Tang Jie brazenly glared back. On the side, the students from the Thousand Passions Sect all cheered Tang Jie on, and their faltering morale surged back up.
The Basking Moon Sect was on good terms with the Thousand Passions Sect, and for the Basking Moon Sect to speak up for their ally in this mortal clash of sects was as normal as could be. On the other end, the Seven Absolutions Sect spoke up for Horizon Ocean Pavilion, and both sides exchanged barbs.
Tang Jie had openly taken the wind out of the sails of his romantic rival, but others took this to be him speaking up for the Thousand Passions Sect. Some of the girls from the Thousand Passions Sect even began to look at him differently.
A message arrived from Xu Miaoran: Why are you provoking him?
Tang Jie replied: It’s not that I don’t want to, but even if I don’t, he will make trouble for me anyway. Haven’t you seen how he’s been looking at me these last two days? He practically wants to eat me alive.
Xu Miaoran: You’ve given him an excuse now.
Tang Jie: An excuse only holds meaning for people that care about such things. Relax; I know what I’m doing.
Xu Miaoran: Understood.
Tang Jie: If you’re just going to write “understood”, there’s no need to waste a whole long-distance message talisman, right?
In the distance, Xu Miaoran waved at Tang Jie and smiled.
The battle between Horizon Ocean Pavilion and the Thousand Passions Sect continued.
Li Zhiping’s death had unquestionably stirred the wrath of the Thousand Passions Sect students. It just so happened that the next match involved the Thousand Passions Sect’s number two, Mu Yu.
This person was exceptionally brutal, ignoring his opponent’s pleas for mercy and tearing that student apart. He then roared at the heavens, “Zhiping, I’ve avenged you!”
Tang Jie mentally sighed. “Avenged”, my ass! The one who killed Li Zhiping was Lan Yu, you know?
After a few more matches, it was time for the Thousand Passions Sect’s number one, Deng Xiaoyu. The opposing Horizon Ocean Pavilion student knew that he was no match, so he conceded as soon as he stepped into the ring, not even giving Deng Xiaoyu the chance to attack.
But the moment the student got off the stage, a teacher from Horizon Ocean Pavilion flew over and thrust a palm at the student, shattering his skull. It was only then that he sinisterly said, “Those who retreat without fighting will be executed!”
Everyone was aghast at this deed, but Tang Jie only sighed, commenting, “On the Immortal path, there is only going forward, not going back. Those who hesitantly look around are chased away! Those who are overly cautious are killed!”
Peng Yaolong nodded in agreement. “This is why the major sects still open their recruitment in the academies, giving everyone an opportunity, even though something like Jade Gate talent exists. Courage is also a sort of talent, and only those with the daring to walk this road to the end can become true cultivators. Though we are students, it’s not enough for us to learn spell arts. We also have to understand how to act as people. Does everyone understand?”
“Yes! Great Brother!” everyone replied in unison.
The matches continued, only ending when dusk fell. Blood had once more stained the arena, with ten-some lives being forfeited on that stage.
On the fourth day, Godhead faced Basking Moon, Thousand Passions faced Beast Refining, and Horizon Ocean battled Seven Absolutions. There were no mortal foe pairings, so the Immortal Fortune Conference experienced a rare moment of calm.
The Tang Jiye incident several years ago still left the Basking Moon Sect and Godhead Palace at odds, but as they each had their own mortal foes and didn’t want to add on to their worries, they both restrained themselves.
Thus, when the sects clashed, they were both quite polite.
In the first battle, Peng Yaolong was still unstoppable, sweeping over his opponent. His methods were quite brutal, breaking several of that Godhead Palace student’s ribs with a kick. While he didn’t kill, he did severely wound his opponent.
In the second match, Godhead Palace returned the favor. Godhead Palace’s Lin Changrui left Cheng Fengshan badly wounded.
In the third match, Cai Junyang was paired against Feng Rudong.
Cai Junyang had already lost three matches in a row. First it was to Lan Yu, then Li Zhiping and the Seven Absolutions Sect’s Liu Jin, and his next match was against Helian Hu, where he had no hope of winning. This match was his last chance at victory.
He wasn’t afraid of losing, but he couldn’t accept losing all five matches and not gaining a single point.
Before this, he had been a genius praised throughout Basking Moon Academy, and while his awful luck had played a part in his consecutive losses, he was also forced to realize that the world was vast and home to numerous experts.
The elites of the six major sects had gathered, and exciting battles were taking place every day as everyone showed off their best techniques, enriching everyone’s experiences and broadening their horizons. For Cai Junyang, this was a chance to get out of the academy, a chance to increase his experience, and also a chance to leave his own mark.
He could lose, but if he did, he had to lose impressively.
Thus, the moment he took the field, he let out an unprecedented ferocity, lunging at Feng Rudong with all his might. He used the 19 Star Sword repeatedly, covering the area in starlight. His sword energy was everywhere, pressing down on the opponent so hard that it was difficult to breathe.
If it weren’t for the fact that Godhead Palace excelled at defense the most, Feng Rudong would have been blasted off the stage by this barrage.
But Feng Rudong managed to hold.
If Cai Junyang was like the raging waves of the ocean, Feng Rudong was like a lighthouse, standing tall no matter how fierce the storm was.
Peng Yaolong and Tang Jie both frowned at this.
Peng Yaolong muttered, “It seems like Junyang can’t restrain himself anymore.”
Tang Jie replied, “After losing three in a row, he must be under immense mental pressure. He’s too desperate for a win. Unfortunately, the more he wants to win, the less likely that is.”
Ye Tianshang added, “At the first beating of the drum, morale is stirred, but it begins to run dry on the second beating and is completely spent at the third. If such a bold assault fails to swiftly take down the opponent, the opponent will have a chance to strike back.”
On the stage, waves of sword energy wreaked havoc, but that golden light refused to be extinguished. Clenching his teeth, Feng Rudong held fast, his eyes cold and determined.
Although he wasn’t famous in Godhead Palace, that didn’t mean that he was lacking in strength. He was able to survive mortal combat against the Seven Absolutions Sect’s Liu Jin, which was proof enough of his strength.
If Cai Junyang was fierce and tough, then he was tenacious.
When pitting ferocity against tenacity, it was often tenacity that won.
Finally, as his spiritual energy ran out, Cai Junyang’s attacks began to lose their sharpness. The waves of sword energy began to ebb, and the golden lighthouse began to shine.
The counterattack from Feng Rudong suddenly intensified, and Cai Junyang slowly began to give ground. Feng Rudong swung his saber at Cai Junyang’s sword, forcing Cai Junyang back several steps. Feng Rudong kicked out, attempting to get Cai Junyang off the stage. In holding out until now, he had expended much spiritual energy and physical energy, so he didn’t have the strength to keep on fighting. Thus, he did not seek to heavily wound his opponent, only defeat him.
Cai Junyang rolled to the edge of the stage, but he doggedly held on to the edge, refusing to lose.
Feng Rudong savagely smiled as he walked over and kicked again. “Get down there.”
As his foot kicked Cai Junyang’s face, Cai Junyang suddenly grabbed Feng Rudong and coldly said, “You come down here with me!”
Feng Rudong froze as a surge of spiritual energy struck his ankle. A moment later, he was in the air, and then he rolled onto the ground with Cai Junyang.
A draw!
It was such an absurd development that even Tang Jie was left agape. No one had expected this result.
Meanwhile, upon landing on the ground, Cai Junyang and Feng Rudong began to brawl with each other. Both of them had been so close to victory, brushing shoulders with it, and the loss left them positively furious. Their rage was such that they refused to relax even though they weren’t on the stage anymore, continuing to punch and kick at each other.
Fortunately, the order-keeping disciples quickly came over and separated them, and Cai Junyang was dragged back to his seat.
Once there, the crazy Cai Junyang calmed down. He looked at his worried companions and bitterly said, “I’ve disappointed you. In the end, I still didn’t win.”
Tang Jie replied, “What? A minor loss has you feeling this down?”
Cai Junyang looked up at Tang Jie, who smiled and said, “The path of Immortality is long, and which cultivator hasn’t experienced some setbacks and difficulties? A minor setback like this already has you bowing your head? Brother Cai, aren’t you being a little too soft?”
Cai Junyang angrily replied, “Who’s saying that I can’t take a defeat? I’ve never had any plans of getting into the top ten, but I didn’t expect to lose this badly. I didn’t think that I would be coming with heroic ambitions but fail to get a single win, returning with my head hung in defeat!”
Tang Jie chuckled. “Is a planned defeat still even considered a defeat?”
Cai Junyang froze, and Tang Jie continued, “Master Xiao made ten attempts and failed, Meng Feixing had nine encounters and no luck, Zhang Shuhan only cultivated the Dao in his old age, and Tian Jizi destroyed his own Immortal Spirit… Who are you when compared to them?”
Tang Jie spoke of several famous stories of the Rosecloud Domain.
Master Xiao was none other than Xiao Biehan. In his early years, Xiao Biehan traveled the world. He came across a boy who offered him a test. Xiao Biehan was told that if he could pass, he would be given a bottle of Immortal elixir, but if he couldn’t, he would have to kowtow to the boy three times.
Xiao Biehan thought himself rather strong, so he agreed. But after ten attempts, he still failed to pass, and he had to give that boy thirty kowtows.
Those ten failures took up ten years of Xiao Biehan’s life and were the darkest period of his life.
But Xiao Biehan had gotten through it.
He had hardened up and continued to cultivate as if nothing had happened, holding out against all the insults.
When he came to that boy for the eleventh time and sought to make another attempt, that boy said, “You passed.”
And then that boy gave him a bottle of Immortal elixir.
As for Meng Feixing’s nine encounters without luck, this was another interesting story.
Meng Feixing was a current Violet Palace Titan of the Rosecloud Domain, but in his early years, he had only been a wandering cultivator. It was said that he once dreamt of encountering Immortal fortune, and so he followed the clues left by the dream, experiencing countless hardships and setbacks. He traveled every corner of the Rosecloud Domain, and he really did manage to find the Returned Remnants of an Immortal Platform Titan and achieve success. The so-called “nine encounters without luck” didn’t refer to nine failures he had experienced, but to nine being the maximal number, as an indication of the numerous challenges he had faced.
And everyone was familiar with the story of Zhang Shuhan cultivating the Dao at an advanced age and becoming a Celestial Sovereign.
The first three stories all had an encouraging feel, but the fourth was the exact opposite.
Tian Jizi was a famous Immortal master from two thousand years ago. He was apparently skilled in reading the stars and divination, capable of changing fate. He had calculated the lives of countless people and had never once failed. But when he was at his peak, someone came to find him and said that there was no such thing as luck in the world, that nobody could predict the future, and that all divination was trickery.
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Tian Jizi was furious and began to argue, even saying that if his prediction was wrong, he would destroy his Immortal Spirit, which was the foundation of his Immortal Platform.
In this contest, Tian Jizi lost. He destroyed his Immortal Spirit and died, and after death, he became a laughing stock.
Tang Jie continued, “I’ve brought up these four examples to tell you that you shouldn’t take failure and dignity too seriously. Since ancient times, what august figure hasn’t suffered a few setbacks? Some people suffer them early in their careers and manage to stage a comeback. But others suffer setbacks when they’re at their peak and don’t even get a chance at redemption, their lives being finished. Cai Junyang, you’re nothing more than a minor character, so what does it matter that you’ve lost a few matches? Don’t think too highly of yourself. Other people don’t care one bit about your achievements. Putting aside the fact that you tied, even if you suffered an utter defeat, other people still wouldn’t care. And don’t be too down on yourself, either. Even if you lost today, you didn’t lose your life. This is only an insignificant stop in your life.”
“‘Don’t think too highly of myself’, but ‘don’t be too down on myself’?” Cai Junyang was dumbfounded.
In Tang Jie’s former world, these principles were frequently spoken about, but in this world, even Peng Yaolong and Ye Tianshang were effusive in their praise for them.
Ye Tianshang gave a thumbs-up. “Tang Jie, I don’t like anything else about you, but I truly do admire you for your way of dealing with things.”
It wasn’t just him. Even some of the teachers found these words very insightful and reasonable, allowing for advancing and retreating in equal measure. This was truly a talent that was worth crafting.
On his high platform, Ming Yekong took a deep look at Tang Jie, a smile appearing on his handsome face. “Fengtang, this student of yours is quite interesting.”
Xie Fengtang smiled. “This Tang Jie is truly a very smart child, always able to say something that makes sense. But he’s quite the senseless child, sometimes capable of doing the most infuriating things.”
“You’re referring to how he pretended to be Tang Jiye?”
“There’s also the True Inheritor struggle. If not for Hall Master Yan’s tolerance, I would have had no idea how to explain things to him. And just a few days ago, he was openly sitting together with that fiend woman from Horizon Ocean Pavilion. If it wasn’t out of respect for Xu Guanghua, I would have driven her out long ago. This kid makes trouble for me all the time.” Xie Fengtang was listing off all of Tang Jie’s faults and appeared very incensed, but there was a sense of protectiveness in his tone.
Ming Yekong softly smiled. “Capable of doing what others cannot, accomplishing extraordinary deeds. Truly wondrous. I surmise that this child has a great future before him!”
“Hall Master Ming seems to have high praise for this child. If so, why not give him a little chance?” Xie Fengtang smiled.
Ming Yekong was startled, and then he shook his head and smiled. “Fengtang, you’re getting on in years, so why are you still so small-minded? But I suppose you’re doing your duty as Deputy Headmaster by trying to bring benefit to your student. Ah, forget it; since you’ve spoken, I have to give a little something.”
Ming Yekong flipped his hand over, revealing a thin booklet within it. “Give this to Tang Jie. Consider it a small gift from me.”