After Faking Her Death and Escaping, the Junior Sister Fell to the Demonic Path - Chapter 26.2

“Since she is a Hidden Snow Peak disciple, she must have some outstanding qualities. I also passed the inner sect disciple assessment before, so why can’t I compete with her?”

Bai Qiyue’s resolve hardened as she spoke. Her gaze shifted, and she pointed directly at Qin Qingyi: “If she can’t, then change the opponent! If your Junior Sister is not up to the task, do you dare to meet me on the Martial Stage?!”

“In any case, you are both from Hidden Snow Peak, and we are both at the Golden Core stage. Is this fair now?!”

Bai Qiyue’s target switched to Qin Qingyi.

Golden Core versus Golden Core—now no one could say she was bullying others, right?

Bai Qiyue was smug.

“If I win, then Venerable Wen Qing must accept me as a disciple, and you must willingly relinquish your inner sect disciple status.”

Qin Qingyi was unsurprised that the fire had been drawn to herself.

She didn’t particularly care about whether to accept the challenge or not.

But…

“And what if you lose?”

Qin Qingyi asked her, her eyes growing cold.

Bai Qiyue seemed never to have considered this question. Her eyes darted around, and then she said: “If I lose, I will stop harassing you all.”

“How is that? It’s very fair, isn’t it?”

Qin Qingyi looked at this child, who had been thoroughly spoiled by the Medicine King Valley since childhood, and scoffed with a hint of confusion: “How did your parents manage to raise such a fool?”

Bai Qiyue was so stunned by this insult that her eyes widened. In a moment of sheer rage, she raised her sword and lunged at Qin Qingyi: “You shut up!”

Qin Qingyi didn’t even bother to dodge the attack. She summoned the Flowing White Sword, parried Bai Qiyue’s sword in a single move, and forced her back until she stumbled and fell to the ground:

“You conspired with outer sect disciples, spread rumors to slander Hidden Snow Peak, and instigated someone to injure a Hidden Snow Peak disciple. Yet, you stand here now, self-righteously claiming that you only want to enter Hidden Snow Peak and bear no malice whatsoever? Do you think every Elder here is an idiot?!”

Qin Qingyi’s words made Bai Qiyue’s face turn completely white. She stammered a denial: “No… I’m not… I didn’t…”

She had never intended to harm anyone; she only wanted… only wanted to become Venerable Wen Qing’s disciple.

“I can agree to fight you. We don’t even need to go to the Martial Stage; right here, with the Sect Leader and all the Elders observing, there will naturally be no partiality. We can have a fair match. But if you lose…”

Qin Qingyi paused, seemingly considering what the consequences for Bai Qiyue should be if she lost. After a moment, she continued:

“If you lose, I ask that you voluntarily withdraw from the Sword Gate, and vow never to practice the sword again in this life. Return to your Medicine King Valley and stay there quietly; you are not allowed to leave the Medicine King Valley for ten years.”

Bai Qiyue looked up at Qin Qingyi in shock, seemingly unable to accept the terms in her words.

“If I lose, I will do the same: withdraw from the Sword Gate and never use a sword again.”

After speaking, Qin Qingyi calmly sheathed her sword, turned, and walked towards Shangguan Yu and the others. She bowed low: “Disciple Qin Qingyi requests the Sect Leader’s ruling.”

Venerable Wen Qing looked at her with worry: “Qingyi…”

Qin Qingyi interrupted her, her voice steady: “Master, there is no need to say more. Since your disciple has made a promise, I will naturally bear the consequences of the outcome.”

Seeing the situation, Venerable Wen Qing naturally could not persuade her further.

Shangguan Yu pondered for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

The Elders also had no objections and nodded their approval.

“Since this is a dispute between the younger generation, let them have their match.”

Everyone stepped back, clearing a large empty area. Venerable Wen Qing even thoughtfully set up a protective barrier over the impromptu fighting ground to prevent the spiritual energy dispersed during the fight from harming the spectators.

Seeing the spectacle, Hu Yu dragged Xie Su and Zhou Zhixue closer, not forgetting to pick up the two prayer cushions.

“Hurry up, let’s watch by Master’s side. That’s the best spot.”

The disciples who were watching the commotion from the outer perimeter, seeing the two take their stance and seriously prepare to fight, momentarily forgot the Sect Leader and the many Elders were present. Driven by the desire for excitement, they pressed forward, eager to watch the duel.

Qin Qingyi stood in the center, looking at the highly determined Bai Qiyue opposite her, and felt a rare sense of annoyance.

How could such a fool stay in the Sword Gate?!

If Shangguan Yu could hear her words, she would probably sincerely explain: I didn’t want to either; it’s just that the Medicine King Valley offers too much.

After all, they were medical cultivators—people the entire Xuan Tian Realm wanted to recruit.

Similar to the numerous sword cultivators of the Sword Gate, those who came from the Medicine King Valley were highly sought-after medical cultivators in the outside world. Most of them were proficient in both medicine and poison; they could heal or attack as needed.

When traveling outside, having a medical cultivator friend was like having a safety net. No matter where they went, they wouldn’t fear injury. Minor injuries could be bandaged up themselves, serious injuries could be referred to the medical cultivator friend, and for near-fatal injuries, they could beg the medical cultivator friend to summon everyone from the Medicine King Valley.

Sword cultivators, who specialized in killing, were especially keen on having a medical cultivator as a perpetual back-up.

Unfortunately, the Sword Gate’s sword cultivators were generally too straightforward and mostly didn’t know how to foster good relationships with medical cultivators.

This situation only ended ten years ago when the successor of the Medicine King Valley suddenly insisted, with tears, tantrums, and threats, that she didn’t want to study medicine but wanted to study the sword, and demanded to come to the Sword Gate.

The Medicine King Valley not only proactively signed a friendly treaty with the Sword Gate regarding disciples traveling outside, but also humbly asked Shangguan Yu to take minimal care of Bai Qiyue.

As a result, even now, Shangguan Yu was tolerating Bai Qiyue’s foolish behavior out of consideration for the Medicine King Valley.

However, she had already notified the Medicine King Valley. She figured the people should be arriving shortly.

Thinking that Bai Qiyue could soon be sent away, Shangguan Yu’s expression softened considerably. She waved her hand and placed a few chairs in the empty space, signaling the Elders to sit down and watch the battle.

Even Elder Guan, who was still reprimanding Guan Jingtong, was offered a seat.

He sat down with a touch of shame and apologized to Venerable Wen Qing: “I sincerely apologize; my son has caused trouble for everyone.”

He had just questioned Guan Jingtong and learned the entire story: this boy had taken a bribe from Bai Qiyue and, along with others, had been targeting the Hidden Snow Peak disciples daily. He was also jealous of how excellent the Sword Gate’s inner sect disciples were, and in a moment of lost control, he had injured someone.

He had inadvertently caused a major disaster.

Elder Guan was so furious he nearly fainted, but it was no use. Now, he was trying to curry favor, hoping to gain the victim’s forgiveness to lessen the punishment his foolish son would face.

Unfortunately, Venerable Wen Qing didn’t engage with him and didn’t even spare him a glance.

Shangguan Yu, however, turned her head and gave Elder Guan a meaningful look: “Elder Guan, why are you still chatting with others?”

Elder Guan felt a bit awkward, rubbed his nose sheepishly, and whispered, “Yes.”

Thus, no one spoke any further.

Qin Qingyi pressed her brow, feeling somewhat irritated.

She looked at the perfectly posed, battle-ready Bai Qiyue opposite her and curled her lip: “You wanted to fight, didn’t you? Start quickly, don’t waste my time.”

Bai Qiyue looked up at her: “Don’t underestimate me! Today, I will defeat you. Then let’s see what anyone else has to say!”

With that, she raised her sword and swiftly attacked in Qin Qingyi’s direction.

Qin Qingyi was unconcerned by her bluster; she even yawned, then slowly drew the Flowing White Sword from her waist.

It wasn’t until Bai Qiyue’s sword was upon her face that Qin Qingyi suddenly opened her eyes. Looking at the sword tip right in front of her, she leaned back, completely evading Bai Qiyue’s strike. Then, with a graceful flip, the Flowing White Sword arced towards Bai Qiyue’s back.

Bai Qiyue’s eyes widened in disbelief, seemingly astonished that Qin Qingyi could evade her attack. But the next moment, she felt a chill on her back.

Bai Qiyue cursed inwardly. She could only barely turn to block Qin Qingyi’s strike with her own sword.

“Not bad,” Qin Qingyi said lazily.

Being able to block her sword indicated that Bai Qiyue did possess some real skill.

Bai Qiyue gritted her teeth. She had clearly heard the disdain in Qin Qingyi’s voice, which only made her more determined to prove herself. She switched from defense to offense, launching a continuous series of attacks at Qin Qingyi’s weak points.

Qin Qingyi didn’t go easy on her either. After evading an attack, she would seize the opportunity to counterattack Bai Qiyue. For a time, all one could see were the colliding sword shadows of the two.

The spectators watched with gusto. Some pulled out small benches from their storage bags and sat down to watch. A few outer sect disciples, with a good sense of business, had already set up snack stalls to sell food, though their calls were muted due to the presence of the Sect Leader and the Elders.

“That’s an intense fight.”

Zhou Zhixue, watching next to Venerable Wen Qing, exclaimed.

She was only at the Foundation Establishment stage and couldn’t clearly see the battle between the two on stage, only a flurry of sword light and shadows.

Venerable Wen Qing was different. As a Nascent Soul stage cultivator, the Golden Core stage match below her looked like a slow-motion clumsy squabble. She could clearly see who held the advantage.

Hearing Zhou Zhixue’s comment, she smiled gently and comforted the young girl: “The victor will be determined soon.”

Zhou Zhixue turned to look at Venerable Wen Qing, her eyes clearly worried: “Will Senior Sister win?”

Venerable Wen Qing raised an eyebrow: “Of course.”

She smiled, thinking about the unpleasant rumors currently circulating throughout the Sword Gate about her eldest disciple. She stroked Zhou Zhixue’s head and said vaguely, “Don’t believe the gossip outside. Your Senior Sister is very capable.”

Indeed, shortly after Venerable Wen Qing’s words fell, the match on stage was decided.

The intertwined sword shadows separated. One sword flew high into the air, then—

“Clang—”

—It dropped heavily to the ground.

The masterless sword lay on the ground, reflecting the most intense midday sun.

The disciples all strained their eyes, hoping to see instantly whose sword had fallen.

Who had won this match?

On the stage, Qin Qingyi pointed her sword tip at Bai Qiyue: “You lost.”

Bai Qiyue was still somewhat unresponsive.

Bai Qiyue lowered her head, confusedly looking at her empty hands.

She had just had her sword knocked away by the opponent.

When she looked up again, she realized her sword had already fallen in the distance.

She lost.

After over a decade of arduous cultivation, she had still lost.