A few days later, when Xiao Mo's stipend came in, Jiang Qingyi latched onto it and held on for dear life, absolutely refusing to give it back to her own master.
It's true that having Master bet on me makes me happy.
But winning the championship... that's really just too hard!
I can't let Master waste any more money.
As for the money Master has already put down, I've made up my mind.
In this New Blood Tournament, as long as she still had a single breath in her, she would push forward with everything she had and do her utmost to win back every spirit stone her master had staked!
Soon enough.
The day of the New Blood Tournament arrived.
That morning, Xiao Mo brought Jiang Qingyi down the mountain and headed for the tournament grounds.
The New Blood Tournament was held on a small plain.
The plain had been carved up into separate zones by one formation after another.
Each formation was a fighting stage of its own.
Jiang Qingyi drew lots and was placed in Group A.
Her first opponent was an inner sect disciple from Nine Swords Peak, at the sixth layer of Qi Refining.
For Jiang Qingyi, a seventh-layer Qi Refining cultivator, handling him was fairly easy.
And that was exactly how it went.
In the first round of the contest, Jiang Qingyi won with ease.
Xiao Mo was not in the least surprised that Jiang Qingyi made it through the first round.
It was true that any newly admitted disciple could enter the New Blood Tournament.
But most of them really did nothing more than "take part."
The first round existed only to screen out the cultivators below the fifth layer of Qi Refining.
So the first round was basically higher realms beating lower realms, and most of the winners had it easy.
The second round was where the real contest began.
This year, three hundred disciples had made it into the second round of the New Blood Tournament.
In the second round, Jiang Qingyi faced an inner sect disciple from the Sword Formation Hall, at the same seventh layer of Qi Refining as herself.
As the name implied, the disciples of the Sword Formation Hall were specialists in sword formations.
A single longsword could not form a sword formation, so they generally carried huge sword cases on their backs, each one holding several swords.
This match was no easy thing for Jiang Qingyi.
In the end Jiang Qingyi scraped out a narrow win over her opponent, but she took some injuries.
Some cultivators from the Medicine Hall were stationed at the side, and they treated Jiang Qingyi's wounds at once.
The New Blood Tournament lasted four days in all.
On the second day, the New Blood Tournament switched to three-person groups.
All three were opponents; two were eliminated and one advanced.
When the second day's matches ended, Jiang Qingyi had made the top hundred of the New Blood Tournament.
But watching how much effort Qingyi had to put in today, Xiao Mo figured that at most she could win one more round, and that would be about it.
Tomorrow there would be pairings drawn by lot, plus arena battles, three-way fights, and so on.
The schedule was very tight; they had to select the top sixteen.
The disciples who made it to the third day were no pushovers.
Xiao Mo was already thinking about how he would console Qingyi.
"Don't worry, Qingyi. You've already done wonderfully. Making the top hundred of the New Blood Tournament is very good indeed."
Over dinner, Xiao Mo tried to comfort Jiang Qingyi.
"No, that won't do, Master!" Jiang Qingyi clasped her small hands in front of her. "Master staked so many spirit stones. Qingyi has to give it her all, or all those spirit stones Master bet will just go down the drain."
Xiao Mo wanted to say something more.
But seeing the resolve in his own disciple's eyes, Xiao Mo only gave a faint smile and rubbed her little head. "It's not down the drain. Wasn't that me supporting you?"
"Master... honestly..." Jiang Qingyi sighed.
Though on the surface the girl was sighing over her master squandering the family fortune, deep down she still felt warm.
In the first match of the third day, Jiang Qingyi faced an inner sect disciple at the eighth layer of Qi Refining.
To everyone watching, Jiang Qingyi was certain to lose.
And at the beginning, that was indeed how it went—Qingyi was pressed hard by that disciple, with hardly a glimpse of hope for a win.
Xiao Mo, standing outside the ring, was ready to hoist the white flag and surrender on her behalf.
But unexpectedly, at the very last moment, Jiang Qingyi actually broke through on the spot to the eighth layer of Qi Refining.
In the instant her opponent froze.
Jiang Qingyi found her opening and unleashed the Burning Grass Form of the Cursive Sword Formula!
The longsword in the girl's hand slashed open along with a wave of fire, turning defeat into victory.
But Jiang Qingyi had no time to celebrate.
She had to go straight into the next round.
To Xiao Mo's surprise, when the third day's matches were all over, Jiang Qingyi was in the top sixteen!
"Master, I made the top sixteen!" Jiang Qingyi ran to her master's side and said happily.
The girl bounced up and down on her toes, tilting up her soft white chin, waiting for her master's praise.
"Very impressive—just as expected of my disciple." Xiao Mo reached out and gently wiped the blood from the corner of the girl's mouth. "But Qingyi, let's withdraw."
"Huh?" Jiang Qingyi stared blankly at her master.
"Every match you won today, you barely scraped through, and your injuries are too heavy." Xiao Mo patted the girl's head. "You've already proven yourself. Master is more than satisfied."
In Xiao Mo's eyes, Qingyi had basically reached her limit.
The others in the top sixteen were injured too, of course.
But compared with the injuries the rest of them carried, Qingyi's were heavier.
And tomorrow the intensity would go up another notch.
If anything happened to Qingyi, that would be very bad indeed.
Jiang Qingyi lowered her head, her small hands clutching the hem of her dress, looking deeply torn.
But in the end the girl lifted her head and looked at Xiao Mo with steady eyes. "Master! Your disciple isn't afraid! Your disciple wants to keep competing!"
In the Ten Thousand Laws World, at the Myriad Sword Sect.
The serving maid Qiuye walked into the courtyard of the Myriad Sword Sect's sect master. "Sect Master, this is the list for the second round of the New Blood Tournament. Please look it over."
The Myriad Sword Sect's sect master glanced at Qiuye indifferently. "No need. When you handle things, this Sect Master has no worries."
"Yes, Sect Master." Qiuye put the list away. "Sect Master, just now a disciple from Tianji City brought a letter. That disciple asked me to tell you, 'The City Lord has done all he could; this is as far as it can be calculated.'"
The moment the words left Qiuye's mouth, the Myriad Sword Sect's sect master whipped her head around and stared straight at her.
Under the sect master's gaze, Qiuye's throat bobbed, sweat broke out on her forehead, and it felt as though a great mountain were pressing down on her.
"The letter." The Myriad Sword Sect's sect master spat out a single word.
"I-it's... here..." Qiuye hurriedly pulled a letter from the folds of her robe.
Qiuye had never seen the sect master like this.
The Myriad Sword Sect's sect master crooked a finger, and the letter flew into her hand.
"Zhou. The imperial capital..."
Half an incense stick's time later, the Myriad Sword Sect's sect master's eyes wavered. She let out a long, deep breath and flicked the letter lightly upward; the white paper burst into countless scraps that scattered on the wind.
"At last. I'm going to find you."
Gazing at the stars that filled the sky, the Myriad Sword Sect's sect master's lips curved slightly upward. It was the first time in three thousand years that the woman had smiled.
"I told you. You can't escape."
"Master."