12: The sect competition begins

Xiao Ling'er's single sword strike had directly killed Zhang Qingqing in the Hundred Refinements Hall!

A clamor of discussion erupted at the scene.

Countless people were so frightened that they retreated several steps.

They were naturally not afraid of Xiao Ling'er, but rather of Zhang Qingqing's corpse.

"Which Peak is this female Disciple from, to actually kill Zhang Qingqing!"

"Doesn't she know that Zhang Qingqing's father is the Third Peak Lord, a powerful expert in the Spirit Sea Realm!"

"Having offended the Third Peak Lord, this female Sword Cultivator probably won't live."

Xiao Ling'er also looked troubled.

It was her first time fighting someone, and she didn't have a clear concept of her own strength.

Relying on the immense boost from the five Spirit Gathering Pills, she was currently at the Peak of the ninth Heaven of the Body Tempering Realm, the same Realm as Zhang Qingqing.

Since they were in the same Realm, she felt that even if her Dao of the Sword Realm was a bit stronger, it shouldn't have directly killed her.

She just never expected this Zhang Qingqing to be so weak!

"Can I register for the Sect Competition now?"

Such a huge change had occurred at the scene, yet the Elder responsible for registering for the Sect Competition still looked lazy.

He merely glanced at the blank bamboo slip, not even bothering to say another word.

Xiao Ling'er understood, quickly used her spiritual sense to leave her name on the blank bamboo slip, and then hurried away.

Today's events would surely spread throughout the entire Qingyang Sword Sect very soon.

She had caused trouble for her Revered Master!

Thinking of this, Xiao Ling'er couldn't help but feel her whole body flush, wondering how her Revered Master would punish her... Su Fan had taken an Ancient Soul Refining Pill and a Nine Revolutions Dao Pattern Pill, and after Cultivating for a day and a night, he had just emerged from seclusion.

As soon as he came out, he saw Xiao Ling'er kneeling before his quiet room, looking dejected and not daring to speak.

Su Fan opened the door, puzzled.

"What happened?"

"Revered Master..."

Xiao Ling'er was terrified and uneasy, and immediately recounted the events of the morning.

Upon hearing this, Su Fan immediately showed an expression of Life Qi.

Xiao Ling'er grew even more afraid; she knew her Revered Master was about to punish her.

"You useless thing, you said you killed that Zhang Qingqing, so why didn't you take her Storage Pouch while you were at it?"

"Revered Master, I... huh?"

Xiao Ling'er's carefully built up feelings of dread were suddenly confused by Su Fan's words.

What was Revered Master saying?

"Ling'er, remember this. If you kill someone in the future, you must remember to take their Storage Pouch in time. Killing someone without taking their treasures, wouldn't that be a huge loss? I'll let it slide this time since it's your first offense. If you forget again next time, I'll definitely give you a good lesson!"

Xiao Ling'er's head was spinning.

It seemed Revered Master's words were not quite what she had imagined.

"Revered Master, I killed the Third Peak Lord's daughter, aren't you going to punish me?"

Su Fan shook his head at her words.

"As a Sword Cultivator, you only need to be true to your original intention when you draw your sword; that is enough."

"What I hate most are fawning, servile villains. When it's time to draw your sword, draw it. You did nothing wrong."

"You don't need to worry about the rest. If the sky falls, I'll hold it up for you. Just Cultivate with peace of mind."

Su Fan's words swept away the gloom in Xiao Ling'er's heart.

At this moment, Su Fan, in Xiao Ling'er's eyes, was almost like half a father figure.

"Alright, go and Cultivate quickly, don't waste time."

"Yes!"

Xiao Ling'er wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, lifted her blue-green skirt, and finally smiled again... Three days passed quickly.

Finally, the day of the Sect Competition arrived.

During these three days, Xiao Ling'er had consumed one Ancient Soul Refining Pill, ten Spirit Gathering Pills, and ten Soul Condensing Pills, achieving an unimaginable Breakthrough in her strength.

From the Qi Refining Realm to the Body Tempering Realm, then breaking through to the Spirit Gathering Realm, reaching the third Heaven of the Spirit Gathering Realm!

Ordinary people, even after obtaining Spirit Gathering Pills and Soul Condensing Pills, might not have such an effect.

But Xiao Ling'er had a Divine Grade Physique and had also taken an Ancient Soul Refining Pill, causing her talent to transform.

Therefore, she was able to progress without any Bottleneck, incredibly smoothly.

On the day of the Sect Competition, almost all the new Disciples of the Sect came to the huge training ground.

At the center of the training ground, ten huge arenas made of gold and stone had already been erected. On each arena, an Elder in the Origin Opening Realm presided to reduce casualties during the competition.

"Have you heard? Among the Inner Sect Disciples this time, someone has already reached the sixth Heaven of the Spirit Gathering Realm."

"I know! It seems to be Zhang Jianfeng, an Inner Sect Disciple from the First Peak, famous for his Fire Dragon Tornado Sword Art, very powerful!"

"No, what I heard was clearly Yu Ruoxue, a Disciple from the Second Peak, who reached the sixth Heaven of the Spirit Gathering Realm last week, specializing in wind-element sword arts."

"It seems both of them are at the sixth Heaven of the Spirit Gathering Realm, too strong."

"I really don't know which Peak the first place in the Sect Competition will go to."

The sixth Heaven of the Spirit Gathering Realm, it seemed, was the ceiling of strength for this Sect Competition.

Xiao Ling'er gathered a lot of information from the discussions of the people around her and also gained a rough understanding of her own strength.

If she were given another month, no, even a week, she would be confident in reaching the sixth Heaven of the Spirit Gathering Realm.

It was just a pity that she had only Cultivated for three days; the time was too short.

She could only try.

"Have you heard? The daughter of the Third Peak Lord, Zhang Qingqing, was killed with a single sword strike in the Hundred Refinements Hall the day before yesterday."

"Hiss! Who was so bold? Doesn't he value his life!"

"I heard it was a new Disciple from Purple Bamboo Peak, also a Prodigy."

"What's the use of being a Prodigy? Killing the daughter of a Spirit Sea Realm expert, he's definitely dead too!"

Xiao Ling'er sighed.

Although the "Prodigy" being discussed by the people around her was herself, Xiao Ling'er couldn't be happy at all.

She wondered how her Revered Master would resolve this matter.

Gradually, the surrounding discussions and clamor subsided, and a figure in a green robe appeared on the central high platform.

He began to announce the rules.

"This Sect Competition will be divided into nine rounds!"

"The first six rounds will be a point system. Winners gain points, and losers are not eliminated."

"The last three rounds will be an elimination system. Winners advance, and losers are directly eliminated!"

"Now, let the drawing of lots begin!"

The other participating Disciples prayed that they wouldn't encounter those Inner Sect Disciples, in order to achieve as high a ranking as possible.

Xiao Ling'er, however, was indifferent.

Her goal was first place in the Sect Competition; she had to bring glory to her Revered Master!

After a long wait, it was finally Xiao Ling'er's turn to enter the arena.

"Lin Feng, Disciple of Discipline Peak, against Xiao Ling'er, Disciple of Purple Bamboo Peak, Arena Number Eight, please enter!"

Whoosh!

As soon as the result of the draw was announced, the entire audience was in an uproar!

Wasn't Lin Feng of Discipline Peak the Disciple who had just betrayed Purple Bamboo Peak a few days ago and received a Golden Marrow Treasure Pill?

The first battle of the Sect Competition was actually against a new Disciple of Purple Bamboo Peak.

What a coincidence!