Chapter 40 - 15: See You in the Third Round

Shen Yue left, utterly disheartened. Luo Mingyue shot a cold sneer in the direction he departed.

Her Spiritual Sense was much stronger than Shen Yue’s, allowing her to detect his presence early on. However, she intentionally didn’t point it out. She wanted Shen Yue to see with his own eyes that the person they failed to cherish was considered an absolute treasure by others!

Those people from Lingxu Peak were rotten to the core!

Never mind Ye Zhaozhao and Chang Le’an. Sheng Yuan and Shen Yue, on the other hand, seemed to show some signs of remorse.

But so what?

Remorseful as they might be, they still subconsciously protected Ye Zhaozhao and were willing to let Li Shuang suffer grievances. It was only because Little Frost was now practicing the Supreme Forget Emotion Technique that she no longer cared about these people. Otherwise, how heartbroken would she be?

Luo Mingyue dared to say that if Little Frost returned to Lingxu Peak, even if all their previous misunderstandings were cleared up and they learned exactly how much she had done for them behind the scenes, all it would take was a few tears from Ye Zhaozhao for them to unhesitatingly shield their "innocent and kind" little junior sister. Someone like Little Frost, who neither cried nor threw tantrums, would forever be wronged! Forever abandoned!

Since that was the case, Little Frost didn’t need their cheap apologies and repentance. It would be best if those from Lingxu Peak stayed far, far away!

Li Shuang was entirely focused on practicing her swordsmanship and remained oblivious to Shen Yue’s visit. Even if she had known, she wouldn’t have felt anything about it.

She spent hours conversing with Liu Juncheng. At first, she remained somewhat reserved due to her past experiences at Lingxu Peak. But after realizing that her fellow disciples at Heartless Peak were completely different, Li Shuang let go of her inhibitions and freely exchanged Sword Dao insights with them.

During this practice session, Li Shuang continuously verified the insights she had gained from the Inheritance Space. As a result, her swordsmanship became increasingly seamless and unified. Eventually, Luo Mingyue also felt the itch to spar and exchanged a few moves with her.

By the end of it, everyone felt they had gained a great deal.

As she walked back to her room under the starlight, Li Shuang couldn’t help but feel a touch of emotion.

*So this is what normal Sword Dao exchanges are like?* she thought. Conversing freely, verifying each other’s insights, without having to carefully coddle anyone’s ego or coax them into practicing properly. This feeling of being able to wholeheartedly immerse herself in Sword Dao discussions was something Li Shuang was experiencing for the very first time.

A day later, Li Shuang checked the Jade Scroll.

Compared to its completely dimmed state right after its energy was depleted, a small section of the Cultivation Technique Jade Scroll had now lit up. Over the past day, it seemed the Inheritance Space had gathered some more energy.

Judging by this progress, it would take about three days to open the Inheritance Space once. It seemed she would be able to access it again after the first round of the screening matches.

Over the next few days, Li Shuang remained within Heartless Peak. Most of the time, she sparred with Luo Mingyue and the others, while Lin Qingling would also drop by frequently to offer guidance. Coupled with the Sword Dao Understanding she had reaped from the Sword Dao Space, Li Shuang felt she had made tremendous progress after these few days of cultivation.

On the day the registration list was officially finalized, the screening matches were about to commence.

The disciples of Heartless Peak headed to the Disciple Hall early in the morning.

"The schedule is out," Luo Mingyue called out, looking at the tournament bracket posted at the entrance of the Disciple Hall.

Li Shuang also looked toward the schedule.

"According to the old rules, disciples at the Late-stage Foundation Establishment and above will directly advance to the third round. The first two rounds are for those at the Early-stage Foundation Establishment and Mid-stage Foundation Establishment," a nearby disciple commented while reading the board.

"Wait! Why is there a disciple at the Qi Cultivation Stage this time?!" someone exclaimed.

"Li... Shuang!?"

Someone read the name aloud softly, and countless gazes immediately turned toward Li Shuang.

Recently, Li Shuang’s name had been resounding throughout the Sword Sect. She was the first disciple in a thousand years to successfully initiate the Supreme Forget Emotion Technique. Abandoned by Lingxu Peak, she was instantly treated as a precious treasure by Heartless Peak. Previously smeared by Lingxu Peak as an all-powerful demon, it was now suspected that she had actually been a massive scapegoat all along. Topics related to Li Shuang were currently the hottest gossip within the sect.

Previously, on the Sword Dao arena, she had easily defeated Shen Yue without using her cultivation base, allowing everyone to witness her outstanding Sword Dao Cultivation. But this tournament was entirely different!

"Senior Sister Li, in this tournament, Foundation Establishment Stage disciples are not restricted from using their cultivation," someone couldn’t help but remind her.

Foundation Establishment Stage disciples had already seized the fortunes of nature, drawing Heaven and Earth Wonders into their bodies to forge their cultivation foundations. The gap between them and those at the Qi Cultivation Stage was truly astronomical.

A Qi Cultivation cultivator wanting to defeat a Foundation Establishment expert?

Even the Li Shuang of the past might not have been able to achieve such a feat. Not to mention, she had now switched to specializing in the unfamiliar Supreme Forget Emotion Technique. Her cultivation base likely hadn’t recovered much, and she possessed no proficiency with the Cultivation Technique yet.

How could she possibly win?

As the Supreme Forget Emotion Technique circulated within her, Li Shuang detected no malice from the disciple beside her. Thus, she offered a faint smile. "There’s no harm in trying."

The moment her voice fell, a mocking tone rang out.

"Senior Sister Li is so eager to make a fool of herself. What can anyone else do to stop her?"

Li Shuang looked over indifferently. It was Chang Le’an again.

Beside him, Ye Zhaozhao hastily said, "Third Senior Brother, don’t speak nonsense!"

She turned to Li Shuang with an apologetic smile. "Senior Sister Li, Third Senior Brother is just blunt and outspoken, please don’t take it to heart. Both he and I are very much looking forward to fighting you. We’ll be waiting for you in the third round. Good luck, Senior Sister Li!"

As she spoke, Ye Zhaozhao waved her little fist in a thoroughly adorable manner, as if she were genuinely cheering Li Shuang on.

"I was wondering who it was," Luo Mingyue couldn’t resist mocking back. "One is a piece of trash with only luck and no true strength, and the other is a piece of trash with only cultivation but no actual skill. Yet you both dare to spout such arrogance here."

Luo Mingyue was incredibly disdainful.

For some unknown reason, Chang Le’an indeed possessed immensely flourishing luck. Because of this, he considered himself a child of destiny and put absolutely no effort into his daily cultivation. His current cultivation base was at the Golden Core Stage. However, in a true life-or-death battle, even if Luo Mingyue suppressed her own cultivation to the Golden Core Stage, she could likely instantly kill this man.

Ye Zhaozhao was even more absurd. Despite possessing a Mixed Spirit Root, her cultivation speed was terrifyingly fast. Yet, while her cultivation base had increased, what about her Sword Dao Understanding? What about her combat experience? She might not even compare to a newly accepted disciple.

Having an empty cultivation base but no ability to apply it. This was the current state of both Chang Le’an and Ye Zhaozhao. True Elite Disciples would never take either of them seriously.

Luo Mingyue’s words were harsh, but they hit the nail right on the head. Chang Le’an’s face turned somewhat ugly. He glared at Li Shuang and retorted, "Senior Sister Li, can you only hide behind others like a coward now?"

Hearing this, Luo Mingyue immediately flared up. Just as she was about to snap back, Li Shuang grabbed her arm, stopping her.

Then, Li Shuang looked calmly at Ye Zhaozhao. "As you wish. I will see you in the third round."