A Half Breed in the Yin-Yang Sect

As Xiao Yunxi led Bai Shuying away from the hustle and bustle in the main lobby of the Combat Hall into a side corridor to the duelists' antechamber, their footsteps echoed against the stone walls. Bai Shuying looked at Xiao Yunxi's small back curiously.

Now that I think about it, what is Yunxi's identity? She has a lot of information and knows her way through the Combat Hall.

While Bai Shuying was lost in her thoughts.

Leagues away, Hua Xiran bent over her desk, her brush moved rapidly, gliding across the parchment in tireless strokes. The blank parchment was filled with black text, consuming most of the surface. After Hua Xiran finished, she would dry the ink by using her Yang Qi lightly, then levitate the parchment, laying it onto a large pile of black parchments near her.

Scratch! Scratch! Slurp! Scratch! Scratch! Slurp! Scratch! Slurp!

Hua Xiran frowned; there was an odd sound mixed in with her usual working rhythm.

Thud!

Hua Xiran slammed the brush on the table, near the parchment, and turned her frustrated gaze to the side.

"Mother, can you please stop slurping your tea?"

Hearing Hua Xiran's frustrated voice, she paused, setting her cup half filled with tea down on the low table, her cheeks inflated into a pout, and she looked at Hua Xiran and said.

"Xiran, I am bored! How long are you going to take to finish?"

Hua Xiran's brow twitched. It was not like she enjoyed doing paperwork. She leaned back in her chair, sighed, and said.

"I'm almost done, and the match does not begin until I arrive at the arena anyway."

Hua Xiran shamelessly invoked her authority as the Yin-Yang Sect Master. Hua Qingyan nodded her head in satisfaction, impressed by her daughter.

In the center of the room, a pink mist manifested, growing large into the form of a woman. 

The pink mist dispersed, revealing a tall, lean middle-aged woman whose light red eyes were sharp, giving her an intimidating aura. She lowered her head slightly in a bow and said.

"Greetings, Sect Master."

Hua Xiran turned her attention and asked the woman.

"Huan Yi, are all the preparations finished?"

"Yes, we completed everything as you instructed."

The woman who appeared is Huan Yi, the Inner Elder in charge of the Law Enforcement Pavilion. Hua Qingyan stood up in excitement, attracting the attention of the two, and said.

"Xiran, Xiao Yi, let's go and watch Shuying beat Mo Xingyu's brat."

Huan Yi curiously turned her attention to the woman in her late twenties with glossy silver hair and emerald eyes.

"Um, who are you?"

Hua Qingyan was stunned for a moment and touched her cheek.

"Oh my, Xiao Yi, do you not recognize me? Hehehe, well, I don't blame you, I became more beautiful!"

Hua Xiran rolled her eyes at her mother showing off her new appearance. Huan Yi observed the woman, but after hearing her speak, Huan Yi's eyes widened and her jaw dropped.

"G-grand Elder Hua?!"

Huan Yi was shocked. The Elder Hua she knew was an old woman with dull silver hair and wrinkles on her face.

Hua Qingyan, Mo Xingyu, and her Luxuria faction were from an older generation, while Hua Xiran, Huan Yi, and the new faction were a generation after them. Su Meilin, Bai Shuying, and all the new disciples were the youngest and newest generation.

Hua Qingyan was an Elder who had contact with Hua Xiran's faction. After all, with Huan Yi's reputation of being a cold torturer, who dared to call her Xiao Yi except this kind Elder Hua? To Elder Hua, Huan Yi was still that mischievous little girl who stole vegetables from her garden.

"Hmm, Xiao Yi, what's with the title? Just call me Elder Hua like you did when you were young."

Hua Qingyan narrowed her eyes at Huan Yi. Huan Yi was embarrassed; after all, this was an Elder who knew her embarrassing secrets and her dark history when she was young. Huan Yi looked at Elder Hua, but hesitated; she felt it was odd to call a woman with a young appearance Elder. Since Elder Hua and the Sect Master stood side by side, they looked like siblings rather than mother and daughter.

Hua Qingyan looked eagerly at Huan Yi, waiting for her response. Huan Yi, feeling the pressure continue to increase, lowered her head and softly said.

"Elder Hua."

Hua Qingyan smiled brightly and patted Huan Yi on her head. Huan Yi froze, but a smile appeared on her face that was hard to see. If people saw her like this, they would be shocked. Who was Huan Yi? The Elder in charge of the Law Enforcement pavilion! A brutal, cold woman who deterred and made people think twice about committing a crime.

Since Hua Xiran appointed her as the Elder in charge of the Law Enforcement Pavilion, the number of cases about people being drained to death had dramatically declined! To the lowest it has been in years.

Hua Xiran smiled.

Thinking back to her fond memories when she was a child, surrounded by her friends playing in her mother's garden. Hua Xiran sighed.

Years passed, and now we are all old.

"Wait, Elder Hua, how did you become young?"

Huan Yi turned her gaze up to Hua Qingyan and curiously asked.

Hua Qingyan's hand froze, a red blush appeared on her face, and she said.

"Well, you know."

"Know what?"

"You know."

Huan Yi was confused.

I'm asking you because I don't know, but you keep saying I know!

Huan Yi felt her head about to burst from playing mental gymnastics with Hua Qingyan.

"She got a new partner."

Hua Xiran calmly chimed in, afraid her mother would break Huan Yi's mind with her nonsense.

"Oh, a new part… Wait, what?!"

Huan Yi was shocked and took a closer look at Elder Hua. Seeing the blush on her face and her giving off a fresh, young girl in spring vibe, Huan Yi started to doubt the world and blurted out without much thought.

"What young grass did you devour?"

Silence.

Hua Qingyan's face became dark. While Hua Xiran tried to suppress the laughter that was going to come out of her mouth. Huan Yi realized what she said, gulped, and covered her mouth with both her hands.

Hua Qingyan snorted with displeasure.

"What, eating young grass? To her, it's drinking finely aged wine."

Hua Xiran was stunned.

I don't think Shuying wanted to drink Qingyan wine.

Hua Xiran thought in her mind, but dared not say it out loud.

Huan Yi felt another explosion go off in her mind and hesitantly said.

"W-wait, you said her, s-so is this new partner a woman?"

"Ops."

Hua Qingyan stuck out her tongue as if she let the cat out of the bag by accident. Hua Xiran face-palmed herself, knowing her mother did all this on purpose.

"Okay, let's go to the arena."

Hua Xiran waved her hand, headed out of the office towards the Combat Hall, followed by Hua Qingyan, who pushed the back of the dazed Huan Yi.

…

The duelists' waiting chamber was a solemn, windowless space of polished stone and warm torchlight. Neat weapon racks displayed gleaming blades alongside fresh practice dummies, while a long sandalwood bench bore only the faintest marks of previous occupants. In one corner stood a full-length silver mirror, its surface flawlessly clear. The vaulted ceiling's decorative ironwork allowed disciplined cheers to filter down from the arena above. Every surface smelled of citrus oil and fresh linen, with only the faintest hint of steel beneath the cleansing incense.

Bai Shuying sat on the sandalwood bench, her hands resting on her lap, and she nervously gazed around the room. She could hear the sound of the crowd, but it was mostly drowned out by the rapid beating of her heart. Bai Shuying tried to calm herself down.

Calm down, Shuying! Remember, you have a great record! No defeats!

The record Bai Shuying took pride in was her three wins and zero losses, but if anyone closely examined this record, they would find it highly questionable.

Bai Shuying did not count the losses she received from Hua Xiran and Su Meilin since those were spars, not an actual duel. While her three wins, one was an alchemy duel, not combat-related at all, and the last two wins are not so great. After all, against the two Qi condensation realm disciples of the Heavenly Sword Sect, Bai Shuying used the element of surprise and a dagger coated with an unknown poison to secure a victory.

In the Martial Heaven Continent, the inhabitants all agree on one thing: people with great martial prowess are highly respected, while those who do not are looked down upon. In public, the disciples of the Five Poison Sect are insulted, unlike the revered Purple Cauldron Sect. 

Poison users are known as shameless, weak, and any other negative adjective you can think of. If Bai Shuying told people she won by using poison, they would look at her with disdain while Bai Shuying would laugh, responding with I'm alive, but the other guy ain't. 

Bai Shuying was not tied down by honour and pride, with the mentality of a modern person, a victory is a victory, no matter how it was achieved, especially if it was a life and death struggle.

Honestly, all four great demonic sects would commend her on such a perspective. What a great way for a demonic sect disciple!

As Bai Shuying pumped herself up, the door to the waiting room creaked open, and a young man with a sharp nose wearing pinkish robes stepped into the room.

Tsk, Tsk, No wonder people don't respect the men of the Yin-Yang Sect, their so effeminate.

Bai Shuying believed herself to be a man among men, at least, in her previous life. Now that she had lost her mighty spear, she toyed with the idea of becoming the strongest woman under the heavens. Above the heavens was a grand goal she wanted to start with smaller steps.

Xiao Wuji turned his gaze to Bai Shuying and was confused, since it was their first meeting, he did not understand why her eyes showed such displeasure towards him.

If Xiao Wuji knew Bai Shuying believed she was more manly than himself, he would spit out some blood.