Chapter 431 - 228: Champion Zhang Mountain

Chapter 431: Chapter 228: Champion Zhang Mountain

"It’s a rare opportunity to face an expert of this caliber."

Beside them, Qin Zhenyang and Ning Zi both looked pensive, as if they wanted to speak but were holding back.

According to the Cloud Mountain Sword Sect’s usual style, a loss in a friendly spar was just a loss—nothing more. If your skills were lacking, you simply trained harder. The Sect rarely resorted to tactics like sending out disciples in succession to wear down an opponent or strategically matching up fighters to probe for weaknesses.

But this time was different. Yao Tianchuan’s hostility was blatant. Combined with Steward Wang’s murder and the unpleasantness at the welcome banquet, this was no longer a simple spar between disciples. It had subtly become a contest between the Cloud Mountain Sword Sect and the Yao family.

With tens of thousands watching by the riverbank and countless others following the event from afar, the outcome was guaranteed to be widely reported and discussed at length.

The Sect’s honor was at stake. So when Lin Zhen offered to go first, the other two were unsure whether to stop her. After all, she had only recently broken through to the Qi and Blood Metamorphosis Realm. Compared to Yao Tianchuan, the difference in their cultivation levels was like two entire realms.

Huang Zifeng, however, was still unwilling to agree. Just as he was about to shake his head again, another voice spoke up from beside them.

"Senior Brother Huang, Senior Sister Lin, why don’t you let me take your place for this match..."

Their heads snapped around. They stared at Xie Yuan, their expressions a mixture of different emotions.

Junior Brother Zhang?

The other three all hesitated, wanting to speak but stopping short.

Lin Zhen had at least broken through a while ago; her realm was stable, after all.

Zhang Shan had only broken through to the Qi and Blood Metamorphosis Realm just before they came to Jinling. While that was incredibly fast progress for him, if he were to face Yao Tianchuan, he likely wouldn’t even be able to probe his opponent’s strength.

It wasn’t that they thought his swordsmanship was poor; his talent was undeniable.

But the gap in their cultivation was immense. The difference between someone who had just reached the First Transformation Realm and someone on the verge of the Second Transformation was so vast it could be considered several stages in itself.

You could say there was a whole realm of difference between Junior Brother Zhang and Yao Tianchuan. How could they let him fight?

Just as Ning Zi and the others were about to protest, Xie Yuan cleared his throat and said:

"Senior Sister Lin is already planning to go first for Senior Brother Huang, so it’s only right that I go first for her to help size up the opponent. Our Cloud Mountain Sword Sect is united. As long as they don’t consider it a violation of the rules—after all, he’s the one who jumped out and ignored the lots."

Ning Zi frowned and said:

"Junior Brother Zhang, stop messing around! Let’s not even talk about the difference in strength—you’re not even registered to compete!"

Xie Yuan replied with a meaningful look:

"That may be, but I suspect Yao Tianchuan would be more than happy to have another opponent. He certainly wouldn’t object."

The others fell silent. Given Yao Tianchuan’s attitude, that was clearly true.

Huang Zifeng shook his head repeatedly.

"Junior Brother Zhang, your heart is in the right place, but as for Yao Tianchuan... you don’t need to go. Junior Sister Lin, you don’t need to go either. I will face him myself. Don’t worry, I will give it my all and won’t bring shame upon the Sect."

Lin Zhen pursed her lips.

"It’s fine. Let me go see for myself just how strong this young master of a prestigious family really is! Besides, Master wanted me to get more real-world experience. This was her instruction. And you, Junior Brother Zhang, you just broke through. It’s best for you to focus on observing."

Xie Yuan felt a bit exasperated. ’I actually have to fight just for a chance to get on stage.’

He’d been about to speak up earlier, but Lin Zhen had beaten him to it. Now, three of them were vying for a single spot...

This just went to show how much pressure Yao Tianchuan was putting on the Sword Sect disciples. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have mattered much who went up, win or lose.

But for Xie Yuan, beyond the Sect’s honor and reputation, there was a more important reason: the words he had overheard that night in the Yao Mansion.

Yao Tianchuan harbored pure malice toward the Sword Sect. If Huang Zifeng or Lin Zhen took the stage, he feared it wouldn’t be a simple matter of losing the match.

A glint flashed in his eyes. Seeing that they were at an impasse, he turned his gaze to Qin Zhenyang.

Qin Zhenyang had been very surprised when he volunteered.

He was still pondering this when he met Xie Yuan’s gaze. After a moment of consideration, he spoke.

"Then let’s have Junior Brother Zhang go first."

"What?"

Ning Zi exclaimed, immediately objecting.

"Senior Brother Qin, what are you thinking? Even if the Sect’s honor is our priority, we can’t just send Junior Brother Zhang up there to get beaten! He’s just a kid!"

A look of exasperation crossed the faces of both Qin Zhenyang and Xie Yuan.

’Some kid,’ he thought. ’A kid who can face a Grandmaster and escape unscathed...’

He was momentarily speechless, then said slowly:

"Junior Brother Zhang has always been level-headed. Since he volunteered, he must have his reasons, right?"

"What naive ideas could you have? People might not die on the dueling stage, but blood is still shed!"

Ning Zi retorted, her eyes wide.

Seeing that Qin Zhenyang was having trouble explaining and had passed the buck to him, Xie Yuan had no choice but to say:

"Well, I had a bit of an epiphany back on Sword Peak. I gained some insight into dealing with fast sword techniques, so it might be useful."

"Another epiphany from Sword Peak? You never mentioned it before."

Ning Zi said, her voice laced with suspicion.

"Nine days. I was up there for nine whole days,"

Xie Yuan said with a completely serious expression.

’I’ll lay the groundwork now,’ he thought. ’No matter what happens, when in doubt, just credit it to Sword Peak.’

Ning Zi was left speechless.

"Alright, alright, you don’t have to keep bringing it up. So impressive! Hmph, I could stay on the eleventh floor for nine days too!"

She said this with a hint of insecurity. At her current cultivation level, staying on the twenty-first floor for nine days would be no problem, but if she were still in the External Training stage, it would likely be impossible.

Of course, Xie Yuan hadn’t been in the External Training stage at the time, either.

Hearing Xie Yuan’s explanation, both Lin Zhen and Huang Zifeng were taken aback.

Sword Peak held a sacred place in the hearts of all Cloud Mountain Sword Sect disciples. Now that Xie Yuan had invoked its name, they couldn’t help but believe him, at least a little.

Nevertheless, they both still suspected that Xie Yuan was just eager to be the one to fight first. They felt a mix of doubt and gratitude, but since Qin Zhenyang had already agreed, all they could do was offer Xie Yuan some words of caution: