"Cough! Cough!" Chen Wentian spluttered as the few mouthfuls of wine he had previously downed came back up.
"Master, are you alright?" Zhou Ziyun asked.
She quickly produced a handkerchief and wiped his mouth.
"Thanks, it's nothing. This wine has a strange aftertaste. Perhaps it has gone bad." He muttered.
He frowned at the wet patch on his front. His reaction had been purely on instinct. His physique, which was partly that of a blue dragon, did not agree with this jug of wine provided by the Eastern Sword Alliance.
He shrugged and decided to not think too hard about it. There were many things about blue dragons that he still didn't understand as the blue dragon soul's memory was still spotty at best. He incinerated the offending jug of wine and produced another from his spatial bag. It was a wine made from the nectar of sunny honeysuckle flowers, produced by the farms within Ten Thousand Flower Valley.
Sunny honeysuckle was great at absorbing the spiritual energy of the sun. Its nectar was sweet but produced a wine with a fiery body and a bold taste. It was considered a spiritual wine and great for flame cultivators.
"Hey, Xue'er, Yue'er, do you want some?" Chen Wentian called out.
"Ah!" Su Xue cried out, "Is it finally ready?"
"Mmm." He nodded.
The wine had been their idea, including the planting of that specific species of honeysuckle.
"I want to try it first!" Su Yue squealed.
Amidst noisy chatter and incessant giggles, Chen Wentian and his disciples spent the remaining time tasting wine instead of worrying about the upcoming challenge tournament, much to the disapproval of neighboring sects and their sect masters.
Chen Wentian and Ten Thousand Flower Valley may have achieved fame across the Eastern Sanmu Subcontinent during the previous Immortal Sect Competition, but in the eyes of other immortal sects, he was still an undeserving newcomer. They felt that he had gotten lucky in finding Wu Qianyu and in stumbling into the stewardship of Glacier Palace. His rivals and peers refused to accept that he was anything good because they were blinded by jealousy.
Chen Wentian cared little about what others thought of him but it was a little difficult to ignore when neighboring immortals were constantly probing his spiritual aura and testing his mettle.
"Time is up, let the challenge tournament begin!" Immortal Green Destiny Yang Kaitian's voice boomed across the area, startling many.
His figure streaked across the plaza, drawing everyone's attention. He carried a huge bronze caldron above his head. He arrived before the stone pillar to the north and slammed the caldron down.
Gong!!
A deep metallic melody reverberated through the gathered cultivators.
"The challenge tournament!" Yang Kaitian, "Within this caldron is all the names of the challengers at the Spirit Initiate Realm that wish to enter the Forest of Swords. I will now draw nine names at random and they may proceed to challenge anyone atop the ranking pillar. Let's go, first round!"
He slammed a palm against the side of the bronze caldron which was taller than him. There was a surge of spiritual energy as nine wooden placards flew out in a line and arrived before him.
"First challenger, Zhang Han of the Tai Ping Pavilion, come forth!"
Immediately, there was an energetic shout from the southern section. A sturdy man with a clean-shaven face and wild black hair leaped down onto the stone platform of the plaza. A classic, slender jian was strapped to his back within an engraved and gold-plated scabbard.
"Zhang Han present!" The man declared.
His voice carried across the wide plaza, showing off his significant strength at the peak of the Spirit Initiate Realm.
"You have ten breaths to decide on your challenge." Yang Kaitian said.
"No need, Lord Yang." Zhang Han said with confidence, "I challenge Wu Qianyu of Ten Thousand Flower Valley!"
All eyes shifted towards the east.
Chen Wentian snorted and shook his head. Wu Qianyu's name was simply too famous. Everyone and their cousins wanted to challenge her. Even if they were clearly weaker than her, they were still willing to try. It was the best way to get noticed as everyone's attention would no doubt be on her duels at every opportunity.
Wu Qianyu stood up to answer the challenge.
"Master?" She asked, waiting for his permission.
He looked up and gazed at her expectant expression. Her pose was relaxed but alert. She was in high spirits. He knew that look. She was looking for a good fight.
He smiled and nodded.
Wu Qianyu bowed her head and then whirled around to face the plaza. With a surge of spiritual energy at her feet, she leaped down.
"Go Sister Wu, kick his ass!" Lin Qingcheng shouted.
"Sister Wu!" The twins added their cheers.
Wu Qianyu landed on the stone platform with a gentle gust of wind. Her white battle robe fluttered slightly before coming to a rest. Her sleek black hair was kept in a neat bun and fastened with a single jeweled hairpin.
All eyes were on her. Some of those in the audience had caught glimpses of her at the ceremony for the Monster Fighting Competition. Others had only heard of her meteoric rise in fame. Everybody wanted to see her and what she was all about.
With a flash of spiritual energy, the Purple Jade Sword appeared in her right hand. She twirled it around once and let it rest against the back of her sleeve. Other than that, she remained still and straight like a sword.
Her aura combined with that of the Purple Jade Sword and carried a profound sword energy that was difficult to grasp by even the strongest sword cultivators. This was the power of Dugu's 10th Sword; this was not some sword art created by a country bumpkin. It was indisputable that she was a true talent. There was no fluke about her performance during the Immortal Sect Competition.
Under the scrutiny of thousands of people, Wu Qianyu stood her ground. She was calm. She was confident. She was ready.
She had trained for the past few months with everything she had. She had subjected herself to unbearable pain with her master's help. She had ventured into the Eastern Wilderness by herself to hone her skills.
She wanted to prove to the world that the Immortal Sect Competition was no fluke. She wanted to show everyone the true strength of Ten Thousand Flower Valley. She wanted to repay Chen Wentian for all the time and effort he had spent on her. She wanted him to know that she was worthy of his love.
"Wu Qianyu present!" She declared, her voice sharp and firm.
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