Chapter 131: She Decided It

"Do not worry about that. A ranking tournament will be held based on the winning teams, and those who make it into the top one hundred will undergo further ranking after five years."

This was the reason the resolution had passed; there was no immediate ranking for the top one hundred. By waiting five years, everyone would have to push themselves to cultivate and improve their strength. The administrators of the Xuantian Sect also hoped that the Imperial City Grand Tournament would reach a new level of excellence.

Following Min Chengjun's explanation, Ji Jiuxuan and Meng Jiao understood perfectly. Ji Jiuxuan began considering who she would join forces with for the competition.

"Junior Sister, didn't you have a good relationship with that boy from Wangling Peak? You could form a team with him," Meng Jiao suggested after a moment of silence. She then continued, "The others from Wangying Peak won't do, though that little girl from the Feng family is quite decent."

Ji Jiuxuan had also been thinking about asking those two. The requirement remained a minimum of eighth-level Qi Refining. Since Qin Yuzhou and Xiaoxiao had both mentioned wanting to participate in the Grand Tournament this year, she was confident they would be prepared.

Having not practiced her swordplay for several days, Ji Jiuxuan took advantage of the free time, set up her formation disk, and began to practice. After the training of the past few days, she felt her sword was lighter in her hand, and her movements were increasingly fluid.

Previously, when Ji Jiuxuan practiced, Meng Jiao could clearly see her techniques. Now, however, she found she could only see afterimages. Considering that Meng Jiao was at the late stage of the Golden Core realm, with signs of nearing the Great Perfection, it was truly shocking that she could no longer track her Junior Sister's movements.

At that moment, as Ji Jiuxuan's sword moves grew more fluid, the sound of the sword ringing filled the air. From the sword techniques, Meng Jiao sensed a murderous intent—something her Junior Sister had never displayed before. She recalled how, during the life-and-death duel, her Junior Sister had been unable to bring herself to kill Wang Yumiao. Now, however, one could sense that if such a situation were to arise again, hesitation would be impossible.

Immersed in her practice, the sharp sword light made Ji Jiuxuan forget everything else. She had entered a profound and mysterious state.

When the time was nearly up, the System intended to warn its host to stop, but the aura radiating from the phantom made it tremble in fear.

"This was a vow she made herself. If I don't remind her, she will be struck by lightning and punished. You wouldn't want her to be struck, would you?" The System felt miserable. As a well-behaved entity, it was forced to bear the brunt of everything. It blamed its host; she had felt life was too exhausting and wanted to slack off in her next life, so she had made such a ridiculous vow—and it had actually come true.

Fortunately, Ji Jiuxuan emerged from that state on her own, sheathed her sword, and began eating snacks with her Martial Uncle and Senior Sister, completely oblivious to the System's agony. The phantom fell silent and withdrew its aura.

Long Xuan found it amusing. "That sounds exactly like something she would do." Who else would make a Heavenly Dao vow just so their future life wouldn't be too hard? Only she would engage in such bizarre behavior.

Once the aura faded, the System finally breathed a sigh of relief. It was strange; even though that figure was a powerful expert of the lower realm, the System shouldn't have been afraid of him by its very nature. Yet, every time he appeared, it felt like a mouse encountering a cat, paralyzed and afraid to move.

They soon arrived at the Xuantian Sect. With the stability gained from her recent training, Ji Jiuxuan's ninth-level Qi Refining cultivation was extremely solid. It was fortunate she hadn't reached the Great Perfection; otherwise, unable to suppress her cultivation further, she would have faced only two outcomes: either bursting from the excess energy or advancing to the Foundation Establishment stage, thereby losing her eligibility for the Sect Grand Tournament.

Her Little Martial Uncle had promised that if she could stand out in the Grand Tournament five years later, he would tell her everything about her parents. Because of this, she would focus only on stabilizing her cultivation, sword practice, and body tempering.

The flying ship passed through the sect's grand formation and arrived directly at the Main Peak. Seeing her grandfather waiting on the plaza, Ji Jiuxuan deployed her wings and flew to his side.

"Grandfather, A-Jiu is back! Did you miss me?" After seeing her parents at the sound-spirit inquiry in Liangcheng, she missed this elder who had always doted on her even more. He had suffered the most from her parents' disappearance. Yet, he had remained silent, except for that one time when he searched for a long time after believing they were truly lost, before finally deciding to hold a funeral. He had sat by her bedside all night, looking suddenly aged. A sense of helplessness had overwhelmed him; even though nothing had ever broken him before, he had been at a total loss in that moment. As a child, she had fallen asleep, and when she woke, he had returned to being the invincible Sect Leader of the Xuantian Sect in everyone's eyes.

Qi Shuoyuan looked at the girl who seemed to have grown taller and smiled, patting her head. "I did." His kind face was full of doting. "What does A-Jiu want to eat? Grandfather will prepare it for you. How about we cook something delicious in the courtyard tonight?"

"Okay!" This suggestion was exactly to her taste. Ji Jiuxuan, who had been feeling a bit sentimental, had her thoughts instantly diverted. "I'll ask Senior Sister to come with me to prepare the ingredients."

Min Chengjun had already put away the flying ship and joined them, smiling. "A-Jiu, no need to prepare anything. Just tell your Martial Uncle what ingredients you need, and I will have someone prepare them." The restaurant had the best selection of food.

Meng Jiao walked over and sat on a stone stool. "Martial Uncle, you're the best! That way, my Junior Sister and I don't have to go out looking for ingredients."

Ji Jiuxuan had originally thought about going shopping with her Senior Sister, but seeing that she looked tired, she smiled at her Second Martial Uncle. "Then I will have to trouble you, Martial Uncle."

Just as Min Chengjun agreed, Nie Xingyuan appeared. With a stern face, he said to Meng Jiao, "If you dare to take your Junior Sister to the wine cellar again this time, you know what will happen."

It was an blatant threat, and Ji Jiuxuan offered a silent prayer for her Senior Sister. The stern-faced Little Martial Uncle carried an aura that made it no wonder all the sect disciples feared him.

Meng Jiao, feeling her little scheme had been exposed, said guiltily, "I understand." Facing her master's stern expression, she dared not act foolishly and said very seriously to Nie Xingyuan, "Don't worry, Master. I promise I will absolutely not take Junior Sister to the cellar. I swear."

Seeing her master nod, Meng Jiao felt like an unbridled horse, already thinking about what fun things to do that evening. If there was no wine to drink, teasing her Junior Sister would be just as good.

Thinking of the reason for her hurried return, Meng Jiao said, "Junior Sister, aren't you looking to form a team? Ask your two friends if they can come over. It'll be more fun to eat together."

Qi Shuoyuan also laughed. "That's right. Ask your friends; it's livelier with more people."

Since the Sect Leader had spoken, Nie Xingyuan had nothing more to say. Furthermore, it was rare for little A-Jiu to have a few good friends, and they were happy to see it. For those on the path of immortality, life was long, and having a few true friends was a blessing.

"Okay!" Ji Jiuxuan happily notified Feng Hanxiao and Qin Yuzhou, deciding they could discuss the team formation for the tournament then.