Volume 3, Chapter 161 – Stop Acting, I Beg You (Part 4)

“I knew Elder Zheng wasn’t that kind of person!”

“Exactly! Our Yuxiao Sect is, after all, a righteous and prestigious sect with strict discipline and upright morals. How could a bandit become an elder? This is nothing but an insult to us!”

“An insult? More like extortion! I’ve heard the Honghua Sect hails from the desolate Huangtian Prefecture—she must be so desperate for wealth that she resorts to baseless accusations. Truly, a rat’s nest breeds no decent folk.”

“Cheng Hongling falsely accused Elder Zheng, intending to ruin our Yuxiao Sect’s reputation. How despicable! We absolutely cannot let this slide.”

The high-ranking members, now emboldened, began verbally attacking Qi Huang.

Furious at first, Qi Huang soon relaxed into a smile—she had long prepared herself for this scenario.

“Seems you were right. Never judge a book by its cover. Even Liu Lei, with his thick eyebrows and broad face, has sold his conscience. Looks like he’s determined to deny everything to protect the Yuxiao Sect’s reputation.”

She sent a mental message to her true self, referring to Sect Leader Liu by his full name, Liu Lei.

“In that case, we’ll have to resort to force. No matter how many experts the Yuxiao Sect has, I’m rescuing Father today.”

Cheng Hongling’s response was resolute.

“Hold off! I haven’t even started my performance yet. Wait until I fail before you act. Don’t forget our initial plan.”

Qi Huang quickly reminded her.

“Cheng Hongling, you’ve slandered my reputation and tarnished the Yuxiao Sect’s name. How do you intend to settle this debt?”

Zheng Wei, now confident of his victory, stepped forward aggressively.

“Sigh.”

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Qi Huang let out an ambiguous sigh before turning to Sect Leader Liu with a look of pity. “Sect Leader Liu! Seeing you, I finally understand why the Yuxiao Sect is ranked fifth in Yongning Prefecture.”

“You impudent brat! How dare you insult me?”

Liu Lei, flushed with anger, rose from his throne.

“No, no, I’m praising you! With your narrow-mindedness, managing to bring the Yuxiao Sect to fifth place is truly exceeding expectations.”

Qi Huang twisted the knife further.

“You’d better give me a satisfactory explanation, or else—even as fellow members of the Immortal Alliance—I, as your elder, have the right to teach you a lesson.”

Liu Lei’s gaze turned icy, his aura chilling.

“Teach me a lesson? More like teaching me to lie! Let me ask you—is that really what the manager of the Jujin Auction House told you?”

Qi Huang narrowed her beautiful eyes, meeting his challenge head-on.

“How could it be false? As the esteemed leader of the Yuxiao Sect, would I stoop to lying?”

Liu Lei swept his gaze around the room, his tone haughty.

“If that’s the case, you wouldn’t mind handing me the Thousand-Mile Communication Tube so I can verify it myself, would you?”

Qi Huang extended her fair hand demandingly.

Liu Lei stiffened momentarily before falling into awkward silence.

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“What’s wrong, Sect Leader Liu? This concerns my father’s safety. Surely there’s no harm in letting me confirm with the auction house’s manager?”

Qi Huang’s smile was faintly mocking.

“My apologies, but this communication tube belongs to Protector Fang. I have no right to lend it to you.”

Liu Lei spoke calmly while shooting a warning glare at Protector Fang.

Protector Fang hesitated but ultimately dared not oppose him.

“Indeed! I completely understand.”

Qi Huang nodded sagely before leisurely retrieving a Thousand-Mile Communication Tube from her robes. “Then I’ll just use my own to contact the auction house—no objections, right? Everyone, would you like to listen? This device can amplify sound. If you’d like, the entire Yuxiao Sect can hear.”

Liu Lei and Zheng Wei’s expressions froze. Never in their wildest dreams had they imagined a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old girl could be so meticulous.

“Taking your silence as consent? Then listen carefully!”

Qi Huang moved to open the communication tube’s cover.

“Impudent brat! Publicly doubting Sect Leader Liu is nothing short of disrespect. I won’t let you succeed!”

Zheng Wei, no longer able to remain composed, hastily fabricated a charge against Qi Huang. In a flash, he drew the sword from his back and vanished from sight, reappearing like a gust of wind as he lunged at her. The cold gleam of his blade aimed straight for her throat.

At this point, his goal was no longer extortion—it was silencing Cheng Hongling permanently.

‘Heh, trying to kill me to keep me quiet? Do you really think you can?’

Qi Huang inwardly scoffed. Suddenly, her divine sense surged outward like an invisible waterfall, crashing down upon Zheng Wei.

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Zheng Wei, now inches away, wore a triumphant grin. In his eyes, a mere girl like her couldn’t possibly surpass him in cultivation—at best, she’d just entered the Unity Realm. Killing her should’ve been effortless.

Liu Lei and the others turned a blind eye. If Zheng Wei succeeded in eliminating “Cheng Hongling”, it would benefit the entire Yuxiao Sect—not only preserving their reputation but also eliminating fear of retaliation, given the Honghua Sect’s known weakness.

But they were wrong.

Just as Zheng Wei closed in for the kill, an immense pressure descended from above. Caught off guard, his legs buckled, sending him sliding into a kneel before Qi Huang—to onlookers, it looked like a sudden act of remorseful surrender.

“Elder Zheng! We were ready to fight to the death—why are you kneeling first?”

A furious elder berated him, unaware of the unseen divine sense at play.

“D-Divine… Divine Sense Suppression? Such powerful suppression! Y-You… You’ve reached the… the Incarnation Realm!”

Zheng Wei ignored the accusation, his face twisted in terror. He tried to stand, but fear had sapped the strength from his legs.

“What? Divine Sense Suppression? Impossible! To force him to his knees like that, she must be at least at the Incarnation Realm!”

“Is Cheng Hongling truly at the Incarnation Realm? Weren’t there rumors before?”

“No way! A fifteen- or sixteen-year-old Incarnation Realm genius? Not even in the entire Western Radiance Dynasty, let alone a backwater like Huangtian Prefecture!”

“Right! Elder Zhou from the Huxiao Sect personally went to the Honghua Sect to expose her as a fraud. Everyone knows she’s fake.”

The high-ranking members exchanged bewildered glances.

“Pathetic. You’ve lived for decades, yet you can’t even see through something this simple. If that Zhou fellow had told the truth, every immortal sect under heaven would’ve tried to recruit me. Would the Huxiao Sect have stood a chance then?”

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Qi Huang’s mockery was biting.

Realization dawned on the elders’ faces.

“That bastard Zhou deceived everyone! If she’s truly an Incarnation Realm genius, she’d be unprecedented in the Western Radiance Dynasty! Offending her would doom our Yuxiao Sect!”

“Exactly! Reaching the Incarnation Realm at fifteen—what monstrous talent! Give her a few years, and crushing our sect would be no harder than squashing an ant.”

“Then we must eliminate her today! Letting her go would be setting a tiger free on the mountain!”

The high-ranking members quickly reached a consensus.

“Still thinking of silencing me? Weren’t you just boasting about the Yuxiao Sect’s righteous reputation? Forgotten already?”

Qi Huang’s taunt was laced with scorn.

“I don’t care if you’re an Incarnation Realm genius! Dare to act recklessly in the Yuxiao Sect’s great hall, and you’ll pay the price!”

Liu Lei’s roar erupted like thunder. Knowing there was no turning back, he resolved to subdue her swiftly to minimize the fallout.

Qi Huang’s heart leaped into her throat. Liu Lei was a genuine Incarnation Realm expert—if he attacked directly, her ruse would be exposed instantly. Her only hope was that his pride would lead him to test her with divine sense first.

Fortune favored her. Liu Lei, perhaps out of arrogance, didn’t strike physically. Instead, he unleashed his formidable divine sense, shaping it into an invisible mountain that bore down on Qi Huang. Since everyone present could perceive divine sense, the spectacle was clear to all.

‘A divine sense battle? I, Qi Huang, fear no one!’

Delighted, Qi Huang gathered all her divine sense, molding it into a fist the size of a room, and punched upward at the descending mountain.