Phoniex Requiem
Chapter 13: Cutting His Way Forward

Chapter 13: Cutting His Way Forward

Yun Ruoyan felt increasingly tired after leaving the large hall.

Although the old madam did not end up listening to the words of Yun Ruoyu and Yi Qianying, she did not punish them either. Clearly, her grandmother did not trust her completely, or she would not call out to her in the middle of the night.

Under the moonlit sky, Yun Ruoyan walked back to her residence. He looked at the silver moon and sighed.

Even his own siblings doubted him.

After all, a weak and useless sister was much easier to accept than a strong opponent who appeared out of nowhere.

There will be two more games to come, and he has to make sure he is really ready, both mentally and physically.

It was at this point that a pleasant male voice spoke from above Yun Ruoyan's head, “Isn't this Yun Ruoyan, who defeated the talented Yun Ruoyao? Why are you sighing like that?”

Yun Ruoyan looked towards that voice. A black-clothed man hung upside down from the ceiling, smiling as he looked towards her.

"Who are you? How did you get in here?"

He looked young, no more than fifteen or sixteen years old. He jumped down from the ceiling and unfurled a gold-tipped folding fan. “No matter who I am, I am only here to see someone who is quite famous during today's opening game.”

Yun Ruoyan did not bother to respond to him. Instead, he turned around and continued walking. “I don't have time to gawk. Sir, if you don't go, I'll call my waiter.”

The young man quickly chased after him. "It won't do you any good even if you call them, because they can't catch me."

"Oh?" Yun Ruoyan's eyes twinkled. "Master, it seems like you are quite confident with your martial skills?"

"Don't be too serious!" The man smiled as he closed his fan once more. “Why didn't you tell me how suddenly your cultivation improved so much? Did you find some kind of rare manual?

Yun Ruoyan was really very tired, and all she wanted to do was return to her residence and rest. "It's late at night, and if you don't leave me alone, sir, I'll come to you myself."

As soon as he said that, the other party retreated in a hurry. “Do not, do! I'm just here trying to find a friend!”

"Friends with the way you steal like that?"

It seemed like the other party wasn't embarrassed enough to keep trying to get him to speak, and he could only watch as Yun Ruoyan walked away. Only then did he scratch his head with the tip of his folding man. "Ah, I think I'm making a mess again."

"Third Prince, will we return now?" In the darkness, a shadow suddenly appeared on the man's side.

"Let's go." Li Qianhan scratched his head. “I want to know why my uncle is so interested in him..”.

After the night break, Yun Ruoyan felt much fresher. In the morning, as she happily ate the white mushroom soup that Peony had made for her, she learned the upcoming fight.

But as he glanced at the next name on the list, he almost spewed out his soup.

Li Wanxi's!

This was the name that had plagued Yun Ruoyan since her childhood!

When she was ten years old, this person had been living in the Yun household for about a month. They were the same age, but as long as he stayed, he did not go a day without laughing at Yun Ruoyan!

And from then on, Li Wanxi had always been close friends with Yun Ruoyao. No doubt, he had heard how Yun Ruoyan defeated Yun Ruoyao yesterday.

Who knew how this girl would try to sneer at him on stage today?

The second half of the competition started very quickly. This time, Yun Ruoyan was wearing a simple yet elegant moon white dress. He walked slowly to the center of the stage, his demeanor graceful.

Opposite him, Li Wanxi stood in a daze.

In the first round, when he saw Yun Ruoyan dressed in fiery red, he was already shocked — Yun Ruoyan whom he remembered was completely unlike the one he saw yesterday.

And he thought that was the limit of Yun Ruoyan's transformation until he saw her appearance today. He really did not believe that the ugly girl he remembered would someday become so.

Even the red birthmark that stained his face seemed to give him an unusual attraction!

Li Wanxi rubbed her temples, forcing herself to remain calm and logical. This was Yun Ruoyan: shy, ugly, and completely useless. No clothes or packaging can hide their true nature!

Li Wanxi was the first to draw his sword. His punch was fierce and deadly, but Yun Ruoyan seemed to dodge everything easily.

“Che, even an ugly magpie like you dared to dream of becoming a phoenix?” Li Wanxi sneered as soon as she dodged one of his punches.

Yun Ruoyan's eyes flashed dangerously.

Li Wanxi was about to open her mouth once more when she suddenly felt a pain in her wrist, and the sword she was holding rattled to the ground. Right after, he took a hard kick to his kneecap, lost his balance, and finally knelt on stage!

“A phoenix will always be a phoenix; no need to dream.” The tip of Yun Ruoyan's sword was located on Li Wanxi's neck. "It is impossible to change one's status, the daughter of the concubine will always remain low."

He was referring not only to Yun Ruoyao, but also to Li Wanxi.

The reason Li Wanxi had stayed behind in the Yun household, however, was because she had been ostracized by the matriarch Li, and that was all her grandfather could do to let her stay while at Yun's place.

After Envoy Ding announced the outcome of the match, Yun Ruoyan gracefully left, leaving Li Wanxi alone on the stage, gritting her teeth.

Yun Ruoyan's third round opponent was Yi Qianying.

Yun Ruoyan looked at her match list, her expression calm and cold. Peony thought that he didn't care who he faced—after all, Yun Ruoyao, Yun Moyuan, Li Wanxi, and Yun Ruoyu had all been defeated in his hands, so other than that very small Yi Qianying?

But, actually, Yun Ruoyan was the only one who knew how happy she was to have Yi Qianying as an opponent.

This series of matches was truly like a gift from heaven. He was worried about how to take revenge, and this was his best chance. Entering Kongming Academy would be a stepping stone to immediately involve himself with the greatest power in the continent. Most of those who managed to get into Kongming Academy would become legends in their own right, whereas those who failed were relegated to meaningless lives, just like Yun Ruoyan in the past.

And since the heavens had seen fit to give him such an opportunity, he himself would cut off Yi Qianying's future.

The day of the competition, everything went smoothly as Yun Ruoyan had expected.

Yi Qianying glanced at the sharp blade, not a few centimeters from her neck, her eyes filled with panic. He calmed his nerves before forcing a faint smile. "Sister, you won."

Yun Ruoyan's face was expressionless, her gaze showing a half-hidden fury. He was the only one who knew how much restraint he had to put in to stop himself killing Yi Qianying on the spot!

"Sister? What's wrong?" Yi Qianying's slender face seemed to be filled with worry.

If not for the fact that he knew what kind of person Yi Qianying was, Yun Ruoyan would have long been deceived by this face.

"There's nothing." Yun Ruoyan sheathed her sword.

He closed his eyes. When he opened it again, his anger had disappeared entirely, and all that was left was a layer of calm.