It wasn't just the audience. Even Du Lingfei was feeling a bit jealous of how lucky Bai Xiaochun had gotten. It was the same with Chen Zi'ang. The other four people who had reached the top 5 had all spend a lot of energy already. If they had managed to get the blank marble, it would have given them a bit of breathing room to rest, which would have been an immense advantage during the rest of the fighting.
Elder Sun looked at Bai Xiaochun and smiled, whereas Li Qinghou's expression remained the same as before.
Bai Xiaochun looked on excitedly as the next round of fighting began. Du Lingfei's opponent was a fierce disciple who frequently left the sect on missions to slay wild beasts, and was the type of person who was used to seeing a lot of bloodshed. On the other hand, Du Lingfei's skill with Lightness-in-Heaviness was quite fear-inspiring. Not only did it provide her with powerful defensive capabilities, but she was also able to move with incredible speed.
The audience was completely focused on the match, and occasional 'oohs' and 'ahs' could be heard. Both fighters were clearly in danger of being injured, and yet... there happened to be a certain voice calling out, taking the lead in the cheering.
"Whoah! Nice sword move!
"Look at that reverse Dragon Tail attack! Oh no! Look behind you! Quick, look behind you!
"Rah rah rah!" Bai Xiaochun was really getting sucked into watching the fight, to the point where he even started applauding at key points. It wasn't an act either; he really was impressed by Du Lingfei's performance, and by now, had forgotten that he was actually one of the competitors.
When Elder Sun saw what was happening, he coughed dryly. Li Qinghou's face was completely expressionless, but inwardly all he could do was shrug his shoulders. After all, Bai Xiaochun had already accomplished the assigned task.
Facing such a powerful opponent, Du Lingfei had no time for distractions. She focused completely for the time it takes an incense stick to burn, and after using Lightness-in-Heaviness three times, she finally secured victory.
However, she ended up exhausting over half of her spiritual energy. Sweating, she was just about to walk out of the arena to rest up a bit, when she heard Bai Xiaochun cheering her on. Then she thought about how incredibly difficult it had been for her to get into the top 3, whereas Bai Xiaochun had done it without any effort at all. Irritation rose up in her heart, and she wished she could simply blast him with a powerful attack right then and there.
When Bai Xiaochun noticed that Du Lingfei was glaring at him angrily, he blinked a few times, feeling a bit offended. Then he glared back at her, which seemed to push Du Lingfei to the point where she almost couldn't restrain herself from attacking.
Chen Zi'ang's next fight went a bit smoother. However, he still fought for about the time it takes half an incense stick to burn, and wasted quite a bit of spiritual energy.
He was also feeling quite envious of Bai Xiaochun.
"We now have a top 3. All three of you are Outer Sect... celebrities." Elder Sun cleared his throat. "Please come to determine the fighting order. This time, the number three marble counts as the blank marble. Whoever picks it will advance directly to the final match." Elder Sun waved his hand, causing the bag to appear once again.
Chen Zi'ang was the first in line this time, and when he pulled out the marble and saw the number 'two' written on it, he sighed and stepped off to the side.
Du Lingfei took a deep breath as she stepped forward. But then she stopped in place and turned icily to Bai Xiaochun.
"You go first!" she said coldly.
Bai Xiaochun, who had been watching the exciting fights this entire time, didn't refuse. He reached into the bag as Du Lingfei looked on with an icy expression. It wasn't just her that was waiting to see what would happen, all eyes in the audience were fixed upon Bai Xiaochun.
Even Elder Sun and Li Qinghou were craning their necks.
Being the focus of attention in this way caused Bai Xiaochun to feel a bit embarrassed. Actually, he didn't even really care which marble he pulled out, and yet when he finally did remove his hand, his eyes went wide with shock.
Number three.
Bai Xiaochun looked back at Du Lingfei, coughed dryly, and said, "Um, hey, you asked me to go first."
Eyes gleaming ferociously, Du Lingfei clenched her hands into fist and stared murderously at Bai Xiaochun. Her chest rose as she took a deep breath; she seemed to be on the verge of exploding.
Chen Zi'ang's eyes went wide, and his jaw dropped. The idea of someone being so incredibly lucky simply exceeded his imagination. Yet again... Bai Xiaochun would skip an entire match.
When the surrounding disciples saw the marble in Bai Xiaochun's hands, they couldn't restrain themselves. Instantly, a huge commotion broke out.
"He advances automatically again! His name is Bai Xiaochun, right? How... how could he be so lucky!? He got the blank marble twice in a row!"
"How shameless of this guy! He hasn't done anything, and yet has made it all the way to the final match...."
"How could a guy like that make it to the finals? Dammit, if I was as lucky as that, I could do the same thing!" Everyone was in an uproar, and the people who had been eliminated from the competition earlier seemed especially envious.
Elder Sun hesitated for a moment and then looked over at Li Qinghou. Li Qinghou let out a long sigh; he had to admit that Bai Xiaochun really had gotten lucky.
In Bai Xiaochun's mind, there was no reason for the crowd to react in such a way. Smiling awkwardly, he hurried out of the arena, standing outside with an embarrassed look on his face.
"Ai. I was planning to concede anyway...." he thought, looking incredulously at the marble in his hand.
Du Lingfei took a deep breath to suppress her extreme irritation. Gritting her teeth, she looked at Chen Zi'ang, simultaneously settling her qi and clearing her mind. She had done her homework on Chen Zi'ang, and knew that he was a very powerful opponent.
Chen Zi'ang smiled bitterly, taking a deep breath as he gazed back at Du Lingfei.
After staring off for a few breaths of time, they sprang into action. Almost instantly, booms and bangs began to ring out. This was actually the most spectacular fight in the entire competition so far. Chen Zi'ang erupted with his full power, going to the lengths of throwing out some seeds, which he then catalyzed into full-grown plants with attack powers. When Bai Xiaochun saw him use his skill in plants and vegetation in such a way, his eyes glittered.
As for Du Lingfei, she used Lightness-in-Heaviness to send her flying sword whistling through the air. After they had fought for a bit, she then produced a wooden sword, which swirled about in conjunction with the ordinary flying sword, turning the battlefield into an even more spectacular scene than before.
The two of them couldn't keep using their trump cards for very long, and were rapidly running out of spiritual energy. The fighting only continued to grow more bitter.
Bai Xiaochun was watching excitedly, whooping and hollering the entire time.
The battle went on for about an hour, until a massive boom rang out as Du Lingfei pushed the wooden sword so hard that it exploded. The resulting fragments were then propelled by Lightness-in-Heaviness in a huge attack that Chen Zi'ang simply couldn't dodge. He was forced into retreat and ended up drawing on all of his spiritual energy. Finally, he sighed and conceded.
The surrounding Outer Sect disciples were quite impressed by the intense battle, and their eyes gleamed with admiration as they gazed at Du Lingfei. They were now fully convinced of how amazing she was. As for Chen Zi'ang, his reputation also improved because of the fight.
Even though he had lost, he was sure to become even more famous in the days to come.
Elder Sun seemed quite pleased, and was even considering taking Du Lingfei on as a personal apprentice.
At the same time, no matter how the competition ended, Bai Xiaochun's name was also sure to spread....
The moment Chen Zi'ang called out that he conceded, Du Lingfei slumped in place in the middle of the arena, her face pale. She was swaying back and forth in exhaustion, her spiritual energy almost completely depleted. Taking a deep breath, she produced some medicinal pills which she instantly consumed. However, she knew that the pills would only replenish so much, and she could only recover completely by sitting cross-legged in meditation for several hours. After all, she had just fought four battles in a row.
However, according to the rules of this type of competition, the disciples were not given very much time for rest. After all, it was only a small-scale competition.
"Bai Xiaochun, get out here!" Du Lingfei said through gritted teeth. Her eyes gleamed with a ferocious light as she looked at Bai Xiaochun standing outside of the arena. She wanted to take advantage of the little bit of spiritual energy she had to defeat this damnable Bai Xiaochun, who had gotten into the final match only by pure luck.
As soon as the words left Du Lingfei's mouth, everyone in the audience turned to look at Bai Xiaochun, eager to gloat in his misfortune. In their minds, even if Du Lingfei was bone tired, Bai Xiaochun had only achieved victory by random chance, and she would be able to defeat him easily no matter the circumstances.
Bai Xiaochun blinked a few times, then looked at Du Lingfei standing there unsteadily, and suddenly realized that he... could actually take 1st place.
"This is the time for Bai Xiaochun to finally become super famous. Once I go out there and use my Lightness-in-Heaviness, then everyone is going to be completely shocked." Puffing his chest out proudly, he strode into the arena, envisioning the scene of everyone reacting in shock to his win.
However, the instant his foot touched down, Du Lingfei's eyes flickered coldly, and she suddenly performed an incantation gesture and pointed out. Instantly, her flying sword shot toward Bai Xiaochun.
A brutal air emanated off of the flying sword, sending intense coldness out in all directions. Clearly this one attack was backed by all of the spiritual energy Du Lingfei could muster, causing the sword to emanate incredible pressure.
Even more shocking was that Du Lingfei flew into the air behind the sword, almost as if she were about to merge with it and become one.
A boom rang out as the sword accelerated toward Bai Xiaochun with shocking speed, a speed that vastly exceeded the speed she had used when fighting Chen Zi'ang. A piercing whistling sound echoed out as it became a prismatic beam that bore down on Bai Xiaochun.
Everyone watching was completely shocked by the sword move, and began to cry out in shock.
"Solitary Sword, Flying Immortal!!"
"I can't believe Elder Sister Du is actually using that sword incantation!!"
Elder Sun's eyes gleamed brightly, and Li Qinghou nodded. Both of them could tell that Du Lingfei had actually never successfully pulled off this sword incantation. However, at this point in the battle, when her spiritual energy was virtually depleted, she managed to succeed. Using her last bit of energy, she just barely managed to unleash the sword incantation.
"By putting everything on the line, she gained enlightenment of the sword incantation," Li Qinghou said, eyes gleaming with admiration. "This Du Lingfei isn't bad. She actually seems more suited to the cultivation of Green Crest Peak."
All of the Outer Sect disciples were completely shaken. Everything seemed to turn into a blur, except for Du Lingfei and her flying sword, which merged together into a picture of perfect clarity.
The sword whistled through the air, followed by the sword wielder, becoming a powerful attack. Du Lingfei looked exhausted, but her eyes gleamed with a sharp light. She was extremely confident that this sword move would secure her the victory.
In almost the exact same instant that the flying sword and Du Lingfei closed in on Bai Xiaochun, Bai Xiaochun's pupils constricted. Rumbling sounds then echoed out as all of his numerous defensive assets erupted out layer by layer, including the jade pendant and all the amulets. At the same time, he flew backward at top speed.
The flying sword was clearly not an ordinary object, and it quickly began to pierce through the shields. It stabbed through layer after layer, collapsing all the defensive shields until it actually reached Bai Xiaochun himself.
However, by that point, it didn't seem to have much energy left. Before it could actually stab into him, it got stuck. Even as he flew backward, the sword keeping pace, it was possible to see the layers of leather clothing he was wearing.
When the audience realized this, their jaws dropped, and they gasped.
"B-Bai Xiaochun... has so many defenses!!"
"How terrified of dying is this guy? Is it really worth it? He actually used magical items and talismans for a little competition like this? And on top of all that he wore leather armor!?!?"
Du Lingfei's face was pale white as she watched Bai Xiaochun running away like a rabbit whose tail had just been stepped on. Not only was he moving with incredible speed, her sword was still stuck in his clothing. Gritting her teeth, she performed an incantation gesture and pointed out in an attempt to drag the flying sword back to her. However, she had so little spiritual energy that all she could do was make it tremble a bit.
She tried one last time, but even as she tried to circulate her spiritual energy, blood began to ooze out of the corners of her mouth, and she staggered backward several paces, where she stood unsteadily for a moment before dropping down to sit on the ground. Her face was deathly pale, and her spiritual energy was completely drained.
In her heart, she felt that it was a big injustice. She had struggled so hard to get into the top 2, whereas Bai Xiaochun had done almost nothing. In fact, he hadn't even used any of his spiritual energy. Her irritation quickly turned into rage; gritted her teeth, she stared murderously at Bai Xiaochun, wishing she could kill him several times over. In fact, if she had the energy, she would go over and bite him.
Bai Xiaochun took a deep breath as he sped backward in retreat; he had never imagined that Du Lingfei would actually use a move like the one she had.
Unexpectedly, all of his defenses had been pierced.
"Fudge, it's a good thing I was thinking straight and put on eight leather jackets." He looked down at the flying sword sticking into his shoulder. It was now completely devoid of any energy, and was stuck fast within all the layers of leather. By the time it actually reached his skin, it had nothing left to push it any further.
Furthermore, thanks to his Undying Skin, when it actually touched him, it didn't even match up to a mosquito bite.
Fear lingering in his heart, Bai Xiaochun eyed the sword and then carefully pulled it out. Then he glanced over at Du Lingfei, who was sitting there gasping for breath.
"Elder Sister, you really shouldn't throw your treasures around like this. Do you want this sword or not? If you don't want it, then I'll take it." Looking extremely pleased, he put the flying sword into his bag of holding, then took out his own little wooden sword. Just as he was about to launch an attack, people in the crowd began to cry out in alarm.
Seeing Bai Xiaochun take her flying sword caused Du Lingfei's eyes to be shot with blood.
"You...." she said. Just as she was about to flip out completely, she passed out.
She was the second person in the competition to faint because of Bai Xiaochun.
"Eee? What did you go and faint for?" Bai Xiaochun looked at the unconscious Du Lingfei, and then back at his little wooden sword. Finally, he shrugged.
The surrounding Outer Sect disciples, especially the ones who had been eliminated from the competition early on, glared at Bai Xiaochun angrily. Many people even began to shout out.
"Shameless! You're completely shameless, Bai Xiaochun!"
"Winning that way doesn't count and we all know it!!"
"Disqualify him!"
Everyone joined together in their rage, causing Bai Xiaochun to instantly grow jumpy with fear. He also realized that showing off his Lightness-in-Heaviness ability wouldn't abate the crowd's fury, and in fact, could potentially lead to worse consequences, and cause them to call him even more shameless.... Instead, he turned to look at Elder Sun.
"Elder Sun, I got 1st place, right? Could you go ahead and announce it?"
Elder Sun smiled wryly in response. As for Li Qinghou, he sighed; how could he ever have imagined that requiring Bai Xiaochun join the competition would result in him taking 1st place?
Elder Sun shook his head and chuckled. "Uh... well I guess I might as well. Bai Xiaochun has taken 1st place in the competition!"
In response, everyone stared furiously at Bai Xiaochun.
Bai Xiaochun was of the opinion that he was actually pretty powerful, but considering how many people there were... his heart began to prickle with fear. Just when he was about step out of the arena and leave this dangerous location, Du Lingfei, with the help of some bystanders, regained consciousness and sat back up. Panting, she glared angrily at Bai Xiaochun, gritted her teeth, and then cried, "Bai Xiaochun, I refuse to admit defeat!
"You might have taken 1st place, but that's only because I let you have it. And that doesn't change how much I hate you. Do you dare to have another fight!?"
Bai Xiaochun gave a sarcastic chuckle and kept walking. In his mind, he would be crazy to fight with this deranged woman again. Besides, what would happen if she passed out again?
"I won't fight you with magic," she continued. "Besides, as Outer Sect disciples, we're both apprentice apothecaries of Fragrant Cloud Peak. Why don't we compete in skill with plants and vegetation?!" Du Lingfei glared at Bai Xiaochun the entire time, and when she spoke, her words were spoken slowly and decisively.
"If you win, you can keep that Pinewood Sword of mine. But if you don't agree, then you'll regret it!"
Bai Xiaochun stopped walking. Having heard skill with plants and vegetation mentioned, he couldn't help but turn his head to look back at Du Lingfei.
Seeing that Bai Xiaochun had stopped and was apparently hesitating, she resisted the impulse to unleash a savage attack, and quickly continued, "Bai Xiaochun, if you can defeat me in terms of skill with plants and vegetation, then you can even have this Cloudsoaring Incense!" With that, she produced a stick of bluish-purple incense.
As soon as the incense appeared, it began to pulse with spiritual energy, and the surrounding Outer Sect disciples' eyes instantly gleamed with envy.
"A tier-1 spirit medicine! Cloudsoaring Incense... it's a really remarkable tier-1 spirit medicine. Definitely very expensive, and useful for anyone under the seventh level of Qi Condensation!"
"Du Lingfei must have spent a lot of merit points on that in preparation for breaking out of the fifth level of Qi Condensation...."
"Elder Sister Du's skill with plants and vegetation got her into the top 20 of the first three stone steles outside the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion. Bai Xiaochun is definitely going to lose!"
Bai Xiaochun instantly recognized the Cloudsoaring Incense, which he had read about when studying the introduction to cloudsoaring grass in the third volume of plants and vegetation. He was instantly moved, and that was even before he heard everyone mention that Du Lingfei was only in the top 20 on the stones steles, after which his eyes gleamed.
Taking a few steps back, he stammered, "Y-you're... you're really in the top 20 on the stone steles of plants and vegetation?"
He actually just wanted to confirm that what he had overheard just now was true.
"Are you going to compete or not!?" Du Lingfei said through gritted teeth.
"But I've only studied the first three volumes...." he said hesitantly.
"That's what I'm talking about! Compete with me in the first three volumes! Come on, I dare you!" Du Lingfei was so angry she felt like she was about to explode.
"Fine... I'll compete!" he said. "Happy?" Although he looked as though he wanted to cry, inwardly, his heart was blooming with flowers of joy. He couldn't help but think that this girl really was a bit dim-witted.
As soon as the crowd heard Bai Xiaochun's words, they began to boo and heckle him. Du Lingfei took a deep breath, sucking in quite a bit of spiritual energy, which stabilized her a bit. Glaring angrily at Bai Xiaochun, she stalked forward to Elder Sun, then clasped hands and bowed.
"Elder, Disciple Du Lingfei requests that you bear official witness to a battle of plants and vegetation between myself and Bai Xiaochun."
Elder Sun's opinion of Du Lingfei was increasing by the moment. He stroked his beard for a moment before smiling and saying, "Very well. I shall bear witness. However, since we are speaking of skill with plants and vegetation, perhaps it would be better for the peak lord to decide the nature of the challenges."
He looked over at Li Qinghou. Li Qinghou looked deeply at Bai Xiaochun for a moment, then nodded.
The surrounding disciples were now quite excited, as was Du Lingfei, who turned to Li Qinghou, clasped hands and bowed.
Bai Xiaochun was also very pleased that he wouldn't have to engage in any dangerous fighting to make a name for himself. He stood there, no longer looking like he was about to cry, but rather, chin stuck up, looking arrogantly out at the crowd in the same way a Chosen would. Du Lingfei snorted coldly.
At this point, Li Qinghou glanced at Bai Xiaochun and Du Lingfei, then began to speak, his voice cool, "The Dao of plants and vegetation is unpredictable. Although we will limit things to the first three volumes, those volumes contain numerous variables. Today I will present you with two challenges. We shall see which of the two of you can secure victory." With that, he tapped his bag of holding and produced two seeds.
"These two flower seeds can be catalyzed with spiritual energy. The level of your skill with plants and vegetation will determine how many spirit flowers bloom. This is how we will decide the winner of the first round." Li Qinghou waved his hand, sending the two seeds flying to Bai Xiaochun and Du Lingfei respectively.
Du Lingfei caught the seed without any hesitation. At the same time, Li Qinghou sent a medicinal pill flying her way, which she also caught, a look of shock appearing on her face.
"Take that pill to restore your cultivation base," Li Qinghou said calmly. Du Lingfei's face lit up. After expressing her thanks, she consumed the pill. After a few breaths of time passed, she trembled, and her eyes began to shine brightly; her cultivation base had been completely restored.
Bai Xiaochun wasn't very happy with that, but he didn't dare to say anything. Instead, he looked down at the spirit seed lying in his palm, and began to study it closely.
"Don't recognize it?" Du Lingfei said, sneering. "Well I can tell you that it's a bluespirit thistle seed." With that, she completely ignored Bai Xiaochun, closing her eyes and circulating her spiritual energy, which she then poured into the seed in her hand.
Almost immediately, an emerald green sprout climbed up from the seed. It grew rapidly until it was about one-third of a meter tall. Then, it bloomed with a blue spirit flower, and began to grow even taller.
Bai Xiaochun looked over at what was happening, and then turned his attention back to the seed, which he continued to study thoughtfully.
Li Qinghou was watching Bai Xiaochun the whole time, and soon, a virtually undetectable flicker of surprise could be seen deep in his eyes.
While Bai Xiaochun stood there thinking, all of the surrounding Outer Sect disciples were watching Du Lingfei. The plant in her hand was two thirds of a meter tall, and already had a second flower.
By the time Bai Xiaochun sent some spiritual energy into the seed, Du Lingfei's spirit plant had already already sprouted with three flowers. Bai Xiaochun didn't maintain a steady flow of spiritual energy, but rather, sent it into the seed in fits and bursts. In fact, when the seed sprouted, he even blew the first few sprouts away with a breath of air.
After enough time had passed for an incense stick to burn, Du Lingfei's face was ashen, and she was gritting her teeth. With her final bit of energy, she caused a sixth blue flower to sprout, after which she breathed a sigh of relief. Placing the plant down next to her, she clasped hands and bowed to Li Qinghou.
Li Qinghou nodded. "Six spirit flowers, all of them superior-grade. Nice job."
Feeling very pleased with herself, Du Lingfei looked over at Bai Xiaochun. When she saw that his spirit plant wasn't even one third of a meter tall yet, her sneer widened.
The surrounding outer Sect disciples were getting very excited.
"Elder Sister Du definitely deserves her reputation. That bluespirit thistle bloomed with six flowers. That's incredible! Bai Xiaochun hasn't even caused one flower to bloom. He's completely good for nothing."
"A competition of plant catalysis first involves studying the seed, and then using unique catalysis methods to cause it to grow. In that regard, Elder Sister Du is really at the head of the pack."
In the middle of all the conversations, Bai Xiaochun's spirit plant gradually reached a height of one third of a meter. Next, a somewhat shrivelled blue flower appeared. Compared to Du Lingfei's flowers, it looked rather malnourished, and even elicited some laughs from the crowd. But then, all of a sudden, a second blue flower appeared on the short plant. Next was a third, a fourth, a fifth, a sixth, and a seventh....
In the space of a few breaths, Bai Xiaochun's spirit plant bloomed with nine flowers!!
This instantly led to widespread shock and disbelief.
Du Lingfei was staring at what to her was a completely unimaginable scene. "Bluespirit thistle blooms with one flower every third meter. How could this plant have nine flowers when it's only a third of a meter tall!"
However, things weren't over yet. Even as the nine small blue flowers appeared, Bai Xiaochun closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then suddenly exhaled sharply. That one breath contained spiritual energy which settled onto the nine flowers and, in the blink of an eye, caused them to begin to shiver and change colors. No longer were they blue, but rather, indigo!
Indigo starts out as blue, but its color is deeper and more
As soon as people realized what was happening, their eyes went wide with astonishment.
"That's... that's not a bluespirit thistle!!"
"Indigospirit thistle! It's indigospirit thistle, the seed of which is very difficult to distinguish from that of the bluespirit thistle! In fact, if you use the catalysis method for bluespirit thistle in indigospirit thistle, you'll actually produce a bluespirit thistle, except you'll have wasted the seed!"
Everyone was shocked, and were starting at Bai Xiaochun in disbelief.
Bai Xiaochun opened his eyes, then placed the indigospirit thistle off to the side. Chuckling sarcastically, he clasped his hands behind his back and looked at Du Lingfei.
His skill with plants and vegetation had already reached an indescribable level. After studying the seed for a while, he had noticed the differences, and was easily able to tell what type of seed it was.
Du Lingfei's face flickered; to her, it felt as if someone had just slapped her across the face. She staggered backward a few steps, looking first at her bluespirit thistle and then at Bai Xiaochun's indigospirit thistle. Suddenly, her face flushed with heat. Earlier, she had berated Bai Xiaochun for his lack of knowledge, but then, moments later, he had proven definitively that she had wasted the seed.
"This Bai Xiaochun is definitely extremely lucky," she thought, grinding her teeth. "I assumed it was a bluespirit thistle, and he guessed that it was an indigospirit thistle. Well, that was just a lucky chance on his part, not him actually identifying the seed!"
"Bai Xiaochun takes the first round," Li Qinghou said coolly. "That truly was the seed of an indigospirit thistle, not a bluespirit thistle. They look similar, but some of the veins grow differently. Without studying it down to the finest detail, it's easy to confuse them." Looking over at Bai Xiaochun, he waved his hand again, causing a spirit plant to appear.
It was very unique, with four colors, and nine leaves of different shapes. It also had two flowers on it, one black and one white. The flowers almost seemed in sentient, as they were constantly struggling with each other, as if they wanted to suppress each other. Although the plant seemed like one single plant, if you looked closely you would see the signs that it had been grafted together.
"The first round was dedicated to catalysis. As for the second round, it will focus on identification. This particular spirit plant has been grafted together from numerous other plants. Whichever of you can correctly guess the greatest number of graft materials... will be the winner."
Li Qinghou sent the grafted plant floating out in front of him, then looked over at Bai Xiaochun. Considering he had brought Bai Xiaochun into the sect, he was very curious to see what other surprising things he could do.
Du Lingfei gritted her teeth. In her mind, she had just been careless moments ago. Now, she was unprecedentedly focused. Taking out a jade slip, she walked up to the spirit plant.
Bai Xiaochun's eyes gleamed with interest as he also stepped forward and began to examine the plant, occasionally making notations in a jade slip. A moment later, Du Lingfei stepped back, rubbing the bridge of her nose. Then she looked over at Bai Xiaochun with a grim expression on her face. She had identified eight types of plants. The others were types she didn't recognize.
However, Bai Xiaochun wasn't finished. His eyes were glowing even more brightly as he buzzed around the plant in circles. Occasionally he even cried out in surprise, as if he had just noticed something very interesting.
"Wow, you can do that!?
"Well this... this is very interesting!"
The crowd looked on silently. None of them believed that Bai Xiaochun could identify any of the plants, and in fact, most of them were convinced that the reason he had catalyzed the indigospirit thistle was simply luck.
"Faker!" Du Lingfei thought. "Yeah, you just keep on pretending!" Inwardly, she was starting to feel uneasy, and her hatred for Bai Xiaochun only continued to grow.
Enough time had passed for an incense stick to burn, and Bai Xiaochun was still going. He really was completely absorbed in what he was doing, and had even forgotten that he was in a competition. Seeing a grafted plant like this had seemingly opened up a huge door in his mind regarding skill with plants and vegetation. All of a sudden, he realized that the tens of thousands of medicinal plants he was familiar with were not just useful on their own, but could actually be mixed together.
Eventually, he backed up reluctantly, eyes shining with fascination and admiration.
Li Qinghou and Elder Sun exchanged a glance, and then Li Qinghou said, "Very well. The time has come to reveal which spirit plants you've identified. Du Lingfei, you go first."
Du Lingfei gritted her teeth, then pulled out her jade slip and began to speak.
"I saw eight types of plants, including waterheaven rhubarb, coldsole root, earthdragon fruit, dawnfog lichen...." She continued on until she reached the final medicinal plant. "Sealwort flower!" With that, Du Lingfei looked over at Bai Xiaochun, certain that he would never be able to surpass her. Of course, although eight didn't seem like a lot, it was an incredibly difficult task to identify the various elements of a perfectly grafted medicinal plant like this. Eight was actually quite a bit.
"Hmph. If Bai Xiaochun is shameless enough to say the same eight plants," she said coldly, "then we can can consult the jade slips as proof!"
Bai Xiaochun cleared his throat, looked around, then flicked his sleeve and pulled out the jade slip that held his notes.
"Let's forget the eight plants that Elder Sister Du mentioned. Other than those, I saw a total of 67 types of medicinal plants. Unfortunately, there were 31 that I couldn't identify. That means that in the end, I identified 36." His words instantly sent the surrounding disciples into an uproar.
"36? How is that possible!"
"7 or 8 should be the limit. How could he possibly have identified dozens?!"
Du Lingfei glared coldly at Bai Xiaochun. She simply didn't believe his words, and assumed that he was going to just randomly guess the types of plants.
"Junior Brother Bai," she said sarcastically, "why don't you just say there were 30,000 types of plants? That would cover everything in the third volume of plants and vegetation, so at least you would be certain of guessing a few right."
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