Chapter 127: Reason

In the evening, Chen Mobai woke from a deep sleep.

He lay on his bed in his cave dwelling, enjoying the rest he hadn't experienced in a long time, then raised himself up.

Today's two rounds of duels were moved forward for Chen Mobai and Yan Feng because Kong Feichen directly forfeited the first round. Both were quick swordsmen, and less than fifteen minutes after they took the stage, the winner was decided within four sword strikes.

After the duel, although Chen Mobai was more weakened and Yan Feng could still stand, Yan Feng had already left the arena, so the victory ultimately belonged to Chen Mobai. While he was being hoisted and wildly celebrated by his schoolmates, Ning Anning came over with a smile to help him regulate his qi, blood, and meridians. She also asked if he was interested in studying at the Taiyi Medical Academy.

Chen Mobai found it hard to answer and simply gave in to his body's fatigue, fainting. He woke up to the present moment. He wasn't sure who had brought him here.

Chen Mobai turned and picked up his phone from beside the bed, finding dozens of missed calls and hundreds of unread messages. He checked them, first returning calls to his parents, then sending a group message to relatives who had seen his impressive performance on television. He told them he needed to focus on the upcoming finals and wouldn't be able to return their calls. Finally, Chen Mobai finished reading Qing Nü's greeting message, and his finger naturally dialed her number.

"Hello."

"Thank you for your concern, I'm fine." A familiar clear voice came through, and Chen Mobai replied gently.

"Are you free?" Qing Nü suddenly asked.

Chen Mobai was a little puzzled but said yes. "I'm in my cave dwelling. Are you still at Danzhu Academy?"

"Yes," she replied. "Which dormitory building are you in? I'll come find you."

Chen Mobai put down his phone and sent his location to Qing Nü. A short while later, there was a knock at the door. Opening it, he saw Qing Nü, disguised with a mask and hat, smiling with narrowed eyes and waving at him.

"Congratulations on making it to the finals."

"Thank you." Chen Mobai thought for a moment, then asked, "Would you like to come in and sit, or should we go for a walk?"

"I'll come in and sit. After all, you're still quite weak." Chen Mobai didn't entirely agree with that statement, but feeling an unprecedented emptiness in his dantian and qi sea, he could only reluctantly step aside and let Qing Nü in.

"Here, you haven't eaten yet, have you? This is the dinner I brought for you." After Qing Nü entered, she placed two boxes of small steamed buns she was carrying on the table inside the cave dwelling. Chen Mobai was indeed a bit hungry and unceremoniously opened them and began to eat.

"So, tell me, what did you want to talk about?"

"I was with Xiao Chen and Xiao Jing earlier, trying to persuade Xiao Jing to forfeit the finals."

"Pfft!" Chen Mobai, who had been happily eating, sprayed out his food upon hearing that. "What? I was looking forward to winning the championship under everyone's gaze!"

Although his biggest trump card, the Three Scarlet Flame Sword Talismans, had been used, Kong Feichen and Yang Jing were both students from public high schools of the Immortal Sect, unlike Yan Feng, who came from a wealthy family with a long heritage. It was impossible for them to possess a heaven-defying treasure like the 'Heaven's Heart Sword Talisman'. In a normal duel, against Kong Feichen, Chen Mobai felt he had a 51% chance of winning. Against Yang Jing, not factoring in the unknown forbidden art, he should have a 65% chance of winning.

"Your fight with Yan Feng was too intense. Even if you can recover your spiritual energy in three days, the depletion of your qi, blood, and essence cannot be fully replenished." Qing Nü was an alchemist, and since alchemy and medicine were closely related, she was very clear about Chen Mobai's physical condition.

"Even so, defeating Yang Jing wouldn't be a problem for me," Chen Mobai said calmly, putting down his chopsticks and looking at Qing Nü with a puzzled expression. What exactly was her relationship with Kong Feichen and Yang Jing? The latter two seemed to call her 'Elder Sister'? Even if she was their elder sister, what gave her the power to make them give up their chance to enter one of the Four Great Daoist Academies? Also, the relationship between Kong Feichen and Yang Jing didn't seem quite normal. Under such circumstances, how could they possibly raise their hands in surrender and give up a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity just because of a capricious remark from Yang Jing?

Too many questions swirled in his mind. Chen Mobai didn't ask. He trusted Qing Nü. So he waited for Qing Nü to speak first.

"We grew up in the same orphanage. I'm older than both of them, which is why they call me elder sister," Qing Nü began. "When they were young, they were adopted by two cultivator families in Danxia City who couldn't conceive children. But we've always stayed in touch. Although we're not blood siblings, we're closer than true siblings."

"So, Yang Jing wants to go to the finals, and Kong Feichen is willing to let her, because this is the first time in many years Yang Jing has truly had a will of her own."

Hearing this, Chen Mobai's eyes widened slightly in disbelief. "What kind of orphanage could possibly have taken in someone with a Heavenly Spiritual Root like you, and two with Anomalous Spiritual Roots like them?!"

Qing Nü didn't hide anything about it. It was an orphanage officially established by the Immortal Sect in Danxia City, located in the east of the city. Chen Mobai looked it up on a map and indeed, it was there.

"Perhaps it's a coincidence; all three of us have good spiritual root aptitudes," Qing Nü said. Chen Mobai could only tentatively accept her explanation.

"Later, after Yang Jing's adoptive family learned about her Dark Spiritual Root, they found a forbidden art from who-knows-where and made her cultivate it. When she was fourteen, this matter was discovered by law enforcement, and her adoptive parents were sent to prison."

"Since Yang Jing was also a victim, and at that time the forbidden art had already been cultivated to a high degree and could not be undone, the Immortal Sect, after registering her, allowed her to return to society, attend school, and grow up normally."

"However, a forbidden art is a forbidden art. To prevent her from suffering qi deviation later on, the Immortal Sect's law enforcement department placed an electronic bracelet on her wrist. Besides monitoring her mental state, it also continuously tracked her location."

Upon hearing this, Chen Mobai frowned, sensing that things weren't as simple as they seemed. "Then why did you want to persuade her to forfeit the finals?"

After hearing the question, Qing Nü raised her slender, pale fingers and enumerated her reasons one by one.

"First, your strength is too great. If Xiao Jing wants to defeat you, she'll definitely have to use the forbidden art. But each time she uses her 'Two-Point Divine Art,' it brings her one step closer to death, and I don't want her to use it."

"Second, after cultivating the forbidden art, the best place for her is the Taiyi Medical Academy. Xiao Chen and I both hope she'll study medicine, preferably to find a way to stop cultivating the forbidden art. The reason I chose Ju Mang Daoist Academy was also because I wanted to find a way to cure her through elixirs. And with Xiao Jing's current academic performance, if she's willing, entering the Taiyi Medical Academy is completely feasible; there's no need for her to fight such a brutal battle against you."

"Third, and this is the final reason." At this point, Qing Nü looked up and met Chen Mobai's gaze directly. "I hope you can go to a Daoist Academy!"