บท 109: Dueling the Five Disciples
That night, Ming Yue and Uncle Fei had a little spar before going to bed. But for the elders of Clear Spring Mountain, they were quite active, discussing with each other about tomorrow's event.
"Do you truly think that this is necessary, Vice Sect Leader?" the golden haired man asked.
"Elder Xuan Han, this decision was decided by both me and the sect leader. This is only a temporary measure until the sect leader is finished with her training", the vice sect leader replied, calming everyone down.
Other than the two was the old woman with the jade cane and a rather short and stout lady as well as Wen Jing. All of them thought deeply over the situation before speaking up.
"Does everyone agree with the disciples that will face her tomorrow?" Wen Jing asked.
"This should be alright, all five of them are quite strong and well known. What I am more worried about is whether or not our guest will be able to win against them" the old woman said, instantly pointing out the fact that Ming Yue was only one person and she would have to fight against 5 others.
Not to mention, the battles are to be done successively. Ming Yue would become exhausted from the previous fights and having to win against all of them would be quite a difficult feat. Fighting them all at once would be much quicker and should she win, the effect would be that much greater. But the chance of losing would increase at the same rate.
"Dong Kuai, do not worry about it. By my calculations, she should be able to win against three of them. Although she hides her strength quite well, she should be able to contend with an Earth Realm cultivator."
"If that is so, then I do not have any problems with this."
"Everyone else?"
The elders all nodded their heads, agreeing on the plans that they have created. The battle would start when the sun was at its highest and it would not be too long.
Ming Yue started her day in the same fashion, some early training and cultivation followed by a bit of playing with Hei Yue and Xiao Yin. Her mind was at ease and she felt refreshed.
As she chased around Hei Yue in the small courtyard that came with her room, she heard a little knock on the door. Stopping her activities, she went back into the room and opened them, recognizing the one of the faces in front of her.
It was Jing Hai, the one who lead the group of disciples in the bloody Plains.
Ming Yue let them in, brewing a pot of tea while greeting all of them. The four of them introduced themselves. She had already known about Jing Hai, a senior within the group. As for the other three, she could only assume that they were her servants or subordinates.
Why they had come, she did not know but she would soon find out.
"We meet again", said Jing Hai, her cool and graceful demeanor made quite it quite difficult to see through her.
"To be honest, I was a bit surprised to see you within the secret realm of the Bloody Plains and now I see you here in Clear Spring Mountain. When everyone else was finished with their training, you were still comprehending and that was when Prince Lei Jiang recognized you. You're quite strong he says, no teacher or hidden treasures, growing with your own strength", Jing Hai spoke without much change in her tone.
Ming Yue wasn't sure what she meant from saying all of this. Was she looking down on her? Was she amazed or showing respect? She could not tell.
"Well, I am here on the orders of the elders to talk to you about today's duel" she said.
"You will be fighting against five disciples, all of them range from outer disciples to core disciples. It will not be all at once but one at a time, however, the order will be randomized so I do not know who your first duel will be with. However, I do know that you should watch out for two disciples, not for their strength but attitude. One of them, you have met before is Ling Cai Yun, the one who provoked you yesterday. She might not be the strongest in terms of cultivation, she is addicted to battle and loves to fight strong opponents. Her actions yesterday was only to probe you and test your strength. She is already set to become a core disciple in several months. The second is a disciple who has no morals, Kuang Li, he is a rather violent character. He does not know when to stop and is quite brutal with his fights. He can only be stopped when one of the elders interfere. Despite all of this, his talent cannot be dismissed, he is already a core disciple and has been for almost a year now. Even I would have reservations about fighting him."
Ming Yue was a bit dismayed, her opponents seemed a bit too bloodthirsty. This was a duel, not a battle to the death.
Sensing her dissatisfaction, Jing Hai quickly tried to explain.
"These disciples were chosen with you strength in consideration. None of them are too unreasonable to deal with. Furthermore, these disciples are some of the most well-known disciples. You could say that they are the reason why we have some rather belligerent disciples. Defeating them would have a great effect on their behavior. Also, you will be rewarded by the vice sect leader herself."
Hearing her reasoning, Ming Yue understood what the vice sect leader wanted.
"Then, when you are finished preparing, please follow me. I will be the one guiding you to the arena."
Ming Yue nodded, grabbing her sword and calling Hei Yue and Xiao Yin. She did not need to prepare too much and followed Jing Hai.
Leaving the halls, they descended down the mountain, reaching the area where it was most populated. Taking a small winding path through the mountains, it did not take long for them to reach the arena. It was already filled with people, talking loudly and excitedly. The arena itself was elevated from the ground. The polished stone surface was circled with several pillars where judges stood upon to watch.
"After you", Jing Hai said, pointing her hand towards the arena.
Ming Yue looked at her before staring at the arena, walking up the steps. The audience quieted down, from excited conversations to small murmurs. She could hear some of them, curiosity, disdain, ridicule. Some wanted to know who she was, other didn't care, they were confident in her loss and their victory.
A bit of hubris was reasonable but the amount that Ming Yue could sense among the disciples was beyond that. Some laughed loudly, announcing to the others that even they could easily beat her.
"Is that a staff? Seems more like a stick to me!"
"Do you think you can win against any of us?"
"What's with those clothes? Are you really a cultivator or someone posing?"
The more she heard the worse of an impression she had of sects. These insults did not bother her but if this was how sects were like, she would rather continue training on her own. This sort of behavior was truly awful.
She stood on one side waiting for her opponents to come. Hei Yue and Xiao Yin were with her. While they were not going to fight, she did not want to risk them getting captured by any other of the Clear Spring disciples. Even now, she feel the stares falling upon her two pets.
Minutes later, her five foes had arrived. Each one was different from each other. They entered the arena and bowed.
Ming Yue followed with her own before straightening herself. Four of them left and only one off them remained on the arena.
A person with a large figure, covered from head to toe in thick armor. Despite this, Ming Yue recognized the shield in their hands.
To think that her first opponent was Ling Cai Yun!
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