Chapter 30: Emotions Rejected (Part 2)

  The three referees for this match were led by Qian Hui Gu Zhong, Tong He Zhen Ren. Due to the matter of Tian Qin, he had a deep prejudice against the two sects of Wen Tian and Yuan Yue. In a low voice, he said: "In this match, Daoyu of Yunyun Sect won. The disciples under the stage are not allowed to shout, otherwise they will be expelled from the venue. The next match..."

  Hai Long sat quietly on his bed, the easy victory earlier had allowed him to vent out a lot of the pent-up frustration in his heart. Hong Zhi looked at him with some concern and said: "Big brother, what's wrong with you today? You're not supposed to reveal your true strength, so why were you so excited? To be honest, I didn't even see how you made your move." Ever since Hai Long returned last night, he had become like a different person - quiet and taciturn, often sitting there in a daze.

  Hailong shook his head and said, "Don't worry, I'm fine. What you said yesterday was right, the trial has just begun. I must win this newcomer tournament championship. Xiao Zhi, I'm a bit tired, if any senior from our sect comes looking for me, tell them I'm in seclusion and won't see anyone." After finishing speaking, he sat cross-legged and began to quietly cultivate. His judgment was correct, the Yuan Yue Liu sect's disciples' magic tools were destroyed, their sect's seniors would not let it go easily. Under the pressure of Jie Tian Dao Zun's apology, they barely suppressed their anger. Piao Miao and Zhi Shui, two Dao Zuns, personally came to find Hailong, when they learned he was cultivating, they left a message with Xiao Zhi, telling him that in future competitions, he must not be so impulsive. For two consecutive days of competition, except for Hailong losing one match, the other disciples of Lian Yun Zong maintained an undefeated record.

  Time passed day by day. In the blink of an eye, the round-robin tournament had reached its final round. In previous matches, only Tianqin remained undefeated in the group, and when she faced Yifeng Xing, she even used the Nine Immortal Koto to break his hidden Immortal-level treasure. Except for Tianqin, both Hailong and Yifeng Xing maintained a record of one loss each. The final day's match would decide which of them would emerge from the group. Yifeng Xing's opponent was Huoliu, who was far inferior to him in strength, while Hailong's opponent was Tianqin, the strongest in the group and the one he least wanted to meet.

  In the previous match, Hailong received a warning from Jietian Daozun and did not destroy his opponent's magic tool. However, relying on Xiao Tiegang's nearly invincible attack power, almost no one can last for a minute on the competition stage. Today's matches are being held one after another. The Yu sisters appeared first with a record of winning all their matches. They seemed to be very concerned about Hailong and arrived at the No. 3 competition stage early after their own match ended.

  "Hai Long, your match hasn't started yet, has it?" Yu Ping smiled and asked Hai Long.

  The dragon nodded and didn't say anything.

  Yu Hua said: "I heard you lost a game before, so you must work hard today! As long as you win this last game, you will have the possibility of appearing."

  Hailong looked at Yuhua sister and then at Hongzhi beside him, sighed: "It's really difficult. Today's competition, I'm afraid it's really hard for me to win."

  Hong Zhi smiled and said, "Big brother, I think that Tian Qin's cultivation is probably not as good as yours. Although she has a magical instrument, you don't necessarily have to lose! Didn't you say you wanted to win the championship this time?"

  Hai Long shook his head slightly and said, "I wanted to get the championship. However, I met Tian Qin, so it's probably going to be very difficult."

  Yu Hua hummed and said, "Hai Long big brother, it's okay, even if you lose, there's still a rematch with us. At that time, I must meet this Tianqin again and see where her strength lies."

  Hai Long glanced at Yu Hua and forced a smile, saying: "If you meet her in the rematch, you must be careful. Her magical instrument, the Nine Immortal Zither, is extremely powerful."

  Yu Hua's pretty face turned slightly red, thinking to herself, is he concerned about me? This fool, finally got a little smarter.

  The game on the field has ended. The result was no surprise, as Yi Feng Xing easily won with his silver Qian Tian gun.

  "The tenth match was won by Tianliu Fengyue. Today's final match, also the last round of the circular tournament, is between Liyun Zong Dao Yu and Qianhui Gu Tianqin."

  Hailong's heart tightened, he took a deep breath, glanced at Hongzhi beside him, and rose into the air. A faint yellow glow appeared under his feet, supporting his body as he stepped onto the stage. This yellow glow was unprecedented, and the audience below fell silent in an instant. The cloudy mist-like glow represented something they were all too familiar with - a symbol of reaching a certain realm. Once this ability to summon clouds and fog appeared, it proved that the cultivator had truly entered the ranks of the masters. In the history of the Seven Sects' Newcomer Tournament, such a situation had never occurred before.

  The dragon king was not intentionally showing off. In order to calm his mood, he activated the Lingtai Golden Elixir and spread the divine power throughout his body, unknowingly causing this situation to occur.

  Tianqin wore a pale blue long dress today, and didn't wear a Doukang. Her red hair shone like rubies under the sunlight, her expression was very calm, with her eyes cast down, as if she had never met Hailong before. After the referee announced the start of the match, a misty silver light rose from Tianqin's body, and just like when he first saw Tianqin, the Ni Tian Jing on Hailong's chest heated up, but due to being with Hailong for a long time, the Ni Tian Jing had basically merged with his body, so the heat was much smaller than last time.

  "The lofty mountain stops, the flowing water moves the clouds, the law of a thousand graces, the piano and heaven are united as one." A clear and calm voice clearly entered the ears of everyone present. The silver light suddenly became brilliant, and the amber-colored Jiuxian Piano appeared in Tianqin's hand. Since the newcomer competition began, this was her second time using the Jiuxian Piano. From the start, she took out her own strongest treasure, showing how much Tianqin valued Hailong.

  Looking at the familiar yet strange sacred instrument, Hailong felt a wave of confusion in his heart. Since being rejected by Piaoyu Daozun that day, his mood had been extremely low. Except for dealing with the competition, his mind was basically a blank slate. Piaoyu Daozun's blow to him was really too great. After all, it was his first time asking someone out in his life. Although he had already anticipated the outcome, his hopes were still shattered. In his heart, he thought that Piaoyu was so ruthless and had completely cut off his own hope without leaving any room for doubt. At this moment, when he saw Tianqin, he suddenly remembered what Piaoyu Daozun had said before. Tianqin had paid too much for her own sake. She pretended not to recognize him on stage, obviously to avoid causing trouble for herself. They had only met once, just one time. But the debt he owed her was something that could never be repaid. Hailong felt that Tianqin's cultivation was not as good as his own. Among people of the same age, even if there were outstanding talents, it was impossible to have a cultivation level equal to his own. If he were to attack with all his might using the small iron rod, perhaps the Nine Sages' Zither would not affect him at all. But after knowing so much, could he still bring himself to attack Tianqin? There was no doubt; the answer was only one.

  Tianqin said quietly, "This zither is called Jiuxian, be careful." A burst of light flashed, and a layer of invisible pressure instantly spread across the entire competition stage. The Tianming clothes on Hailong's body fluttered without wind, and he didn't need to deliberately urge them on. The Tianming clothes naturally released a faint blue glow, protecting his body. With a flash of blue light, the Qixiu sword floated out, its body lightly dancing in the air as it laid down a thick layer of sword aura. The small iron rod appeared in Hailong's palm, and now he no longer needed the Qiankun ring to urge him on. Under the infusion of Hailong's divine power, it naturally transformed into a long rod about two zhang in length. The rod pointed forward, and Hailong said in a deep voice, "Please." A blue-green light instantly spread across the sword aura behind him, and at least on the surface, he had already activated his full strength, waiting in a tight formation.

  The zither's eyes shot out a beam of light, and the nine strings on the zither, which were red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, black, and white, almost simultaneously emitted different colored glows. It was as if the zither in her hand was no longer just an instrument, but a rainbow that pierced through heaven and earth. The dragon's clear feeling was that the small iron rod in his hand was trembling slightly, not because of fear, but because of excitement. It seemed to be eagerly awaiting a battle with the Nine Immortal Zither. Since the dragon's cultivation had reached its peak, this was the first time the small iron rod had produced such a feeling. Clearly, it no longer considered the Nine Immortal Zither as an opponent close to itself.

  Tianqin's fingers moved like jade scallions, the red strings of the qin trembled slightly, emitting a humming sound. Hailong was shocked all over his body as if struck by lightning, not because of the attack of the Jiu Xian Qin, but because of that familiar sound. The Jiu Xian Qin floated quietly in front of Tianqin, with both hands pressing on the red and orange strings, just like that day, the clear and cold sound echoed, bringing a moment of serenity to the competition stage.

  The light of the Seven Refining Sword suddenly dimmed, and with a "clang", it automatically returned to its scabbard on the back of the Sea Dragon. The Sea Dragon did not attack, but instead used his small iron club to support his body, quietly listening to the sound of the Heavenly Zither. At this moment, he seemed to understand many things, as the gentle voice of the Nine Immortal Zither continuously nourished his heart, as if telling him something. The caring tone, like a clear spring water, made the Sea Dragon's inner self regain its vitality. A faint smile hung on his lips, and he was satisfied. At this moment, everything else became unimportant to him; in his eyes, there was only the Heavenly Zither, and in his ears, there was only that gentle zither sound. The world suddenly seemed so small, as if it were limited to just this stage. The Sea Dragon no longer thought about being the champion; he only hoped to be able to listen forever, to hear the Heavenly Zither play for him.

  To the onlookers below, Tianqin's Jiu Xian Qin was emitting a steady stream of red and orange light, while Hailong's body was enveloped in an unstable golden glow, as if it were struggling against those two lights. They all knew that this direct confrontation of energies was the most perilous; one misstep, and the loser would be in danger of losing their life. The onlookers fell eerily silent, their eyes fixed intently on Hailong and Tianqin, oblivious to the fact that several people had appeared among them. These were Tong He and Zi He, two Daoist sages from Qian Hui Valley, as well as Piao Miao and Zhi Shui, two Daoist sages from Lian Yun Sect. As soon as they arrived, all four of them furrowed their brows in unison. How could others not understand? With their level of cultivation and insight into the sect's techniques, how could they possibly be unable to comprehend?

  "Zi He muttered: "What is Tian Qin doing? Why isn't she attacking. This seems to be the Nian Yu Qing Xin Qu!"

  She gazed at Hailong with a dazed expression, his face a picture of conflicting emotions - sometimes painful, sometimes joyful, as if struggling with something. She had long since seen through Hailong's behavior in recent days, knowing that it was all because of her. However, having made up her mind, how could she easily change it? She firmly believed in the principle that short pain is better than long pain, and after a while, Hailong would definitely forget about her. But when she saw Hailong's expression at this moment, her heart was surprisingly stirred by his emotions, fluctuating with him. She noticed that Tianqin was using music to comfort Hailong, and Hailong seemed to have accepted the comfort. Piaoyou secretly asked herself, is this really what I wanted to see? Why did she feel a pang in her heart when Hailong and Tianqin were together like this?

  On the stage, Hailong felt his body becoming exceptionally light and relaxed, the melancholy and oppression in his heart were constantly being dispelled by the celestial music emitted by the Jiu Xian Qin. Suddenly, he had an urge to cry. He wanted to hold onto the Tian Qin and have a good cry. At this moment, he clearly felt that the Tian Qin had unknowingly become his confidant. Whoa, Hailong spat out a mouthful of blood. He wasn't injured, what he spat out was the accumulation of his emotions over these past few days. As he spat out this mouthful of blood, Hailong only felt his body and mind being refreshed, waves of refreshing energy constantly coming from the Ling Tai Jin Dan, as if his cultivation had suddenly increased a bit.

  The sound of the qin suddenly stopped, as there was a barrier that blocked it, and only Hailong could hear this tune. Tianqin's lips moved, "I've done what I promised you. If you want to get the championship in this competition, let's fight now. As long as you win me, there will be almost no opponents for you in the future."

  Hailong gently shook his head, wiping away the blood from the corner of his mouth, and loudly said to the three presiding elder judges on the trial platform: "Tianqin Shizi's cultivation is profound, I admit defeat."

  Three presiding elders from Wu Zhao Xian, Fan Xin Zong and Lian Hua Zong respectively. Upon hearing Hai Long's words, the middle Wu Zhao Xian Shui Zong sect leader, Shui Yun, nodded her head and said: "Alright. The winner of this match is Qian Hui Gu Tian Qin."

  Hailong gazed deeply at Tianqin, smiled slightly and said: "Being able to hear Shifu's celestial music is worth losing, thank you Shifu." As he spoke, he bowed deeply to Tianqin before floating off the stage.

  Hong Zhi stretched out his hand in front of Hai Long and shook it, saying doubtfully: "No way, big brother. You're still so happy after losing. Don't you know that you've already been eliminated?"

  Hai Long let out a soft sigh and said, "What's the point of winning or losing? Nothing matters anymore. Let's go back to our place first, and after I report to the sect leader, we'll immediately return to Lianyun Mountain. I want to continue my closed-door cultivation, and once I've made progress, I'll venture out again." After finishing speaking, he ignored Yu Hua sisters' shouts and strode away quickly.

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