CHAPTER 148 - LANTERN FESTIVAL

Yu Sui’an nodded, then darted off like a gust of wind. Qin Xian watched her go, chuckling. “She’s run off to play again?”

Li Nanting laughed. “Yeah, she just can’t sit still.”

Qin Xian casually sat down next to Li Nanting. He glanced into the room from outside the door, sighed, then pulled out a tobacco pipe.

Puff puff. Whoo~

”After all these years, the Daxia Sword Sect can finally hold its head high.”

Li Nanting smiled faintly. “Indeed. Who would have thought that the one standing toe-to-toe with the Purple Sun Pavilion would be a disciple of our sect?”

Qin Xian pointed toward the other rooms and said, “It’s not just about how many resources the sect will gain. What really matters is that Guanqi has given the sect its spirit. Just look at the last batch of disciples—aren’t they all training like mad?

“I bet many of them will break through their bottlenecks once they return.”

Li Nanting nodded and smiled. “Guanqi lit a fire in all the disciples’ hearts. Thanks to him, the sect has a spirit it never had before.

“I believe that in the next hundred years, even without another prodigy like Guanqi, the Daxia Sword Sect will still rank among the best.”

The two elders puffed leisurely on their pipes, chatting as they kept a silent watch on the young man cultivating inside.

Li Guanqi remained completely absorbed in his training, unaware that the elders were quietly guarding him from outside. All his focus was on adjusting himself to peak condition. After all, he’d face Zhao Beichen in three days, another monstrous prodigy at full strength.

For some reason, Li Guanqi had always sensed something cold and merciless about Zhao Beichen that made him uneasy. Though he himself was proud, compared to Zhao Beichen’s sharp and overwhelming arrogance, he was far gentler.

After filling his dantian’s Dao Platform completely, he realized that the sea of qi within him had become unimaginably rich. The mist-like vital force had nearly liquefied.

Looks like once the Tournament of a Hundred Sects is over, I’ll be ready to break through to the Golden Core Realm.

As he sorted through his meridians, Li Guanqi’s mind gradually became as calm and still as water.

Li Nanting sensed the rhythmic and steady breathing from the room and smiled faintly. The two elders exchanged glances and nodded approvingly.

Meanwhile, Heavenly Tiger Pass was abuzz with excitement over the looming duel between the Daxia Sword Sect and the Purple Sun Pavilion. Many newcomers had never even heard of the Daxia Sword Sect before.

Suddenly, a stir ran through the crowd in the street. The crowded masses instinctively parted to the sides. Some people stood on their tiptoes, and after realizing who was approaching, they gasped.

“Hey, those are disciples from the Purple Sun Pavilion!”

In the crowd, a petite girl, Yu Sui’an, clicked her tongue in disdain and quietly slipped away in the opposite direction. She didn’t want to cause trouble for her sect. Since she couldn’t provoke them, she’d simply avoid them.

Besides, there were far more interesting things to do in the city than watch Purple Sun Pavilion disciples strut around.

At that moment, someone in the crowd muttered, “Why are they still out drinking? Shouldn’t they be preparing for the tournament?”

Someone else sneered. “Prepare? Against a no-name sect like that? What’s there to prepare?”

This immediately drew mockery from others. “Did you leave your brain at home?”

“Have you even watched the matches? Do you even know who Li Guanqi is?”

A series of questions left the man speechless.

As he tried to argue back, he noticed more and more people looking at him like he was an idiot. Embarrassed, he fell silent and walked away.

Later, that same man spent ten spirit stones on a projection stone. Moments after watching it, his face turned red with excitement. “The Daxia Sword Sect will claim first place!”

The moment he spoke, someone scoffed behind him. “Where did this idiot crawl from? How can some backwater sect compare to the Purple Sun Pavilion?”

He then mirrored the earlier man’s disdainful expression and tossed the projection stone back.

But that name—Li Guanqi of the Daxia Sword Sect—was already spreading like wildfire.

Yu Sui’an strolled down the street, hands clasped behind her back, a proud smile blooming as she basked in the praise all around her. She bought a candied hawthorn skewer and two large meat buns, her joy overflowing as she wandered the bustling streets.

As night fell, more vendors began selling yuanxiao[1]. Unable to resist, Yu Sui’an poked a steaming, round yuanxiao, leaving a small dent in its soft surface.

To her surprise, the pretty vendor didn’t scold her. Instead, she pinched Yu Sui’an’s chubby cheek with a smile. “Little girl, do you want some?”

Yu Sui’an almost rolled her eyes, but when she heard the offer, she nodded like a pecking chick.

Song Zhi’ang[2], dressed in a beautiful green dress, ladled a bowl of yuanxiao and pointed to a small bench she usually sat on. She smiled. “Sit and eat.”

Yu Sui’an reached into her pocket and said crisply, “Sister, I won’t eat for free. How much is it?”

Song Zhi’ang covered her mouth with a laugh, clearly charmed by the girl’s serious tone. She crouched down and said, “Sister likes you. Just give me one coin.”

Yu Sui’an grinned, took out two coins, and placed them in her hand, saying seriously, “Since you like me, I’ll give you one extra.”

Song Zhi’ang burst into laughter, rocking with delight and drawing curious glances from other diners.

Ignoring the glances, she got up to serve more customers.

Yu Sui’an tasted yuanxiao for the first time. She watched the lively, peaceful streets—adults leading children holding beautiful lanterns, families calling out answers to riddles—then looked down at her bowl. Somehow, it didn't taste quite so sweet anymore.

But soon, Yu Sui’an grinned again, her carefree demeanor returning.

She was thinking about that boy who felt like an older brother and Li Nanting, who was always so kind to her.

After finishing, she neatly placed the bowl and spoon back on the little stool, then tugged on the hem of Song Zhi’ang’s dress. “Pretty sister, I’m done eating! I’m going home now!”

Song Zhi’ang waved at her with a smile, watching the little girl run off like the wind. “Hehe~ I wonder whose kid she is.”

But on her way home, Yu Sui’an suddenly heard mocking voices. A group of young men laughed on the second floor of a restaurant. “Tch, the ‘chosen one’? That blind brat reeks of the streets. Total lowlife.”

A handsome boy sneered. “Heh, don’t be so harsh. Wasn’t he a beggar before?”

“Hahaha!”

“Now all these idiots think he can beat Brother Chen. What a joke.”

Zhao Beichen sat inside, swirling his wine glass. He said coldly, “Ants will always be ants. No matter how strong, they’re just slightly stronger ants.

“If not for this tournament, I’d already have broken through to mid Golden Core Realm. No matter how much strength that blind idiot hides, it’s just a bit of extra entertainment to me.”

Yu Sui’an glanced up at the restaurant’s window and saw disciples from the Purple Sun Pavilion bragging inside.

She didn’t want to cause trouble for the sect. Quickly, she circled around the restaurant and dashed off. It’s getting late. I'd better hurry home so Grandpa Li and the others won’t worry.

Clutching the meat buns she’d bought for Li Guanqi, her face lit up with a warm smile.

However, someone in the restaurant had clearly noticed her. A cold-looking youth narrowed his eyes. “That little girl... wasn’t she involved when Pang Li was killed during the spirit void trial?”

“I heard she’s Li Guanqi’s little sister?”

“Heh, just the target we need to vent our anger!”

As soon as he spoke, a few of them leaped from the second floor!

Zhao Beichen frowned faintly. “Let’s go take a look too. We can’t let them kill anyone in the city.”

1. Glutinous rice balls ☜

2. Song Zhi’ang is a mortal girl Li Guanqi and his friends met in chapter 119. She works in the brothel where they “Cultivate Amongst Mortal Distractions” and plays a song for them in chapter 120. ☜