Fleeting Dream Across Three Lifetimes - Chapter 16

Just as Su Zining drew near, she suddenly summoned her flying sword. This sword had been given to her by Qin Mohan; it was exceedingly fast, and with Qin Mohan often sparring with her, her movements from releasing the sword to controlling it behind her back were far swifter than Lei Mu had imagined.

In haste, Lei Mu threw his spiritual power toward Su Zining, the force so strong it raised a violent storm, causing her flying sword to tremble. Yet in almost an instant she steadied it, the blade sharp and precise, sweeping past Lei Mu’s back and leaving a bloody gash that turned his face pale from pain.

Looking at the wound seared with fire, Qin Mohan let out a faint smile. As expected of the heroine, gifted beyond measure, her five-spirit-root power flowed with ease. In an instant she had imbued the strike with fire, scorching the wound, making it far more painful than a normal cut.

Lei Mu, realizing his mistake in underestimating her and his pride wounded, struck back with vicious force. Each punch left cracks on the arena floor. Though his cultivation was weaker among the white-robed disciples, he was diligent and not to be dismissed.

But Su Zining’s cultivation was higher, and having lived for centuries, she had long since mastered her weaknesses. Withdrawing her sword, she avoided his attacks with ease, moving as though strolling in a garden. Qin Mohan had personally taught her a footwork technique, and she used it with nimble grace. Lei Mu left countless cracks on the stage yet failed to even brush the hem of her robe. Instead, she led him in circles like a headless fly. The disciples below, watching the burly man chase after the slender Su Zining, could not help but laugh.

Lei Mu’s dark face flushed crimson. With a furious roar, he nearly drained all his spiritual power, shaping it into a massive net that fell directly toward Su Zining.

Qin Mohan’s brows furrowed, her expression grave. At this moment, Su Zining was cornered; to escape she would have to step off the stage, which would mean conceding. 

Exhaling softly, Su Zining raised her sword, pressed two fingers along the blade, and drew blood. With her blood as ink, she swiftly traced in the air. Spiritual power gathered instantly, the five attributes forming five dazzling colors around her sword. All this happened in the blink of an eye. As the net descended, her sword transformed into brilliance and collided with it.

Of course, if she truly broke through Lei Mu’s net, her true strength would be exposed. So after tearing only a narrow gap, she forced her way through, enduring injury while driving her sword straight to Lei Mu’s throat.

The crowd fell silent. The result was far too unexpected. Su Zining’s performance astonished them. Not that she surpassed the white-robed disciples, but that a gray-robed disciple could wield such techniques at all.

On Luori Peak, the overseer of gray-robed disciples, Yan Xiao, looked grim. He had never known a gray-robed disciple to be taught the Five Elements Technique or the Phantom Step.

After a moment of shock, the presiding elder finally declared, “Zhi Mo wins. From this day forward, she may enter Wuji Sect as a white-robed disciple. She shall belong to—”

“Yan-shixiong, this girl is a childhood friend of my disciple. I taught her those techniques myself after seeing her extraordinary comprehension. Assign her to Ziyun Peak, to keep my disciple company. Would that be acceptable?” said Luo Yuan, seeing Qin Mohan rush to help Su Zining, and spoke on his disciple’s behalf.

A gray-robed disciple had few restrictions, for they were not yet full members of the sect. Thus Yan Mu merely nodded in assent.

Qin Mohan led Su Zining forward and bowed to Luo Yuan. “Many thanks, Shizun.”

“Many thanks, Peak Master.”

The surrounding gray-robed disciples were filled with envy and curiosity, whispering among themselves. Qin Mohan ignored them, only guiding Su Zining back. She handed her a pill, asking, “Are your injuries serious?” Even as she asked, her hand was already on her wrist, channeling her spiritual power to examine her condition. Su Zining’s body tensed slightly before relaxing, allowing her to check. Qin Mohan paused, then glanced up at her, and finally released her wrist. “It’s fine, only minor internal injuries.”

Su Zining coughed softly. “It’s nothing serious. You still have matches to fight, go prepare. I’ll come watch later and cheer you on.”

Qin Mohan smiled. “There’s nothing worth watching. What matters is you resting. When I come back, I’ll make you fish.”

Su Zining swallowed hard, resisting the temptation. “Forget it. Phoenix-tail fish are hard to catch, and your next match might be against Du Xun, which will drain you.”

Qin Mohan did not press further, but said firmly, “You’re not allowed to sneak a look at the match.”

Naturally, Su Zining did not obediently listen. After resting a short while, she quietly prepared to head to Luori Peak. But as she passed through a side courtyard of Ziyun Peak, she happened to see Lan Xuan receiving a box from Shuori. Opening it, Lan Xuan took out a crimson pill, examined it briefly, then placed it back inside.

The moment Su Zining saw that blood-red pill, she withdrew in alarm, suppressing her aura. Only after the two left completely did she step out again. If she had not mistaken it, that was a Red Blood Pill. But in the cultivation world, Red Blood Pills were long forbidden. Their refinement was cruel, requiring the heart’s blood of a pure body as a guide—and a so-called pure body was an infant born with spiritual roots.

The pill itself was sinister, temporarily raising cultivation power for no more than the span of a cup of tea. Once the effect faded, it damaged the meridians, causing spiritual power to backfire and lose control; a self-destructive poison. Yet remnants of the devil sect had once used many Red Blood Pills in vengeance, bringing great loss to the cultivation world. In her past life, Su Zining had fallen to the devilish path, so she knew the pill all too well.

Frowning as she walked, she thought, with the sect tournament underway, could Lan Xuan intend to use this to seize victory? But surely he knew the danger, he would not consume it himself. Then… could it be—? She set the thought aside for now and hurried to the arena, hiding among the crowd to watch Qin Mohan’s match.

She had to admit, among all the people she had met in her centuries of life, Qin Mohan was absolutely a peerless talent. Her grasp of the cultivation methods Luo Yuan had taught and her understanding of the Dao, left Su Zining, who had watched her training closely, in awe. Luo Yuan’s deep fondness for her came from being moved by her comprehension and talent. But there was much he did not know. If he ever learned that Qin Mohan had once been utterly ignorant of cultivation, his jaw would surely drop.

Sometimes Su Zining even wondered if Qin Mohan had been deceiving her from the very beginning. She herself was an old monster who had cultivated for a thousand years; anything that came into her hands seemed like a child’s toy, something she could master with ease. Once, when Qin Mohan found a tattered ancient book in Ziyun Pavilion and brought it to study with her, even after being a devil clan powerhouse for decades, Su Zining could only comprehend a third of it. But after pondering for three days, Qin Mohan suddenly grasped it as though her meridians had been unblocked, unraveling the text and mastering a long-lost formation technique. In fact, in the hand seals Su Zining used today, she had blended in a complex miniature Spirit-Gathering Array from that very text.

Now, watching her sparring with an inner disciple from Mingshui Peak, who possessed both water and wood spirit roots, she could switch between the two at will, even controlling them simultaneously, unleashing two different techniques at once, throwing her opponent into complete disarray.

The reason multiple spirit roots were considered inferior to a single spirit root was not only the difficulty of raising their cultivation realm, but also because cultivating required multiple sets of techniques, doubling the time and effort. Moreover, when channeling spiritual power, it was far less pure than a single root’s, especially when the attributes clashed, leaving it unstable. Changing attributes often meant losing initiative, leaving openings for opponents. Thus, many chose to cultivate in alignment with their roots but stuck to a single set of techniques.

Back then, Su Zining had relied on the legacy she obtained in the Burial Grounds to solve the problem of stagnation in mobilizing her power, yet she had not expected Qin Mohan to already wield her power with such mastery.

Qin Mohan’s performance was so outstanding it drew admiration from the peak masters. Those who had mocked Luo Yuan for losing his bet and being forced to take in the Lin family’s daughter were now filled with envy. Luo Yuan held his head high, overjoyed.

Lan Xuan, seeing Luo Yuan’s expression, felt even more uneasy. Both Le Fan and Chen Feng already had their own life-bound weapons. If Lan Xuan performed well, there was still a great chance Luo Yuan would grant him the sword he had obtained. But now that Qin Mohan had appeared, Luo Yuan’s favor was already too obvious. Lan Xuan feared that sword would end up in Qin Mohan’s hands instead. She already wielded a top-class Heaven-grade spirit sword, but in a world dominated by sword cultivators, who would not desire an even greater one? The sword that had flown out of the Ten Thousand Swords Cavern by itself during Luo Yuan’s seclusion already possessed its own spirit. 

Lan Xuan’s comprehension of the sword path had stagnated; he desperately needed a sentient sword.

After that, the matches held little suspense, save for the one between Du Xun and Qin Mohan, which was fiercely contested. Du Xun had entered the sect a year earlier than Qin Mohan, brought back by Luori Peak’s vice peak master during a journey. With fire and metal dual spirit roots, he was a fine seedling for crafting, yet also showed remarkable talent in sword cultivation. By sheer chance he had picked up a cultivation manual, and with a stroke of fortune, cultivated into Foundation Establishment. With just a year of training, he had reached mid-Foundation, becoming one of the most dazzling new disciples of Wuji Sect.

Qin Mohan had no intention of standing out too much. She was not Lin Qingchen, after all. After exchanging hundreds of blows with Du Xun, she suddenly retreated, pressing a hand to her chest as if unwell. 

Su Zining froze. Is she injured?

At that moment, Qin Mohan forced a cupped-hands salute and said, “Du Xun-shixiong’s skill is superior. Qingchen is not your match, I concede.”

Luo Yuan was taken aback, then caught the presiding elder’s glance. He frowned and nodded. Qin Mohan did appear to be truly injured; her steps were unsteady as she hurried down the stage. Su Zining, worried, no longer cared that she had come in secret, rushing to support her. “What’s wrong, where are you hurt?”

Luo Yuan, also worried, instantly teleported over. “Girl, what—”

As his hand touched Qin Mohan’s wrist, his eyes froze. Looking at her pained expression, he forcibly suppressed his excitement, then with a sweep of his sleeve carried both disciples away.

The onlookers were left bewildered. Du Xun looked at his own hand, equally confused. By rights, Lin Qingchen should not have been seriously hurt. What had happened?

***

Su Zining had been anxious too, but when Luo Yuan transported them away, she instantly understood. Qin Mohan wasn’t injured. She was breaking through.

Advancing to mid-Foundation was merely a progression within the stage, not a leap in realm, so it was usually nothing serious. But because Qin Mohan had broken through in the middle of battle, her power had surged violently, easily disturbed, so she had withdrawn at once.

Luo Yuan watched as Qin Mohan sat cross-legged with eyes closed, spiritual power surrounding her, growing denser and denser, until she suddenly drew it back into her dantian, quickly calming.

He stroked his beard, unable to hide his smile. Mid-Foundation before twenty years of age—haha, he had struck gold.

Qin Mohan opened her eyes, looking helplessly at the two of them. “I didn’t expect to advance at this moment.”

“Haha, it’s all good, no problem at all,” laughed Luo Yuan, then frowned. “Girl, you don’t want others to know you’ve reached mid-Foundation?”

Qin Mohan was taken aback, then nodded honestly. “The tallest tree in the forest is the first the wind destroys. Shizun, you of all people in Wuji Sect should understand.”

Luo Yuan blew out his beard and glared, pretending to be fierce. “You girl, how dare you be so bold!” Then, sighing bitterly, he muttered, “And here I was, ready to show you off and make those annoying old geezers green with envy.”

Su Zining glanced at Qin Mohan, then smiled. “As long as A-Chen keeps striving, one day she’ll surely win you honor. And the effect will be even better then.”

Luo Yuan burst into laughter. “Hiding your strength and striking later, good, very interesting. Since the sect leader will reward me anyway, we won’t fight for it. My good disciple, I’m happy now, but I’m also a little hungry. You see…”

Su Zining shook her head, while Qin Mohan chuckled, reaching out to pat Su Zining’s head. “Alright, I just promised to make fish for Zhi Mo. Shizun, join us.”

Luo Yuan: “…” So he was only included by chance.