CHAPTER 221: GRAND COMPETION XX

Han Yi lay flat on the board, arms spread out like a defeated starfish.

The wind blew gently over him, almost like it was patting his back.

Ling Qingxue stepped closer, her movements soft and quiet,

as if she floated instead of walked.

Han Yi groaned,

"...Why is the sky spinning...?"

Ling looked down at him.

"It’s not spinning. You are."

Han Yi closed his eyes.

"That makes it worse..."

Tian Lei cleared his throat.

"Round Three is complete."

His voice echoed across the training ground like a final gong.

Ling stood straight, calm as a still lake,

while Han Yi curled into a ball, shaking like a leaf in a storm.

Tian Lei nodded toward Ling.

"Your balance is exceptional. Your control is clean. Well done."

Ling bowed slightly.

"Thank you, Instructor."

Han Yi raised one trembling hand.

"What about me...?"

"You survived," Tian Lei said.

Han Yi brightened a little.

"Really? So I pass?"

"No," Tian Lei replied immediately.

Han Yi collapsed again.

"...This sect hates me..."

Ling reached out a hand and pulled him up gently.

Han Yi blinked in surprise.

"You... you’re helping me?"

Ling nodded.

"You fell enough times. I think your suffering is complete."

"That’s... not comforting..." Han Yi muttered.

Below the platform, Yue Shanshan sat on the ground rubbing her back.

She yelled up,

"LING! NEXT TIME I’M BRINGING A ROPE SO YOU CAN’T DODGE!"

Ling tilted her head.

"You can try."

Yue pointed a finger like a dramatic villain.

"I will try!"

Han Yi whispered,

"She’s terrifying..."

Ling gave a small, rare smile.

"She is persistent."

Tian Lei sighed and waved his hand.

"Everyone—rest. Next round begins soon."

Han Yi’s soul left his body for a moment.

"S-soon?! Can we rest for a week? A month? A lifetime?"

Ling stepped off the platform gracefully.

Han Yi slid off the edge like a wet cloth.

He hit the ground with a soft thump.

"...I’m alive..." he whispered.

"For now," Yue added helpfully.

Han Yi whimpered.

Ling looked at the sky, breathing quietly,

her shadow long against the ground.

Calm.

Still.

Balanced.

While the others groaned and complained around her,

she stood like a poem carved into the wind:

Steady feet.

Quiet breath.

A warrior who does not shake—

even when the world does.

And Round Three ended not with cheers,

but with Yue shouting revenge,

Han Yi crying softly,

and Ling walking away like nothing unusual had happened at all.

The group slowly gathered near the edge of the training ground.

Ling Qingxue walked ahead, quiet as ever,

each step light,

each breath steady.

Behind her, Yue Shanshan limped dramatically,

complaining loud enough for the entire sect to hear.

"That fall broke my pride! My bones! My destiny!"

Han Yi dragged himself across the ground like he had survived a battlefield.

"...I can’t feel my spine... or my hopes..."

Tian Lei stared at both of them.

"Why are these two more tired than the person who actually won?"

Ling didn’t answer.

She simply stood there,

hands behind her back,

eyes half-closed as if she was listening to the wind.

Mu Chen nudged Han Yi.

"Still alive?"

Han Yi shook his head weakly.

"Not for long..."

Lei Feng added,

"Don’t worry. Only your dignity died today."

Han Yi whispered,

"...I didn’t have much left... after Round One..."

Yue stretched her arms and winced.

"Ling! Don’t think I forgot! Next time, I’m aiming for your legs!"

Ling looked at her calmly.

"I’ll move them."

Yue froze.

"That’s... actually a good answer. I hate it."

Tian Lei clapped his hands.

It echoed like thunder.

"Enough. Next round will begin shortly. Use this time to breathe, not scream."

Han Yi gasped.

"Breathing is... hard..."

Yue crossed her arms stubbornly.

"My breathing is fine. My pride is injured, not my lungs."

Tian Lei ignored both of them.

He pointed toward the sky where the sun was rising higher,

casting long shadows across the training platform.

"Round Four will decide who moves to the final rankings."

Han Yi sat up suddenly.

"Final?! There are more rounds?!"

"Yes," Tian Lei said.

Han Yi fell backward again.

"Please... leave me here... I belong to the ground now..."

Ling glanced at him from the side.

"Stand up," she said simply.

Han Yi hesitated—

then somehow pushed himself up,

shaking like a stick in the wind.

Ling nodded once.

"Good."

Han Yi blinked at her.

"...Why do I feel like you expect me to survive this...?"

Ling looked forward.

"I expect you to try."

It was not loud.

It was not emotional.

But it made Han Yi straighten a little,

just a tiny bit.

Yue groaned loudly.

"Don’t encourage him! He’ll live longer!"

Ling didn’t look back.

Her voice was soft,

almost like the breeze carrying it:

"Trying is enough."

Han Yi stared at her, stunned.

Mu Chen whispered,

"Wow... poetic."

Lei Feng nodded.

"She does that sometimes."

Tian Lei rubbed his temples.

"Everyone, prepare yourselves!"

The platform creaked in the distance,

waiting for the next foolish set of contestants.

Han Yi swallowed hard.

Yue cracked her knuckles.

The others stretched or shook out their arms.

And Ling—

She simply closed her eyes,

breathing in,

breathing out,

as calm as sunlight resting on still water.

A quiet center

in a storm of idiots.

Round Four was coming.

And none of them—except Ling—

looked ready.

The group moved toward the next training platform.

Ling Qingxue walked in front, steady and calm, as if nothing around her bothered her.

Behind her, Yue Shanshan sighed loudly on purpose.

"My legs hurt. My back hurts. My future hurts."

Han Yi followed while holding his ribs.

"...Everything hurts..."

Mu Chen looked at him.

"You look like you aged ten years."

Han Yi nodded weakly.

"I feel like I aged twenty..."

Tian Lei walked beside them with a serious face.

"This round is not about balance. It’s about reaction. Stay alert."

Yue groaned.

"I don’t LIKE reaction tests. They always hit me in the face."

Han Yi whispered,

"...Everything hits me in the face..."

Ling remained silent.

She didn’t waste energy on talking.

Her eyes stayed focused on the platform ahead.

Lei Feng pointed at the large wooden pillars standing in rows.

"Looks like the Pillar Dash."

Mu Chen whistled.

"So we’re dodging again. Great."

Han Yi shook his head desperately.

"No. No more dodging. I can’t dodge air at this point."