Chapter 1650: Choice

A Fantasy Novel

Yun Jianyue's heart skipped a beat. She wondered if the Ice Maiden had recognized her. Just as she was about to say something, she worried that an overly deliberate explanation might expose her. Fortunately, after scrutinizing her for a few moments, Yan Xuehen shook her head and said, "My apologies, I must have mistaken you for someone else." With that, she drifted away. Many people around greeted her, but she merely gave a slight nod in acknowledgment. Watching her ethereal figure depart, Yun Jianyue felt a pang of irritation. This woman's appearance was indeed captivating; no wonder those men were fawning over her.

Next was the drawing of lots for the upcoming matches. With the four finalists decided today, plus Pei Mianman, there were a total of five people, meaning one person would inevitably receive a bye. In earlier years, some had questioned the excessive randomness of this system, arguing that if someone repeatedly drew a bye, it would be an unfair advantage. However, the leaders of the Daoist sect later declared that luck was also a component of strength. The high-ranking officials of various major sects had no objection to this, as the deeper one delved into cultivation, the more one realized that a person's achievements depended partly on their talent and effort, and partly on fate. The stronger a cultivator's fortune, the more serendipitous encounters they would have, naturally leading to greater growth potential than others. Nevertheless, over the years, no one had consistently received byes. In fact, some who got byes struggled to keep up with the intensity when they finally entered the arena, having missed the rigorous purification of earlier high-intensity elimination rounds. For various reasons, this rule remained in place.

Soon, Wu Xiaofan from Zhengyang Sect, Wan Guiyi from Biluo Palace, Shi Dingtian from Taixuan Cave, Peng Wuyan from Kongming Island, and Pei Mianman all approached a box. This box was specially crafted by the Daoist sect to block all spiritual energy detection. Furthermore, with various sect masters supervising each other at the referee's stand, there was no possibility of cheating. The few individuals felt somewhat anxious, as the outcome of the draw could significantly influence the path to the championship. For the others, drawing the strongest opponent, Wu Xiaofan, early on would likely mean stopping at the semi-finals. For Wu Xiaofan, if his semi-final opponent was too strong and both exhausted themselves, someone else might seize an easy victory in the final.

At this moment, Zu An waved to Pei Mianman, "Miss Pei?" He didn't want to go over himself, mainly because Fireroot Nun stayed by her side constantly, making it inconvenient to say anything. But now, calling her over, it would be difficult for Fireroot Nun to follow so obviously. Seeing his wave, Fireroot Nun secretly sneered. "Though our Manman smiles at everyone, deep down she's more conservative than anyone. She's been in Biluo Palace for so long and always maintained a respectful distance from everyone; I've never heard of her being intimate with anyone." "Does this kid really think that just because he helped Manman once, he can summon her at will...?" Her eyes widened in shock, as she watched Pei Mianman excitedly jog over, showing not a hint of reluctance. The others also glanced over. Some busybodies even revealed ambiguous smiles, thinking, 'A fair lady is a fitting mate for a gentleman. No matter how formidable Master Zu is, he is still a young man.' After all, what man could refuse such a sweet and broad smile? Only Qiu Honglei was incredibly frustrated, watching her beloved flirting with another woman, and crucially, she couldn't reveal her identity. "Ahhh, I really wish this mission would end soon."

"Master Zu, what is it?" Pei Mianman blinked at Zu An. He was also an excellent actor, knowing others were watching them, so she didn't use an intimate address. Zu An produced a pill. "You were injured in your previous match. Here's a spiritual pill; it will benefit you if you take it." After a slight hesitation, he split the pill in his hand in two and offered half. Many people around them looked strange, thinking, "How stingy is this guy? He gives someone a pill but only half of it?" "He's too stingy to spend money even when trying to woo a girl. Looks like he's destined to be alone his whole life." Pei Mianman, however, was stunned. She thought, 'Aren't my injuries almost healed? And you personally treated them last night.' But since he told her to take it, she didn't doubt him. She accepted it directly without hesitation and popped it into her mouth. Fireroot Nun was too late to stop her and was utterly stunned. "What's going on? How can a woman just casually take something from another man?" "Especially a beautiful woman like Manman?" She asked Zu An with a dark expression, "What did you give her to eat?" "A healing medicine, as I just said," Zu An shrugged. "What's the name of your medicine?" Perhaps sensing that asking so directly was blunt, and given that the other party had helped Manman, she added, "We've also given her a lot of spiritual medicines these past few days. I'm worried about conflicting effects." "It doesn't have a name; I developed it myself," Zu An smiled. "Don't worry, there won't be any conflicts." He had given Pei Mianman a Lucky Pill, hoping it would help her draw a good lot. He split it in half, thinking there would be another draw later. Anyway, the drawing of lots takes a very short time, so half a Lucky Pill should be just about enough...

"Manman, are you feeling any discomfort?" Fireroot Nun asked, nervously holding Pei Mianman's hand. At the same time, she secretly resolved to properly educate her in private when they returned. This girl was far too unguarded around outsiders. How could she just take and eat something a man gave her without even asking? What if he had drugged her? "No, Master Zu's medicine is quite effective," Pei Mianman replied with a smile. Fireroot Nun grasped her arm and used her primal energy to examine her, discovering that her injuries had almost completely recovered. She was startled. "Is the medicine really that potent?"

The big figures from various sects had been watching Zu An, initially worried he might tamper with the draw. But seeing he only gave a pill, they no longer paid him much mind. On the other hand, Wan Guiyi stared eagerly at Zu An. Being from the same Biluo Palace, he could tell from Fireroot Nun's and Pei Mianman's reactions that the pill's effect was astonishing. He thought, 'He intentionally split the pill in half. Could the other half be for me?' 'After all, Pei Mianman and I are both from Biluo Palace. I'm also injured, and my injuries are even more severe than hers.' Under normal circumstances, he certainly wouldn't have hoped for such a thing, but this time it concerned winning the championship, and he didn't want to lose any chance. Seeing him gaze eagerly at himself, with even a rare "ingratiating" smile on his face, Zu An was taken aback and replied, "Women leave IDs, men rely on self-improvement." 'What a joke. This half of the Lucky Pill is reserved for Manman. How could I give it to you?' Wan Guiyi didn't understand his words, but he generally grasped the meaning and instantly felt utterly depressed.

Next, the draw began. Zu An originally wanted Pei Mianman to draw first, to prevent someone else from getting the bye. But on second thought, that would defeat the purpose of the Lucky Pill's reputation, and it would inevitably raise suspicion from others. So, following the normal procedure, each person drew a jade token from the box. Pei Mianman was startled as she looked at the jade token in her hand. Fireroot Nun glanced at it and immediately showed ecstatic joy. "She gets the bye again? Are they serious?" Many participating disciples looked suspiciously at the referee's stand, wondering if it was because Pei Mianman was so beautiful and well-endowed that these old lechers wanted to 'privately rule' her, thus manipulating the draw behind the scenes. Wang Wuxie and others were also surprised, but there had been cases of people drawing two consecutive byes in the past, so their expressions quickly returned to normal. "Anyway, it's impossible to get three consecutive byes, right?" While some rejoiced, others despaired. Wan Tongtian's expression, for example, was not good. This was because Wan Guiyi had drawn the strongest opponent, Wu Xiaofan. Wan Guiyi, however, showed no signs of dejection. Instead, his eyes blazed with unprecedented fighting spirit. In his mind, Wu Xiaofan was the only worthy opponent among the nine Daoist sects, and this was the perfect opportunity for a decisive battle. Peng Wuyan of Kongming Island was set to face Shi Dingtian of Taixuan Cave. Qiu Honglei looked at her opponent and said with a beaming smile, "Senior Brother Shi, I hope you'll go easy on me in the next round." Shi Dingtian scratched his head, "You're very strong; I might not be able to defeat you." "If you can't defeat me, then just surrender," Qiu Honglei chuckled. Shi Dingtian was startled and didn't know how to respond for a long while. He could only say, "The two cave masters told me to bring back a good ranking, so it wouldn't be right for me to surrender directly." "I'm just joking with you," Qiu Honglei said indifferently, her peripheral vision constantly sizing up Zu An. Unfortunately, due to her current identity, she couldn't reveal herself to him.

Over the next two days, Zu An kept an eye on the situation in Yi Commandery, but neither Xiao Jianren nor Zhang Zaitong sent him any messages, which likely meant they hadn't fully investigated yet. Xie Daoyun had been very busy these days, traversing the mountains and ridges of Purple Mountain, investigating every place that might pose a problem. However, her expression seemed increasingly relaxed, as she hadn't detected the existence of any killer formations anywhere, using the method her master had instructed. This proved that the Grand Preceptor and Zhengyang Sect were still trustworthy. Zu An, meanwhile, arranged for Zhang Zijiang and Wang Bolin to both repair the various palaces and temples on Purple Mountain and to set up secret sentinels everywhere to ensure security. Sometimes he felt this was a bit overkill. With so many Daoist masters here, who would be so foolish as to come here to harm the emperor?

In his spare time, he wanted to find Pei Mianman, but Fireroot Nun kept a tight watch on her, as if worried her daughter would be 'defiled by those young punks'. He no longer dared to impersonate Fireroot Nun and Wan Tongtian to write letters to each other, as their 'date' that night had clearly not been pleasant. If it happened again, neither of them was foolish; they would definitely realize something was amiss. If they found out he was the one playing tricks, they would likely be so enraged and humiliated that it would become a life-or-death struggle. Crucially, after that night, Big Manman also seemed less willing to cooperate. When he asked her what happened with Chuyan later that day, she wouldn't say. Unable to go to Manman, he steeled himself and went to seek an audience with Chu Chuyan, but was unfortunately stopped by Yan Xuehen. He had originally wanted to use this opportunity to get closer to Yan Xuehen, but who knew she showed no pleasantries whatsoever. After trying several times, Yan Xuehen finally couldn't hold back. Her face frosty, she looked at him and said, "What exactly do you want? Don't tell me you're thinking of having both the master and the disciple?"