Chapter 446: Who Does She Think She Is?
The fellow disciples never dreamed that the HuXiao Sect would interfere. Unsure how to respond, they all cast inquiring glances at Qi Huang, as this “piece of meat” was too tough for them to bully.
“Oh? Daoists from the HuXiao Sect also wish to spar?” Qi Huang’s interest was piqued.
“Indeed. Wasn’t what your Senior Sister just said? The path of cultivation is arduous and long, and only through more sparring can everyone progress together,” Zhou Ming said with a sly smile.
“I want to, but the problem is, it’s time for our match, and our opponent is the QuanDa Sect. Where would we have time to spar with you?” Qi Huang glanced at the trembling QuanDa Sect below, her meaning obvious: if you want to spar, go switch the draw with them, and I’ll accompany you to the end. However, her actions were interpreted by others as an excuse to refuse, and the surrounding cultivators all showed looks of disdain.
…
“Haha, if you don’t dare, then don’t dare. To come up with such a low-level excuse. Everyone knows the draws can be switched.”
“I’m dying of laughter. Just now, you were relying on your strength to trick the QuanDa Sect into a beating, and now that you’ve encountered us, you’ve become the QuanDa Sect yourselves.”
“We’ll switch draws with the QuanDa Sect immediately and let you taste what it’s like to be unable to advance or retreat, ridiculed by thousands.”
…
The disciples of the HuXiao Sect jeered.
“They’re probably celebrating too early. The strength that Cheng Hong Ling displayed last time clearly reached the middle stage of the Huashen Realm. Even against the HuXiao Sect, she has a high chance of winning!” Some cultivators questioned.
“You’re too stupid. Qi Huang’s performance just now was clearly an excuse to evade. She herself lacks confidence, so how high can her chances of winning be?” her companion reminded her.
“That’s not necessarily true. She might not know how beautiful she is. As long as the disciples of the HuXiao Sect show even a bit of pity, her chances of winning will skyrocket. I even think those Immortal Seeds who lost to her before were due to pity.”
“Give it a rest. Do you think everyone is as lustful as you?”
“As if you’re not lustful. Everyone else drinks water with the melon seed husks she discarded, but you’re so good that even without husks, you’d make some to drink. You even threw your own husks into your teacup and drank them, then showed off to others that they were Cheng Hong Ling’s.”
“Uh…”
…
The two cultivators bickered back and forth. For some reason, whenever Cheng Hong Ling was mentioned, the conversation always turned ambiguous.
“You heard it all, the draws can be switched! So whether we spar today or not isn’t up to you, but up to the QuanDa Sect!” Zhou Ming sneered, then walked towards the QuanDa Sect.
Seeing this, the people of the QuanDa Sect felt like they had grasped a lifeline, becoming excited and gesticulating wildly.
“Daoist, want to switch draws?” Zhou Ming asked the Sect Leader of the QuanDa Sect when he got close.
“May I ask who your opponent is?” Although the Sect Leader of the QuanDa Sect was excited, he maintained a sliver of reason, so he planned to inquire about the situation first.
“A third-rate sect, not much different in strength from yours,” Zhou Ming replied perfunctorily.
“Really?” The Sect Leader of the QuanDa Sect was skeptical.
“If I say it’s fake, would you not plan to switch?” Zhou Ming narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze sharp.
The Sect Leader of the QuanDa Sect shivered all over. His mind quickly cleared. In the cultivation world, the strong were respected. From the moment this Zhou Ming came to their door, he had no choice. He quickly said, “Switch, switch, switch! Of course, we’ll switch!”
Zhou Ming curled his lips slightly, then switched the draws.
“Daoists of the HongHua Sect, the number eight draw is in my hand now. How about it? Can we spar now?” Zhou Ming raised the draw and said triumphantly.
“Alright! Since you’re so enthusiastic, we naturally have no reason to refuse.” Qi Huang smiled brightly, thinking that she was still wondering how to find an opportunity to deal with you all, and you’ve delivered yourselves to my doorstep.
“Did you hear that? Then you go up and spar with the Immortal Seeds of the HongHua Sect, find each other’s flaws and shortcomings, and progress together!” Zhou Ming then instructed the disciples beside him.
“Huh? Elder Zhou, I have to clarify, it wasn’t me who said ‘progress together,’ but one of my Senior Sisters!” Qi Huang quickly explained.
“What’s the difference?” Zhou Ming asked casually.
“There is a difference. Sparring with her, you can indeed find flaws and shortcomings and progress together. Sparring with me, you will only have your Dao heart shattered, find nothing, and be unable to compensate for anything,” Qi Huang said with a tone of pity.
“Heh…” Elder Zhou was so angered that he laughed.
“You little b*tch, don’t be too arrogant. I’ll definitely tear your mouth apart later so you can never speak again,” Lü Zhen said, enraged.
“Funny. If you were truly capable, the HuXiao Sect wouldn’t need to find external help,” Qi Huang said disdainfully.
“You…” Lü Zhen’s face immediately turned red and thick with anger.
“Stop talking nonsense and hurry up and go up!” Elder Zhou urged impatiently.
“Yes!” The Immortal Seeds of the HuXiao Sect received the order and then swaggered onto the stage one after another.
…
“Now there’s a good show to watch. The HuXiao Sect is the number one immortal sect in Yongning Prefecture and has invited two external reinforcements at the fourth layer of the Huashen Realm, while Cheng Hong Ling is said to have reached the fifth layer of the Huashen Realm. It’s a clash of titans.”
“I’m more optimistic about Cheng Hong Ling. At such a cultivation level, every layer of difference is a chasm that quantity cannot compensate for. Moreover, she has outstanding talent and uses all sorts of powerful techniques.”
“That’s not necessarily true. As the saying goes, no matter how high your cultivation, you’re afraid of a sharp knife. The HuXiao Sect has a deep heritage and is never short of all sorts of Magic Treasures and Talismans. Cheng Hong Ling’s chances of winning are very slim.”
…
The cultivators from various sects below became alert.
“What should we do? You said you’d only make a move after eliminating the Jinliu Sect, but now the HuXiao Sect is interfering. They look like they’re here with ill intentions. If I don’t intervene, can you handle it?” Qi Huang asked the Cheng Hong Ling beside her.
“Regardless of who causes trouble, you cannot make a move before the Jinliu Sect is eliminated,” Cheng Hong Ling’s thoughts were as firm as ever.
‘This is troublesome!’ Qi Huang felt a headache coming on and began to think of countermeasures.
The HuXiao Sect quickly took the stage. The three leaders were naturally the two external reinforcements at the fourth layer of the Huashen Realm and Lü Zhen. These people were all eager to fight, clearly pent up with anger and ready to vent it.
Meanwhile, Steward Cai at the entrance of the main hall frowned slightly, feeling inexplicably uneasy.
“Is it really okay to let the HuXiao Sect take the lead rashly?” Steward Cai murmured to himself.
“What’s wrong?” Elder Zuo beside him asked curiously.
“Master, I think our original plan wasn’t perfect enough. We should let the Jinliu Sect go first. After all, we still don’t know Cheng Hong Ling’s limits or how many trump cards she still has. Letting the HuXiao Sect go up rashly might be risky,” Steward Cai voiced his concerns.
“You only thought of that now? What were you doing before?” Elder Zuo immediately reprimanded him. However, since this matter didn’t concern him much, his attitude was still relatively gentle.
“…” Steward Cai took a deep breath, a look of annoyance on his face.
…
Just then, a spark of inspiration flashed in Qi Huang’s mind, and she asked her main body, “Or maybe they can switch the order? Let the Jinliu Sect go up first.”
“You wish. Do you think they’ll listen to you?” Cheng Hong Ling gave Qi Huang a coquettish sidelong glance.
“Relax, they definitely will,” Qi Huang said with great certainty, as she knew about Steward Cai’s relationship with the HuXiao Sect.
“Are both sides ready?” the Immortal Alliance disciple on stage inquired.
“Wait!” Qi Huang seized the opportunity to speak, then said, “I want to apply for a change, to have the Jinliu Sect come up and fight us first. Since both matches are connected, it doesn’t matter who goes first or second.”
…
“Who does this Qi Huang think she is, applying for a change? Can the rules of the Evergreen Convention be changed just like that?”
“Yes, fighting according to the draw number is the rule of the Evergreen Convention. Moreover, the Immortal Alliance is prejudiced against her, so how could they agree?”
“But why would she do that? They’ll have to face each other sooner or later anyway.”
“She clearly wants to pick on the weaker ones first, so at least they can guarantee one victory. If they fight the HuXiao Sect first and sustain too much damage, it’s hard to say whether they can still defeat the Jinliu Sect.”
…
Discussions erupted among the cultivators below. All of them felt that Qi Huang was daydreaming. Even her fellow disciples on stage looked at her with surprise, thinking their junior sister was too naive.
The faces of the Jinliu Sect members turned extremely grim. They, the dignified third-largest immortal sect in the Xihui Dynasty, were actually being treated as a weakling.
But no one noticed that Steward Cai at the entrance of the main hall’s eyes widened in excitement upon hearing this because it played right into his hands.
“I agree!” Steward Cai instantly appeared on the arena and said eagerly.
