Chapter 51 - 26: Next Round’s Opponent: Ye Zhaozhao

Ye Zhaozhao couldn’t help but look at Li Shuang. She cursed inwardly.

After ten arduous years, her Cultivation had finally reached the Mid-stage Nascent Soul. However, recently, her Cultivation had been dropping continuously. Just a moment ago, it had regressed to the Early-stage Nascent Soul! If this happened a few more times, she feared she wouldn’t even be able to maintain her Cultivation at the Nascent Soul Stage!

All of this was because of Li Shuang!

How did she dare to switch her Cultivation Technique? How did she dare to leave Lingxu Peak? Otherwise, Li Shuang would still be right in the palm of her hand, completely under her control.

Ye Zhaozhao finally realized the truth now. The previous Li Shuang had a cold exterior but a warm heart. However, after practicing the Supreme Forget Emotion Technique, she had become cold inside and out. It seemed the people of Lingxu Peak truly could no longer draw out any of her negative emotions.

Then...

Ye Zhaozhao subconsciously stroked her scabbard. What about the Dragon Roar Sword? What about Long Yan?

At the moment the treasure sword she had painstakingly nurtured pierced her Dantian, Li Shuang must have felt immense despair and agony. Could she truly let go of such despair and pain? If Li Shuang had already forgotten, Ye Zhaozhao wouldn’t mind helping her remember.

Ye Zhaozhao’s eyes flickered. She had only one thought in mind. In this draw, she wanted to be matched against Li Shuang.

In the arena.

She wanted Li Shuang to see with her own eyes how the Sword Spirit she had painstakingly nurtured for ten years was now completely at her beck and call! Long Yan’s Sword Dao Cultivation was even slightly higher than Duan Ziyu’s. If they faced Li Shuang, they would definitely be able to win.

Chang Le’an and Ye Zhaozhao’s gazes kept drifting toward Li Shuang. She sensed it but simply ignored them.

Liu Juncheng sighed. "I hope I absolutely do not draw you later, Junior Sister."

He felt quite helpless. He suspected that if he only used his Late-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivation, he might not even be her match. If that happened, he would lose too much face as her senior brother.

Li Shuang smiled faintly. "You probably won’t."

"Hmm?" Liu Juncheng glanced at her in surprise. Her tone didn’t sound like a guess, but rather a certainty. Wasn’t the draw supposed to be random? How could she be so sure?

Li Shuang’s smile remained faint; she had no intention of explaining. Her Cultivation Technique made her exceptionally sensitive to the gazes of others. She had long noticed that Sect Leader Meng Yifei had been watching her since the battles began. The drawing box had also been personally inspected by the Sect Leader. After inspecting it, he had even given her a meaningful look. She figured there would probably be some trickery in this draw.

Li Shuang didn’t think Meng Yifei wanted to harm her; she knew the Sect Leader’s style very well. He likely wanted her to display more of her value. Based on this purpose, it was already obvious who her opponent would be in this round.

Li Shuang calmly glanced at Ye Zhaozhao. Her opponent would be Ye Zhaozhao. It would be Long Yan.

Li Shuang didn’t find anything wrong with this arrangement. Long Yan had absorbed many of her Sword Dao insights. He represented the past Li Shuang. The one standing here right now was the Li Shuang who had achieved Nirvana. She could use this battle to make her sword heart even more resolute. She also believed that she would never lose. Her stage was in a much higher and farther place. She had said she would take it one step at a time, winning over and over again until she stood at the very pinnacle of the Sword Dao.

The drawing began.

The participants stepped forward in order to draw their lots. Li Shuang didn’t know how the Sect Leader manipulated the results, but when the matchups were finally revealed, her opponent was... exactly as expected, Ye Zhaozhao.

No. It was more accurate to say her opponent was Long Yan.

Looking at the result, a hint of joy flashed in Ye Zhaozhao’s eyes. This was exactly what she had hoped for! In the next round of the round-robin tournament, she was actually matched up against Li Shuang!

Ye Zhaozhao took the initiative to walk over to Li Shuang. A smile spread across her face. "Senior Sister Li, I didn’t expect the two of us to compete in the next round."

Li Shuang nodded blandly.

Ye Zhaozhao summoned Long Yan and said warmly, "Senior Sister Li, actually, I’ve always felt quite embarrassed. After all, you were the one who had always nurtured Long Yan, but... you heartlessly chose to abandon him. During this time, Long Yan has been cultivating hard. He just wants to prove to you that he shouldn’t have been abandoned."

As soon as Ye Zhaozhao approached Li Shuang, the people around them subtly shifted their attention over. Who didn’t know that when these two clashed, it would definitely be a good show?

Upon hearing Ye Zhaozhao’s words, the crowd’s eyes couldn’t help but flicker. Ye Zhaozhao’s meaning was clear. Although the Dragon Roar Sword was nurtured by Li Shuang, it was Li Shuang who abandoned it. Therefore, Long Yan would go all out tomorrow. Ye Zhaozhao was worried that winning by relying on Long Yan would draw criticism, so she was setting the narrative in advance.

Li Shuang glanced at Long Yan, her expression indifferent. "Ye Zhaozhao, I’ve made myself very clear. Unfaithful once, never to be used again. Since Long Yan chose to betray me for you, he has absolutely nothing to do with me from now on."

"Senior Sister Li, what betrayal... you shouldn’t speak nonsense," Ye Zhaozhao hurriedly said. Although she had done something disgraceful, she still had to maintain a facade of decency.

Too lazy to entangle with her, Li Shuang said calmly, "See you tomorrow."

She then turned and left.

Liu Juncheng looked back at Ye Zhaozhao with a meaningful expression before following after his junior sister.

"Junior Sister, don’t be angry. She can only be happy for this one last night," Chang Le’an said in an uplifting voice. "You reached the Mid-stage Nascent Soul in just ten years! This kind of Cultivation speed is simply beyond Li Shuang’s comparison. If you ask me, you are the true favored daughter of heaven! It’s just that you keep a low profile and never fight with anyone! Tomorrow, don’t hide your true abilities anymore. Let everyone witness your real strength!"

A glimmer of light flashed in Chang Le’an’s eyes as he looked at Ye Zhaozhao. His junior sister was simply too kind and low-profile. Otherwise, there would be no room for Li Shuang to steal the limelight in the sect right now.

Ye Zhaozhao’s Cultivation was obvious to all, but no one had ever seen her Sword Dao strength. She often modestly claimed that her swordsmanship was very average. However, Chang Le’an felt that given her astonishing talent, she might just be hiding her true abilities!

In the past, Li Shuang would often advise Ye Zhaozhao not to be too lazy and to spend some time on her swordsmanship. But Zhaozhao said she had her own way of practicing the sword and didn’t need to rely on such bitter training to improve. Li Shuang was jealous of her junior sister’s talent. Once, she even forcibly set a schedule for her sword practice. After practicing accordingly a few times, the junior sister collapsed from exhaustion. Everyone had a different method of cultivation. If Li Shuang’s actions weren’t deliberately targeting her, then what was it?

After that incident, Li Shuang stopped interfering with Zhaozhao’s sword practice. Zhaozhao also never practiced her swordsmanship in front of them.

Ten years had passed, and even they didn’t know exactly what level Zhaozhao’s Sword Dao strength was at.

"Zhaozhao, I know you like to hide your strength, but this time, you don’t need to. Just slap her right in the face," Chang Le’an said.

"We are all disciples of the same sect, there’s no need for that," Ye Zhaozhao brushed it off.

Only she knew exactly what level her swordsmanship was at. This kind of skill, which required bitter day and night practice to improve, was simply not suited for her! As long as her Cultivation was high enough and she had enough Magic Treasures, wouldn’t she still be able to crush everyone?

For tomorrow’s match, having Long Yan control the Dragon Roar Sword would be enough! A Sword Spirit capable of Transforming Void into Reality, coupled with a Peerless Treasure Sword, and her overwhelming advantage in sheer power.

How could Li Shuang possibly win?