When Golden Finger Meets Salted Fish

After agreeing to the separation, time seemed to pass much more quickly.

Almost imperceptibly, the Three Sect Martial Arts Competition had been underway for nearly half a month, and most of the thirty platform competitors had been eliminated. Those who remained on the platforms now, especially on the first platform, were truly the elite among elites from each sect.

From Xuanqing Sect, ordinary inner disciples had all been eliminated from the first platform, and of the five peaks' head disciples, only three remained: Su Hao, Bei Luo, and Yun Qingyue, all of whom had advanced to Nascent Soul. Though Wen Jin and Bai Xu exhibited numerous techniques, their slightly inferior cultivation meant they had been struggling between the second and third platforms. The fact that they hadn't been completely eliminated yet probably reflected their final persistence.

Tiandao Sect and Buddha Sect were in similar situations. Tiandao Sect disciples had high opinions of themselves, but their performance on the platforms wasn't superior to the other two sects. Now only Jiang Shen and You Yi remained on the first platform—and You Yi had already been defeated by Yun Qingyue, making the outlook less than promising.

Buddha Sect's people appeared uncompetitive, but their cultivation was no worse than others. Only two of them remained on the platforms: Senior Brother Tanming and Buddha's Disciple Tan Zhi. Tanming had been renowned for years, so his prowess was expected, but what truly surprised everyone was Tan Zhi.

Tan Zhi had a youthful appearance and was the youngest participant in the Three Sect Martial Arts Competition. But his young age didn't mean he was easy to defeat—on the contrary, even now no one had been able to discern his true capabilities. He had never suffered a defeat since stepping onto the platform, winning each match with such apparent ease that his displayed strength far exceeded even his senior brother Tanming, genuinely causing others to be wary.

The already eliminated Zhong Heng had privately asked Yun Qingyue: "Senior Sister, if you were to face Tan Zhi, would you be confident of victory?"

Hearing this, Yun Qingyue's gaze swept over the young monk briefly before she shook her head after a moment's consideration: "I'm not confident." Then, scanning each of the remaining competitors, she added: "For the upcoming opponents, I'm not confident about any of them."

This was the truth, as everyone who had made it this far on the platforms was formidable. Even against You Yi, whom she had previously defeated, she couldn't be entirely confident in another match. These days of watching the competitions had broadened Yun Qingyue's horizons, making her more aware of her own position. Now she was simply taking it one match at a time, ready to accept defeat and elimination if she met a superior opponent.

The conversation between the senior and junior disciples was known only to the little white tiger. Afterward, she patted Yun Qingyue's arm and told her: "It's okay if Senior Sister loses. They're much older than you and have practiced cultivation much longer. Just take care of yourself." Then she added: "Those rewards aren't so special anyway. If you want them, I can buy them for you later."

Yun Qingyue felt somewhat touched hearing this and nodded in agreement, though inwardly she was slightly amused—on the platform, one should compete when necessary and concede when appropriate, nothing more to say. But the rewards offered by the Sect Leader weren't things that could be easily purchased.

What she didn't know was that the little white tiger wasn't talking about buying from Xuanqing City; she meant buying from the system mall. Though she had only purchased milk candy so far, the system mall contained everything imaginable—even adult white tigers were available, let alone other items. As long as she completed tasks, leveled up, and accumulated points, she could buy whatever she wanted with those points.

Of course, that was a matter for later. The competition was still ongoing.

After many rounds of elimination, only seven people from the three sects remained on the first platform. Seven being an odd number made the matchups unfair with one person always receiving a bye, so Sect Leader Qingxiao, after consulting with the elders from the two other sects, decided to select one more person from the second and third platforms to make eight, after which everyone else would be eliminated.

Then it would proceed from eight to four, four to two, and finally to one ultimate winner, concluding the competition.

Once this news spread, those on the second and third platforms immediately tensed, recognizing this as their final opportunity. The subsequent matches suddenly became much more exciting, with competitors no longer holding back, all bringing out their signature techniques.

Take Wen Jin, whose overlapping formations finally displayed their power, trapping opponents for two consecutive matches. He would stand casually outside his formations, and after about an hour, his opponents would roll out covered in blood, mostly having lost their fighting capacity, allowing him to win effortlessly.

Or Bai Xu, who as an alchemist created pills not just for healing and cultivation. His pills were incredibly diverse—summoning lightning, exploding to harm opponents, confusing minds—any opponent facing him would be thoroughly troubled. Once he brought out his pills, his opponents would inevitably end up in a sorry state and fall from the platform.

And then there were Buddha Sect's Tan Zhi and Tiandao Sect's other Nascent Soul cultivator, Feng Yang—none of them were simple characters...

While the first platform matches were paused, the two other platforms received unprecedented attention. The battles proceeded rapidly, with spectators below feeling their horizons expanding. Disciples from all three sects cheered for their fellow sect members, hoping to add one more from their sect to the eight finalists.

However, after several matches, the person who eventually stood out was beyond everyone's expectations.

It was neither Wen Jin nor Bai Xu who shone brightly after unleashing their full potential, nor Tiandao Sect's third Nascent Soul cultivator, nor those vegetarian, scripture-reciting yet fierce monks from Buddha Sect, but a rather ordinary Golden Core cultivator.

Yes, that person was Chu Yang. Since becoming a disciple after the sect competition, he had seemed rather subdued. After the martial arts competition began, he hadn't appeared more outstanding than others. After losing one match and entering the second platform, he had never returned to the first platform, always moving between the second and third platforms. Those not paying attention might have thought he had been eliminated long ago, but at crucial moments he would tenaciously reappear.

For instance, now, watching Chu Yang wielding his sword against an opponent on the platform, Zhong Heng's eyes widened: "What's going on? How has this guy not been eliminated yet? How good can his luck be, and how many matches has he fought on these two platforms?"

No one could answer him because most people's attention had been drawn to the first platform, with defeated competitors' matches receiving little attention.

Tan Zhi had somehow arrived beside them with his fellow disciples, just in time to hear Zhong Heng's astonished words. He raised his eyes to look at Chu Yang, who was battling on the platform, and suddenly said: "This isn't luck."

Startled by this unexpected comment, Zhong Heng and Yun Qingyue were surprised. After recovering, Zhong Heng turned and asked: "If not luck, then what?"

This time, however, Tan Zhi didn't answer. He merely pressed his palms together, gazing deeply at the person on the platform.

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Tan Zhi's words left an impression on Yun Qingyue and Zhong Heng. Regardless of what they thought, and regardless of whether Chu Yang relied on luck or skill, the final result was that he once again burst into everyone's view as a dark horse.

Zhong Heng felt quite uncomfortable about this, as Chu Yang had once been defeated by him. Now, Zhong Heng had been eliminated early from the competition, while Chu Yang had not only persisted but successfully fought his way into the top eight... Didn't this prove that Chu Yang had surpassed him in such a short time? This made Zhong Heng feel somewhat resentful, but despite his internal frustration, there was nothing he could do.

Yun Qingyue, however, reacted calmly. After all, in the cultivation world, a hundred years of bitter cultivation might not compare to a single stroke of good fortune. Who knew if Chu Yang had encountered some miraculous opportunity these days, or if he had been deliberately hiding his strength all along?

Regardless, he had become her opponent, and Yun Qingyue would treat him with equal seriousness like any other—that was sufficient.

Senior Sister's mindset was quite peaceful, seemingly not treating Chu Yang differently. However, the little white tiger who refused to leave her embrace couldn't remain calm and secretly bristled—how familiar this pattern was, exactly the standard configuration of a leveling-up male protagonist! Rapidly growing in major competitions, then bursting onto the scene, spectacularly slapping faces!

Whether he was a protagonist or not didn't matter much to her. She had already joined Xuanqing Sect as their future guardian divine beast in training, and no matter how quickly a protagonist grew at this stage, he couldn't possibly form a contract with her.

What she feared was that he might be a harem-collecting protagonist. Looking at Xuanqing Sect now, who was the most outstanding female disciple besides Senior Sister? No one! She was the only Senior Sister among the five peaks' head disciples, with exquisite looks and a cold temperament... Such a special person, wasn't she the perfect candidate for the protagonist's harem?

The more the little white tiger thought about it, the more threatened she felt, her gaze toward Chu Yang revealing intense vigilance and wariness.

Perhaps because her gaze was so intense, Chu Yang seemed to sense something and looked back. As their eyes met, the vigilance and defensiveness in her eyes made Chu Yang pause, then slightly narrow his eyes, a hint of malice barely perceptible.

Yun Qingyue also noticed the little white tiger's unusual behavior. Looking down, she discovered that the little white tiger's fluffy tail had bristled up at some point. Slightly surprised inwardly, she discreetly followed the little white tiger's gaze and met Chu Yang's direct stare. Though the malice in his eyes had been concealed, she still felt something unusual.

A cultivator's intuition shouldn't be ignored. When Yun Qingyue withdrew her gaze, she had already begun to view Chu Yang differently. But her expression remained unchanged; she merely stroked the little white tiger's tail to smooth its fur and asked gently: "What's wrong?"

For felines, the tail is probably one of the more sensitive areas. The moment her tail was touched, the little white tiger immediately forgot about Chu Yang. She startled and pulled her tail back to hold it protectively before saying: "Nothing, I just don't like him."

Hearing this, Yun Qingyue's eyebrows raised almost imperceptibly: "Why?"

She couldn't exactly say she suspected him of being a harem-collecting protagonist. So the little white tiger, hugging her tail, earnestly told Senior Sister: "Intuition. I just feel he's not a good person. Senior Sister, don't get too close to him." She nodded solemnly, though hugging her tail while nodding made her look more adorable than serious.

What the little white tiger hadn't anticipated was that her casual excuse would make Yun Qingyue genuinely cautious. After all, a cultivator's intuition shouldn't be ignored, and a divine beast's sensitivity to good and evil was even more indisputable.

She nodded seriously: "Alright, I understand."