Chapter 175 The Grand Competition (Part 4)

The first day of the Grand Competition came to an end amidst countless shocks, discussions, and surging undercurrents. After the chaotic battles and subsequent sporadic challenges on the hundred arenas, nearly a hundred arena champions were finally born.

Except for the Saint Jian Wushuang and the Saintess Yun Qingyao, who had already defaulted to occupying two spots due to their special status, the remaining ninety-eight precious spots to the "Yunmiao Holy Trace" had already been claimed. Among them, naturally, was Mu Changge, who had shocked the world in a single battle, sweeping away more than a dozen Core Disciples with an unsheathed sword.

Ever since he nonchalantly "invited" Li Feng and the others off the arena, the arena he occupied seemed to have become some sort of invisible Forbidden Ground. Although there were still a few sporadic Core Disciples who didn't believe it, were unconvinced, or were clearly from the Heavenly Sword Peak faction who stepped onto the stage to challenge him, the results were without exception: they all suffered miserable defeats under the longsword that Mu Changge never unsheathed, and none could even force him to move more than three steps. Later on, those who dared to step onto the stage were few and far between. Most of the time, Mu Changge just sat quietly in the center of the arena, eyes closed to Cultivate, as if the surrounding clamor, prying eyes, discussions, and even the hidden murderous intent had nothing to do with him, forming a world of his own.

High above on the platform, Jian Wushuang's gaze occasionally swept over that solitary sitting figure, the coldness and gloom in his eyes growing more intense.

The next day, the morning sun rose again, and ten thousand golden rays of light spilled over the competition plaza.

The Law Enforcement Elder appeared in the air once again, his voice resonant, spreading in all directions: "After one day of competition, the champions of the hundred arenas have been decided! These ninety-eight people, together with the Saint and the Saintess, totaling one hundred people, have obtained the qualification to go to the 'Yunmiao Holy Trace'!"

As his voice fell, sighs of envy, congratulations, and even unwillingness arose from the crowd. Most of the Disciples who obtained the spots showed joy on their faces, and even Prodigies like Yun Feiyang and Shi Xin, though calm in expression, had sharp glimmers in their eyes.

Mu Changge also slowly opened his eyes, his gaze deep, without much joy, as if he had only completed a trivial matter. He stood up tall, preparing to listen to the subsequent arrangements with the others.

However, at this very moment, a slightly sharp voice rang out from the highest Core Disciple jade platform, clearly suppressing all the noise in the arena: "Wait."

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw the Saint Jian Wushuang slowly standing up. His posture was upright, and his black sword robe flowed with a noble luster in the morning light. He first bowed slightly towards the Elders suspended in the air and the faintly existing Incarnations of Peak Masters, the Sect Master, and the Grand Elder at an even higher position, his posture calm and elegant, fully displaying the demeanor of a Saint.

After the salute, he turned to the thousands of Disciples below, his face solemn, his voice clear and painful as it spread: "On this grand occasion, a hundred talents have stood out and obtained this Opportunity. I, the Saint, am here to first congratulate all of you Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters." He paused, his gaze sweeping over the arena champions below, lingering slightly on Mu Changge, but quickly moved away, and continued: "I wish that all of you will gain something in the Yunxu Secret Realm of the Yunmiao Holy Trace this time, advance on your Dao path, and not fail the high expectations of the Sect."

These congratulatory words were appropriate, drawing good feelings from many Disciples, who cupped their fists in return.

However, Jian Wushuang's tone suddenly shifted, his expression carrying a bit of weight and pain: "However, at this joyous moment, I, the Saint, have something that is like a bone in my throat; I must speak it. This matter concerns the iron rules of our Wandao Sword Sect, and even more so, it concerns the camaraderie of fellow Disciples and the righteousness of the Dao!"

His voice suddenly rose, carrying a power of heavy grief: "I presume some Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters present have already heard—my Heavenly Sword Peak True Disciple, Senior Brother Wang Meng, unfortunately... perished while out executing a Sect mission a few days ago!"

"What? Senior Brother Wang Meng... is dead?"

"How is that possible! Senior Brother Wang Meng was already at the Soul Transformation Stage, his strength was formidable, how could he..."

"I indeed hadn't seen Senior Brother Wang for a few days, I didn't think he had actually been murdered?"

"Who is so bold, daring to harm a Disciple of our Wandao Sword Sect?"

The area below the stage was suddenly in an uproar, with exclamations, discussions, and angry shouts rising one after another. Wang Meng was quite famous in the Heavenly Sword Peak and even the entire young generation of the Sect; with Soul Transformation Stage cultivation, although his actions were somewhat overbearing, his strength was unquestionable. His sudden fall was undoubtedly a heavy blow that struck the hearts of many Disciples. Many Disciples who were familiar with Wang Meng or admired his cultivation showed grief and indignation, fire spitting from their eyes, looking around as if they wanted to find the murderer.

Jian Wushuang took in the reactions of everyone below the stage, especially noting those angry gazes. The look of grief on his face deepened, but a trace of imperceptible satisfaction flashed in his eyes. The timing was perfect.

He raised his hand and pressed down slightly, an invisible pressure causing the noise to subside slightly. His gaze swept across the entire audience again, this time carrying a weight of hesitation. Finally, that gaze, as if inadvertently, fell on the arena area again, or to be precise, on Mu Changge, lingering for several seconds. The meaning within was profound—there was pain, there was hesitation, and even more, an indescribable deep meaning.

"Senior Brother Wang Meng has unfortunately passed away; all of us fellow Disciples are heartbroken." Jian Wushuang's voice was low, carrying a touch of well-timed hoarseness, "As for who the murderer is..." He paused again. This pause brought everyone's hearts to their throats, their gazes involuntarily following his line of sight, also vaguely cast toward the direction where Mu Changge was. Some sharp-minded individuals had already sensed an unusual atmosphere from the Saint's meaningful gaze.

Jian Wushuang's face revealed a look of embarrassment and reluctance as he sighed: "This matter... I, the Saint, only learned of it the day before yesterday. It was a Junior Brother who luckily escaped and was seriously injured, who returned to the Sect at the risk of his life and stated it personally. The details are unbelievable, and I, the Saint, find it hard to distinguish truth from falsehood, so I dare not make rash assertions. The matter is of great importance and concerns the reputation of our fellow Disciples, so why not... let that Junior Brother personally state it to all the Elders and fellow Disciples. As for the rights and wrongs, I ask everyone to judge for themselves."

After speaking, he turned to the side and signaled behind him.

Just then, from among the Disciples standing behind Jian Wushuang, a young Disciple with a pale complexion, floating aura, and even some not-fully-healed bandages wrapped around his body, bearing obvious injuries, stumbled out.

His cultivation had now retreated to the Nascent Soul Middle Stage (originally Late Nascent Soul Stage), and at this moment, his face was devoid of blood, his eyes filled with fear, grief, and a determination to risk everything.

This Disciple first bowed deeply towards the direction of the Elders in the high sky, and then towards the thousands of fellow Disciples below the stage. Because the movement affected his injuries, his body trembled slightly, appearing exceptionally miserable and pitiful. He raised his head, tears flowing before he spoke, his voice filled with sobs and immense grief and indignation, trembling, but using all his strength, he raised his arm. That finger, as if condensing all hatred and accusation, pointed fiercely at the arena area below, pointed at that black-robed figure standing independently at the focus of everyone's gazes—

"It is him! It is Mu Changge!"

"I saw it with my own eyes! It was him! In order to snatch the Opportunity that Senior Brother Wang Meng accidentally obtained, he took advantage of when Senior Brother Wang Meng and the guarding Yao Beast were both injured and exhausted, suddenly launched a sneak attack, and killed him ruthlessly! Senior Brother Wang Meng... Senior Brother Wang Meng died with grievances!"

The shrill accusation, like a thunderclap, exploded over the competition plaza that had just been noisy about the Secret Realm spots.

The entire audience, dead silent.

All gazes, as if pulled by an invisible thread, instantly focused on one point—on the arena, on that black-robed Disciple who had just obtained the Secret Realm spot, but was now accused as the murderer who "harmed fellow Disciples".

Mu Changge stood still in place, meeting those countless gazes of shock, suspicion, anger, scrutiny, and disbelief, his expression remaining calm, only deep within those profound eyes, it seemed as if a cold vortex was slowly turning. He raised his eyes, his gaze piercing through the crowd, directly colliding with the line of sight of Jian Wushuang on the high platform, which appeared painful but in fact had a cruel and triumphant glimmer flickering deep in his eyes.

The storm, at this moment, suddenly descended.

Following that shrill and grief-stricken accusation from the "luckily escaped" Disciple covered in wounds, the huge competition plaza fell into a deathly silence. Countless gazes, like searchlights with substantial weight, focused uniformly on Mu Changge. Shock, suspicion, anger, disdain, disbelief, schadenfreude... various emotions silently collided and fermented in the air.

"Harming fellow Disciples"!

In the cultivation world, especially in a prestigious orthodox Sect like the Wandao Sword Sect, this was almost the most serious crime second only to betraying the Sect! Killing fellow Disciples was a great taboo; once confirmed, the lightest punishment was to have one's cultivation crippled and be expelled from the Sect, and the heaviest was to be killed on the spot to serve as a warning to others!

The shock of Mu Changge displaying his Divine Might on the arena earlier, easily defeating Li Feng and more than a dozen other Core Disciples, had not yet completely dissipated, and now he was labeled with such a shocking crime. This huge contrast made everyone hold their breath, their gazes circling back and forth between the pale and trembling "witness" and Mu Changge, who was still calm on the arena, with even a faint, indistinct arc seemingly hanging on the corner of his mouth.

High above on the platform, the various Elders, Peak Masters, and even those few blurry Incarnations of Grand Elders cast their gazes down, carrying scrutiny and gravity. If this matter were true, the impact would be extremely bad, especially at this critical moment when they were about to head to the "Yunmiao Holy Trace" and the "Yunxu Secret Realm".

Jian Wushuang took all of this in, the pleasure in his heart growing like a poisonous vine. On his face, grief and reluctance were intertwined. He looked at Mu Changge, his tone heavy, yet carrying a kind of "forced by circumstances" regret: "Junior Brother Mu... regarding this matter, this surviving Junior Brother Zhao speaks with certainty, and there is even... a piece of the personal jade pendant of Junior Brother Wang Meng that he brought back at the risk of his life as evidence. The Sword Qi aura remaining on it, after preliminary inspection by the Law Enforcement Hall, does indeed have similarities with the Cultivation Technique you Cultivate. Both human testimony and physical evidence (implying there is physical evidence) are present; do you... have anything to say?"

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He paused, his voice suddenly turning harsh and carrying the authority of a Saint: "If you truly did harm your Senior Brother for your own selfish gain, then no matter how high your talent or how great your strength, our Wandao Sword Sect has no room for someone with such a malicious Heart-Nature who murders his own kin! Today, before the Sect Master, the Elders, the Grand Elders, and all our fellow Disciples, you must give an account!"

As his voice fell, a mountain-like pressure instantly bore down on Mu Changge. Everyone waited to see how this Genius Disciple, who had just shone so brilliantly only to be suddenly plunged into the whirlpool of "murdering a fellow Disciple," would respond.

Would he weep and cry out his innocence? Would he erupt in rebuttal? Or... would he be left speechless and unable to defend himself?

Under the focus of countless gazes and the crushing weight of the accusation, Mu Changge's expression remained calm. Meeting Jian Wushuang's seemingly pained but actually cold gaze, he sneered inwardly. 'So this is what you had waiting for me—witnesses, evidence, and moral righteousness. A combined strike like this would leave any ordinary Disciple unable to defend themselves, their mind in disarray. Jian Wushuang, is this all you've got?'

His mind raced; he had already planned how to expose this crude lie, how to exploit the holes in the witness's testimony, how to turn the tables, and even how to "inadvertently" mention the "interesting news" from the Twilight Forest (the special "items" the Saint needed after practicing the Cultivation Technique I gave him) to deliver a fatal psychological blow. He took a deep breath and was about to speak, intending to use cold, almost cruel logic to tear a rift in this carefully orchestrated farce—

"Junior Brother Mu was with me at the time."

A cold, crisp, yet indisputably firm voice, like the light strike of a jade chime or the flow of an icy spring, rang out clearly amidst the clamor of doubt, anger, and conspiracy. It interrupted the words Mu Changge was about to say and instantly froze all the noise.

The words already at the tip of Mu Changge's tongue were stuck in his throat. This sudden turn of events left him utterly stunned. Slowly, with a hint of unbelievable surprise, he turned his head and looked toward the direction of the voice.

At the same time, everyone's gaze was drawn like metal to an invisible magnet, snapping toward another direction—the other side of the Core Disciple jade platform, opposite Jian Wushuang.

There, a graceful figure sat quietly—it was none other than the current Saintess of the Wandao Sword Sect, Yun Qingyao.

She wore a simple, snow-white dress that was untainted by dust, which only served to emphasize her sharp, sword-like temperament. Her raven hair fell like a waterfall, with a few strands fluttering in the wind against her flawless, mutton-fat jade-like cheeks. She was currently looking calmly down at the stage, her gaze fixed precisely on Mu Changge, who was being pointed at by a thousand fingers.

The usually cold and taciturn Saintess Yun Qingyao, who almost never involved herself in disputes and was solely focused on cultivation and revenge, had actually spoken up at this moment!

Moreover, her words were earth-shattering!

"Junior Brother Mu was with me at the time," she repeated, her voice still cold but carrying a decisive certainty, as if stating a simple fact. "During these past few days, Junior Brother Mu has been in my courtyard discussing the sword and validating our insights into the Sword Dao. He never left the Sect at all. This Saintess can testify to that."

Her words were concise and clear, without any extra embellishment, yet they provided a nearly perfect alibi. More importantly, this was testimony from the Saintess! Its weight went without saying! Furthermore, everyone in the Sect knew she harbored a blood feud and was devoted to cultivation; there was absolutely no reason for her to lie.

Buzz—!

After a brief, dead silence, the entire Sparring Square seemed to explode, with a commotion more intense than any before!

"What?! The Saintess... the Saintess is testifying for Mu Changge?"

"The Saintess's courtyard? This kid actually went to the Saintess's place!"

"Discussing the sword with the Saintess? And for several days? How... how is Mu Changge worthy of this?"

"Heavens, what did I just hear? The Saintess actually defended Mu Changge in public? What is their relationship?"

"No wonder Mu Changge was so fearless; it turns out he has the Saintess backing him!"

"Wait, isn't it said that the Saintess and the Saint are a match made in heaven and have known each other since childhood? Why would the Saintess speak up for Mu Changge?"

"You don't know? I heard their relationship isn't ordinary. I'm not sure why, but the Saintess seems to think quite highly of Junior Brother Mu..."

"Hiss... could it be that the Saint's sudden attack isn't just because of Senior Brother Wang Meng, but also because..."

"Quiet! Do you want to die? How dare you gossip about such things!"

The Disciples below the stage were in an uproar, with various speculations, shock, disbelief, and a certain hidden excitement intermingling. Their gazes shifted back and forth between Mu Changge, Yun Qingyao, and Jian Wushuang. This "murder accusation," which had seemed so clear-cut, instantly became blurred and even took on a complex meaning due to the Saintess's intervention.

High on the platform, the slight smile that had been on Jian Wushuang's face—one of total control and certain victory—completely froze the moment Yun Qingyao spoke.

Like fine porcelain suddenly covered in cracks, his expression solidified. His pupils constricted violently, and the cruel triumph in the depths of his eyes was instantly frozen by ten-thousand-year-old ice, then shattered with a 'crack,' turning into a deeper, more violent gloom and... a hint of unbelievable shock and rage!

Slowly, extremely slowly, he turned his head to look at the beautiful woman on the opposite jade platform, who was as cold as the moon and seemed detached from the mortal world. His gaze was locked onto Yun Qingyao's face, trying to find even a trace of reluctance on that flawless countenance.

However, there was none.

Yun Qingyao's expression remained calm, perhaps even colder and more distant than usual (though in truth, her jade-like hands were slightly clenched beneath her sleeves, her heart filled with uncontrollable worry and panic). She had simply stated a fact, a fact she felt needed to be stated. Her eyes met Jian Wushuang's without the slightest avoidance, her clear pupils reflecting his gradually twisting, dark face.

"Qing... Qingyao?" Jian Wushuang's voice was dry, even carrying a slight tremor he hadn't noticed himself, his voice sounding a bit shriller than usual. "You... what did you say? You were... with Mu Changge these past few days? In your courtyard... discussing the sword?"

He asked this almost word by word, each one squeezed through his teeth, carrying heavy disbelief and the sting of betrayal. He and Yun Qingyao were childhood friends, but she had always been polite yet distant toward him; when had they ever spent such a long time alone together? Let alone something as private as "being together for several days"! And now, she was actually lying in public to testify for this Mu Changge, whom he desperately wanted to eliminate?

Yes, in Jian Wushuang's eyes, this had to be a lie! It was a lie Yun Qingyao had fabricated to protect Mu Changge! Any talk of discussing the sword was just an excuse! She dared... she actually dared to slap his face in public and ruin his carefully laid plans for a Disciple from Earth Sword Peak who hadn't even been in the Sect for long!

Jealousy, anger, gloom, and a panic from having his disguise stripped away (he subconsciously feared that something was truly going on between Yun Qingyao and Mu Changge) gnawed at his heart like venomous snakes, making it almost impossible for him to maintain his mask of a steady and dignified Saint. His hands, hidden in his sleeves, were already clenched into fists, his nails digging deep into his palms, the stinging pain barely helping him suppress the urge to destroy everything.

"Correct." Facing Jian Wushuang's questioning, Yun Qingyao's answer was extremely brief. She didn't even spare a second glance at Jian Wushuang's unsightly expression (after her secret investigations recently, she believed my previous words more and more). Her gaze fell back onto Mu Changge below the stage as she added flatly, "Junior Brother Mu has unique insights into the Way of the Sword, from which I have benefited greatly. This is absolutely true."

Her words blocked all the doubts and accusations from Jian Wushuang and that Disciple.

Mu Changge had also recovered from his initial shock. Looking at the white-clad woman on the high platform who was as cold as the moon yet had stood up for him at the critical moment, a complex emotion welled up in his heart. There was surprise, gratitude, and a hint of understanding (after all, his efforts to deepen his relationship with her every few days hadn't been in vain).

He withdrew his gaze and looked again at Jian Wushuang, whose face was so dark it looked like it could drip water. The faint, indiscernible curve at the corner of his mouth seemed to deepen slightly, carrying a touch of cold mockery.

"Saint," Mu Changge finally spoke, his voice steady without a hint of the panic of being accused, but rather a sense of relieved calm. "It seems this Junior Brother's so-called 'eyewitness account' has some discrepancies with the facts. These past few days, I have had the honor of receiving guidance on the sword from the Saintess. I'm afraid... I lacked the ability to be in two places at once and travel thousands of miles away to commit a crime."

He paused, his gaze turning toward the accusing Disciple, who was already pale with fright and shaking like a leaf. His voice suddenly turned sharp, carrying an invisible mental pressure: "You! You kept saying you saw it with your own eyes, so why is it that only you managed to escape back? Could it be that your so-called Senior Brother Wang Meng's cultivation was inferior to yours?"