75: Chapter 75 Prison Six's First Encounter with Mu Xue

"Hello," you said to Chen Tianxiao, speaking rapidly, "and goodbye forever!"

Without looking back, you walked toward the Iron Hand Sect reception room.

You really did not want to have too much interaction with him.

If you got entangled with this guy, it would honestly be better to just restart.

As for hitting him?

You were afraid that you might end up making him enjoy it.

"Wait a second, brother!" Chen Tianxiao reached out to stop you, but you did not turn back to look at him, leaving his hand suspended in mid-air.

"What kind of backwater little Sect did this guy come from to be so arrogant?" A Liehuo Sect Disciple nearby leaned in, arms crossed, his tone full of disdain.

"I already said it's a little Sect, so isn't a lack of upbringing expected!" Another Liehuo Sect Disciple said, his eyes full of arrogance. "In my opinion, this guy is at most Transcendent. He probably just got lucky and used some Medicinal Pill to force his way up."

Although they said that, the jealousy in their eyes as they looked at you could not be hidden.

Chen Tianxiao did not care about what his fellow Disciples said. He simply took the registry from the Elder and slid his fingernail across it.

His fingertip stopped on a certain name, and his lips curled up as he looked at it.

"So his name is Lin Heng, huh~"

He had a secret he had never told anyone: he did not like women.

He liked men, especially men who were even stronger than himself.

Unfortunately, he had been an outstanding talent among his peers since childhood, and no one had ever been able to catch his Dharma Eye. Precisely because of this, his peculiar hobby had never been exposed until now.

"Junior Brother Chen?" A Senior Sister from the Liehuo Sect leaned over.

"What is it, Senior Sister?" Chen Tianxiao regained his focus and looked at the fellow Disciples beside him. "What are you all talking about?"

"What else could we be talking about? Just that kid from earlier." One Liehuo Sect Disciple spoke up first, his tone indignant.

"I don't know what backwater little Sect he came from. He just got lucky enough to achieve a Breakthrough to Transcendent and became insanely arrogant. He wouldn't even give Senior Brother Chen a proper look. What a piece of work!"

He spoke with such righteous indignation, as if it were he who had lost Face just now.

"Exactly," another Disciple agreed. "This kind of person just doesn't know that there is always someone better. He thinks that just because he achieved a Breakthrough to Transcendent, he's invincible. Don't you agree, Senior Sister?"

The Liehuo Sect Senior Sister was stunned for a moment. "No, I don't think so."

She looked at Chen Tianxiao. "I just think, it's been a long time since I've seen Junior Brother Chen smile so happily!"

The Pill King Competition began.

According to the competition rules, you skipped the preliminaries and entered the top eight.

That little girl Sun Xiaoxiao was eliminated in the first round again. The person she competed against was also a little girl who looked even younger than her.

After she lost, she came to your side and had a good cry.

This year was her first time participating in the Pill King Competition; she was essentially here to gain some experience.

Sun Xiaoxiao had always been well-protected by her Sect Leader, and she believed that while she might not be the best in the world, she was at least a peerless Prodigy. Whether she gained experience this time or not was unclear, but she certainly learned that there is always someone better out there!

Zhou Qingming was also eliminated in the first round. The person he competed against was a Martial Artist at the Middle Stage of the Dark Realm. It was normal that he couldn't win; after just a few exchanges, Zhou Qingming conceded.

Although you said you were here to watch the preliminaries, you couldn't help but subconsciously look toward the spectator seats, wanting to see if there was a person chewing on a lollipop.

As a result, you didn't see Mu Xue, but you saw Chen Tianxiao several times.

That guy was always staring at you with a strange look in his eyes.

You felt extremely uncomfortable under his gaze, and even subconsciously put your hands behind your back, instinctively covering your butt.

The next afternoon, it was finally your turn to compete.

Sun Xiaoxiao waved her little fists and hopped around to cheer you on: "Go, go! Brother Lin, beat them all up!"

To this, you simply smiled and patted the little girl's head.

Zhou Qingming and Great Elder Liu Jinsong, who were beside the little girl, looked at you with extremely strange expressions.

Great Elder Liu Jinsong even specifically leaned in close to you and lowered his voice: "Elder Lin, are you, are you really going to compete?"

You rolled your eyes at this guy.

If you weren't here to compete, were you here to play?

On the other side of the arena, your opponent was a Prodigy from the Xingming Sect, at the Late Stage of the Dark Realm.

He was in his early twenties, with a delicate Face and a sword at his waist. Between his brows, he carried that sharp aura unique to Disciples of large Sects.

Seeing you step onto the stage, the Xingming Sect Prodigy took a deep breath, cupped his hands, and performed a salute.

"Xingming Sect, Lin Changfeng, please offer your guidance!"

You stood with your hands behind your back, without adopting any starting stance, and said softly.

"Please!"

Lin Changfeng took a deep breath and drew his sword.

He flicked his wrist a few times, and the Sword Qi flew out like a rainbow. Three white sword beams were flung from the blade, aiming straight for your Face from the left, middle, and right.

You slightly shifted your body by half a step, and the three streaks of Sword Qi seemed to have eyes as they grazed past your shoulders and waist, striking the arena behind you and leaving three shallow white marks, without even touching the hem of your clothes.

Lin Changfeng refused to believe it. He flipped his wrist, and more Sword Qi emerged from his long sword.

Your feet still did not move; you only shifted your body a few times, and that Sword Qi flew past you, still failing to touch you.

"How is that possible!" A gasp of shock came from the spectator seats below.

"That Prodigy from the Xingming Sect may not have reached Transcendent, but those streaks of Sword Qi are no weaker than the attacks of an ordinary Transcendent. That guy called Lin Heng actually dodged them without even moving."

"No, he didn't dodge. He used his Internal Energy to disrupt Lin Changfeng's Sword Qi, making the Sword Qi deviate from its original trajectory."

Hearing this, an old man in the audience who was also at the Transcendent level immediately retorted: "Impossible! This old man has been in the Transcendent level for over thirty years. My control over Internal Energy is natural and perfect, yet even I cannot do such a thing!"

Another Transcendent Martial Artist looked at him and couldn't help but sneer: "Old man, that's because you're too useless. After so many years, you're still only at the Early Stage of Transcendent. This kind of thing requires at least the Late Stage of Transcendent to achieve!"

"How is that possible! Are you saying that young kid is already at the Late Stage of Transcendent?"

"No, I think he's even stronger. It looks like Mu Xue from the Dragon Group has met her match this year."

On the arena.

Lin Changfeng knew he couldn't beat you. He had originally thought that if you were a Martial Artist who had just achieved a Breakthrough to Transcendent, he might still have a chance to fight, but seeing you, you were at least at the Late Stage of Transcendent. Even if he used all his techniques, he wouldn't be able to harm you in the slightest.

"I concede!" Lin Changfeng said, cupping his hands toward you.

As for the opportunity to fight against a Transcendent expert?

A top-tier Sect like the Xingming Sect didn't lack such opportunities. Continuing to fight would only be self-humiliation, so it was better to just concede.

In the second round, your opponent was a Prodigy from a small Sect, with a cultivation at the Peak of the Dark Realm.

"Please offer your guidance, Senior." He held a katana and cupped his hands toward you.

He didn't concede as quickly as Lin Changfeng. In his Sect, he never had the opportunity to practice with a Transcendent Martial Artist, let alone have an expert of your level personally feed him moves.

Therefore, he cherished the chance. He used all his techniques and fought you for fifty or sixty rounds.

You also gave him some guidance.

The other party benefited greatly from your advice and thanked you repeatedly.

"Thank you, Senior. After hearing your advice, I feel my blade technique has improved by more than twenty percent." He bowed to you three times, said respectfully, and then conceded to the referee.

The third round.

This time, you went onto the arena first.

After a while, there was a commotion below the stage.

A figure sauntered out from the Dragon Group's seating area, with a lollipop in her mouth. Her movements as she walked onto the arena were unhurried, her steps were small, and she looked at you with a playful smile in her eyes.

The discussions below the stage quieted down a few notches the moment she stepped onto the stage.

No one present failed to recognize this Face: the champion of the last two Pill King Competitions, the Peak of Transcendent from the Dragon Group, Mu Xue.

Generally speaking, most Martial Artists who achieve a Breakthrough to Transcendent are in their thirties. They barely manage to make it under the thirty-five-year-old age limit to participate in their final Pill King Competition, aiming to at least secure a top-three finish and end their career on a high note.

But then there was Mu Xue, a Peak of Transcendent in her twenties.

Everyone said that the next ten years of the Dragon Kingdom's martial arts world would be the era of Mu Xue.

But today was different; a Transcendent had emerged from the unknown Iron Hand Sect, also in his twenties, and at least at the Late Stage of Transcendent.

The eyes of all the spectators below were focused on this arena, and everyone was looking forward to this match.

Even the referee was an Elder from Danwang Valley with an Innate cultivation level.

Mu Xue stepped onto the arena, took the lollipop out of her mouth, and held the white stick between her fingertips.

She looked at you and chuckled.

"Looks like a challenger has arrived this year!"