Chapter 34: The Competition Begins
Yun Shimo was not part of the imperial family, but had been crowned Prince Nan by the Emperor for his services to the kingdom, and was a highly valued member of the court.
Prince Nan's exceptional good looks and talent for medicine made him very popular among the ladies, but he'd never shown interest in any of them.
Although the princesses in the stands gave him open looks of adoration, Yun Shimo seemed not to notice.
Naturally, the Emperor sat at the forefront, with his Queen and Concubine Mei next to him. Concubine Lian, who had just achieved the status of Premier Concubine, was next to him as well.
Every single move by Hua Qiyue was seen by the Emperor.
He'd heard that Hua Qiyue was a cowardly woman, yet here she was, not only participating in a tournament, but betting extravagantly on her own success!
The Emperor smiled faintly and said to Eunuch Chu, "Pass me paper and ink. I wish to bet with the daughter of Hua's Mansion."
The queen laughed at the suggestion. "The Emperor does care about the people, playing along with their little games!"
Concubine Mei agreed. "Hua Qiyue was rumored to be useless for years, but after the incident with the jade hairpin in Hanyue Temple and the predictions by Master Xuanji, she is becoming quite the local legend."
Behind them, Huangfu Xuan stiffened in disbelief. Could the Imperial family really be on Hua Qiyue's side?
Eunuch Chu passed the paper, ink, and writing brush to the Emperor. If Hua Qiyue lost, the Emperor would gift her 50 tales of silver to reward her courage.
If Hua Qiyue won, the Emperor would gift her 500 tales of silver as a reward.
Since the Emperor attained the throne thirty years prior, Changjing Kingdom had been peaceful, with stable jobs and housing for everyone. The Changlong Emperor, (Huangfu Zhao) was well-loved by the people, celebrating every festival with them and caring for them.
Thus, in the eyes of the peasants, it was normal for the Emperor to bet with a small character such as Hua Qiyue.
Of course, the Emperor's actions, as well as Hua Qiyue's, were seen by the Ji family, seated to the left of Hua Qiyue.
Their leader, Ji Zhong, sat in front with his daughter Ji Jing, his nephew Ji Yang, and the Medicine Saint Ji Feng.
Meanwhile, Hua Qiyue was looking at the new round of competition on the stage. She was focused, showing none of the weakness prevalent in the rumors.
Ji Jing laughed. "Brother, look at her. The rumors must have been wrong. The Hua Qiyue we've heard about would never have stood up to those ladies in such a way. Do you want to bet, too?"
Ji Feng smiled faintly, his face like the white snow of early spring, cold and elegant.
"Jing, you can't judge a book by its cover. This Hua Qiyue... erm, does seem different from the rumors. Looks like today's tournament will be fun," Ji Feng said, laughing lightly.
Ji Jing's rolled her eyes before focusing back on the calm Hua Qiyue.
She liked a woman who could remain unflustered by danger and chaos, by praises and humiliation. Few women had such a temperament.
Indeed, as her brother had said, today's tournament was likely to be spectacular!
While Hua Qiyue was calmly examining the results of the competition, Princess Huizhen and Zhou Zhicheng were sitting close together. Zhou Zhicheng had given many valuable items to the imperial court and thus was given a VIP seat as well.
He recognized Hua Qiyue as the woman from the carriage. In her presence, Princess Huizhen paled in comparison.
Zhou Zhicheng's heart itched with lust, but he kept his gaze from Hua Qiyue out of fear of Princess Huizhen's wrath.
The second round ended, and the tournament continued.
Thousands of individuals had signed up for the competition but the Ji family had only chosen 500 to compete. The competition would last for more than a month, and would alternate between five male matches and five female matches.
Sipping her tea, Hua Qiyue observed the individuals competing on stage. They were all at least of the Oracle Profound standard, with some at the Soaring Cloud standard. But overall, none of them were worthy to be her opponent.
Hua Qiyue knew that masters who had completed the Dragon Diagram standard would mostly be cultivating diligently in the deep mountains, and would be unlikely to appear at the tournament so quickly, if they came at all.
This meant that, if the contestants she'd seen so far were anything to go by, she had a very good chance of winning.
The first wave of the female tournament began, with Hua Mengshi battling Shao Wan, the daughter of a famous sect. They seemed evenly matched.
Shao Wan placed her palm over her fist and said, "I shall begin."
Hua Mengshi smiled brightly. "Oh, please strike first."
Shao Wan snorted at the patronizing response. She focused her spiritual energy in her palm and flew towards Hua Mengshi like a dragon.
Hua Mengshi's body was like a leaf, evading the spiritual dragon efficiently, her body light and swift.
Hua Mengshi's body was surrounded by a pure blue aura, and when Shao Wan's spiritual energy was returned back to her hand, Hua Mengshi sneered as the spiritual qi guarding her body moved like a piece of fog towards Shao Wan!
The crowd held its collective breath as everyone looked on.
Hua Mengshi was known for being the top daughter and beauty of the imperial city. Her Qi Art was known to be of a higher standard than most.
The brainless boys from the Wang family started shouting for Hua Mengshi. They'd long seen her as highly desirable — one of the most beautiful women in the capital, and a powerful Qi Artist, too.
Hua Qiyue sat on the seats, looking at the scene without expression.
On the stage, Hua Mengshi fought Shao Wan mercilessly. It was hard to see who had the upper hand.
The Second Madame and her various maidservants were extremely nervous. They prayed silently as they all knew Shao Wan was the daughter of Cangming Sect and had access to many elixirs.
After hundreds of moves, the victor was still unclear.
A piercing light flashed across Hua Mengshi's eyes. She knew that the longer the match dragged on, the more her reputation would be damaged.
She reduced the spiritual qi in her hands, as though she had little left.
As Shao Wan pressed the advantage, those below the stage saw Hua Mengshi fly up before throwing a soft mist over at Shao Wan.
Shao Wan smirked, looking around at the harmless mist. "This is what the top daughter in the imperial city has to offer?"
As she spoke, her hands began glowing bright blue, then slammed down at the mist
Hua Mengshi pursed her lips and pulled herself closer to Shao Wan. A pure blue sword of light appeared in between her fingers.
Shao Wan gasped at the sharp pain in her abdomen, as the spiritual sword struck its target.
Time seemed to stand still as Shao Wan slowly tilted forward, falling off the stage, and ending the match.
Hua Mengshi smiled calmly as she clasped her fist in her palm. "There is nothing wrong with using tricks in war. I'm sorry, Miss Shao!"
Hua Mengshi's male admirers clapped their hands sore, and even the Emperor nodded his approval.
As Shao Wan fell, her brothers and sisters rushed to get her medical attention.
Shao Wan's sister, Shao Die, shouted curses at Hua Mengshi's retreating form, but Shao Wan grabbed her sister's hand.
"Don't be so angry, sister. She is right in saying that there are no tricks in war. There was no rule against what she did; I was simply careless. I admit defeat. Now, let's go."
Hua Mengshi, riding high on her victory, glanced towards Ji Feng for confirmation of his approval, but he was staring at Shao Wan, and didn't seem to notice her at all.
Hua Mengshi's heart trembled, but she left the stage gracefully.
Hua Qiyue smirked. These people were all using old moves, which meant none of them would expect such unconventional tactics, underhanded though they may be.
Luckily for Hua Qiyue, Tianpi didn't fight fair, and her training had been less than conventional. Hua Mengshi's little trick was nothing compared to what she had up her sleeve.