Chapter 417: How did he go up alone?
The guests in the inn immediately scattered like birds startled by the wind at the sight of this scene; even the shopkeeper and the waiter dared not intervene.
Qi Huang looked up and casually glanced at the old man. For some unknown reason, the other party gave her a sense of familiarity.
“May I ask what your intentions are?”
Qin Quan calmly wiped his hands, then stood up unhurriedly. With disciples like Cheng Hong Ling and Qi Huang present, he wasn’t afraid of anything.
As for the other disciples, most of them were still engrossed in eating, completely disregarding the uninvited guests.
“I don’t want to waste words. Hand over your tokens, or don’t blame me for being impolite.”
The old man leading them became ferocious.
“You must understand that the qualification for the Evergreen Convention was hard-won. Without the token, it’s equivalent to forfeiting. Do you think I would hand it over easily?”
Qin Quan calmly retorted.
“This old man can exchange with you.”
The old man proposed a “win-win” solution.
“May I ask what your token number is?”
Qin Quan inquired curiously.
“Number sixteen!”
The old man replied curtly, appearing confident.
“Number sixteen?”
Qi Huang chewed on the words and was immediately overjoyed. The Hu Xiao Sect had drawn number fifteen, so if they exchanged tokens with these people, it would mean both sides would face each other in the first round.
‘If we can eliminate these annoying guys in the first round, it would be incredibly satisfying.’
Qi Huang’s heart surged with excitement.
“The opponent for number sixteen is number fifteen. Who is number fifteen?”
Ruan Lingyu looked around in confusion.
“Number fifteen? Why does it sound so familiar? It must be a sect we’ve investigated.”
Yun Fei fell into thought.
“It’s the Hu Xiao Sect.”
Wang Zong, a male disciple next to them, replied, as he was primarily responsible for gathering intelligence.
“What? The Hu Xiao Sect? That’s a tough opponent!”
Ruan Lingyu was immediately shocked.
“We can’t switch. We haven’t even had the pleasure of an easy fight yet. I don’t want to be a spectator so soon.”
Yun Fei said without hesitation, and the others agreed.
“I’m not afraid to tell you, I am Elder Yue Lai of the Chong Yue Sect. The Chong Yue Sect is not someone your Hong Hua Sect can afford to offend. Don’t think you can be so arrogant just because of a little Cheng Hong Ling. While she is a genius, she is not strong enough yet. If you agree to the exchange today, we’ll all be fine. If you dare to refuse, then whether this genius of yours can grow will be a question mark!”
The old man threatened.
“Chong Yue Sect?”
Qi Huang found the name familiar again. She racked her brain to recall, and soon remembered that when she went to help the Sect Leader of the Yu Xiao Sect capture the Nine Nether Demonic Cat, she had impersonated a Shentong Realm expert and robbed many Huashen Realm experts. Two of them were from the Chong Yue Sect, and this person happened to be among them. No wonder she felt he looked familiar earlier; it turned out to be a victim returning for revenge.
“You dare to threaten us?”
Shen Yuan, with her fiery temper, immediately jumped up and stared angrily. The other disciples also stood up, and the inn became tense.
“What? Do you really want to bury the future of the Hong Hua Sect for a token?”
Yue Lai narrowed his eyes slightly.
“Sect Leader Qin, give him the token.”
At this moment, Cheng Hong Ling’s icy voice rang out.
“What? Are you sure?”
Qin Quan turned around and asked in shock. The others also showed disbelief. They never expected the usually assertive Cheng Hong Ling to back down.
Qi Huang, on the other hand, smiled. She knew her main body would never back down, not in this lifetime!
Cheng Hong Ling said nothing more, only staring intently at Qin Quan with her beautiful eyes.
Qin Quan understood the temper of this genius disciple, so he shook his head helplessly and handed over token number fifty.
“Thank you, Sect Leader Qin, for your generosity!”
Yue Lai took the token and said sarcastically, then threw token number fifteen to Qin Quan before leading his disciples away grandly.
“Junior Sister! Why did you agree to him? This is broad daylight, and I don’t believe he would dare to rob us!”
Ruan Lingyu said with unwillingness.
“Yes, the Hu Xiao Sect is already very strong, and with the addition of two powerful external reinforcements, they will be very difficult to deal with!”
“Sigh! I was still hoping that if we were lucky, they would encounter those powerful sects early on. Even if they weren’t eliminated, they would be severely weakened, and then we could pick up the pieces. I didn’t expect you to hand it to them yourself.”
“I don’t know what you’re thinking. With Junior Sister Qi Huang here, how much trouble can those guys cause?”
…
The other senior sisters also complained with some lack of understanding.
“Scared? When have you ever seen me scared? I just want to send the Hu Xiao Sect away with my own hands.”
Cheng Hong Ling briefly stated her attitude and then went upstairs.
Qi Huang’s lips curved slightly. Her main body had indeed not disappointed her.
“I think Hong Ling is right. On the path of cultivation, one can never achieve anything by relying on luck.”
Xu Mei said earnestly from the side.
Upon hearing this, the senior sisters’ faces showed guilt.
“I know, but… Master… our purpose in coming to the Evergreen Convention is to protect Junior Sister. But if we encounter the Hu Xiao Sect in the first round, what can we do? What if she gets hurt?”
Ruan Lingyu spoke immediately.
“Yes, let them fight amongst themselves first. When they are both injured, it will be much easier for Junior Sister to deal with the Hu Xiao Sect.”
Yun Fei agreed.
“I don’t know what you’re all worried about? Isn’t there still me?”
Qi Huang shook her head helplessly.
“What if she absolutely forbids you from taking action? You know her temper better than we do, right?”
Ruan Lingyu retorted.
“I just won’t listen to her.”
Qi Huang answered very assertively.
“Are you sure you dare to go against her?”
Ruan Lingyu confirmed again.
“Of… of course, I’m sure.”
Qi Huang replied confidently.
“Then why are you stuttering?”
Ruan Lingyu asked with a half-smile.
“What stuttering? Li stuttering? What does Li stuttering have to do with me, Qi Huang?”
Qi Huang feigned ignorance.
Ruan Lingyu was immediately annoyed and gave Qi Huang a charming, white glance.
Qi Huang, however, continued to smile carefree. She wasn’t lying; no one could harm her main body in front of her.
“Alright, stop joking! Since we’ve exchanged tokens, we’ll be competing tomorrow, and our opponents are the Hu Xiao Sect. We can’t be careless. Let’s go back and rest early.”
Xu Mei commanded.
…
Nothing happened overnight. After breakfast the next day, the people from the Hong Hua Sect headed to the Immortal Alliance’s branch. Although according to the order, they were scheduled for the latter half, as Qin Quan said, knowing your enemy is the key to victory, so it was necessary to investigate the opponent’s background in advance.
Of course, many people had the same idea, so when the people from the Hong Hua Sect arrived, the Immortal Alliance branch was already crowded.
Qi Huang scanned the crowd. The Dong Lai Sect, Hu Xiao Sect, Jin Liu Sect, Long Chang Sect – sects with which they had grievances were all present. Looking at those hateful faces, her itching grew stronger, wishing she could rush up immediately and turn the Evergreen Convention into a free-for-all battle. However, reason ultimately prevailed. Although she was arrogant, she wasn’t foolish.
Everyone eagerly awaited. At the precise moment of the serpent hour, Steward Cai had the Immortal Alliance disciples maintain order while he went to the arena to announce the start of the first match, between number one and number two.
Qi Huang quickly perked up and began to observe intently like those around her. However, she soon discovered that the two sides in the first match were purely “chickens pecking each other.” Forget about Huashen Realm, there wasn’t even a single Guiyi Realm Immortal Seed. It was extremely boring.
‘I shouldn’t have held such high hopes!’
Qi Huang shook her head helplessly. In fact, she should have realized long ago that while this Evergreen Convention seemed lively, the number of sects with Huashen Realm Immortal Seeds was still a minority. Most of the matches were indeed “chickens pecking each other” in the eyes of experts like her.
Once she understood the situation, Qi Huang began to rest her mind, waiting for the third match to come, as it was number five versus number six, and the focal point of the day.
Cheng Hong Ling also closed her eyes to rest. Such low-level combat was full of flaws, and watching it wouldn’t be of much benefit.
In contrast, the other senior disciples watched with great interest, as they were the “chickens.”
The first match ended. Just then, a strange cultivator walked onto the stage and said with a grin, “Excuse me for taking up everyone’s time. I’ll take this opportunity to introduce everyone to my newly developed blood-replenishing pills. Although this Evergreen Convention is just a competition, swords and sabers have no eyes. Who can guarantee they won’t get injured? So, it’s good to have some prepared…”
The Immortal Alliance disciples nearby tried to speak several times but didn’t know whether to interrupt. This was the first time he had encountered such a situation.
“Scram!”
The next moment, Lü Er jumped onto the stage and kicked the guy promoting his pills flying, then walked off as if nothing had happened.
“Next, please have number three and number four come on stage.”
The Immortal Alliance disciple said tremblingly.
The second match began like this, but it was also a “chicken pecking chicken” match, making people drowsy.
“Have you noticed something strange? Since yesterday until now, we still haven’t seen Lü Er’s main body!”
Cheng Hong Ling suddenly sent a mind transmission inquiry.
“Yes, but it only takes a blink of an eye for such an expert to arrive. He’s probably hiding somewhere to conserve his strength.”
Qi Huang analyzed.
“Is that so?”
Cheng Hong Ling was somewhat uncertain but had no reason to object.
“Hurry up, I’m waiting to see how that kid Lü Er will kneel and beg for mercy!”
“I’d like to see who number six is! How can they dare to hide their tokens under such great pressure!”
“This number six dares to ignore us. If they can’t deal with Lü Er, I’ll take away their cultivation bliss myself.”
“Come down, with your level, even if you barely enter the next round, it’s just a formality. Why waste everyone’s time?”
“If you don’t come down soon, when you meet me in the next round, I’ll take away your cultivation bliss too.”
…
The surrounding cultivators urged impatiently. Because of Lü Er, “taking away cultivation bliss” had clearly become a popular phrase.
The two sects above, their faces red with shame, also knew that the opportunity was hard-won, so they insisted on taking another fifteen minutes to determine the winner.
“They’re here! They’re here! That kid Lü Er is going on stage!”
The plaza suddenly became lively.
‘The show is finally starting!’
Qi Huang slowly opened her clear black and white eyes. Cheng Hong Ling next to her did the same.
“Next, please have number five and number six come on stage!”
The Immortal Alliance disciple announced. Before he finished speaking, a figure had already leaped onto the stage, scaring him into quickly dodging.
“Who is number six? Get out here, young master! You can hide from the beginning of the month, but not from the middle. I said I would take away your cultivation bliss, and now it’s time to fulfill my promise!”
Lü Er immediately provocatively challenged towards the audience below.
“What does this mean? Why did he go up himself? Where is the main body?”
Qi Huang and Cheng Hong Ling exchanged confused glances. The people around them also looked at each other, wondering if this guy wasn’t running errands for his main body. Was he going to participate in the Yongning Prefecture Evergreen Convention as a mere clone?
“Is that true? We don’t know who will take away whose cultivation bliss yet.”
A male voice came from the crowd.
