression had actually come from the quiet and tranquil celestial beauty, Xia Jingyu!
Qiu Changjian and Long Xiaoyue were shocked Xia Jingyu—she had truly changed.
The cold aura which surrounded her was unlike her once peaceful, gentle attitude.
"So what if I insult him. Kill me if you can, you vixen!" Zhang Qian laughed coldly.
Swoosh—
"Let senior see, other than your looks, what you have to be proud of! Seal of ridges and peaks!"
Zhang Qian's palms were like butterflies. As they flew overhead, two illusions which resembled mountain peaks appeared out of nowhere.Everyone could feel the oppressive pressure exerted by the mountains.
"Saint level cultivation technique, stage three!"
As expected from the ranked fourth disciple, she was a terrifying and strong opponent!
Xia Jingyu's figure was as still as ice. Her eyes did not reflect the terrifying move. Instead, murder blurred her gaze.
"Those who dare insult him, die!"
Her cold, hoarse voice reverberated in the air.
Swish—
Xia Jingyu used her body, turning and enveloping her surroundings with the natural realm.
"Divine Gade Holy Decree!"
Qiu Changjian was shocked. A Holy Decree—had Xia Jingyu actually achieved the level of the ten Holy Disciples?
"The Flowery Finger!"
With her clear and cold eyes, Xia Jingyu raised her finger and pointed.
Poof—
Ah—
Zhang Qian, who was coldly laughing, suddenly felt her chest rupture. A stream of blood spewed from her body.
"I admit defeat!" Zhang Qian felt a chill creep down her spine. Had her finger struck half an inch deeper, her heart would have been crushed to pieces!
Swoosh—
Zhang Qian quickly retreated and she set off to jump from the arena.
But she did not succeed.
Though Zhang Qian had admitted defeat, Xia Jingyu continued pursuing and did not stop, despite being in the arena ring—which prohibited serious injuries and killing.
"Die! Die! Die!" Any semblance of her past kindness was gone. She was a cold goddess, filled with murderous rage.
Poof, poof, poof—
Her five fingers pointed simultaneously; more than ten holes appeared in Zhang Qian's body instantly! Nearly seventy percent of her blood spilled onto the arena floor.
Even if she did not die, Zhang Qian would lose her strength!
However, Xia Jingyu did not show any intentions of stopping. Instead, she attacked with the intention to kill!
Even if she did not achieve her goal, she would not stop!
"Hmph!" An indifferent voice could be heard from the Holy King's Great Hall!
Xia Jingyu groaned as she spewed blood from her mouth.
The Saint Grade Holy Decree surrounding Xia Jingyu dissipated.
Creak—
The stone gates of the Holy King's Great Hall slowly opened.
An elder, who sat cross-legged, stared at Xia Jingyu dully.
The Holy King had appeared!
Xia Jingyu's snow-like eyes looked over coldly.
Xia Jingyu was not afraid and made eye contact with the Holy King—who even Holy Disciples dared not look at.
"You hate me?" The Holy King's aged eyes had seen through all things, and what he saw in Xia Jingyu's eyes was hatred.
"Yes!" Xia Jingyu did not conceal the hatred in her heart.
"For stopping you?" The Holy King asked indifferently.
As she shook her head, Xia Jingyu's snow-like eyes filled with rage, "No! You caused Su Yu to die!"
If not for the Holy King's pressure, Su Yu would not have taken so many risks in the Evil Forest—he might still be alive!
"You want to kill me?" The Holy King's old eyes remained as calm as ever.
"Yes! As long as I am alive, one day, I will take your life! No matter the cost!" Xia Jingyu's eyes were resolute and sharp. Although she was small and unintimidating, the tone of voice in which she declared her intentions terrified thousands of warriors.
The arena fell into an uproar before it dropped into a dead silence.
Since ancient times, only one person ever threatened the Holy King—and, she was named Xia Jingyu.
"I am partly responsible for his death." The Holy King did not fly into a fury as everyone expected, but instead, he glanced at the reduced number of prospective Holy Disciples. Deep within his eyes, there was sincere regret.
"You can hate me, kill me, do whatever you want—should the day come where you have the ability to do so." Slowly shifting his gaze away and closing his eyes, the Holy King announced indifferently, "Resume the match!"
Everyone was speechless!
Xia Jingyu had violated the rules of the arena match and openly displayed her killing intent.
The Holy King had, unexpectedly, decided to not pursue the matter!
Perhaps this was the Holy King's apology to Xia Jingyu, perhaps he felt responsible for Su Yu' death.
Xia Jingyu looked away and stared at the sky, "Next!"
Swoosh—
A figure flew onto the arena stage. It was Long Xiaoyue.
level Eight Peak Tier was not something that Xia Jingyu could hope to defeat.
"Jingyu, don't be like this. The dead cannot be revived, you need to take care of yourself." Long Xiaoyue did not bear to see Xia Jingyu like this.
Xia Jingyu looked at her, her eyes slightly softening. But, her voice remained cold and hoarse, "You don't understand."
She had to fulfill Su Yu's final wish. To use her eyes and meet Xianer. To use her heart, to deliver his final words...
Xia Jingyu was determined to use her life to fulfill his dying wish!
"Then let us begin!" Long Xiaoyue sympathized with her, but would not give up her right to challenge the ten Holy Disciples.
Only the King of Prospective Holy Disciples had the right to challenge the true Holy Disciples.
Last year, she had failed. This year was her last chance.
In the blink of an eye, Xia Jingyu took out five spirit elixirs. They were the spirit elixirs that Su Yu had given her before he died.
Consuming all in one go, Xia Jingyu's cultivation base slowly increased. She prepared to achieve a breakthrough on the spot.
Long Xiaoyue was slightly shocked, but nodded her head, "I'll wait for you to achieve your breakthrough."
"No need," Xia Jingyu shook her head.
Long Xiaoyue could not do anything. Even if Xia Jingyu achieved a breakthrough to level Seven Peak Tier, she would still be unmatched.
"In that case, Junior Xia, please watch out," Long Xiaoyue sighed.
"Just what I wanted."
Swoosh—
Long Xiaoyue's surroundings delved into nature. From afar, it appeared as if she was as natural as the skies and earth.
"Saint Grade Holy Decree! Long Xiaoyue has actually comprehended the Saint Grade Holy Decree!" The masses were shocked at Long Xiaoyue's hidden skill.
"Compared to last year, Long Xiaoyue has improved significantly. Should she break through the shackles of her cultivation base, she may become one of the ten great Holy Disciples," Qiu Changjian secretly exclaimed.