My Debauched Devotion - Chapter 31
Chapter 31: Junior—Junior Uncle, You… Got No Martial Virtue!
“We’re cheering and supporting you, duh!”
“We came to watch you despite our busy schedule. Be nicer to us, okay?”
Chunwa and Qiuchan’s voices were soft and childish when they spoke earnestly. “We don’t mean much. We just want you to relax. If you lose, you lose. It doesn’t matter if Junior Uncle Lingzhou doesn’t want you. Our Master treasures you. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you came to the Hundred Herb Hill and became a weeding disciple?”
‘Yinyue Zhenren treasures me? More like she’s treasuring me because I’m weeding for her.’
‘I can’t reap DP off Yinyue Zhenren. I’m not going to the Hundred Herb Hill!’
‘Master is my eternal god!’
Xiao Ran maintained a stoic face. He could not lose his cold image.
“Go to the Sword-Wielding Mountain. I planted strawberries and a lot of other tasty fruits. They’ll be gone when Master comes back.”
Both girls got excited upon hearing the news.
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Ask us to scram.”
“Scram.”
“Okay, you’re the one who asked us to leave… We’re leaving to have strawberries now.”
“If Master asks about it one day, just say we’ve been cheering you on.”
“Get lost.”
Chunwa and Qiuchan dusted their buttocks off and rode their swords, flying to the Sword-Wielding Mountain instantaneously.
Now that the girls had popped up, the way the crowd looked at Xiao Ran changed.
They had not muted their conversation’s volume, so those who could hear them had already heard them.
Whispered discussions broke out among the crowd.
“The two little Junior Uncles from the Hundred Herb Hill are this close to Junior Uncle Xiao?”
“Of course, Elder Yinyue thinks highly of Junior Uncle Xiao because of his outstanding farming skills. It’s not puzzling.”
“I think I heard the Junior Uncles say that if he loses, he loses. They asked him not to be nervous. Does that mean…”
“Children say what they like. Looks like Elder Yinyue doesn’t think Junior Uncle Xiao will do well.”
“This might actually be his tactic. Let’s be careful.”
“Let’s see when Senior Sister Jiang and Junior Brother Ye will appear.”
“I heard someone say that Senior Sister Jiang’s asking about the procedure to transfer mountains. Perhaps she’s replacing him and becoming the new Direct Disciple of the Sword-Wielding Mountain.”
“Maybe Junior Uncle Xiao’s using his last resolute strength while standing here…”
“Look at Junior Bother Ye again, guys. He really blends in with the crowd.”
“Don’t underestimate that person. Miracles happen for him. I’ve witnessed light enveloping him in a hopeless situation as he ascended to the Foundation Establishment.”
“Shh, look—Junior Uncle Luosheng’s here!”
The crowd looked toward the sky.
A bulky fatty in a dark robe came riding through the air!
Step by step, he left deep magic impressions of his footsteps in the air. Behind him, two Disciplinarians from the Commandment Hall followed him on their swords.
Luosheng walked in the air and softly landed in front of Xiao Ran, cupping his fists in greeting. “Nice to meet you again, Junior Brother Xiao.”
Xiao Ran took a glance at him.
This was a young fatty who had a faint smile constantly plastered on his face. It was partly genuine and partly plastered, making his real attitude tough to guess. People called him the Cheshire Tiger and said that he was slier than his father, Huangfu Qun.
He was not actually that fat. He might even have exuded some sense of immortality and grace if he had donned a looser robe, but no, he had to wear one that fit him snugly and highlighted his bulging belly yet felt authoritative.
Perhaps it was easier to show Huangfu’s family background this way…
The two Disciplinarians behind him had a Golden Core cultivation base, but based on their respectful attitudes toward Luosheng, their actual ability might be much weaker than his.
It looked like this fatty was stronger than Xiao Ran had imagined. He could even be more powerful than Chuyan and not be a rich man’s son like he had assumed him to be previously.
As Xiao Ran entertained this thought, he greeted him back. “Morning, Senior Brother Luo.”
“Not Senior Brother Luo. It’s Senior Brother Luosheng.”
“Morning, Senior Brother Luosheng.”
Luosheng kept a smile on his face all along, looking unruffled.
“250 years ago, I was pushed by my father… cough… Master to join the match one and a half months after the disciple challenge started. I didn’t expect Junior Brother to be so bold and respond to the challenge so early. I even skipped my morning cultivation when I heard the news to rush here. Today, I shall stay here to make sure you are safe.”
What he was saying was that he would ensure Xiao Ran’s safety and not the safety of the Inner Disciples.
Xiao Ran nodded.
“Thank you for the effort.”
Luosheng took a slight bow before the crowd before rising in the air again and brandishing a hovering green stone seat imprinted with a complex pattern, where he would sit to spectate the match.
“Junior Brother Xiao has taken time out of his busy schedule to spar and exchange knowledge with everyone. Get on the stage now if you are interested. Junior Brother Xiao won’t hold a grudge. There’s no need to be concerned about winning or losing.”
Key phrase: Junior Uncle Xiao would not hold a grudge.
First, Chunwa and Qiuchan had not spoken by using a brain-to-mouth filter. Now, Cheshire Tiger Luosheng had come…
The profound image that Xiao Ran had barely conjured was gone in the blink of an eye after the three of them meddled.
The nervous and cautious crowd was struck by a realization. Their lurching hearts mostly started returning to their spots.
Other than the billowing wind, a soft buzz of whispers spread among them.
Before long, the first challenger disciple walked up to the square platform, making the surface quake a little.
Shadow shaded Xiao Ran from the top.
Looking up, he saw a big disciple who was more than two meters tall. His sinewy muscles stretched his uniform taut, and he looked like an ancient giant.
This giant of a disciple cupped his fist, making a deafening noise.
“Disciple Wan Long, Qi Refining cultivation base, Dayu Mountain. I’d like to spar with Junior Uncle Xiao with a mortal cultivation base.”
The crowd clamored.
“A mortal cultivation base? He is already at the peak of the Body Tempering stage, hello? Is this bullying or not?”
“That young man’s got no martial virtue!”
“I like him!”
“Ha ha ha…”
Standing among the spectators, Lin Yunzi felt nervous for Xiao Ran, thinking that his Junior Uncle would not have been caught in this plight if he had used the gem he had been offered.
In the air, Luosheng’s eyes were squinting and his attitude was unreadable.
The giant disciple was smiling as though spring had arrived, his confidence overflowing.
“Junior Uncle, after you.”
Xiao Ran nodded and made a gentle palm strike in the air.
It looked like nothing out of the ordinary, but like a stone dropped in a lake, it made a ripple in the air.
Bang!
The palm strike resonated with the air and spread out.
Bang!
Sandwiching the morning mist and spiritual pressure, the palm strike resonated for the second time and sped up, finally producing another fold of resonation with space…
Bang!
After three layers of amplification, the palm force that had looked ordinary initially picked up speed abruptly like a robust dragon and hit the giant disciple on the chest like a smashing tide.
Hmm? The giant disciple was surprised, but it was too late.
Boom!
The palm strike resonated once more with the giant disciple’s body!
His eyes froze as blood splattered from his mouth. His gigantic build flew out like a canon, bringing down some of the crowd as he fell.
Xiao Ran retracted his hand.
“Next.”
The wind was still fluttering, but the people were silent.
The wind was strong and there were a lot of people around, but it was as quiet as a cemetery at night.
‘Junior Uncle Luosheng misled me!’
‘This man actually hid his ability!’
The eager Inner Disciples were now shocked into silence.
What kind of palm strike was that?
Vibrating with the air and using a palm strike of a mortal’s force… Was this the Internal Power of the mortal martial arts? No, the Internal Power was not as strong!
The Inner Sect Trainers frowned.
Lin Yunzi was extensively knowledgeable but could not figure out Xiao Ran’s palm technique either.
In the air, there was a flash of surprise in Luosheng’s slightly-narrowed eyes.
A few Golden Core cultivators on the challenger name list, who were now standing among the disciples, opted to observe with caution.
Eventually, a thin and frail-looking disciple was shoved onto the platform with a slap on his back that sent him flying.
There was no chance of him getting off the stage while everyone was watching him, so the thin disciple could only cup his fists.
“Dis—Disciple Chen Hefei boldly asks for Junior Uncle’s immortal ways with a Qi Refining cultivation base.”
Xiao Ran took a glance at him. The disciple was on the scrawny side physically and was relatively meeker character-wise, but his senses were incredibly stable and his spiritual veins were flowing smoothly. This reflected his compact, established foundation.
The giant disciple had just been defeated with a palm strike because he had sealed his cultivation base. Now that Xiao Ran had to face a full-on Qi Refining disciple, he felt pressured.
Was he ascending to the Qi Refining stage?
It was not the time for that yet!
Composing himself, he retrieved his sword.
“I have no immortal ways, only sword ways. Are you ready?”
The skinny disciple got nervous and quickly pulled out his sword, both hands making incantation gestures.
“Sword-Riding Seal!”
The sword flew out directly toward Xiao Ran.
It seemed that the disciple only looked feeble, but his technique was solid and stable.
“Sword-Riding Seal!”
Xiao Ran mimicked the incantation gesture with a single hand… Well, it was barely a seal.
The crowd was astonished.
What? A mortal could execute the Sword-Riding Seal too?
With his left hand making the hand seal, Xiao Ran tossed the sword into the air with his right hand.
When everyone’s attention was focused on the sword, he took a step that resonated with the platform and leveraged that force to sprint forward, simultaneously numbing Chen Hefei with the vibration.
Chen Hefei’s attention had been on the sword battle, so his mental reflexes were delayed by half a beat. The soles of his feet were numbed, causing his physical reaction to be delayed by an extra half-beat.
Consequently, Xiao Ran approached him in a breath and clapped a palm on the side of his head.
Slap!
The slap came with the vibration of resonance, drawing a graceful arc in the air.
Boom!
The loud bang slammed Chen Hefei’s head into the marble while his body followed by landing like a fallen leaf.
It would not kill Chen Hefei, but he would suffer from a concussion for some time. His defeat was guaranteed, and he said his last words from between the cracks in the rock.
“Junior—Junior Uncle, you… got no martial virtue!”
The crowd was silent.
He had defeated two Inner Disciples with a Qi Refining cultivation base consecutively with only a mortal’s strength, so this was no longer about martial virtue.
This was blatant talent!
If she had not met an utter prodigy, why would the idle and carefree Sword-Wielding Elder have taken in a disciple so easily?
Lin Yunzi was extremely moved and thankful—he had finally buttered up to the right person!
Luosheng’s eyes were still squinted as he nodded without saying anything.
Xiao Ran’s battling talent was out in the open. There was no longer any meaning in challenging him—not unless one wished to offend the Sword-Wielding Mountain.
Just as everyone was prepared to give up on the challenge, a low voice came from the crowd behind Xiao Ran.
“Disciple Ye Fan would like to learn Junior Uncle’s masterly techniques with a Foundation Establishment cultivation base.”
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