CHAPTER 384: CHAPTER 384 JIANG LINGFENG_1

"Lingfeng... this young man is Shen Mo, the one who has been consistently challenging many core disciples in the past two months and has climbed his way to the third seat!"

Zhou Shili, the Peak Master, stroked his beard and chuckled as he introduced Shen Mo to his eldest disciple, Jiang Lingfeng.

Jiang Lingfeng often trained outside for years on end, rarely returning to the sect unless for matters of sect deployment or resetting the positions of core disciples. Even when she did return to the Riverside Sect, she would keep to herself, focusing solely on her cultivation, so ordinary disciples seldom saw her.

Shen Mo had only seen her once, shortly after joining Stars Peak. But at that time, he was just an unknown Qi Gathering Realm disciple, and Jiang Lingfeng, the second-seated core disciple, might not remember him.

"Senior Sister Jiang!" Shen Mo greeted with a bow.

Jiang Lingfeng returned the bow. Her beautiful eyes appraised him before she smiled and asked, "Junior Brother Shen, with your victory today, you are now ranked third among the core disciples, trailing only myself and Yang Xuan. Is your next challenge against me? If so, I’ll stay in the sect for a few more days to spare myself the trouble of traveling back and forth."

Shen Mo glanced at Peak Master Zhou Shili. Seeing his faint smile and no other indication, he pondered for a moment before meeting Jiang Lingfeng’s gaze and replying, "When the time comes, I shall look forward to your guidance, Senior Sister Jiang!"

Over the past two months, Shen Mo had achieved a string of victories. He had fought his way up from Chu Yuhua, the eighth-seated core disciple, to challenge Yu Yan for the third seat. The seventh, fifth, and fourth-ranked core disciples from Rising Sun Peak, and even Guo Xun, the third-ranked core disciple from Stars Peak—Shen Mo’s own peak—had all been defeated by him.

Just moments ago, he had defeated Yu Yan...

Following Yu Yan’s defeat, all the other core disciples had moved down a rank. Chu Yuhua of Bright Moon Peak had suffered a particularly tragic fate, falling to the last position. In the future, he would have to face challenges from the other three core disciple candidates. If he were to lose again to any candidate, he, like Tian Zhiyu, would be demoted to the position of Elder.

Now, the only ones standing in Shen Mo’s way were Jiang Lingfeng, the second-seated core disciple, a Spirit Sea Realm Layer VIII expert from Stars Peak; and Yang Xuan, the chief core disciple, at the peak of the Spirit Sea Realm, from Rising Sun Peak.

However, these two possessed cultivation far exceeding the other seven core disciples, rivaling the Hall Masters in strength, and their rankings had remained unchanged for many years. Even the proud and arrogant Yu Yan had openly admitted that the gap between himself and Jiang Lingfeng, the second-seated core disciple, was too vast.

Now that I’ve come this far, how could I be content without a match against Senior Sister Jiang? Even if I lose this battle, I can still test my own strength and methods, and ascertain the extent of the gap between myself and the top figures in the sect! Besides, it’s also a good opportunity to assess my competition for when the rankings are reset two years from now. Shen Mo thought to himself.

The core disciples of the Riverside Sect indeed each possessed remarkable abilities. Shen Mo had not won any of his matches too easily; they were unlike his battle against the Class III middle-stage mutated Heavenly Demon, which had been an almost complete rout. Shen Mo even suspected that a few core disciples, like himself, still held trump cards. After all, with the exception of Tian Zhiyu, even if other core disciples were defeated, they would only drop one rank. There was no need for them to fight Shen Mo to the death.

Jiang Lingfeng and Yang Xuan, who indisputably stood above the other core disciples, surely possessed profound Skills. If Shen Mo aimed for the chief core disciple position, he would inevitably have to face them sooner or later. How could he miss this chance? A fierce battle with Jiang Lingfeng would not only test his own capabilities but also offer a glimpse into the true combat strength of such a formidable figure.

Hearing that Shen Mo intended to continue challenging up to the second-seated core disciple, all the sect disciples present were astonished and exhilarated. They had truly feasted their eyes during this period; some disciples had even gained insights from observing the series of duels, improving their cultivation methods and magic.

"Senior Brother Shen is truly outstanding! At only Spirit Sea Realm Layer II, he has reached the top three among core disciples. Such breathtaking talent! No one has been able to match him in decades!"

"Exactly! Among the nine core disciples, only Chu Yuhua from Bright Moon Peak is at the early stage of the Spirit Sea Realm, and he has now fallen to the last seat. It’s uncertain if he can even retain his core disciple status. Meanwhile, Senior Brother Shen has managed to overcome numerous mid-stage Spirit Sea Realm senior brothers and sisters. Now, he’s even going to compete with Senior Sister Jiang! It’s truly admirable!"

"Actually, this was foreshadowed long ago! Do you all remember when Senior Brother Shen was still in the Qi Gathering Realm? At the Tianshan Grand Ceremony, he outshone the prodigies of the four major sects and even broke Fairy Pei Yu’s record for ascending the steps. For such a figure, once he broke through to the Spirit Sea Realm, it was inevitable that he would soar like a dragon leaping into the clouds, ascending to the heavens!"

"I’m not going back for the next few days. I’ll just meditate and cultivate on this mountain peak. I’ll quietly wait for the battle between Senior Brother Shen and Senior Sister Jiang in a few days!"

「Seven days later.」

Shen Mo and Jiang Lingfeng arrived as scheduled. This time, however, their main battlefield was high beyond the heavens. The reason was rather amusing: in the previous several great battles, Shen Mo and the others had devastated large areas within the Linjiang Mountain Range. Many demonic beasts, intended for outer and inner disciples to hunt for training, had either been killed by the aftershocks or had fled into the deeper parts of the mountain range, significantly impacting the daily cultivation of the sect disciples.

Therefore, after consulting with the Supreme Elder and the three Peak Masters, Shen Mo and Jiang Lingfeng were instructed to keep their battle as far from the ground as possible.

As a result, disciples below the Spirit Sea Realm could only see constant flashes of spirit light and colorful clouds shimmering in the sky, accompanied by distant sounds like the hum of swords, peals of thunder, the rumble of landslides, and the roar of dragons. Beyond these vague indications, they could not discern any details of the fight between the two. This left the spectating sect disciples sighing in collective disappointment.

The two fought from noon until Hai hour, from broad daylight until the stars and moon shone brilliantly. They battled until the crimson sun seemed to lose its radiance and the myriad stars in the sky appeared dim and disordered.

It wasn’t until close to the Rat Hour that two streaks of light, one gold and one white, finally descended from the Nine Heavens.

Simultaneously, Peak Master Yuan Jing of Bright Moon Peak struck the Daoist bell heavily and, amidst the bewilderment of the many sect disciples, announced that Jiang Lingfeng had won the battle.

"Junior Brother Shen, thank you for going easy on me!"

Jiang Lingfeng’s breathing was somewhat ragged. A small cut on her face was still bleeding. Her Dao Body had been struck by Shen Mo’s sword several times, and her original magic robe was tattered, much of its power destroyed. However, she had donned another robe beforehand, thus avoiding any unseemly exposure.

Compared to her, Shen Mo appeared even more battered. His topknot crown had been knocked off to some unknown location; he had hastily secured his hair with a random hairpin. His outer robe was in shreds, and even his Auspicious Snow inner armor was nearly torn to rags. His body was covered in various injuries inflicted by different offensive techniques. Most had already healed under the power of his Three-Heads Six-Arms True Immortal Technique. Only three grievous wounds remained, exuding a unique aura and will, which would require considerable effort to dispel.

"Senior Sister Jiang’s Skills and Mana are vast and profound. My loss was not unjust!" Shen Mo cupped his fists towards Jiang Lingfeng and said with heartfelt conviction.

Despite Jiang Lingfeng being a woman, every aspect determining her combat prowess was shockingly strong, without any discernible weakness. Shen Mo estimated that even if he were to use the Soul Refining Flag, he would still not be her match.