(26) Wu LiJing Vs. Han YanLing

There was a man in yellow talking quietly with a man and woman who were dressed in blue green robes. He seemed to struggle to convince them to move elsewhere as he sighed. When the man spotted her from a distance, his parents also looked over to her.

Madam Shao smiled and quickly walked over to her. There were a few cultivators nearby who already noticed the small disturbance and were glancing over. Madam Shao grabbed Wu LiJing's hand and she did not resist as she looked at the woman with kind eyes.

"Wu LiJing, how are you?" She observed Wu LiJing silently and smiled warmly. "Your cultivation has improved and your beauty has only matured more than before." Wu LiJing nodded and saluted but Madam Shao quickly stopped her. "We are family, there is no need for formalities."

Wu LiJing smiled and said, "Aunt Shao, Sir Mo and I are no longer engaged."

Madam Shao stilled and sighed. Her husband, Clan Leader Mo, arrived beside her and smiled. "Wu LiJing, even if you two are no longer engaged, we are still family," he said in a warm voice.

Wu LiJing nodded. "Thank you, Uncle Mo. Have you and Aunt Shao been well?"

"We are fine but… I have come to apologize for our son's stupid mistake," he admitted.

Madam Shao quickly nodded. "LiJing, I have been wanting to meet with you, but we keep missing each other… I just want to discuss with you regarding this engagement and hope you won't take ShiLan's words seriously. He may have hurt your feelings due to a misunderstanding, but I can talk to my son!"

Wu LiJing shook her head and patted Madam Shao's warm hand. She didn't meet much with the two, however, they were great people and they obviously showed that they liked her. But she had to break it to them. She wasn't going to get back with their son and no one would be able to force that.

She smiled. "Aunt Shao, Uncle Mo, don't blame it all on Mo ShiLan. Actually, I also agreed to this. Since both parties have no feelings for the other, it is better to break it off now than to leave it and let things become more complicated in the future."

Madam Shao's smile faltered and her eyes were slightly wet as she gently squeezed LiJing's hand. "LiJing…"

Clan Leader Mo sighed and nodded. "I understand, LiJing." He smiled. "It is our son who still wronged you in the end... even…" He even fell for the wrong lady. He sighed again. "We will always be here, so come to the Mist Clan if you ever need help."

Wu LiJing nodded and saluted, excusing herself as she passed Mo ShiLan without talking to him. Mo ShiLan turned around to look at Wu LiJing's cold back as if he no longer mattered to her. He frowned when he felt a slight discomfort in his chest.

Wu LiJing went to sit next to her master, who was clearly scowling.

"Why is that scoundrel here? Did he want to further damage your reputation?" Wang WeiYue clicked his tongue and slapped his fan on his side table.

Wu LiJing chuckled. "Master, it is partly my fault since I refused to see Aunt and Uncle. They just came to make things clear and apologize for their son's decision."

"It was his mistake, tsk! I've always thought that he didn't deserve you." He sipped his tea.

Wu LiJing shook her head and poured herself some of her master's tea.

"Huh? Master, you shared your tea with her," Lai RongYi commented, sounding a bit irked.

Wang WeiYue glanced at his first direct disciple in ridicule. "You don't even enjoy tea, why are you complaining?"

The competition continued and names were still being called. This competition usually lasted until evening.

"Kang WangYong, direct disciple of the Dark Ruby Sect! Peak-stage of the Third Tier!"

Wu LiJing paid attention to the stage that the domineering figure was fighting in, with slight sparks in her eyes. And it only took a few moves before his opponent was defeated. She smiled.

"Wow! He didn't even take out his sword!"

"Wait, wasn't that just like Wu LiJing from the Moon Sect?"

"Well, when you become that good, you can still be arrogant and pull it off."

"I still remember the fight ten years ago. I can't wait to see it again this year."

As fights continued to occur, she suddenly heard another commotion when a name was called.

"Bai ZhiJun, direct disciple of the Blue Crane Sect! Peak-stage of Third Tier!"

She glanced at the left stage and her eyebrows furrowed slightly. It was him.

Bai ZhiJun also fought without having to summon his sword and everyone was delighted to see strong figures show off their strength.

"I want to see more," a cultivator sighed in admiration.

"All of the exciting matches will occur tomorrow."

In the area where the Blue Crane Sect was seated, Sect Master Xia was currently gritting his teeth as he looked at his third direct disciple fighting on stage. "So he already arrived but didn't come to greet me? I thought he wasn't going to attend at all." He chuckled and the cup in his hand cracked as his second direct disciple, Fu Gen, jumped a little and sighed inside.

"Master, perhaps something kept Junior Brother from coming…" he tried to soothe Sect Master Xia.

Xia BoHai nodded with cold eyes.

"Indeed. When we return to the sect, I should ask him personally."

Fu Gen felt a sudden chill but knew that in the end, his master was not going to do anything major to Bai ZhiJun since Bai ZhiJun was his favorite disciple. And Bai ZhiJun could probably talk himself out of it either way. He sighed and suddenly felt a little envious of his junior brother.

Other famous cultivators from the major sects started to be called and almost everyone's focus was on the three stages before them. Then close to the end of the evening, two names were surprisingly matched up for an interesting fight.

"Wu LiJing, direct disciple of the Moon Sect! High-stage of the Third Tier!"

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

"Oh? The Genius Medicine Doctor versus the Ice Demoness?"

"Would this turn out to be an interesting fight?"

"Are you an idiot?! This is the Ice Goddess we're talking about!"

"Oh, it seems you have to go again, Wu LiJing," Wang WeiYue said, fanning himself. He was just starting to get bored again after names of more well-known cultivators stopped being called. Most want to leave at this point.

Wu LiJing nodded and jumped down. Just then LiJing noticed that Wu QiaoHua had returned to the seat beside hers towards the front after leaving to sit in the back before. She smiled and felt warm inside. Was her cousin perhaps looking at her stage since she was going up?

Finally turning to focus on her opponent, she realized who was called along with her. She didn't really care to pay attention earlier so her opponent's name had not registered in her mind. Subconsciously, she looked up into the distance and saw Kang WangYong staring at them. She suddenly had a thought in her heart. Was he looking at her, or at Han YanLing?

She observed the girl dressed in green robes in front of her, who currently had a serious expression. Was that sweat she saw on her forehead? What was so interesting about this girl when she was this weak… Wu LiJing didn't summon her sword and stood still like she did earlier in the day after both parties saluted respectfully towards each other.

Han YanLing didn't wait and jumped towards Wu LiJing after the announcer announced the start of the fight. She twisted her body and flung her hand, releasing hidden needles that had a very tiny amount of chi inserted into them. She knew she had no chance against someone like Wu LiJing, so the most she could do was show all of her skills to attempt to impress the crowd.

Han YanLing felt that she was truly unlucky. She had really hoped to at least make it to the fourth round. She constantly aimed needles at Wu LiJing so that Wu LiJing would not be able to get near her and defeat her easily as she did her previous opponent. But it was no use as Wu LiJing skillfully dodged each needle and took small steps that were slowly decreasing their distance.

The Genius Medicine Doctor decided it wasn't wise to drain her energy further and changed tactics, running forward to get closer. As she circled around Wu LiJing, she kept her needles going and the audience could only hear the sound of needles hitting the ground as the two female cultivators fought.

"Miss Wu, how is it trying to find the people who killed your family?" She needed to distract her opponent so she would have a better chance to showcase her skills and stand out against someone much stronger than herself.

Wu LiJing's hand paused and she retracted it as a needle came near her face and she flipped backwards. "What are you talking about?" She suddenly became vigilant and stared at the girl in front of her, who didn't stop releasing her needles.

Han YanLing smiled. "I have a clue as to who they are…"

Wu LiJing's eyes narrowed. She was suspicious… How did she… Then her eyes went to the mole under Han YanLing's lips and she felt a sudden anger rise in her, spreading to every pore. A blood-thirsty aura was released all at once and her sword appeared in her hands, shining a beautiful light. Han YanLing's body trembled unconsciously as it was pushed down by a deadly pressure. "You better tell me how you know right now," she said in an extremely unforgiving voice. Her sword easily deflected the needles and blew Han YanLing away with one swing.

What the hell?! Han YanLing's eyes widened as every inch of her only felt one emotion: fear. She summoned her sword just because of those words?! "I can help you find them!" Han YanLing quickly added. She only brought it up to distract her! Why did she suddenly take out her sword?! Wouldn't she die at this point? If she knew this would be Wu LiJing's reaction, she wouldn't have risked it!

"I overheard a conversation and found out that they murdered a couple…" She dodged the few slashes that were aimed her way and cursed her luck, releasing more needles that she was quickly running out of.

Wang WeiYue frowned. Why did LiJing summon her sword against this weak girl? "What is she doing?" he muttered.

Lai RongYi stopped eating the grapes in his hand and he squinted his eyes slightly. What was wrong with her? He looked at both ladies on stage. What were they talking about? He could feel the fluctuation of power coming from the purple figure.

"Liar," Wu LiJing said with a small smile. Did this girl think that she would be able to find out something LiJing had been trying to find out for more than four years?! Someone weak like her, who also had less resources? LiJing wasn't a fool!

Wu LiJing's sword shook as the energy emitting vibrated and she raised her sword, ready to aim.

"Wu LiJing!"

Wu LiJing froze when she heard her master's voice and her heart calmed down, with her sword suddenly vanishing. Her mind was clear and she jumped forward in the blink of an eye.

Reaching her opponent and taking her by surprise from the sudden change in temper and attack, Wu LiJing aimed for Han YanLing's abdomen. A strong amount of chi was concentrated and released into an attack, injuring Han YanLing's inner chi, and making her cough out blood as her body flew to the edge of the stage, like how a fly would be unable to resist and glide to the distance once it has been flicked by a finger.

Han YanLing crashed to the ground and her body rolled a few times, with her arm hanging down from the stage.

Walking closer to her coughing opponent, she said in a quiet voice, devoid of emotion, "I warn you not to talk about something you don't know anything about."

As she laid there, blood on her lips, Han YanLing trembled and watched Wu LiJing jump off stage to go elsewhere. She clenched her hands.

Wu LiJing didn't know how this girl knew about her parents, but she wasn't going to just let it go and thus decided to teach her a lesson. Everything Wu LiJing did was of great secrecy so she didn't know how Han YanLing found out. But in the end, this girl wouldn't be able to do anything that could hinder her. All LiJing has to do is be cautious of her.

Many people clapped and were surprised with this fight.

"Wow! Just getting a glimpse of the Ice Goddess's swordplay was amazing!"

"The Genius Medicine Doctor must be quite good even for a Second Tier. The Ice Goddess even drew her sword!"

"Right, she is not bad at all. Even if she wasn't able to match up to the Ice Goddess's skills and power, she did her best."

"But that was so sudden! Why did the Ice Goddess suddenly stop using her sword? It looked like she was going to use a big move!"

"Are you dumb?! Of course it's because she went easy on that Wonder Tree Sect disciple. That girl would have lost her life if Wu LiJing attacked seriously!"

"Han YanLing!"

"Han YanLing!"

Two figures jumped to the stage to check up on the Wonder Tree Sect disciple. A few people looked on stage and became shocked. What?! This girl was connected to figures from the top two major sects?! Not only that, they were famous figures!

Kang WangYong, the Dark Hero, and Bai ZhiJun, the Jade Gentleman were on stage, helping Han YanLing stand up as she coughed in pain. They brought her to the area where cultivators could be treated away from the three stages, where it was more quiet. Then they saw a female cultivator walking out of one of the rooms, and both Kang WangYong and Bai ZhiJun frowned.

Wu LiJing just exited the door when she saw three figures. Kang WangYong was carrying her previous opponent in his arms as he stared at her coldly. She froze and watched as Kang WangYong passed by her and entered the room. She clenched her hands.

"Miss LiJing."

Wu LiJing turned around slowly to face Kang WangYong, who came out immediately after putting Han YanLing down in the room. He had never given her such a look before and her words were stuck in her throat.

"Why did you do that?" he asked with obvious displeasure in his voice. "Han YanLing is obviously weaker than you. You didn't have to summon your sword or injure her this badly."

Wu LiJing was just silent as she stared at his chilling expression.

"Answer me!"

Wu LiJing expressed a small smile. "It's a competition, Kang WangYong," she finally replied calmly even with a domineering aura pressing down on the place. "It doesn't matter what tactic is used. As long as one does not kill another or purposely cripple another, all skills can be used, is that not true? Shouldn't you know best as a direct disciple of the Dark Ruby Sect, the host for this year?"

Kang WangYong was silent but did not lessen his pressure. "It is not right to go so hard against a much weaker opponent."

"Then do you go easy on your opponents, Sir WangYong?" she suddenly asked as she clenched her hands. "Or are you just making a big deal out of this because the one injured was someone you have come to care about? Actually, what I've been curious about is, are the words you spoke that day just a joke?" Her voice shook slightly as she stared at him. He frowned and avoided her gaze, looking at the ground.

Her gaze was intense and her emotions were in turmoil but she calmly walked with strong strides away from him.

Wu LiJing only took a few steps when she saw Wu QiaoHua running towards her. She unclenched her hands and tried to smile calmly. Was her cousin worried about her? "QiaoHua, what are you…"

"Senior Sister, couldn't you have gone easy on YanLing?!"

Wu LiJing's eyebrows slightly rose. What?

"Why did you have to injure her so badly?!"

"You know her too?" she whispered.

"She is my dear friend!" Wu QiaoHua declared with teary eyes as she glared at Wu LiJing. Then she quickly ran past her.

Wu LiJing looked at that hurrying back with deep, unreadable eyes. Her hands tightened harder into a fist. Her lips formed into a self-deprecating smile as she touched her waist that had been pierced by a needle.

"Hey! Hurry up and return! Master made me come get you just because you were careless," Lai RongYi said as he stared at her.

Wu LiJing looked up with indifferent eyes and she nodded. "Many thanks for checking up on me, Senior Brother. It was just a small injury." Then she walked past him.

Lai RongYi stared at her from the back and his eyes glanced back at the rooms for recovery.

Sect Master Wang observed her when she sat next to him. "Why did you get hit? You were careless." He knew she wasn't greatly injured but he was still worried.

"I fell for some simple provocation, Master, it is my fault. I shall be more careful in the future." She didn't manage to dodge one of those needles when she was distracted from those mere words earlier… She still had a long way to go.

When evening arrived, it was time for the competition to pause until the next day.

People started to leave while some stayed after to chat a little longer. Wu LiJing stood up and looked at the empty seat beside her. Wu QiaoHua just never came back afterwards. She hesitated but decided to go and find her anyway.

As her eyes scanned the big hall, she halted when she noticed Wu QiaoHua talking to someone else with a wide smile on her face. That smile… she hasn't looked that happy since she lost her cultivation. Just as Wu LiJing was about to walk over, she felt a wind pass by and turned her head to see a strong figure in red walk over towards the bright atmosphere between the two smiling girls.

Wu LiJing felt her feet stuck on the ground and stared at them with deep eyes, her gaze going from one face to another until it reached Han YanLing. She unconsciously clenched her robes and felt a small twinge in her heart. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly but she quickly got rid of that feeling and decided to turn around without going over.

"Sister LiJing!"

Thinking that this voice was familiar, Wu LiJing looked ahead and saw a boy run towards her. Her eyebrows lifted a little in surprise.

"Your fight was so awesome! I wanted to come earlier to congratulate you, but my brother made me stay in my seat!" He was pouting.

With his cute lips sticking out and his eyebrows furrowing from feeling wronged, she showed a small smile, thinking this look was a bit funny.

"Bai XiaoMing! Stop running around so fast!" Bai ChengAn complained as he reached them. He noticed Wu LiJing and quickly saluted with a handsome smile. "Miss Wu."

The gentle-looking man behind Bai ChengAn also saluted respectfully.

"Right, I apologize for not introducing myself properly. I am the oldest son from the Resounding Soul Clan. And this is my second brother, Bai ZhiJun." He gestured towards the man dressed in white, who looked graceful even as he stood and always emitted a somewhat gentle and aloof atmosphere.

Wu LiJing saluted back with slightly lowered eyes, and her slightly curved lips from seeing the young boy returned to normal.

"Miss Wu, pleased to make your acquaintance," Bai ZhiJun said politely with a small nod. His gentle eyes contrasted with her indifferent ones as they looked at each other for a split second. Wu LiJing's eyes narrowed slightly. He was hostile towards her. She smirked inside. Was it due to Han YanLing once again?

"I didn't expect Miss Wu's moves to be very elegant," Bai ChengAn commented.

"Thank you, Sir ChengAn," she replied lightly.

Bai Cheng An blinked a little and chuckled. Indeed, she should be confident in her skills and level without being too humble about it. Since he was the heir to their clan, he was used to people being humble and kissing up to him, so this was a new experience.

"Sister LiJing! Your hands are all healed!" the boy interjected, feeling left out.

Wu LiJing paused and nodded.

Bai ZhiJun stared at her, his gentle smile small. When did his youngest brother get so close to her? He glanced down at her hands that had not a scar of her previous injuries.

Bai XiaoMing stepped closer to her with a bright smile and held her hand, asking, "Sister LiJing, how about we go and eat my favorite egg tarts? My second brother bought me some earlier!"

Wu LiJing stared at the young boy and shook her head. She gently pulled the boy's hands off and then saluted. "Bai XiaoMing, please excuse me for having to refuse. I have prior engagements and shall leave first."

Wu LiJing took a few steps and couldn't help but stop for a moment before turning around to look at Wu QiaoHua, who smiled so brightly. Then she swiftly left. She couldn't understand why, but she felt an uncomfortable ache. Is that why she hesitated to go forward?

Bai XiaoMing wanted to chase after the cool lady but his brothers quickly stopped him. "Bai XiaoMing, do not be impolite," Bai ZhiJun warned.

Bai XiaoMing pouted and lowered his head dejectedly. "Okay…" Then he went back to smiling. At least, now he knew who she was! "Second Older Brother! Can we eat the egg tarts when we return home?"

"No," Bai ZhiJun said resolutely.

"But why?"

Bai ZhiJun smiled. "You shouldn't eat them if you want to avoid a stomach-ache." He kept track of the things his brother put on his plate.

Bai XiaoMing pouted once more depressingly. "Fine…"

Bai ZhiJun glanced at that purple figure that had already disappeared and his brows furrowed.