Volume 7, Chapter 379 – A Doppelgänger He Can’t Handle

Cheng Hongling took a single step forward, and a wave of cold air surged ahead of her, spreading a thin layer of Profound Ice across the ground. In the next instant, she activated the Dancing Butterfly Movement Technique, appearing almost telepathically in front of Zhen Chao. With a swift motion, she raised her slender, jade-like leg and kicked.

BANG!

Though Zhen Chao’s strength was not weak, he had been caught completely off guard. Combined with Cheng Hongling’s terrifying speed, he didn’t even have time to react before her foot slammed squarely into his chest. His body was sent flying out of the hall like a ragged sack.

“Spouting nonsense about suppressing me with a flip of your hand? A single kick was all it took to send you flying.”

Cheng Hongling reappeared ghostlike at the doorway, her eyes filled with disdain as she stared at Zhen Chao, who was sprawled on the ground, dazed and disoriented.

“H-How… how is this possible? Y-You’re only at the Incarnation Realm’s second layer… How can you be so fast?”

Staggering to his feet, Zhen Chao’s face was a mask of shock. It wasn’t that he was particularly durable, rather, Cheng Hongling had held back.

“Get lost!” she spat coldly.

Zhen Chao took a deep breath before snarling, “Don’t get too cocky! I was just careless this time! Next time we meet at the Evergreen Conference, I’ll make you pay double!”

“How noisy.”

Cheng Hongling’s willow-leaf brows furrowed slightly as she flashed forward again.

“Hmph! Trying the same trick again? How naïve!”

Zhen Chao sneered. As a genius, he could tell that her speed relied entirely on the icy terrain. If he could break it, she’d be no threat.

With that thought, scorching heat erupted from his feet, surging forward in an attempt to repel the encroaching cold. But to his shock, his fire-attribute True Qi proved utterly useless against it.

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BANG!

The next moment, Zhen Chao was sent flying once more, rolling across the ground for over ten meters before finally collapsing like a dead pig.

“Stop rewarding him.”

Qi Huang, unable to watch any longer, hurried out to dissuade her main body.

“Rewarding him?” Cheng Hongling’s face showed confusion.

“Ahem…” Qi Huang coughed dryly, then strode forward with feigned composure. “Speaking of reward. Now do you understand how we earned our rewards?”

Zhen Chao didn’t dare talk back anymore. Struggling to push himself up, he scrambled away in a pathetic retreat.

“I knew someone would target our Honghua Sect, but I didn’t expect them to actually show up. Trying to use our name to participate in the competition and sideline our disciples? What a pipe dream.”

Qi Huang let out a cold laugh before turning to Qin Quan. “Sect Leader Qin, if this happens again, just bar them at the gate. Don’t let them in, or we won’t intervene next time.”

“Understood!” Qin Quan forced an awkward smile before muttering under his breath, “What do you mean ‘let them in’? He scaled the walls and forced his way in!”

Qi Huang pretended not to hear, thinking to herself, ‘You’re a sect leader who needs disciples to protect you—what a joke. If you weren’t at least obedient, this Fairy would’ve usurped your position long ago.’

After that day, others attempted to infiltrate the Honghua Sect, but Qin Quan turned them all away. Word of this quickly spread, and no one could fathom his reasoning. For a minor sect like Honghua, extra temporary help should have been welcome, even if they had to share the rewards, wasn’t that better than getting nothing at all?

A few days later, the prefecture-level Evergreen Conference was held as scheduled at the Honghua Sect. However, Qi Huang didn’t pay much attention. Aside from Honghua, Huangtian Prefecture only had a couple of micro-sects whose leaders were barely at the early Body Refinement Realm, let alone their disciples. The whole event was just a formality.

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Ruan Lingyu and the other senior sisters, however, were thrilled. After all, opportunities to crush weak opponents were rare for them.

Within days, the other micro-sects were all eliminated, and Honghua’s ten participating disciples became the prefecture’s official “immortal seedlings”. In six months, they would proceed to the prefectural-level Evergreen Conference, the same stage where Cheng Hongling had been eliminated last time.

The senior sisters, victorious in their first battle, were so exhilarated they couldn’t even sleep at night, rushing to share their excitement with Qi Huang.

Unsure if their enthusiasm was purely about the competition, Cheng Hongling stood guard like a sentinel beside them.

“Little Junior Sister, you’ve seen our strength now, so don’t underestimate us!” Yun Fei boasted smugly.

“That’s right! At the conference, we’ll give it our all to help you. We won’t let what happened last time repeat itself!” Shen Yuan clenched her teeth in determination.

“The Haizhi Sect, was it? This time, I’ll definitely avenge you.” The usually sharp-tongued Su Qingying spoke with rare solemnity.

“I may be the weakest, but I bite hard! Even if I’m knocked down, I’ll sink my teeth into them like a mad dog!” Miao Xiang flashed her pearly white teeth.

“Revenge is secondary. This time, since we’re participating, we must help Little Junior Sister obtain the Golden Fate Blossom seeds!”

For once, Ruan Lingyu didn’t criticize her juniors. Instead, she voiced her agreement.

Qi Huang and Cheng Hongling were stunned. They finally understood, their senior sisters hadn’t joined for vanity. They wanted to give their all to help them. All their earlier excuses had been just that, excuses.

Qi Huang hesitated, but in the end, she couldn’t bring herself to refuse their sincerity. “Alright, I believe in you!”

Cheng Hongling didn’t object either. She might be aloof, but she wasn’t heartless. How could she reject her sisters’ goodwill?

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At least not openly.

Time flew, and soon it was late September, only three months remained until the next Evergreen Conference!

That day, Steward Cai of the Yongning Prefecture Immortal Alliance branch received a Thousand-Mile Communication from his master, Elder Zuo.

“Cai De, what’s the situation in Yongning? How many outside geniuses have arrived?”

Elder Zuo pressed for details, he couldn’t afford to let his investments go to waste.

“Master, rest assured! Everything is under control. Major sects in Yongning have all been joined by outside geniuses, many at the Incarnation Realm. That Cheng Hongling two years ago couldn’t escape my grasp, let alone this time.”

Steward Cai spoke with confidence.

“Enough nonsense. Which geniuses have come?” Elder Zuo snapped impatiently.

“First, the empire’s Sixth Princess, Lin Ran. You’ve likely already heard of her.”

“Obviously! You reported her last time. Given her strength, it’s hard to say if she can defeat Cheng Hongling. We need others. Has Donglai Sect’s top genius arrived?”

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“Not yet. Rumor says he’s participating normally in his local conference, but who knows if that’s true.”

“That old fox Ye Donglai is playing it cautious. Smart ones won’t show up early. Once exposed, their opponents will prepare countermeasures. That’s disadvantageous.”

“Master is wise.”

“Any other geniuses?”

“There’s Changhe Sect’s…”

Steward Cai listed every name he knew.

“Any at the late Incarnation Realm?”

“None. But Master, Cheng Hongling is only at the early Incarnation Realm. Do we really need late-stage geniuses? Just Huxiao Sect alone has three or four at her level. I refuse to believe she can take them all on. Besides, strength isn’t just about cultivation—there’s artifacts, talismans, formations… Honghua Sect is dirt-poor. How can they compete with major sects?”

“Better safe than sorry. We’ll see how the next three months unfold. If Donglai’s genius truly doesn’t come, there may be variables. I must prepare for all possibilities.”

“What preparations, Master?”

“As an Immortal Alliance elder, I can still personally recruit a monster from the Central Continent.”

“Brilliant! If one of those Divine Realm freaks agrees, even a single doppelgänger would be something Cheng Hongling can’t handle!”

Steward Cai was overjoyed.