When Golden Finger Meets Salted Fish

Yun Qingyue wasn't one to meddle in others' affairs, especially when it came to such minor gambling—it hardly mattered, even if the current arena defender was a disciple from her Mount Mingxia. Though she said nothing, the group who had been betting became extremely uncomfortable upon discovering her presence. They glanced around anxiously, seemingly wanting to flee but not daring to, creating a momentarily awkward atmosphere.

The little white tiger also shifted her gaze from the arena. She looked at Senior Sister holding her, then at the group of anxious disciples, feeling as though they were elementary school students caught by the disciplinary teacher—she found it somewhat amusing.

However, Yun Qingyue paid no attention to either the group of disciples or the little white tiger's gaze, her eyes fixed steadily on the arena.

This battle had been spectacular—from the talisman cultivator initially gaining the upper hand, using talismans and formations to trap Chu Yang, to Chu Yang's subsequent counterattacks, breaking through each move until finally escaping the formation and knocking the talisman cultivator off the arena with a single sword strike. Cheers quickly resounded below the arena. With a glance, Yun Qingyue even noticed several Mount Mingxia elders standing on the other side of the arena, nodding with satisfaction at Chu Yang's performance.

Indeed, while dominating the arena to attract a master was an unconventional approach, people chose this path because it genuinely offered a chance of success. Like Chu Yang on the platform, he had already attracted several elders' attention—perhaps after winning a few more rounds, an elder might directly take him as a disciple.

But Yun Qingyue didn't continue watching. Her cool gaze shifted away from Chu Yang as she carried the little white tiger and turned to leave.

The little white tiger, not yet having seen enough of the spectacle, was puzzled at being suddenly carried away and tilted her head to look at Yun Qingyue. Yun Qingyue merely reached out to gently rub her head without saying anything. As she departed, the previously tense atmosphere immediately relaxed, with seven or eight people promptly following suit. The remaining crowd hesitated momentarily, but reasoning that Senior Sister Yun had already left, they felt secure in staying to continue watching the matches.

As for gambling, better not risk it. If caught again by senior brothers or sisters, or worse, sect elders, they might not escape so easily next time. They could be punished with days of meditation facing a wall on the back mountain, missing the entire sect competition.

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Jiang Mo wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, but ever since Senior Sister had watched Chu Yang's match at the arena, she seemed somewhat preoccupied. However, given Yun Qingyue's naturally cool temperament and rarely exposed emotions, nothing unusual could be discerned from her expression.

Fortunately, the second day of the competition ended quickly. On the third day, the arena matches officially began, with the true disciples from each peak gradually entering the competition.

That night, under a bright moon with few stars, the little white tiger completed her cultivation practice and entered dreamland early. In the depths of the night, during sound sleep, she seemed to hear something and suddenly jolted awake. But having always lived in a secure environment, the little white tiger lacked vigilance; her drowsy eyes half-opened and half-closed, quickly shutting again as she prepared to sink back into deep slumber.

Suddenly, her sluggish brain belatedly processed what she'd sensed, and her just-closed eyes snapped open. The little white tiger abruptly raised her head to look at the meditation cushion where Senior Sister had been sitting, only to find it empty. Glancing around, she couldn't see that familiar figure anywhere.

Yun Qingyue wasn't one to wander around in the middle of the night. Jiang Mo immediately sensed something was amiss, and her remaining drowsiness vanished completely. She stood up and called out: "System."

Since its host was currently in a safe environment, System had been in a semi-dormant state to conserve energy while its host slept. However, at Jiang Mo's call, the System light orb quickly brightened beside her: "Host, what's wrong?"

The little white tiger had already jumped down from the bed, running toward the door while asking: "Do you know where Senior Sister went?"

System, just recovering from its semi-dormant state, was also somewhat dazed. It instinctively scanned the room and discovered that Yun Qingyue was indeed gone. Though puzzled, seeing its host's anxiety, it tried to reassure her: "Don't worry, host. Senior Sister might have gone out on some business—she'll probably be back soon."

Hearing this, the little white tiger gradually slowed her pace. The initial panic upon waking to find Yun Qingyue absent gradually subsided—System was right; Senior Sister might have gone out on some business, and since she was just a little tiger who had been asleep, it was normal that Senior Sister wouldn't inform her.

Understanding this, the little white tiger was no longer worried, though various jumbled thoughts began to surface. For instance, in the middle of the night, what had Senior Sister suddenly gone out to do? This was Mount Tianyang, not Mount Mingxia. With tomorrow's competition approaching, logically, she should be resting in her room to conserve energy. Going out at this hour, could it be... to meet a lover?

As soon as this thought emerged, the little white tiger mentally swatted it away. Then, somehow, she recalled Chu Yang from earlier that day. Senior Sister's attitude had seemed a bit off then—could there be some issue with that person?

The little white tiger couldn't figure it out. With all this commotion, she was now completely awake and began pacing back and forth in the room.

Perhaps she intended to wait for Senior Sister's return, but such pacing made the wait seem interminable. Even with System muttering beside her for company, the tiger gradually grew agitated. Finally, Jiang Mo realized this approach wasn't working, leaped back onto the bed, and began meditating, not forgetting to instruct System beforehand: "Wake me when Senior Sister returns."

System agreed. Bound to its host's soul, it wasn't concerned that disturbing her meditation would cause cultivation deviation. The light orb flickered as it settled on the little white tiger's head, accompanying her as they waited for Senior Sister's return.

However, this wait lasted all night. Only as dawn broke did Yun Qingyue return, covered in morning dew.

System indeed woke Jiang Mo immediately. As the little white tiger opened her eyes and saw Yun Qingyue, an inexplicable feeling of grievance welled up. She suddenly leaped up and, from quite a distance, pounced directly into Yun Qingyue's arms. Only when surrounded by her familiar cool fragrance did that faint sense of loss and grievance gradually subside.

Yun Qingyue instinctively caught the pouncing little white tiger, inwardly somewhat surprised. She knew the little white tiger was clingy, but previously when she had gone into seclusion or gone out, the tiger hadn't shown anything unusual—she would even sneak out to fight and play.

What was happening this time? She had just gone out briefly, yet the tiger cub acted as if she'd been abandoned.

Yun Qingyue didn't voice her confusion, nor did she explain why she'd left in the middle of the night. She simply raised her hand to stroke the tiger cub's fur, over and over, until the cub was completely soothed.

By now, daylight was gradually brightening outside, and her junior brothers and sisters were successively opening their doors and emerging.

Zhong Heng remained the closest to Yun Qingyue among all the disciples. Seeing that everyone else had come out while Senior Sister's room remained tightly shut, he took the initiative to knock: "Senior Sister, it's getting late. The arena matches start today—shall we go together?"

As his words fell, the door opened, and Yun Qingyue emerged carrying the little white tiger.

No one wasted words. After greeting each other, they all mounted their respective magical treasures and flew toward Small Spirit Peak.

Yun Qingyue's group arrived earlier than yesterday, only to discover many had preceded them. Even the Peak Masters of Mount Luoxing and Mount Qingyun had already arrived.

The two Peak Masters, each followed by a line of disciples, walked while instructing them, clearly providing guidance for the upcoming matches. The disciples of Mount Qionghua and Mount Mingxia weren't so fortunate; one Peak Master was obsessed with pill refining, the other with cultivation. Neither cared about the sect competition—showing up for appearances on the first day and going through the motions on the last day was about the extent of their involvement.

Yun Qingyue's gaze swept across the plaza as she once again shouldered the responsibility that properly belonged to her master. She turned to her junior brothers and sisters and said: "Let's go see how the arena matches are arranged."

Everyone agreed, accustomed to following her lead.

The Mount Mingxia group quickly arrived beside the elder organizing the arena matches. Up close, they didn't need to ask—they could immediately see how the order and opponents were arranged. In terms of fairness, no arrangement could surpass a random draw.

After yesterday's arena defense matches, 78 disciples had advanced, plus 37 true disciples from the five peaks, totaling 115 people. All their names were written on slips of paper shielded from divine sense, then folded and thrown into a box. The elder presiding over the competition first shook the box to mix the slips thoroughly, then used a spell to match all the slips in pairs at once, with the odd one automatically receiving a bye.

This process was highly efficient. In the blink of an eye, all pairings were completed and displayed as golden characters on a jade wall in the plaza. Subsequently, the number of arenas in the plaza was adjusted accordingly.

With a tremendous rumble, the dozens of arenas that had occupied most of the plaza were reduced to ten.

The disciples, long accustomed to such minor formations, all flocked to the jade wall to check their opponents. The Mount Mingxia group was no exception. Illiterate Jiang Mo couldn't understand the names on the jade wall and, after straining to recognize them for a long time, still couldn't find Senior Sister's among the dozens of three-character names. But before she could feel disappointed, her perked ears caught plenty of gossip:

"Alas, such bad luck to encounter Senior Brother Bei Chen from Mount Luoxing. It seems I'll just go through the motions on the arena—I wonder how many moves I can withstand. I only hope Senior Brother Bei Chen won't be too harsh."

"You're truly unlucky. I'm a bit better off... Bai Yan from Mount Qingyun. Which one is Senior Brother Bai Yan? Does anyone know him?"

"Who's this? Chu Yang from Mount Mingxia—never heard of him. Is he an Outer Sect disciple?"

"Chu Yang? The tough guy who defended the arena for seventeen rounds yesterday? Wasn't Elder Yi Yun from Mount Mingxia interested in taking him as a disciple? He fought so many rounds yesterday and must be injured—if he's already been accepted as a disciple, why is he still participating today?"

"Hey, you don't know? This Chu Yang is quite arrogant. Elder Yi Yun wanted to take him as a disciple, but he actually looked down on the offer. I heard several other elders were present, but he refused to become anyone's disciple. Now he's eagerly back again today, probably hoping to secure a top ten position in the Outer Sect and then challenge the Inner Sect top ten. Then he can approach whichever powerful master he wants."

"Hmph, if he looks down on Elder Yi Yun, perhaps he's hoping to become a disciple of Peak Master Qingyu?"

"This person isn't just arrogant—he's strange. If he didn't want an elder as his master, he could have just continued competing normally. Yet yesterday he insisted on defending the arena. With so many injuries, one night isn't enough for recovery. If it affects today's match, he'll have himself to blame."

"Alright, enough about him. Let's focus on our own opponents."

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The sect competition wasn't restricted by background, so even this final arena match allowed participation from Inner Sect, Outer Sect, and true disciples. The rewards for the Outer Sect and Inner Sect top ten would be determined by their respective rankings. Lucky Outer Sect disciples might face other Outer Sect disciples, competing in a fair fight. Unlucky ones might encounter true disciples and possibly be defeated in a single move.

Luck, or fate, was also an extremely important talent for cultivators.

Of course, for senior disciples like Yun Qingyue, the identity of their opponent didn't really matter unless they were paired against another peak's senior disciple right from the start. She glanced at the jade wall, noting her opponent's name beside her own—Hou Ying from Mount Tianyang. Who could that be?

An hour later, when the arena matches began, this mysterious Hou Ying was indeed knocked off the platform with a single sword strike.