Zhou Gu seemed to be somewhat disbelieving of what he had heard, and repeated the question to the examiner.
"Xu Taiping, what's the matter?"
The examiner looked at Zhou Gu with some confusion.
Zuo Ke and Zhou Gu exchanged a shocked glance.
"Brother Zuo, Brother Zhou, could it be that you two know this young man?"
The examiner looked at the two with curiosity.
"No, no, we don't really know him, he was just in the area we were patrolling earlier."
Zhou Gu smiled to cover up his words.
"That counts as some connection. You two should consider getting closer to this young man. If he wins the next round, he could very well become the youngest cultivator to reach the Dragon Gate Meeting from our West Wind Pavilion in a hundred years. He will definitely be given important responsibilities then."
The examiner smiled at the two.
"Brother Liu is absolutely right."
Zhou Gu and Zuo Ke nodded with a forced smile, but a fierce look appeared in their eyes.
West Wind Pavilion's Qingxin Hall.
This place had been temporarily converted into a rest area for the outer sect cultivators who had come to participate in the competition.
"It's him, although he's grown taller, it's definitely him!"
In a secluded corridor, Zuo Ke pointed to a young man sitting in a pavilion by the pond, drinking tea, and said with certainty.
The young man drinking tea in the pavilion was none other than Xu Taiping.
"Brother, the two of us were ruined by him last time, losing our good positions in the Fierce Wind Hall and ending up in this state. We can't let this grudge go unavenged!"
Zhou Gu said to Zuo Ke, somewhat agitated.
"Don't be impulsive. Although the Four Mountains Meeting is held at the West Wind Pavilion, there are mountain patrol mirrors monitoring everything. If we're caught by the patrol mirrors, we won't be able to stay on Yunlu Mountain."
Zuo Ke glared at Zhou Gu.
"But Brother, if this kid really wins the Four Mountains Meeting, he will definitely enter the West Wind Pavilion. How will we deal with him then?"
Zhou Gu said with some resentment.
"Winning the Four Mountains Meeting isn't that easy."
Cheating in the Seven Peaks Selection would result in expulsion, and he wasn't ready to take that risk.
"This kid could have won Sun Hu because he might have received guidance from Uncle Nine. With Uncle Nine's guidance, winning isn't difficult."
Hearing this, even the relatively steady Zuo Ke was swayed.
"Brother, I have a plan."
Seeing Zuo Ke's wavering expression, Zhou Gu stepped forward and whispered in his ear:
"The next round will still be decided by drawing lots. I know the disciple responsible for the draw. We can make some adjustments and arrange a match for this kid that he can't win. This way, he'll be stopped at this round and will have to stay at the foot of the mountain for another three years, and then we can control him as we please."
Hearing this, Zuo Ke's eyebrows raised, clearly tempted.
"Who do you think would be a suitable opponent for him?"
Zhou Gu said with a cunning smile.
Hearing this name, Zuo Ke's eyes lit up.
"Brother, don't worry. The people on the mountain don't pay much attention to the Dragon Gate Meeting, let alone a small Four Mountains Meeting of the West Wind Pavilion."
Seeing Zuo Ke still hesitating, Zhou Gu added:
"Besides, the people on the mountain rarely pay attention to the earlier rounds of the competition. There are too many participants to keep track of, and the matches are not very interesting, just a bunch of martial artists competing in martial arts, which they don't find appealing."
"Even if you're worried about his connection with Uncle Nine and Bai Hong, there's no need. The Pavilion Master investigated and found that this kid has no background. Uncle Nine's visit to the Green Bamboo Residence was purely coincidental."
"Moreover, Uncle Nine and Bai Hong are in a difficult situation now, and it's uncertain whether they can return from the Northern Border!"
Hearing these last two sentences, Zuo Ke finally made up his mind and nodded secretly.
"Alright, our luck can't be that bad."
In his view, there were thousands of matches in the Four Mountains Meeting, and the people on the mountain wouldn't pay attention to such an insignificant match, so the chances of them being caught were very low.
After making the decision, the two left the Qingxin Hall to find the disciple responsible for the draw.
However, they didn't know that although they were separated from Xu Taiping by a small pond, their conversation was heard clearly by Fairy Lingyue.
Fairy Lingyue then relayed their conversation to Xu Taiping word for word.
"Do you want to think of a way to expose their plan?"
Fairy Lingyue was very curious about Xu Taiping's thoughts at this moment.
Xu Taiping shook his head.
He finished his tea in one gulp, then stood up and said:
"My goal is the Seven Peaks Meeting. If I can't even defeat Qin Yuan, exposing them would be meaningless."
Besides, after spending three years at the foot of the mountain, Xu Taiping knew that as a cultivator with no background, even if he reported to the West Wind Pavilion, no one would pay attention, and he might even be accused of false accusations.
So it was better to shut them up with his fists on the stage.
The brief rest period ended.
The cultivators who had advanced gathered back at the martial arts arena.
Many who had been eliminated also stayed to watch, and the arena was once again crowded.
"Xu Taiping's opponent is Qin Yuan?"
"The kid's luck is really bad!"
"Judging by the kid's strength, if he hadn't met Qin Yuan, he would definitely have made it to the Dragon Gate Meeting."
After the draw was completed, a noisy discussion broke out in the arena.
Because of Xu Taiping's impressive performance in the previous round, many people had gathered around his stage.
When the examiner announced that Xu Taiping's opponent was Qin Yuan, some people gloated, while others felt sorry for him.
"I didn't expect those two to actually pull it off."
Xu Taiping himself remained calm, but he was curious about how they managed to do it.