Stop right now, this is no normal competition at all.
On the first day of the Huazhao Festival Grand Competition in Wei City, the event is called "Wuzhou Q&A", or more plainly, the "Cultivation Realm Knowledge Contest".
Unlike the Ziwei Immortal Assembly, which is a pure showcase of cultivation levels and combat skills, the Huazhao Festival in Central Province is first and foremost a festival, so it naturally carries a laid-back, entertaining vibe. The Knowledge Contest and the Spell Performance Contest in particular have rules and schedules that bear a striking resemblance to the TV shows Shu Fu has watched before, proving that human nature is universal no matter the world.
Take today's Knowledge Contest for example. The first round uses a group points system, where dozens of contestants in each group compete on stage together to buzz in for answers, and only the top three from each group advance to the next round. Starting from the knockout stage, it becomes a one-on-one face-off: two contestants take turns answering questions within a set time limit, and anyone who gets a question wrong or runs out of time is immediately eliminated.
In the cultivation realm, strength is the highest priority, and the martial spirit runs deep in everyone's bones. Very few people would spend their whole life buried in books, pouring their limited energy into the endless ocean of trivial knowledge.
That's why in past years, the Huazhao Festival Knowledge Contest was mostly a free-for-all of mediocre contestants unless a true powerhouse signed up, leading to plenty of ridiculous, laughable moments.
That day, Shu Fu woke up extra early, arriving at the competition venue just as the sky was turning pale. She wasn't there to compete, but to cheer on her two friends Ye Shusheng and Ji Shaoguang. No matter which of the two took first place, it would be something worth celebrating for her.
Perhaps because of the lingering shadow of the flower child incident, everyone in Wei City was on edge, wondering where a rogue ghost or a hidden spy of the demonic cultivators might be hiding. As a result, the competition venue this year felt noticeably quieter and sparser than usual.
Jiang Xuesheng had thought of everything. He had booked a prime window-side table at the teahouse right next to the venue earlier, bringing Shu Fu, Liu Ruyi, and Si Fei along. He even added an extra chair for Zhao Yun, who showed up bright and early that morning. The five of them sat face to face around the table, making a perfectly full group.
Cultivators have sharp eyes and ears, so even from this vantage point overlooking the venue, they could see every detail of what was happening down below clearly, despite the slight distance.
As for Wu Yao, well, he — or rather, it, since he was a snake — had thrown a fit begging for an extra chair too. But in the end, to make it easier for everyone to pass tea and snacks, he had to settle for coiling up on the table. From a distance, he looked just like a glistening, emerald-green lump, a unique decorative art piece.
"Senior Sister Zhao Yun, Ji Shaoguang is competing today too," Shu Fu brought up the topic deliberately, quietly dropping a hint for the soft-spoken male lead Ji Shaoguang, who had a little shy crush on Zhao Yun. "He's really smart and hardworking. I bet the winner today will be either him or Ye Shusheng."
Zhao Yun was still dressed in her usual youthful, girlish style, as pretty as a blooming peach blossom with tinkling ornaments strung all over her clothes. She rested her cheeks in her palms and pouted uninterestedly, saying, "Hardworking people are usually stuffy and boring. I don't like that sort."
Shu Fu was left momentarily speechless by that comment. She silently wiped a sympathetic tear for Ji Shaoguang in her heart, then scrambled to find more to say. "Shaoguang isn't that rigid, bookish kind of fool. He actually has a great sense of fun. A lot of the Tianyan Sect artifacts that senior brothers and sisters have bought over the years, like hairpins and bracelets, were made by him."
"Really?" Zhao Yun's eyes lit up, but then she looked at Shu Fu suspiciously. "Fufu, why have you been talking about Ji Shaoguang nonstop this whole time? Don't tell me you actually have a crush on him..."
Shu Fu jolted backward in her seat, waving her hands frantically in denial. "No way, that's not true, don't go making up rumors!"
Jiang Xuesheng and Wu Yao knew exactly what she was up to, so they did not take it seriously and only found it quietly amusing. As for Si Fei and Liu Ruyi, the pair — one a fish and the other a bird — had no clue what was going on. They were both taken aback by the odd behavior of Shu Fu and Jiang Xuesheng, and stood there full of bewilderment.
One thought: The little junior sister is being this eager, could it be that she's about to get lured away by the Tianyan Sect?
The other thought: The little junior sister is about to get lured away by the Tianyan Sect, but mister isn't the least bit enthusiastic. Could it be that he's been possessed by a stray soul? Wait, that doesn't make sense — what even is there to possess in him?
They didn't dare say a word, and they didn't dare ask a single question.
Still, Liu Ruyi's attention only lingered on that thought for a split second before he quickly turned his gaze elsewhere. "Zhao Yun, the rouge you're wearing today has such a lovely shade. I wonder which immortal shop you bought it from? Or is this another new product from the Tianyan Sect?"
Zhao Yun shot him a wary glance. "What do you want to know that for? This is a product made exclusively for young girls. It would never suit a senior brother like you."
"Just tell me the name of the shop, I could put in a custom order too..."
"No way, I'm not telling you."
"Junior sister, we're all fellow disciples of the same sect. Why are you being so stingy with the information?"
"Same sect or not? Senior brother, you're the one who stares at the sect's 'Beauty Ranking' every single day. Whenever a fellow junior sister's votes get close to yours, you sneak around prying into their clothes, makeup, and beauty-preserving secrets, then copy all of that onto yourself. I've seen right through you!"
Shu Fu: "......"
As a rough-and-tumble man who in his past life only ever used facial cleanser and never bothered with makeup unless it was for a formal occasion, this topic was completely out of his league.
Over at the center of the competition arena, Wei Zhi first stepped up to announce the rules. She rattled off a few polite platitudes like "What a joy it is to have friends come from afar" and "Friendship first, competition second", before the contestants from all corners of the cultivation world filed into the venue. Ye Shusheng and Ji Shaoguang were among them.
Speaking of those two, one was eager to make a good impression in front of the Fox Girl, and the other wanted to show off in front of Zhao Yun. Both of them were exceptionally well-prepared today. Their already neat and tidy ritual robes were spotless, not a single speck of dust or wrinkle to be found, and the hair crowns on their heads were polished to a brilliant shine. The sight made people think unconsciously of peacocks fanning out their tails.
Even Shu Fu could not help covering her mouth to giggle softly at the scene, thinking to herself: Not bad. This is exactly the vibe a lighthearted first love comedy between young people should have.
This is what youth is all about!
The thought made her glance over at Jiang Xuesheng instinctively.
Ugh, he's such a cynical old trickster. Even if he ever had a first love, there's no way he'd ever pull a stunt like this. What a total shame.
Jiang Xuesheng: "......???"
His four disciples and a little mascot were all sitting there perfectly well-behaved, not a single word out of their mouths, yet for some reason he had the distinct feeling he had just been attacked out of nowhere.
......
Now, the first round of this Cultivation World Knowledge Competition had mostly standard, straightforward questions. Things like "How many years has it been since the first Purple Subtle Immortal Assembly?", "What are the nine colors on the nine-colored deer?", "Why is the thousand-year-old blood ganoderma so bright red?", and "When did the Heavenly Fox of Qingqiu cultivate its third tail?". Even if a few of the questions were a bit obscure, they did not go beyond the scope of knowledge that a well-read cultivator would have, so no one was left completely stumped with no idea how to answer.
As for the competition rules, each contestant has a crystal-like transparent sphere placed in front of them. The moment it touches body heat, it glows bright and plays a melodious tune, working much like a cultivation-world version of a buzzer. The host uses a projection art to display questions in mid-air, and once they call out "Start answering", all contestants can begin to buzz in.
After roughly twenty questions, the gaps in skill between contestants in the same group start to show. Aside from Ji Shaoguang and Ye Shusheng staying far ahead the whole time, several other competitors are neck and neck with each other. One of them is a female cultivator from Lingxiao City, whose features bear a three-point resemblance to the Ling brothers — she must be some distant cousin of theirs.
Shu Fu has full confidence in the breadth of knowledge of her two friends, so she leans back leisurely by the window, watching them compete while carving notes into a jade slip with her spiritual sense. Useful bits of knowledge, odd bits of knowledge, she jots them all down first, who knows when they might come in handy later.
But right when the group round is halfway through, something sudden and unexpected happens on the stage.
The next question is slowly floating into view up in the air, and Ye Shusheng is just about to hit his buzzer when a loose cultivator right beside him makes a sudden move. He flips his palm, and a glowing red vine shoots out from his hand, darting past two other contestants to wrap tight around Ye Shusheng's arm.
Shu Fu jolts to her feet, one hand flying to the hilt of her sword. "What the hell?!"
"Fu'er, don't panic."
"Calm down, junior sister, don't go rushing over to punch anyone."
Jiang Xuesheng and Liu Ruyi press down on her from either side, both wearing the exact same amused, "Sit down, this is normal" look on their faces.
"In the Five States Knowledge Contest, if you're outmatched by others, 'hindering your opponent from answering' is a valid way to win. As long as you don't hurt anyone, pretty much anything goes," Liu Ruyi explains with a smile. "I heard this is a new rule City Lord Wei added this year, to add a little... ahem, fun to the competition."
Jiang Xuesheng nods. "It is indeed quite fun. City Lord Wei has put a lot of thought into this."
Shu Fu: ......
No way, this is nothing like the academic knowledge contest I know!
No wonder Ye Shusheng made Mink Gu drag him into intense physical training sessions before the competition — he was preparing exactly for this moment!
Even when the loose cultivator attacks out of nowhere, Ye Shusheng is already ready. His arm is wrapped in layers and layers of vine, almost looking like a big roasted ham, but he stays completely calm. The well-hidden muscles on his arm bulge out one by one, and he drags the whole mass of vines along with him to slap his palm straight onto the crystal sphere.
His strike is so powerful, his hand speed doesn't slow down at all, and he ends up yanking the struggling loose cultivator right off his feet, sending the man tumbling face-first onto the stage.
The melodious tune rings out — Ye Shusheng has successfully buzzed in first.
Liu Ruyi starts clapping enthusiastically. "Brilliant, just brilliant. The binding force of that type of spirit plant is comparable to a thousand-pound iron lock, and Ye Shusheng, so young, already has that level of arm strength. He's bound to go far in the future."
Shu Fu: ......
Excuse me, am I supposed to play along and be serious, or just burst out laughing right now?
Once that first loose cultivator makes the first move, the other contestants on stage, who all already had their own little schemes brewing, no longer hold back. They go from hiding their private thoughts to pulling out every trick they can think of.
People were using spirit plants and spirit pets to harass others, digging pits under people's feet, tossing flashbang pellets, casting illusions to drag others into dreamscapes... every trick you could imagine was on full display. There was even a spider demon whose silk-spitting attempt failed, so she started preening and striking seductive poses right on the spot to unleash her charm art, the scene so blatantly suggestive that Wu Yao could not help but turn away in embarrassment. Then there was an octopus demon that directly revealed its full original form, trying to use its slimy, slippery tentacles to stop others from hitting the buzzer.
By the way, almost every single "other person" in all these incidents was Ye Shusheng.
As for Ji Shaoguang, he truly lived up to his reputation as the top rising talent of the younger generation in the Tianyan Sect. He pulled a glazed cup out from his bosom, tossed it casually upward, and a stream of pure, cleansing holy light immediately wrapped him from head to toe, forming a perfect barrier not a single crack could penetrate, so that no interference of any kind could get to him at all.
Ye Shusheng's performance was just as impressive. He met every attack head on, countered every move perfectly, not a single step of his movements was out of order, not even the motion of raising his hand to hit the buzzer slowed down even a little.
He even spared a hand in the middle of all this chaos to yank off his outer robe and toss it to that spider spirit whose entire outfit covered less skin than a swimsuit.
"Miss, there are so many onlookers here, I am afraid some unseemly lecher might get improper ideas about you. Please do take care of yourself!"
The spider: "......"
Shu Fu: "......"
Shu Fu had no idea what the "Fox Girl" would think of Ye Shusheng if she witnessed this scene right now.
He could only hope she would not misunderstand and take him for a total playboy who dotes on every woman he meets.
......
What Shu Fu did not know was that at that exact moment, in the teahouse directly across from theirs, a group of young women were sitting around a table, cracking sunflower seeds and munching on snacks, gossiping and pointing at the increasingly chaotic match down on the field.
One of them curled her lip and said, "I don't think this guy is any good. That spider spirit is no relation of his at all, but he went out of his way to be so attentive to her. That's obviously the sign of an unreliable man. Doesn't he realize that behavior like that is the easiest thing to get people the wrong idea?"
Another one softly chimed in in agreement, "Right. Even if he doesn't have any improper intentions himself, he'll still end up drawing all sorts of other women to him, and there will be nothing but endless trouble later. Tie Yi, you really should think this through again."
"Hmph, he acted all cold and proper to our Sister Wang, dead serious as he told her 'the matter of our marriage must never be brought up again', but he's being all nice and sweet to every random female demon he meets."
A younger girl wrinkled her nose, stuck her tongue out and made a playful, mischievous face, "Sister Wang, stop pining over this fake man. Let him go off with Brother Hanyi, the farther away from us the better. He may not have taken a fancy to you, but our Heavenly Fox clan doesn't think he's good enough for you either!"
"......"
The person at the center of the group, surrounded by all these girls, was a quiet, reserved figure wearing a veiled hat, their entire face hidden behind a thick layer of gauze.
The reason everyone referred to this figure as a "young man" was that they were tall and slender, wearing a close-fitting silver soft armor under a loose dark blue robe, their physique nearly identical to that of Ye Shusheng, the body cultivator tempered through hundreds of battles. Their entire form, defined by graceful, toned muscle lines and no other soft curves, gave no clear clue whether they were a young man or a young woman.
They looked less like a fox demon, and more like a sharp, agile leopard.
Seeing the group of girls chattering nonstop, that person raised a hand sharply to put a stop to their heated discussion.
"Thank you all for your concern. But I already know exactly what I am doing."
The voice rang out, low and husky with a bewitching magnetism, its tone as androgynous as the speaker's figure, capable of making every man and woman within earshot pause in their tracks the moment they heard it.
"All of you do not know his true nature, so you have long misunderstood him. Back then, when I was wounded and had lost my memory, I felt exactly the same way."
"The women of my clan are bold and unrestrained by nature, and we never believed there could be such a gentleman in this world who could remain perfectly composed even with a beauty in his arms. Back then, I only thought he was a sanctimonious hypocrite who spouted nothing but empty lies to fob people off, that his kindness to women was nothing but a show, a way to dally with every woman he met."
"But now, I know for certain that he is the most honest and upright gentleman in this entire world, with not a trace of pretense in him. Back in those days, I was far too naive and reckless, and I truly was not a good match for him at all."
