Chapter 6: He Hates Him — Participating in the Immortal Alliance Conference
Later on, Xiao Jianming watched coldly from the sidelines as those few people fought with Su Huan. Or rather, it was just a routine bullying incident tacitly accepted by all the disciples, and he simply happened to stumble upon it.
Before this, Su Huan and he had actually been good friends for several years.
Their ill-fated relationship began on a beautiful, sunny day.
The sun that day was big, round, and scorching, and the blue sky was cloudless for ten thousand miles. Su Huan had been shoved into the mud. Just then, Xiao Jianming descended from the sky with a sword, saving him and his young brother from a gang of villains. Like a peerless hero, he wielded a cold, gleaming long sword and instantly crashed into the youth’s vision.
“So you are that genius Chief Disciple everyone talks about!”
Upon learning his benefactor’s identity, Su Huan’s eyes lit up. His amber pupils sparkled, his heart feeling just like that sunny day—warm and bright.
Since mortals were not permitted to enter the Xuanji Sect, Su Huan had simply taken Little Zhao to live in a desolate area in the back mountains. beside their small wooden hut was a mountain path; the topic most discussed by the passing disciples every day was this breathtakingly talented Heavenly Spirit Root Dashixiong.
He hadn’t expected that the other party was not only exceptionally talented but also willing to draw his sword to help when seeing injustice.
What a truly good person!
Thinking this, Su Huan patted his chest with surging passion and said, “Dashixiong saved my life today. In the future, if there is anything you need of me, just give the order. I will surely go through fire and water for Senior Brother, risking ten thousand deaths without hesitation!”
Xiao Jianming’s tightly shut mouth opened a sliver, and he coldly snorted two words: “No need.”
Su Huan rubbed his nose sheepishly. If he had looked carefully, he would have noticed the rotten temper hidden beneath this person’s well-dressed exterior. Unfortunately, the youth was filled with gratitude at that moment and couldn’t detect the disdain and impatience in the other’s eyes no matter what.
Perhaps he had somehow caught the genius Dashixiong’s eye. From then on, this Dashixiong would often come to find him—sometimes to cultivate or take on missions together, other times to talk about random things, just like friends.
Because of this, if one mentioned the “Fourth Disciple of Lichen Peak,” the disciples of the Xuanji Sect might not know who it was. But if one mentioned “the Chief Disciple’s good friend,” everyone knew it was Su Huan.
Unknowingly, their friendship became known throughout the entire Xuanji Sect, and Su Huan came to regard him as his best friend.
Until another similarly sunny day, when the congenital illness Little Zhao had carried from the womb suddenly took a turn for the worse. He was critically ill, beyond the help of medicine.
“Brother.”
Little Zhao, thin and small, lay on the bed. A smile appeared on his pale face. When his dark eyes saw Su Huan enter, they lit up with a hint of brightness, but his voice was as weak as a newborn lamb, lacking any strength.
Su Huan’s heart ached terribly, but he could only touch his head comfortingly and smile, soothing him, “Don’t be afraid, Little Zhao. Once you sleep and wake up, you’ll be fine.”
He thought that once Little Zhao fell asleep, he would go up to Zihuan Peak again to beg. He hoped to move Master Zihuan to grant a life-saving pill.
But when he arrived at the foot of Zihuan Peak, he was told that Little Zhao had a mortal body; forcing an immortal elixir upon him would only cause his body to explode and die.
There was no Spirit Root in Little Zhao’s body. Even if he started cultivating immediately, he could not enter the Dao.
Su Huan dropped to his knees at the foot of Zihuan Peak with a thud. His voice was filled with sorrow as he tried to morally coerce Master Zihuan: “Martial Uncle is the Medical Sage of the current age, capable of reviving the dead and regenerating flesh on bones. You must have a way! I beg Martial Uncle to save his life, I beg Martial Uncle to save my brother…”
He knelt there for three consecutive days. Perhaps finding him too noisy, Master Zihuan sighed and helplessly told him of a wicked method—a method of trading a life for a life.
When Xiao Jianming found out, he frowned and asked him, “You absolutely must save him?”
Su Huan’s lips trembled as he whispered, “I am his older brother.”
Xiao Jianming stared at him fixedly for a long while, an inexplicable fire rising in his heart. That child was just a mortal. Mortals are destined to die; this was just happening a few years early. was it worth such overwhelming grief?
Especially seeing the way this person hung his head, as if life would be meaningless if that child died. The more Xiao Jianming looked, the angrier he got. He couldn’t help but let out a cold sneer, his tone grim: “Then you really are a good brother.”
With a cold face, he turned and left.
Sadly, Little Zhao didn’t survive.
When Xiao Jianming arrived, the child’s face was already ashen, his breath gone.
He leaned against the door frame, watching Su Huan kneeling by the bed with vacant eyes, his voice nearly broken and hoarse: “I killed him…”
On the floor lay half a bloody Golden Core. The Dantian is the gate of life for a cultivator; the slightest mistake can lead to death. The so-called wicked method was nothing more than Su Huan cutting out half his own life to give to the child.
But a mortal body, even a blood relative, could hardly withstand the marrow-cleansing wash of half a Golden Core. Only one or two in ten thousand could survive it.
At this moment, the youth’s chest was stained with blood. He was missing half a Golden Core and half his life, yet Xiao Jianming still couldn’t sense any malice from him—not a shred of hate, not a trace of resentment.
Xiao Jianming glanced at the half Golden Core slowly dissipating on the ground. Fury sky-rocketed in his heart. He almost spoke up to demand: For a mortal, did you truly have to degrade yourself like this?
At the critical moment, Xiao Jianming suddenly changed his mind. After a long silence, he slowly said, “I once read in an ancient record that at the Immortal Alliance Conference held every ten years by the hundred Immortal clans, the prize for the winner includes a stalk of Glazed Immortal Grass that grows on Penglai Immortal Island. This immortal grass, when used with a secret technique, can bring the dead back to life.”
Su Huan suddenly looked at him. Xiao Jianming straightened up, meeting his gaze with arrogance. “With your current state, you can’t take first place.”
The soulless youth’s eyelashes fluttered upon hearing this. His eyes glazed over for a moment before he said, “No.”
Su Huan slowly spat out a sentence: “I will take first place.”
The expression on Xiao Jianming’s face was originally calm, with a hint of hidden delight in his eyes as if waiting for something. But upon hearing these words, his expression suddenly turned extremely ugly.
Su Huan lowered his head to arrange Little Zhao’s remains and didn’t notice.
He only heard Xiao Jianming leave without another word, tossing out a cold sneer filled with extreme anger before he went.
After that, Xiao Jianming visited a few more times, but every time, nothing good came out of his mouth. He angered Su Huan to the point where he couldn’t bear it anymore and openly broke ties with him.
Since then, the two had not spoken a single word to each other.
His hatred for Su Huan was truly baffling, yet somehow seemed logical.
On the first day of the Immortal Alliance Conference, under the blue sky, ten thousand flags fluttered violently in the wind. The hundred Immortal clans gathered at the Xuanji Sect. The entire Dao Discussion Arena was magnificent, with clouds rolling endlessly around it.
Su Huan entered the arena early with his fellow disciples to await the start of the trials. Just as he entered, he felt an intense gaze fall upon him.
Looking up, he saw Xiao Jianming had shed his usual narrow-sleeved combat attire and changed into formal ceremonial robes, standing beside the Sect Master. He looked more solemn and dignified, befitting a Chief Disciple. Those eyes, dark as lacquer, stared at him. The gaze was indifferent and heartless, like looking at a stranger, yet it was so solid it made Su Huan’s spine burn, forcing him to unconsciously look away.
Su Huan lowered his eyes and pursed his lips, thinking that Dashixiong must have been roped in to do the heavy lifting and wouldn’t be participating in the trials.
The heart hanging in his throat relaxed.
Unexpectedly, the person who should have been standing on the high platform welcoming the guests from various sects alongside the Sect Master suddenly flew down and landed right beside him.
Su Huan: “O.o?”
Before he could resolve his confusion, a massive sound resonated through the clouds—
With a heaven-shaking blast of the ritual horn, the Immortal Alliance Conference officially began. The disciples of the Four Great Immortal Sects participating in the trials had arrived at the Dao Discussion Arena early. All stood tall with immortal grace, a wave of righteous youthful spirit rushing forth.
Arranged in the very center was the host team, the Xuanji Sect. To their right was the Sword Cleansing Sect (Jianqing Sect), dressed in extreme mourning-white school uniforms. To the far right was the most conspicuous Soaring Sky Sect (Lingxiao Sect) in cinnabar red, and to the far left was the Myriad Manifestations Sect (Wanxiang Sect) in gaudy reds and greens. Behind the teams of the Four Great Immortal Sects followed the hundred Immortal clans—various sects and noble families forming a massive, dark crowd. Ten thousand flags obscured the sky, stretching as far as the eye could see.
In the Xuanji Sect team, Su Huan quietly scooted a step to the side.
A cold, piercing gaze instantly shot over.
Su Huan stiffened all over and helplessly scooted back to his original spot. His peripheral vision was once again occupied by the magnificent yet solemn blue-gold satin robes. A cultivator’s heightened five senses allowed him to clearly see the gold thread cloud patterns on the robes, linking with the embroidery on the sky-blue collar to form array patterns that looked like flowing light and molten gold.
A red-gold jade sash strung with five-colored spirit beads cinched the loose robes, revealing a set of jade pendants hanging at the waist. Among the shimmering, translucent spirit jade beads, a Water Spirit Pearl the size of an eyeball was embellished, half-hidden under the hem of the robe, emitting a cool, clear water spiritual energy that caught the eye.
In short, Xiao Jianming at this moment was extremely beautiful and magnificent.
Su Huan couldn’t help but take a light breath, secretly thinking it was a good thing he was a Xuanji Sect disciple; otherwise, Dashixiong’s rare and expensive attire, worn to receive outsiders, would truly incite hatred of the rich.
A white light entrance appeared out of thin air in the void. After a dizzying flash, Su Huan was randomly transported into the trial’s Secret Realm. At this moment, his heart was still uncontrollably calculating the value of that eyeball-sized Five Elements Spirit Pearl.
One had to know, a Five Elements Spirit Pearl just the size of a grain of sand had a market price of a million spirit stones, and even then, there was demand but no supply.
In the blink of an eye, the surroundings changed.
Su Huan stepped onto the grass of a dense forest. The roars of demon beasts came from deep within the woods. In the darkness of the surrounding low bushes, pairs of hungry, vertical pupils wandered and peered out, making rustling sounds, yet they feared the pressure on the prey and dared not attack rashly.
Su Huan split his attention. While mentally estimating that the Water Spirit Pearl could probably fetch a sky-high price of ten million if auctioned, he drew his sword. Second Senior Brother had told him that the demon beasts in the Secret Realm were also very valuable.
As soon as the sword light flashed, corpses littered the ground.
But it wasn’t Su Huan’s sword.
Su Huan raised his hand to diffuse the aftershock of the sword energy, frowning involuntarily. The next second, he heard a startled cry from the woods:
“Young Sect Master, there’s a person ahead!”
Looking over, he saw a white-robed youth suddenly jump past the tree shade and land in front of him. He had bright eyes and white teeth, a jade-inlaid scabbard hanging at his waist, and held a three-foot-three-inch long sword in his right hand. The blade was full of spiritual energy; one look and you knew it was priceless and of extraordinary rank.
Noticing the sky-blue school uniform unique to the Xuanji Sect on Su Huan, he raised an eyebrow and said, “So it’s someone from the Xuanji Sect.”
“Hey, are you alright?”
Su Huan’s frown deepened, but then he heard another pleasant, cool voice come from behind this person:
“Jiusi, do not be rude.”
Another white-robed youth emerged from the forest. He was tall and upright, his demeanor dignified and indifferent, holding a silver square sword. He was like a gentleman carved from jade, his handsome face featuring a pair of striking, beautiful eyes. The expression in his eyes was gentle toward all living things, revealing a hint of apology as he nodded slightly to Su Huan, politely apologizing for his junior brother:
“I am Nangong Yi, a disciple of the Sword Cleansing Sect. This is my Junior Brother, Yue Jiusi. I am terribly sorry for just now; he has an impatient nature and inadvertently startled you, Fellow Daoist. It was absolutely not intentional; I hope Fellow Daoist can forgive us.”
Su Huan raised his eyes with a serious expression. He had heard of this person’s great name. This was the son of the Sword Cleansing Sect Master, the Young Master whom the Nangong family took pride in, a world-renowned genius sword cultivator, and one of the hot favorites for first place in this conference.
Because he was born with a compassionate heart, the world evaluated him as “having not experienced many hardships, yet pitying the suffering of the common people.” He had always enjoyed a wonderful reputation.
He was also a formidable opponent.
Su Huan didn’t want to go up against him right at the start, so he accepted the olive branch the other offered and yielded, “It’s fine, I’ll go elsewhere.”
The Immortal Alliance Conference was hosted by the four major sects in rotation. The rules stated that the trial would last for one month. During this period, no disciples could be killed or maimed, and the ranking would be determined by the resources obtained at the end.
The trial Secret Realm activated by the Xuanji Sect this year was the most vast and abundant among the four major sects, but it was also the most dangerous, having caused the most casualties in past Immortal Alliance Conferences.
Therefore, he had to reserve a large amount of strength, build up his reserves, and find the most precious secret treasures in the Secret Realm to win.
Su Huan was just about to leave when he heard Nangong Yi speak up to stop him. “Fellow Daoist, please wait.”
He said, “I see there are no disciples from your sect nearby, and this forest looks exceptionally dangerous. It isn’t good for Fellow Daoist to travel alone. Why not travel with the two of us temporarily, and leave once we reach a safe place?”
“Young Sect Master—” Yue Jiusi dragged out his voice, being the first to express dissatisfaction. “He’s not a disciple of our Sword Cleansing Sect, why bring him along!”
Su Huan wasn’t familiar with them and subconsciously wanted to refuse as well. However, he realized that a heavy fog had risen around the dense forest at some point. In the blink of an eye, he could no longer see anything ten meters away, and the surrounding vegetation began to wither visibly.
It was obviously dangerous.
Su Huan had no choice but to accept the temporary olive branch thrown by this popular candidate.
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