(24) Genius Medicine Doctor

"Master, why did you arrive so late? Sect Master Xia will definitely be annoyed."

Bai ZhiJun had a small smile on his face, like always, and replied in a soft tone, "I already told him I didn't want to participate in the competition, but he put my name in anyway. I'm sure I can be a bit late and he won't be angry."

His second personal guard, Cui Chao, stared at his calm master. That wasn't true, really. He was sure the sect master was going to be angry. Only his master would dare to do whatever he wanted and be late for the grand Sect Competition. Was he doing this to get back at the sect master?

Sect Master Xia of the Blue Crane Sect is quite strict with his disciples, and values order the most. But only Bai ZhiJun could do whatever he wanted and barely get punished. This was in part due to his amazing talent, which caused the sect master to unconsciously indulge his favorite disciple. At first, Sect Master Xia did actually try to tame his new disciple, but Bai ZhiJun simply never learned his lesson and took on the punishments without complaining, with a calm smile on his face, so the master simply gave up.

"Huh? Master, why are we just standing here and watching the stages without going up to sit next to Sect Master Xia?" Cui Chao was bewildered.

Bai ZhiJun smiled. "I can see better down here."

Cui Chao's eyebrow twitched. It's confirmed. His master really was doing this on purpose.

As he stared at his master, he suddenly overheard a few men talking to each other.

"Now that her engagement is broken, do you think I have a chance?"

"Are you dumb? She is an untouchable beauty. It is a known fact that she doesn't like interacting with others."

Cui Chao raised an eyebrow. Who were they talking about that they weren't even paying attention to the competition?

"Master, what if your name has already been called?" Cui Chao asked worriedly.

"Names of higher-tier cultivators, especially well-known ones, are usually not called until later. Or else they would take up all of the spotlight. This competition is for all disciples to have a chance to shine after all."

A male disciple a small distance away turned and suddenly noticed the white figure behind the crowd. "Hey, who's that?" The man's elegant demeanor made him pay attention to him, and he tried to discern who it was.

Bai ZhiJun made sure his fan was covering half of his face, only letting his attractive almond eyes show as he discreetly stepped further back so less would notice him.

"Master, your white robes make it too obvious," Cui Chao said. All sects had a uniform with a design and color, and with Bai ZhiJun's profound figure and manner as well as the common colors he wore, people could easily guess who he was as long as they piece information together.

"They won't notice right away," Bai ZhiJun said calmly, a mild smile on his face. "Who would guess that a disciple of a major sect would come down here to watch instead?"

Since Bai ZhiJun liked to wear white, he had two uniforms made for him, one in a white and beige color and one with a light tint of blue. He mostly wore his white uniform but when he felt like it, he would wear the one with a tint of blue.

Bai ZhiJun scanned the place and spotted a girl in light green robes, with the design of leaves and trees decorating it. She was sitting with her sect. The smile on his face warmed up when he saw how serious she was observing the fights on stage.

Then he looked towards the seat where his baby brother was sitting. The boy was around with wide eyes of excitement. His gaze recognized the wide variety of snacks on Bai XiaoMing's plate and he frowned slightly.

"I should probably wait until later to give him the egg tarts," he muttered.

Han YanLing felt a gaze coming from somewhere and she looked around. Then she spotted Bai ZhiJun and smiled. She bowed her head slightly when he looked her way again and then went back to looking at the fight on stage. One of the people from her sect, the Wonder Tree Sect, was currently fighting.

Her goal was to raise their prestige during this competition. It was a great way for their business to grow faster and also show others that they weren't a sect that could be messed with even if they weren't in the top ten.

She had hoped that by today, she would've been able to raise everyone's levels and make them as strong as the top major sects. However, it was literally impossible with only about five years to work with.

But all is well. She only needs another few more years to bring them to the top ten.

After all, she has a secret that has been helping her these last few years, which included getting rid of her step-mother who was after her life. Her naïve father finally saw that witch's true face and kicked her out with her step-sister. But what he didn't know was that she captured both that witch and her daughter and tortured them thoroughly before getting rid of them.

They made her suffer so much in the past that she almost died, so that was the least she could do. She used to be a naïve girl who believed her stepmother loved her and that the world was full of kind and honest people, but not anymore.

She realized; power and money was everything. It was harder to enter a big sect and climb up the ladder among so many talents, so being at the top of a smaller sect and building prestige would be easier and faster. Also, she had plans to increase her cultivation, but her true skills came from making pills instead.

Han YanLing's gaze suddenly went towards the cold woman sitting higher up, dressed in dark purple robes. She rubbed her hand a few times and then went back to look at the stage. She was a bit worried. Earlier, she didn't expect to meet Wu LiJing so soon so she was shocked and ended up showing her true feelings on her face. Did that cold person perhaps see it?

Clap! Clap! Clap!

"Oh, that disciple from the Wonder Tree Sect is not bad… I don't really remember them from the previous years. But their disciples this year are not bad at all."

Han YanLing quickly put her worries away and smiled as she clapped along; this was their second win.

As two fights came to an end, Sect Master Wang lightly commented, "There are quite a few good talents this year."

"Master, are you trying to be sarcastic?" Lai RongYi asked.

Wang WeiYue stared at his disciple irritatedly and Lai RongYi shut up, turning away. He looked at Wu LiJing, who hasn't changed her expression this whole time and has been sitting with her back straight, completely different from the relaxed Lai RongYi.

"LiJing, what do you think?" Wang WeiYue asked.

"They're alright, Master."

Wang WeiYue nodded and sighed, taking out his elegant white fan. "I wonder when a more interesting fight will occur?"

"Wei SuSu, disciple of the Moon Sect! Peak-stage, Second Tier!"

"Zhu Tung, disciple of the Dark Ruby Sect! Peak-stage, Second Tier!"

Wang WeiYue closed his fan and smiled. "One of our disciples is finally called."

Wu QiaoHua, who was sitting next to Wei SuSu, watched as her friend stood up. "Good luck," she said with a smile.

Wei SuSu smiled and nodded. She felt a little bit of sweat on her hands but flew towards the left stage as the other disciple in red also entered the stage.

"I can't believe our first opponent is the Dark Ruby Sect," Wang WeiYue stated calmly with a smile. "This will be interesting."

Master Ruan, who was one of the masters that tagged along with them, smiled. "I took her in as a main disciple for a reason, believe in her, Sect Master." That was one reason why Wei SuSu was chosen as one of the four to fight in this competition - she had become one of the newest main disciples.

Wang WeiYue nodded. "So she was the one you recently took in? I look forward to seeing her skills then." He chuckled. He sipped his tea calmly as his eyes met with Gao JianWei's. He smiled and did a small bow with his head along with Gao JianWei, painting the picture of perfect masters who are looking forward to this fight.

He smirked inside - he was sure to take a good look at Gao JianWei's face once they won this fight.

Wei SuSu summoned her dark sword. She sheathed it and got into a proper stance as did Zhu Tung.

Cling!

Both jumped forwards and exchanged moves, moving from place to place on the stage. Wei SuSu swung her sword towards Zhu Tung and he quickly dodged by jumping to the side and landing safely by rolling on his back. He quickly got up and a light emitted from his sword, showing he had great control over his chi. But Wei SuSu also readily concentrated her chi into her sword, and both lights collided as their swords clashed.

Wei SuSu felt her hands slightly tremble from the strength Zhu Tung was using. She gritted her teeth and refused to let the strength overpower her. She lowered her body to strengthen her defense and tried to look for an opening as she stabbed towards him.

"Hm… she's focusing on defending," Sect Master Wang surmised. "It comes down to their skills and strength in the end since both are in the same stage and level."

"Hasn't Wei SuSu been taking on more missions?" Wu LiJing suddenly brought up. She knew since Wan Ting informed her of the activities of those around Wu QiaoHua a few days ago when she returned to the sect for this competition. (a/n: Reminder: Wan Ting is the hidden guard LiJing hired for QiaoHua)

Master Ruan nodded. "Yes. She's been keeping herself busy these past two years. So I believe in my disciple." He smiled handsomely, with the mole under his left eye lifting, as he looked at his disciple, and making a female disciple near-by blush. He found Wei SuSu to be quite talented in swordsmanship and saw that she was hard-working, so he finally decided to take her in.

On stage, Wei SuSu concentrated a good amount of chi on her feet, which in turn, slightly weakened the chi on her sword. But that was okay. Her sword would still be just as sharp. She must move the same way as before so he wouldn't notice that her steps have gotten faster.

She waited for a moment and her eyes moved as she finally bent her knees slightly, dodging his sword by a hair's breadth and pushing her body up, using qingqong, twisting her body to create momentum and stabbing towards Zhu Tung's left armpit.

Zhu Tung realized what she was doing but it was too late since he couldn't react in time, only able to slightly turn his body so his arm was pierced instead. He jumped backwards but she quickly followed closely beside him.

With gritted teeth, Zhu Tung tried to use his sword to intimidate her so she would stand down, but she quickly jumped in front of him and by the time both of their feet reached the ground, her sword was already on his neck with his blade barely touching her arm, creating a small cut with a small amount of blood seeping through the broken skin. In a split moment, she decided to risk her arm to defeat him.

"What did I tell you?" Master Ruan exclaimed. "Did I forget to mention that my disciple has great observation skills?" He laughed lightly.

Wang WeiYue smiled calmly with bright eyes and made sure to catch Gao JianWei's expression as he clapped.

Sect Master Gao 's expression didn't seem to change much, only calming watching and clapping his hands, but Sect Master Wang laughed inside. He knew Gao JianWei best; he must be very displeased right now that their Moon Sect disciple was able to pinpoint one of their disciple's weak points and use it against him even if his strength was slightly higher than hers.

"Sect Master Gao, the disciple from your sect is quite talented. As expected, one of your disciples was able to keep up with our disciple," Wang WeiYue chuckled. Meaning, your disciple was on the same stage and level, but still wasn't good enough to beat ours, clearly showing that you're behind us.

Gao JianWei showed a small smile. "Indeed, he will probably need more training after this since he let his guard down. Next time, this won't happen again." Meaning, this disciple just didn't train as much and went easy on their Moon Sect in the end. Also, he wasn't their best competitor anyway, so it wouldn't ever happen again even if he dreamed of it.

Wang WeiYue laughed inside once more yet looked like an elegant master on the outside as the disciples heard this 'peaceful' conversation, which was transmitted through emitting chi with the master's voices. Everyone nodded, thinking that these top tier masters were indeed different, peacefully conversing about their disciples and accepting losses and wins so calmly!

Wu LiJing looked on the stage as she clapped, trying to ignore their conversations and feeling a bit embarrassed inside. These two… are always so pretentious. She wonders what they are saying inside with their inner voices. Cultivators could converse with each other in their minds using their inner voices, that could only be heard between the parties allowed into the conversation. It was an easily learned technique once one reached the Third Tier.

"Well, well, would you look at that. I knew our Moon Sect would win this fight. Look at how skillful our disciple is, using your disciple's weakness against him. You guys always emphasize too much on strength, leaving multiple openings. I wish you better luck next time," Wang WeiYue said with his inner voice as he showed an elegant smile on the outside.

"Our Zhu Tung only let his guard down for a moment, that's all, and ended up going easy on your disciple due to his recent cough. Otherwise, this would be a completely different story. Don't count your eggs before they hatch," Gao JianWei transmitted back, not admitting defeat.

"Oh? He let his guard down because of his cough? He was clearly defeated; if this was a real fight, his head would already be severed. This only shows how good your disciples can get. Ha!" He scoffed.

"Celebrate while you can because the next time one of your disciples face ours, they'll easily be kicked off stage with only a few moves, no - just by the hit of one finger!"

Both could feel the glares coming from both sides even as they smiled amicably and sat back down on their seats.

Lai RongYi glanced at his master and Sect Master Gao. World Class Actors. This is why they get along so well. He nodded his head, confirming his belief.

"Wow! A fight between the big sects is always great to watch," one cultivator commented.

"Wei SuSu and Zhu Tung, was it? Both are promising cultivators."

Zhu Tung bowed and saluted. "Miss Wei is quite talented."

Wei SuSu shook her head politely. "Sir Zhu is just as good. If I was a second late, the one to lose would be me."

He smiled. "Miss Wei should get her arm treated for the next fight."

Wei SuSu nodded. "Thank you, Sir Zhu as well. I apologize for the injury." The stab didn't look too pretty but such injuries were to be expected in this competition.

Zhu Tung waved his hand. "No need for an apology." Then both went offstage in order to get treated.

Ruan FuPing frowned slightly and grumbled, "Does she need to chat with him for so long? She needs to get herself treated in case she has to fight in the second round today."

Wang WeiYue sipped the tea he brought himself from his own business and smiled. "Let them talk. Youngsters with similar strength having a good rivalry will boost their drive." In fact, he just wanted Wei SuSu to show Zhu Tung what's up.

Wu LiJing wondered if she was too good at reading the real meaning behind her master's words now, that he didn't seem as elegant as he used to appear for her.

"Wei SuSu has done a great job," Sect Master Wei complimented with a genuine smile. "Unlike my own disciple who lost to the Dark Ruby Sect ten years ago."

Lai RongYi frowned. "But master, I still landed sixth place. It's only because I let my guard down against Gao XuiYing."

Wang WeiYue shook his head. "Then you deserved to lose. Gao XuiYing was clearly stronger than you and you dare let your guard down."

"Master!"

Wu LiJing looked at her master and senior brother. After a moment, she glanced back towards a cute looking girl with big eyes who seemed to be waiting for her injured friend. Then she looked at the empty seat next to her.

Wu QiaoHua smiled once she saw that Wei SuSu was treated and wasn't injured anywhere else.

"You did a wonderful job!" Wu QiaoHua exclaimed. She clenched her hands unconsciously as she thought, would she do as well if she still had her cultivation? She should be happy for her friend, but she couldn't help feeling a bit sad and envious.

Wei SuSu smiled and nodded proudly as the other disciples congratulated her.

"Is your arm alright?" Wu QiaoHua asked.

"Mm. Just a small cut, so not too serious. Since it's also only on my left side, it shouldn't hinder my movements."

Wei SuSu walked up to Master Ruan and said, "Master, I won my first fight."

The master with a mole under his eye showed a smile, "Good job. I knew you could do it. Make sure to rest in case your name gets called later on."

Wei SuSu saluted and went back to her seat.

In another section where the major clans were seated, a boy of eight years old was currently drinking his tea to gobble down the cakes he was consuming at a fast pace.

"Ah'Ming, watch your manners and stop eating so fast. It's not good for your stomach," a mature and bright-looking handsome young master said while wiping his younger brother's mouth.

Bai XiaoMing looked around and stopped eating. "First Older Brother, when is Second Older Brother going to get here?"

Bai ChunAn raised an eyebrow and sighed. "You keep asking for your second brother, but he will arrive soon. He has to compete in this competition anyway."

Bai XiaoMing grinned. "He said he's bringing some delicious egg tarts!"

Bai ChunAn looked at his youngest brother who just lost a lot of his baby fat from learning martial arts… it seems he will go back to looking like a cute ball again. He pinched his cheek.

"Ow! First Older Brother, stop!"

"Han YanLing, direct disciple of the Wonder Tree Sect! Low-stage of the Second Tier!"

"Shi Diu, disciple of the Soundless Air Sect! Mid-stage of Second Tier!"

Bai XiaoMing looked down, thinking this name sounded familiar. He squinted his eyes and once he clearly saw her soft looking face, he frowned and said with a childish voice, "I don't like her."

Bai ChunAn let go of his brother's cheek and looked towards the stages. "Who?"

Bai XiaoMing pointed towards the middle stage. "Her! The girl in green! Second Older Brother smiles at her for no reason, I don't like it!"

Bai ChunAn took a good look at the girl. Wasn't she the one they met a few months ago walking with their second brother? He smiled and patted Bai XiaoMing's head. His littlest brother was just jealous that his favorite brother paid attention to someone else besides him. "Why not? She seemed nice when we met her. And ZhiJun smiles at everyone."

Bai XiaoMing shook his head. "No! The smile was different! I don't like her!"

Bai ChunAn chuckled. "It seems ZhiJun will have trouble finding a wife to satisfy our dear youngest brother."

Many disciples were once again excited.

"Oh! Another disciple from one of the top ten sects! Who is she facing?"

"The direct disciple of the Wonder Tree Sect? Is she a new disciple?"

"Oh my! Isn't she the Genius Medicine Doctor?!"

"Her name sounds familiar… wasn't she that girl from that big scandal in the northwest?"

"Who is the Genius Medicine Doctor?"

"I heard she is a prodigy when it comes to making pills and even saved the dying life of the sect leader of the Wonder Tree Sect, thus becoming his direct disciple!"

"Hm… but we will have to see how her cultivation is compared to her pill making skills."

"You haven't heard? It only took her two years to cultivate and break into the Second Tier from the bottom of First Tier!"

"Huh? Is that even possible?! It has to be just rumors…"

Han YanLing smiled gently outside as she flew on stage. This level of attention is just what she wanted. It was good she hired people to spread the rumors about her name.

Two figures on the center stage, one wearing light-green robes and another wearing steel blue robes, saluted towards each other and readied into a stance.

"Begin!"

Shi Diu summoned a short steel sword and ran towards Han YanLing.

Han YanLing stood still with a serious face as her body tensed. She quickly bent her body to avoid her opponent's swing and stepped backwards. With Shi Diu's quick thrusts, she was in a constant state of defending, but she was still able to hold her own. She pushed one hand forwards to deflect another attack and spun her body to hit Shi Diu on the chest, causing Shi Diu to stumble back.

One's movement was like an attacking shadow and another like an evading breeze.

"The Genius Medicine Doctor is not bad," a male cultivator said.

"Yes, she is holding up well against someone from a major sect, and someone one stage higher. I must admit, I'm surprised."

"Her moves are smooth and careful."

Wu LiJing was watching intently for some reason and suddenly felt a movement in her right side. She tilted her head and saw her cousin walking over quietly.

A small smile formed, "You've decided to come?"

Wu QiaoHua nodded and sat down. Her eyes seemed brighter than usual as she looked on stage.

"I can't believe she has the nerve to sit down next to Eldest Senior Sister," someone whispered. "If she didn't have Eldest Senior Sister, she wouldn't even be able to come here."

Wu QiaoHua visibly froze but she quickly ignored them and concentrated on watching the floor where the fights were occurring.

Wu LiJing turned around and her cold eyes met with the male disciple who said such irritating words and he quickly stiffened before bowing rapidly and looking at the ground in fear. Wu LiJing glanced at her cousin who didn't seem to care and sighed in relief inside.

Kang WangYong stared down from his seat as he watched. A small smile emerged on his face but he caught himself and his stony expression appeared once again. He frowned slightly and a complicated gaze followed the green figure on stage as she skillfully hit her opponent with another chi attack.

"Hm… is she the one who saved you, Kang WangYong?" Sect Master Gao asked.

With a nod, he answered, "Yes, Master."

"This girl is not bad. She likes to look for an opening and observe her opponent before she attacks. And her attacks… are quite vicious as well. She is focusing her chi onto her hands before she strikes major parts of the body, similar to how disciples of the Divine Emerald Sect would fight. Probably due to their knowledge of the human body as doctors. Is it true it only took her two years to reach Second Tier?" Gao JianWei rubbed his chin.

"Yes, master. It's true. When I met her a year ago, she was still in the mid-stage of First Tier."

Gao JianWei frowned. "So fast? I wonder how she did it." His eyes suddenly gleamed in interest.

Kang WangYong was also curious. She broke through so many stages in one night and suddenly became a Second Tier cultivator, which surprised him. He's never seen something like that before. She told him that she happened upon a rare herb that her dead master told her about and consumed it to help elevate her cultivation, but it didn't sound as believable. There was no such herb in the world that would have such a miraculous effect. Except, it also sounded completely plausible. After all, what else would have caused such an effect?

On stage, Han YanLing stumbled when she was hit by her opponent's palms. Shi Dui's weapon was sprawled a few feet away from them when Han YanLing managed to hit her hand. Shi Dui jumped to grab her weapon once more. Just as she jumped towards Han YanLing to end the fight with a glowing sword, Han YanLing took a deep breath, feeling all of her chi on her palms, and pushed her arms out, releasing a mass amount of energy that emerged as a bright light, and hit and pushed Shi Dui back, causing her to spit out blood.

"Winner: Han YanLing of the Wonder Tree Sect!"

People clapped, surprised to have seen an emergence of a new prodigy. Han YanLing had shown that she had great control over the use of chi.

"I can't believe she won!"

"Did you see that last attack? It looks like she has great potential to grow more in the future with that amount of chi in her. That wave of chi was no joke."

Wu LiJing looked towards Kang WangYong and saw his dark eyes focus on the stage with an intense gaze. She slightly clenched her hands.

"Hm… interesting. I also heard about this girl as I was travelling out," Wang WeiYue commented.

"Master, you've heard of her?"

Wang WeiYue glanced at his disciple and chuckled. "Have you not heard the conversations of the disciples around you? She is known as the Genius Medicine Doctor, though I wouldn't know how effective her pills are compared to her combat and chi skills."

"Master, don't you find it interesting that she was able to break through to Second Tier so easily?" Lai RongYi commented. Her skills were mediocre so this was the only fact that kept her interesting to him.

Wang WeiYue smiled. "I already have a greater prodigy next to me, so why would I find this interesting? If she found a way to increase her cultivation, then that's good. But rushing one's cultivation either through pills or luck is not too smart in my book."

Lai RongYi smiled arrogantly. His master was surely talking about him. He soon lost interest in such a small girl and went back to eating the snacks on his table in a light manner.

A small smile emerged on Wu LiJing's face. Her master had the same thoughts as her. She stared at the pretty girl in green, walking off stage. Indeed, it's a miracle to level up so fast in two years. But building a proper foundation was very important or bottlenecks could easily occur in the future. She didn't think this girl would be able to go as far in her cultivation if she didn't take her time to cultivate. She could already guess that perhaps her sudden rise in cultivation was due to her pill making skills.

She observed the expressions of the masters of the major sects. A few seemed impressed, but a few were like her master, interested but it wasn't worth thinking too much about. Still, it was a great feat nevertheless.