Crush's Cold Senior Sister is Actually Childhood Sweetheart - Chapter 34

Chapter 34: She Still Didn’t Feel Relieved, Grabbed The Teapot on the Table and Smashed it on The Ground.

She still didn’t feel relieved. She grabbed the teapot from the table and smashed it on the floor.

The sky was a clear, brilliant blue. A few wispy clouds drifted at the highest point, and the sunlight, piercing through the clouds, cast an even glow on the martial arts arena. The clouds, pushed by the wind, moved slowly, as if they, too, were waiting to watch the fight and were in no hurry to leave.

Another gust of wind brought a touch of coolness, making the flags on the high platform flutter gently. The image of the hibiscus flower on the flags was faintly visible.

The arena was packed with rogue cultivators who had come to watch the excitement. After all, the chance to see disciples of immortal sects fight like crickets was a rare sight.

The crowd was bustling and noisy. Some of the rogue cultivators were first-timers and were a bit confused by the flags on the high platform. “Isn’t that hibiscus flower the totem that Emperor Qingyuan used? After all these years, Emperor Fuling still hasn’t thought about changing it.”

A clueless person nearby sighed, “Emperor Fuling is truly very nostalgic.”

“Spare me,” a rogue cultivator next to him immediately rolled his eyes in disdain. “Our Emperor Fuling wanted to change this totem the day she took the throne, but High God Tianmo talked her out of it. Counting on Emperor Fuling to have a conscience? Heh!”

“Exactly,” someone immediately chimed in. “If it weren’t for High God Tianmo, Emperor Qingyuan would probably be a forgotten name on the Nine Heavens.”

“She, Emperor Fuling, can tamper with history, but can she tamper with people’s hearts?!” one voice in the crowd was particularly jarring, and for a moment, everyone became impassioned.

As the rogue cultivators were discussing heatedly, the sky suddenly darkened. A black shadow appeared from a distance, sweeping over everyone’s heads in a flash and landing steadily on the main seat of the high platform.

The entire process was completely silent.

After seeing who had arrived, the once-noisy crowd fell silent, exchanging glances before kneeling to pay their respects. The group of rogue cultivators who had just been aggressively denouncing Emperor Fuling were now prostrating themselves on the ground, not even daring to breathe heavily upon seeing her in person.

The cultivators bowed their heads, groveling on the ground, only daring to steal glances at the black figure on the high platform. Only after seeing the figure raise a hand to signal them did they shakily stand up.

There was only one main seat on the high platform. Emperor Fuling sat on it, wearing her timeless black robes with an indifferent expression. Beside her sat Shen Tianmo and Ying Youhan, two High Gods who were relaxed and occasionally chatting and laughing.

Next to them, on the edge of the high platform, were three chairs. Two were empty, and only Ying Baizang sat in the middle one.

On both sides of the martial arts arena were two-story small buildings with private rooms and viewing stands. Each immortal sect had its own private room, and from the stands, one could clearly see the entire arena.

Since the High Gods were all on the high platform, the sect’s head disciple was in charge of the private rooms. However, in the private room of the Hall of Chongguang, High God Chongguang sat upright, staring at the arena with a blank expression.

The moment Emperor Fuling took her seat on the high platform, not only did the surrounding rogue cultivators kneel, but the disciples in the private rooms also stood up to bow. Only the people on the high platform remained seated.

“Where is Senior Sister Ling?” An Jin frowned and quietly asked the senior sister next to her, seeing that two of the three seats on the edge of the platform were empty.

The other person also shook her head in confusion.

“What, must Senior Sister Ling sit on the high platform? Who made that rule?” Yang Anping suddenly interjected, her sharp voice particularly jarring in the private room.

The surrounding fellow disciples looked at each other, exchanging helpless glances. Seeing that no one spoke, Yang Anping gritted her teeth, her eyes burning with anger.

She knew in her heart that her question made no sense. On the high platform, besides the Emperor and the High Gods in power, only the successors to the Upper Realm had the right to sit there—to put it bluntly, the people from the old academy.

Even though many from the academy were now dead or injured, even if some chairs were empty, it wasn’t a place for outsiders to sit casually.

This had always been an unspoken rule, and now that Yang Anping had so bluntly broken it, the fellow disciples in the private room looked at each other, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

The room fell silent, and the atmosphere instantly became tense.

In the end, it was High God Chongguang who helped her out by changing the subject. “Has the list been submitted?”

Yang Anping was stunned, hesitating for a few seconds before answering, “…Yes, the list of contestants and their preferences for the matches have all been reported to the Emperor.”

High God Chongguang nodded and turned her head, her gaze returning to the arena, without noticing her momentary hesitation.

The martial arts tournament used a round-robin system. While on the surface all participating High Gods and High Immortals were randomly matched, regardless of their cultivation level, in reality, their personal wishes and differences in strength were still taken into account. Although they couldn’t directly specify an opponent, if someone specifically requested a “more challenging match,” Emperor Fuling was very happy to satisfy that request.

After each round, the winners fought the winners, and the losers fought the losers, ensuring that the participants would meet opponents of similar strength as much as possible. Finally, the top four were selected based on the number of wins to enter the knockout stage to determine the ultimate champion.

A senior sister who was participating next to her clasped her hands, closed her eyes, and whispered, “Please, Emperor, bless me, let me draw a rogue cultivator, please.”

A senior brother standing next to her immediately glared at her and said impatiently, “There are only so many spots for rogue cultivators. If you get one, what about us?”

An Jin: “…”

Was this what they called fighting over five million dollars in a dream?

The senior sister who had just been clasping her hands opened her eyes, ignored him, and moved her stool to the side, clearly also a bit speechless.

BANG—

The door to the private room was suddenly kicked open, hitting the wall with a heavy clang and bouncing back, making two loud noises. Two people, bound and gagged, were roughly thrown in, rolling twice on the floor and stopping right at High God Chongguang’s feet.

Their eyes were covered with black cloth, and their bodies were trembling. Their mouths were stuffed with cloth gags, so they could only make muffled whimpering sounds.

This sudden turn of events caught everyone by surprise. Many people were startled. Several fellow disciples who had been sitting next to High God Chongguang even jumped out of their seats and backed away.

High God Chongguang frowned fiercely. She was about to get up when Senior Sister Cen stopped her. Cen Xiyao walked up, tore the black cloth from the two people’s faces, and frowned.

After seeing who they were, High God Chongguang suddenly turned to look at the doorway, her eyes filled with anger. “What do you think you’re doing?!”

The person who had arrived, however, was not afraid at all and said calmly, “I’ve come to ask Master for an explanation.”

Upon hearing this, High God Chongguang became furious. She slammed her palm on the table and stood up abruptly. “You dare to bind your fellow disciples in front of everyone today. Tomorrow, will you put a sword to my neck?!”

“Do you have any respect for the Hall of Chongguang or me, your master?!”

Her chest heaved with anger, and her voice rose several decibels.

High God Chongguang’s strike was so forceful that the table shook, and even the teapot rattled.

Still not feeling relieved, she grabbed the teapot from the table and smashed it on the floor. The motion was so violent it was as if she was smashing the teapot at Ling Qi, who was standing at the door. The teapot shattered, sending broken porcelain shards and tea water flying. Everyone held their breath.

The atmosphere in the private room instantly became very tense.

“Why is Master so angry?” Ling Qi walked in under everyone’s gaze, stepping over the mess on the floor with a calm expression. “I just wanted to remind Master not to always treat everyone as a fool.”

She walked unhurriedly up to High God Chongguang and looked her straight in the eye. “Master clearly colluded with High God Tianmo long ago and sent several junior brothers and sisters to do her bidding, yet you still want to deceive me into working for you. That’s not very appropriate, is it?”

“I said it long ago,” she then turned to look at the two people on the floor. “If you’re interested in my affairs, just ask me directly. There’s no need to beat around the bush and inquire everywhere. If you had just said you were working for Master, as a senior sister, would I not cooperate?”

Her tone was light and airy, clearly not taking them seriously.

High God Chongguang’s face instantly darkened. “What nonsense! Where did you hear these baseless things? You’re going to question me based on rumors you heard from who knows where?!”

The more guilty she felt, the sharper her tone became, and her speech quickened.

“Junior Sister Fu and Junior Brother Lu didn’t say that,” Ling Qi said, her gaze sweeping over the two kneeling people. Fu Xin and Lu Wei were still tied up and kneeling. Their bodies trembled even more when they heard this.

Cen Xiyao, unable to bear it, stepped forward and untied them, even using a handkerchief to wipe the cold sweat from their foreheads. Ling Qi didn’t mind her unauthorized action, and High God Chongguang pretended not to see it.

“Why don’t Master explain? Why would High Immortal Zhao Han, who has been in the mortal realm for hundreds of years and hasn’t concerned himself with worldly affairs, suddenly write a letter to Junior Sister Liao, saying he was in the Hall of Nine Heavens—and so coincidentally, Shen Tianmo was also in the Hall of Nine Heavens having a meeting with the Emperor that day?” Ling Qi’s gaze was fiery. “And why does Shen Tianmo know all my movements and everything Junior Sister An does?”

There wasn’t much anger in Ling Qi’s tone. Instead, there was a sense of absurdity, a ludicrous humor to it all.

She asked directly, “What exactly is Master plotting with Shen Tianmo?”

Seeing High God Chongguang remain silent, Ling Qi changed her question. “Is Master so secretive because you and Shen Tianmo are doing something underhanded and you have a guilty conscience?”

As expected, High God Chongguang was enraged by her words. “It has nothing to do with High God Tianmo, it’s the Vermilion Bird Dao Master—”

The words were barely out of her mouth before she realized her slip and immediately shut up.

Ling Qi raised an eyebrow, a smile playing on her lips. “Oh? What about the Vermilion Bird Dao Master?”

She had originally not wanted to have a confrontation with Yang Chongguang in front of so many people. The more people there were, the less likely Yang Chongguang would be to tell the truth to maintain her image. But with the evidence right in front of her, she had held back for a long time but couldn’t anymore.

High God Chongguang was clearly unwilling to be tricked into saying more and sat back down in her chair, looking at the arena without speaking. Ling Qi was about to step forward when she received a warning look from Cen Xiyao and had to stop. She then tried the same tactic again:

“No matter what Master thinks, Emperor Qingyuan has already fallen. Whether it’s High God Tianmo or the Vermilion Bird Dao Master, they are just one of many High Gods. Master should remember that the current ruler of the Upper Realm is—”

“This world should have belonged to Yuan Shunhua!” High God Chongguang slammed the table and stood up. A finger was almost poking Ling Qi’s nose. Even Cen Xiyao couldn’t stop her. She was uncharacteristically agitated.

“She is the daughter of Emperor Qingyuan. Standing there, she is the rightful heir!”

The hall instantly fell silent.

Not a sound could be heard.

Ling Qi pushed her hand away but wasn’t angry. She was just stunned for a few seconds, a hint of confusion flashing in her eyes. She hadn’t seen Yang Chongguang lose control like this in a long time, and this time, it was because of Yuan Shunhua?

Eight hundred years ago, when Xiao Jin disappeared, Yang Chongguang ascended to High God. Logically, the two should not have had any connection.

Could it be that Xiao Jin had known her eight hundred years ago? Or… had Ying Huaiqu made some kind of agreement with Yang Chongguang while wearing that face?

The atmosphere in the private room was oppressive. No one dared to make a sound, and even their breathing was lightened. Except for Cen Xiyao, who was still standing next to Yang Chongguang, everyone else had quietly retreated to a corner.

At that moment, a knock on the door broke the stalemate in the room. The voice of an immortal envoy came from outside:

“Pardon the interruption, High God. The list of matchups for the first round of the martial arts tournament is ready.”