The moment Ying Weiheng's words left his lips, many of the other Black Tortoise sect disciples approaching the stage clicked their tongues in irritation.
It was no secret that Nuo Qianling's recent achievements in the Four Symbols Mystic Realm were lacking. Because of that, just like Ying Weiheng, many of them saw her as one of the most likely attendees to be replaced.
And who better to replace her than the one who had directly defeated her in an open challenge?
Unfortunately, Ying Weiheng was a step ahead of them and claimed that opportunity. Now, they had no choice but to look for other targets.
In contrast to these disappointed Black Tortoise Sect disciples, Chen Pingxi could not help but let out a smile.
Indeed, she was not the only one who had been confused about Nuo Qianling's selection. Now then, let's see just what qualified Nuo Qianling's group to be selected for the Duyuan Martial Meet!
At the same time, Zhao Yunxiao also narrowed his eyes upon witnessing this.
He had doubted Nuo Qianling's Wei Group's narrative right from the very start.
Expending everything they had just to retrieve the corpse of a fallen comrade from the Four Symbols Mystic Realm? Only a fool would believe that!
That said, it would appear that the sect administrators were aware of exactly what they had managed to acquire in the mystic realm. Otherwise, there was no way that they would have been selected as attendees for the Duyuan Martial Meet.
Whatever it was, it would likely be revealed to the world in the next few moments.
Although both Ying Weiheng and Nuo Qianling were at the Intermediate Origin Core realm, there were differences in battle capabilities even among those at the same cultivation level.
Nuo Qianling had always been more of a strategic type, while Ying Weiheng was a true combat specialist. Their head-to-head record was well in favour of the latter. In fact, Nuo Qianling had never beaten Ying Weiheng in the past!
If Nuo Qianling wanted to win this time, she definitely had to rely on whatever she had obtained from the Four Symbols Mystic Realm!
Now then, let's see if what the Wei Group had managed to find would be able to help their leader pull through this challenge!
From her seat, Nuo Qianling let out a helpless sigh before getting to her feet. Her expression remained calm as she slowly made her way towards the centre, nodding assuringly towards her fellow members of the Wei Group as she walked past them.
Zhao Yunxiao could not help but notice that the way her fellow members responded was rather strange. They acknowledged her with a nod of their own, appearing more determined than worried.
They were either extremely confident in her chances of victory, or had already made up their minds to accept the outcome, whatever it was.
Either way, it did not quite fit their hot-blooded personalities.
As expected, they must know something that the others did not.
"No hard feelings, Junior Martial Sister Nuo," Ying Weiheng said as Nuo Qianling arrived before him. "That said, you must have already expected this from the start. Even if I didn't challenge you, someone else would have done the same. After all, there are not just a few who are unhappy about your selection, especially when your group has been routed in the Four Symbols Mystic Realm. If anything, you can only blame it on your luck to have encountered a Serpent Mammoth."
"Don't worry, Senior Martial Brother Ying. It doesn't really matter either way," Nuo Qianling said matter-of-factly.
"You know, we don't have to do this for real. After all, I won't want to hurt you for no reason," Ying Weiheng said. "On account of our long acquaintance, as long as you declare this as your loss, I can let you off unscathed."
"Thank you for your offer, Senior Martial Brother Ying. Let's just get this over and done with," Nuo Qianling answered.
"If you say so, don't blame me for lacking courtesy," Ying Weiheng raised his sword.
Nuo Qianling let out another deep breath, as though steeling her resolve. Next, she slowly stretched out her right arm and opened her hand. A wooden sword emerged within her spatial pouch, falling perfectly into her grasp.
"A wooden sword?" Ying Weiheng raised an eyebrow. "What trick are you trying to pull here, Junior Martial Sister Nuo?"
Nuo Qianling did not respond. Instead, she calmly pointed the sword towards Ying Weiheng and softly muttered a single word.
"Mark."
On the wooden sword, a black spot appeared along the centre of the blade. Apart from that, nothing seemed to have changed, or at the very least, nothing on the surface.
But with the appearance of the black spot, Ying Weiheng could not help but feel a chill running down his spine. He could not pinpoint what it was exactly, but he felt a cold premonition of danger encroaching upon him.
There was something strange about that wooden sword!
As that realisation struck, Ying Weiheng no longer dared to take this lightly. He slammed his foot down, erupting with unimaginable speed as he charged forward. The sword in his hands created the afterimage of a silver crescent as it slashed through the air, straight at Nuo Qianling.
Faced with Ying Weiheng's explosive offensive, Nuo Qianling was strangely calm as she stood her ground, responding by slashing out with her wooden sword.
Bang-!
The wooden sword did not suffer a single scratch even as it met Ying Weiheng's treasure sword. However, the powerful momentum from Ying Weiheng's attack sent Nuo Qianling stumbling back a good number of steps.
That said, it was what happened on the other end that truly caught everyone's attention.
Rip-!
A huge tear suddenly appeared on Ying Weiheng's robes, revealing a severe gash underneath as blood started flowing out without pause.
Ying Weiheng's powerful momentum was dispersed instantaneously as he stood there staring at the gash on his body. Even as he felt the stabbing pain... even as he observed the wound on his own torso, he still could not believe what just happened.
How did he even get injured?
Did she launch some sort of secret attack? But when?
"Why don't we stop here before you get hurt, Senior Martial Brother Ying?" Nuo Qianling said while straightening her back, recovering from the heavy impact that she had just received.
These words felt like arrows that just stabbed into Ying Weiheng's heart.
He had been feeling confused and cautious earlier, but his junior martial sister actually dared to talk down to him in front of so many people?
Even though his rational side knew that he should wait and observe a little more, his pride simply would not allow that!
He was the one who had issued the challenge, so he had to win in a decisive manner to leave a deep impression. Otherwise, he might not be selected as an attendee even if Nuo Qianling were indeed dropped from the list!
"I'd advise you to worry about yourself instead!" Ying Weiheng retorted while tossing his sword into the air. "Spirit Summon – Frost Viper!"
Huge amounts of essence energy burst out from within the sword, sending a shockwave spreading out in all directions. At the same time, an illusory image of a white snake appeared above the hovering sword.
It was white from end to end, apart from its black eyes that were filled with absolute menace. The way it looked down at Nuo Qianling from up above was like that of a hungry predator staring down its first meal in days.
At this point, Nuo Qianling finally frowned for the first time in this fight. The killing intent from the illusory viper was way too strong – enough to cause her body to tremble in instinctual fear. In order to distract herself from this inexplicable fear, she had to clench her left fist so tightly that her nails cut into the flesh of her palm, causing blood to drip onto the ground.
"Go!" Ying Weiheng pointed two fingers at Nuo Qianling, and the sword shot forward. Since he was still uncertain about Nuo Qianling's tricks, he would launch a ranged attack instead!
Just like a viper pouncing on its prey, the sword was upon Nuo Qianling in the blink of an eye. Nuo Qianling dug her heels in to stabilise her stance, then once again moved to parry with the wooden sword in her hand.
Bang-!
Frost energy exploded upon collision, the heavy impact once again sent Nuo Qianling stumbling backwards. The frost energy did not disperse and was transferred straight to the wooden sword, forming a thick layer of mystical frost that instantly shrouded the sword in its entirety.
Since she was holding the sword, Nuo Qianling's right hand inevitably became trapped within this ice casing as well, all the way past her wrist and halfway up her forearm. Yet even as she felt the sharp pain in her hand arising from the frostburns, Nuo Qianling's eyes remained fixated on her opponent.
Then again, it was not just her. Everyone present could not help but stare at her opponent in a mix of shock and awe.
Right before their very eyes, frost energy suddenly erupted from within Ying Weiheng, encasing his entire body in a block of mystical frost.
At this point, everyone instantly understood how the earlier wound had suddenly appeared on Ying Weiheng. Nuo Qianling was somehow able to reflect attacks back to her opponent!
Just like that, Nuo Qianling had obtained victory without launching a single attack of her own!
"All right, let's end this here. The outcome is clear," a deacon of the Black Tortoise Sect said as he appeared between the two.
With a wave of his hand, essence energy swept over both Ying Weiheng and Nuo Qianling's wooden sword, causing the mystical ice to break apart. Nuo Qianling was now able to move her hand freely, while Ying Weiheng fell limply to the ground in a semi-conscious state.
Zhao Yunxiao recognised this deacon immediately.
Deacon Que – the same deacon who had bugged him constantly about the status of Nuo Qianling's Wei Group during the opening of the Four Symbols Mystic Realm. From how quickly he had appeared, it was almost as though he had long expected such an outcome and was prepared to step in at any time.
He must have found out exactly what the Wei Group had managed to retrieve from the Blacksnow Tundra. Then again, at this point, everyone had their guesses as they stared intently at Nuo Qianling's wooden sword.
Standing in the centre of the Black Guardian Square, how could Nuo Qianling not sense everyone's gazes focused upon her?
Even then, she did not cower. Instead, she held her head high while raising her wooden sword to point at the semi-conscious Ying Weiheng.
"This is the Soulbinding Hexblade – proof of my achievements in the Four Symbols Mystic Realm! If there's anyone else who is still not satisfied with my selection, I welcome your challenge anytime! I will make sure to send you packing!" Nuo Qianling shouted in determination.
Her right hand that held onto the wooden sword was still trembling slightly from the frostburns, but her voice was clear and crisp, making sure that each and every word she said was properly conveyed to those present.
Hearing her declaration, the other disciples who were preparing to come up on stage could only let out a bitter smile.
Not only was this Soulbinding Hexblade extremely difficult to deal with, but even if they did manage to subdue it, what was the point?
What they wanted was to open up a slot on the list of selected attendees, not to pick random fights. Challenging someone who had already been challenged earlier was completely meaningless!
That said, most of those present felt rather intrigued by the current situation.
A sword that could reflect abilities... that was quite the treasure indeed. As long as they did not figure out the limitations around that sword, Nuo Qianling would be nigh impossible to deal with!
"What are you grinning about?" Xiong Yekong asked.
"It's nothing important. I am just glad that another treasure has been retrieved from the mystic realm," Chen Pingxi replied without batting an eye. "And stop staring at me. You are making your lascivious intentions too obvious."
"Who's staring at you?" Xiong Yekong rolled his eyes. "Perhaps you are different, but I happen to possess a wide range of vision."
"That's for the best," Chen Pingxi answered with a smile.
Of course, that was not the true reason why she was feeling excited. Rather, it was because she had finally found the final piece of the puzzle.
No matter how she looked at it, this Soulbinding Hexblade was no simple treasure. And if the sect administrators had determined that the retrieval of this sword would suffice to qualify her entire group for the Duyuan Martial Meet, then there was definitely more to it than met the eye.
To have retrieved a great treasure from the Blacksnow Tundra after overcoming waves of enemies, even overcoming the pressure of the Serpent Mammoth... that was rather impressive indeed!
And now, with the addition of Nuo Qianling's group, every single group under Zhao Yunxiao's charge had achieved great results in the Four Symbols Mystic Realm.
Was it a coincidence?
Only a fool would think so!
But with that came another problem. Of the four groups under his charge, Huo Bubai's group belonged to the Ying Faction, San Wanfan's group belonged to the Mo Faction, Nuo Qianling's group belonged to the Wei Faction, while Cheng Kai was a loner who did not belong to any factions.
In other words, not a single one of them belonged to the He Faction under Elder He Luoxuan!
Was this a coincidence as well?
Not a chance.
Just what was the He Faction planning?
Were they trying to gain the favour of these factions?
Or could it be that, just like Lu Zhiying, these were people whom Elder He, through Zhao Yunxiao, was aiding in their rise within the other factions of the Black Tortoise Sect?
If that were truly the case, then one could easily guess the underlying motivations behind doing such a thing!
Chen Pingxi shuddered to consider such a possibility – not out of fear, but out of awe and excitement.
She might have just caught on to something that was on a way larger scale than she had ever imagined!
But that only meant that she had to be even more careful in her future actions. If she ended up letting slip that she knew a little too much for comfort, a calamity could very well descend upon her. Or, depending on the severity of the situation, it could even impact the entire Origin Lake Sect!
However, Chen Pingxi still did not feel any fear.
Or rather, the bit of fear in her heart was completely overshadowed by the feeling of excitement.
Without taking risks, how could one obtain rewards?
No matter how many layers of camouflage there were, she would silently peel them all away to uncover the secrets within. And with that, she would bring the Origin Lake Sect along to ride on this seemingly inevitable tidal wave that was about to sweep across the entire Black Tortoise Sect!