The Mystery

While Jiang Ting and Lin Fan were standing around, Cao Xuan had gotten off the stage, As the next candidates were called to stage, Lin Fan looked at Jiang Ting.

"These next two aren't that great, especially when compared to Zhuge Jin and Cao Xuan. Let's go take a look around the other arenas and see if we find any good matches."

"Sure." nodded Jiang Ting.

The two of them walked off, going from arena to arena, but after seeing that spectacle of a match, the others didn't catch their fancy anymore.

As they were walking, Lin Fan suddenly whistled. He then called Jiang Ting.

"Look over there. Aren't those two just too beautiful?"

As Jiang Ting looked in the direction Lin Fan was pointing at, his heart skipped a beat. It was the mysterious girl from sparring day.

"So beautiful." muttered Jiang Ting, before exclaiming at how a seasoned cultivator such as himself couldn't stop the instincts of his teenage body. Anyways, there was nothing wrong with pursuing romance, so he didn't mind it, but he was still curious about this anomaly that had shown up out of nowhere in this life.

"Right? They are so beautiful. Do you want to know who they are?"

Jiang Ting glanced at him out of the side of his eyes. Lin Fan had a mischievous look on his face. Jiang Ting sighed to himself.

'As expected, I have nothing in common with this fellow. Hard to do anything about it though. I am, technically, decades older than this kid, but it would appear as me being weird if I can't connect well with people my current age. These guys will be the ones accompanying me later on, and I will have uses for them later. Might as well keep Lin Fan close.'

Jiang Ting sighed again. "Sure, I want to know who they are. Tell me."

Lin Fan grinned. "That's the spirit. That very pretty one on the left with the deep black eyes is senior sister Lu Fei. She has been a femme fatale for the past four years, ever since she joined. It is said that senior brother Tang Hao, one of the top five students of the academy has been courting her since he laid eyes on her 4 years ago but has yet been unsuccessful. Even her talent is top notch, having reached the advanced stage of the second level of body forging realm by the age of eighteen, making her one of the top contestants today. Beside her, with those lovely hazelnut eyes is the academy's beloved senior sister Yan Ping. She is gentle, has a kind nature, gets along well with everyone, and on top of all that, is said to be extremely talented. Although it is a pity that she was a late bloomer. When she came to the village two years ago, she was only at the initial stage of the first level of body forging realm. She has, however, stepped into the middle stage of the second level of body forging realm since then, showing her monstrous talent. I have heard that she might be taken in as a disciple by the core elders when the competition ends."

Jiang Ting's eyes narrowed. A sixteen-year-old at beginning of her cultivation reaching this far in merely two years? Such a genius would be considered top class throughout the Qilin mountain range. The mystery deepens.

At this point, as if sensing his gaze, Jiang Ting's eyes locked with Yan Ping's. His heart stopped beating, as time and space ceased to exist for a second. Cherry blossoms bloomed and all the beauty in the world lit his heart on fire.

A moment later, she looked away, and the world returned to normal. Jiang Ting gave a wry smile, knowing he had been utterly smitten by the woman in front of him.

'The heart really doesn't take its time with this, huh?'

Yet he welcomed the emotion. There was no point pursuing eternal life with a hollow heart, after all.

He walked over, stopping before Yan Ping. Noticing his advent, she looked up.

"Greetings, senior sister, I am Jiang Ting, he said, looking straight into her eyes."

"Hello, junior brother, I am Yan Ping, she bowed slightly."

"Best of luck with your match, I will see you later, my name just got called."

"Yes, best of luck to you, too, junior brother."

Jiang Ting walked off to another arena, hearing his name called. His heart was nearly beating out of its chest. 'Thankfully, my fight started at the right time, or I was totally about to mess this up.'

Lin Fan came out of nowhere, slapping his shoulders, "You sure don't waste time when you have to make a move, huh. That was quite bold. You would normally attract a lot of hate from her pursuers, but given your status, you should be fine. Watch out for Zhang Li and Liang Chen, though. They are also disciples of core elders selected from the previous competition, and form part of the top 5 students of the academy. They will definitely bounce you off for trying to compete with them."

Jiang Ting kept walking, "They can try."

Lin Fan nodded. "That's more like it. Anyways, best of luck. Since you just started a month ago, you should have just entered the initial stage of the first level of the body forging realm with initial mastery in your martial art, right? As the disciple of the headmaster, you would still be considered a steppingstone to fame for whoever defeats you. Just give it your best shot and don't do anything that would embarrass the headmaster, and you should be fine."

"Your opponent seems to be Jue Lin, who is at the middle stage of the first level, with initial level mastery of the grade two Raging Tiger Fist technique. She has been cultivating for a year and has earned the grade two technique by accumulating merit. You just have to display all your techniques for the elders, who would no doubt focus on your battle given your status. Go on, then."

Jiang Ting nodded as he entered the arena, looking at his opponent.