Chapter 133-1: Wasted Effort

Han Xuhan's eyes snapped open in surprise, which barely lasted half a second because almost instantly the force field of the second shredder device disappeared and the two of them fell down into the chaotic seawater once more.

After accidentally gulping down a good mouthful, Han Xuhan managed to stabilise himself and Shangguang Ce against the third wall. Looking up, he saw a familiar face intensely observing him.

Brown hair, typical Asian facial structure, atypical way to display affection and gratitude. . .miss Hong Wei had never looked more attractive than right now.

"Take my hand," she said as she bent downward.

"In marriage?" Han Xuhan asked in a daze.

Hong Wei's intense, glowering expression turned somewhat red. . .wait, that wasn't supposed to happen. She was supposed to yell 'Baka!' and punch him in the face, which in hindsight would have been a more relieving response compared to her original reaction.

Did I accidentally become a white knight in this girl's heart?

What a massive ego boost! Oh Yeah!

It felt pretty fucking good for some reason, even though he used to hate white knights in xianxia stories passionately. Maybe he'd just hated it because it wasn't himself inside the story getting all chummy with jade beauties.


While his thoughts nose-dived in a direction that would most certainly piss off 90 percent of veteran xianxia readers, Hong Wei's faint blush disappeared.

"I'll drown you," she said, back to her original aggressive persona.

"Calm down, girl. You can drain me all you want-"

"I SAID I'LL DROWN YOU!"

"In love? I'm in!"

Before she could follow up on her furious declaration, Han Xuhan grabbed her hand. With his other hand, he dragged the severely damaged remains of Shangguang Ce through the water and used the body to shield himself from any possible attacks, just in case.


"I thought you were under the impression that I'm a man," she said while pulling the two of them up.

"As long as you keep making such timely appearances to save me, that's not going to be a factor." Han Xuhan grinned 'devilishly'.

A creepy smile formed on Hong Wei's face.
"So if I do ever turn into a guy. . . .you're saying..."

Han Xuhan suddenly recalled all those gender-bender plots and felt a shiver crawling down his spine.

He decided not to stoke the fire of passion between them anymore and edged away from the two martial siblings, wary of Shangguang Ce's next round of tribulation bolts.

Hong Wei, for some reason, appeared totally unafraid, as if she was unaware of the fact that two cultivators pursuing similar dao would be screwed by the tribulation if they were in close proximity to each other.

She knelt down over Shangguang Ce's mutilated body and fed him a small pill, an action that made Han Xuhan's eyes go wide in shock.

Wasn't that. . .forbidden? You couldn't rely on medicine during a breakthrough! No direct external help could be granted to a practitioner in that state or it would spell his doom!

Hong Wei seemed to notice his shock and her creepy smirk became even more prominent.

"Hey girl, where are your elders? Isn't anyone going to oversee his breakthrough?" Han Xuhan asked, finding the situation more and more bizarre with every passing second.

"I need not interfere in a matter so flimsy," said a gravelly voice from behind, making Han Xuhan yelp and turn around.

A lone man stood not far away from where he had been sitting. It was unknown when this stranger had appeared, but Han Xuhan hadn't noticed the slightest change in the qi flow in his surroundings this whole time. . .and that basically spelt that this elder was a really big fish, the sort that could compare with Kong Ye at least.

"Uh- greetings, respected elder from the Sunrider Sect. I'm Xu Qin-"

Han Xuhan's sincere introduction came to a halt as the elder raised one hand in the air gesturing for him to shut up.

"It matters not what your identity is. While we do not approve of uninvited intruders, you're a benefactor of our sect since you've tried your best to save our disciple. We shall overlook your initial crimes and welcome you cordially. . .but the tournament still is in continuation. So forgive our inability to be a sincere host to our benefactor."

The elder's style of speaking was borderline obsolete, but the contents of his speech brought Han Xuhan such relief that he found the dialect to be music to his ears.

"This one thanks you, elder," he said with a polite nod.
"It was honestly the most painful feat of my life. The tribulation bolts are too scary. And that reminds me, shouldn't brother Ce be taken to a safe zone to complete his breakthrough?" Han Xuhan gestured emphatically at the raging sea waves crashing right at the bottom of their feet, the seawater level already close to reaching the top of the third wall.

His worried tone did not move the elder, which was apparent from his reply.

"What tribulation?"

". . ."

Behind him, Hong Wei started snickering loudly.

"But. . .the lightning bolts. . ." he muttered in a daze.

"Just another type of disaster that's included in the tournament." The elder's answer was as cold as his heart was becoming.

Slowly, Han Xuhan turned around and faced Shangguang Ce and Hong Wei.

The mutilated body of his friend had sat up at some point when he wasn't looking. Shangguang Ce grinned hideously as their eyes met.

"I must say, brother Qing, that was very kind of you. Sharing the trial of our sect in the tournament despite not knowing us at all? That takes something special inside."