Fusang Sword Heart Diagram

Chapter 78 Outer Sect Competition (Part 1)

The following spring.

At dawn, a thick fog blanketed the landscape, and the snow-covered ground was a pristine white. Occasionally, a sword flash or two would streak across the snow-covered mountains, adding a touch of interest to the otherwise monotonous and lifeless scene.

"Senior Sister Ning."

On the mountain path, the girl in the blue jacket and white skirt did not turn around. Ruan San Niang caught up with her and walked alongside her.

Ruan Sanniang exhaled a breath of hot air and said to herself, "Today is the first day of the outer sect competition. I was so nervous that I forgot everything that Master Gu taught me a few days ago."

Ning Fusang replied, "The mind may forget, but the body may not. It will come back to mind after the draw and during the actual competition."

Ruan San Niang was so excited that she forgot what she was about to say, not expecting Ning Fusang to comfort her.

The training ground at Kaiyang Peak was packed with people. Yang Ruo, who was guarding the entrance to the mountain path, saw Ning Fusang and Ruan Sanniang and waved to them: "Junior Sister Ning, Junior Sister Ruan, over here!"

Ruan San Niang hadn't seen Yang Ruo for a long time, and asked with delight, "Senior Brother Yang Ruo, have you finished your seclusion?"

Since the incident at Qingbo Cave Lake, Yang Ruo has been in seclusion and has only just emerged.

He led Ning Fusang and Ruan Sanniang through the crowd, saying as they walked, "I will definitely come out of seclusion to watch over you as you participate in the outer sect competition."

"I can't go any further into the white marble plaza ahead. Junior Sister Ruan, Junior Sister Ning, I'll leave you here. I wish you good luck in drawing lots and that you can both smoothly enter the second round!"

Ruan San Niang smiled and said, "Thank you, Senior Brother Yang Ruo."

The white marble plaza was already filled with people, all disciples participating in the outer sect competition. On either side of the plaza were five wide stone platforms, serving as the arenas for the outer sect competition.

A red ribbon adorned with golden bells encircled the arena and the plaza, and spectators were not allowed to approach within three feet of the ribbon.

Near each arena, there are sword racks. When they compete, they can only use the black iron swords on the racks, and not their own swords.

When the competition begins, a sect elder will set up a barrier on the arena to prevent it from affecting those nearby. Ten upright elders sit behind a table next to the sword rack, responsible for recording the victories and defeats.

The number of participants in each Outer Sect Competition is fixed, with a total of one hundred disciples. The first round is the most brutal, eliminating forty people.

Before the time for the lottery, the disciples in the square stood in twos and threes, chatting with familiar fellow disciples to relieve their tension.

"I hope I get lucky and don't get drawn into a too strong group. I don't want to be eliminated in the first round!"

"This year's outer sect competition doesn't have a monster like Gao Qingque. At most, there are a few people at the third level of cultivation. As long as we don't get grouped with them, we'll be fine!"

"In the last outer sect competition, I was just one point away from making it to the second round. Thinking about it now still makes my heart bleed."

"I was also one point short, but just one point short of making it to the third round."

"roll."

On the other side, Jiang Xin glanced around the crowd and saw Ruan San Niang. She was about to go find her, but when she saw that Ruan San Niang was with Ning Fu Sang, she gave up.

Just then, she felt a tap on the shoulder. Jiang Xin turned around and saw Xiao Qiu's bright smiling face.

Seeing that Jiang Xin wasn't in a good mood, she assumed she was worried about the draw later, so she smiled and comforted her: "Don't worry, as long as you don't draw four death groups of the third level, you'll definitely make it to the second round!"

Jiang Xin forced a smile.

Her gaze was fixed ahead.

Ning Fusang was aloof, but surprisingly, she was quite popular. In no time, several people had gathered around her.

Among them are Hua Yue, Dong Fangfei, and Yang Ni, whom she met while on her mission to retrieve the shark fin, as well as her former classmates Jie Feng and Zhu Zi, and her current classmates Zhi Xiaocao and Li Yeshan.

For the past three years, Hua Yue has practiced swordsmanship diligently every day. Her once gentle face has become very thin. She has become much more composed, and a faint sorrow always hangs between her brows. Even when she smiles, that sorrow is hard to hide.

Three years have passed, but she still hasn't been able to let go of the deaths of Hua Qian and Wu Gui.

Hua Yue only came over to say hello to Ning Fusang and didn't stay long.

Dong Fangfei nodded to Ning Fusang and then left with Hua Yue. Over the past three years, they had often practiced swordsmanship together, and their relationship had progressed rapidly.

The girl with her half-braided fishtail braid spoke up: "Ning Fusang, I didn't expect that after you went to the Sword Washing Pool, you could go from a menial servant to become Elder Gu Pingsheng's student. You're quite lucky."

Li Yeshan was a shrewd man; he sensed the sarcasm in her words and couldn't help but look up at Ning Fusang.

Ning Fusang raised an eyebrow and smiled, "You'd better be lucky and not be assigned to the same group as me."

Zhu Zi choked on his words and left angrily.

She just couldn't understand how Ning Fusang could break through to the third level after working as a servant for three years.

Zhu Zi was unwilling to admit that Ning Fusang's talent was not much different from He Jiaxiu and Min Qianyun. During the outer sect competition, He Jiaxiu and Min Qianyun also broke through to the third level, and they broke through one after the other on the eve of the competition.

If it weren't for that freak Gao Qingque, Min Qianyun would have been the champion of the outer sect competition that year.

Jiang Renyi and Qi Jiang, who had just returned from Qingbodong Lake, wandered around the crowd, eavesdropping on everyone's conversations and trying to gauge each other's level of understanding.

"Senior Brother Jiang, we don't recognize many of these people! It seems we've been away from the sect for far too long!"

"Isn't that it?"

They were all dressed in identical blue jackets and white skirts, and Qi Jiang couldn't find out who Jiang Renyi was talking about. Jiang Renyi had already strode over there.

"Excuse me, excuse me!"

"Excuse me, junior sister, could you please move aside?"

"Excuse me, senior brother, may I pass by?"

Qi Jiang squeezed through the crowd. Fortunately, there weren't too many people in the square, so he didn't lose track of Jiang Renyi.

"Senior Brother Jiang, who did you see?" Qi Jiang asked.

He had barely finished speaking when a bell rang, startling him. It was Chen Shi (7-9 AM), and the drawing of lots was about to take place. Jiang Renyi had no choice but to stand still.

Amidst the long chimes of the bell, Sect Leader Shen Hongxue leaped onto the high platform, placed her hands behind her back, and announced the competition rules: "The first round of the Outer Sect Grand Competition will be divided into twenty groups, with two major groups, A and B. The draw numbers will be from one to twenty, with odd numbers entering Group A and even numbers entering Group B."

"Each group consists of five people, and they compete in turn within the group. The competition adopts a five-to-three system, and the two people with the lowest scores are eliminated."

The rules for the competition at the Southern Star Sword Sect are always the same. Even the new disciples have heard them many times, but the procedures still need to be followed.

After Shen Hongxue finished reading the rules, she took half a step forward, waved her wide sleeves, and the hundred sticks in the huge bamboo tube beside her flew into the sky above the square, spinning at an extremely fast speed, and finally flew to each person.

Ning Fusang raised her hand and took the bamboo stick in front of her. The moment the bamboo stick fell into her hand, the magic on it dissipated, revealing the words: Eleven.

Since odd numbers are assigned to Group A, her draw was Group A11, and she was assigned to ring number 6.

A moment later, circular symbols appeared on the ground, with numbers in the center, representing the places where people from each group should stand.

Everyone found their respective groups; some were happy, some were sad.

Ning Fusang looked at the other four people who had also drawn lot number 11. One was a new disciple, Ke Rong. The other was an acquaintance, Yang Ni.

She didn't recognize the remaining two people. Ke Rong called out, "Senior Sister Ning."

Yang Ni muttered, "What kind of luck do I have? How did I end up drawing you?"

She sighed, "It seems I can only get the remaining three points to secure a spot in the second round."

Ke Rong listened to Yang Ni's words, his eyebrows twitched slightly, and his voice was cold: "This senior sister, you're making too many promises if you want to get three points."

He wouldn't let her take that point from him. Both being at the second level of cultivation, Ke Rong was confident he wouldn't lose to her.

In Group A11, only Ning Fusang was at the third level of the cultivation realm, so everyone assumed she would get four points. The goal of the other four was to get as many as possible three points to avoid being eliminated.

Even if it's the worst, getting two points is still good.

Team A competed first. Ning Fusang's first match was against Ke Rong. On the way to the sixth arena, Ning Fusang transmitted his voice to him: "Thirty spirit stones, I can finish this quickly and knock you off the arena as soon as possible."

Ke Rong, being a clever man, immediately understood Ning Fusang's meaning and nodded slightly.

In his first match, since he was going to lose to Ning Fusang anyway, he naturally wanted to reveal as little of his swordsmanship and fighting habits as possible.

If you use too many sword techniques, it's easy for others to figure out how to counter them.

After bowing to the sect elder who was recording their scores, the two went to retrieve the Xuan Tie swords from the sword racks on either side.

They walked onto the arena one on the left and one on the right, greeted each other, and a transparent barrier rose up on the arena to block out outside sounds, and the competition officially began.

Although Ning Fusang would let Ke Rong leave the ring sooner, he wouldn't hold back obviously, so as not to give anyone away.

She twirled her sword and thrust it towards Ke Rong's brow with incredible speed. Ke Rong parried with his own sword and took a step back.

Fortunately, the arena was spacious, so he didn't have to retreat to the edge. Ke Rong stepped aside, braced himself with his Xuan Tie sword on the ground, stood up straight, and switched from defense to offense!
With a flash of cold light, Ning Fusang suddenly pressed down with the Xuan Tie sword in his hand, the force so great that Ke Rong's wrist dropped. He loosened his grip slightly, twisted the hilt against his palm, withdrew the longsword, and slashed towards Ning Fusang's left shoulder.

The three people with group number 11 in the square were watching the match intently. Their group number was good, and the number 6 arena was right next to the square, so they could see the match very clearly.

Those who come on later have a clear advantage: they can observe their opponents' moves and habits.

Just as they were engrossed in watching, suddenly, a figure fell off the stage like a kite with a broken string.

"It's...it's over?" Duan Yingzhi from Group A11 stared in disbelief, her mouth agape.

"That was too fast! They've only exchanged a few moves!" Mu Mian, from the same group, exclaimed.

"Although realm is not entirely equivalent to combat strength, those who can overcome realms are still a minority. There is still a gap between the third realm and the second realm."

Mu Mian let out a long sigh.

Yang Ni didn't expect Ke Rong to lose so quickly. Ning Fusang really showed no mercy to his classmates!
Ning Fusang stepped down from the arena, placed the Xuan Tie sword into a large bamboo basket, bowed to the sect elders, and then left.

The swords used in each match are not used in the next match, because these Xuan Tie swords may be damaged in the previous match. Therefore, after the match, the swords must be put back into the bamboo basket to prevent them from being taken by mistake.

Yang Ruo, who was watching the match from the crowd, frowned slightly when she saw that the match was over so quickly.

"Junior Sister Ning, at least give Ke Rong some face. It's too unseemly to knock him off the stage like this."

He muttered, "Ke Rong is really unlucky. He was drawn into a group with Junior Sister Ning and Yang Ni in the first round."

Yang Ruo remembered that Yang Ni had already reached the second level of cultivation three years ago when they went on a mission together.

Moreover, she frequently leaves the sect to do missions and has rich combat experience. A new disciple like Ke Rong would be at a great disadvantage against Yang Ni.

Yang Ruo squeezed out of the crowd and moved to the third arena, where Jiang Xin's match was taking place.

He still hoped that these few new disciples would break through to the second level as soon as possible, and that the talented junior brothers and sisters could achieve good results in the outer sect competition.

However, it is clear that Jiang Xin's situation is not optimistic.

On the stage, Jiang Xin's escape route was blocked. A sharp black iron sword slashed down from the sky, her face flushed and her forehead covered in sweat.

The blade was only three inches away from her.

Jiang Xin's eyes flashed, and she rolled to the side, her sword blade piercing the arena. Taking advantage of the moment her opponent drew his sword, Jiang Xin quickly got up and slashed with her sword.

Keng!
The opponent countered with a sharp swing of their sword, producing a clear, resonant sound. Jiang Xin's wrist went numb from the impact. Just as she was about to parry, her opponent's swordplay suddenly changed, unleashing a barrage of sword strikes. The overwhelming sword energy left Jiang Xin with no way to dodge.

The spiritual armor on his body shattered, and a long sword pointed at her chin. The man said, "You flatter me."

Jiang Xin pursed her lips and remained silent.

She leaned on her sword to get up and walked off the arena.

Yang Ruo scratched his head in frustration: "Why is it that whoever I spectate always loses?"

"Ke Rong and Jiang Xin are the most promising students to enter the inner sect among this batch of new disciples. If even the two of them lost, can anyone else win?"

Yang Ruo was muttering to himself when Liang Heng found him, smiled, and said, "This is only the first round, no need to rush."

"Ke Rong and Jiang Xin are facing the strongest people in their respective groups. If they lose this match, the rest will be easier."

He also brought good news: "Xu Qiu and Zhao Hong both won their first matches."

Yang Ruo was somewhat surprised: "Did Zhao Hong win the first match?"

Yang Ruo had no doubt about Xu Qiu's strength, but Zhao Hong's cultivation was a bit lacking, so he didn't expect her to win.

"A narrow victory," Liang Heng said. "However, the next few matches might be a bit uncertain; I estimate we won't get a single point."

Yang Ruo didn't know what to say. It was already unexpected that Zhao Hong could get a point. He would just wait for the next outer sect competition.

Half an hour later, the first match of Group A ended, and it was time for Group B to start their match.

Ning Fusang sat cross-legged in the square, watching the competition between the twelve groups on the sixth arena.

One of them was Zhou Peier, a new disciple in this year's class. She was at the peak of the first level of cultivation, and her opponent was Zhu Zi.

Zhu Zi's expression changed slightly when she saw Ning Fusang. She snorted coldly and stopped looking at her.

The two exchanged greetings, and Zhu Zi drew her sword first, giving Zhou Peier no time to react.

Why bother with a mere first-level realm?
Ning Fusang turned her head and talked to Yang Ni, barely watching the battle between Zhu Zi and Zhou Peier.

Ke Rong carefully observed Zhu Zi's moves, preparing himself in case they met in the second round.

----split line----

The arena layout is as follows:

10←6【Square】1→5
Therefore, the eleventh draw is for the sixth arena.

(End of this chapter)