Demoness's Art of Vengeance

The seventh day of the Secondary Inter-Sect Competition was also the final day of the first round of the Lower Category battles. This was also the day when each participating sect would send their strongest disciples within the first eight levels of Qi Mastery. Generally speaking, it was rare to see any participant under the eighth level of Qi Mastery on the final day of the competition.

One could only imagine what kind of potential opponents Jun Xiaomo was going to square off against today.

“Those old fogeys within the Sect must have done this on purpose! Given her cultivation level, martial sister should clearly have made her appearance on the first day of the competition. But they intentionally arranged it such that martial sister’s only making her appearance on the seventh day. Aren’t they simply bullying martial sister?!” Wei Gaolang waved his fist in the air with righteous indignation. He puffed up his round, chubby cheeks even more than usual, and he looked almost as though he were ready to duke it out with the old fogeys within the Sect.

This fifteen years-old youth felt wronged on Jun Xiaomo’s behalf.

“Alright, I’m not even angry about this, so what have you got to be angry about?” Jun Xiaomo chuckled as she rapped his head lightly.

“I’m angry for martial sister! I don’t understand how martial sister can be so calm at the present situation.” Wei Gaolang clutched at his head as he cried out with exasperation.

“What else can I do but remained composed? Those old fogeys have already set me in their sights since a long time ago. It’s not the first day that Little Lang has known of this as well. Now that they’ve got such a prime opportunity to trip me up, why wouldn’t they use it?” Jun Xiaomo chuckled bitterly, but her eyes were filled with stoicism, and there was not a single bit of uneasiness, “Furthermore, I’m free to walk whichever path I desire. If I were truly afraid of their schemes, I wouldn’t have participated in the competition. But given that I’ve chosen to participate in the competition, I naturally wouldn’t bother too much with the strength of my opponents.”

“But every other sect’s sending cultivators at the eighth level of Qi Mastery today!” Wei Gaolang emphasized.

In other words, Wei Gaolang believed that these opponents were far too strong for Jun Xiaomo, and he had already determined that there was no way his martial sister would be able to win.

“Who says I’m only participating in this competition to win it?” Jun Xiaomo quipped with a slightly raised chin as she looked quizzically at her little martial brother.

“Aren’t you in it to win it? If not, why would martial sister be participating in this competition?” Perplexed, Wei Gaolang scratched his head.

“This…You wouldn’t understand it even if I told you. Alright, don’t fuss over this matter any longer. So what if I lose? I’ll at best lose a few strands of hair. Do you think your martial sister doesn’t know how to retreat if she knows that she won’t be able to defeat her opponent? Furthermore, the longer I stay on in this competition, the stronger the opponents I’ll meet. In other words, it’s only a matter of time that I encounter these opponents of mine. You can just think of this situation as shortening the arduous process.” Jun Xiaomo patted Wei Gaolang’s head, “Be good. Calm down and enjoy the show.”

Wei Gaolang realized that this martial sister of his was getting increasingly more enigmatic. But if martial sister Xiaomo says it’s not going to be a problem, then there shouldn’t be any problems at all, right? After all, martial sister still has several talismans within her Interspatial Ring at her disposal.

Having thought about these things, Wei Gaolang managed to release some of the tension in his heart and relax his disposition once more.

Following Jun Linxuan’s lead, Jun Xiaomo and Wei Gaolang walked together with the rest of the Heavenly Peak disciples as they made their way to the peak of the Heavenly Crane Mountain where the arena was located. Compared with the first day, there were now far fewer people staring or glancing over at Jun Xiaomo. After all, this was the Secondary Inter-Sect Competition, not a beauty pageant. Everyone was naturally more focused on the battles themselves.

Besides, ever since the first day of the competition, Jun Xiaomo’s identity had quickly spread like wildfire from person to person, until practically everyone who had originally been interested in her learnt that she was none other than the “crippled” daughter of the Heavenly Peak’s Peakmaster. Thus, their interest in Jun Xiaomo naturally dwindled substantially as well.

After all, those who were good looking but possessed hardly any abilities would never earn the respect of others within the cultivation world.

In everyone’s eyes, Jun Xiaomo was nothing more than a porcelain flower vase – she was only good for display purposes.

Right now, the second battle for the day had just concluded, and it was time for the third battle to commence. The referee announced, “I invite the participants of the third battles, Dawn Sect, Heavenly Peak, Jun Xiaomo, to the stage…” At that moment, the chattering in the entire audience quickly subsided, and the entire competition venue was engulfed with complete silence.

Jun Xiaomo?! It’s actually Jun Xiaomo?!

Practically everyone exclaimed in the same manner in their hearts at the same time. Everyone had even second guessed their auditory abilities as they whipped their heads around towards Dawn Sect’s waiting area.

Just then, Jun Xiaomo stood up from her seat. Her face was awash with a calm disposition. Her garments flowed gracefully, and she unhurriedly strode towards the arena and stepped onto the stage.

Everyone’s eyes were trained on this lady in red. They were puzzled, bewildered, and some were even in complete disbelief. Just like that, everyone watched on in silence as Jun Xiaomo slowly walked up the short flight of stairs, onto the firm ground of the arena.

“…and the other participant, Eternal Summit Sect, Ochrecloud Peak, Liang Yulong, please take the stage right now.” The referee called out loudly. His voice seemed to have blown away the pindrop silence that had engulfed the audience. Once everyone returned from their stupor, roaring discussions began to burgeon all over, and the entire atmosphere was ignited and stimulated to unprecedented levels of excitement.

“I thought I’d misheard the referee. I would never have expected that this participant would be none other than Dawn Sect’s Jun Xiaomo!”

“She must be courting death. What’s a person at the fifth level of Qi Mastery doing participating in such battles, especially today? Shouldn’t she be cooping herself up at home, playing catch-up on her cultivation instead?”

“And her opponent is even someone from the Eternal Summit Sect! There’s always been an intense rivalry between the Dawn Sect and the Eternal Summit Sect. This doesn’t bode well for her.”

“It’s such a pity. She’s such a beauty after all. I just hope that her opponent would be willing to hold back slightly. At least, I hope he doesn’t ruin her appearances.”

“Tch. That’s what you’ve been leading towards all this time? No wonder you’ve been staring in that direction these last few days – you’ve fallen for her, huh!”

“Who doesn’t like to appreciate a good beauty? Come to think of it, isn’t her father the Heavenly Peak’s Peakmaster? Why’s her father even entertaining her willfulness and allowing her to participate in this competition?”

“Who knows? Maybe she simply insisted that she wanted to take the stage? You never know. A single daughter of parents of stature generally have attitude problems.”

“……”

Similar comments were sprouting out at each and every other corner of the audience. Yet most people had the same assessment of Jun Xiaomo –

Acting recklessly and attempting the impossible!

As Dai Yue listened to the public’s opinion of Jun Xiaomo, a smile involuntarily crept up the corner of her lips. She minced her way over to Rong Ruihan’s side as she softly said, “Brother Rong, take a look for yourself. Everyone thinks that the lady you’re fond of is completely overestimating her own abilities.”

“Whether she’s overestimating her abilities is something that one can only decide at the end of the battle.” Rong Ruihan calmly responded without even glancing back at Dai Yue.

Dai Yue laughed sardonically as she quipped, “Is brother Rong actually saying that Jun Xiaomo who’s only at the fifth level of Qi Mastery is going to defeat our martial brother Liang Yulong who’s already at the eighth level of Qi Mastery? That would be far too incredulous wouldn’t it?!”

Yet Rong had already blocked out Dai Yue’s voice. He could hardly be bothered with her insane and wild speech.

The indignation in Dai Yue’s heart burgeoned even more. Yet she knew that if she carried on like this, it was only going to be a matter of time before Rong Ruihan completely blocked her out of his mind.

Thus, after some moments of deliberation, she took a deep breath and suppressed the roiling emotions in her heart. Then, she forcibly eked out a smile on her face and adopted a different stance as she addressed Rong Ruihan once more, “Actually, I understand. Brother Rong and Jun Xiaomo are close friends, so you don’t like it when I badmouth her. I was too angry earlier, and I know I’ve crossed the line with my words. I sincerely apologize to brother Rong.”

Yet Rong Ruihan continued to ignore her.

Dai Yue bit down on her lower lip, and a trace of displeasure flashed across her eyes as she pleaded, “Brother Rong, please don’t ignore me like that! You know that I like you very much. Because of you, I’ve even asked my martial brother Liang Yulong to give in to Jun Xiaomo.”

Dai Yue had thought about it. Since Rong Ruihan hated the fact that she was hostile towards Jun Xiaomo, then she would change her attitude and pretend to be the magnanimous one instead. After all, there was no loss to her at all.

Besides, it was a fact that she had earlier asked Liang Yulong to “give in” to Jun Xiaomo. As for the real reason why she had done so, she intended to conceal this from Rong Ruihan.

Rong Ruihan finally glanced back at Dai Yue with a dispassionate gaze. But the next thing he said made Dai Yue’s smile stiffen up completely.

“Xiaomo doesn’t need anyone to give in to her on the arena.” Rong Ruihan spoke indifferently, as though he were expounding on a universal truth.

“You!” Dai Yue was incensed by Rong Ruihan’s words, “Does brother Rong really have that much confidence in Jun Xiaomo’s abilities?!”

Rong Ruihan calmly replied, “It’s not that I’m confident in her abilities. It’s just that she’s not concerned about winning or losing at all.”

To Jun Xiaomo, the competition was nothing more than a prime opportunity to spar and hone her abilities. After all, it was a chance for her to encounter opponents far stronger than herself, and such combat experience would be immensely helpful to her cultivation and the development of her combat skills.

Rong Ruihan knew this full well, so it had never surprised him when he learnt that Jun Xiaomo had decided to participate in the competition.

“Wha--…what?! You must be kidding! If there wasn’t the desire to win, then what’s the point of competing in the first place?” Dai Yue’s emotions toiled as she refuted contemptuously, “Ah, I understand. She knows that she doesn’t have the ability to win, so she must have told brother Rong that she’s not particular about winning or losing, right? She’s such a hypocrite!”

“Enough!” Rong Ruihan bellowed, “Dai Yue, I’ve said it before. You best stop testing the limits right now.”

The argument between Rong Ruihan and Dai Yue had attracted the attention of Dai Yue’s father, Dai Yanfeng. He walked over and coldly remarked, “What’s going on over here?”

Rong Ruihan had intentionally selected a seat far away from anyone because he had intended to watch the competition on his own. Yet Dai Yue had somehow wormed her way over to his side. In the circumstances, nobody else had overheard the contents of the earlier dispute between Dai Yue and Rong Ruihan.

Dai Yue was so maddened that her eyes had reddened as she silently bit down on her lower lips in humiliation.

Seeing her daughter’s expressions, Dai Yanfeng got the impression that Rong Ruihan had been bullying his own daughter. Thus, his expression grew sullen as he cautioned, “Young man, I’d invited you here as our guest on account for the fact that you’ve saved my daughter’s life. Don’t make me regret my decision. My daughter is not someone you can bully as and when you want!”

Rong Ruihan stood up and stared Dai Yanfeng straight in the eyes.

Even though Dai Yanfeng’s aura and disposition was immensely powerful, Rong Ruihan had already grown used to the far stronger aura emanated by old man Chi. Therefore, Dai Yanfeng’s aura hardly fazed him at all.

Moments later, Rong Ruihan grimaced as he laid down the ultimatum, “Very well. Since that’s the case, I’ll take my leave now.”

As he said that, he turned around and began to leave.

“Brother Rong, where are you going?!” Dai Yue grew anxious, and she immediately tugged at Rong Ruihan’s arm as she attempted to cajole him, “Brother Rong, I was wrong. Could you please not leave? I…I won’t oppose Jun Xiaomo ever again, alright?”

I’ll just kill her! Dai Yue furiously added a single sentence in her heart.

“This isn’t an issue with what you’ve done or what you’ve not done. People who walk different paths are fated to go their separate ways. Farewell.”

Rong Ruihan wrested his arm from Dai Yue’s grasp and took his leave without looking back again. Dai Yue was just about to run after Rong Ruihan when Dai Yanfeng immediately ordered her to stop.

“Enough! Yue-er, come back!” Dai Yanfeng rebuked, “Just take a look at yourself! Everyone’s watching the competition now. Do you want everyone to turn around and start making fun of the Eternal Summit Sect? The daughter of Yanfeng whining and bawling over a man, hmm?!”

“But, father! Brother Rong, he…”

“Brother Rong, brother Rong. Your heart is completely obsessed with brother Rong. Let me tell you this – I, Dai Yanfeng, can never accept him as my son-in-law!” Dai Yanfeng scowled, “What’s so good about him, huh? Let’s not even mention the fact that we don’t know his origins to begin with. This man is completely mesmerized by Jun Linxuan’s trash of a daughter. How promising and outstanding can a person who’s fallen in love with that piece of trash be? Do you want to stoop to the level of that piece of trash and tussle over a man like this?!”

Dai Yue bit down fiercely on her lower lips and tears filled the rims of her eyes as she grew taciturn.

“Alright, sit down. Your martial brother Liang has already taken the stage. He’ll take care of that young lady from Heavenly Peak on your behalf and show her that she’s clearly overestimating her own abilities.” Dai Yanfeng patted her daughter’s shoulder as he added, “As for that Rong Ruihan, your father will teach him a good lesson once I uncover his background. I’ll show him that us people from Eternal Summit Sect aren’t to be messed with. Hmph!”

Dai Yue’s eyes flickered slightly. She was just about to plead for leniency on his behalf and tell her father that a token punishment would do, but then she capitulated. Since his heart had already been stolen by Jun Xiaomo, then what was the point of being courteous to him any longer?

It’s best if he learns some remorse through father’s punishment. Maybe then he would turn back and come looking for me once more. Dai Yue thought to herself.

Her heart wandered along that train of thoughts and drifted to the day when Rong Ruihan would have a change of heart and look back to her again. Unfortunately, in her obstinacy, Dai Yue failed to consider the fact that not everyone would react the same way to her father’s threats.

Most importantly, it had completely slipped her mind that she would no longer be here had it not been for Rong Ruihan’s help – she would already have lost her life.

It can only be said that there were some people whose lives were the very embodiment and manifestation of repaying good with evil.