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Join the ServerIt was no wonder Su Muxue hadn’t worried about Su Yun’s secret being exposed; it seemed she had long since colluded with Jiang Shengming behind the scenes.
****
A few more days passed, and the Beast Hunt Trial finally arrived.
According to the rules, all disciples of Spirit Sword Mountain were eligible to participate, but only in teams of six, led by a Foundation Establishment Realm disciple. This meant finding a suitable team was a prerequisite for entry.
Su Yun had initially intended to join Lin Shuang and Lin Xue, but Lei Yan disapproved. He cited a lack of trust in other factions, and thus assigned five personal bodyguards to Su Yun.
On the journey to the Lingyuan Mountain trial grounds, Su Yun found herself speechless, observing the five senior brothers who had encircled her protectively.
All five were Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators, led by Fan Yang. This was undoubtedly the most extravagant team in the entire Beast Hunt Trial, a ‘five-guard-one’ formation.
“I say, Senior Brother, isn’t this a bit overkill?” Su Yun asked, glancing at the five imposing figures beside her. “Other factions only have one Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator leading a team. Our team has five. Isn’t that unfair to everyone else?”
Fan Yang and the others chuckled.
“Their rules don’t apply to us,” Fan Yang replied with a smile. “How many disciples does our Artifact Forging Peak even have? We usually don’t participate in events like this. Our presence alone is a huge favor, so the Sect Master and the others won’t say a word.”
“That’s right, Junior Sister,” Zhou Bo added, also laughing. “Let’s just go in and have some fun, broaden our horizons. Master said you’re an unprecedented genius in the history of our Artifact Forging Peak. Even a minor injury would be a great loss to the sect.”
These large, burly men trailing Su Yun truly gave the impression of a celebrity accompanied by five bodyguards.
Their constant chatter, one after another, left Su Yun feeling incredibly awkward.
She actually wanted to tell them to just act normally, not to treat her like a fragile vase just because she was a woman.
Deep down, Su Yun wished to treat them as brothers. However, from their gazes and attitudes, she could tell that becoming ‘brothers’ was likely impossible. With her current appearance, once she fully matured in a few years, she would undoubtedly have even more headaches.
‘Sigh! This is tough,’ Su Yun lamented inwardly.
****
Soon, they arrived at their destination: Lingyuan Mountain.
Lingyuan Mountain was a forest enclosed by towering walls on all sides, further isolated by a formation array above. This was likely designed to prevent any demonic beasts from escaping.
From a distance, it resembled a colossal prison.
This location had been painstakingly developed through the combined efforts of three generations of Spirit Sword Mountain’s Sect Masters, incurring exceptionally high costs.
Beyond all else, consider the walls surrounding Lingyuan Mountain. These were no ordinary earthen barriers, but were cast from a unique blend of special metals and stones. Not even a Golden Core Realm Perfected cultivator could hope to shake them.
As for the formation array covering the top, it was named the Eight Directions Demon Locking Array. Specifically designed to trap demonic beasts, any beast that touched its barrier would suffer a violent electric shock, instantly killing those below the Foundation Establishment Realm.
This site had existed for nearly two millennia, making it a man-made trial ground. Its spiritual energy density was comparable to Yunfeng Ridge.
Before coming, Su Yun had, of course, thoroughly researched the area.
During the trial, the sect’s high-ranking elders would station themselves on all sides of the enclosing walls, monitoring every move of the demonic beasts and the participating disciples. Should any disciple face danger, they would immediately enter Lingyuan Mountain to protect them.
Yet, despite these precautions, risks remained. The reason was simple: intervention required time. If a disciple encountered trouble so severe they couldn’t even wait a few breaths, then nothing could be done.
Su Yun and her team had now reached the platform before the entrance to Lingyuan Mountain, where many other teams were already waiting.
“Hey? Look, aren’t those people from Artifact Forging Peak?” one disciple exclaimed. “Are they participating in this Beast Hunt Trial too? No way, this, this is too unfair! How can a single team have five Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators?”
Other Spirit Sword Mountain disciples, who had arrived earlier and sensed the formidable strength of Su Yun’s team, couldn’t help but voice their complaints.
Upon their landing, Su Yun’s group instantly became the center of attention, with almost everyone’s gaze fixed upon them.
“Silence!” the chief disciples from various peaks commanded their own disciples. “Artifact Forging Peak is different from us; it’s already commendable that they’ve chosen to participate.” They then approached Fan Yang and the others with warm smiles.
“Haha, Junior Brother Fan, long time no see!” a gentle-mannered young cultivator greeted Fan Yang and the others with a cupped-fist salute. “I never expected your Artifact Forging Peak to join the Beast Hunt Trial this time. Truly a rare sight!”
Though Fan Yang’s cultivation wasn’t the highest, he arguably held the most esteemed position among the second-generation disciples. This was due to his status as a third-rank low-grade artifact forger. However, given his age, his forging skills would likely cap at the third-rank mid-grade.
Fan Yang immediately returned their greetings with a cheerful smile, addressing each of the seven脉 [TL Note: ‘七脉’ refers to the seven main peaks/factions of Spirit Sword Mountain] chief disciples.
The chief disciple of Heavenly Sword Peak was Li Chengfeng. He possessed a handsome appearance and a refined demeanor, and was currently the strongest among Spirit Sword Mountain’s second-generation disciples, having reached the early Golden Core Realm. At over 170 years old, he belonged to the same generation of disciples as Su Yun’s mother, Su Muxue.
Li Chengfeng currently managed all the disciples of Heavenly Sword Peak; he was its de facto master, as Jiang Shengming had long since relinquished control.
Jiang Chongyang, the chief disciple of Thunderbolt Peak, appeared to be a decisive and resolute young man with white hair. A Foundation Establishment Realm Perfected cultivator, the color of his hair hinted at his limited lifespan. He, too, was over 170 years old, a contemporary of Su Muxue.
Meng Zhou, the chief disciple of Blazing Flame Peak, was also a Foundation Establishment Realm Perfected cultivator, but clearly much younger than Jiang Chongyang.
Qiu Ningxiang, the chief disciple of Azure Cloud Peak, was at the late Foundation Establishment Realm. Her age went without saying.
Chu Luan, the chief disciple of Cold Spirit Peak, was at the late Foundation Establishment Realm. Her identity was quite unique, as she was a princess of the Chu royal family.
Yang Qiming, the chief disciple of Purple Haze Peak, was at the late Foundation Establishment Realm.
Han Jiayu, the chief disciple of Azure Wave Peak, was also at the late Foundation Establishment Realm. She was the niece of Han Heng from the Moonfall Sect.
Considering the current situation of the seven脉 [TL Note: ‘七脉’ refers to the seven main peaks/factions of Spirit Sword Mountain] chief disciples, Blazing Flame Peak was likely the strongest after Heavenly Sword Peak. This was because Meng Zhou was considerably younger than Jiang Chongyang. Jiang Chongyang had only about twenty years of life left; if he couldn’t break through to the Golden Core Realm, he would have to use longevity-extending treasures. Once such treasures were used, even if he did reach the Golden Core Realm, it would be difficult for him to achieve a high level.
Su Yun had already memorized all these leading figures among Spirit Sword Mountain’s second-generation disciples.
Fan Yang spent some time reminiscing with them before finally calling out to Su Yun.
“Junior Sister, come, let me introduce you to these senior brothers,” Fan Yang said, preparing to introduce Su Yun to everyone. “They are all the chief disciples of our Spirit Sword Mountain’s various peaks.”
However, upon seeing Su Yun, Li Chengfeng and the other senior disciples revealed expressions of astonishment, then blurted out a surprised greeting.
“Eh, Senior Sister Su.”
“You? Eh, no, that’s not right.” Li Chengfeng and Jiang Chongyang stared blankly at the red-clad girl who so closely resembled Su Muxue.
Fan Yang and the others were taken aback by the strong reaction of Li Chengfeng and the others upon seeing Su Yun.
“What’s wrong, Senior Brother Li?” Fan Yang asked, puzzled. “This is my Junior Sister Su Yun. She should be your Junior Sister, shouldn’t she? Why are you calling her Senior Sister?”
Su Yun naturally understood why these individuals were looking at her with such expressions.
‘These guys must be disciples from the same era as my mom, right?’ Su Yun speculated.
In truth, few disciples from Su Muxue’s era—those whose ages differed by only about 50 years—remained at Spirit Sword Mountain.
“This? She’s too similar! Junior Brother Jiang, don’t you think this Junior Sister bears a striking resemblance to Senior Sister Su Muxue from the neighboring Moonfall Sect?” Li Chengfeng quickly asked Jiang Chongyang.
Both men had been beaten by Su Muxue back in the day, during her visit to their sect.
“Indeed, too similar,” Jiang Chongyang responded, his eyes also wide with confusion as he gazed at Su Yun. “If not for the difference in cultivation and demeanor, I would have thought she was Senior Sister Su.”
The others, however, were not as familiar with Su Muxue.
“You two senior brothers must be mistaking me for Sect Master Su of the Moonfall Sect, right?” Su Yun quickly explained. “In fact, when the Sect Master and my Master first saw me, they said the same thing.”
Both men nodded slightly upon hearing this.
“Yes, the resemblance is truly uncanny,” Li Chengfeng reiterated with a sigh.
“Speaking of which, Sect Master Su and I share the same surname,” Su Yun remarked playfully. “Perhaps we have a common ancestor.”
The two quickly composed themselves, but Fan Yang remained perplexed.
“What’s going on, two senior brothers?” Fan Yang asked, scratching his head. “Do you think my junior sister looks like Sect Master Su from next door?”
From Fan Yang’s question, it was clear he had never met Su Muxue.
“Indeed, it’s not just a resemblance; she’s practically carved from the same mold!” Li Chengfeng exclaimed, sighing repeatedly. “Ah, Senior Sister Su is a legend to our generation, an unscalable mountain.”
At the mention of Su Muxue, even those who hadn’t met her couldn’t help but show expressions of admiration and helplessness. After all, among the Southern Wilderness’s Ten Great Sects, the closest contemporary cultivator to Su Muxue was only at the mid Golden Core Realm.
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