Qi Hao and Lin Jingyu stepped over the threshold of Shoujing Hall.
Qi Hao suddenly stopped in his tracks, turned around, and stared intently at Lin Jingyu, fury churning in his eyes.
“Junior Brother Lin, you’ve really outdone yourself.”
Lin Jingyu narrowed his eyes, a trace of coldness at the corners. With a half-smile, he said,
“Senior Brother Qi, I’m doing this for your own good.
You’re over a hundred years old and still chasing after a teenage girl. Aren’t you afraid of being laughed at?
You, an old bull eating young grass—how shameless can you be?”
These words were like a poisoned dagger, stabbing straight into Qi Hao’s sore spot.
His face instantly turned liver-purple, veins bulging on his temple as he gritted his teeth.
“Hmph! Lin Jingyu, just you wait!”
Before his words even faded, he tapped his toe—whoosh!—the Ice Immortal Sword flew from its sheath, transforming into a ghostly blue sword light that shot toward Longshou Peak.
Lin Jingyu sneered coldly, lightly tapping his toes to follow like a phantom, locking onto Qi Hao’s trail without hesitation.
He knew full well he couldn’t give Qi Hao even the slightest chance. If Qi Hao hatched another twisted scheme, who knew what kind of trouble it might cause.
Once the two figures vanished at the winding mountain path’s end, a slender figure slowly emerged from a shadowed corner of Dazhu Peak.
Glaring at the departing Qi Hao with eyes brimming with hatred—
She stared intently in the direction he left, her voice icy.
“Qi Hao, in this life, I will never let you succeed again.”
The next second, her gaze softened, a gentle curve forming unconsciously on her lips.
Thinking of that little junior brother who always silently stayed by her side, her heart’s softest corner was lightly touched.
Without any further hesitation, her skirt fluttered as she strode quickly toward Zhang Xiaofan’s quarters.
Time passed quietly. Months flew by in a blink. The Seven Peaks Tournament was now just around the corner.
Ever since that failed attempt at Dazhu Peak to bind Tian Ling’er—
Qi Hao had realized Lin Jingyu now saw him as a true rival and was watching his every move closely.
Under such circumstances, trying to bind another top-tier genius disciple was nearly impossible.
After much deliberation, Qi Hao finally chose to bind a higher-ranked disciple within Longshou Peak.
Though the disciple’s talent paled in comparison to him or Lin Jingyu, among the hundreds at Longshou Peak, he was still considered elite.
Once bound, every bit of progress the junior made would return several times over to Qi Hao.
Motivated by the sense of crisis brought by Lin Jingyu, Qi Hao fully committed himself to closed-door cultivation.
Over the months, his cultivation experienced a massive breakthrough—he stepped directly into the Ninth Level of the Jade Purity Realm.
Meanwhile, Lin Jingyu, even while constantly tracking Qi Hao’s movements, never slacked in his own training and smoothly advanced to the Eighth Level of the Jade Purity Realm, just a step away from the ninth.
Yet, despite his progress, he still lagged slightly behind Qi Hao in power, which caused Lin Jingyu some concern.
He knew that once the Seven Peaks Tournament ended, they would all leave the Qingyun Sect to undergo trials at Kong Sang Mountain.
By then, the vengeful Qi Hao would surely seize any chance for revenge.
Still, Lin Jingyu wasn’t paralyzed by worry.
During this period, he honed the Qingyun Sword Technique day and night, and also obtained the cultivation method for the Divine Sword Lightning Summoning True Art from Daoist Cang Song.
With the Heaven Rewards Diligence System providing special boosts to his techniques and divine arts, both his Qingyun Sword Technique and the Divine Sword Lightning Summoning True Art reached formidable levels—no less powerful than Qi Hao’s years of cultivation.
Combined with the edge of the Dragon-Slaying Sword, Lin Jingyu’s fighting spirit burned.
“If I fight Qi Hao again, I won’t repeat the past. I might even win!”
At the same time, Lu Xueqi had locked herself in her room day and night, focusing entirely on cultivation, not setting foot in the Back Mountain again.
After several ambushes by Qi Hao there—especially the last time, when his elusive and stealthy moves escaped even her divine sense—she was still haunted.
Now, after intense training, she had reached the peak of the Seventh Level of the Upper Purity Realm, just one step away from the eighth.
But even then, she didn’t dare to let her guard down.
Qi Hao’s bizarre tricks made her unsure whether she could detect him in time with her spiritual sense.
If he caught her off guard while she was in cultivation, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Meanwhile, Xiaozhu Peak was bustling.
As one of the prominent branches within the Qingyun Sect, it had fewer disciples than Longshou and Tongtian Peaks, but still rivaled most other peaks.
For this Seven Peaks Tournament, Xiaozhu Peak had secured 9 participation slots.
Aside from Lu Xueqi’s already-assigned seat, the remaining 8 were to be decided through internal sparring among the sisters of the peak.
Fortunately, Xiaozhu Peak’s disciples were always united and kind-hearted.
During the sparring, everyone kept things friendly and restrained.
After living and training together for so many years, they knew each other’s cultivation well. The selection was more like a friendly exchange among peers.
Soon, the 8 contestants were confirmed, just waiting for the official start of the Seven Peaks Tournament.
At this moment, Lu Xueqi’s gaze fell upon the chat group interface.
Since the crisis in the Legend of the Condor Heroes world had been resolved, the group chat hadn’t issued any new missions.
Just then, Xiong Ba suddenly spoke in the chat group, breaking the silence.
Xiong Ba: "Everyone, something terrible has happened—Duan Lang has now fully risen!"
Lu Yu: "Xiong Ba, what exactly is going on? Didn’t you say you were heading to Lingyun Cave to ambush Duan Lang?"
Xiong Ba: "That’s right, I did go to Lingyun Cave to intercept him. But Duan Lang is incredibly cunning, and his power has grown at an astonishing rate.
I fought him briefly and injured him, but at the critical moment, the Fire Qilin inside Lingyun Cave suddenly appeared, disrupting my assault and giving Duan Lang the chance to escape.
He took the opportunity to hide deeper inside the cave. After I drove off the Fire Qilin, I searched for a long time inside, but due to Lingyun Cave’s intricate and maze-like tunnels, I couldn’t find any trace of him and eventually had to leave and wait outside."
Lu Yu: "Then what about your earlier plan to collect martial techniques from Lingyun Cave to sell to the chat group? How did that go?"
Xiong Ba: "To be honest, I was tied up with other matters. I originally intended to enter the cave quickly to gather techniques and weapons, but with new members joining the group and then the issue with Duan Lang, my plan got delayed.
However, while searching for Duan Lang, I unexpectedly found the Six Absolute Cold Techniques. As for the Dragon Vein’s location and the True Xuanwu Art, there are still no clues for now."
Lu Yu: "That’s a pity. But seriously, what’s Duan Lang’s situation now? What made you say he’s fully risen?"
Xiong Ba: "Like I said, after Duan Lang entered the cave, I waited outside for an entire month, but it was like he vanished into thin air. I went back inside to search again but found nothing, so I had to return to the Tianxia Society.
To earn points by trading martial techniques, I used the full power of the Tianxia Society to pressure various sects. At first, they were intimidated by our power and handed over their techniques, which helped me strengthen my own abilities.
But my actions completely enraged the martial world. Somehow, someone rallied them together, and they actually formed an alliance to oppose the Tianxia Society. Naturally, I couldn’t just sit back and watch—I gathered the Tianxia Society’s elites to crush this rebellious bunch."
But just as the battle reached a stalemate, Duan Lang suddenly appeared! The martial arts he used were incredibly refined—I’m certain it must be the legendary True Xuanwu Art! And his cultivation had surged so much that he could actually fight me evenly!"
At this point, even Xiong Ba couldn’t help feeling a bit bitter.
He had spent decades cultivating to reach this level, and only with the help of the chat group had he achieved his current power.
But Duan Lang—he had left the Tianxia Society only a few short months ago, and now he could already stand toe-to-toe with him.
This left Xiong Ba feeling extremely unbalanced inside. It also gave him a crystal-clear understanding of transmigrators, raising his vigilance toward them to the highest level.
Seeing Xiong Ba’s messages, Lu Yu was left speechless as well. He hadn’t expected the situation to spiral like this.
Judging by the current narrative, Duan Lang was clearly the chosen one, the Child of Destiny. Xiong Ba, on the other hand, was the early-stage final boss. The next time they met, Xiong Ba might not be able to defeat him at all.
Xiao Yan: "Xiong Ba, I just read your messages too. At this rate, you’d better be careful. Next time you run into Duan Lang, you might not be able to beat him."
Xiong Ba: "Of course I know that! That’s exactly why I’m so anxious right now. I’m calling on all the group members—does anyone have a way to eliminate Duan Lang?"
Lu Yu: "Xiong Ba, judging from the current situation, don’t count on help from the others in the chat group.
Right now, only Xueqi might have the power to deal with Duan Lang.
Currently, the strongest in the group is Miss Lu. After her, it’s you, Xiong Ba. If even you can’t defeat Duan Lang, there’s no way the others can."
Xiong Ba: "That’s true. Miss Lu, are you there?"
Lu Xueqi: "I’m here. I saw everything you just said. If you want me to take action, it’s not impossible. But I’ll need proper compensation."
Xiong Ba: "Miss Lu, rest assured, that’s only fair. If you can help me eliminate Duan Lang, I’m willing to offer you 5,000 points."
Lu Yu: "Xiong Ba, I didn’t expect you to be so rich—you can cough up 5,000 points just like that?"
Xiong Ba: "Lu Yu, these were earned by exchanging all the martial techniques I collected recently. Those 5,000 points are everything I’ve got. But in this situation, if it means protecting the Tianxia Society and eliminating a major threat, then 5,000 points are worth it."