Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Living Again, Defying Fate!

The news that the Holy Son of the Qingyang Sword Sect, Xiao Yang, defeated the Holy Maiden of the Fuyiao Sword Sect, Li Xingyao, spread like wildfire.

The major powers in the Northern Region were shaken.

After all, the great competition every sixty years was about to begin in the Northern Region.

Could this mean that the Northern Region was destined for a shake-up this time?

Everyone knew the purpose of Li Xingyao leaving the mountain to hone her skills at this time.

She was making a statement.

However, who would have thought that the first stop of her quest for prestige would end in defeat at the hands of Xiao Yang, returning in disgrace?

Li Xingyao was extremely frustrated.

Her quest for prestige had barely begun and was already over.

Meanwhile, the Qingyang Sword Sect was celebrating more than a festival.

Their Holy Son had actually defeated Li Xingyao!

In just five months, the great competition would be upon them.

This meant that the Qingyang Sword Sect had a real shot at coming in first this time!

If the Qingyang Sword Sect could take the championship, it would soar to new heights!

Before this, Jiang Qitian and the two elders of the Qingyang Sword Sect didn’t dare to dream that they could shake the Fuyiao Sword Sect’s standing in the Northern Region.

But now it was different.

This time, the Qingyang Sword Sect was going to fight for that top spot.

Thus, Jiang Qitian and the others were eager for Xiao Yang to enter the Secret Realm for cultivation as soon as possible.

The stronger Xiao Yang became, the greater their chances of claiming first place in the great competition.

Five months later would be a time for the Qingyang Sword Sect to shine!

Don’t forget, the Qingyang Sword Sect was once one of the strongest sword sects in the Northern Region!

Now, however, they were a shadow of their former selves.

In the last competition, they only placed seventh.

Resources for cultivation were dwindling, and their territory was shrinking.

If the Qingyang Sword Sect fell out of the top ten in this great competition, they’d be finished, reduced to the status of a second-rate sword sect!

But now, the strength Xiao Yang had unleashed ignited the ambitions of Jiang Qitian and the others.

At this moment, Xiao Yang distanced himself from the chaos.

The Reflection Cave in the Back Mountain was already a forbidden area of the sect.

Entering the Reflection Cave, Xiao Yang’s seekers dared not intrude.

His little junior sister, Jiang Ting, didn’t come looking for him.

Neither could his parents visit without permission from Sect Leader Jiang Qitian.

In the evening, his third junior brother, Song Qiang, brought him dinner.

“Senior Brother, you’re amazing!”

Song Qiang was brimming with excitement.

Xiao Yang smiled but said nothing.

Having lived again, he had completely changed the outcome of today’s battle.

In his last life, after drinking the cup of tea Jiang Ting handed to him, he had been thoroughly defeated by Li Xingyao in their duel.

Like Qin Fei, Li Xingyao crushed his flying sword in an instant.

Not only did he lose all his prestige, becoming a disgrace to the sect, but he was also left half-awake in his cultivation, far worse than Qin Fei.

It was just a softening tonic.

He had already taken the antidote in advance.

In his previous life, when he discovered that Qin Fei had secretly plotted against him using Jiang Ting, he had truly collapsed.

He remembered having a hysterical fight with Jiang Ting, their relationship hitting rock bottom.

Meanwhile, Qin Fei played the innocent victim, garnering sympathy.

No surprise, everyone still chose to believe Qin Fei.

And once again, Xiao Yang became the target of everyone’s blame.

When he finished his reflection and returned to the Saint Son’s Residence, it looked as if it had been ransacked; everything had either been taken away or destroyed.

These people were way out of line!

Just thinking of how he was treated after being defeated by Li Xingyao in the Qingyang Sword Sect made Xiao Yang incandescent with rage.

But in this life, having trained in the Futian Sword Technique, he had effortlessly defeated Li Xingyao, completely rewriting the ending of his previous life.

Having lived again, he had defied fate!

At this moment, his prestige in the Qingyang Sword Sect was unmatched.

Now, he was the great contributor of the Qingyang Sword Sect, the strongest of his generation, and the object of admiration and respect from countless disciples.

In contrast, Qin Fei had become almost forgotten.

As Song Qiang excitedly recounted the happenings at the peak of Qingyang Mountain after Xiao Yang’s victory over Li Xingyao,

Sect Leader Jiang Qitian directly authorized special permission for Xiao Yang to enter the Secret Realm for cultivation.

This was an extraordinary honor.

Since the founding of the Qingyang Sword Sect, the Secret Realm had only been accessible to the sect leader.

Xiao Yang was the first Holy Son granted such permission to enter the Secret Realm.

Countless disciples within the sect envied him immensely.

Sect Leader Jiang Qitian organized a grand feast and even suggested a marriage alliance with the Xiao family, proposing to marry his little junior sister Jiang Ting to Xiao Yang.

If it were Xiao Yang from his last life, he would have been overjoyed to hear this news.

But in this life, his heart was oddly calm.

His master actually wants to keep him with a marriage alliance?

Hmph!

Absolutely not.

Within the Qingyang Sword Sect, there was nothing and no one that he felt attached to anymore.

He had to leave the Qingyang Sword Sect.

Third junior brother Song Qiang had a lot to say.

But Xiao Yang just listened while eating.

“Senior Brother, you’re about to fulfill your long-cherished wish. Aren’t you happy?”

Song Qiang noticed that Xiao Yang’s expression was a bit off; he was calm to the point of being weird, and couldn’t help but ask.

Marrying Jiang Ting had been Xiao Yang’s dream for years.

He and Jiang Ting had grown up together; she had promised him as a child that she would marry him when they grew up.

But ever since Qin Fei showed up, everything changed.

Clearly, childhood joys don’t count for much.

“There’s nothing to be happy about.”

Xiao Yang sighed, setting down his chopsticks.

“Uh…”

Song Qiang froze; what was up with Senior Brother today?

After finishing his meal, Xiao Yang watched as Song Qiang began to clean up the bowls and chopsticks.

“Third junior brother…”

As Song Qiang picked up the food box to leave, Xiao Yang couldn’t help but call out to him.

“Senior Brother, do you have any instructions?”

Song Qiang looked at Xiao Yang, somewhat surprised.

“Hmm, be careful of Qin Fei!”

Xiao Yang hesitated a moment and finally reminded Song Qiang.

“Why should I be careful of sixth junior brother?”

Song Qiang was even more surprised, looking at Xiao Yang in confusion.

“It’s nothing; you can go.”

Xiao Yang shook his head; at this moment, Qin Fei was hiding his true self so well that even if he exposed Qin Fei as a disciple of the Demon Sect, no one in the entire sect would believe him.

Everyone would just think he was out to frame Qin Fei again.

In the entire sect, only he, who had been reborn, knew Qin Fei’s true colors.

With a puzzled expression, Song Qiang left with the food box.

Xiao Yang returned to the cave and began his cultivation.

The Futian Sword Technique was indeed outrageous.

With just one move, the Futian Sword Finger, he had defeated Li Xingyao.

However, he was still only just beginning his training in the Futian Sword Technique.

Xiao Yang’s mind was clear and focused, easily entering a state of cultivation.

If he could elevate his Futian Sword Technique another level, then even if Li Xingyao cultivated the True Phoenix Sword Technique to the fifth level, she still wouldn’t be his match in the great competition.

Inside the Reflection Cave, the Sword Qi surged.

After a whole night of cultivation, while his cultivation didn’t improve, his will was now perfectly fused with the flying sword.

At this moment, he was the sword, and the sword was him.

This represented true unity of man and sword.

“Hmm, it’s time to go back, get things in order, and then enter the Secret Realm.”

Xiao Yang rose from the boulder, leaped down, and walked out of the Reflection Cave.

Standing at the cave entrance, he welcomed the rising sun and took a deep breath, instantly feeling revitalized.

He then unleashed his flying sword and soared on it towards his City Lord’s Mansion.

“What’s he doing here?”

When Xiao Yang returned to the Saint Son’s Residence, he was met with the sight of someone he never expected to see there.