Jade Dynasty: I am the master of the Burning Sword, my swordsmanship is unparalleled.

Chapter 32 The Three-Eyed Monkey
"clang!"

A clear and melodious bell rang out, parting the vast sea of ​​clouds and letting the sunlight pour down. The momentary scene of the sun breaking through the clouds astonished countless Qingyun disciples, bringing silence to the once bustling square.

"The competition begins!"

As the sect leader, Dao Xuan Zhenren, finished speaking, several more resounding bells echoed through the sky, signifying the official start of the Seven Sects Martial Arts Tournament, a competition held every sixty years.

This year's Seven Veins Martial Arts Tournament has a total of 63 participants. Excluding Zhang Xiaofan, who received a bye in the first round, the remaining 62 need to compete in 31 matches. With eight arenas, they naturally need to be divided into four groups.

Of the first batch of sixteen people, only Tian Ling'er from Dazhu Peak needed to participate in the competition. Therefore, Zhang Xiaofan and his many senior brothers naturally watched the competition from the sidelines with Tian Buyi and Su Ru.

The contestant against Tian Ling'er was Shen Tiandou, a disciple of Chaoyang Peak. Although he was talented and had outstanding cultivation, having already cultivated Taiji Xuanqing Dao to the fifth level of Yuqing Realm at a young age, he was ultimately no match for Tian Ling'er.

Although Tian Ling'er was playful, she was also quite competitive. In the first three and a half years of these five years, every time she failed to trick Zhang Xiaofan, she would work harder in private in hopes of succeeding in tricking him once again.

Later, with the Seven Peaks Martial Arts Tournament approaching, Tian Ling'er often sparred with Zhang Xiaofan and her fellow disciples, naturally improving her strength considerably. In addition, she was a renowned child prodigy of the Qingyun Sect with exceptional talent, and had now reached the sixth level of the Jade Purity Realm, the same level as Song Daren.

As expected, Shen Tiandou was defeated in the competition after a short time.

Tian Ling'er came down from the stage with a joyful expression, raised her little face to Zhang Xiaofan, and said with great pride.

"How about it, Xiao Fan? Not bad, right?"

"Senior sister is indeed amazing."

Zhang Xiaofan sincerely praised Tian Ling'er, saying that although she seemed to have been cultivating for a long time, she was actually not old, only twenty-nine years old.

At the age of eighteen, he had already reached the sixth level of the Jade Purity Realm. While he might not be able to compare himself to Ancestor Qingye, his talent was undoubtedly extremely high.

Although the training period seems to be quite long, not everyone can cultivate Taiji Xuanqing Dao to the point of controlling objects by the age of ten. Such talent is rare.

Upon hearing this, Tian Ling'er smiled smugly, then waved to Song Daren and the others beside her and said.

"Senior brothers, I won't go to watch your matches. Xiao Fan is going to face Senior Sister Lu from Xiaozhu Peak next, so I'll go with him to watch."

"It's alright, it's alright, go ahead, remember to give my regards to my junior sister from Xiaozhu Peak."

Song Daren quickly chimed in agreement. Upon hearing this, Du Bishu, Lü Daxin, and the others waved to Zhang Xiaofan and Tian Ling'er before launching into a tirade against Song Daren, spewing all sorts of incomprehensible remarks. Song Daren remained unperturbed, simply smiling sheepishly without saying a word.

Seeing this, Zhang Xiaofan chuckled, and then he and Tian Ling'er walked together toward the largest of the eight arenas, the one with the character '乾' (Qian).

Before he even got close, Zhang Xiaofan saw that the Qingyun disciples below the 'Qian' character platform were packed with people, forming circles upon circles around the arena, making it impossible to move. There were at least four or five hundred people, probably nearly half of the disciples had gathered here.

Tian Ling'er, holding Zhang Xiaofan's hand, could only stomp her feet helplessly as she stood on the outside. Seeing this, Zhang Xiaofan had no choice but to reach out and grab Tian Ling'er's wrist, and whisper to a few familiar fellow disciples standing nearby.

"Fellow disciples, could you please move aside?"

The group recognized the voice and initially thought it was one of their fellow disciples from the same lineage. However, upon turning around and seeing Zhang Xiaofan, they smiled and responded.

"Senior Brother Zhang, you've come to watch Senior Sister Lu's competition too?"

But after he finished speaking, the disciple realized that he had probably said something wrong. He saw that Senior Brother Zhang was holding the hand of a lively and beautiful woman, and they seemed to be quite close.

Zhang Xiaofan nodded slightly, making no attempt to hide anything, and spoke frankly.

"I heard that Senior Sister Lu of Xiaozhu Peak has a high level of cultivation, so I came to watch the battle in advance. If I have the opportunity to fight Senior Sister Lu later, I will be able to figure out how to deal with her."

"Senior Brother Zhang, you should be careful. I've heard that Senior Sister Lu from Little Bamboo Peak is quite powerful."

The disciple smiled and responded, then took the initiative to call out to several fellow disciples from the same lineage around him to make way for Zhang Xiaofan and Tian Ling'er.

After bowing to thank the group, Zhang Xiaofan and Tian Ling'er went to the area below the arena. Just as they stood still, a young man approached them with a smile and said...

"Could it be Senior Brother Zhang and Senior Sister Tian from Dazhu Peak?"

Zhang Xiaofan turned his head and saw that the newcomer had a handsome appearance and vaguely resembled Zeng Shuchang, the head of Feng Hui Peak. Recalling that the clothes of the other disciples around him were in the style of Feng Hui Peak, he smiled and replied.

"This must be Senior Brother Zeng Shushu from Feng Hui Peak, right? I joined the sect later, so you can just call me Junior Brother Zeng."

Some of his fellow disciples called him "senior brother" because others had asked him for guidance and addressed him respectfully as such. Zhang Xiaofan couldn't refuse, so he reluctantly accepted.

"Haha, then I'll take advantage of you and call you Junior Brother Zhang. Junior Sister Tian, ​​you don't mind, do you?"

Zeng Shushu laughed and replied that he was much older than Tian Ling'er and should have called her his junior sister, but Tian Ling'er was Zhang Xiaofan's senior sister, so it would be a bit confusing for him to call her his junior sister.

Upon hearing this, Tian Ling'er smiled and said that although she was not familiar with Zeng Shushu, Tian Buyi and Zeng Shuchang had a good relationship. She would occasionally hear Tian Buyi mention Zeng Shushu when he talked about his senior brother Zeng.

"Senior Brother Zeng is joking. However, I'm a little curious, Senior Brother Zeng, aren't you afraid that Uncle Zeng will be angry if he finds out that you came here to watch Senior Sister Lu's competition?"

"Hehe, I'll have to trouble Junior Brother Zhang and Junior Sister Tian to keep this a secret for me."

Zeng Shushu chuckled dryly. Uncle Zeng was quite strict with him, and if he found out, he would surely say a few words.

As he spoke, Zeng Shushu's eyes darted around, and then he leaned closer to Zhang Xiaofan and whispered something.

"How about this, I'll tell you all a secret, Junior Brother Zhang, and you'll help me keep it a secret, okay?"

"What secret?"

Zhang Xiaofan chuckled softly, already having guessed a bit of what was going on. A smile appeared in his eyes as he quietly looked at Zeng Shushu.

Tian Ling'er, who was standing to the side, was also quite curious, but at the same time, she was also a little wary. She had heard that this Senior Brother Zeng had a "bad record" and often made Senior Uncle Zeng furious.

"That gray monkey that hangs out with the Spirit Lord, is it your pet, Junior Brother Zhang?"

As soon as Zeng Shushu spoke, Zhang Xiaofan immediately understood. It was natural that Xiao Hui would attract attention by having Da Huang mingling with Ling Zun. However, most people would not be able to see Xiao Hui's extraordinary qualities.

"That's right, I picked up Little Gray from the bamboo forest."

"Picked it up?"

Zeng Shushu stared at Zhang Xiaofan in astonishment and disbelief. After seeing Zhang Xiaofan nod sincerely, she immediately showed a tearful expression and said in a rather desolate voice.

"Why am I not so lucky to have found such a spiritual beast as the Three-Eyed Spirit Monkey? Otherwise, do you think the Spirit Lord could let an ordinary monkey get close, or even..."

As they were talking, Zeng Shushu suddenly stopped speaking, staring in shock at Zhang Xiaofan, whose expression remained calm. Then he sighed softly and said...

"So Junior Brother Zhang knew about the three-eyed spirit monkey's extraordinary abilities."

“Senior Brother Zeng, I adopted it not because it is a three-eyed spirit monkey, but because I felt sorry for it, wandering alone in the mountains. I still have a master and mistress, senior brothers and sisters, but Little Gray has nothing, so I adopted it.”

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xiaofan gently shook his head, a hint of pity flashing in his eyes.

Although his lives were all unfortunate, they were also fortunate. Even though he was alone and abandoned by fate, there were people who protected and loved him.

But Little Grey had no one to accompany him. His lonely, desolate, and pitiful figure by the dark pool that day seemed to have been abandoned by the world.

The sky is always a mix of sunshine and rain. When it's sunny, you may be carefree, but when it rains, there will always be someone who wants to hold up an umbrella or build a shelter, so that the world is not so bleak and cold.

(End of this chapter)