Volume One, Chapter 19: The Crow Takes Flight
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Buying a fine horse in the East Market, and... in the West Market.
Liu Yiyun spent a full twenty spirit stones to acquire a sturdy ox-horse. Whether he was cheated or given a friendly price by the Qingshan Sect, he wasn’t sure.
No matter, since he was living off Miss Lin’s resources, he didn’t mind spending her spirit stones.
Miss Lin was quite a kind person, after all!
Soon, Liu Yiyun rode the ox-horse, munching on a large sesame pancake as he hurried back.
A carrot infused with spiritual energy hung in front of the ox-horse’s head, greatly increasing its speed.
The faster it ran, the hungrier it became; the hungrier it got, the faster it ran.
By dusk, he arrived at the gate of the Celestial Sanctuary.
Unfortunately, the ox-horse collapsed from exhaustion and died without ever tasting the spirit-infused carrot.
The first thing Liu Yiyun did upon returning to the Demon Suppression Prison was report the good news to the squad leader: his old sow at home had given birth smoothly, so he only needed one day off and wouldn’t have to request further leave.
After swapping shifts with a colleague in advance, he headed straight to Little Snake’s cell.
In preparation for the duel two days later, Liu Yiyun skipped the usual massage and instead had Little Snake take out her wolf-tooth club to beat him soundly.
“Heh heh heh...”
“Little Snake, I need you to help me cultivate!”
[Ding, cultivation +2.]
[Ding, cultivation +2.]
[Ding, cultivation +2.]
...
Two days later, Liu Yiyun finally reached the seventh level of Qi Refinement.
Demon Suppression Prison’s Martial Arena.
The arena was packed with a sea of people—at least ten thousand cultivators had come.
Most of them were low-ranking disciples from various sections of the prison’s first level.
The official prison guards were usually busy with inspections, supervision, and suppressing demons aside from cultivation, so they rarely had time to watch minor scuffles among Qi Refinement cultivators.
A prison official stood atop the high platform, announcing the rules of the competition.
Behind him was a long table where five people sat, serving as the judges for the event.
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Four were official prison guards, easily recognized by Liu Yiyun. The fifth wore a robe embroidered with gold trim on his chest—likely a “Demon Suppression Envoy” authorized to enter the prison’s third level.
However, their auras were unusual; Liu Yiyun could not sense any trace of them. They seemed far beyond the Foundation Establishment stage. He thought little of it, assuming his own cultivation and spiritual strength were too weak.
“Now begins the first match: Ye Zihan at Qi Refinement level five versus Zhang Yibai at level six.”
As soon as the words fell, Ye Zihan and Zhang Yibai entered the arena.
The spectators immediately started whispering when they saw Ye Zihan.
“Heh, Zhang Yibai’s lucky—he’s facing someone with lower cultivation in the first match. Looks like an easy win. I told Brother Cai Kun to sign up, but he wouldn’t listen. Maybe he’d even meet that idiotic level three Qi Refinement loser.”
“I know Ye Zihan. What a show-off! When he signed up a few days ago, he was boasting shamelessly about how cultivators should possess an invincible heart. Let’s see how ‘invincible’ he really is.”
“Start!”
At the official’s command, the two dashed at each other without hesitation.
Half a breath later, Zhang Yibai’s longsword pressed against Ye Zihan’s chest as he said expressionlessly, “You lose.”
“You... such a fast sword! I admit defeat.”
Zhang Yibai withdrew his sword, hands behind his back: “A mere level five Qi Refinement ant like you is lucky to land a single blow on me. If you want to be my opponent, train for another two and a half years!”
Ye Zihan staggered back, clutching his chest, his face full of unwillingness. “Damn! Thirty years east of the river, thirty years...”
“Enough noise!” Zhang Yibai kicked him off the arena, interrupting his spell.
“Get off quickly and don’t waste time here!”
???
Liu Yiyun was baffled in the audience. Wasn’t Ye a legendary surname among the four great families in fantasy novels? How come his Zihan had fallen apart after just a few days?
The crowd burst into laughter.
“A mere level five Qi Refinement, thinking he can compete for an official prison guard spot—truly clueless.”
“Thinking he’s a genius who can challenge higher-ranked disciples, ridiculous!”
“Hahaha, such a level and still trying to show off. Just get lost already. Thirty years east, sixty years west, ninety years south, one hundred twelve years north, right?”
“What a clown!”
Ye Zihan was utterly humiliated and slunk away, still muttering “My fate is mine, not heaven’s.”
“First match winner: Zhang Yibai. Next, Chang’an versus Ma Zhida, both at Qi Refinement level nine.”
“Both have reached the peak of Qi Refinement. Finally, a good match to watch.”
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Time passed quickly, and so did the duels. Qi Refinement cultivators couldn’t fly and had very limited spellcasting, so fights were mostly straightforward—punches, kicks, swords, fireballs, water arrows—usually resolved within a few rounds.
A level one Qi Refinement fighter would surrender immediately if matched against level nine.
Brainwashed badly by Ye Zihan and Liu Yiyun during sign-up, many now admitted defeat outright. Taunting was fun, but getting hit by spells and martial techniques really hurt.
The six people on the high platform were bored. The lowest among them was at Golden Core stage. Watching these ants fight didn’t interest them—they were nearly dozing off.
“Next match: Liu Yiyun at Qi Refinement level seven versus Zhang Kaixiang at level eight.”
With those words, a ripple of laughter erupted in the arena.
“Hahaha, this guy’s in cahoots with Ye Zihan. I saw him sign up.”
“How long do you think Liu Yiyun will last? I bet three spirit stones he loses within thirty seconds.”
“Zhang Kaixiang’s got it easy—straight to the next round.”
Under their gaze, Liu Yiyun lightly jumped onto the stage.
“Heh heh heh,” Zhang Kaixiang grinned widely.
Though his level eight Qi Refinement was not the strongest among the participants, he had signed up casually to try his luck. Luck was indeed on his side, facing only a level seven opponent in the first round.
It was practically a free pass—he felt the heavens were on his side.
Zhang Kaixiang spoke first: “Brother Liu, I’ve trained a few years longer than you. Don’t say I’m using my cultivation to pressure you; you go first.”
With that, Zhang Kaixiang stood with hands behind his back, gazing at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle—classic showboating.
“Are you sure?”
“Of course.”
Liu Yiyun nodded, then in a flash, closed the distance.
“Praying Mantis Fist.”
“Serpent Step.”
“Crow Flying!”
...