Chapter 18

No matter how much Su Yi scratched his head and ears, feeling anxious and restless, time always passed slowly, and soon, the day of the grand competition arrived.

On the day of the grand competition, Qiu Chuji arrived early at Su Yi's residence. Unlike the other six disciples of the Complete Perfection Sect, he had only two disciples under him. Yin Zhiping was always self-disciplined and had participated in the grand competition before, so he did not need much attention. Therefore, Qiu Chuji focused all his attention on Su Yi.

After picking up Su Yi, the two slowly walked up the mountain. There was still plenty of time, so they did not need to rush.

On the way, Qiu Chuji suddenly said, "Kang'er, do you have confidence in this grand competition?"

Su Yi replied, "I do have confidence, but this time, I cannot use the martial arts of other sects, which greatly reduces my strength. Therefore, the risk of entering the top four is quite high."

Seeing that Su Yi, though modest in words, always wore a confident smile, Qiu Chuji smiled with satisfaction and said, "I have seen your hard work these past few days. This grand competition is just an opportunity to test your skills. Don't take the outcome too seriously. As long as you continue to practice diligently, winning the competition in two years will be easy, and your future will be boundless. Compared to that, this grand competition is nothing."

Su Yi smiled helplessly, "I just chuckle. You don't know my predicament! My current lifespan is only four years. If I don't win this competition and can't leave the mountain with dignity, it will cost me a quarter of my life!"

...

The grand competition of the Complete Perfection Sect was held in the usual martial arts training ground, which could accommodate hundreds of disciples practicing simultaneously, so it was naturally very large. People in the martial arts world are not particular about details, so the venue was not overly decorated. Only a few tables and chairs were brought in for Ma Yu and others, and the rest formed a circle as the competition area.

When Su Yi and Qiu Chuji arrived, the other six disciples were already sitting there chatting. Qiu Chuji instructed, "Kang'er, find a place to stay. When it's your turn to compete, just go up. Don't be nervous. With your current skills, even without using the Shadow Sword Technique, you can still rank in the top ten among all the Complete Perfection disciples. There's no need to worry too much."

After saying this, Qiu Chuji walked to the only empty chair and sat down leisurely, sipping tea with a carefree demeanor.

Qiu Chuji always cared about his reputation. Now, he had only two disciples, but both were top-notch. Yin Zhiping's strength was undoubtedly among the best, and Su Yi could also rank in the top ten. This naturally boosted his reputation, and he couldn't help but feel proud.

Even you think my strength only ranks in the top ten. It seems my previous estimate was quite accurate. This is not good news...

Su Yi sighed and scanned the crowd. Yin Zhiping was waving at him from the crowd, so he walked over.

The disciples saw that the usually strict Uncle Qiu was smiling and personally leading a disciple, and they couldn't help but start discussing.

"Hey? Have you seen this disciple before? From his attire, he should be one of our peers, but why haven't I seen him before?"

"Rare to see, but easy to be surprised. Uncle Qiu used to always talk about Kang'er this and Kang'er that. This guy is clearly the legendary Kang'er. I heard he is from a prestigious family, and his ancestor is said to be General Yang Zaixing!"

"Oh, so this guy is the diligent younger brother Master has been mentioning recently?"

"Of course."

As they spoke, the disciples' eyes gradually turned fierce. This guy is the legendary other people's child! This has been a long-standing shadow...

Finally, one of the disciples couldn't help but say angrily, "Hmph, I hope I don't meet him. If I do, I'll see for myself what kind of superhuman abilities he has to receive so much praise from the uncles and aunts!"

"Right, right. I heard that the headmaster even allowed him to live alone at the foot of the mountain! Who would have thought that even the headmaster looks favorably upon him. We must really see what he's made of."

"Right, right. We should see what makes this guy so special."

As they spoke, the disciples' gazes toward Su Yi became less friendly, carrying a hint of danger.

Ma Yu, the most accomplished among those present, naturally heard the entire conversation and couldn't help but smile bitterly. Heaven help me, I didn't agree to let this kid live alone. I just passed the ball back to my junior. Who would have thought he would run with it and build a house before I could stop him? Now it's a done deal, and I can't back out...

Qiu Chuji, sitting next to Ma Yu, suddenly burst into loud laughter, slapping his thighs in amusement. He had clearly heard the disciples' discussion.

Ma Yu couldn't help but smile. Although Su Yi had falsely claimed an imperial decree, since his junior didn't mind, why should he act like a petty person?

Turning his head slightly, Ma Yu whispered to Qiu Chuji, "Qiu junior, you heard what those disciples said, right? They have quite a lot of opinions about your precious disciple. It seems this is your doing, and your disciple is the one suffering."

Qiu Chuji laughed, "My disciple is unruly and lawless, but these ordinary disciples probably can't threaten him. It's a good opportunity for him to gain some practical combat experience, which is also the original intention of the grand competition, isn't it?"

"You..." Ma Yu shook his head and smiled bitterly.

Amidst the various gazes of the crowd, Su Yi walked calmly to Yin Zhiping's side.

Yin Zhiping maintained a dignified demeanor, but his eyes never left a bearded young man nearby. The intensity of his gaze made Su Yi think that when he secretly loved Xiaolongnü in the future, his gaze would be no more intense than this.

That bearded young man, of course, was none other than the infamous Zhao Zhijing from the Legend of the Condor Heroes!

Speaking of Zhao Zhijing and Yin Zhiping, their enmity had a long history. One was the eldest disciple of Ma Yu, and the other was the eldest disciple of Qiu Chuji. Although Ma Yu had a higher status and Qiu Chuji was the strongest in martial arts, the two were always on good terms. However, their disciples were a different story.

As the two most skilled third-generation disciples of the Complete Perfection Sect, their martial arts were hard to distinguish in terms of skill, though they were both secondary characters. Within the small Complete Perfection Sect, their open and hidden struggles were quite intense. However, Yin Zhiping's only disadvantage was that his master was not very supportive, having only him as a disciple. In contrast, Uncle Ma Yu was very generous, with nearly a third of the hundreds of third-generation disciples being his disciples, all of whom followed Zhao Zhijing.

With over a hundred people against one, even if some opponents were avoided by luck, nearly half of Yin Zhiping's opponents were still Zhao Zhijing's people. Under such pressure, little Yin Zhiping found it hard to stand alone. Every year, he would go through great hardships to defeat many of Uncle Ma Yu's disciples, only to be defeated by the well-prepared Zhao Zhijing in the final round.

Having been in the Complete Perfection Sect for over ten years, he always lost to Zhao Zhijing. Even if they didn't face each other, Zhao Zhijing would challenge him. Refusing was not in his nature, and accepting meant another defeat...

After several years of this, even the most tolerant Yin Zhiping couldn't take it anymore. Fortunately, his master had taken on another disciple this year, and this disciple seemed to be quite skilled. This time, he finally had an ally and was no longer alone.

Yin Zhiping rubbed his hands together, determined to end his long-standing second-place status this year!