Chapter 0820: Battle for the Lotus
The crowd had gathered on the flat platform by the water, and the tranquility of the grand lake was broken for a moment. Li Qingfeng, Qin Yi, and Li Hongli were at the forefront, surrounded by their supporters.
"Lady Qin Yi, the Jade Heart Lotus in the middle of this lake blooms once every six months. It has great beautifying properties and is perfect for a lady. Normally, it is instantly snatched up as soon as it blooms," Li Qingfeng explained with a warm smile on his handsome face as he pointed towards the center of the lake.
Like he had said, the eyes of many girls lit up when they heard about its miraculous abilities. Indeed, a lady's love for beauty far exceeded that of man.
Hearing this, a sense of curiosity appeared on Qin Yi's charming face as she replied gently, "What a treasure."
Li Qingfeng replied with a grin, "Tonight happens to be the time when the oldest Jade Heart Lotus in the center of this lake blooms. It must have known that a lady of impeccable beauty was coming."
Qin Yi rolled her eyes at his praises. She simply responded with a soft voice, "With her unparalleled, ravishing beauty, Miss Hongli is the perfect match for it."
In response to that, Li Hongli merely shook her head and said, "Lady Qin Yi, you are a guest from afar. As the host, I will naturally let you have it in my stead." Of course, she was wary of Qin Yi from the bottom of her heart as a fellow lady. Furthermore, Li Qingfeng's hospitality towards Qin Yi had made her slightly unhappy. Nonetheless, she was still the host and had to be polite to this important guest.
Hearing their conversation, Li Qingfeng simply laughed and said, "There is no need for the two of you to give in to each other. There has always been a special rule in place to decide who gets to take home the lotus bloom. We can just follow it, how about that?"
"What rule would that be?" Qin Yi asked as she looked at Li Qingfeng with her crystal-clear, blue eyes, dazzling and charming like the sparkling lake in front of them.
Under her enchanting gaze, even the ordinarily composed and handsome Li Qingfeng straightened his back as he responded with a grin, "Under normal circumstances, when there are multiple people eyeing the lotus, each side can send one representative onto the lotus to fight it out on the lotus leaf. The victor will be able to bring the blooming lotus back. This is also known as the Battle for the Lotus.
"However, there is a special addition to the rules. The representative sent in for the fight cannot be too strong, or their resonant power will be too violent and aggressive. That would damage the lotus leaf and the Jade Heart Lotus. As such, someone at the Fiend Finisher Tier is usually the most apt choice for it. "
Hearing his explanation, Qin Yi hesitated for a moment before saying, "This means that I am not eligible for it."
Li Qingfeng waved his hands and said, "There is no need for you to go up there yourself. You can send a helper in your place. I am sure there are many souls willing to help a lady like Lady Qin Yi among all the talents gathered here today."
Qin Yi thought about it for a moment. With a soft voice and a gentle smile, she said, "Since the host insists, I'll gladly accept the offer."
At this point, Li Hongli scanned the crowd and called out to a man. "Zhao Fengyang, are you willing to obtain the Jade Heart Lotus on my behalf?"
The person she had identified was a tall young man with a straight body and a handsome face. He was dressed in white robes and was quite outstanding amongst the crowd.
The man named Zhao Fengyang was a Sub Leader of the Violet Blood Banner under Li Hongli. He was pretty talented with an eighth-grade wind resonance, and he was at the Glass Fiend Tier.
In terms of strength, Li Hongli was the only one above him in the Violet Blood Banner.
In fact, he was far above Zhong Ling in both talent and strength. Zhong Ling had tried all he could but still failed to reach the Glass Fiend Tier. As a result, he gave up on it bitterly and then directly rushed towards the Fiend Finisher Tier instead.
However, this would result in a weaker foundation. Thus, Zhong Ling might not stand a chance against Zhao Fengyang in a direct fight despite having the advantage in cultivation level.
His talent definitely exceeded that of just a Sub Leader. Nonetheless, he was content with staying in the Violet Blood Banner and did not want to go anywhere else.
Many people understood his thoughts, actually. Ultimately, there was nothing more fascinating than winning the heart of Li Hongli.
When he heard Li Hongli's call, he stood up with eyes filled with excitement. Without any hesitation, he exclaimed, "Don't worry Banner Leader, I will definitely get the Jade Heart Lotus for you."
This was a rare chance for him to impress Li Hongli. He could not be happier about it.
"Hongli, aren't you being too serious about this? Sending out Zhao Fengyang right off the bat…" Li Qingfeng joked about it.
Li Hongli pursed her lips and smiled as she replied, "With Lady Qin Yi's charm, are you worried that there will be no Glass Fiend hero willing to fight for her?"
On the other hand, Qin Yi chuckled lightly and responded, "It doesn't matter whether the individual is at the Glass Fiend Tier or not. After all, this is just an interesting event to build up the atmosphere."
At this moment, her eyes lit up and she raised her slender, jade hand into the air. An emerald-green butterfly materialized on her fingertip and flapped its wings gently.
"This is a spirit-seeking butterfly, an intelligent, little puppet. I will release it and ask whoever it lands on to represent me in the fight. Of course, winning or losing is not important, so you don't have to worry too much over it." Her soft voice sounded like a river flowing down the mountain, bringing a sense of calm and tranquility to the listeners.
"Isn't that too random?" Li Qingfeng asked with some hesitation.
Li Hongli had chosen Zhao Fengyang, while Qin Yi was choosing randomly. The odds of finding someone who stood a chance against Zhao Fengyang was not high.
Nonetheless, he understood. Qin Yi was not really interested in the Jade Heart Lotus and was merely going along with him.
So he just smiled and nodded.
With all that said, Qin Yi gently raised her hand, and light reflected off her fingers, which seemed to be as clear as glass, perfect and delicate.
The emerald-green butterfly flew into the air, and everyone watched it carefully.
Many of them had eyes burning with anticipation as they hoped the butterfly would land on them. This would give them a priceless chance to fight for Qin Yi and claim the lotus.
Who knows? They might even get to see the beauty’s smile and leave a favorable impression for themselves.
Everyone continued to watch as the butterfly danced in the air.
Gradually, the butterfly got tired and started to descend. It passed the heads of one young man after another, and groans of disappointment followed in its wake.
Finally, it landed in front of a certain figure.
Everyone looked over immediately. As soon as they recognized the individual, they were stunned by the result. Chatter erupted in the background.
It was none other than the Banner Leader of the Green Nether Banner, Li Luo!
Li Qingfeng was also slightly taken aback by this scene before his eyes flickered.
Some of them stared at Li Luo enviously. His good luck was a bit too good to believe.
At this time, Qin Yi also glanced across and paused for a moment on Li Luo's face. An undetectable flicker appeared within her beautiful eyes that were clear like a lake as she softly said, "Has the spirit-seeking butterfly selected its candidate? Friend, are you willing to-"
Before she could finish her sentence, Li Luo frowned a little at the butterfly that had stopped in front of him. He stretched out his hand without an expression and slapped it away.
Pa!
The Spirit Seeking Butterfly was slapped away by Li Luo and landed in front of a rotund fellow with an oily face beside him. The fat man was stunned for a moment before he hurriedly grabbed onto the butterfly, exclaiming loudly, "Fairy Qin, I am willing!"
However, no one paid any attention to him. Everyone was dumbfounded as they looked at Li Luo.
No one had expected him to be so blunt!
That was a rare opportunity presented by the Fairy of Water Qin Yi. This guy did not appreciate it at all. Rather, he had rudely slapped it away!
What an idiot!