Chapter 35: The Great War Begins (Part 2)

  Walking on the square, looking at the countless disciples of Tianjian Academy coming and going, everyone was busy with their own affairs. Those disciples saw Lu Yun, and their eyes were a bit strange, with a hint of dislike, as if because he defeated Leng Jia Hao, the third highest master of Tianjian Academy, here yesterday, so everyone had a kind of subconscious dislike for him.

  Looking around, Lu Yun smiled and said: "If I really defeated Jian Wucheng, I'm afraid no one here would welcome me. This is the biased side of everyone's heart, it's especially obvious here." After finishing speaking, his gaze swept over a few people walking from afar.

  Lin Yunfeng smiled and said, "What's the big deal? Next time they come to our Yi Garden, we'll just return their gaze with a gaze. Who cares if they're not happy about it? This time, as long as you can defeat him, even if these disciples are unhappy, who dares to say you're not capable? I believe that even if they're not satisfied in their hearts, they won't dare to speak out against you face-to-face."

  Lu Yun smiled lightly and said, "Alright, there are people from a few other courtyards coming. Let's go see them." After speaking, he walked towards the opposite side. Yun Feng heard this and looked up, revealing a hint of puzzlement in his eyes, and quickly followed after him.

  Looking at the person in front of him, Lu Yun smiled and said: "Brother Bi Tian, Brother Ben Yi, and Brother Wu Wang, how did you think of coming here for a walk? Didn't anyone else come?" Just then, Ruyuanyuan's Bi Tian, Dao Garden's Wu Wang, and Bodhi Academy's Ben Yi walked towards Lu Yun together.

  Ru Yuan's Bi Tian looked at Lu Yun, his eyes were a bit strange, as if hiding something. After glancing at Yun Feng, Bi Tian spoke up: "Originally thought it was the morning match, so I started preparing early, who knew it suddenly changed to the afternoon, so I came out for a walk with nothing to do, and happened to meet Ben Yi and Wu Wang. The match is this afternoon, I wonder how you're prepared?"

  Lu Yun heard this and a bitter smile appeared on his face, he said softly: "What preparation can be made? It's always like this, even if we rush for half a day, it won't come in time. Forget it, since you're here, let's not talk about these things. Let's talk about what the three of you have to say instead. If you have time, Lu Yun is willing to invite the three of you to chat together and spend more time together."

  As soon as he heard this, his eyes slightly swept across the entrance of the Tianhuo Cave, and he asked in a low voice: "Why haven't I seen Brother Li and Sister Zhang? Aren't they here? I was just saying that I would bring Benyi and Wuwang to find you all to chat together?" As soon as this was said, Lin Yunfeng's eyes rolled slightly, looking at him with a strange gaze, as if trying to see through him.

  Lu Yun's eyes flickered slightly as he glanced at Benyi and Wuwang, saying: "They're inside the cave. I'll have Yunfeng go call them out. For now, let's chat here for a bit. Brother Benyi, I heard you've mastered all of Buddhism's Supreme Dharma 'Wú Xiāng Bō Rě'. This time, the first place is likely yours. Brother Wuwang, as the number one disciple of Dao Garden, I believe your mastery of Daoist techniques is unparalleled?" After finishing his sentence, he gave Yunfeng a subtle nod.

  Ben Yi humbly said: "Lu Shidi is joking, my cultivation is still shallow. The first place in this session will likely belong to Tianjian Institute's Jian Wuchen. I'll be satisfied as long as I can enter the top six. On the other hand, Lu Yun Shidi's cultivation is profound, and he has reached such a level in just two years after arriving at Yi Garden, which is truly embarrassing for us."

  Wu Wang Zan Tong said, "Ben Yī said it well, this time's first place, the one with the greatest hope is that Jian Wu Chen. To be honest, if I were to encounter him, there would be no need for a competition, I would directly withdraw. As for who can compete with him this time, I'm afraid only Feng Huang Shu Yuan's Cang Yue and you Yi Garden can do it. As for me, although I know some about the Taoist methods, I am not proficient in them, compared to your Yi Garden, I am far inferior." He smiled slightly after finishing speaking.

  Lu Yun smiled and said, "Both of you are being too modest. If you say so, I won't dare stand here anymore. Since Li Shixiong and Zhang Shijie have arrived, shall we find a place to sit or just chat here?" After finishing speaking, he glanced at the three people with his eyes, unintentionally sweeping a glance at Ao Xue.

  Benyi and Wuwang exchanged a glance, looked at Bitian, and Benyi said, "Let's still watch Bitian, see what he says." Bitian heard this, hastily withdrew his gaze from Aoxue, and softly said, "This is all Tianjian Institute disciples, let's go for a walk in the woods instead, how does everyone feel?" Benyi and Wuwang both slightly nodded, without objection.

  Yun Feng brought Zhang Ao Xue and Li Hong Fei along, after exchanging a few pleasantries with everyone, they followed Bi Tian's suggestion to take a walk in the woods. And so the group of seven turned left towards the forest, slowly disappearing into the dense thicket.

  Sunlight, through the sparse branches, like thousands of swords, slanted into the forest, illuminating the surroundings. In a clearing, a group of seven people were chatting and laughing, everyone seemed very enthusiastic. At this time, Ben One asked: "Brother Li, do you know who your opponents are for this match?" This question stunned the four people from Yi Garden. Everyone looked at each other, shaking their heads slightly, still unaware of how the contestants were arranged for this match.

  Lu Yun saw Li Hongfei not speaking, couldn't help but open his mouth and say: "This time's competition, I only know that this afternoon I will be competing against Bi Tian Shixiong, as for the others, I'm not too clear."

  As soon as he said this, Li Hongfei and Zhang Aoxue both changed their expressions slightly, seemingly thinking of something, and quietly looked at him. Bi Tian sighed softly: "Yes, it's our two teams competing in the afternoon, really want to avoid each other, but unfortunately can't avoid it. To be honest, the relationship between our two schools has always been relatively good, really don't want to compete against each other, but unfortunately there is no way. In this afternoon's competition, Lu Yun, we will just rely on our own abilities. No matter what the result is, privately we are still good friends, what do you think?"

  Lu Yun smiled and nodded, looking at everyone before speaking softly: "That's right, no matter what the outcome of this competition is, we'll all be friends in the future. This gathering here today is also a chance encounter, and we should all cherish it, don't you think, fellow seniors?" Everyone except Ao Xue nodded in agreement with Lu Yun's words.

  Li Hongfei asked: "Ben Yi brother, can you tell us about the situation of this match? We haven't received any notice from our Master yet, so we're still not clear."

  Benyi glanced at him and sighed slightly: "To be honest, this match is relatively unfavorable for Yi Garden. This time, Lu Yun is against Bi Tian, Zhang Shimei is against Zhan Yu, and you are against Jian Wucheng, who no one wants to meet. As for me, I will compete with Yunhua from Dao Garden, Wuwang will compete with Du Li from Ru Garden, and Cangyue will compete with my junior brother Jiezhen."

  As soon as this was said, the four people in Yi Garden all changed their expressions, clearly not expecting such a result. Everyone looked at each other, and a hint of worry appeared in each person's eyes. Lin Yunfeng said somewhat unhappily: "This is really strange, this time we came here, why does Yi Garden always encounter Tianjian Academy? First it was me and Lu Yun, now it's Shizhi and Shixiong, this is really unlucky." Upon hearing this, the other three people all let out a faint sigh, clearly very much in agreement with these words.

  Looking at Li Hongfei, Lu Yun said softly: "Brother, cheer up. This afternoon, the three of us will work together and there will definitely be results. Don't worry, we all support you, you will definitely win. Definitely!" After finishing, she looked at him with comforting eyes.

  Li Hongfei's expression returned to calm in an instant, looking at Lu Yun, he patted Lu Yun's shoulder and said softly: "I won't give up, if I lose, you and Ao Xue must work hard, someone must enter the top six to make our Yi Garden proud. The competition is always cruel, no retreat is allowed, unless it's an automatic abandonment, otherwise we have to fight bravely. Even if we lose, we know where our gap is, so that we can catch up in the future." After finishing speaking, he looked at everyone and slightly lowered his head to think deeply.

  Zhang Aoxue looked at Li Hongfei, a hint of regret flashing in his eyes, as if he was sighing for him running into Jian Wucheng. As for his cultivation, Aoxue was very clear that as long as he didn't run into Jian Wucheng, he believed he would definitely be able to enter the top six. Because he was the most outstanding person in Yi Garden, what a pity.

  Wu Wang looked at Li Hongfei and said softly, "The easy way has changed. Cultivators must not be too attached to worldly affairs. The reason for holding the Six Institutes' Martial Arts Conference is, on the surface, to distinguish between high and low, but in reality, it is also a test for every cultivator. To transcend the Three Realms, apart from having great strength, what's most important is the heart, enlightenment, and the perseverance to constantly pursue the ultimate truth. If you lost to Jian Wucheng today, but gained many insights from it, then that's your harvest. But if you won without gaining any insight, what did you gain besides a false reputation?"

  Everyone heard the words and fell into deep thought. Lu Yun looked at Wu Wang, and in this moment he suddenly felt that Ben Yi and Wu Wang both had a unique and extraordinary aura about them. They shared something in common - the essence of Buddhism, a profound understanding of Buddhism. Perhaps they were not as skilled as himself in cultivation, but in some aspects, he was also inferior to them.

  Bi Tian didn't say anything out of the ordinary, but he couldn't help sneaking glances at Zhang Ao Xue, his eyes burning with fervent gaze. Lin Yun Feng, who was standing beside him, had been observing his expression and saw how he was acting, and it wasn't hard to understand what he was thinking. In her heart, Lin Yun Feng secretly laughed: "You're hopeless. Besides Lu Yun, the others don't stand a chance. Heh heh, such a beautiful Shifu, you think Lu Yun is an idiot, would he let you guys snatch her away?"

  Li Hongfei was slightly shaken by Wu Wang's words, his eyes wide with shock as he stared at him. The two men locked eyes, neither of them speaking a word, just silently gazing at each other. Suddenly, Li Hongfei revealed a rare smile, stepped forward and grasped Wu Wang's hand, nodding in gratitude with a gentle smile.

  Everyone looked at them with a strange gaze, as if they had sensed that something had happened between them. But what exactly, wasn't very clear.

  The sky was getting dark, and Zhang Ao Xue's gentle voice came: "It's not early in the sky, everyone should go back, there will be a competition in the afternoon." After finishing speaking, she turned around calmly, her moving figure dancing in the gentle breeze. That beautiful posture, that enchanting back view, deeply attracted Bi Tian's eyes.

  Lu Yun glanced at Bi Tian, and a strange light flashed in his eyes, as if hinting at something. Turning back, he saw Li Hongfei pulling Wu Wang away, Lu Yun smiled calmly, and with a glance at Yun Feng, the two of them also slipped away to follow.

  Ben Yi gazed at Lu Yun's back, a hint of contemplation in his eyes. He looked up and glanced at Bi Tian, who was still dazed, Ben Yi let out a soft sigh, patted his shoulder, and vanished silently into the forest like a cloud drifting away.