Seeing the silhouette of white across from him, Nie Kong couldn't help but smile. That graceful, stunning figure, that delicate, cool countenance—who else could it be but Bai Yuqing? Nie Kong hadn't expected to run into her here; it seemed she had also been observing the Six Halls Grand Competition all along.
Before Nie Kong could even reach Bai Yuqing, a small, exquisite figure zipped past him and darted straight to Bai Yuqing’s side, clinging to her arm and slumping over dejectedly. “Sister Yuqing, this big liar is so hateful! He completely ignored me.”
Sister Yuqing?
The two little girls knew each other?
Nie Kong was momentarily stunned, then suddenly recalled that Mu Xiaoling had mentioned the Bai family was the guarantor for Gu Qi's participation in the Thousand Spirits Elixir Contest—and the puzzle pieces clicked into place.
Bai Yuqing ignored the little loli’s complaint, her expression placid. “Nie Kong, your performance in the Illusory Space was exceptional. Although the commotion you caused led to some unforeseen developments, your name is guaranteed to be on the roster for the inner city disciples selected this time!”
“I thought so too,” Nie Kong laughed heartily, then his brow suddenly furrowed. He lowered his voice. “Sister Bai, you mentioned some unforeseen developments because of the commotion I caused—what exactly were those developments?”
“I know! I know!”
The little loli immediately became excited, hopping over to Nie Kong and leaning in conspiratorially. “Big Liar, if you tell me your method for attracting Spirit Beasts, I’ll leak you some advance information. I’m telling you, this deal only benefits you, there’s no downside—when you get to the inner city later, I’ll cover for you.” With that, the little girl patted her chest, adopting an attitude of “Don’t worry, I’ve got your back.”
“Cover for me?”
Nie Kong let out a wry chuckle. If he needed such a little squirt to cover for him once he entered the inner city, he might as well just dash his head against a block of tofu. Besides, there was no way he would tell her his method for attracting Spirit Beasts. “Let’s forget it. I believe everyone will know soon enough.”
“Mm.”
Bai Yuqing nodded. “Nie Kong, you should rest well. I’m leaving now. See you in the inner city later.” As soon as she finished speaking, Bai Yuqing departed without any lingering sentiment.
The little loli immediately grew anxious, hanging onto Bai Yuqing’s shoulder. “Sister Yuqing, how can you just leave like that? Didn’t you promise to help persuade the Big Liar to teach me the method for attracting Spirit Beasts? You didn’t even say one word about it just now! You can’t leave, you can’t leave!”
Bai Yuqing stated coolly, “Did I really promise that?”
The little loli glared, her eyes puffed out in frustration. “When I asked you, you clearly made an ‘Mm’ sound! Doesn’t that count as a promise?”
Bai Yuqing frowned. “Then you must have misunderstood. I didn’t hear anything at that moment; my throat was just a bit itchy, so I made an ‘Mm’ sound.”
“You, you, you…”
The little loli was completely dumbfounded, dangling from Bai Yuqing’s shoulder as she was led toward the exit of the Lingxiao Altar…””
Hearing Bai Yuqing’s reply to the little loli, Nie Kong nearly burst out laughing; he never would have imagined the usually ice-cold Bai Yuqing could have such an amusing moment.
After watching the two figures disappear through the Lingxiao Altar exit, Nie Kong retracted his gaze and surveyed his surroundings. He noticed that everyone nearby was pointing at him and muttering—some with goodwill in their eyes, some visibly energized, others filled with admiration, and yet others radiating pure resentment.
Among these people were disciples from Lingyu City who had exited when the Illusory Space sealed, unfortunate souls forced out by Spirit Beasts or inner city disciples, and those inner city disciples who had been left battered and ragged by Nie Kong’s actions. Nie Kong also spotted quite a few familiar faces among them.
On the first circular tier, Luo Sheng was leaning back, covered in bloodstains and looking listless. His gaze on Nie Kong was as cold and venomous as a viper’s. Most of the inner city disciples who had been driven out by the Spirit Beasts attracted by Nie Kong were clustered around Luo Sheng.
Nie Kong found their gazes particularly strange—though their eyes were full of hatred when fixed on him, there was a hesitation in their looks, as if they were wary of something.
Nie Kong considered trying to overhear what they were whispering, but the Lingxiao Altar was overwhelmingly noisy; without approaching them closely, even mobilizing his Spiritual Power wouldn't allow him to hear clearly.
“Nie Kong, I didn’t realize you had such an acquaintance in the inner city.”
Amidst the deafening clamor, a clear voice pierced Nie Kong’s ear. It was Miao Ge, walking over with a beaming smile. Accompanying her were Taiji, Ru Jie, and Ye Xinlian, all displaying equally joyful expressions—they had likely held out until the very end as well.
Nie Kong looked puzzled. “What? You know her?” It seemed unlikely. Bai Yuqing had entered the inner city immediately upon arriving at Lingyu City and had never lingered in the outer city.
Entering the inner city had two pathways besides the standard, gradual progression.
One was like Nie Kong—newly inducted disciples who earned the opportunity to participate early in the Six Halls Grand Competition due to outstanding performance. The other was via special selection, which bypassed the need to participate in the Grand Competition and allowed direct entry into the inner city. These individuals could be outer city disciples or not.
Like Bai Yuqing, who was an inner city disciple from the moment she joined Lingyu City; or like the former elixir fanatic, Huai Song, who had hoped to take this route but whose plan was shattered by Nie Kong’s sudden appearance. Disciples entering through this specialized channel were even rarer!
Miao Ge smiled charmingly. “Last year, when Lord Gu Changgong, the Palace Master of the Medicine Heart Hall, came to give a lecture, I met her once. I can’t believe it’s only been half a year, and she’s already grown so much.”
Nie Kong was taken aback. So, Miao Ge wasn't referring to Bai Yuqing, but that little girl named Gu Qi. The Palace Master of the Medicine Heart Hall was surnamed Gu, and she was also surnamed Gu—could it be…?
“What is that little girl’s relation to the Palace Master?” Nie Kong couldn't help but ask.
“You don’t know?”
Miao Ge looked surprised.
Nie Kong shook his head and laughed lightly. “To be honest, I only saw her once six months ago. Today is only the second time, and I never knew she was from Lingyu City before.”
Miao Ge was momentarily speechless. “Lord Gu Changgong has three brothers. That little girl, Gu Qi, seems to be the granddaughter of the Palace Master’s third brother. It’s said she grew up in the inner city, following the Palace Master since she was small.”
“So that’s it!”
Nie Kong realized with a sudden enlightenment. Since Gu Qi grew up in the inner city, all the inner city disciples must know her. No wonder their gazes toward him were so peculiar; they probably saw Gu Qi running to find him and subconsciously guessed at some relationship he had with Gu Changgong.
Nie Kong also vaguely understood a problem that had puzzled him for days: why did Gu Changgong, the Palace Master of the Medicine Heart Hall, tell Sha Yan that he knew Nie Kong? He must have heard it from Gu Qi’s mouth! Seeing how the little girl kept calling him “Big Liar” just now… it seemed that over the past six months, Gu Qi must have complained quite a bit about him teasing her during the Thousand Spirits Elixir Contest. This little girl certainly held a grudge!
Gu Qi had come to this entrance of the Illusory Space looking for him because she was intent on his method of attracting Spirit Beasts without being attacked. But the appearance of the little loli had sent the inner city disciples into wild speculation. Looking at their expressions, it seemed the troubles he might face in the inner city would be significantly reduced from now on.
It was an unexpected outcome! Nie Kong shook his head, a faint skip in his heart. Could it be that Bai Yuqing, after seeing his performance in the Illusory Space, deliberately came here with the little girl to make the resentful inner city disciples hesitant to act rashly?
The more Nie Kong thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. Otherwise, given Bai Yuqing’s nature, she would never have sought him out deliberately without a compelling reason. He had always thought Bai Yuqing was just a fierce, battle-focused woman, but it turned out she was also quite insightful! Nie Kong felt a touch of emotion.
“Silence!”
Suddenly, that powerful, familiar voice boomed out. The vast Lingxiao Altar became hushed once more, the chattering voices vanishing without a trace. “All Lingyu City disciples participating in the ‘Six Halls Grand Competition,’ proceed immediately to the Lingxiao Hall to wait.”
After hearing this, Nie Kong knew the “unforeseen development” Bai Yuqing mentioned was about to arrive.
‖≧‖First≧‖Post≧‖
According to the tradition of previous years, after the conclusion of the Six Halls Grand Competition, the list of inner city disciples who passed the assessment would be announced right there on the Lingxiao Altar. But today, after the Illusory Space sealed, no one had come to register or inquire; instead, everyone was suddenly summoned to wait in the Lingxiao Hall beside the Lingxiao Altar.
The announcement specified all Lingyu City disciples participating in the “Six Halls Grand Competition,” meaning inner city and outer city disciples alike, without exception. Although no one knew why the voice demanded they proceed to the “Lingxiao Hall,” it certainly wasn't to announce the inner city disciple roster.
Instantly, the surroundings seemed to explode into chaos, and the crowd began to murmur:
“,””,”””,””
“Proceed to the Lingxiao Hall? Are they serious? Aren’t they announcing the results of the Six Halls Grand Competition?”
“Announce? How can they announce? There were still several hundred people inside the Illusory Space when it sealed! They can’t possibly mean all several hundred passed and entered the inner city, can they?”
“Who cares! Anyway, I got out of the ‘Illusory Space’ long ago. Whatever the final result is has nothing to do with me.”
“Yeah, let’s go, let’s go! Those damned Spirit Beasts—dozens of them besieged me alone! It’s all that Nie Kong’s fault for attracting all the Spirit Beasts together in the first place! Since he attracted them, why didn’t he just keep them there?”
“If you ask me, you should blame those inner city disciples! If they hadn’t rushed over in a swarm to attack Nie Kong, would he have needed to draw all the Spirit Beasts over?”
“,”””,””
Amidst the fierce wave of sound, Lingyu City disciples who had participated in the Grand Competition had already begun moving toward the exit of the Lingxiao Altar.
Nie Kong, however, was not overly concerned about this.
According to Bai Yuqing, he was certain to enter the inner city. After learning about Gu Qi’s relationship with Gu Changgong, and analyzing their previous conversation, Nie Kong deduced that they must have been with Gu Changgong moments before. This suggested that the Palace Master of the Medicine Heart Hall held no blame towards him.
Furthermore, the primary cause of the turmoil in the Illusory Space was not his fault.
In truth, Nie Kong had refined the ‘Blood Chan Pill’ overnight and brought the ‘Blood Scale Tung’ into the Illusory Space, with no intention of causing trouble for anyone. His sole goal was to attract the Spirit Beasts within a radius of ten li to protect himself while quietly waiting for the ‘Six Halls Grand Competition’ to conclude.
This way, he could effortlessly pass the assessment without needing to engage in combat with anyone. Alas, the final turn of events had completely exceeded Nie Kong’s expectations!
P: First chapter done. Asking for monthly votes. Brothers, even if we aren't fighting for the top three, we can't let ourselves be suppressed in these final days, haha.