Xu Taiping glanced over and only then noticed that the match list had already been posted.
"That day, I hope Senior Brother Gongsun will give me plenty of guidance."
Xu Taiping, with a calm expression, bowed to Gongsun Sheng.
He thought this was just his opponent coming to greet him in advance.
Gongsun Sheng smiled, then looked at Xu Taiping with a face full of ridicule and said,
"Do you even deserve it?"
Hearing this, Xu Taiping frowned.
He didn't understand why Gongsun Sheng was so hostile towards him.
"Do you know Lu Chen from the Five Peaks?"
Gongsun Sheng asked again.
Hearing the name "Lu Chen," Xu Taiping's brows immediately furrowed.
"I've heard of him, but I don't know him."
"Let me tell you the truth, my former junior brother really dislikes you. So after the match list came out, he specially came to ask me to beat you half to death during the match."
Gongsun Sheng looked at Xu Taiping with a smile.
Hearing that Lu Chen had a grudge against him, Xu Taiping immediately thought of the Liu sisters, Qingmei and Zijin. But upon careful consideration, Lu Chen shouldn't know that the person in the Red Maple Forest that day was him.
Could it be that he has been harboring a grudge against me just because I talked back to him that morning?
Xu Taiping speculated in his heart.
If that's the case, then Lu Chen's pettiness is truly unprecedented.
"Do you mean I should withdraw from the match now?"
Xu Taiping raised his eyes to meet Gongsun Sheng's.
"If you know what's good for you, that's best."
He had finally revealed his true intentions.
The provocation just now was a pretense; the real purpose was to threaten.
Xu Taiping's two matches at the Dragon Gate Assembly, Gongsun Sheng had watched both.
Although he was confident, the opponent's fighting style was extremely draining of true essence, and he didn't want to let Xu Taiping affect his next match, so he came to threaten him in advance.
Even if the threat didn't work, it would at least disrupt his mindset.
Xu Taiping answered very straightforwardly, then turned and walked towards the stage.
This surprised Gongsun Sheng.
"Kid, don't refuse the wine and take the punishment..."
Just as Gongsun Sheng was about to stop Xu Taiping, several whistling sounds suddenly exploded above his head, followed by several figures landing in front of Xu Taiping.
Among the figures, a red-clothed girl quickly stepped towards Xu Taiping.
Xu Taiping was first stunned, then his eyes lit up with joy, "Sister Linglong!"
"Little Taiping, it's been a while."
At this moment, Qingxiao and Ziyi also walked up to Xu Taiping.
"Brother Qingxiao, Sister Ziyi!"
Xu Taiping greeted them happily.
He originally thought that Linglong and the others had forgotten about him, but he didn't expect them to come to welcome him personally today.
"Taiping, don't lose to these scum."
Lin Buyu also walked up to Xu Taiping, turning his head to look at Gongsun Sheng as he spoke.
Gongsun Sheng was about to get angry, but then he saw Dugu Qingxiao flash in front of him.
"Gongsun Sheng, you scum, have you sunk so low that you need to threaten an outer disciple to win?"
Qingxiao stared coldly at Gongsun Sheng.
As he said this, the heavy pressure from his aura felt like a fierce punch, slamming heavily into Gongsun Sheng's chest.
Gongsun Sheng coldly snorted, then glared fiercely at Xu Taiping and said,
With that, he turned and left without looking back.
"Senior Brother Qingxiao, you shouldn't provoke Gongsun Sheng at this time; it's not good for Taiping."
Xu Taiping didn't expect that Senior Sister Ziyi and the others would not only come to welcome him personally but also care about his match.
This long-missed feeling of being remembered by others made him feel a warm sensation in his heart.
"Senior Sister Ziyi, you don't need to worry." He smiled and shook his head at Ziyi, then said, "I won't lose to Gongsun Sheng."
"The match is about to start. Please leave immediately, all irrelevant persons."
At this moment, the examiner's voice, amplified by a sound transmission talisman, echoed again over the Sword Ground.
"Little Taiping, remember, don't overexert yourself during the match. Even if you can't win at the Seven Peaks Assembly, we will find a way to bring you to the Seventh Peak this time."
Seeing the examiner approaching, Zhao Linglong quickly reminded Xu Taiping.
This was the main reason she came down to see him.
Xu Taiping was taken aback by her words.
In fact, during this time, people from various peaks had already approached him through the West Wind Pavilion, but no matter what conditions they offered, none matched Zhao Linglong's promise today.
To Zhao Linglong and the others' surprise, Xu Taiping suddenly smiled and shook his head at them.
Hearing this, Zhao Linglong and Qingxiao were all stunned.
"I will fulfill the promise I made to you and Sister Linglong, win the Seven Peaks Selection, and become a formal disciple of the Seventh Peak."
Xu Taiping looked at Zhao Linglong with a serious expression.
Hearing this, Zhao Linglong and the others stood there in a daze, not knowing what to say.
"You all, leave immediately, the match is about to start!"
At this moment, an examiner came up behind them and sternly scolded them.
"I'm waiting for you, little junior brother."
Qingxiao smiled, patted Xu Taiping's shoulder, then pulled Zhao Linglong and led the way, flying off with their swords.
"That day, I just said it casually, telling him to practice well and participate in the Seven Peaks Selection in three years. I didn't expect him to remember it all this time."
On the flying sword, Zhao Linglong turned to look at the young man behind her and sighed.
"With this determination, even if he doesn't become a cultivator, he will surely achieve something in the future."
Ziyi also commented on Xu Taiping with a serious expression.
Previously, she wasn't very optimistic about Xu Taiping. After all, he was just a skeleton, and she paid more attention to him because of Qingxiao and Zhao Linglong. But at this moment, Xu Taiping's firm gaze made her understand why, after three years, Qingxiao and Zhao Linglong still remembered this young man.
"First match, Xu Taiping versus Gongsun Sheng!"
A moment later, Xu Taiping and Gongsun Sheng successively stepped onto the stage, and the examiner on the stage used a sound transmission talisman to announce their names again.
"Don't think that with Dugu Qingxiao as your backer, I won't dare to kill you. You will regret not withdrawing from the match in advance."
On the stage, Gongsun Sheng rubbed his fists, loosened his muscles, and looked at Xu Taiping with cold eyes.
The threat not working and instead being humiliated, this made him extremely unhappy.