Don't Cause Trouble Chapter 117: Hidden Spirit Pearl

By the end of the day, only eight arenas remained on the competition stage, arranged in a circle.

The sixteen contestants drew lots again. Ye Su was matched against Yan Hao. Lu Jiu was paired with Lian Lian. Yi Xuan would face another disciple from Kunlun.

As for You Fushi...

"I'm at Arena Eight." You Fushi showed the lot he drew to Ye Su, deliberately slowing down when saying "eight," clearly proud of recognizing the character.

Ye Su smiled slightly and pretended not to notice him showing off: "After our match, let’s go watch Xu Chengyu."

You Fushi nodded, tucked away the jade token, and walked toward Arena Eight, with the Chongming Sword following closely behind.

Ning Qianyao looked down at her own token, then glanced at You Fushi already walking toward the arena. Her expression slowly darkened. For some reason, an ominous feeling rose in her bones.

The sixteen contestants each stepped into their arenas, sizing up their opponents. Gu Liangtian, Lu Chenhan, Mei Chouren, and Zhou Yun all drew relatively weak opponents, practically securing a spot in the top ten.

"Looks like I’ll be fighting for ninth or tenth place," Yan Hao stepped onto the arena, twirling his pink feather fan and smiling at Ye Su.

"You won't know until it's over," Ye Su stood across from him, empty-handed.

As soon as the brown-haired elder announced the start of the match, Yan Hao took a step forward, and Ye Su saw tens of thousands of swords flying toward her.

The Hehuan Sect specialized in illusions. A regular cultivator might think those swords were fake, but if the illusion was real enough, it could cause actual harm.

As the swords flew toward her, Ye Su quickly drew a golden talisman in the air. With a push of her hand, it formed a man-sized shield in front of her. The swords hit the barrier and fell to the ground as if striking something indestructible.

Seeing this, Yan Hao stepped back a few more steps. Suddenly, the entire arena cracked open. Stones broke apart, rose up, and gathered together, forming a massive stone dragon that surged toward Ye Su.

Ye Su stood her ground. A talisman expanded into a protective barrier, taking the brunt of the stone dragon’s charge. Her lowered left hand gathered spiritual energy again, drawing another talisman and slamming it down.

The talisman acted like a heavy weight, pressing the broken arena floor back down.

Her right hand held back the dragon’s head while her left hand pressed down the dragon’s body with talismans. With each step she took forward, a section of the stone dragon was flattened, until only the dragon's head remained.

Abruptly, she released the talisman from her right hand and wrapped her fingers with spiritual power. With a clenched fist, she shattered the stone dragon’s head. At the same time, her left hand launched a rapid talisman behind her, propelling her instantly to Yan Hao’s side.

Yan Hao panicked and staggered back. A massive wall of flames erupted in front of him, trying to block Ye Su’s advance.

"You should’ve gone with water," Ye Su said, and spiritual fire suddenly burst from her palm. With a single wave, it burned even fiercer than Yan Hao's flames.

Ye Su walked through the wall of fire unscathed, pulled a sword from her qiankun bag, and held it to Yan Hao’s neck. "You’ve lost."

All illusions on the arena disappeared. Yan Hao muttered, "Knew I’d end up fighting for ninth or tenth."

Ye Su chuckled. "Come on, let’s go watch the others."

Yan Hao nodded and followed her off the stage.

Ye Su stepped onto the edge of the arena, her foot lifted, about to step off then suddenly she pulled it back.

"What’s wrong?" Yan Hao asked.

Ye Su turned around and, without warning, snatched the pink feather fan from Yan Hao’s hand.

She blinked at her now-empty hand, then looked down at the foot that had nearly stepped off. "Illusion."

When she turned around again, sure enough, Yan Hao was still standing in the same spot as when the match had started.

"How did you notice?" Yan Hao put away his fan and swayed a little, looking somewhat defeated. "I was so close to winning."

He had started laying out the illusion from the moment he stepped onto the stage. The feather fan was the key, it began the illusion the moment he waved it.

Even his line, "Looks like I’ll be fighting for ninth or tenth," was designed to make Ye Su believe he had lost. Everything, walking off together, the match ending, was carefully constructed within the illusion.

He hadn’t expected that, even as she was about to step off, she would still pull her foot back.

"I always wondered what that pink feather fan was for." Ye Su turned her gaze to the other arena where Mei Chouren was fighting. "A flower, a fan, hard not to think something’s up."

"I lost. Shouldn’t have used that move," Yan Hao shook his head and admitted defeat, walking off the stage. Before leaving, he said to Ye Su, "Relax. No more illusions."

"I know." Ye Su's eyes shifted toward the opposite arena, where You Fushi was currently fighting Ning Qianyao.

Or rather, Ning Qianyao was struggling to handle the Chongming Sword.

You Fushi was sitting alone on a chair in the arena, quietly watching the sword fight against Ning Qianyao.

Ning Qianyao’s swordsmanship wasn’t bad, easily on par with disciples from Kunlun or Sword Sect. Each move flowed smoothly into the next, forming a steady sword rhythm.

That kind of fluid sword style wasn’t something a rogue cultivator could learn. For example, Lu Jiu’s sword strikes could hardly be called a sword technique, they were more like instinctual swings. It was only after Xun Shenzi’s guidance that his bad habits were corrected, eventually developing his own style.

Ning Qianyao probably had access to a complete sword manual.

Ye Su stepped off her stage and went to wait for You Fushi. This was the first time he’d taken a match seriously.

Perhaps the Chongming Sword had absorbed the Demon Lord’s blood in the reversal formation, that might explain why its offensive and defensive capabilities had grown stronger.

Ning Qianyao struggled to dodge the sword’s relentless strikes. Her lower lip was nearly bitten through.

Just one sword, and it had already pushed her to the edge. If only she had a sword with a sword spirit of her own.

One day, she would use her own blood to nourish such a sword.

The Chongming Sword pressed in again and again, always aiming for the center of Ning Qianyao’s forehead.

If it struck her there, she might not survive.

Suddenly, Ning Qianyao pulled something from her qiankun bag. The next instant, she vanished from the arena, her presence completely disappeared.

Even the sect masters on the high platform couldn’t spot her by sight. Only after spreading out their divine sense could they faintly detect spiritual energy ripples on Arena Eight.

With its target gone, the Chongming Sword flew wildly around the arena but found nothing. Eventually, it returned to You Fushi’s side.

You Fushi, still sitting on his chair, had been resting his chin on his hand, watching the match. When Ning Qianyao disappeared, he simply lowered his hand, dropped his feet from the footrest, and slowly sat up straight but remained in his chair.

Ning Qianyao, now invisible, held her breath and crept toward You Fushi from the side, deliberately avoiding the Chongming Sword. Her own blade was poised to silently strike at his neck.

Right then, You Fushi suddenly turned his head, as if he saw her.

It was a completely unexpected move.

The look from You Fushi almost made Ning Qianyao step back, but she steadied herself and continued to extend her sword.

However, the Chongming Sword also turned its tip at the same time and suddenly stabbed toward Ning Qianyao’s hand.

The tendons in Ning Qianyao’s wrist were slashed. She couldn’t help but cry out, and her hand reflexively let go. A green pearl rolled to a stop at You Fushi’s feet.

The sword cutting her hand wasn’t the end. The Chongming Sword continued to chase her relentlessly—— slashing, chopping, stabbing, and flicking, forcing Ning Qianyao to retreat again and again.

You Fushi had been sitting right at the edge of the platform, and Ning Qianyao, driven back too far by the sword and distracted, accidentally stepped into thin air and fell off the stage.

By the time she realized it, she was already falling.

The sect masters on the high platform didn’t pay attention to Ning Qianyao’s elimination. Their eyes were all fixed on the green pearl by You Fushi’s feet.

"That’s a Hidden Spirit Pearl," said Le Ji, the sect master of the Wanfo Sect. "It seems this Xuanyin Physique girl is in a far better position than the last one. She’s already encountered her great opportunity so early."

A Scarlet Heart Pill, a Hidden Spirit Pearl... none of these are ordinary items. Even major sects might not be able to produce them.

On Stage Eight, You Fushi turned his head and saw Ye Su standing below.

He got up, folded his chair, and then crushed the Hidden Spirit Pearl under his foot before casually stepping down to meet Ye Su.

The sect masters on the high platform didn’t even have time to stop him. They could only watch helplessly as a valuable magical item was destroyed underfoot.

Even Wu Yue, the leader of the Hehuan Sect, was left speechless. Her eyes blinked repeatedly as if she couldn’t believe that a magical item had just been crushed like that.

Let alone Ning Qianyao, who had just lost the match. When she looked up and saw her treasure shattered to pieces, she didn’t even pay attention to her bleeding wrist. She simply stared in shock at the pearl that vanished with the wind, then stiffly turned to look at You Fushi walking off the stage.

He showed not the slightest trace of guilt, standing lazily across from Ye Su and chatting.

Ning Qianyao: "…" This is too much!

She was so angry that even her spiritual core began to feel unstable.

"You’re hurt." Lu Chenhan had already come down from the stage. He walked over, took her wrist, and began to bandage it, carefully cleaning the blood that had dripped onto the ground.

Ning Qianyao turned to look at Lu Chenhan. Unable to hold in her grievance any longer, she buried her face in his chest, and large tears began to fall.

"It’s over," You Fushi said when Lu Jiu and Yi Xuan also stepped down from the platform. He turned to Ye Su. "Let’s go."

"Wait until all the matches are finished." Ye Su pulled him into the crowd. She could clearly feel the gazes of the sect masters from the high platform, practically piercing through them.

Once all eight matches were done, the top eight were decided. Among the losers, two more would be selected.

"The top eight for today have been decided," Daoist Fengchen said as he stepped into the center of the platform. "We’ll continue tomorrow."

Three out of four members from Qianji Sect made it through. Lu Jiu had lost to Lian Lian, but he still had a chance to compete for ninth or tenth place.

"I can finally breathe again." On the way back, Zhou Yun said with lingering fear, "If I didn’t make it into the top ten, our entire Sword Sect would’ve lost face this time."

"The path of cultivation is long. Only those who make it to the end are truly powerful," Lian Lian said with arms crossed as she passed by. "My father only became the sect master of the Wuxing Sect after outlasting countless geniuses."

Zhou Yun scratched his face. "You’re right. We’re still too young. Who knows, we might die just like that one day out there."

"Junior Brother, thanks for that kick," Yan Hao caught up and said to You Fushi.

You Fushi glanced at Yan Hao, grabbed Ye Su’s arm, closed his eyes, and walked away like he didn’t want to be offended by something unsightly.

Yan Hao: "…" Come on, that’s a bit much!

"Don’t call him ‘Junior Brother’ like that," Ye Su said to Yan Hao.

Facing the direction of Qianji Sect while walking backward, Yan Hao added, "That pearl looked incredibly powerful. If Ning Qianyao had held onto it tomorrow, she would’ve easily secured a spot in the top ten."

"He didn’t see the pearl, it wasn’t on purpose," Ye Su lied with a straight face.

But before You Fushi put away the chair, he had clearly looked down at the ground. Ye Su was certain he had crushed the pearl on purpose.

"Yes, not on purpose," Yan Hao echoed. Then she asked, "You guys are going to see Xu Chengyu? I’ll go too."

Behind them, Mei Chouren also caught up. Along the way, their group had grown large and lively as they headed toward the Sword Sect’s resting area.