Chapter 162

Translator: Myriea_ActiasLuna Editor: Nou

It really was having too much money to burn!

This was all the Qing-Yun disciples could see it as. Spirit weapons were essential during a battle, and adding talismans was also good, but no one had ever seen anyone using them in the same way Fang Xing was. Although some of the spirit weapons could be reused, some of the talismans and tools were single use only and had simply been tossed away in this hideous scene.

Being wasteful was one thing, but this was the first time it was to such a degree!

To make matters even worse, many of the sharp-eyed Qing-Yun disciples saw that some of the items thrown out had actually been theirs once in the past…. No wonder this little bastard didn’t even flinch at the thought of throwing them away; these items had all been taken from others!

No matter who ended up winning this match, the name of the Qing-Yun Sect’s biggest wastrel had certainly been determined.

BAM BAM BAM ….

Hua Yuanye was surrounded by smoke, and bursts of bright light and explosions followed one after another…. All sorts of chaotic rays of light whirled around for a good half a burn of incense before things slowly began to settle and Hua Yuanye could finally be seen again.

“How piteous….”

Although Hua Yuanye was still standing through sheer force of will, he could no longer move his body. His robe had been tattered and charred, his eyes were gloomy, and he shivered as black blood occasionally rushed from his mouth. His hand was still clutching onto his sword, but such a thing could be called a sword no longer; the sword’s body had been twisted and no fewer than seven jags had formed along the edge, making it more like a saw blade.

Hua Yuanye had used this sword with his high proficiency in sword skills to block an uncountable number of explosions. It had managed to preserve his life, but it had also ruined his sword.

“Still not dead?” Fang Xing looked to Hua Yuanye, and even he began to feel a degree of admiration towards such a feat. There had been so many spirit weapons and talismans repeatedly exploding against him, and the force was so strong even Fang Xing would have been terrified, yet this bastard had lived?

After a long while, the unmoving Hua Yuanye slowly lifted his head and looked towards Fang Xing. He didn’t make another attack and seemed as though he would faint at any moment now, but his mind clung stubbornly to a single thought that allowed him to say, “Do you know… why I am willingly throwing my life away for the Xiao family?”

Fang Xing was a bit curious. “Why?”

At this, Hua Yuanye’s gaze suddenly shifted. It was filled with resentment, horror, and even desolation. “Because… I have no money….” Once he’d managed to speak, his eyes moistened as an immeasurable sense of grief filled him. These were his final words before he fell backwards and fainted completely.

Until he was fully unconscious, his expression was filled with unmatched sorrow. Describing his mental state in that moment was impossible, and not even the stampede of ten thousand alpacas would come close. [1] ¹

He’d become someone’s chess piece because he didn’t have any money, and he’d ended up losing to someone’s extreme wealth. Rather than being upset by his loss towards Fang Xing, he felt even worse that Fang Xing had been so wasteful. All of that money, and all of it had been squandered away just like that!

“Having no money is no excuse. I didn’t have any money when I first entered the sect!” Fang Xing smiled and went over to check up on him, and released a sigh of relief when he saw Hua Yuanye had definitely passed out.

Hua Yuanye couldn’t hear anything Fang Xing said by now, or else he might have even asked Fang Xing for pointers on how to earn some money.

Meanwhile, the area outside the stage was filled with silence. The battle against the supposedly third most powerful Qing-Yun disciple had ended in such a comical way. Hua Yuanye was powerful and talented, and Fang Xing wasn’t sure he could defeat him even if he used the Hundred and Eight Thousand Swords.

Yet he was a pitiful guy with no money.

So he’d lost.

He’d been crushed by Fang Xing’s excessive wealth.

Xiao Shanhe had been watching from below, and his expression was so gloomy and dark it was nearly black. Even he hadn’t anticipated such a result. He’d put so much effort to have Hua Yuanye matched up against Fang Xing, yet….

He couldn’t help but to sigh at the unusual method the boy had used! Based on what he knew, the value of the single-use talismans and spirit tools Fang Xing had used would cost the boy more than the worth any rewards he might receive from winning the tournament. Everything except the Foundation Pellet, that is….

Fang Xing dragged Hua Yuanye towards the edge before tossing him out of the Thousand Cliff. Fang Xing himself wasn’t in a hurry, and he squatted down to see if there were any tools or talismans he could still salvage to possibly use in the future. He appeared rather serious as he rooted through the mess, and in fact was a bit distressed about this; even a brigand like him had to eat, and he would reuse anything he could. Throwing it all away without care would make him a wastrel beyond belief.

“Hurry and come out!” Elder Huang—who was in charge of refereeing—hurried Fang Xing.

Fang Xing rolled his eyes. “Are you going to compensate me for my loss, then?”

Initially speechless, Elder Huang soon replied, “Take them all out and pick through them later!”

“Just one moment. I’m almost finished….”

“Even if you’re finished, you still have to take them all out. So much trash, you think someone’s going to clean up after you?”

Helpless, Fang Xing was forced to pack everything up into his storage sack. He’d have to separate the good from the bad at another time.

The Qing-Yun disciples were all looking at him with peculiar expressions before Fang Xing returned their gazes with a vicious look. “What, never seen a rich person before?”

‘Rich your ass, aren’t all of these taken from us?’ At least half a dozen of them cursed Fang Xing in their hearts, but none dared to do so aloud.

Elder Huang also showed a bitter smile. He was the one who’d suggested Fang Xing should choose a discipline that would help earn money so he wouldn’t need to worry about cultivation resources in the future. Seeing the boy practically throwing money away, however, he suddenly felt as though he’d been mistaken—this boy was born suitable to study Qing-Yun Nine Swords. After all, no matter how he looked at it, this boy didn’t seem like someone who would lack money.

Elder Huang quickly shook his head to clear such thoughts before continuing on with the next round of matches. After this exciting and unexpected battle, however, the remaining matches were rather bland by comparison.

Xuan Si’nyang had been spectating from above the stage, and she watched Fang Xing—who was still trying to carefully pick out any useful remainders—with a smile.

To her, the way Fang Xing fought in the match had been extremely refreshing. She enjoyed watching all sorts of tournaments wherever she visited, and she’d already seen no fewer than a thousand matches during this trip alone. She’d seen all manner of genius and talent, all sorts of matches and methods of fighting, and these had already grown stale for her. The boy’s method just earlier, however, had been different from the others.

“Master, the boy seems to squander money almost as much as the young master….” Granny Qian mocked.

Xuan Si’nyang laughed. “Indeed, I almost want to give him the Foundation Pellet directly!”

Xiao Shanhe and the others began to panic and their palms slickened with sweat. Fortunately, however, Xuan Si’nyang hadn’t been serious with her remark.

Five matches later, and it was already the afternoon hours with only ten remaining disciples, establishing the tournament’s top ten. Aside from Xiao Jianming, Xu Linyun, and Fang Xing, the remaining included three disciples from the Hall of Heaven’s Tribute, and the other four had one representative each from the Shanhe, Shuwen, Danxia, and Duanzhen Valleys. From the overall look of things, it actually seemed quite balanced.

The only person from Duanzhen Valley to make it was Wu Xiangtong. He was a sincere man who normally didn’t speak much, but his battle prowess was rather high and he’d already defeated three other disciples earlier. It could be said he’d made his way into the top ten through his own ability.

From this point on, it was a contest between the most talented disciples within the sect in its entirety, and everyone was a little nervous. Furthermore, the rules had changed now that the top ten had been determined, and preemptive forfeits were now counted fully as a loss. The first round would split them into two halves, and those who won would fight for the top five ranks while those who lost would fight for the bottom five.

Put simply, if someone were to admit defeat this time, it would no longer be possible for them to be in the top five.

Once the new rules had been announced, Elder Huang’s voice rose up as he declared, “Fang Xing versus Xu Linyun!”

“What?” Elder Qin’nyao was left dumbstruck and stood up straight away. The thing she’d worried about most had come to pass: Xu Linyun had been matched up against Fang Xing before Xiao Jianming. Although she wasn’t too worried Xu Linyun would lose to Fang Xing, she was worried she would be injured during the fight. If this happened, by the time she fought against Xiao Jianming, she would no longer be able to perform at her best and would be at a disadvantage.

The Qing-Yun disciples were also surprised by this.

One was the sect’s newest talent, the other was a core disciple famous for their battle prowess—this battle would be rather close. Of course, there was no doubt Xu Linyun would win, but by how much and at what cost was hard to say.

Fang Xing was sleeping with his legs crossed until the golden crow woke him up once more, and he confusedly looked at everyone’s stunned expressions. Although he knew it had to be his turn again, he didn’t know just yet who he’d been matched against. When he saw Xu Linyun stand up to walk slowly towards the Thousand Cliff, however, his mouth opened wide in shock…. Just what kind of joke was this?

Fight against Shijie Xu Linyun? What if he accidentally injured her?

‘Have to think of something…’ Fang Xing bitterly thought to himself. ‘This is a little troublesome, have to think of an idea….’

At the same time, Elder Qin’nyao was also quickly trying to come up with countermeasures. An idea suddenly flashed across her mind, and the edges of her lip curled coldly upwards as she pulled out a jade talisman and sent a message: “Xiao Mahn, come and see me now!”

—

[1] the stampede of ten thousand alpacas: This is actually a rather nuanced reference. “Cǎonímǎ” (草泥马)—a supposed breed of alpaca—bears resemblance to the phrase “cào nǐ mā”, which effectively means “F*ck your mother”, and the use of these alpacas is a meme jab against Chinese censorship. As it relates to the story, imagine each alpaca as a profanity just running rampant in his mind.