Free Web NovelChapter 178: Chapter 178: Semi-finals
The next day, both the Foundation Establishment and Golden Core competitions of the Sword Seizing Conference officially entered the semi-finals to determine the top three.
The Golden Core matches were always more spectacular, so most of the crowd gathered there. The Foundation Establishment arena, in contrast, seemed rather deserted, with the audience mostly consisting of friends and family who had come to support the contestants.
Feng Lin and Chi Yan were naturally among them, and even Xiang Qian had come.
However, Xiang Qian clearly had other things on his mind. After exchanging a few casual pleasantries with Lu Sangjiu, he got straight to the point. "Luo Dao You... is she alright?"
Lu Sangjiu smiled and nodded. "My senior sister is fine now. She just needs some more rest, so you don’t need to worry."
Xiang Qian finally let out a sigh of relief. "That’s good. The Spirit Stones we earned together these past few days are still with her, and she hasn’t given me my share yet. It seems I’ll have a chance to get them back after all."
Lu Sangjiu was left speechless.
’Spoken like a true Cultivator from the Gold and Silver Gate, always with money on the brain!’
Of course, jokes aside, Xiang Qian was still very concerned about Luo Linlang.
He then sent Lu Sangjiu a Divine Sense transmission: "After the Sword Seizing Conference is over, have your master come pick you up in person. I’ve heard some rumors from my master... We at the Gold and Silver Gate aren’t particularly interested in becoming stronger, but the same can’t be said for others."
He spoke cryptically, but Lu Sangjiu understood what he meant.
It was just that... she had contacted her eldest senior brother yesterday. The Fiend Burning Pill had just been successfully refined, but after taking it, their master would need time to absorb its power and recuperate in seclusion.
Because of this, Lu Sangjiu couldn’t bring herself to worry them with the events that had transpired here.
’I’ll probably have to wait until after the Sword Tomb. The master should be mostly recovered by then. I’ll try contacting them again at that time.’
In any case, she was grateful that Xiang Qian was willing to tell her this.
"Thank you for the reminder, Mr. Xiang. We will be careful."
After chatting with her friends for a bit, Lu Sangjiu went on stage for the drawing of lots.
The previous round of the Foundation Establishment competition had decided the top five. Now, with Lu Sangjiu added to the group, the match rules were much simpler than those for the five competitors on the Golden Core side.
They would simply draw lots to be paired off, and the three victors would advance to the top three for the final round of matches.
Lu Sangjiu drew Shi Feng, the only Loose Cultivator to have made it into the top ten.
She hadn’t watched the previous round of Foundation Establishment matches, nor had she found the time to gather information on the other contestants.
Thankfully, Chi Yan had given her a brief rundown yesterday, so she knew that this Loose Cultivator, Shi Feng, was a master of poisons.
His other skills were mediocre, but he had managed to fight his way into the top five on the strength of his poison arts alone, which made him a formidable opponent.
The moment her opponent saw that he was facing her, however, his face twisted into a sneer. "So it’s you, the one who got into the semi-finals thanks to the Gold and Silver Gate’s compensation. Heh, running into me is just your bad luck. Your road ends here today!"
Lu Sangjiu’s battle against Miao Rui that day had been absolutely stunning. However, because it had involved an Evil Cultivator, the Gold and Silver Gate feared causing a bigger scene and had silenced all the witnesses. As a result, news of the event never got out.
Thus, while the Major Sects might have gotten wind of it internally, a Loose Cultivator like Shi Feng had no way of knowing the truth.
Therefore, all he knew was that there had been a problem with the arena during Lu Sangjiu’s match, and although she had won, she had been gravely injured.
And to compensate for their mistake, the Gold and Silver Gate had granted Lu Sangjiu a bye into the semi-finals.
In his eyes, wasn’t Lu Sangjiu just some piece of trash who had gotten this far on a stroke of pure, dumb luck?
The other contestants knew how formidable Lu Sangjiu was, but Sect Disciples tended to stick together. None of them could be bothered to warn a Loose Cultivator like Shi Feng.
Seeing that no one was calling him out, Lu Sangjiu decided to play along, her face deliberately flushing red with anger. "You... COUGH, COUGH, COUGH, COUGH..."
She had barely opened her mouth to speak when she dissolved into a fit of angry coughs, unable to stop herself from spitting up a mouthful of blood.
Then, likely feeling embarrassed, she looked up with tears welling in her eyes, looking so aggrieved she seemed about to cry.
Seeing this, Shi Feng burst into laughter. "A delicate little lady like you should be getting married and raising children. What are you doing out here fighting in a tournament?"
"Besides, look at you. Your injuries clearly haven’t healed. What were you thinking, insisting on putting on a brave face like this?"
With red-rimmed eyes, Lu Sangjiu stubbornly held back her tears and shot him a glare completely lacking in intimidation. "Hmph! Don’t look down on me... We don’t know who’s going to win yet!"
Shi Feng, of course, paid no mind to Lu Sangjiu’s "threat," merely responding with a dismissive wave. "Fine, fine! Let’s see what you’ve got in a bit, then!"
With that, he let out a boisterous laugh and left the stage.
Among the remaining four contestants was Yan Zui of the Joyful Union Sect. Seeing Lu Sangjiu’s performance, a playful look entered her eyes.
’So, was I as stupid as Shi Feng that day? Was I also fooled by this act of hers?’
’Still, why do I find Lu Sangjiu so strangely adorable?’
’Yes, that must be it. She’s just so beautiful that it’s hard to dislike her.’
The others also watched Lu Sangjiu with searching eyes, uncertain whether this was her true personality or if she was deliberately playing weak.
Soon, the first match of the semi-finals officially began.
The first to take the stage were, coincidentally, Yan Zui and a Sword Cultivator from the Lingjian Sect.
Their match was spectacular. Though they were only in the Foundation Establishment Stage, their fight seemed more impressive than some Golden Core Stage battles, leaving the audience dazzled and cheering wildly.
Yan Zui’s archery was formidable, but her opponent was a Sword Cultivator who excelled at close-quarters combat. She only managed to fire off a single arrow before she lost any further opportunity to use her bow.
She then found a chance to use her Pupil Skill, but her opponent was clearly aware of this trump card and simply took out a strip of cloth to cover his eyes.
Cultivators could rely on their Divine Sense instead of their eyes. Even if doing so in combat was slightly distracting, the most it would do was slow him down a little.
However, Yan Zui’s Broken Gold Pupils required direct eye contact to be effective, meaning her opponent had once again countered her.
After that, she used the Joyful Union Sect’s ultimate technique, Hundred Flowers Kill, but still failed to defeat her opponent.
The Sword Cultivator gave the crowd a profound demonstration of what it meant to "shatter ten thousand techniques with a single sword."
You may have a thousand moves and a hundred forms, but I can break them all with a single strike of my sword.
Even though Gu Jue, the greatest genius of the Lingjian Sect, had withdrawn, this disciple still allowed everyone to witness the splendor of the First Sword Sect.
In the end, despite using all of her trump cards, Yan Zui was narrowly defeated by the Sword Cultivator, losing her chance at the top three.
But as a Magic Cultivator, she hadn’t come for a sword in the first place. For her, it was enough to have fought against so many powerful opponents and showcased the strength of the Joyful Union Sect.
So after leaving the stage, she walked over to Lu Sangjiu with a bright smile.
"This is as far as I go, but I think you can win. When you fight him, make sure you teach him a lesson for me, okay?"
Seeing that Yan Zui wasn’t upset, Lu Sangjiu didn’t offer any words of comfort. Instead, she just smiled brightly and said, "Ms. Yan Zui, you think too highly of me. But if I do get that chance, I will be sure to remember your request."
