When Wanqi Hong entered the battlefield, he looked slightly gloomy. He looked even gloomier when he heard the crowd speculating about whether he would challenge Yang Qian Ye or Ximen Long Xiang.
‘Do they really think that I’m only capable of challenging Yang Qian Ye and Ximen?’
Wanqi Hong’s expression worsened when he thought about the other participants with higher ranks than him. According to the rules, with his current rank, he could not challenge the top three participants unless the Wanqi clan paid with a huge number of divine crystals. He knew the Wanqi clan would not be willing to do such a thing and that the clan would see it as a waste.
‘Lin Yuan, Tuo Ba Xiu, Wang Xiong…’
Apart from Yang Qian Ye and Wang Xiong, and Yuan Mo Yu, whom he could not challenge, Wanqi Hong could only challenge Lin Yuan, Tuo Ba Xiu or Wang Xiong. However, after witnessing Tuo Ba Xiu and Yuan Mo Yu’s fight, he knew the gap between their strengths was wide. As such, he could not challenge her.
Lin Yuan was the external help that the Profound Jade Mansion’s Howling Flames Sect found with the hopes of Lin Yuan ranking in the top three. Based on what Wanqi Hong had learned from Wanqi Yu Ning, the ancestor of the Wanqi clan, Lin Yuan likely came from a supreme-rank clan outside of the Seven Mansions. Hence, how could Lin Yuan be ordinary? Apart from that, Wanqi Yu Ning had noticed that Lin Yuan was incredibly calm when watching Tuo Ba Xiu and Yuan Mo Yu’s fight. This meant that Lin Yuan was either pretending to be calm or Lin Yuan was truly not concerned about the strength that Tuo Ba Xiu and Yuan Mo Yu had displayed.
For all these reasons, Wanqi Hong could not take the risk and challenge Lin Yuan. If he was defeated, not only would it be embarrassing, but he would also be in a disadvantageous position.
Wanqi Hong was not keen to challenge Yang Qian Ye and Ximen Long Xiang since he felt like it would be acquiescence that he was only strong enough to challenge the two weakest participants in the top ten. As such, there was only one person left for him to challenge: Wang Xiong.
In the beginning, everyone thought that the strongest law that Wang Xiong, the prodigy from the Feudal Lord Mansion’s Frozen Mountain Manor, comprehended was the law of earth. He shocked everyone when he used the law of metal, which was stronger than his law of earth, during his fight with Yang Qian Ye. In the end, he defeated Yang Qian Ye in one fell swoop.
‘Apart from Yang Qian Ye and Ximen, I can only challenge Wang Xiong…’
In the end, Wanqi Hong’s eyes swept past the people of the Feudal Lord Mansion’s Frozen Mountain Manor before landing on Wang Xiong.
Everyone was paying attention to the direction of Wanqi Hong’s gaze. When they saw his eyes were trained on Wang Xiong, their eyes lit up in excitement.
“Is Wanqi Hong going to challenge Wang Xiong?”
“I thought he was going to challenge Yang Qian Ye or Ximen. After all, the two are quickly the weakest among the ten participants. I didn’t expect him to challenge Wang Xiong.”
“Wang Xiong might still be hiding his strength. Isn’t it risky for him to challenge Wang Xiong?”
“If he loses this fight, he’ll become a laughingstock.”
“That’s right! It’ll be a humiliation if the former strongest young prodigy of the Eastern Ridge Mansion loses again!”
“Actually, Wanqi Hong isn’t weak. In fact, the strength he’s shown so far is stronger than what Wang Xiong has shown so far. I think he might not necessarily lose.”
Duan Ling Tian was not paying attention to the direction of Wanqi Hong’s gaze. Hence, he was surprised when he heard the conversations in his surroundings.
‘Wanqi Hong plans to challenge Wang Xiong?’
Previously, instead of challenging Yang Qian Ye like everyone thought he would, Wanqi Hong challenged Yuan Mo Yu instead. In the end, the fight ended in a tie. With that, everyone thought Wanqi Hong and Yuan Mo Yu were on par with each other, but they were quickly disabused of that notion after watching Yuan Mo Yu and Tuo Ba Xiu fight. Clearly, Yuan Mo Yu, and perhaps even Wanqi Hong, was still hiding his strength.
‘Isn’t he afraid of losing the fight if he challenges Wang Xiong?’ Duan Ling Tian shook his head as he glanced at Wanqi Hong. Previously, he had thought Wanqi Hong was rather strong and talented. However, now, he only thought that Wanqi Hong was a pitiful person who let his emotions dictate his actions.
Duan Ling Tian had yet to have an understanding of Wang Xiong’s strength. However, he had a very strong feeling that Wang Xiong was still hiding his strength. At the very least, he was sure that Wang Xiong was no weaker than Wanqi Hong.
‘Hm?’ Duan Ling Tian, who was looking at Wanqi Hong at this time, frowned in confusion. He was waiting for Wanqi Hong to issue a challenge to Wang Xiong, but Wanqi Hong suddenly turned to look in the direction of the people of the Wanqi clan. He followed Wanqi Hong’s gaze and saw Wanqi Yu Ning, the Golden Seat Elder of the Wanqi clan, looking at Wanqi Hong. It was not hard to deduce that the duo was speaking through Voice Transmission.
‘Hmm, it seems like there’ll be a change,’ Duan Ling Tian thought to himself.
It was likely that Wanqi Yu Ning was trying to dissuade Wanqi Hong from challenging Wang Xiong.
As expected, just when everyone thought Wanqi Hong was going to challenge Wang Xiong, he suddenly said, “I challenge Ximen, participant number seven.”
Ximen Long Xiang, the prodigy from the Green Province Mansion’s Marionette Villa, was now ranked seventh. Just like everyone guessed previously, Wanqi Hong ended up challenging him.
The crowd also discovered the interaction between Wanqi Hong and Wanqi Yu Ning just when Wanqi Hong was about to challenge Wang Xiong. It was not hard to guess that someone from the Wanqi clan had stopped Wanqi Hong from challenging Wang Xiong.
“It seems like even the elders of the Wanqi clan think that Wanqi Hong might not be a match for Wang Xiong. It seems like they have high regard for Wang Xiong…”
“I guess this means that Wang Xiong is still hiding his strength…”
“I really can’t wait to watch Wang Xiong fight again!”
When Wanqi Hong heard these harsh words, his face flushed red in anger and humiliation. How did things turn out this way? At this moment, he even regretted listening to Wanqi Yu Ning and giving up on challenging Wang Xiong.
‘What an idiot!’ Wanqi Yu Ning thought to himself with a hint of helplessness and frustration. He did not understand why Wanqi Hong had to look at him when they were communicating through Voice Transmission. Was this not letting everyone know that someone from the clan was advising Wanqi Hong against challenging Wang Xiong?
In the past, Wanqi Yu Ning thought that Wanqi Hong was quite smart. However, he only felt that Wanqi Hong was unbearably foolish now.
At the same time, the other elders from the Wanqi clan looked at each other in dismay with helpless expressions on their faces. They felt emotionally exhausted.
Meanwhile, Ximen Long Xiang stepped forward after the challenge was issued. Although he knew he was not as strong as Wanqi Hong, he did not want to admit defeat just yet. His goal was to fight Duan Ling Tian in the future. If he admitted defeat before Duan Ling Tian’s defeated opponent, how would he be worthy of challenging Duan Ling Tian in the future?
For this reason, Ximen Long Xiang was very serious during his fight with Wanqi Hong. He attacked aggressively like a storm as soon as he made a move. As a result, he managed to catch Wanqi Hong off guard.
Those who did not know better would think Ximen Long Xiang had a deep enmity with Wanqi Hong when they saw how aggressive he was.
Initially, Wanqi Hong did not take Ximen Long Xiang seriously. In his opinion, Ximen Long Xiang was weaker than him. The fight was just a formality, and he was certain of his victory. Due to his carelessness, he allowed Ximen Long Xiang’s attack to push him back.
“You’re seeking death!” Wanqi Hong, who was pushed back, snarled. His anger rose even more when he sensed the ridiculing gazes around him. Following that, his body burst forth with energy as he rushed toward Ximen Long Xiang.
With this, it did not take long before Ximen Long Xiang, who had the upper hand, was completely suppressed by Wanqi Hong. In just a moment, he was severely injured by Wanqi Hong.
When Wanqi Hong was about to attack again, Lin Dong Lai stepped in and intervened. Then, he said, “He lost. This is the end of the fight.”
After exchanging tokens, Ximen Long Xiang wiped the blood off the corners of his mouth and said with a grin, “Wanqi Hong, I’ll treat you as a touchstone from now on. When I finally defeat you, it means that the gap between Duan Ling Tian and I has narrowed slightly! I hope you won’t let me down and will continue to improve!”
After Ximen Long Xiang left, Wanqi Hong finally realized that Ximen Long Xiang had attacked so aggressively because Ximen Long Xiang viewed him as a touchstone in his quest to challenge Duan Ling Tian.
‘How dare he say I’m his touchstone and that the gap between him and Duan Ling Tian will narrow the day he defeats me?! Isn’t he implying that I’m inferior to Duan Ling Tian and that I’ll never catch up to Duan Ling Tian my entire life!’ Wanqi Hong’s expression was incredibly unsightly when he thought about this. He was already in a bad mood, to begin with, and Ximen Long Xiang’s words only added fuel to fire. His gaze was murderous as he looked at Ximen Long Xiang’s back. He was filled with the urge to kill Ximen Long Xiang at this moment. Even when his great-great-grandfather was killed by Ye Chen Feng from the Pure Yang Sect, he did not feel so murderous.
Although Wanqi Hong rose from tenth to seventh place, he was not happy at all. His bad mood was written all over his face.
After Lin Dong Lai reminded Wanqi Hong to leave the battlefield, he looked in the direction of the people from the Pure Yang Sect and said, “Participant number nine, please enter the battlefield.”
The ninth participant was Yang Qian Ye.
Many people thought Yang Qian Ye would forfeit his turn. Thus, they were surprised when he flew into the battlefield and directly called out, “I challenge participant number four.”
Yuan Mo Yu was currently ranked fourth.
The fight went exactly as everyone expected. In fact, it could be seen that Yuan Mo Yu was rather considerate. He held back and only defeated Yang Qian Ye after ten moves.
‘As it turns out, our gap is so wide…’
After his defeat, Yang Qian Ye seemed to sober up. His arrogance and sense of superiority that arose after his rapid improvement vanished at this moment. As it turned out, he was still so weak.
“Yuan Mo Yu and Tuo Ba Xiu are so strong… Is Duan Ling Tian stronger than them?’
Yang Qian Ye knew nothing about Duan Ling Tian’s strength in the past. Now that Duan Ling Tian had improved, he knew even less. However, at this moment, he keenly felt that the gap between him and Duan Ling Tian was much wider than he had imagined. At the very least, it would be impossible for him to surpass Duan Ling Tian in a short time.