"Fuyao, do you like him?" the middle-aged woman standing before Yue Fuyao suddenly asked, looking at Li Xuan who was once again seated on the top-ranked seat.
Yue Fuyao was startled by the question, and her face immediately turned red. Seeing this, the middle-aged woman smiled helplessly, realizing her disciple was truly developing feelings.
Although Yue Fuyao possessed the strength of the early-stage Martial God Realm, she was still a bit lacking in foundation compared to so many prodigies. In the second stage of the draw challenge, Yue Fuyao had already lost two matches and was eliminated from contention for the Five Regions Heavenly Pride Rankings.
"Girl, do you know that his life is far from ordinary?" the middle-aged woman said, looking at Yue Fuyao with a complex expression. "You must have heard of his deeds. Such a person will surely not lack women by his side. Even now, there are probably no small number of people who admire him. If you like him, this path you choose might be very arduous."
"Master, I am not afraid," Yue Fuyao said with a determined expression.
"You foolish girl..." The middle-aged woman sighed with a wry smile. "Your master isn't asking you to give up, but to remind you. His future achievements will certainly not be limited to what we see now. A dragon, after all, will eventually return to the sea. This vast continent of ours can, at best, be considered a small stream."
The middle-aged woman was well aware of Yue Fuyao's feelings for Li Xuan. When they were still at the sect, she often saw the girl lost in thought, and after arriving in the Central Region, her smiles had increased. All of this was, naturally, because she had met Li Xuan.
But the middle-aged woman knew that Li Xuan's potential was too terrifying.
A seventeen-year-old Sword Dao Grandmaster, how could her future achievements be imagined by her? Moreover, after entering the Central Region, she had heard many of Li Xuan's deeds, and none of them failed to shock people.
What the middle-aged woman felt most deeply was that the person behind Li Xuan was actually capable of destroying the Li Huo Sect, one of the Twelve Sects, with a single sword strike. Even a hundred Sheng Yue Sects would probably not be a match for the Li Huo Sect.
"Master, I will work hard to catch up to his pace," Yue Fuyao said with a firm expression.
"Forget it, forget it, it's just me worrying needlessly." The middle-aged woman shook her head helplessly. Since Yue Fuyao was so persistent, there was no reason for her, as a master, to interfere. Furthermore, the middle-aged woman secretly hoped that Yue Fuyao could end up with Li Xuan, as he was a young man with a promising future.
"Junior Sister Fuyao, I think you should give up on that idea. Once Li Xuan becomes the champion of the Five Regions Heavenly Pride Rankings tournament, will he lack women around him? And don't just look at how Li Xuan seems to have a decent relationship with you, Junior Sister Fuyao, right now. You have feelings for him, but do you know what his feelings are for you?"
"I think, at that time, you might end up with unrequited love," Zhuang Qinggao, who had also been eliminated, said with a cold sneer from the side.
"My affairs are none of your business," Yue Fuyao said, her expression turning cold. However, in her heart, she couldn't help but ponder.
Li Xuan, did he have feelings for her?
"Qinggao, stop talking nonsense!" Mo Ningxiang immediately reprimanded. This Zhuang Qinggao was the son of her senior sister. Although not a disciple of the Sheng Yue Sect, he was related to them in a way. As the Sect Master of the Sheng Yue Sect, Mo Ningxiang naturally had to consider her senior sister's feelings.
Of course, Mo Ningxiang also felt that Zhuang Qinggao's words were not entirely unreasonable. If Li Xuan didn't have those kinds of feelings for her foolish disciple, then her foolish disciple would likely be the one getting hurt in the end.
Thinking of this, Mo Ningxiang tenderly took Yue Fuyao's hand.
"Master, I'm fine." Yue Fuyao forced a smile and then looked towards Li Xuan, who was sitting at the top rank.
As if sensing her gaze, Li Xuan's eyes also fell on Yue Fuyao's face at that moment.
Seeing the gentle gaze in Li Xuan's eyes, Yue Fuyao immediately smiled.
In an instant, her smile bloomed like a flower.
A moment later, Li Xuan's gaze shifted elsewhere. Looking at the combatants on the various challenge arenas, Li Xuan suddenly saw a familiar figure.
This person was named Feng Hao, a disciple of the Hei Bai Sect from the Southern Region. Of course, they had some interaction in the Sacred Sect Ruins.
"I didn't expect this guy's strength to improve so quickly, managing to reach this point," Li Xuan muttered to himself, then looked at Jian Chi and his challenger.
Jian Chi, despite only having the strength of the peak Martial Emperor Realm, had already achieved clarity of sword heart by following Li Xuan. Facing a challenger in the early-stage Martial God Realm, he did not show any signs of falling behind. Moreover, as the battle dragged on, Li Xuan found that Jian Chi's combat power was only growing stronger. Victory was only a matter of time.
As he scanned through the matches, Li Xuan suddenly realized he was the most idle person there. Ever since Zhu Yiqing of the Qingyun Holy Land failed his challenge, no one had come to challenge Li Xuan for a full three hours. Watching the constant battles around him, Li Xuan suddenly felt a pang of regret.
If he had known, he should have chosen a lower-ranked seat from the beginning. That way, there might have been more matches, right? Li Xuan shook his head listlessly and then simply closed his eyes and began to cultivate his sword energy tempering.
"What is that Li Xuan doing?" Zi Ru looked at Li Xuan and then asked with some surprise. Everyone else followed his gaze to Li Xuan and then exchanged glances.
"Is this Li Xuan actually cultivating?" Luo Xing guessed, observing Li Xuan's occasional grimacing and sweating.
Xuan Ye and the others fell silent. This brat, cultivating at this moment?
"Ahem, no one is challenging him. I think we shouldn't bother with him," Xuan Ye finally said slowly.
After all, there was no rule stating that one couldn't cultivate during a competition.
Time flew by, and soon a day had passed. Many positions on the hundred seats had changed hands, but Li Xuan's position remained unmoving. After all, with the precedent of Zhu Yiqing, no one was willing to waste their spiritual energy and stamina unless they possessed absolute strength.
The next day, as the first rays of morning sunlight shone down, the participating contestants who had been recuperating on the Wendao Plaza began their challenges once more. Li Xuan, who was engrossed in tempering his sword energy, paid no attention to any of this. Moreover, Li Xuan's sword energy tempering was currently at a critical juncture.
If one were to observe him internally, they would find that most of Li Xuan's bones had already turned silver. In another hour, Li Xuan would be able to elevate the strength of his physical body from the Bronze Bone Realm to the Silver Bone Realm.
"Your Excellency, Qiao Feng has come to challenge you!"
Just then, a voice suddenly entered Li Xuan's ears. Li Xuan's eyes snapped open, and a terrifying killing intent emanated from his pupils, which were like those of a primordial beast. However, Li Xuan quickly reined it in, and his gaze returned to clarity.
Qiao Feng, on the other hand, had his expression change drastically. At that moment, Qiao Feng felt as if he were a small boat on a stormy sea.
So strong!
Qiao Feng swallowed and then cupped his fists, saying, "It was my intrusion, I shall take my leave."
After speaking, Qiao Feng turned and left. Li Xuan was stunned by this turn of events. He interrupted me, and then he ran away?
Damn it!