Loves Yuxian Most

"Huh?" Zhou You couldn't make heads or tails of what she meant. The remark seemed to come completely out of nowhere. "It's nothing. I just wanted to remind you, Fellow Daoist, not to mention anything about me to others," Duan Yuxian explained with a hint of fluster. "For instance, you and Tingxue are in the same grade, so you two are bound to run into each other at some point." Zhou You understood at once. Was that all? Clearly, Duan Yuxian didn't know him well enough. Everyone in Class Three knew he was a man of his word; he certainly wouldn't blab about her business. "Rest assured, Fellow Daoist. I'll be careful about that." Only after confirming that there were no problems on Zhou You's end did Duan Yuxian finally reply to Su Tingxue's message. On the other side, Su Tingxue had grown a bit anxious when her message went unanswered for so long. *Yuxian seemed quite intrigued by Zhou You's bizarre spells, so she ought to agree, right?* *Then again, it's hard to say. She doesn't really like strangers. Maybe she's trying to figure out a tactful way to turn me down?* Her phone chimed. Su Tingxue checked the screen to find a very concise reply from Duan Yuxian. "Okay." *** Sun Cheng, a disciple of the Juque Sect, went by the handle "Loves Yuxian Most" on the Immortal Cultivation Forum. For the past few days, he had been wandering around Mount Wudang. During summer vacation, there was a chance Duan Yuxian might get bored of staying up at the True Martial Great Hall and come down the mountain for fun, which gave him a chance of running into her. Unfortunately, after lingering around Mount Wudang for over a month, he hadn't caught so much as a glimpse of her. "Forget it. I'm going to Chang'an!" A fierce look crossed Sun Cheng's face. How dare that guy claim he didn't know Duan Yuxian? He was lying through his teeth, and it was the ultimate provocation. His connection to Duan Yuxian had begun quite by accident. From a very young age, Sun Cheng had displayed an affinity for the sword. During the first-birthday ritual, the object he had grabbed was a wooden sword. The moment he learned to walk, he carried that little wooden sword and followed the old men in the park to practice Tai Chi swordplay, performing the forms with surprising finesse. When he grew a bit older, his family found a local martial arts club where he could train under an instructor. He learned quickly; even senior disciples several years older were no match for him. Eventually, the instructor had nothing left to teach him. Fortunately, in his youth, the instructor had enjoyed a brush with immortal destiny and taken the entrance exam for the Juque Sect. Though he had failed to pass, seeing Sun Cheng's talent, he recommended the boy to the Juque Sect. Sun Cheng lived up to expectations and passed the entrance exam with flying colors. The Juque Sect had once been a titan among sword cultivation sects. Although its experts had withered away and its standing had declined following that demonic calamity a thousand years ago, a starving camel was still bigger than a horse. It remained a second-rate or borderline first-rate power in the cultivation world. Once Sun Cheng entered the Juque Sect, however, the edge he took such pride in vanished. He had been peerless in the martial arts club, but here, anyone plucked at random was just as good as him. His confidence shattered and his Dao heart grew unstable, leaving him stalled at early Qi Refinement. Once merely average, he was gradually overtaken by newcomers, and his status steadily plummeted. Later, while attending the Sword Cultivator Grand Competition as a spectator, he witnessed the True Martial successor Duan Yuxian sweep through everyone in her cultivation realm. The elite disciples the Juque Sect had meticulously selected couldn't even survive three exchanges against her. Even his arrogant, condescending eldest senior brother suffered defeat within ten moves. Duan Yuxian stood in the center of the arena, pointing her sword toward the heavens, as cold and haughty as frost. She was even the youngest of all the sword cultivators present—five or six years younger than him! Sun Cheng suddenly realized there was always someone better out there; there was no need to wallow in self-pity. With that realization, his heart opened up, allowing his cultivation realm to break through and propel him straight to mid Qi Refinement. At the same time, he developed a mad infatuation with Duan Yuxian, deciding she was his destined woman, even though she had no idea who he was. Later, he didn't hesitate to spend thirty pieces of spirit jade to change his forum handle to "Loves Yuxian Most" to declare his devotion. "Anyone who insults Yuxian is my enemy!" Since he couldn't find Duan Yuxian at Mount Wudang, he would go to Chang'an and teach that ignorant brat a lesson! Sun Cheng arrived at Chang'an No. 2 High School as agreed, though he hadn't waited until noon—he had arrived at dawn. He had two reasons. First, there would be too many students around noon, making it easy for an outsider like him to be spotted, so coming early when few people were around was safer. The second and most important reason was that he was building up momentum. This was a combat technique unique to the Juque Sect: remaining motionless before battle while continuously intensifying the conviction in one's mind, creating an overwhelming momentum. When accumulated to its limit, this momentum could even allow one to challenge an opponent across cultivation realms! He sat cross-legged in the middle of the rooftop, eyes closed to rest his mind as he visualized the Juque Sword visualization diagram left behind by the sect founder, imagining himself as a sword—an unstoppable sword! From morning until noon, he sat motionless, until he felt his momentum reach its absolute peak. Suddenly, noisy footsteps and squabbling voices reached his ears. His opponent had arrived. Sun Cheng slowly opened his eyes, an imposing aura soaring toward the heavens as sword light flashed in his pupils! "Setting up a brawl without inviting me? Do you still respect me as Grand Elder or what?" "Yeah, yeah! Me too! I'll help the sect master teach him a lesson!" "No need. This is my own business; you two just watch. Besides, this is called a spell duel, not a brawl." Zhou You climbed up the ladder to the rooftop and reached out to pull Chu Xiaoyao up. Nuomi didn't need any help; she could just fly right through the walls. The full lineup of the Carefree Sect had assembled. Zhou You had originally planned to deal with Sun Cheng quickly during the lunch break, but the girl and the ghost happened to have sharp instincts in these matters. Sensing that something was off, they interrogated him relentlessly until he was forced to admit he was meeting someone for a spell duel. The sword light in Sun Cheng's eyes faltered slightly. He couldn't see Nuomi; he only saw Chu Xiaoyao trailing behind Zhou You. Chu Xiaoyao was exquisitely pretty, her cascade of black hair dancing in the breeze against delicate, snow-white skin, her eyes shining with absolute confidence. In terms of looks alone, Chu Xiaoyao was fully comparable to Su Tingxue. She was exceptionally well known not just in the third-year grade, but across all of No. 2 High. The boy possessed cultivation attainment, so he had to be "Swimming This Week?". Why would a beauty like this be on such close terms with him? Still, what brought Sun Cheng slight comfort was the divide between immortals and mortals; there could never be any future between an immortal cultivator and a mortal. Sun Cheng suddenly shuddered. Why had it turned so chilly right in the middle of the day? Adjusting his aura, Sun Cheng returned to his peak state, his eyes flashing with sword light. "Juque Sect, Sun Cheng." "Carefree Sect, Zhou You." Both announced their sects, though neither sounded particularly pleasant. Sun Cheng sneered without bothering to hide it. "Carefree Sect? Some tiny sect I've never even heard of." So this was Su Tingxue's fanboy: a bumpkin from the middle of nowhere who lacked worldliness. "Considering your humble background, if you admit your mistake right now, I'll pretend you really haven't heard of my Yuxian." Chu Xiaoyao gritted her teeth in anger. "Daring to look down on our Carefree Sect? Zhou You, let loose and beat him senseless! Who the heck is Duan Yuxian? Who's ever heard of her?" "Yeah, yeah! Just hearing her name, she sounds like she's cut from the same cloth as that damn rice-thrower—definitely up to no good!" Nuomi chimed in, making sure to employ an idiom she had just learned. Veins bulged on Sun Cheng's forehead. Taking into account that Chu Xiaoyao was a mortal, he decided not to lower himself to her level. Zhou You felt a little guilty. A few days ago, he could have confidently insisted that he had no idea who Duan Yuxian was and loudly claimed she couldn't compare to Su Tingxue at all. But saying that now would ring completely hollow. "My Yuxian is like a heavenly fairy!" Sun Cheng declared. "She's apprenticed to the Hall Master of the True Martial Great Hall, inherited the True Martial legacy, possesses unmatched swordplay, and carries a disposition as cold and proud as frost! She treats everyone with aloof disdain, keeping everyone thousands of miles away! And you dare say you don't know her?!" Sun Cheng recalled how he had once tried to strike up a conversation with Duan Yuxian, only to be coldly brushed off. He hadn't felt discouraged at all; in fact, he had found her all the more alluring for it. Zhou You's expression turned odd. Thinking back to his interactions with Duan Yuxian, she had seemed quite easygoing and approachable, completely unlike Sun Cheng's description. "She's like that?" "I didn't think she was like that when she was hanging out with me..." "You're courting death!" Sun Cheng roared in a fury.