Chapter 10: The Strongest Duo

Yu Wei propped her chin on her hand, just gazing at Ji Ning, even a smile involuntarily appearing on her face.

Quiet.

Under the hazy moonlight, only herself and her junior apprentice-brother were around. She could just watch him like this... how wonderful everything was.

...

At the imperial city square.

"What's going on?" Mu Zishuo stared wide-eyed at the scene of Ji Ning and Yu Wei in the high-altitude Brightmoon Landscape Painting. Yu Wei sat cross-legged, propping her chin, just staring at Ji Ning. "Is Senior Apprentice-Sister Yu Wei in love with Senior Apprentice-Brother Ji Ning? Oh my heavens!"

Little Qing, perched on Mu Zishuo's arm, also stared intently.

Unless one was a fool, just by looking at Yu Wei's demeanor... one could guess that Yu Wei harbored affection for Ji Ning.

"Little Yu Wei and Ji Ning?" The Immortal Wufeng revealed a smile. In his view, Ji Ning and Yu Wei were both peerless geniuses of his Black-White College, quite well-matched.

...

"Look, look at this little girl's expression. I told you, I told you, I said this little girl must like that Ji Ning." Lü Dongbin pointed repeatedly at the giant Brightmoon Landscape Painting, speaking to the Xia Emperor, Emperor Hao, and others beside him. "I wanted to bet earlier, but none of you would bet."

"You're the Love Saint, the Matchmaker... who dares bet with you?" A Pure Yang True Immortal in a black Daoist robe with a blood-colored Taiji diagram smiled.

"True Lord, I'm no Love Saint; I don't even have a single Dao companion. And I'm even less the Matchmaker; the Heavenly Court has its own dedicated Matchmaker." Lü Dongbin quickly said.

Joking around, being shameless, pretending to be a lofty figure...

In short, wherever Lü Dongbin was, there was joy.

Thus, Lü Dongbin had many friends in the Three Realms. With his good temper, powerful backing, and formidable strength, how could he not have many friends?

...

Jiu Lian, sitting behind Patriarch Dongyan, clutched her robe tightly, staring at the giant Brightmoon Landscape Painting, biting her lip, a complex look in her eyes: "Senior Apprentice-Sister Yu Wei, you also have feelings for Ji Ning..."

Earlier, she had only worried. Even in the previous months when Ji Ning and Yu Wei traveled together and were relatively close, Jiu Lian had only thought it was due to their bond as fellow disciples. But seeing this scene now—she had no more doubts!

"I made my choice."

"No regrets." Jiu Lian bit her lip, admonishing herself inwardly.

...

Yu Wei just watched Ji Ning, immersed in her own inner world, even forgetting the outside.

After who knows how long, a flame appeared around Ji Ning. The flame transformed into a lotus and began to grow larger... from a fire lotus the size of a fist, it quickly became a giant flame lotus dozens of feet wide. Ji Ning sat suspended in the center of the lotus's stamen, and the ripples of the Dao descended.

"Hmm?" Yu Wei snapped back to reality.

"Not good." Yu Wei's heart jolted. "The scenes in the Brightmoon Landscape Painting can be observed by the outside world! Someone might have noticed!"

Earlier, seeing Ji Ning immersed in enlightenment, she had let her emotions show without restraint, forgetting that the outside could see!

This made Yu Wei inwardly embarrassed.

"Senior Apprentice-Sister." Ji Ning opened his eyes at that moment and said with a smile, "I've broken through the bottleneck and finally comprehended the Dao of Fire."

Yu Wei quickly came to her senses and said joyfully, "That's wonderful, Junior Apprentice-Brother. You had already comprehended the Dao of Rainwater, and now you have the Dao of Fire... combining water and fire, integrating them into your Sword Dao, your strength will surely increase greatly."

"Mm." Ji Ning nodded, also full of anticipation.

Two complete Daos, and having reached the 'Realm of the Grand Dao' in the 'Sword Dao'... he had more confidence. Although among the over one hundred thousand participants in the Immortal Fortune Convention, some top figures had generally stepped into the threshold of the 'Grand Dao', even if they had all entered the 'threshold of the Grand Dao', some had only awakened their true heart, some had only a slight insight. Those like Ji Ning who had reached the 'Realm of the Grand Dao' were still a minority.

"Junior Apprentice-Brother, you must hurry up and train in the 'Redmoon Nine Heavens Diagram'." Yu Wei quickly said. "You're only at the eleventh level now. Among the participants in this Immortal Fortune Convention, many cultivate the 'Redmoon Nine Heavens Diagram', and reaching the twelfth level is common."

"I understand." Ji Ning nodded.

This was also his weak point.

In Yanshan, it took who knows how many years to produce one cultivator of the 'Redmoon Nine Heavens Diagram'. But in Anchan Commandery, even in the Black-White College, there were several. As for this Immortal Fortune Convention, there were many cultivators of the 'Redmoon Nine Heavens Diagram'. His own eleventh level of the Redmoon Nine Heavens Diagram was indeed somewhat weak.

However, with his strong soul, being a sword immortal, and possessing the divine ability 'Star Picking Hand', he was not afraid of any opponent.

...

Just half a month after Ji Ning comprehended the Dao of Fire.

A purple-robed youth with a tiger's back and bear's waist, and a wild-looking youth, walked side by side through the mountain forest, occasionally sweeping their divine senses over the surrounding ten li.

"Cangwu Jiu, how many talismans do you have?" Xiamang Zishan asked.

"Just over a thousand. You?" Cangwu Jiu asked.

"You're already over a thousand? I've killed more people, but I only have nine hundred and eighty-nine!" Xiamang Zishan stared wide-eyed.

"That's because you're stupid. Killing more people doesn't necessarily mean getting more talismans. Some people carry many talismans, some carry few. It requires judgment. Clearly, your judgment is far inferior to mine." Cangwu Jiu said disdainfully.

Xiamang Zishan shook his head: "You're not much more than me. Look at your smugness! We've been in the Brightmoon Landscape Painting for six months now, half of the one-year period is over. We should speed up and get over thirteen hundred as soon as possible."

There were a total of one hundred nine thousand three hundred sixty-two people in the Brightmoon Landscape Painting.

When the one-year period ended, the eighty people with the most talismans would pass this trial. So, obtaining one thousand three hundred seventy talismans would guarantee passing. Since some had more and some had less, and the remaining others still had talismans, one thousand three hundred would be enough to pass with certainty.

"Get one thousand four hundred! That way we can be at ease!" Cangwu Jiu said.

As they chatted, they probed the surrounding ten li with their divine senses.

Whoosh!

The two advanced continuously.

"Hmm?" Cangwu Jiu and Xiamang Zishan suddenly sensed something.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

The two turned into streaks of light and instantly reached several li away. On the mountainside of a peak several li away, a pair of black-clad man and woman stood there, precisely Ji Ning and Yu Wei.

Ji Ning and Yu Wei both had powerful souls. As soon as the other party's divine sense swept over, they detected it, and then two figures appeared in the distance.

"Them?" Ji Ning and Yu Wei were both shocked.

They recognized the two at a glance because their fame was too great, and more importantly, their attire hadn't changed.

"Xiamang Zishan? Cangwu Jiu?" Ji Ning's heart tightened.

In the intelligence from Tianbao Mountain, among the peerless geniuses of this Immortal Fortune Convention, the one ranked first was Xiamang Zishan, and the second was Cangwu Jiu!

Xiamang Zishan cultivated the 'Redmoon Nine Heavens Diagram' and also practiced many powerful divine abilities secretly passed down within the imperial Xiamang clan. With his peerless talent... he was greatly favored by the Xia Emperor. It was said that the Xia Emperor had long led him to become a disciple of a powerful figure in the Three Realms, and his strength was unfathomable.

Cangwu Jiu was a rare peerless genius from the 'Cangwu clan'. He was about the same age as Xiamang Zishan. Since childhood, they had been two little geniuses in the Great Xia imperial capital, growing up together until now.

Because Xiamang Zishan was of the imperial clan, he was ranked first, and Cangwu Jiu had to settle for second.

In short...

These two were the most famous in this Immortal Fortune Convention!

"With such reputations, they must have real strength. How did these two most famous ones join forces?" Ji Ning was wary. If he encountered one alone, he would definitely dare to fight. But he still had his senior apprentice-sister with him. She was a qi refiner, and although she had comprehended two complete Daos, her strength was still far inferior to the level of Xiamang Zishan and Cangwu Jiu.

...

"Lü Dongbin, you were very concerned about that little girl. That little girl and Ji Ning have really met their match." The Northern Earth Immortal Elder called out with a laugh.

Lü Dongbin watched, troubled: "It looks very troublesome. Those two are called Xiamang Zishan and Cangwu Jiu, right? Their strength is among the top tier among the over one hundred thousand participants. Even if they met that Slovenly True Man, they would probably be about the same. Who is stronger would only be known after a fight. This Ji Ning and this little girl... are somewhat weaker."

"Zishan is the best of the younger generation of my Xiamang clan. He has a chance to be in the top three this time." The Xia Emperor laughed heartily. He rarely valued a junior, but Xiamang Zishan was a junior he liked very much.

...

"Senior Apprentice-Sister, Ji Ning." Jiu Lian watched nervously. She also knew the terror of Xiamang Zishan and Cangwu Jiu. Earlier, when she saw the two heading toward Ji Ning and Yu Wei, she was very anxious, but in the end, they still met.

"Don't let anything happen." Jiu Lian was extremely worried.

...

Inside the Brightmoon Landscape Painting.

Their relatives and friends outside worried for them, but it was of no help. Ji Ning and Yu Wei both remained cautious.

"Are you... Ji Ning?" Cangwu Jiu's eagle-like eyes fixed on Ji Ning, recognizing him at a glance.

"He's Ji Ning? Isn't Ji Ning wearing animal skins?" Xiamang Zishan said.

"I said you're stupid, and you don't believe me. Can't his dharma robe change its appearance?" Cangwu Jiu shook his head. "I specially obtained multiple portraits of Ji Ning. I collected many portraits of all the geniuses. And just looking at a single portrait, it's generally hard to identify the real person. So you need to look at a large number of portraits."

"I looked at over a hundred different portraits of Ji Ning, so I recognized him at a glance." Cangwu Jiu said confidently.

Ji Ning and Yu Wei exchanged glances.

The two opposite were chatting calmly, clearly full of confidence.

"Senior Apprentice-Sister, don't fight head-on. Use your Phoenix technique against them. I'll hold them off, and you escape first. I'll follow soon." Ji Ning transmitted. Yu Wei nodded. She also knew that without her, Ji Ning could escape more easily alone. With her, although their attack power was stronger, escaping was more troublesome.

As Ji Ning and Yu Wei communicated via transmission—

"Hand over your talismans, and we'll spare your lives!" Cangwu Jiu's voice suddenly turned sharp. His divine sense transmission echoed in Ji Ning and Yu Wei's sea of consciousness. Cangwu Jiu himself darted forward, and in midair, a black vulture a hundred feet in size appeared. This black vulture had glossy feathers and piercing eyes, swooping down directly.

...