Chapter 34: The Exhilarating Tale of Dragon Aotian (33)

Although the Three Thousand Dao Methods Conference features eight separate venues, the intensity of the competition varies slightly from one to another. Among the Eight Great Clans of the Immortal Alliance, the Wuji Sect ranks first, followed by the Kunwu School.

The Wuji Sect is renowned for its mastery of swordsmanship, while the Kunwu School excels particularly in spellcraft. Unlike standard offensive spells, the Kunwu School specializes in techniques that penetrate the soul. Because of this, once a cultivator faces a disciple from the Kunwu School, they must remain focused and alert; unless their cultivation level is a full major realm higher, the slightest lapse in concentration can result in being entangled by a Kunwu soul-targeting spell, which will leave them debuffed for the remainder of the match.

The Kunwu School is closer to Bixun City than the Wuji Sect, which means the density of Kunwu disciples at the Bixun City venue is extremely high. To avoid facing such formidable opponents, many Wuji Sect disciples choose the more distant Duanhai City. Disciples with lower cultivation or rogue cultivators without sect affiliations are even more inclined to avoid the nearby options, opting instead for the primary cities in the Western or Northern Territories.

Before Su Bai set off for Bixun City, her father, Su Yueshan, sent her a message asking if she would like to participate in the competition at Luowa City. Six years ago, news of Su Bai taking it upon herself to break off her engagement with Qin Yang had finally reached Su Yueshan’s ears.

Qin Yang was a child Su Yueshan had watched grow up. He was a picture of a refined gentleman—handsome, elegant, courteous, and humble. Since he had always shown great care and consideration for Su Bai, Su Yueshan had essentially raised him as his own son. This was especially true after Qin Yang joined the Wuji Sect—the top of the Eight Great Clans—and was revealed to have the rare mutated Lightning Spirit Root, a talent not seen in the cultivation world for a millennium. Upon receiving the inheritance of the Holy Venerable’s Tianyan Sword Technique, Qin Yang had brought immense prestige to Su Yueshan.

Although Luowa City ranked second to last among the eight major cities of the Guiyuan Continent, having Qin Yang as both a pseudo-son and a future son-in-law allowed Su Yueshan to stand tall during social engagements with other city lords. He would boast to anyone who would listen about the latest opportunities his future son-in-law had acquired. Others would chime in with a mix of envy and jealousy, praising the future of Luowa City and predicting that it would soon soar to become the leader of the eight major cities.

After Su Bai broke off the engagement, she gave no further thought to her father. Since Luowa City was in the Western Territory, far from the Wuji Sect, Su Yueshan remained unaware that his prized son-in-law had vanished from the picture, and he continued to show off Qin Yang to his old friends.

Eventually, while chatting via communication jade with the Lord of Bixun City, Su Yueshan mentioned Qin Yang. The Lord of Bixun City replied with a complicated expression, "Yueshan, are you unaware that your daughter publicly broke off her engagement to Qin Yang in front of the entire Wuji Sect?"

Su Yueshan: "…?"
"B-broke it off??"

The Lord of Bixun City said meaningfully, "I heard that after Qin Yang spent two years training outside the sect, he met a direct disciple of the Huichun Valley Master. That girl is skilled in alchemy, and after some time, your daughter concluded that Qin Yang had developed an illicit affair with her."

Su Yueshan: "…??"
Just because of that?

Such a reason might be sufficient for a young girl with naive fantasies about love, but to an old fox like Su Yueshan, who had seen enough of the world’s coldness and warmth, breaking off an engagement with Qin Yang simply because of an alchemist met during training was absurd and foolish. This was especially true since he knew Qin Yang had never openly declared himself a partner to the alchemist; although they were close, no Wuji Sect disciple had ever witnessed any improper behavior. Su Yueshan was so infuriated by Su Bai’s impulsive actions that he felt a tightness in his chest, wishing he could drag her over and demand an explanation.

In Su Yueshan’s eyes, it was only natural for a prodigy like Qin Yang to be admired by many female cultivators. Moreover, he knew Qin Yang’s character best—a spirited youth who might lose his footing once or twice if a talented woman threw herself at him. Even if he had truly had some ambiguous affair with that alchemist, Su Yueshan was certain that Qin Yang would never abandon his engagement to Su Bai. Besides, where else in the world could he find a son-in-law as handsome, talented, obedient, and devoted to Su Bai as Qin Yang?

At that time, however, Su Bai had just left for the Sword Tomb, and even with his anger, Su Yueshan had no way to pull her out. Furthermore, Su Bai’s decision to break off the engagement came right after she defeated Qin Yang in the inner sect assessment. At the time, Qin Yang was at the peak of the Heart-Activation stage, while Su Bai was only in the early stage. Su Yueshan’s old friends, upon hearing this, assumed Qin Yang had simply been showing mercy to the girl he had grown up with. Forgoing first place in the inner sect assessment for Su Bai’s sake—was that not love?!!

Su Yueshan was utterly baffled. Just as he was preparing to persuade Su Bai to win Qin Yang back, he heard the news: in an attempt to forcibly bind the second-ranked Jinghong Sword on the Divine Armament List, Qin Yang’s dantian had been destroyed, his cultivation had regressed to the Foundation Establishment stage, and he would likely never be able to cultivate again.

Su Yueshan: …??

Meanwhile, the first-ranked Longyin Sword had been claimed by someone else. A female disciple of the Wuji Sect had found a great opportunity in the Sword Tomb, rising to the Golden Core stage in a mere month—possibly forming a flawless ten-percent purity Golden Core. Such terrifying cultivation speed was likely linked to the Longyin Sword. Rumors whispered that the girl’s surname was Su. Her name was Su Bai.

Su Yueshan: …!!

At first, he did not believe it. But before he could visit the Wuji Sect to see her, Su Bai departed for the Far North to tame an exotic fire. Upon learning that his daughter was heading to such a distant and perilous place, and accompanied by the very alchemist she had supposedly been at odds with, the accusations Su Yueshan had prepared were stuck in his throat. The situation simply did not add up!

Su Yueshan changed his tone: "Is the Longyin Sword in your hands?"
Su Bai: "Yes."
Su Yueshan: "?? Are you sure it's the top-ranked Longyin Sword?"
Su Bai: "Yes."
Su Yueshan: "How did you get it? You don't even like practicing swordplay! Why did you get the sword that Qin Yang couldn't?"

Finding him too noisy, Su Bai sent him a picture of the Longyin Sword with the text: "Qin Yang couldn't get it because he’s too incompetent."

After confirming that Su Bai had indeed reached the Golden Core stage in a month, Su Yueshan was deeply shocked. He barely slept that night. The surprises and shocks had come too suddenly, leaving him at a loss for how to react. Even the arguments he had prepared—such as "Don't be willful, girl; Qin Yang truly loves you," and "Qin Yang and that alchemist were just flirting; you shouldn't be so childish about choosing a husband"—were stifled by Su Bai’s brief replies.

While the eight major cities could not compare to the Eight Great Clans, the power struggles within them were intense and could not be treated as child’s play. A cultivator’s life is long but finite, and the world of cultivation is one of survival of the fittest. Su Yueshan had pampered Su Bai since childhood, and he could not bear to see her constantly running about for Luowa City, engaging in backstabbing schemes with the cold-hearted old scoundrels who ran those cities. This was why he had decided to place his bets on Qin Yang.

One was a son-in-law who would never share his surname; the other was his own precious daughter. How could entrusting Luowa City to Qin Yang compare to the peace of mind of leaving it to his own daughter?

From that day on, Su Yueshan never mentioned the broken engagement or Qin Yang in front of Su Bai again.

Bixun City was close to the Wuji Sect, and its information network was the most efficient. Even the Lord of Bixun City, who had grown tired of Su Yueshan’s daily bragging about his son-in-law and had been waiting to see him humiliated, fell silent upon hearing the news. A mutated Lightning Spirit Root was rare in the world; all three current Mahayana-stage Venerables possessed it. With Qin Yang’s inheritance of the Holy Venerable’s sword techniques and his rapid progress, many believed it wouldn't be strange for him to succeed the Carefree Sword Venerable in a few hundred years.

Therefore, Su Bai’s breaking of the engagement was seen by all the city lords as a move detrimental to Luowa City. Su Bai had every advantage, having been by the side of a future titan of the cultivation world since childhood, yet she had chosen to sever that tie for an alchemist from Huichun Valley. Such a foolish move was seen as throwing away the chips Su Yueshan had spent decades stacking on Qin Yang.

Before they could seize the chance to mock Su Yueshan for his failure, news arrived that Qin Yang’s dantian was shattered. And the daughter they had mocked for being impulsive and lacking perspective had, as if opening her meridians after letting go of love, displayed cultivation speed that surpassed all their expectations. The overwhelming chorus of criticism among the city lords vanished overnight, replaced only by envy and jealousy over what kind of "dumb luck" the old man had to produce such a promising daughter.

A mere broken engagement? It was not worth mentioning!

The Three Thousand Dao Methods Conference was hosted by the Immortal Alliance, with elders from the Eight Great Clans presiding over the matches. Even a city lord could not interfere, but Su Yueshan’s invitation to Su Bai was based on the hope that, with Luowa City under his influence, it would be easier to make subtle, harmless adjustments within the rules. He also hoped to use this opportunity to let Su Bai familiarize herself with the affairs of Luowa City, paving the way for her future succession.

Su Bai replied quickly: "…No."
Fearing he would pester her, she added a quick line: "This is to avoid suspicion."
"If I can win the championship of the Three Thousand Dao Methods Conference, who would dare question my qualifications to take over as city lord?"

Su Yueshan fell silent. His daughter’s tone was as arrogant as ever. But this year, it was rumored that cultivators in the Spirit Severing stage under two hundred years old would be participating! His daughter had only been at the Golden Core stage six years ago—could it be that she had already touched the threshold of the Spirit Severing stage?