Chapter 426: How Is My Junior Sister Even Better at This Than Me?
The Human Immortal List—this grand event, held exclusively for the outstanding young geniuses of the human race, had already been running for many years.
Ever since the Immortal Nation used a great formation to seize the Trial of Ascension Platform, the so-called "First Step of the Human–Immortal Stairway," from the ruins of the Ancient Heavenly Gate, they soon reached a compromise with the major sects and opened it to the world's human prodigies.
The reasons for this had long since become murky.
Some said it was a case of "the commoner is not guilty, but the treasure makes him so," and the Immortal Nation had no choice but to share it.
Others claimed the platform's value was limited—tasteless to the great elders, yet too precious to discard—so they allowed it to benefit the younger generation instead.
Whatever the original motives, over time the format of the duels settled into tradition, becoming the premier stage for human geniuses to make their names known across the world.
The Human Immortal List was no mere title.
When the competition concluded, the final placements would be circulated throughout the Immortal Nation and all major sects, and every generation's number-one ranker would become the subject of countless tales.
—With the sole exception of a certain Demon Sect Holy Saint, who seized the top spot at the youngest age ever recorded—only to disappear from public view for a full five years afterward.
Even the greatest fame will fade if you don't actively cultivate it.
. . .
At this moment, within the dimensional space of the Trial of Ascension Platform—a realm specially opened by the Immortal Nation for this event.
The first thing that caught anyone's sight was an endless expanse of misty void.
Then came five rootless mountain peaks, towering amid drifting clouds.
Though barren of trees, each peak was carved as if by blade and chisel into tiered terraces and high platforms, serving as spectator seats for the battles.
Suspended at the very center of these peaks floated the platform itself, sculpted entirely from immortal jade.
Five towering columns of condensed cloud connected heaven and earth, perfectly aligned with the gaps between the peaks to encircle the Trial of Ascension Platform, which gleamed faintly with a soft white light.
Compared to yesterday, the platform had already shrunk in size and now resembled an inverted bowl embedded within the clouds.
Just then, two swirling multicolored clouds rose from the stage.
As the mist parted and the figures inside were revealed, the atmosphere within the entire space surged to a new height.
By now, a quarter of the first-round duels of the Human Immortal List had been completed.
But without question, this match was already the most anticipated of them all.
The personal disciple of Elder Lei—one of the Daoist Sect's legendary Thunder-and-Cloud duo—versus the Demon Sect Holy Maiden, whose reputation as a "demoness" had already spread far and wide.
Both stood at the peak of Foundation Establishment.
Both were prodigies of the three ancient sects.
Both were direct disciples of Divine Transformation realm masters—though it was common knowledge that the Holy Maiden's own master, the Demon Sect Holy Lord, stood on an even higher plane.
"Tsk, tsk… now this is going to be a real fight."
"Interesting! In past years, two candidates of this caliber wouldn't face each other until at least the third round."
"That's good news for us. With these two eliminating each other early, the rest of us might survive another round."
"There were even rumors that the Holy Maiden once defeated a Golden Core cultivator. I doubt that Daoist Sect kid can match her."
"Not so fast. Daoist Sect disciples train mostly in secluded cave heavens. They rarely show their true strength. And… doesn't the Holy Maiden look a little off?"
Only when Bai Xiaoyao, clad in a pure white dress, appeared on the platform did many of the cultivators watching with their spiritual awareness suddenly notice it: her spiritual energy seemed faintly unstable, as if hastily patched with pills after being badly depleted.
"Come to think of it, didn't someone hear strange noises coming from the Demon Sect Holy Saint's residence last night…?"
"So something did happen? Anyone know the details?"
"Bah, who would dare investigate? That's the Holy Saint's residence. You'd have to be suicidal."
Listening to the murmurs around her, Lu Yuliu's small face flushed red.
But she thought, if anyone had truly witnessed last night's "battle" between her and Bai Xiaoyao, they would probably have no choice but to call a truce… and then join forces to kill the witness and bury the evidence.
Among those present was a certain hateful fellow who had stayed out all night and was still nowhere to be found.
'Just where did he go?'
Clutching the wooden short sword that still hadn't received a reply, the Sword Fairy shifted her attention back to the Trial of Ascension Platform.
The duel had begun.
Standing opposite Bai Xiaoyao was a young man in a dark Daoist robe.
His name was Yang Xiaoxin.
To be honest, he had never imagined that his very first match would pit him against the one opponent he least wanted to meet.
If there was anyone in this entire Human Immortal List who could defeat him, the Demon Sect's Holy Maiden was undoubtedly at the top of that list.
Yang Xiaoxin felt that his luck had been downright miserable lately.
After the famed Senior Sister Yanyao abandoned them, he and his fellow Daoist Sect disciples had struggled all the way to the Royal City, thinking that simply reporting their sect's name would earn them good treatment.
Instead, dressed in tattered clothes, they had been mistaken for a bunch of delusional beggars.
But this time… he suddenly felt fortune might finally be turning in his favor.
"You're not going to make the first move?"
Yang Xiaoxin stared at the stunning girl before him, not daring to relax for even a moment as he analyzed the situation.
Whatever the spectators could see, he could also discern.
'The Demon Sect Holy Maiden's spiritual energy is unstable. She may not be my match… but why isn't she attacking first?'
Ordinarily, the more depleted one's energy, the more one would strive to finish the fight quickly.
Yet Bai Xiaoyao merely smiled faintly.
"The Daoist Sect and the Demon Sect bear no deep enmity. I can't possibly deny you the chance to strike first."
Her gentle words sent a ripple of surprise through the crowd.
Yang Xiaoxin's gaze sharpened.
His temperament was excellent; he did not allow himself to be provoked.
Instead, he concluded this was a tactic—his opponent must be using her weakened state to bait him into a mistake.
Without another word, the Daoist Sect prodigy, nicknamed the Little Thunder King, flicked his sleeve.
Dozens of talismans flew forth, while his feet tapped lightly against the platform and his body rose into the air.
The Demon Sect Holy Maiden's spiritual reserves were limited.
As long as he fought steadily and dragged the battle out, he could exhaust her power and claim an easy victory.
The talismans ignited without fire, erupting in a chain of crackling lightning.
Bai Xiaoyao's eyes trembled slightly as the tide of thunder rushed toward her, yet she made no immediate move to counter.
This hesitation did not escape the audience's sharp eyes.
"She didn't counter right away… her unstable spiritual energy must not have fully refined. The lag is slowing her casting speed."
"So that earlier confidence was just a bluff?"
"Makes sense. With opponents of such close strength, it's unlikely to be decided in a single blow."
The spectators began their commentary, debating the flow of the duel.
But at that moment, Bai Xiaoyao moved.
She gave a small shake of her head.
"I suddenly remembered… I forgot to ask my Senior Brother where he learned his lightning techniques."
Among the sects, the Daoist Sect was best known for its mastery of thunder.
And according to a certain Yuli, her Senior Brother had recently returned to the Royal City together with the Daoist Sect Chief Disciple.
Recalling the Daoist Sect Chief Disciple's ambiguous attitude after the incident with the chicken Netherkin, Bai Xiaoyao sighed with a trace of complicated emotion.
As that breath escaped her lips, a low humming sound followed.
In the next instant, the oncoming lightning abruptly dissipated, and Yang Xiaoxin, who had been steadily widening the distance between them, suddenly froze in midair.
Then the little demoness casually snapped her fingers.
Only now did the watching crowd finally see what had happened.
Somehow, fine silver threads had already spread across the entire Ascension Platform.
At the very spot where the lightning had vanished, a nearly invisible web of filaments had formed.
And at some unknown moment, those same threads had intertwined around the Daoist Sect's Little Thunder King, binding him in place.
With Bai Xiaoyao's crisp snap, the silver strands flared with a strange crimson light.
A swirl of multicolored clouds rose around Yang Xiaoxin's body, and his figure vanished from the stage.
The Ascension Platform had made its judgment.
The Demon Sect Holy Maiden wins.
Yet on the surrounding peaks, no cheers erupted for the victorious duel.
The audience remained frozen in a strange, breathless silence.
Until Bai Xiaoyao's figure also faded from the stage.
"Phew… My Senior Brother didn't even come to watch. It's hard to stay excited like this…"
. . .
Luo Wusheng was stunned.
What the hell—my Junior Sister can show off even better than me?
—No, wait. That little girl probably doesn't even need to show off…
As this thought dropped into his mind, the vision before his eyes froze on three scenes: the little demoness lazily covering a yawn, Lu Yuliu secretly curling her lips in annoyance, and the crowd suddenly erupting into an explosion of shocked cries.
Then, everything slowly dissolved away, returning to a field of endless pale white.
In his hand, the black flood dragon's torn-open belly stitched itself back together.
He sank into thought.
Judging from the scenes he had just witnessed, the Human Immortal List had already begun, and his own Junior Sister had finished her first match.
Her crushing victory honestly surprised him.
He knew she would win—after all, the final round of the Human Immortal List was fated to be the Sword Fairy against the Demon Sect's Holy Maiden.
But in the original story, had the little demoness ever this strong?
Even through the projection, Luo Wusheng could clearly sense that her combat power was probably already enough to suppress an ordinary Golden Core cultivator.
'Still… compared to that, what concerns me more is…'
His gaze sharpened, settling on the round, chubby black flood dragon nether soul in his palm.
He hadn't expected that the thing sealed inside this nether soul could actually let him see the scenes happening on the Trial of Ascension Platform.
Wasn't that arena supposed to exist in a completely separate space?
Luo Wusheng frowned.
After repeated attempts, he was slowly coming to understand the object in his hand.
"As long as I undo the seal, I can glimpse certain images through it… I'm inclined to believe those are things actually happening in real time."
"But the specific scenes that appear… are completely beyond my control."
At first, he had assumed it would show whatever he wished to see.
But after multiple experiments, he quickly confirmed that this thing paid no heed to his personal will.
"Tch. I had hoped to catch another glimpse of the Netherkin race's movements—what a shame."
He went over the visions one by one in his mind.
'The first image, I've more or less figured out.'
'The second… I still can't understand why Lu Yuliu and Bai Xiaoyao started fighting.'
'Women's thoughts are really impossible to fathom.'
'As for the third… sigh, it looks like my cheap master is stirring up trouble again. But why stop me from meeting Kirin last night?'
'Aside from that, though—this sealed object, this so-called "Demon Moon"… isn't its power a bit too ridiculous?'
Even while still sealed, it could show him so many things—even transmit scenes from inside the Trial of Ascension Platform itself…If this treasure had once been in the hands of the Netherkin race, just how terrifying must its full potential have been?
He had no reference, and thus no way to draw a firm conclusion.
But some instinct told him that when it was wielded by the Netherkin race, it must have worked in a way completely different from what he was experiencing now—much like how his own Antediluvian Nether Eye functioned.
"Forget it. In any case, the thing's already in my hands. The stronger it is, the happier I am."
"Besides, I could clearly feel it just now—as the seal weakens further, and with the aid of tribulation lightning, I should be able to use it to open a breach in this sealed space…"
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Note: Link to the character Illustration:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1lkIcPnCxeyuyZA4Kkb621dPC05UvWjhD
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Tn: I updated the story daily, but if you want to see more chapter of this story ahead of time, please go to my Patreon.
Latest Chapter: Chapter 571: To See or Not to See?[1]
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[1] https://www.patreon.com/u93297024/posts/chapter-571-to-163855664
[2] https://www.patreon.com/u93297024/posts/chapter-571-to-163855664