chapter 55

Although Jiang Xunyi’s criticism of the mistakes of Young Master Gao’s lower half hit the nail, at the same time, he still had the advantage of being agile and flexible. He could avoid Qi Shijiu’s strenuous attacks lightly. Not even a corner of his clothing was touched. Instead, Qi Shijiu’s own speed gradually slowed down, causing him to suffer several hits.

Finally, Young Master Gao smiled coldly, spinning around in midair, foot slashing down onto the head of Qi Shijiu. He kicked him to the ground and blood immediately ran down the other’s cheek.

Yun Xie saw that Jiang Xunyi was slightly moved and couldn’t help frowning. He felt a little regret in his heart. Originally, he wanted Jiang Xunyi to rejoice over seeing Qi Shijiu win, but this idea backfired. If this kid really lost, he was afraid that it would make A’Xun unhappy.

After Young Master Gao kicked the person down, he refused to stop and walked over, smashing his foot heavily on the other person’s abdomen. Yun Xie secretly hid a small stone in his hand. He was about to shoot, but he paused.

The moment Young Master Gao stretched out his foot, Qi Shijiu suddenly jumped up, violently jerking the other party’s calf with one hand and slamming his other hand against his chest.

It was strange, as the move seemed weak, even causing Jiang Xunyi to let out a regretful “hey”, but Young Master Gao actually collapsed face-first and did not get up even after a while.

Amidst the gasping crowd, only Yun Xie raised his eyebrows, expression ambiguous.

However, after this unexpected and sudden display, Qi Shijiu’s strength seemed to be exhausted, and he fell to the ground, slack, and remained motionless. His body was bruised and bloody, and he looked like a mess. Only a slightly undulating chest proved that the man was still alive.

A little girl standing next to Yun Xie let you an “Aiya” and whispered, “Brother, do you think we should help them up?”

Her elder brother replied, “Don’t look for trouble. This is not the end. The rule of us men is that the last one standing is the winner. If Qi Shijiu can’t get up on his own, it can’t be said that he won against the young master. Then, he would still have to be a slave for a lifetime.”

However, even after everyone waited a long time, the two remained motionless.

Young Master Gao’s servants were the first to be impatient. They were worried about their master but were afraid of being scolded, so they didn’t go up and instead shouted, “Mayor Li, in my opinion, this is enough, right? Even if our Young Master didn’t win, Qi Shijiu also didn’t get up. Can we count it as even?”

The man called hesitated for a moment, sighed regretfully, shook his head and was about to speak when someone suddenly said, “Qi Shijiu, stand up!”

The voice belonged to Jiang Xunyi.

Everyone looked at him in surprise, and even Yun Xie was shocked.

But Qi Shijiu was still motionless.

Jiang Xunyi continued, “You have been patient for so many years and have persisted until now. You’re only missing the last step. Are you willing to take it?”

Qi Shijiu’s body moved. He seemed to want to prop himself up, but failed to do so

Jiang Xunyi said forcefully, “As long as you stand up, you will be free! Qi Shijiu, that little injury is nothing, you stand up!”

Qi Shijiu moved again, and this time, even the people next to him were infected by this emotion, staring nervously at him.

And finally, staggering, Qi Shijiu stood up.

Although he was covered with blood and bruised, he stood up!

Jiang Xunyi also sighed deeply as if something heavy had been lifted off his shoulders. He turned to look at Yun Xie. “Did you see it? He won!”

Yun Xie looked into his eyes, his furrowed forehead relaxing. He stepped forward and gave Jiang Xunyi a strong hug. “Yes, he won.”

Jiang Xunyi smiled and smacked his back. Their shoulders collided before they let go of each other. The two looked at each other with smiles in their eyes.

Qi Shijiu panted and looked back at Jiang Xunyi. Although he won, he didn’t have a trace of joy in his eyes. Instead, he exhibited a little bit of reluctance and sorrow, but Jiang Xunyi was not paying attention.

Suddenly, Young Master Gao’s servant cried out in anger and horror, “Young Master? Young Master! God! This, this kid actually killed the young master!”

After all, Jiang Xunyi wasn’t a child ignorant of worldly affairs. After a short period of excitement, he quickly adjusted his emotions and couldn’t help but feel stunned. “What’s going on?”

“You didn’t see it, but the young master’s chest was stabbed with a dagger. Since he’s wearing black clothes and fell face down, it wasn’t discovered at first.” Yun Xie looked at him, smile unchanging. “What were you thinking?”

Jiang Xunyi said, “So what? The one with the surname Gao brought this on himself. However, it seems that his family is pretty powerful. Because of this… who is coming?”

The death was a big event. At this time, cries and screams rang out loud and disturbing, but Jiang Xunyi keenly discerned a sound that was very familiar to him – it was the sound of the sword breaking through the sky.

Yun Xie lowered his voice. “Strange, how can there be a large number of immortal cultivators in such a small place? Let’s wait a little and watch what happens.”

As the two of them spoke, dozens of men and women wearing black clothes had already appeared on their swords. They landed not far from the river bank, appearing like a deity fluttering down in an arrogant manner.

The black clothes on their body were embroidered with red thread, forming clusters of fire, accentuating the colors so the blacks seemed darker and the red seemed more saturated. When their coats fluttered, it appeared as if a fire was burning. Except for Young Master Gao’s unlucky domestic servant, almost everyone’s eyes were attracted.

Mayor Liu’s expression carried both surprise and awe. He had already recognized the other party. “This… you are immortals of the Flame Gate? I heard a few days ago that the immortals were coming from the west to recruit disciples…”

The middle-aged Taoist priest heading the group interrupted him impatiently before he could finish speaking. With a wave of his hand, he said, “Since you have heard of it, there is no need for me to say anymore. Let the children stand in a line. I will come check your qualifications.”

He paused and added, “Not only children, but also young men and women with excellent qualifications are acceptable, too.”

Jiang Xunyi looked at Yun Xie and whispered, “What is the Flame Gate?”

Yun Xie replied, “I don’t know. Most of the sects that would come to this sort of place to pick disciples are small martial arts sects that have only been founded in recent years. These people may be able to trick ordinary people, but their cultivation seems mediocre. Although, one thing seems strange to me. Why do I always feel that…they have some kind of power in them, which reverberates with something within me?”

Jiang Xunyi was surprised and slightly fearful. His first thought was of the Demon King Xuan Li’s soul fragment in Yun Xie’s body. He suddenly felt that there was something to be found from the people and, without even thinking, he said, “Follow them.”

“Okay.” Yun Xie agreed without asking and smiled. “But they will only pick up children and young men and women with excellent qualifications. You are very confident.”

Jiang Xunyi smiled, his hands secretly formed a simple seal, and a white light flashed on his body. “Are the qualifications of the Dual Jades of the Spirit Stage still not good enough?”

Yun Xie formed a seal with him and smiled. “I am only worried about being so good that we scare them.

For mortals, those cultivators were basically immortals. After all, from civilians to royal nobles, who doesn’t want to be forever young and beautiful? Therefore, children and young people from various families scrambled to line up and wait for selection.

The group of around ten’s personal cultivation levels were mediocre. Yun Xie and Jiang Xunyi, as higher-level immortal practitioners, easily concealed their spiritual powers and integrated into the end of the line.

Under the eager eyes of everyone, the middle-aged Taoist priest first pointed to Qi Shijiu, who was detained by several people. “Come here and let me see.”

Qi Shijiu only hesitated for a moment before he immediately decided to go up – anyways, no matter what the result was it was better than how he is now.

He had just taken a step when the servant of the Gao family pulled Qi Shijiu back and scolded, “Do not move!” He said to the Taoist priest, “Taoist leader, this kid can’t go with you, he is a slave– “

The sword light flashed over; before the servant even finished speaking, the other had attacked.

The middle-aged priest returned the bloody sword back to the scabbard and said irritably, “Your mom, when I speak, how can you intervene!”

Jiang Xunyi and Yun Xie glanced at each other and were also a little surprised. It was rare for there to be such an angry person among those who cultivate. What’s more, this person behaved so freely, and looked really evil.

Qi Shijiu did not seem have any feelings about this person’s death. He walked out amidst a field of shocked whispers. The middle-aged Taoist reached out his hand and pressed it flat on top of his head. After a while, his face brightened. He reached out and pinched several of his joints, praising, “Good seedling.”

He pointed behind him and said, “Stand in the back.”

The Taoist priest had no intention to ask for Qi Shijiu’s approval from beginning to end. Of course, Qi Shijiu would also not object. With a docile appearance, he walked to his designated position.

The middle-aged Taoist continued to check them one by one. Because of his ruthless move earlier, everyone trembled slightly and many people already had cold feet, but they did not dare to express their opinions and came forward one by one. After some time, only a few people were left, with most of the others rejected.

The selection soon got to the end of the line. Yun Xie gave Jiang Xunyi a wink and stepped forward. The Taoist priest’s eye gleamed as soon as he saw him. He was even more delighted after putting his hand on Yun Xie’s head. A crazy expression slipped out and he slapped the other’s shoulders repeatedly. “Good! Good! It’s a really good qualification. Stand there quickly.”