After the Demon Lord was Reborn, She Switched to a Master-Disciple Romance Script - Chapter 13

Before anyone knew it, Ji Chengyu had also walked over.

He was idly playing with a freshly refined Medicinal Pill in his hand. The flawless crimson pill radiated a clear, high-quality aura.

Instructor Wang caught sight of it, his expression lighting up with surprise. “You refined it successfully?”

The pill in Ji Chengyu’s hand was a Tranquil Qi Concentrating Spirit Pill, a step above the basic pills that Outer Sect Disciples like Zhu Jiyun were supposed to be refining.

If a disciple specializing in Pill Refinement had produced such a pill, Instructor Wang would have praised their innate talent. But Ji Chengyu, who specialized in Sword Dao and had barely attended a few classes, had achieved this. This went beyond mere talent.

Instructor Wang sighed. “If only you were my Pill Refinement disciple.”

Ji Chengyu glanced at Zhu Jiyun’s shattered pill furnace, its fragments scattered messily. “You flatter me, Instructor.”

He turned to Zhu Jiyun, his chin lifting slightly, radiating an air of condescending arrogance. “After all, not everyone is so hopelessly inept that they can’t even refine a single low-grade pill.”

Instructor Wang fell silent.

She wasn’t foolish; she understood the veiled meaning in Ji Chengyu’s words.

While she admired Ji Chengyu’s talent, she also deeply appreciated Zhu Jiyun’s unwavering persistence.

It’s just that it’s inevitably exhausting.

“Everyone has their strengths,” Instructor Wang said gently. “Perhaps others’ strengths lie elsewhere.”

Sensing Instructor Wang’s protective tone, Ji Chengyu’s gaze froze for a moment. However, he wasn’t the type to be arrogant or disrespectful toward his elders. He merely glanced at Zhu Jiyun and let out a cold snort.

Zhu Jiyun picked at her ear. “Are there pigs being raised around here?”

The person guarding her pill furnace asked, “This place is so far from the livestock pens. How could there be pigs here?”

Zhu Jiyun stretched out her words, her voice neither too loud nor too soft, just right for everyone in the circle to hear clearly. “Then why do I keep hearing pig grunts? How strange.”

A moment of silence hung in the air.

It seemed Ji Chengyu was the only one who had snorted just now.

Ji Chengyu’s face turned green.

Instructor Wang’s head began to ache as she listened to their barbed exchange.

Young people are always so hot-headed. Oh well, the Sect rules are clear. Even if they fight, no one will die.

She waved her hand. “Everyone, go now. Class is dismissed for today.”

Zhu Jiyun finished cleaning up her alchemical waste and was about to leave when Ji Chengyu called out to her from behind.

The other disciples, who hadn’t left yet, immediately slowed their pace, their gazes drawn to the two figures.

Watching a spectacle is human nature.

Especially when the spectacle involves Ji Chengyu, the Outer Sect Disciple who had risen to fame in recent months due to his exceptional talent and ability, and Zhu Jiyun, known for her stunning beauty and her usual lazy, seemingly uncultured demeanor.

How could two people who, by all accounts, should have nothing in common, appear to harbor such deep animosity?

Zhu Jiyun, in particular, seemed to lack the strength to challenge Ji Chengyu. What gave her the audacity to provoke his notoriously short temper? Everyone had clearly heard her “pig squeal” remark.

Could Zhu Jiyun be a wolf in sheep’s clothing?

Seeing her stop, Ji Chengyu gripped his sword hilt and strode toward her, his eyes fixed on her still calm demeanor. “The Outer Sect Disciple Grand Competition,” he declared, “do you dare to face me in a match?!”

Zhu Jiyun completely ignored his challenge. “Why would I compete with you?”

I thought he was going to say something important, she thought.

But this is all he has?

Ji Chengyu stared at her retreating figure, a cold smile playing on his lips. “If you refuse to fight me, then I’ll challenge Ji Nianyan instead!”

“I’m bound to face Ji Nianyan eventually,” he said.

The Outer Sect Disciple Grand Competition was divided into different formats based on the disciples’ cultivation paths, but all formats required three rounds of elimination.

The first round was a lottery system: one-on-one matches, with the victor advancing to the next round.

The second round was a gauntlet system. Two disciples would draw lots to face off. The winner remained on the stage, awaiting the next challenger. If they won again, they held the stage; if they lost, the new victor took their place, holding the stage until defeated. This process continued until the final victor emerged.

In this second round, any disciple who secured two consecutive victories advanced to the final elimination trial.

However, that final round wasn’t about martial prowess; it was a test of character and temperament.

As fellow sword cultivators, Ji Nianyan and Ji Chengyu were inevitably destined to clash under this competition format.

Zhu Jiyun said, “Is that so? But with the competition rules as they are, isn’t it natural for you to face her?”

With the competition rules as they were, she and Ji Chengyu were also bound to clash eventually. Does this idiot have his brain stuffed with pork, unable to grasp such a simple concept?

“I want you to face me in a fair sword duel!” Ji Chengyu declared. “No more underhanded tricks!”

Zhu Jiyun stared at him in silence.

So he thinks I only beat him last time because I used some dirty tactics?

Ji Chengyu strode up to Zhu Jiyun and whispered, “With my strength, defeating Ji Nianyan would be child’s play. The question is, do you want her to lose simply, or to be badly injured in the process?”

A flicker of darkness crossed Zhu Jiyun’s eyes, barely perceptible.

Though Ji Chengyu had been foolish in his youth, he certainly lacked neither confidence nor hesitation when it came to making threats.

Just as I thought.

Whether in this life or the last, this man remained utterly detestable.

“Have you already convinced yourself you’re the best?” Zhu Jiyun countered.

Ji Chengyu replied warily, “As long as you don’t resort to tricks, of course.”

Every instructor who had ever taught him had praised his exceptional talent.

Despite his widespread acclaim, Ji Chengyu never let his natural talent go to waste. He trained diligently, believing that true strength lay in the power he held in his own hands.

In the half-year since joining the Qingmiao Sect, he had only suffered setbacks at the hands of Zhu Jiyun, that lazy good-for-nothing.

The memory of his last beating, which had left him bruised and swollen and forced him to hide from Jiaojiao for days, darkened Ji Chengyu’s expression.

Zhu Jiyun chuckled softly and turned to leave, tossing over her shoulder, “I don’t need to accept your challenge. The competition has its own rules.”

And then, “A dirty heart sees only dirt.”

Ji Chengyu’s grip tightened on his sword.

He stared intently at Zhu Jiyun’s retreating figure, noticing for the first time how remarkably straight her back was as she walked.

Like a pine or cypress, unyielding and unbroken.

So straight.

So… infuriatingly conspicuous!

“Words mean nothing. On the battlefield, only the sword speaks!”

He wiped the cold smirk from his lips and turned away.

******

Pfft!

Xun Juexue abruptly turned her head and spat out a mouthful of black blood.

She wiped her mouth, cast the Purifying Dust Technique, and cleansed herself completely.

This time, her investigation of the Kangtuo Realm lasted half an hour longer than her previous visit.

As a result, the Malignant Qi’s corruption of her Spirit Body was more severe, even drawing out a chronic illness from centuries past.

Wu Hongye had schemed for millennia, his Demonic Power profound and his Cultivation Techniques treacherous. Though Xun Juexue possessed a naturally pure Spirit Body and exceptional talent, her youth was a limiting factor. While she had achieved accomplishments in mere centuries that others could never attain, this rapid progress had left her with less time for cultivation and refinement.

Though she had successfully crossed realms to slay Wu Hongye years ago, she remained one Cultivation Realm below him. In the moment of his final annihilation, Xun Juexue had momentarily let her guard down and been struck by his Demonic Qi.

Her frost-white hair was a direct consequence of this.

The crowd assumed her white hair was due to Spiritual Power exhaustion. In truth, it was the Demonic Qi’s backlash within her body that had instantly turned her dark hair snow-white.

For years, Xun Juexue had been in seclusion, refining Demonic Qi. By battling and refining Demonic Qi of the same Great Ascension Stage, she had finally suppressed it to a mere trace.

But without complete elimination, it was still insufficient.

Yet now was not the time to focus on its complete refinement.

Recalling the violent agitation of the Demonic Qi within her as she ventured deeper into Kangtuo, Xun Juexue’s expression grew grave.

After a few breaths, she lowered her head and eyes, activating the Voice Transmission Talisman from her Junior Sister.

“Senior Sister, the Outer Sect Grand Competition is approaching. Since you plan to take a disciple, do you have any preferences or requirements? I’ll keep an eye out for suitable candidates.”

Xun Juexue clutched the talisman, lost in thought.

Now that Kangtuo was showing anomalies, and as one of the causes of the sudden surge of Malignant Qi years ago, she could barely enter the realm using her Great Ascension Stage Spiritual Power as a shield to investigate.

Thus, she was the first to investigate Kangtuo’s strange anomalies.

Considering this, if she took a disciple, she would inevitably lack the time to properly care for them.

In that case, she would have to break her promise this time.

“Junior Sister, circumstances have changed. The matter of taking a disciple must be postponed.”

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