Crush's Cold Senior Sister is Actually Childhood Sweetheart - Chapter 36

Chapter 36: I’m Not Twelve Years Old Forever.

Everything happened too fast.

From the bell ringing to stop the match, to the moment Divine Sovereign Chongguang announced her intention to take a disciple and Ren Qingwen accepted, only twenty short minutes had passed. The next match hadn’t even begun.

Inside the private room, the simple master-disciple ceremony had already started. The Chongguang Palace wasn’t like other immortal sects; there were no rules about changing one’s surname upon entry. A cup of tea was all it took to complete the ritual, which wouldn’t hold up the rest of the tournament.

An Jin pouted. When she joined, she hadn’t even met her master. It was her Senior Sister Cen who had accepted the master-disciple tea on her behalf.

Just as she was thinking of Senior Sister Cen, she suddenly felt that something was amiss. She turned to look and saw Cen Xiyao, who was always by their master’s side, standing far in a corner this time, watching the tea ceremony with a complicated expression.

Her brow was furrowed tightly, lost in thought.

The draw for the second match was about to begin. Ling Qi, who had been leaning against the wall, suddenly straightened up and turned to An Jin: “It’s my turn to go on.”

“Huh?”

An Jin looked back at her with a puzzled expression. “The draw hasn’t even started yet…”

“Don’t worry,” Ling Qi simply smiled at her and said softly, “No matter what you see later, don’t worry.”

“…” What kind of riddle was this?

She hadn’t been worried before, but after hearing that, she couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

“When I come back—” Ling Qi got up and started to walk towards the door. The words “The next one is you” were on the tip of her tongue, but she didn’t have time to say them.

An Jin shivered and quickly interrupted her: “Don’t, don’t, don’t! Don’t jinx it, that’s too unlucky!”

Ling Qi paused and turned back, looking bewildered.

“?”

As she watched Ling Qi leave the private room, An Jin’s heart was still in a panic, but at a time like this, she couldn’t just rush down and drag the person away, saying, “Stop fighting, let’s go home.”

The large screen above the arena had frozen, showing Ling Qi and Shen Tianmo as the next match.

Everyone in the private room turned to look for Ling Qi, only to find that she was already standing downstairs with her sword, waiting.

The result was both surprising and not surprising.

No one really expected an Upper Immortal to defeat a Divine Sovereign who had ascended thousands of years ago and whose strength was no less than Emperor Fei Ling’s. Not even if that person was Ling Qi, a graduate of the academy.

But what no one expected was that she managed to take over a hundred of her opponent’s moves. Her white robe was completely soaked in bl00d, but the hand holding her sword never let go.

Ling Qi knelt on the arena, bl00d spilling from the corner of her mouth. Her sword was stuck in the ground, and her face became distorted with pain, but she still clutched the hilt, using the sword to support herself, and refused to fall.

Another wave of bl00d rushed up.

She felt a sharp pain in her chest, gritted her teeth to swallow it back, but in the end, she couldn’t hold it in and spewed out a large mouthful of bl00d.

The crimson bl00d splattered on the ground, staining the arena, a complete mess.

Dark clouds gathered over the Nine Heavens, and amidst the rising winds and surging clouds, the sky was completely blocked by the heavy clouds. There was no light on the arena.

Shen Tianmo stood in this darkness; her expression was unclear. All that could be seen was her looking at the bl00d-soaked Ling Qi, and she leisurely raised a hand, even taking the time to smooth her skirt.

This person, who usually detested fine clothing and silk robes, had broken her habit today by wearing a floor-length, plain gauze dress during the match, with a hairpin in her hair. She looked quite elegant.

However, wearing this outfit in the arena was a clear message to everyone that she didn’t take this match seriously at all.

“Very impressive.” Shen Tianmo smiled faintly, a look of genuine appreciation in her eyes. “To be able to fight me for so long, you’re much stronger than those useless people.”

Her gaze swept over the surrounding crowd, and it was obvious who “those useless people” were.

“Those useless people” around the arena and in the second-floor private rooms were all pale, unable to say a word. For many, it was the first time they realized what the title of Divine Sovereign truly meant.

It wasn’t just higher-level spells and stronger divine power, but a complete and total overwhelming advantage. They had to ask themselves: most of them probably couldn’t even withstand a single casual sword strike from Shen Tianmo.

An Jin was at the front of the second-floor viewing area, gripping the railing tightly. Her lower lip was almost numb from biting it. She watched Ling Qi shakily get back on her feet, and she was in a panic. She knew better than anyone that with Ling Qi’s personality, she would never give up and walk away.

The fellow disciples around her couldn’t bear to watch and began to plead with Divine Sovereign Chongguang, hoping she would ring the bell to stop the match as she had before.

But Divine Sovereign Chongguang simply sat quietly, staring intently at the arena, and made no move.

An Jin thought of Senior Sister Cen again and called out to her twice, but found that Senior Sister Cen seemed not to have heard her. Her eyes were fixed on a corner of the private room with a heavy gaze.

In that corner, there was only one chair, where Ren Qingwen, who had just become a disciple, was sitting. She seemed completely unaware of Cen Xiyao’s gaze, watching the arena without blinking.

At this moment, An Jin didn’t have time to think about their strange behavior. All her attention was on the arena. She watched as Ling Qi was knocked to the ground again, but this time she was slow to get back up. Seeing that she wouldn’t concede, Shen Tianmo was happy to continue and showed no intention of stopping.

Seeing this, Divine Sovereign Chongguang finally frowned and raised her hand, preparing to ring the bell. Just then, an undeniable voice rang out from the high platform:

“That’s enough.”

Emperor Fei Ling had gotten up at some point and decisively called a stop to the match.

A final decision.

This was almost unprecedented.

According to the rules of the martial arts tournament, no matter which Emperor was on the platform, they never intervened in the progress of the match unless someone was caught cheating. Usually, the winner would knock their opponent off the stage and win directly, or the loser would concede and leave.

But disciples of immortal sects were proud and most were unwilling to concede verbally. Over time, it became a common practice for the Divine Sovereigns of the various sects to ring the bell to stop the match, and those who conceded on their own were often looked down upon.

For an Emperor to personally stop a match, this was the first time in thousands of years.

Not only did this match suddenly end, but the draw for the next round was also postponed. As Ling Qi was being helped up by an immortal attendant, everyone in the private room, along with Divine Sovereign Chongguang, hurried out.

An Jin followed her master and fellow disciples down the stairs. Before she even reached the bottom, she heard Emperor Fei Ling’s voice from a distance:

“I really didn’t see your message, that’s why I didn’t answer. I’ve been busy lately, and before that, I had to prepare for the tournament. Where would I find the time…”

“Dismiss the immortal attendants? It’s just annoying to have so many people walking around in front of me.”

“Yes, I don’t lack the money, but there are too many places where money is needed. A couple of days ago, the Dragon King of the North Sea came to me complaining that her daughter couldn’t swim and insisted that I build an island for her.”

“…How is that an excuse? Why must a Dragon King’s daughter be able to swim… And you’re not here anymore. What use are so many immortal attendants when I’m living alone in this Jiu Yang Palace?”

An Jin had never seen Emperor Fei Ling speak so much in one go. In her memory, this powerful Emperor had always been silent.

Why was she so patient today?

She could vaguely hear Ling Qi talking, but couldn’t make out what she was saying.

Then, she heard Emperor Fei Ling reply: “Matters that should be handled by us adults are not for you children to worry about.”

The people of the Chongguang Palace collectively quieted their steps, showing a tacit understanding. It wasn’t until An Jin reached the bottom of the stairs that she could clearly hear Ling Qi’s voice.

She said: “Master, I’m not twelve years old forever.”

Ling Qi leaned against the wall, still gasping for breath, with bl00d constantly dripping from the hem of her clothes. The ground was a shocking, crimson mess.

She looked up at Emperor Fei Ling and realized that she and her master hadn’t had a proper conversation in a very long time.

Suddenly feeling a bit dazed, Ling Qi remembered the years when Emperor Qing Yuan was still around. Back then, no matter what high expectations the outside world had for the six of them, no matter what hopes they held, on Carefree Island and in Jiu Yang Palace, they were always children who could be willful and mischievous. If they caused trouble, someone would clean up their mess. If they felt wronged, someone would comfort them. They didn’t have to bear any pressure or carry any heavy burdens.

But the fairy-tale castle had collapsed with a crash eight hundred years ago, and she could no longer hide in Jiu Yang Palace, covering her ears and pretending not to hear the storms outside.

She also had things she had to do, a truth she had to uncover, and people she had to protect with her life.

She remembered the last time in the Demon Realm, Yuan Se had asked her: You’re giving up a perfectly good Jiu Yang Palace to endure this kind of treatment at Chongguang Palace. What is it for?

What was it for?

“I just hope…”

“I just hope to get the Qing Yuan Sword back and to make Shen Tianmo pay for what she’s done. I hope the Upper Realm can return to its former order, and the mortal world can be peaceful and happy, and everything can go back to the way it was.” Ling Qi’s face was still pale, but her voice was firm.

She just looked at Emperor Fei Ling.

“It’s not that simple.” Emperor Fei Ling seemed to have anticipated her words and sighed. “Don’t go looking for the Su You Flower again. This is not something you all can—”

“Even if you refuse to tell us the truth directly, you can’t stop us from investigating ourselves,” Ling Qi suddenly interrupted.

There was still bl00d on the corner of her mouth, but she gave a bright smile: “You can’t lock me up again, right?”

“…I wish I could,” Emperor Fei Ling gave a bitter smile and shook her head. “But Jiu Yang Palace can’t hold you anymore.”

Another period of silence passed.

After a while, she slowly spoke again: “I’ve never liked taking disciples. I didn’t like it before I took you home, and I still don’t like it now.”

“So… don’t let me end up with no one left to inherit my legacy, okay?”

Ling Qi lowered her eyes. After a long pause, she finally nodded softly.

…

She silently followed the people from Chongguang Palace back to the private room, completely unconcerned about how much they had overheard. Her mind was a mess, and as soon as she entered the room, she pulled An Jin into the same chair and buried her face deep in the other person’s shoulder.

An Jin also tacitly didn’t ask any questions, just gently patted her.

Divine Sovereign Chongguang sat at the head of the table, her brows tightly furrowed, her eyes closed the entire time.

The younger disciples around them looked at each other, and finally, a bold one spoke up: “Senior Sister Ling… are you really going to leave?”

This question seemed to open the floodgates, and the room was filled with discussion:

“Senior Sister, did you and the Emperor really fall out?”

“You’re an idiot!” someone next to them immediately scoffed. “If they really fell out, would the Emperor have specially stopped the match today?”

“Exactly,” another junior sister whispered in agreement. “A person like the Emperor, when has she ever been so gentle to anyone else…”

Ling Qi remained silent, ignoring the sounds around her. Her fellow disciples thought her injuries were too severe and she needed to rest, so they didn’t ask any more questions and chatted in small groups during the match interval.

Just as they were talking, there was a sudden knock on the door. When the door opened, everyone was stunned.