Chapter 146

Chapter 146: A Suitable Opponent for Qi Refinement

“What does that person mean?” Wu Yue fumed, her face puffing up like an angry balloon as she whirled around to glare at Long Xi. “Why did everyone get one except us?!”

Long Xi looked equally bewildered. Though their sects were the newest and typically last in line, being outright skipped was unexpected. He ventured hesitantly, “Maybe… something urgent came up?”

You You shifted awkwardly in her seat. Qiu Yao had clearly avoided Wu Yue after recognizing her. She extended her jade slip. “We can share mine?”

The offer instantly deflated Wu Yue’s anger. “Fine, we’ll share!” She dragged her chair closer, leaning in until her hair brushed You You’s shoulder.

Feng Rong’s eyebrow twitched. He snatched the jade slip from You You’s hand and tossed it at Long Xi. “Just copy it with divine sense,” he huffed. “Why crowd together like sardines?” His narrowed eyes added the unspoken thought: *Keep your clingy hands off my You You.*

Wu Yue shot him a venomous look. *Followers think they’re so special!*

Long Xi glanced between his celestial maiden and the glowering phoenix spirit. With a resigned sigh, he produced a blank jade slip and replicated the contents.

Feng Rong reclaimed the original slip, pressing it into You You’s palm. “They’re starting,” he nudged, nodding toward the arena where Shui Yan approached her opponent – a male cultivator at Golden Core level.

The man blinked at Shui Yan, pity flashing across his features. “My apologies, celestial maiden.” He bowed formally, spell sword gleaming in his grip.

His blade never cleared its sheath.

One brutal kick later, he skidded across the arena floor.

You You: “…”

*Never doubt the sect’s battle maniac.*

She shook her head, scanning the tournament jade slip. The elimination brackets showed most of their disciples in later rounds across multiple arenas. With this pace, finals might conclude by dusk.

A furrow between Feng Rong’s brows caught her attention. “Something wrong?”

“This formation…” He gestured at the glowing arena barriers. “Feels familiar. Can’t place it.” When the memory refused to surface, he abandoned the thought with a shrug. His hands dipped into his spatial pouch, emerging with an armload of snack bags that tumbled into You You’s lap.

Peanuts. Sunflower seeds. Popcorn.

“You remember?” She stared at the haul – Little Flame’s signature provisions.

“Remember what?” Feng Rong frowned. “My spatial pouch’s full of these. Aren’t they yours?”

“…Right.” She bit back a smile. *Should I mention he’d once roasted these himself as a baby phoenix?*

When she offered a bag to Wu Yue, Feng Rong intercepted like a hawk snatching prey. “Here.” He thrust two charcoal-black sweet potatoes at the neighboring duo.

Long Xi stared at his smoldering lump.

Wu Yue prodded hers with a grimace.

“Plenty more where that came from!” Feng Rong declared brightly, spatial pouch gaping to reveal mountains of charred snacks.

——————

By noon, only twenty competitors remained across all tiers. The Zhen Yan Sect dominated the lists – over half their disciples advancing. Shui Yan and Lin Feng cruised through Golden Core brackets. Liu Qing and Yin Fan held strong in Foundation Building. Only the Qi Refinement group caused concern.

Their newest recruits lacked battlefield experience. Du Liang’s seventh-layer cultivation barely scraped him into the top twenty. Now he faced Wei Xiao – Tian Wu Sect’s secret weapon suppressing Foundation Building strength at Qi Refinement peak.

“Zhen Yan Sect?” A green-robed celestial maiden’s voice dripped honeyed malice. “How novel. Which master do you serve?”

You You raised her hand.

“Ah.” The woman’s smile sharpened. “Your seventh-layer disciple must be blessed by fortune to reach this round. Pity his luck ends here against our Wei Xiao.”

Wu Yue hissed a warning: “Wei Xiao mastered Tian Wu’s hidden techniques. They’ve kept him at Qi Refinement just for this tournament.”

On the arena, Du Liang swallowed hard. His opponent’s aura screamed Foundation Building prowess. Only daily beatings from senior sect siblings kept his knees from buckling.

Wei Xiao attacked without preamble. Sword shadows erupted like silver stormclouds. “BEHOLD THE QIU ZHANG SWORD TECHNIQUE!”

Tea sprayed across the stands as You You choked.

*They named it WHAT?!*