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Yun Jianyue immediately cursed Mount Luofu’s Elder Xu loudly. Elder Xu didn’t want to be outdone, so the two immediately began to berate each other.
When had the disciples ever seen such a thing? It was just like students encountering teachers fighting. They all watched with great interest.
Meanwhile, the sect masters had strange expressions. They had already known about the temper of Emptiness Isle’s Elder Peng for some time. Now, it seemed that was indeed the case.
Yun Jianyue was getting more and more worked up. It was one thing for Qiu Honglei, seeing as she didn’t have too much experience in such a situation, but who was she? She was the Devil Sect Master who had walked through mountains of corpses and seas of blood! Even if her identity got exposed, who could keep her here? Even though she couldn't win against them if they joined hands, with her cultivation, she could still get away without a problem.
As for Qiu Honglei, she wouldn’t be able to get away, but Yun Jianyue didn’t believe that they would make things difficult for her. Otherwise, these sect masters had their own wives and children back at home, right? Even though someone like Wang Wuxie didn’t have wives or kids, he had his precious disciple. Furthermore, the Righteous Sun Sect was so large. If Yun Jianyue really went crazy, it would all go to the afterlife with her. As such, she had nothing to fear at all, let alone considering the fact that their side hadn’t even done anything wrong this time.
Mount Luofu’s Elder Xu discovered in disappointment that he couldn't beat his opponent’s argument. He gave Wang Wuxie a look and requested help, asking, “Sect Master Wang, you need to uphold justice for the seriously wounded disciple below!”
Wang Wuxie, who had just been watching the show with great relish, froze up. But he quickly nodded and looked at the other sects, asking, “What does everyone else think of matter?”
Guan Chouhai, Wan Tongtian, and the others cursed him for being an old fox. He had tossed a hot potato straight to them. No matter which side they stood up for in such a situation, they would end up offending one side!
Even though Mount Luofu and Emptiness Isle were both near the bottom in terms of rank, so the other sects weren’t too scared of offending them, speaking up would just be adding an enemy for themselves where there was no reason for them to get involved in the first place. As such, they all looked away, waiting for someone else to be the first to speak. Only then would they try to smooth things over. That way, they wouldn’t offend anyone and everyone would be happy.
Unfortunately, all of them were smart, and none of them wanted to be the idiot who began this conversation. As for Yan Xuehen, she was rather cold to begin with. No one even considered that she would say anything from the start.
When it seemed almost as if the awkward silence was going to persist indefinitely, Zu An called out in a frivolous tone, “If I recall correctly, the rules were that you couldn't kill on purpose, nor were you allowed to cripple someone. That little bro down there might be injured, but there’s no danger to his life, and he’ll be as good as new after resting for a while. We can’t really call that crippling him, no?
“If your Mount Luofu is willing to take out some treatment medicine, he might even be able to participate in the latter half of this competition. That’s why Emptiness Isle’s Lady Peng here didn’t violate any rules, in my opinion.”
The onlookers had strange expressions. They hadn’t expected it to be this brat who would take the hit! But that was fine too, because his opinion was actually in line with what they were all thinking. However, if they had said so, they would end up offending Mount Luofu. Now, all of Mount Luofu’s hatred was focused on this kid instead.
Yan Xuehen reflexively glanced at Peng Wuyan. Hmph, her appearance is less than impressive, so I don’t think Zu An is doing this out of lustful intentions.
This kid is actually pretty righteous, hm?
Qiu Honglei, who had felt a bit restless, was now happy. I didn’t expect Ah Zu to still help me even though I look like this! Is this the sign of two hearts beating as one? He still cares about me after all!
Even Yun Jianyue became a bit absent-minded. After so many years, she had already gotten used to always being the one to deal with everything herself and having to shield others. That was why she hadn’t held back at all as she berated Elder Xu. She had even been prepared to unleash a great slaughter upon Violet Mountain. But now, a man had suddenly helped her take on a share of her burden. Such a feeling really wasn’t bad…
Pah pah pah! What am I thinking right now? He doesn’t even know who we are, and Honglei looks like that right now. This perverted guy clearly isn’t doing this for the sake of beauty, but to uphold justice.
If our Devil Sect’s witch ends up with a man full of righteousness, won’t we become a total laughingstock…
Elder Xu shouted, “What does someone without an ounce of cultivation like you know?!”
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Their disciple could perhaps be able to continue fighting with treatment, but what meaning would there be left? After being forced to forfeit so many rounds, there was already no chance of him obtaining a slot in the competition.
This disciple was a candidate Mount Luofu cared quite a bit about, too. They had initially wanted to see whether they could use the chance to get another slot. Now that they had lost the opportunity, Mount Luofu was naturally unhappy.
Zu An’s expression grew cold as he replied, “I am the court’s Imperial Envoy. Can I interpret this as you looking down on the court?”
Elder Xu’s expression changed. Even though Mount Luofu was long-established in terms of history, its strength was far from that of the court. How could they dare to offend them? He could only reply, “Hmph, this is a competition between our daoist sects, part of our internal affairs. Why are you bringing in the court?”
Zu An shrugged and replied, “Because I am a judge, and I am also the Imperial Envoy. Similarly, Sect Master Wang is the host, but he is also the State Teacher.”
Wang Wuxie hadn’t expected to be dragged into this battle. Zu An’s implication was clear: Both of them were working for the court, so they had to stand on the same front.
Even though he was unhappy, he could only helplessly accept this reality. He coughed and was  about to smooth things over when Yan Xuehen suddenly said, “I feel that what Sir Zu said is reasonable. Even though this disciple’s injuries are serious, it has not reached the level of permanent damage. Furthermore, Emptiness Isle’s Lady Peng was only acting out of consideration for the following competition. Being a bit swifter in defeating her opponent than usual is pardonable.”
Yan Xuehen’s prestige was very high. When she spoke up, the others quickly chimed in as well.
Wang Wuxie was stunned. Is this still the Yan Xuehen I know?
When did the woman who was as arrogant and cold as a frozen mountain suddenly become so warmhearted and understanding?
Something is strange!
Unfortunately, he couldn't figure out what was wrong no matter how he thought about it, so he could only deal with the problem right in front of him for the time being. He was worried that Mount Luofu would direct their anger at Yan Xuehen, so he spoke up to console Elder Xu. At the same time, he used his identity to bring out a bottle of medicine for that disciple’s injury. Only then did he barely appease Mount Luofu’s dissatisfaction.
When Qiu Honglei returned to her camp, she secretly told Yun Jianyue, “Master, I think Sect Master Yan is actually a pretty good person.”
“Hmph, she always puts on that fake and superficial air of self-righteousness. It’s nothing more than an attempt to bribe the hearts of others,” Yun Jianyue said with a hint of envy when she saw how enthusiastically those sect masters treated Yan Xuehen.
Master, you’re just jealous… Qiu Honglei thought. She opened her mouth, but she was worried that she would be beaten, so in the end, she didn’t say anything.
…
Then, the groups continued their fights. With that pitiful contestant from Mount Luofu as an example, almost no one challenged the representative disciples again; instead, they tried to win a few more fights against others to get the best chance of seizing the number two spot.
Zhao Xiaodie was one of them. She was unlucky enough to have ended up in the same group as Wu Xiaofan, so she sensibly admitted defeat. However, she didn’t hold back against anyone else, always dispatching her opponents cleanly and swiftly. Most of the time, her Rainbow Butterfly Steps were enough to defeat her opponents. Against the stronger ones, once she brought out her poison, her opponents often had no choice but to concede. Of course, right after her victory was decided, she quickly provided the antidote, so there were no debates about fairness the way there had been with Qiu Honglei.
Because she had felt ill at ease, she had previously stayed inside and rarely left. As such, this was the first time the other disciples had seen her. They were all surprised by her beautiful appearance, making her resemble a colorful butterfly. Furthermore, because she was really strong and had only lost to Wu Xiaofan, she had become even more popular.
Many people began to privately ask about who this beautiful woman was. When they learned that she was actually King Qi’s daughter, quite a few men’s eyes began to shine. The look in their eyes was a sort of ‘I don’t want to work hard anymore’ expression. For all sorts of reasons, she had become a goddess on the same level as Chu Chuyan and Pei Mianman in this competition.
Zhao Xiaodie definitely noticed the enthusiastic expressions. At any other time, she would have felt extremely proud of herself, but she didn’t care about any of it at all. She only glanced toward a certain figure on the stage from time to time.
“There’s definitely a scandal here!” Yun Jianyue suddenly remarked with a snort.
“What scandal?” Qiu Honglei exclaimed, jumping in fright.
Yun Jianyue nudged her chin toward the butterfly-like woman and said, “Something has definitely happened between Zu An and that woman. Look at that resentful expression; it’s full of strong feelings of love and hate.”
“Really? Why can’t I see anything?” Qiu Honglei replied, giving her a doubtful look. She continued, “Master, I’ve discovered that ever since you came back from the Fiend races’ territory, you’ve become an expert at romance.”
Yun Jianyue was alarmed. She replied without batting an eyelid, “I was the one who taught you those charm skills. What’s so strange about me knowing about these things?”
“Is that so?” Qiu Honglei replied skeptically.
Meanwhile, Yan Xuehen also had doubts. She had also keenly sensed the way Zhao Xiaodie looked at Zu An. She thought, Wasn’t King Qi’s relationship with Zu An bad? The two of them even had some conflict when they were at King Yan Manor last time…
…
Meanwhile, Zu An’s attention was completely focused on Pei Mianman. Big Manman won several victories in a row. Unfortunately, she was about to face another opponent who was on a win streak: Heavenly Sorrow Sect’s Zhi Yin!