Was it you that night?
Chapter 184 - 182: Caught in the Act

Chapter 184: Chapter 182: Caught in the Act

The cultivators below the stage never expected that a cultivator of Soul-Seizing House at the Golden Core Full Completion Stage would fall to Shen Qinghe’s sword in just one move. At first, they found Shen Qinghe’s sword technique to be ordinary and unimpressive, because it was Shen Zhuo’s technique, which many had seen before. However, no one expected that when the move was performed by Shen Qinghe, it would be so fast and so powerful!

The crowd below fell silent for a long moment, until Dongfang Wuya took the lead in applauding. In a moment, the sound of clapping was like thunder.

By then, they no longer saw the ugly and rustic-dressed village girl, but a young female sword cultivator on the rise.

"Qinghe, well done!!" Shen Zhiyao had also made it to the third round but had not yet competed.

At this moment, seeing Qinghe win so neatly, she excitedly shouted, "Qinghe is my little sister, she’s so amazing!!"

Hearing this, everyone looked towards Shen Zhiyao, smiling and clapping.

As Shen Qinghe stepped off the stage, an excited Shen Zhiyao hugged her tightly, "Wuwu, Xiao Hemiao, do you know how strong you are?"

Shen Qinghe chuckled and hugged Shen Zhiyao back, "Elder sister, also do your best!"

"Wuwu, I feel like I’m going to embarrass you." Shen Zhiyao said, then pumped herself up, "But I will make sure I don’t lose too badly."

Wu Ke’s voice suddenly rang out from behind her, "Don’t try to act tough, your safety should come first in everything."

Shen Zhiyao looked at Wu Ke with confusion, "Is Elder Wu speaking to me?"

"Who else?" Wu Ke said, raising his eyebrows slightly.

Shen Zhiyao felt something off, this malevolent character would end up harming her in the future, yet now he was showing concern for her, which made her scalp tingle.

She felt it was safer to keep her distance from Wu Ke and deliberately ignored him.

At this time, the results of Nan Sheng’s contest came out, and she had won her match. The female cultivator from Rice Fragrance Valley she faced, however, was seriously injured because she had been wounded by the Sword Qi of the Thousand Shadows Sword, fortunately not in a vital spot.

But the cultivator claimed that Nan Sheng had won by trickery. Unfortunately, in this competition, the winner takes all; as long as the means did not involve fatal harm, the result stood, and the cultivator from Rice Fragrance Valley had no choice but to accept it.

The result of Shen Zhiyao’s match came out half a Shichen later, and although it was a struggle, she too had won.

This time she was not surprised, after all, she had been coached by Qinghe. With Qinghe being so strong, she could not be too far behind.

Even Wu Ke had not expected Shen Zhiyao to win, which meant that Sky Pole Sect had three female Golden Core cultivators who had made it into the top 24.

There were still two more rounds of contests to come. Shen Zhiyao was already satisfied with making it into the top 24 and had no expectations for herself, placing all her hopes of advancement on Qinghe.

By the time the results of this round were out, everyone came to dread Shen Qinghe as an opponent, wishing not to draw her in the next round.

Nan Sheng, too, preferred not to encounter Shen Qinghe.

As long as she could make it into the top six, she could advance to the second round and then find a way to deal with Shen Qinghe. She was just afraid of facing Shen Qinghe too soon.

Now all she hoped was that her luck would hold and she wouldn’t meet Shen Qinghe prematurely.

As it turned out, her luck was indeed good; in the draw, she faced a male cultivator at the Golden Core Mid-stage, who ranked second to last among the 24 advanced Golden Core cultivators.

As for Shen Qinghe, her opponent was a late-stage Golden Core female cultivator.

When this female cultivator learned that her adversary was Shen Qinghe, she smiled wryly, lamenting her own poor fortune. She might not have personally witnessed Shen Qinghe defeat another male cultivator at the Completion Stage, but she knew that Shen Qinghe had pierced the man with holes with just one sword strike, a feat that shocked the entire cultivation world.

If Shen Qinghe had intended to kill, that male cultivator would have most likely died by her hand.

"Fairy Qinghe, I have long admired you!" the female cultivator greeted Shen Qinghe amicably.

Shen Qinghe returned the gesture with a bow, and without wasting any words, they got straight to the fight.

Learning from previous lessons, the female cultivator went all out from the start, attacking Shen Qinghe with a palm strike.

She displayed an overwhelming advantage in terms of cultivation base, but was Shen Qinghe someone to be trifled with?

Knowing that her cultivation base was not a match for her opponent’s, Shen Qinghe didn’t dare to be careless and aimed to end the battle quickly, just like last time. Others only knew that she had won with a single sword strike before, but she knew she was inferior in cultivation base, so she had to finish the fight in the shortest time possible.

It was the same for this battle. The moment the female cultivator launched her palm strike, Shen Qinghe had already drawn her sword.

Her swordsmanship was surprisingly fast, but unlike the previous strike, this one was even quicker, the sword qi causing a dazzling confusion.

The cultivators watching could only see Shen Qinghe unsheath her sword and then trap her opponent within her sword net.

When the two separated, one could see that the female cultivator was covered in dense holes pierced by sword qi, but fortunately, she wasn’t injured. This showed that Shen Qinghe had shown mercy with her sword and measured her strikes well.

The female cultivator looked at her tattered disciple’s clothing and conceded defeat wholeheartedly, "It’s truly an honor to have had the chance to exchange moves with Fairy Qinghe today."

She likely wouldn’t have such an opportunity again, would she?

If nothing unexpected happened, Shen Qinghe was surely going to be one of the top sword cultivators in The Four Seas and Eight Wilds, with no one to match her. It’s worth noting that she’s only at the mid-stage of Golden Core and had been cultivating for less than three years, yet she was already so formidably strong.

"Elder sister has been gracious," Shen Qinghe sweetly replied.

The female cultivator smiled and stepped down from the stage with Shen Qinghe.

Although everyone had anticipated the outcome, they still applauded Shen Qinghe’s exquisite swordsmanship, and the atmosphere was lively for a time.

Meanwhile, the results of Shen Zhiyao’s match had also been announced. This time, Shen Zhiyao did not advance and stopped in the top twenty-four.

At this moment, Wu Ke suddenly appeared and consoled her, "You have improved a lot over the past few years. Making it into the top twenty-four is an unexpected pleasure."

Shen Zhiyao pretended not to hear Wu Ke and was about to go find Shen Qinghe when Wu Ke blocked her path, "I’m talking to you, did you not hear me?"

"I know I’m strong, I don’t need Elder Wu to tell me." Shen Zhiyao gave Wu Ke a fake smile and quickly walked towards Shen Qinghe.

Wu Ke wanted to follow, but Dongfang Wuya stopped him, "You better not go provoking Shen Zhiyao for no reason!"

Doesn’t he have a clue how flirtatious and amorous he is?

Wu Ke, irritated, pushed the obstructing Dongfang Wuya away, "What does Shen Zhiyao have to do with you? I want to play with her, what’s it to you?"

Dongfang Wuya: ...

Just as Wu Ke was about to approach Shen Zhiyao, a beautiful female cultivator suddenly threw herself at him. With his instinctual chivalry, he caught her, and immediately a delicate, boneless woman fell into his arms.

Upon closer inspection, wasn’t it Nan Sheng?

"Be careful where you’re walking," Wu Ke pushed Nan Sheng out of his embrace, and as he looked up, he saw Sister Shen watching them, making him feel as if he had been caught red-handed in a scandalous act.

Nan Sheng’s pretty face blushed, and she stepped back two steps shyly, "I was too busy watching people and stumbled by accident. I’m grateful to uncle-master for giving me a hand."