Chapter 423: Charge! For Hong Ling’s Reward!
“Damn it, my eyes are almost blinded. What are you lighting torches for in broad daylight!”
“Are there blue torches? That’s a sword forged from Blue Scale Stone. Look at the dense patterns on the blade. How much Blue Scale Stone did they use to forge this sword?”
“How can a small HongHua Sect have so much Blue Scale Stone? Is this a martial arts competition or a display of wealth?”
The cultivators below marveled one after another.
“Senior Brother, are we still fighting? This is too intimidating!”
A disciple from the Yuanyuan Sect asked the leading young man on the arena stage.
“Do you think my words matter whether we fight or not?”
The Senior Brother looked helplessly at the disciples of the HongHua Sect rushing towards them and said.
“Damn it, let’s fight them! For Hong Ling’s reward!”
Seeing that there was no way to retreat, the Senior Brother gritted his teeth and said.
“Yes, isn’t it just a Blue Scale Stone sword? For Hong Ling’s reward, I’d storm the gates of hell!”
“Brothers, for Hong Ling’s reward, let’s charge!”
“Hong Ling, I’m here now! Hurry up and reward me with your jade hands!”
The group from the Yuanyuan Sect instantly revived with full health, rushing forward with shouts.
The people from the two sects soon clashed. Since Qi Huang and Cheng Hong Ling were not interested in participating in such a novice battle, their strengths were considered to be evenly matched. However, they couldn’t withstand the enormous gap in equipment.
Ruan Lingyu and several other female disciples wielded Blue Scale Stone swords. Wherever the sword’s edge reached, any weapon in its path was easily cut off. They were simply unstoppable.
The disciples of the Yuanyuan Sect wailed, as those were their beloved swords. However, even so, no one surrendered, because everyone knew that only by obtaining Cheng Hong Ling’s “reward” could they compensate for their losses.
“Haha, this is so stress-relieving! I never thought that destroying other people’s weapons would be so satisfying!”
“Fellow Daoists of the Yuanyuan Sect, do you have any other weapons? Hurry up and take them out, I want to destroy them all.”
“It’s okay if you don’t have weapons. Magic Treasures, armor, anything is fine. Take out whatever you have. If all else fails, take off your clothes and let me destroy them.”
Ruan Lingyu and the others became more and more excited with each strike, and more and more addicted. Like madwomen, they chased the disciples of the Yuanyuan Sect, not hurting them, but destroying everything they brought out.
“These people from the Yuanyuan Sect are also stubborn. If they don’t want to lose their weapons, they should surrender. Why force themselves to endure? If this continues, they won’t even be able to keep their clothes.”
Qi Huang found it somewhat amusing, but it was also good this way. It allowed her senior sisters to have their fill, and they wouldn’t interfere in the future. She could then act freely.
The battle ended quickly. Although the disciples of the Yuanyuan Sect fearlessly charged towards Cheng Hong Ling, without their weapons, how could they be a match for the immortal seeds of the HongHua Sect? Thus, they all fell midway, and not a single one could get within ten feet.
“Ah? It’s over already? Don’t you plan to struggle a bit more?”
“Yes, Junior Sister Hong Ling is right here. Keep it up, and you might get your wish!”
“You’ve suffered such heavy losses, wouldn’t it be a complete loss if you don’t get some reward from her?”
Ruan Lingyu and the other senior sisters were still not satisfied, and they kept cheering for the disciples of the Yuanyuan Sect to fight harder.
“Oh, benevolent goddesses, spare us! You’ve destroyed everything you could. We are bankrupt.”
The Senior Brother of the Yuanyuan Sect lay on the ground, trembling.
“I announce that the winner is contestant number sixteen!”
A disciple of the Immortal Alliance stepped forward to announce the result.
The cultivators below looked at each other, with fear visible on many faces. After all, those crazy women from the HongHua Sect were truly terrifying.
The senior sisters from the HongHua Sect reluctantly withdrew their swords and walked off the stage, still feeling unsatisfied.
Qi Huang also wanted to go down, as she had cracked a pile of melon seeds on the arena, and it would be an eyesore if they were not cleaned up!
Although Qi Huang was arrogant, she was not lacking in manners. So, she awkwardly said to the cultivators below, “Which fellow daoist has a broom? Could I borrow it?”
“Immortal Qi, no need to trouble yourself. I’ll do it for you!”
At this moment, a short cultivator with a shifty look rushed onto the stage with a broom.
“This isn’t good!”
Qi Huang was somewhat flattered, after all, they were strangers.
“There’s nothing wrong with it! It’s my honor to serve Immortal Qi.”
The cultivator did not look back and diligently swept up the melon seed shells.
“Then I’ll trouble you!”
Since the offer was too kind to refuse, Qi Huang could only accept and then walked off the stage.
“Hey, who are you? There are so many women in the cultivation world, why do you have to be a simp?”
“Yeah, if you’re going to simp, at least simp for Cheng Hong Ling. Why simp for a clone of a low-bloodline person? You’re really embarrassing us, the vast number of male compatriots!”
“Tch, even if you simp again, what good would it do? She doesn’t even fancy the Emperor, so how could she fancy you?”
A group of cultivators below immediately started to condemn. Most of it was out of jealousy. Men were jealous that they hadn’t been the first to simp, while women were jealous that no one was simping for them like this.
However, the short cultivator with the shifty look acted as if he hadn’t heard anything. He very quickly swept up all the melon seed shells that Qi Huang had cracked, then took out a handkerchief and carefully collected them.
“What is he doing?”
Qi Huang, who was below the stage, vaguely felt that something was not quite right. It was just a handful of melon seed shells, so why was this guy collecting them as if they were treasures?
At this moment, the short cultivator with the shifty look happily ran down with the melon seed shells and began to shout, “Fellow daoists, these are the melon seed shells that Immortal Qi cracked. They might still have her saliva on them. This is a delicacy that even the Emperor has never enjoyed. One tael of silver each, selling them cheap! One tael of silver each! No deception!”
“Pfft!”
Qi Huang immediately spat out. She looked around and saw that all the people from the HongHua Sect were looking at her with strange expressions. Cheng Hong Ling’s face even showed a hint of anger.
“Don’t worry! Don’t worry! No one will buy them!”
Qi Huang quickly reassured herself.
“I want one! I want one! Give me one!”
“Save one for me, I’ll pay two taels of silver!”
“I’ll pay three taels of silver! I want ten! No, no, I want them all!”
“Get away from me, whoever dares to fight me for them, I’ll destroy their sect!”
At this moment, voices rang out one after another. Those male cultivators rushed towards the short cultivator like madmen, like a horde of zombies seeing delicious fresh blood.
“Heh heh…”
Qi Huang chuckled awkwardly. Even though she had been a man before, she felt extremely ashamed at this moment.
“These people have no bottom line. They’re really disgracing us cultivators!”
Cheng Hong Ling gritted her teeth slightly and rebuked.
The others could only look on awkwardly, not knowing what to say. In fact, from their perspective, the actions of these guys were quite understandable. After all, who doesn’t like a beautiful woman!
“That’s not right! If these melon seed shells are so valuable, then what’s the point of him being here? I can sell them myself and not let the middleman profit.”
Qi Huang suddenly realized and said excitedly.
“If you dare to do that, I’ll take you down with me.”
Cheng Hong Ling immediately glared at her.
“Heh heh, it’s just a joke! Just a joke!”
Qi Huang smiled wryly.
An extremely absurd competition ended just like that. Ruan Lingyu and the others not only gained a lot of attention at the Evergreen Convention but also helped Cheng Hong Ling, so they were all very satisfied.
“Are you satisfied now? If you’re satisfied, then you all have to listen to my commands!”
Qi Huang seized the opportunity. She had been keeping a low profile these past few days, precisely because she didn’t want to steal the thunder from her senior sisters. Now that they had had their fun, it was time for her to have hers.
“Is it me you listen to, or me?”
Cheng Hong Ling nodded and calmly asked.
“Uh… of course, I listen to you!”
Qi Huang immediately smiled awkwardly, thinking to herself that she was capricious anyway, and her words didn’t count.
At the entrance to a grand hall not far away, Steward Cai looked worriedly at Elder Zuo.
“Master, the HongHua Sect has passed the first round! Should we do something?”
“No need to panic. I’ve already spoken with Lü Er. He promised me that he would never let Cheng Hong Ling leave Yongning Prefecture’s Evergreen Convention. It seems, as I predicted, that Cheng Hong Ling has been marked by him, and he intends to keep her in a cage like a pet.”
Elder Zuo’s face showed a schadenfreude smile.
“If that’s the case, then I can rest assured. Even if Cheng Hong Ling narrowly defeats other opponents, she will never be able to shake the mountain that is Lü Er!”
Steward Cai breathed a long sigh of relief.
“Actually, this Lü Er is just a backup for me. I think with that brat’s strength, even if we do nothing, she won’t make it to the final round.”
Elder Zuo curled his lips disdainfully.
