Volume 7, Chapter 391 – Drawing Lots (Part 2)

“Alright, the drawing of lots will now commence. Each sect I call shall send a representative to draw a lot. Those below are strictly forbidden from making noise.”

Steward Cai issued a warning before pulling out the registry and began calling names. Beside him stood two disciples specifically tasked with overseeing the lot-drawing process.

“Changhe Sect… Longchang Sect…”

Steward Cai started announcing the names one by one. Each sect called upon sent a representative to draw a lot. Since the bamboo slips only bore randomized numbers, the plaza remained relatively calm at first. After all, no one yet knew who their opponent would be.

“Please, heavens! Let us draw a weaker sect!”

Yun Fei prayed silently.

“Second Senior Sister, didn’t you say you wanted to avenge Little Junior Sister? Why the sudden cowardice?”

Shen Yuan mercilessly exposed her hesitation.

“Uh…”

Yun Fei’s expression instantly turned awkward. Thinking quickly, she retorted, “What do you know? Precisely because I want revenge, I need to conserve my strength early on!”

“You’re just afraid you’ll get eliminated before even encountering them!”

Su Qingying, the sharp-tongued maiden, interjected coldly.

“If you don’t speak, no one will mistake you for mute!”

Yun Fei’s willow-leaf brows shot up in irritation.

“Enough bickering. With me here, it doesn’t matter who we draw.”

Qi Huang quickly stepped in to mediate.

“But you still have to give us a chance to fight! Otherwise, what was the point of us coming all this way?”

Ruan Lingyu grew anxious.

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“Relax. If it’s revenge you want, I’ll make sure you get your wish when the time comes.”

Qi Huang spoke with absolute confidence.

“Jinliu Sect!”

At that moment, Steward Cai’s voice rang out, calling another sect’s name.

“Oh? The Jinliu Sect is here too? This isn’t the Evergreen Conference, it’s a gathering of enemies!”

A satisfied smile curled on Qi Huang’s lips. “Good. This saves me the trouble of hunting them down later and fabricating excuses.”

“My grudges are mine to settle. Remember what I said. Unless I fall, you are not to interfere.”

Cheng Hongling, standing beside her, issued another stern reminder. Whether it was for the sake of pride or some other reason, no one could guess.

“Tch… Must you be so stubborn?”

Qi Huang grumbled in dissatisfaction. She truly didn’t want to see her main body injured again. The other sisters exchanged uneasy glances.

“My stance is clear. If you dare interfere prematurely, I’ll… I’ll release Cheng Ling and turn you into a woman for good.”

Cheng Hongling transmitted her threat through divine sense, clearly at her wit’s end.

“No need to be so brutal!”

Qi Huang shuddered internally before hastily backtracking. “Fine, fine! You’re the main body, you call the shots.”

“Hmph!”

Only then did Cheng Hongling snort in satisfaction.

Qi Huang found the situation both amusing and exasperating. But just then, her extended divine sense detected an aggressive surge of spiritual energy crashing recklessly toward them, directly colliding with the protective barrier around Cheng Hongling’s consciousness.

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“Hm?”

Qi Huang was momentarily stunned. She hadn’t expected anyone to dare probe others with divine sense in an Immortal Alliance branch. Tracing the source, her gaze landed on a lean, muscular young man. His appearance was unremarkable, neither tall nor particularly handsome, with only the doppelgänger mark between his eyebrows standing out.

Indeed, this was Lü Er, the Heavenly Soul doppelgänger of Lü Yi, the top immortal seedling of the Weiyuan Empire. He had been observing Cheng Hongling and Qi Huang from nearby, but as time passed, his restraint wavered. Deciding to at least look to sate his lust, he was shocked to find his divine sense blocked.

“Huh? Isn’t this woman only at the Incarnation Realm’s second layer?”

Lü Er’s face twisted in surprise. He had just unleashed divine sense at the third layer of the Incarnation Realm, fully expecting to breach her defenses. Not only had she blocked it, but her doppelgänger had caught him red-handed.

His eyes met Qi Huang’s. Far from feeling guilty, he flashed her a provocative smirk.

‘What kind of reckless fool is this?’

Qi Huang frowned slightly. She couldn’t tell if this man was ignorant of the Immortal Alliance’s rules or simply arrogant enough to act so brazenly in such a setting.

Lü Er, however, found Qi Huang’s delicate, irritated expression even more enticing. Abandoning Cheng Hongling, he redirected his divine sense toward Qi Huang instead.

“If I can’t see the main body, I’ll settle for the doppelgänger. They’re practically the same anyway!”

‘Psychopath!’

Qi Huang rolled her eyes. ‘My divine sense barrier is at the peak of the Incarnation Realm. If you can break through that, then by all means, take a look.’

Sure enough, Lü Er soon froze in place. His divine sense collided with Qi Huang’s preemptive barrier yet again.

‘Impossible! How can a mere doppelgänger block third-layer Incarnation Realm divine sense?’

His composure shattered, and the perverse thoughts flooding his mind receded like a tide.

“Could she be concealing her true strength?”

The moment this thought surfaced, Lü Er’s eyes gleamed with excitement. If this woman’s cultivation surpassed the second layer of the Incarnation Realm. paired with her peerless beauty. she would be nothing short of a heaven-sent prodigy, perfect to serve as his principal wife.

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Qi Huang, reading his expression, knew he had grown suspicious. Casually, she retrieved a talisman from her spatial ring and waved it tauntingly.

This was no ordinary talisman, it was a “Bodyguard Talisman”. Unlike standard defensive charms that emitted yang energy, this one contained a burst of divine sense pre-imbued by a cultivator. Once crushed, it would form a temporary divine sense barrier, shielding the user from prying eyes. Such talismans were highly favored by female cultivators wary of peeping toms.

‘Ah, a Bodyguard Talisman! No wonder!’

Lü Er’s confusion cleared. It wasn’t uncommon for female cultivators to use such items to guard against lecherous men.

“Cheng Hongling isn’t descended from immortals. Reaching the second layer of the Incarnation Realm at her age is already a miracle. As the Honghua Sect’s pillar, she handles everything personally, where would she find the time to hide her strength? I overestimated her!”

Having rationalized the situation, Lü Er felt a pang of disappointment. Conquering a mere vase held little appeal. With that, he withdrew his divine sense.

Qi Huang stored the talisman away, a fox-like smirk playing on her lips. She had obtained this Bodyguard Talisman by chance. Its divine sense was only at the Unity Realm level, yet it had served its purpose flawlessly, leaving Lü Er utterly fooled.

She averted her gaze but remained slightly wary. If a mere doppelgänger possessed third-layer Incarnation Realm divine sense, how powerful was the main body? It seemed this year’s Evergreen Conference in Yongning Province truly hid dragons and crouching tigers.

As for Cheng Hongling, having not extended her divine sense, she remained oblivious to the exchange.

“Honghua Sect!”

Before long, Steward Cai finally called their name.

As sect leader, Qin Quan stepped forward to draw a lot on their behalf. The result: “Fifty”. Their opponent would be whoever drew “Fifty-One.”

“Who has Fifty-One?”

“I don’t think anyone’s drawn it yet.”

“Wait, didn’t Steward Cai call it earlier?”

“Please don’t let it be the Donglai Sect! They’re too strong, and we have no grudge with them, I won’t even get a revenge arc!”

The senior sisters whispered among themselves.

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“Shh! Quiet!”

Xu Mei hissed at them.

Qi Huang remained indifferent. Right now, she couldn’t care less about their opponent’s identity, only how to send them packing in the most spectacular fashion.

“Lü Er!”

A while later, Steward Cai called another name, but this time, it wasn’t a sect. The moment the name left his lips, the plaza fell dead silent.

Qi Huang, puzzled, glanced around until her eyes landed on the same brazen young man from earlier, now striding forward.

“Lü Er? Is that a sect name?”

“Steward Cai didn’t add ‘Sect’ after it, it’s clearly a person’s name. Is he participating alone?”

“No way! Who’d be that stupid? Even if you can enter solo, why would you choose to get humiliated?”

“Maybe he’s just that confident?”

“Confident? In this cultivation world, aside from the Nine Great Monsters, who among our peers can fight one against ten?”

“Well, his name sounds pretty weird. Isn’t it expected he’d do something ridiculous?”

“Hah! Drawing him is practically a free pass! If only our sect could get him!”

Murmurs erupted among the cultivators present.

“Hmph!”

Suddenly, Lü Er, having drawn his lot, turned and swept a condescending gaze over the crowd.

“What? Is it so strange for one to participate alone? Only the weak need teammates. Against insects like you, I am an army unto myself… and that is enough!”