Chapter 75: Lottery Draw (2)
“Alright, the lottery draw ceremony will now begin. Sects that are called will send representatives up to draw. Those watching are strictly forbidden from making noise.”
Steward Cai issued a warning, then took out the roster and began calling names. Beside him were two disciples specifically responsible for the draws.
“Changhe Sect… Longchang Sect…”
Steward Cai started calling names. Sects that were called would send a representative to draw. Since the bamboo slips only had numbers and the order was randomized, the plaza was relatively calm at first, as no one knew who their opponent would be.
“Please, Heavenly Dao! Please draw a weaker sect!” Yun Fei prayed.
“Second Senior Sister, didn’t you say you wanted to avenge Junior Sister? Why are you chickening out?” Shen Yuan shamelessly exposed her.
“Uh…” Yun Fei’s expression instantly became awkward. She thought on her feet and said, “What do you know? It’s precisely because I want to avenge Junior Sister that I need to conserve my strength in advance.”
“You’re afraid you’ll be eliminated before you even meet those people!” The sharp-tongued Su Qing suddenly chimed in.
“If you don’t speak, no one will think you’re mute!” Yun Fei’s eyebrows shot up in anger.
“Don’t argue. With me here, it doesn’t matter who we draw,” Qi Huang quickly intervened to comfort them.
“But you have to give us a chance to perform too, otherwise, this trip would be for nothing!” Ruan Lingyu was a bit anxious.
“Don’t worry, it’s just about revenge. I guarantee your wishes will be fulfilled then,” Qi Huang said confidently.
“Jinliu Sect!”
At this moment, Steward Cai above shouted out a sect’s name.
“Oh? Jinliu Sect is here too? This isn’t the Evergreen Convention, this is a gathering of enemies!” Qi Huang showed a satisfied smile. “Good, I’ll take this opportunity to settle old and new scores together, saving me the trouble of finding another excuse to deal with them later.”
“I will resolve my own grudges. Remember what I said, unless I fall, you are not allowed to make a move,” Cheng Hong Ling beside her warned seriously again. Whether it was for dignity or some other reason, no one could guess.
“Uh… You don’t have to be so stubborn!” Qi Huang complained unwillingly. She really didn’t want to see the main body get hurt again. The other senior sisters also exchanged glances.
“I’ve said what I needed to say. If you dare to interfere beforehand, I’ll… I’ll release Cheng Ling and turn you into a woman permanently,” Cheng Hong Ling threatened via Mind Transmission, clearly “losing it.”
“You don’t have to be so brutal!” Qi Huang shivered inwardly and quickly changed her tune, “No problem! You are the main body, you call the shots.”
“Hmph!” Cheng Hong Ling let out a satisfied cold snort.
Qi Huang found it both amusing and exasperating. But just then, her external Spiritual Sense suddenly felt a domineering Spiritual Sense charging over, and it unceremoniously collided with the main body’s Spiritual Sense shield.
“Hmm?” Qi Huang was stunned. She hadn’t expected anyone to dare to probe others with their Spiritual Sense at an Immortal Alliance branch. She looked towards the source and saw a sturdy young man. He looked unremarkable, neither tall nor handsome. The only noticeable feature was the clone mark between his eyebrows.
Indeed, this person was Lü Er, the Heavenly Soul Clone of Lü Yi, the foremost Immortal Seed of the Mighty Domain Empire. He had been observing Cheng Hong Ling and Qi Huang nearby. as time passed, he began to lose control of his desires, and decided to spy on them first to satisfy his lust. To his surprise, he hit a wall.
“Eh? Isn’t this woman only at Layer 2 of the Huashen Realm?” Lü Er also showed a look of surprise. He had used at least Layer 3 of the Huashen Realm’s Spiritual Sense strength, so he never expected her to be able to defend against it, and moreover, to be caught red-handed by her clone.
Lü Er looked at Qi Huang. He didn’t feel guilty because of this; instead, he displayed a provocative smile.
“Where did this impudent fellow come from!” Qi Huang frowned slightly. She didn’t know if this guy was ignorant of the Immortal Alliance’s rules or overly confident, daring to act so recklessly in such a situation.
Seeing Qi Huang’s alluring and slightly coquettish expression, Lü Er felt an even greater urge. He decided to give up on Cheng Hong Ling and directly control his Spiritual Sense to charge towards Qi Huang, thinking, “If I can’t see the main body, then I’ll look at the clone; it’s all the same!”
“Crazy person!” Qi Huang rolled her eyes. She thought to herself, if you can break through my Spiritual Sense shield at the Peak of the Huashen Realm, then I don’t mind letting you have a peek.
As expected, Lü Er quickly found himself dumbfounded. His Spiritual Sense hit a wall again, blocked by the shield Qi Huang had set up beforehand.
‘This is impossible! How can a mere clone block Spiritual Sense at Layer 3 of the Huashen Realm?’ Lü Er’s expression completely fell apart, and the杂念 in his mind receded like a tide.
‘Could she be hiding her strength?’ Lü Er subconsciously thought this, and his eyes instantly lit up. If this woman’s strength was more than Layer 2 of the Huashen Realm, coupled with her exquisite beauty, she would be a true heavenly prodigy, perfectly suitable to be his main wife.
Seeing his expression, Qi Huang knew this guy must have become suspicious. She took out a Talisman from her Storage Ring and shook it as if to show off. This type of talisman was called a “Body Protection Talisman.” Unlike “Body Guard Talismans” that contained Yang Energy, it contained Spiritual Sense infused by a cultivator. Once crushed, it would form a Spiritual Sense shield around the user, defending against indecent people’s peeping, and was thus highly favored by female cultivators in the Cultivation World.
‘So it’s a Body Protection Talisman! No wonder!’ Lü Er suddenly realized. After all, it wasn’t uncommon in the Cultivation World for female cultivators to buy Body Protection Talismans to guard against perverts peeping.
‘This Cheng Hong Ling is not a Descendant of Immortals. To reach Layer 2 of the Huashen Realm at this age is already a miracle. Moreover, she is the pillar of the HongHua Sect; she has to do everything herself. Where would she have the space to hide her strength? I was really overestimating her!’ After figuring everything out, Lü Er felt a bit disappointed. After all, conquering a mere vase wouldn’t bring much sense of accomplishment. He then withdrew his Spiritual Sense.
Qi Huang put the talisman back into her Storage Ring and revealed a foxy smile. She had obtained this Body Protection Talisman by chance. The strength of the Spiritual Sense contained within was only at the level of the Guiyi Realm. She hadn’t expected it to be so useful at such a crucial moment. The other party had been thoroughly fooled by her.
Qi Huang withdrew her gaze, but she remained somewhat cautious. A clone’s Spiritual Sense reached Layer 3 of the Huashen Realm; how strong must the main body be? It seemed the Evergreen Convention in Yongning Prefecture truly had hidden dragons and crouching tigers. As for Cheng Hong Ling, she wasn’t projecting her Spiritual Sense at the moment and thus knew nothing of what had happened.
“HongHua Sect!”
A moment later, Steward Cai above finally called out the HongHua Sect. Qin Quan, as the Sect Leader, naturally stepped forward to represent the HongHua Sect and draw. The result was number “Fifty,” meaning their opponent would be number fifty-one.
“Who is number fifty-one?”
“It seems no one has drawn it yet!”
“That’s not right, but I seem to recall Steward Cai mentioning it earlier?”
“Really? Then I really hope it’s not those people from the Donglai Sect. We can’t beat them, and we have no grudge against them, so I don’t even have a chance for a flashback.”
…
Several senior sisters whispered amongst themselves.
“Shush, shut up!” Xu Mei quickly reprimanded them.
Qi Huang still looked indifferent. She had no interest in knowing who her opponent was right now. Her only interest was in thinking about how to send her opponent back home in a sufficiently imposing manner.
“Lü Er!”
After a while, Steward Cai called out a name. As soon as his voice fell, the entire place became deathly silent. Qi Huang was also somewhat confused, so she looked around. Soon, she saw the sturdy young man who had used his Spiritual Sense to spy on her and the main body walking up.
“Lü Er? Is that the name of a sect?”
“Steward Cai didn’t add ‘Sect’ after his name. This is clearly a person’s name. Could he be participating in the Evergreen Convention alone?”
“No way! Who would be so foolish as to seek abuse by himself when he could form a team?”
“Perhaps he’s confident enough?”
“Confidant? In this Cultivation World, apart from those Nine Great Prodigies, who among the same generation can fight ten enemies at once?”
“His name is ‘Er’ (Two). What’s strange about him doing something absurd?”
“Oh wow! Wouldn’t anyone who draws him be as good as getting a bye? If our sect could draw him, that would be great.”
…
The surrounding cultivators discussed amongst themselves.
“Hmph!”
At this moment, Lü Er, who had finished drawing, turned around and looked down at the cultivators in the plaza, saying, “What? Is it strange to participate alone? Only the weak need teammates! Facing a bunch of ants like you, I am a one-man army… enough!”
