Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 164 The First One to Be Raped
Dugu Qingli was a little embarrassed. She had actually forgotten to take this down to see her master.

Fortunately, no matter what her inner thoughts were, her face was basically expressionless, making it easy for her to lie: "This is what I cut off when I was fighting with the Pei family girl just now, and I kept it as a trophy."

"Is her hair like this?" Ye Tinglan asked suspiciously.

It's been wrapped around my finger for so long, and I can't tell if it's curled or not anymore. It just doesn't have the same glossy black color as Pei Chuyun's; it's rather dull.

Fortunately, Ye Tinglan didn't take it too seriously, and simply said, "You have to keep the spoils after defeating an opponent? When did you become so vulgar?"

Dugu Qingli said seriously, "It's not that I want to keep the spoils of war. It's just that after getting this, I realized that I haven't studied much incantation, which is a bit of a bias. I want to learn some incantations from my master, like how they can be effective through hair."

“This kind of incantation is not something our sect is good at.” Ye Tinglan stroked his fur and suddenly plucked it.

Dugu Qingli was shocked: "Master, what have you done?"

"Oh, it's nothing. Just plucking this hair, as if it were still on the body, is a small lesson to Pei family girl for daring to offend my Qingli..."

Dugu Qingli: "..."

It seems like nothing's wrong. It's like pulling his hair to teach him a lesson.

Let him play with the vixen!
Far away in his cave, Lu Xingzhou was leaning against the bed reading a book when he suddenly convulsed, clutching his small boat and curling up into a ball.

Ye Tinglan continued teaching her disciple: "This is a kind of substitution technique. I can teach you, like this and like this..."

Dugu Qingli studied very hard, thinking that she could play with Lu Xingzhou's hair from a distance whenever he bullied her in the future.

"Hmm, I'll keep one for Master too. This Pei family girl is a bit strange. I'll keep a piece of her hair; it might come in handy for future investigations." Ye Tinglan accepted one hair.

Dugu Qingli seemed to want to say something but stopped himself.

"how?"

"No, it's nothing." Dugu Qingli bowed and said, "Then Master, please rest. This disciple will take his leave."

"Wait, how many days are you staying in Beijing this time?"

"Originally, I just wanted to test my skills against the top rookie. Now that the match is over, I was planning to leave tomorrow."

"What were your original plans? And what are your current plans?"

"There are many talented people in the capital. I plan to challenge some veteran powerhouses who are not on the rising star list and are stuck at the third rank."

Ye Tinglan thought for a moment: "It's not very useful. Given your status, most people will be hesitant to act against you and will give you face. It's unlikely to be a life-or-death experience. How about this, the Dan Academy will organize a trial in a few days. The chosen location will be the first level of the Demon Subduing Domain. You will enter as the protector."

Dugu Qingli was stunned: "The Demon Subduing Domain, can these alchemy students really enter it? Isn't it too dangerous?"

"There will be someone to protect you, aren't you? It just so happens to suit your cultivation experience, and the opportunity to break through to the third rank may just be here."

Dugu Qingli bowed with her sword in hand and said, "Yes."

"Keep a close eye on Lu Xingzhou then. He's a man with a lot of history. What might be a normal experience for others could mean something else for him. Oh, no need to explain, you're already familiar with him."

"……Yes."

From beginning to end, Ye Tinglan never doubted that her disciple and Lu Xingzhou could have any relationship other than the camaraderie they shared during the Xia Prefecture war.

…………

The next morning, Pei Chuyun entered the Imperial Academy carrying a stack of manuscripts.

She was stopped by Qi Tuizhi as soon as she entered: "Miss Pei..."

Pei Chuyun's plan to take a walk in her wheelchair and have an affair was ruined by the white-haired man last night. She was also scolded by her older brother the whole way back. She was in a bad mood, and her face immediately darkened: "Young Master Qi, blocking the road in public is not the behavior of a gentleman."

Qi Tuizhi hurriedly said, "Miss Pei has misunderstood. I heard that last night, when Miss Pei was taking a walk at the Imperial Academy, Dugu Qingli came to challenge her?"

"It's not really a challenge. She's second and I'm third. There's no reason for someone of higher ability to challenge someone of lower ability. It's just a friendly exchange."

That's what she said, but her face was so sour that anyone could tell she was very unhappy.

Having made up his mind, Qi Tuizhi lowered his voice and said, "Since you also dislike Dugu Qingli, why don't we cooperate?"

Pei Chuyun gave him a strange look, thinking to herself, "Why are you cooperating on this ranking challenge? You can't just gang up on him and beat him up, can you? Even if you win, no one will recognize your efforts. Killing him is even more out of the question. In the capital, ganging up on and hunting down the Imperial Preceptor's disciple—how many lives do you have?"

Is it just to vent your anger?
Oh wait... Pei Chuyun suddenly realized that this guy was using this "shared hatred" mentality to form a united front, but in the end, it was just to get closer to her.

Thinking of this, Pei Chuyun was both amused and exasperated, and said with a half-smile, "If you want to cooperate with me, you first have to see if you are qualified enough."

Qi Tuizhi was taken aback: "Miss Pei means..."

"What I mean is, don't you think you can't even beat me?" Pei Chuyun casually handed the manuscript in her hand to a passerby: "Could you hold this for me? Thanks."

Qi Tuizhi took a step back: "Miss Pei, you..."

Pei Chuyun elegantly smoothed her hair: "Pei Chuyun, the third-ranked newcomer, challenges the first-ranked newcomer, Young Master Qi Tuizhi. Please enlighten me, Young Master."

Qi Tuizhi: "..."

Yesterday evening, Gu Yicheng's words that "Pei Chuyun probably doesn't have much ability" were still ringing in my ears, but just one night later, the beauty was already standing in front of me with a charming smile, openly challenging me.

This was the entrance to the Imperial Academy, a place bustling with people. The crowd erupted in uproar, forming a dense, three-layered circle around the entrance, all eagerly watching the drama unfold.

To be honest, being defeated by Dugu Qingli in one move, while humiliating, was surprisingly well-received by the public. After all, Dugu Qingli was a direct descendant of a sacred land and a disciple of the Imperial Preceptor; no matter how strong she was, it was within people's acceptable range. But this newly found Miss Pei truly has no combat record whatsoever; her reputation is even limited to her literary talent!
Qi Tuizhi was even more unwilling to accept that he couldn't even beat the person he loved. At this moment, his temper was also aroused, and he said indifferently, "To be honest, I am not willing to make a move against Miss Pei... I feel that I would offend the beauty. But now it seems that if I don't show my skills, it would be the beauty who looks down on me."

Pei Chuyun smiled slightly and beckoned with a slender finger: "Come."

The sudden allure beneath that dignified demeanor dazzled the onlookers, and even Qi Tuizhi's heart skipped a beat: "Then Miss Pei, be careful."

Without saying a word, Pei Chuyun flipped her hand and struck out with her palm.

Seeing that Pei Chuyun did not use any weapons, Qi Tuizhi also did not draw his sword, and fought back with his bare hands.

A slight flutter of excitement lingered in his heart. Could these palms be considered as touching her little hand?
Before the thought could even finish, Pei Chuyun's palm suddenly changed shape. To onlookers, all they could see was the illusory shadow of her fingers blooming like flowers, exquisitely beautiful yet hazy.

A low sigh came from the side: "I've seen Pei Yu use the Pei family's grappling techniques... I never imagined that Miss Pei would use them so beautifully. It's a completely different flavor from Pei Yu's elegant style."

Qi Tuizhi's desire to exchange blows was so strong that he seemed somewhat reluctant to continue advancing a little further when responding to the change in moves.

A battle between experts cannot be played like this. In just this brief moment of delay, Pei Chuyun's fingers had already brushed against the web of his hand.

Qi Tuizhi felt a numbness in his hand, which brought him back to his senses. He realized that his first place as a rookie hadn't been bought. He immediately withdrew his hand and used his left palm to slash horizontally, trying to cut off Pei Chuyun's offensive.

In a flash, Pei Chuyun appeared like a fairy gliding on water, already standing to the side.

The jade palm slashed back, heading straight for the neck.

"So beautiful... watching her fight is like a real treat."

Others might find it enjoyable, but Qi Tuizhi didn't.

He even sensed a murderous intent.

This Miss Pei is definitely not as elegant and composed as she appears on the surface. No one knows about her experiences in the martial arts world before she was "found," and she may have even faced life and death! Furthermore, the Pei family's grappling techniques have been developed and interpreted by her personally. She doesn't just blindly learn the moves; they contain subtle modifications and essences from other schools, making Qi Tuizhi, who uses the Pei family's grappling techniques against her, very uncomfortable.

Judging from the time she was found, she hadn't been practicing the Pei family's martial arts for very long. To have such an understanding and slight modification, her strength is definitely not just the fourth-grade lower level that she appears to be. She may very well be hiding upper-grade cultivation, and she hasn't really used her full strength yet!

Qi Tuizhi spun around, fighting and retreating as he exchanged several blows with Pei Chuyun, but the numbness in his right hand remained unresolved, greatly reducing his strength. He simply couldn't withstand Pei Chuyun's relentless attacks and became increasingly powerless as the fight progressed.

"Bang!" His back slammed against a pillar at the entrance of the Imperial Academy.

Pei Chuyun drew a sword with her fingers and thrust it into his throat, her beautiful eyes filled with murderous intent.

The air was quiet.

A moment later, a loud explosion occurred.

Although it wasn't a one-hit kill like Dugu Qingli did yesterday, it still took about ten or twenty moves. But Pei Chuyun's displayed strength was at the lower fourth rank, while Qi Tuizhi was at the upper fourth rank!
This is being challenged by someone of a higher level!
Pei Chuyun's murderous intent subsided, and she gracefully stepped back, bowing respectfully: "Young Master Qi, you flatter me."

Qi Tuizhi's face turned pale and then red. He wanted to say that if he hadn't had that sneaky thought at the beginning and had fought seriously, he wouldn't have lost...

But no matter how he said it, it was just sophistry. He opened his mouth, but ultimately couldn't bring himself to say it. Besides, he strongly suspected that Pei Chuyun was hiding her strength at the upper level of the fourth rank and hadn't used her true skills at all. If they really fought, he might still lose.

He could only whisper, "Miss Pei is accomplished in both literature and martial arts. Our previous doubts about Miss Pei's third place among the new talents were due to our prejudice and ignorance."

Pei Chuyun smiled slightly: "So, I'll find a way to deal with Dugu Qingli myself. Young Master Qi isn't qualified. Everyone, please make way, Chuyun is late for class..."

The crowd parted, watching in a daze as Pei Chuyun entered the gate.

Regardless of how many people now regard her as a goddess in their hearts, what is repeatedly flashing through everyone's minds right now is: what's going on with this year's rookie rankings? How was the number one ranked? She was overtaken by the second and third place teams in just two days.

The title of Rookie of the Year is very prestigious, as the winner is always regarded as the best among young players. Second and third place are not remembered by many; everyone only cares about the champion.

Now that things have been done this way, the title of Rookie of the Year has lost its prestige, and the position will no longer have any prestige.

"Editor-in-Chief Sheng is just a young girl, she really doesn't know much, she can't make any good rankings."

Some people defended Sheng Yuanyao, saying, "How can you blame Editor-in-Chief Sheng? The second and third positions were previously unheard of, and it was Editor-in-Chief Sheng who pushed through the opposition to place them. Don't you praise Editor-in-Chief Sheng for her discerning eye?"

"But this first place..."

"This first place was filled in; if anyone's to blame, it's the person who originally ranked him, for putting him in second place."

"Who put up this list? Didn't they even check it? It's just a bunch of shoddy work..."

"I don't know who the original editor-in-chief was; it was probably Sheng Shouzu who made the final decision on the approval."

The discussion immediately fell silent.

After a long while, someone weakly said, "Didn't you all think that it's not that Qi Tui is weak, but that these two who were parachuted in are too strong? I saw Dugu Qingli's sword strike at the restaurant yesterday, and I knew I couldn't withstand it; today, I also know I can't withstand Miss Pei's smooth and flowing grappling techniques."

Everyone fell silent.

Yes, it's not that others are weak, it's that these two are too strong.

Qi Tuizhi's tragedy was that he was on the same list as them, yet he was completely oblivious and wanted to seduce them.

This year's list of rising alchemists actually includes someone like that. I heard that even now, Daoist Xuanqing still can't accept his defeat. But is Daoist Xuanqing really weak? He's already very strong... It's just a pity he encountered the unreasonable Lu Xingzhou and his apprentice.

"Lu Xingzhou!" The man on the stage slammed his fist on the table angrily. "If you have a stomachache, go to the toilet! You keep hunching over in front of me looking constipated, do you think you know everything I've taught you?!"

"I..." Lu Xingzhou's hand was either on his lower abdomen or somewhere else, "Excuse me, does Mrs. Ye have an office? I need to see Mrs. Ye..."

(End of this chapter)