“Dong!”
The powerful bell rang again. The sun was setting, and the crowd’s shadows were stretched extremely long. The day’s competition had also come to an end.
“Everyone has worked hard today. Please go back and rest. We will continue tomorrow.”
Due to a large number of disciples, the competition was divided into two days. Tomorrow’s disciple competition was the last chance for the Tai Qing Sect.
If they wanted to get a good ranking, they would have to win all thirty matches in a row tomorrow! How difficult was this? It was almost impossible to accomplish.
He remembered that there was a year when a powerful sect, with all its disciples having extraordinary cultivation levels, could only achieve a record of ten consecutive victories before it was broken.
It was normal for there to be wins and losses. After all, it was decided by drawing lots. You didn’t know the cultivation level of the opponent you were about to face. They could be extremely powerful, or they could have similar cultivation levels.
“I heard that a sect lost dozens of matches in a row this time.”
“Ah, no way. Didn’t they set a new record? They actually lost so badly. How did they dare to come to the sect returning ceremony with such weak strength?”
“There’s still another round of competition tomorrow. With this level of skill, they’ll definitely lose. I think they might as well not participate. Wouldn’t they be laughed at?”
The Tai Qing Sect was famous, not because of their strength, but because of their ‘outstanding’ results.
After all, there really wasn’t a sect that had lost dozens of matches in a row in the sect returning ceremony. The worst one had only lost five matches in a row.
It was impossible to draw a strong opponent every time. If they were evenly matched or slightly inferior, they could still win.
For them to lose so many times in a row, it could only mean one thing – their cultivation was so low that all the sects could crush them.
The Tai Qing Sect walked at the back of the crowd and heard the whispers and pointing of the people around them. They hung their heads dejectedly.
They had thought that they would lose, but they didn’t expect that they would lose so badly.
Ye Xuan was cheering them on from the side. He consoled, “It’s just a few dozen losses. It’s okay, we still have a chance tomorrow.”
The people around him could not help but smile bitterly. Someone asked, “Elder Ye, do we still have a chance?”
Ye Xuan nodded with certainty, “Of course, we still have a chance.”
Although they knew that these were words of comfort, everyone forced a smile. They didn’t have any hope for tomorrow’s battle.
Just as they were about to leave, the people from the Misty Illusory Manor stopped them.
For a moment, the others who had not left all had strange looks on their faces. Someone commented, “This is one of the seven great sects, the Misty Illusory Manor. Why are they looking for the Tai Qing Sect?”
Looking at the few people walking towards him, Ye Xuan instantly understood. He had been so busy with the Jingdu auction house matter that he didn’t expect these people to be waiting for him.
“Hand over the item!” said Li Zhe impolitely.
Recently, he had been busy studying the Hetu and Luoshu Diagram, and that stone had long been thrown to the back of his mind. However, he couldn’t admit it now no matter what.
“And you are?”
“Don’t play dumb here. We asked you for a stone you bought from those vendors.’
Ye Xuan’s expression looked as though he had suddenly realized who Li Zhe was. He said, “So it’s you, the loser.”
Hearing Ye Xuan’s words, Li Zhe was so angry that his nose was almost crooked from scrunching up his face in anger. He said with a dark expression, “I’ll give you a piece of advice. If you’re smart, hand it over quickly. Otherwise, don’t blame us for being impolite.”
Other people might be frightened. After all, as one of the seven great sects, whether it was strength or foundation, they could not be underestimated, but Ye Xuan was not frightened.
“I made it clear last time that I don’t know anything about the stone you’re talking about. You said I bought it, but do you have any evidence?” asked Ye Xuan confidently.
Without waiting for them to answer, he added, “If it really is something valuable, how could it appear at a stall for no reason? I think you didn’t take good care of it, and now you’re blaming it on me. This doesn’t make any sense.”
Li Zhe and the others were rendered speechless by his words. Li Zhe angrily said, “You’re still trying to quibble with me. Those vendors have already said that you’ve bought all the items. The stone must be with you.”
Ye Xuan rolled his eyes without a care for his image. He said, “You believe what the peddler says, but why don’t you believe what I say? What if they lost it or hid it themselves? Although you’re from one of the seven major sects, you still have to be reasonable.”
Li Zhe spoke fiercely, “You don’t have any respect for our Misty Illusory Manor at all.”
He turned to Bai Haoyu and said, “Eldest Senior Brother, this person is a cunning man. The stone is clearly with him, but he says it’s not. I don’t think he’ll give up until he’s been defeated.”
Seeing the people of the Misty Illusory Manor slowly closing in on him, Ye Xuan made an unexpected decision. He glanced at the things on the ground and his gaze immediately shifted. He asked, “Okay. You want stones, right?”
After saying that, he picked up a small stone from the ground. Then, he said, “Here, this is the stone you wanted. Keep it well. Don’t blame others if you lose it next time.”
Without waiting for Li Zhe to react, Ye Xuan stuffed it into his hand.
Li Zhe looked at the small gray stone in his hand and quickly threw it away in disgust. The killing intent in his eyes could hardly be concealed. He shouted, “You’re playing with me!”
Ye Xuan shrugged innocently and said, “Didn’t you say you wanted the stone? I’ve given it to you but you’re still not happy with it.”
Li Zhe was so angry that his facial features were twisted. He said, “You clearly know that I’m not talking about this stone, but you’re still playing dumb. I’m afraid you still don’t know how powerful our Misty Illusory Manor is.”
Ye Xuan sized him up and said meaningfully, “I don’t know if the Misty Illusory Manor is powerful or not, but I know you.”
In other words, Ye Xuan was referring to the last time when Li Zhe was defeated by him and had to flee.