Chapter 36: The Power Fantasy Protagonist (35)

In just a single day, Su Bai had already achieved a fifty-three-match winning streak.

Cultivators often measure their ages in centuries or millennia. At the Dao Dharma Tri-Millennium Convention, which restricts participants to those under two hundred years old, Su Bai’s age is not considered particularly advanced. Nevertheless, even with her fifty-three consecutive victories, only four or five Nascent Soul realm cultivators had been willing to step onto the stage to test her strength.

The Dao Dharma Tri-Millennium Convention gathers the elite. In past years, the champions were almost exclusively of the Spirit Severing realm. Furthermore, the Bixun City venue ranks among the top two of the eight main venues for its strength. Thus, it is no exaggeration to say that here, Golden Core cultivators are as common as the dust, and Nascent Soul cultivators are as numerous as stray dogs.

"Senior Brother Yin Xubai of the Yinxu Sect has already reached a forty-three-match winning streak," a disciple of the Kunwu Sect boasted with pride. "The champion of this year’s Dao Dharma Tri-Millennium Convention will surely be either Senior Brother Yin Xubai or our own Senior Sister Jiang Yuyang."

"Hmph."

A nearby disciple of the Wuji Sect listened with utter disdain. "Your Senior Brother Yin Xubai is already one hundred and ninety-eight years old this year. He’s purely relying on the advantage of his age! Our Wuji Sect’s Senior Brother Pei Yizhou only went to the Southern Territory venue this year; if we speak of the champion, it will undoubtedly be our Senior Brother Pei Yizhou."

The Kunwu Sect disciple retorted sharply, "If this Senior Brother Pei Yizhou of yours is so formidable, why didn’t he dare to come to Bixun City instead of heading to the Southern Territory?"

"The only two living Sages of Artifact Refining are in the Southern Territory. Senior Brother Pei Yizhou went to request that one of them reforges his life-bound sword. What would a fledgling like you know?" The Wuji Sect disciple rolled his eyes with a look that clearly meant, "None of your business regarding us sword cultivators," then gestured toward another area. "Your Senior Brother Yin Xubai has forty-three wins, but look—our Wuji Sect’s Junior Sister has already reached fifty-three!"

"Fifty-three wins versus forty-three. Forget comparing her to Senior Brother Pei Yizhou; even compared to our Junior Sister, our Wuji Sect is the clear winner!"

"You’re talking nonsense!" The Kunwu Sect disciple stomped his foot in frustration. "The weakest opponent to challenge Senior Brother Yin Xubai is at the middle stage of the Nascent Soul realm, while the strongest opponent to challenge that girl is only at the early stage. How can you compare them like that?"

If nothing else, Senior Brother Yin Xubai had risen to prominence in the cultivation world over these years, his reputation far exceeding that of the unknown female cultivator. Countless sect disciples and rogue cultivators were waiting specifically for this convention to cross swords with him. It was obvious that Senior Brother Yin Xubai was being targeted. Everyone else was simply dismissing the girl because of her youth, finding it beneath them to take her seriously.

The Kunwu Sect disciple’s eyes lit up, and he pointed excitedly toward a stage. "Look! Senior Brother Zang Wu is going up!"

Zang Wu had formed his Nascent Soul after only seventy years of cultivation. He was attending this convention merely to familiarize himself with the tournament process and to see what kind of strength his future opponents—those he would face a century from now—truly possessed. If Yin Xubai was the rising star of the Kunwu Sect, then Zang Wu was the disciple under a hundred years old with the most potential to eventually succeed him.

The Kunwu Sect disciple crossed his arms and scoffed. "Your 'Junior Sister' has been cultivating for less than forty years. Strictly speaking, her true time to shine is the next convention. You say she’s so amazing? I’ll be watching to see if she ends up in tears when she faces Senior Brother Zang Wu!"

The reason the Kunwu Sect disciple was so confident in Zang Wu’s strength was that, although Zang Wu was only at the early Nascent Soul stage, his "Soul-Seizing Art" could bypass the spiritual defenses of middle and even peak Nascent Soul cultivators, weakening their offensive power and clouding their judgment.

Zang Wu hopped onto the stage.

His short hair gave him a clean, sharp appearance. He stood with his arms crossed, his expression haughty, with a few stray locks of hair shadowing his light-brown pupils. The moment he stepped onto the stage, he drew screams from many of the female cultivators.

"Look! It’s Senior Brother Zang Wu!"

"So young, such high cultivation, and so handsome—though it’s a pity that several senior sisters have tried to invite him on training trips outside the sect, only to be rejected."

"But I love the 'little puppy' persona who is solely focused on his career."

Zang Wu chewed on a blade of grass, his peach-blossom eyes narrowing slightly, a hint of appreciation in his gaze as he looked at Su Bai. Unlike the high-spirited, sword-wielding aura of Qin Yang, the corners of Zang Wu’s eyes were slightly upturned; despite his naturally charming, narrow eyes, they radiated an endless chill.

The moment Zang Wu opened his mouth, the memory of Su Bai spending three sleepless days binge-reading romance novels before entering this small world flooded her mind. Coupled with the memories of her original persona—who had played the role of the "dream lover of thousands of girls" as Qin Yang—Su Bai couldn't help but feel that the next thing out of Zang Wu’s mouth would be: "Heh, woman, you’ve caught my attention."

Su Bai: "..."

Why on earth would such a bizarre thought pop into her head?

The Sky-Swallowing Ice Flame immediately caught Su Bai’s mental tangent. Having grown accustomed to her lack of romantic intuition, the flame laughed mockingly: "You seem so serious on the surface, but is there really someone who practices the Heartless Path and stays up all night reading romance novels?"

Su Bai: "...Shut up."

"Fifty-three consecutive wins. Even Nascent Soul cultivators are no match for you." Zang Wu clicked his tongue in wonder. "I’m curious, what stage of cultivation have you actually reached?"

Zang Wu had expected the girl to play coy, but to his surprise, the girl standing opposite him didn't even blink as she replied coolly, "Just Spirit Severing."

*Just Spirit Severing!?*

Zang Wu: "?"

This girl looked so serious; he hadn't expected her to have the potential to be a prankster.

Zang Wu looked her up and down and laughed even more happily. "What a coincidence, I’m also Spirit Severing."

"To be at the Spirit Severing stage at such a young age, we’re kindred spirits, meeting like old friends in a foreign land."

Su Bai nodded, offering no rebuttal, and simply cupped her hands. "I yield to your skill."

[I’m dying of laughter, haha. In this day and age, does nobody believe the truth anymore?]

[A forty-year-old Spirit Severing cultivator is too absurd, so even if she says it, no one believes it, right? Hahahaha.]

[Did you see the perspective of the passersby? They think Zang Wu and Little White are on the same level, waiting to win the championship in a hundred years. Who would have guessed that Little White is here to compete for this year’s title? Hahaha.]

While the comments scrolled by, the fight on stage had already begun.

Zang Wu’s life-bound magic treasure was the very blade of grass he had been using to pose. It was a Saint-grade artifact known as the "Buddha Mountain Shadowless Grass." It could create thousands of grass clones in an instant, each one unbreakable. When combined with the Soul-Seizing Art, if the wielder’s spiritual sense was strong enough, they could bind their consciousness to those thousands of blades.

[Before Zang Wu took out that grass, I thought he had the protagonist’s script. The moment he pulled it out, I immediately understood this was a silly, atmosphere-lifting persona.]

[666, I just want to ask, is there drool on that grass?]

[Probably. You can tell Su Bai’s expression changed. The Buddha Mountain Shadowless Grass is truly absurd; it’s like he’s afraid his spit won’t get on her.]

[Hahahaha, I’m dying. The Buddha Mountain Shadowless Grass combined with the Soul-Seizing Art—buffs stacked to the max. I’m unilaterally naming this move 'I Must Get My Spit on You.']

[Does anyone remember this guy started with a 'cool, aloof' persona? ...]

Zang Wu was a Wood-element heavenly spirit root user. Once bound to the Buddha Mountain Shadowless Grass and fueled by his control over wood-elemental energy, the grass needles sprouted and grew into meters-long vines in the air within a heartbeat.

In an instant, the stage was filled with dense, tangling vines. The most terrifying part was—every single vine was coated in Zang Wu’s saliva.

Opposite him, the girl remained calm and motionless. The moment Zang Wu unleashed the Shadowless Grass, she didn’t even draw her sword as decisively as she had in previous duels. With so many wildly growing vines, a single sword strike wouldn't clear them all, and it might just cause the saliva to spray everywhere.

Moreover—Su Bai told herself that she really didn’t want her sword to be stained with anything so strange.

Seeing his usually invincible opponent hesitate for the first time, a look of triumph appeared on Zang Wu’s face. The Buddha Mountain Shadowless Grass was ranked forty-second on the List of Divine Weapons, a treasure he had found only after clearing a secret realm left behind by a great master.

The crowd below began to whisper: "Is that girl under the effect of Zang Wu’s Soul-Seizing Art?"

"The effect is taking hold way too fast this time; something feels off."

"Why isn’t she drawing her sword? Oh, it’s killing me with anxiety!"

Just as the Shadowless Grass was about to touch Su Bai, Zang Wu’s pupils contracted.

A sky-high flame suddenly erupted around her. The fire surged forward, incinerating the water droplets on the Shadowless Grass. Immediately after, with a wave of the girl’s hand, an ice wall condensed, standing like a mountain before the thousands of grass needles.

Ice-elemental energy! Fire-elemental energy!

Zang Wu’s shock was beyond words. Elder Fushui had clearly stated that when she took the spiritual root test upon entering the Wuji Sect, she had tested as having a Heavenly Water Root!

The collision of the Shadowless Grass and the ice wall produced a thunderous roar. The stage was in chaos, and the crowd below was in an uproar. Amidst the clamor, the silently watching Kunwu Sect disciple turned his head blankly: "So... why is your Junior Sister capable of controlling both fire and ice?"

The Wuji Sect disciple who had been arguing with him was also stunned, muttering: "Six years ago, there was a rumor that Junior Sister formed a perfect, flawless Golden Core in the Sword Tomb. Is that actually true?!"

If that rumor was true, then was the rumor about the Dragon-Singing Sword being taken by her also true?

"But, but..." The Kunwu Sect disciple’s face flashed with shock, disbelief, and envy. "Isn't she a professional sword cultivator?"

"Oh, that." Finally touching upon a subject he was familiar with, the Wuji Sect disciple regained his confidence and said in a matter-of-fact tone, "Don't you know that her master is Elder Yaoguang, the greatest master of arts in the Wuji Sect?"

"Elder Yaoguang is so formidable; isn't it only natural that she knows arts?"

The Kunwu Sect disciple: "???"

He wouldn't give up and continued to press, "She can unleash the 'Canghai Mayfly Sword' and has won fifty-three matches with her sword; she is clearly a sword cultivator. Why would she apprentice under an elder specializing in arts?"

"That..." The Wuji Sect disciple was quite nonchalant. "That’s because the Sword Venerable Xiaoyao said he felt he had nothing left to teach her in the way of the sword, so she had to learn arts from Elder Yaoguang."

The Kunwu Sect disciple: "???"

*Do you even hear yourself?*

If she hadn't unleashed the Canghai Mayfly Sword, he might have believed that was just an excuse for the Sword Venerable to decline taking a disciple. But since she had successfully used one of the top ten sword techniques in existence, if that didn't count as having talent in the sword, what did?

Fearing the Kunwu Sect disciple would continue to imagine things, the Wuji Sect disciple quickly added, "Sword Venerable Xiaoyao wasn't refusing her. Junior Sister and the Sword Venerable are the best of sparring partners. Junior Sister is the only disciple in the Wuji Sect who can freely enter and exit both peaks."

The Kunwu Sect disciple was silent for a moment, then couldn't help but ask, "Don’t you think this is incredibly abnormal?"

A sword cultivator apprenticing under an arts-practicing elder—what kind of insane cultivation world was this?

The Wuji Sect disciple thought about it and suddenly fell silent too.

*My god, a sword cultivator's master is an art practitioner—that actually does sound completely insane!*

*Then why does everyone in our Wuji Sect think there’s nothing wrong with this?*

On stage, the ice wall forced the Shadowless Grass to retreat repeatedly. The Shadowless Grass was a Saint-grade treasure; the ice condensed by an ordinary early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator should have been shattered by Zang Wu’s strike. Yet, Su Bai’s ice wall didn't even show a single scratch.

However—the reason Zang Wu was undefeated was not because of his arts, but because of his exquisite Soul-Seizing Art. As his life-bound treasure, every grass needle was connected to his heart. Beyond the explosive power of the wood element, the Shadowless Grass had a hidden skill: "Soul-Tracking."

To condense such an indestructible ice wall, one must attach a strand of spiritual sense to the ice. As long as the Shadowless Grass made contact with the elemental force containing the cultivator's spiritual sense—like Su Bai’s ice wall—it would naturally become a medium for Zang Wu’s Soul-Seizing Art. Following the strand of spiritual sense Su Bai had attached to the wall, Zang Wu could silently invade her sea of consciousness and subtly influence her judgment.

On the stage, a second of hesitation could lead to defeat.

Zang Wu was so confident because he had used this technique against many powerful Nascent Soul cultivators. Whether they were at the early, middle, or peak stages, they all shared one commonality: the more powerful the arts they possessed, the faster they progressed in cultivation, and the more fragile their souls were.

And this girl, with a bone age of only forty, possessed such stunning talent in the sword—could she possibly have had the spare energy to temper her own mind?

The thousands of grass needles were arranged into a neat square under the pressure of the ice wall. As Zang Wu retracted the needles and adjusted their formation, he followed the ice wall to reach that strand of Su Bai’s spiritual sense.

The Soul-Seizing Art required extremely high standards for a cultivator’s soul. To practice it, Zang Wu had undergone countless life-or-death trials and illusions, tempering his own soul to a level comparable to that of a peak Nascent Soul cultivator.

This move was indeed extremely effective against other cultivators.

But unfortunately, he had encountered Su Bai.

A pig-slaughtering player who was wearing the shell of a Spirit Severing realm cultivator but possessed the spiritual sense of a Great Vehicle realm master.

Challenging Su Bai’s soul strength was like trying to show off in the very field she excelled at most.

The grass needles turned, and Zang Wu poured all his spiritual energy into the strike, intending to launch a full-force attack the moment his Soul-Seizing Art entered her consciousness.

That strand of spiritual sense condensed a tremendous amount of power.

At first, Zang Wu didn't think much of it. Because the ice wall was so solid, he assumed the girl must have used up all her energy to compress her spiritual sense into such a fine thread to create it. Since most of her spiritual sense was concentrated on the wall, her sea of consciousness must be even more fragile.

However, the moment Zang Wu’s spiritual sense touched Su Bai’s consciousness, a tsunami of terror and extreme cold enveloped his entire being.

Inside Su Bai’s sea of consciousness, he saw nothing.

It was pitch black, but every hair on Zang Wu’s body stood on end. He clearly felt that something even more terrifying was lurking in this bottomless darkness. Zang Wu had invaded the consciousness of countless cultivators, yet never had he felt such fear—not even a threat of death—from a mere glimpse into another’s mind.

In an instant, Zang Wu realized—choosing to attack her soul was likely the most foolish decision he could have made.

Having dealt with cultivators’ souls for years, his internal alarm bells rang. Just as he tried to withdraw his spiritual sense from Su Bai’s consciousness, a glacial-blue, flame-like object suddenly lunged forward. Zang Wu’s scalp went numb, and he felt a sharp, violent pain in his mind.

He gritted his teeth. The Buddha Mountain Shadowless Grass, having lost his control, fell from the air. The scattered grass needles landed on the ground, turning into phantoms before finally returning to the shape of that thin, fragile blade of grass.

Zang Wu took a step back, his eyes filled with disbelief.

He fell to his knees, coughing up a mouthful of blood. Before he could speak, he collapsed in front of everyone’s eyes.

Elder Fushui’s heart tightened. Disregarding his status, he flashed onto the stage to catch Zang Wu. Although the Soul-Seizing Art was powerful, the backlash was multiplied if countered! Elder Fushui probed Zang Wu’s consciousness, his brows furrowed. Zang Wu’s soul was capable of rivaling many peak Nascent Soul cultivators; why had he suffered such a backlash from a mere female cultivator of the same realm?

He fed Zang Wu a Heaven-grade soul-nourishing pill. Though Elder Fushui was filled with towering rage, Zang Wu had indeed been the one to initiate the soul invasion, and the sea of consciousness was the most critical part of a cultivator. Since his sect specialized in soul arts, he knew he couldn't claim the moral high ground.

*But it was just a tournament match—was it necessary to injure Zang Wu to this extent?* If he hadn't fed him that Heaven-grade pill, Zang Wu might have been bedridden for seven or eight years to recover!

The Supreme Elder also arrived on the stage. He moved to protect Su Bai, his voice dropping: "Elder Fushui, it was your Zang Wu who initiated the Soul-Seizing Art first. You cannot blame our Su Bai for this."

The Bixun City Lord also mediated: "Over the years, many disciples have had their consciousnesses injured by your Kunwu Sect’s Soul-Seizing Art. With that Heaven-grade pill, Zang Wu should be fine. Fushui, let it go."

Elder Fushui scoffed: "I know."

"Our Kunwu Sect is not that petty."

He then summoned a disciple from the stage, who carried the fuming Zang Wu away.

The Kunwu Sect disciple who had been watching the match intently asked blankly: "Your Junior Sister is also proficient in soul arts?"

"No, wait—since your Junior Sister defeated Senior Brother Zang Wu, who is known as the 'Nascent Soul Touchstone,' could she really be a forty-year-old Nascent Soul cultivator!?"

The Wuji Sect disciple was clearly still in a daze: "I don't know, but it looks like she really is a forty-year-old Nascent Soul cultivator!"

The two stared at each other, only one thought in their minds—*The Wuji Sect’s Junior Sister is truly terrifying!*

As the day’s matches drew to a close, Yin Xubai finished his final round and noticed the commotion near Su Bai. In these matches, blades had no eyes, and since the Kunwu Sect disciples won using soul arts, they naturally had to bear the consequences of a backlash.

Yin Xubai’s stage was not far from Su Bai’s. Her fifty-four-match winning streak was enough to capture his attention. From the moment she unleashed the Canghai Mayfly Sword to her defeat of the Nascent Soul cultivator, Yin Xubai had seen everything clearly.

No one had ever been able to force her to use her full strength.

The girl on the stage was draped in the evening glow. The summer breeze of Bixun City filled her robes, lifting her long, black hair. She lowered her head slightly, wiping her sword, a layer of orange twilight falling upon her slender frame, unintentionally casting a sense of desolate, killing intent.

"That girl is so amazing!" a junior brother whispered to Yin Xubai. "She’s pretty, ruthless, and doesn't say much. I wonder why I’ve never heard her name in the cultivation world before."

"Really?" Yin Xubai replied offhandedly. "What is her name?"

"Su Bai."

The girl’s ears twitched, and she happened to look up at that moment.

The sunset glow of Bixun City was gentle and quiet, but her gaze was ice-cold, reminding Yin Xubai of the eternal frost of the Far North. Or perhaps, a pear blossom blooming quietly in the biting cold of early spring—aloof, arrogant, and so dazzling that one dared not pluck it.

After just one glance, the girl lowered her head indifferently and walked off the stage, her sword in her arms.

"Senior Brother, hey, Senior Brother!" The disciple beside him called several times before Yin Xubai snapped back to reality. "What are you looking at?"

He noticed that although Senior Brother Yin’s gaze had been on the girl’s stage, he had been obsessed with cultivation for years and was utterly oblivious to romance. How could he suddenly stare at a girl for so long? She was pretty, but not enough to make his Senior Brother lose his mind, right?

Yin Xubai withdrew his gaze. "Nothing."

"Let’s go. Let’s see how Zang Wu is doing."

He said it as he always did.