Chapter 515 - Mystic Sky Rankings (1/2)
“I… It’s my loss.”
Bai Ling still looked pale. After uttering those words, she lowered her head in silence as if she was sinking into a deep pool of water. The old and new students at the academy looked at each other, shocked at her loss. It turned out that the newcomer had been hiding his strength all along. His cultivation was on par with Nirvana Realm.
Under the Long-Gate Pass, Ji Shangfei and another Nirvana Realm disciple were similarly astounded. If even Bai Ling lost to the newcomer, that meant they were all the more so no match for him. And he was still laughing at him earlier…
“Thank you for letting me win, Senior Sister.”
Xiao Chen put away his Unsullied Sword. He had planned this all along. Even though Bai Ling’s cultivation was in the second level of the Nirvana Realm, her power was purer than his. To make things worse, he hadn’t recovered from his injuries from battling the snow beast. Had he displayed the entirety of his strength right off the bat, victory would have been impossible.
So, he put on a show from the start. He had behaved pathetically, rolling and crawling on the ground, so his opponent would underestimate him. Then, he demonstrated a portion of his power to exhaust Bai Ling’s True Energy and force her to whip out her ultimate skill.
Finally, he faked injuries so that Bai Ling would take him lightly, thus allowing him to hit her while she was unguarded. Truth to be told, using such a tactic against a lady was pretty despicable. If Jiang Qianqian was in her shoes, she would have just stabbed him with her sword at the very end, giving him no chance whatsoever. Bai Ling was careless this time.
However, the battle taught Xiao Chen one thing. Considering how strenuous it was for him to win against a mere second-level Nirvana Realm cultivator, his cultivation was truly not substantial enough. This was a fatal flaw that he must swiftly amend or he would surely lose to the purple badge-bearing older disciples of the Cloud Mist Academy.
Bai Ling raised her head to glance at him. She had been worried about hurting him, so she preserved 30 percent of her power. It turned out that he had been scheming against her since the very start. The thought made her smile weakly. She turned around and walked to the other side of the square with the Cyan Spirit Sword in hand. Her figure seemed lonely, almost desolate.
Xiao Chen frowned. He might have won, but victory brought him no joy. In fact, he found himself to be pretty despicable. The look she gave him made him uncomfortable, no matter how fleeting the feeling was.
“It’s indeed quite lively here,” said a distant voice, carrying with a hint of mirth. What appeared next was a figure flying in their direction.
Bai Ling trembled. She immediately lowered her head and cupped her hands in greeting. Her voice was shaking as well. “Se-Senior Brother Baili.”
The one who showed up was Baili Xiaohualuo. The smile on his face was as bright as the sun. His gaze lingered on Xiao Chen’s face as he said with a smile, “You’re here, Junior Brother Xiao.”
Xiao Chen narrowed his eyes. The purple badge fastened to the man’s chest indicated that he was a student a rank higher than Bai Ling and the rest. His aura also appeared much stronger. Xiao Chen couldn’t read this person’s cultivation.
He returned the smile. “Senior Brother… Baili.”
Right now, everyone on the square had their heads lowered, including the two Nirvana Realm disciples standing under the obelisk of the Long-Gate Pass. Baili Xiaohualuo smiled wanly as he looked around. “Don’t stand on ceremony, my juniors.”
His smile never left his face as he talked. The tense mood finally ceased, even if just a little, following his words.
Then, he walked toward the Long-Gate Pass. The two Nirvana Realm disciples standing under the obelisk lowered their heads and stepped aside at once. Baili Xiaohualuo stepped forward with a smile. “Welcome to the Cloud Mist Academy. I’m your Senior Brother, Baili Xiaohualuo.”
Several hundreds of the newcomers looked up at this senior brother. Even though his cultivation was far above theirs, the gentle smile on his face made him look like a dependable big brother. They relaxed. On the contrary, the four disciples responsible for welcoming the newcomers didn’t even dare to lift their heads.
In the end, Baili Xiaohualuo turned his attention to Jiang Qianqian. “Junior Sister Jiang…” Jiang Qianqian frowned and turned her head away.
Next, the newcomers were to visit a place called the Mystic Sky Pavilion and have their cultivation grade tested. That would decide who their master would be.
Meanwhile, three white-bearded old men were hovering above a certain misty peak more than ten miles away from the square, their robes fluttering in the wind.
The three of them were watching the situation in the square. Even at such a distance, even through the clouds and mist, they did not need to rely on Transmitting Formation to witness the battle in the square. Even the three Perfected Immortals, whose cultivation had reached the Grand Completion Realm, had no such supernatural power.
The men were giving off a faint Immortal Qi—and actual Immortal Qi, at that, not the aura that cultivators gave off.
They stared in the direction of the square. The one in the middle said, “That child is not ordinary. Can you tell?”
“He’s very similar to that person…”
Momentary silence later, the old man on the left finally responded. When he spoke, his eyes were filled with indescribable emotion. The other two sighed at the mention of “that person” and said nothing more. Their eyes, too, were filled with unknown feelings.
A long while later, the old man in the middle diverged from a topic that neither of them was willing to talk about. “It’s now the end of the first stage of the Annihilation Times. Do you still remember that legend?”