Lumine boat docked at the shore of Guyun Stone Forest.
Qiu Bai stepped onto land and stretched lazily.
"Wow, so this is Guyun Stone Forest?"
"It's so beautiful! Isn't this the competition venue?"
Qiu Bai stood with hands on hips, shielding his eyes from the sun as he surveyed the surroundings.
In reality, Guyun Stone Forest was merely the exposed hilt of the stone spears.
When Osial broke free earlier, he had only managed to escape from the tip of the deepest spear. As a result, the entire formation had sunk several meters, but for an island of this size, this difference was negligible.
At most, it had only reduced the beach area slightly.
"Mountain creation, huh?"
"If I wanted to, could I create a mountain too?"
Qiu Bai stroked his chin, muttering peculiarly to himself.
"We're here, Traveler!"
"Look at those people up ahead. Aren't they the martial arts competition participants?"
Lumine walked over to where Qiu Bai stood, with Paimon floating in the air, full of curiosity about the tournament.
"Let's go gather some information about the competitors first,"
"Knowing your opponent is half the battle, right?"
Paimon said with hands on her hips, smiling at Qiu Bai and Lumine.
"Hehe, you two go ahead."
"I'll just wander around here for a bit."
Qiu Bai smiled at Lumine and Paimon, then turned his gaze toward the scenery of Guyun Stone Forest.
"Alright then. The Traveler and I will go check things out."
"It's not like you need to scout the competition anyway."
Paimon said with a grin before departing with Lumine toward the group of participants.
Qiu Bai watched as Lumine and Paimon walked away, a slight smile curling his lips as he headed toward the beach.
Upon reaching the water, he knelt down and placed his palm on the surface of the sea.
"Osial's wife, huh?"
"Beisht."
Qiu Bai smirked.
"Well, I'll leave this crisis for Liyue to handle."
"Seems like she's quite angry."
Qiu Bai gaze shimmered with light as he looked into the depths of the ocean.
Beisht, the Avenger of the Vortex, was the wife of the Overlord of the Vortex Osial and his last remaining follower.
Since Osial was annihilated by Qiu Bai single sword strike, she had been lurking in the deep sea, waiting for an opportunity to exact revenge on Liyue.
Thinking about it, her situation was rather pitiful.
She had always known her husband was pinned to the seabed by stone spears, but she couldn't remove Morax spears.
So she had wandered around these waters and just when he was finally freed, Qiu Bai had destroyed him with a single sword strike.
Realizing this, Qiu Bai mouth twitched. Why did it sound like he was the villain here?
Shaking his head, he stood up and walked toward Lumine and Paimon.
Seeing them talking with two young men, Qiu Bai interest was piqued.
"Lumine, Paimon, what are you up to?" Qiu Bai approached them, asking curiously.
"We're checking out the other competitors."
"We were just chatting with them."
Paimon explained with her hands behind her back.
"Indeed. To improve one's martial arts, one must accumulate experience through actual combat."
"That's what our master taught us."
said Chai Yi, explaining to the three people before him.
"However, for us."
"Besides treating the competition as training, we also want to win that masterless Vision."
Chai Yi continued explaining calmly.
"Yes, if we obtain the Vision, we'll definitely become our master's most prized disciples!"
The young man beside Chai Yi nodded enthusiastically.
"This master of yours sounds impressive."
"Is he famous?"
Paimon asked curiously, looking at the two young men in martial arts attire.
"Indeed! He's the founder of the Lingshan School and incredibly skilled."
"My junior disciple and I are both inheritors of this school."
Chai Yi answered proudly.
"Lingshan School?"
"I don't think I've heard of it."
Lumine remarked with slight confusion.
Qiu Bai mouth twitched as he finally realized who these two were disciples of the infamous martial arts fraud.
"That's to be expected, as it was only established recently."
"It's not as well-known as our master, who is a martial arts grandmaster."
"He created many techniques, and they say dozens of schools have been influenced by his methods."
Chai Yi explained with a mysterious expression.
"What he teaches us at the Lingshan School, is a technique called 'Huajin' (Redirecting Energy)."
Chai Yi crossed his arms proudly.
"Redirecting Energy?"
Paimon spread her hands, confused.
"It's a form of qi cultivation that manipulates the body's energy."
"Without moving a single inch, one can neutralize any incoming attack."
Chai Yi explained with a smile.
"For instance, our master can easily redirect an opponent's punches,"
"Or change the trajectory of stones thrown at him!"
Chai Yi stated earnestly.
"He once sent a challenger flying with a single move!"
Chai Yi's junior disciple exclaimed excitedly, his words full of admiration for their master.
"It seems these kids..."
"Have been thoroughly deceived."
Thought Qiu Bai, his mouth twitching slightly at the junior disciple's enthusiasm.
"Is such a thing really possible?"
Lumine asked skeptically.
"It's absolutely true, just extremely difficult."
"We've practiced for a long time and have barely grasped the basics."
Chai Yi spread his hands with resignation.
"Sigh... we're just not talented enough to quickly master the technique."
"But at this rate, we'll soon be unable to afford the tuition fees."
Chai Yi's junior disciple lowered his head dejectedly.
"You have to pay tuition?!" Paimon exclaimed in surprise.
"Of course! Our master is a martial arts grandmaster."
"He's very busy every day. If you want his personal guidance, you should show some sincerity, right?"
Chai Yi looked at Paimon and Lumine oddly—wasn't paying for instruction perfectly reasonable?
"Your inability to learn..."
"Might not be your fault..."
The perceptive Lumine immediately identified the problem—the so-called martial arts grandmaster was likely just a con artist.
"This qi technique, Redirecting Energy..."
"Is it something like this?"
Qiu Bai looked at the two gullible disciples with a smile.
Then he pointed a single finger toward a massive boulder. Instantly, the boulder exploded from Qiu Bai gesture!
"Wow!!!"
"H-how did you do that?!"
Chai Yi exclaimed in shock.
The power was incredible—a single finger could shatter a boulder. Even their master needed both hands to send a Vision-bearer flying. The difference in power was simply too vast!
"Or like this."
Qiu Bai moved his finger again, and an invisible force that neither Chai Yi nor his junior disciple could see Shot across the sea surface, creating enormous waves in its wake, like a spherical projectile skimming the water.
(T/N: Like the story fellow daoist? Read 20 chapters ahead on my P@treon [p@treon.com/DaoistRongyi] Thanks for your support! 😊)