Volume 7, Chapter 393 – I’ll Make the Honghua Sect Get Knocked Out in the First Round

Lü Er’s voice boomed like thunder, reverberating across the entire plaza, startling even the ants on the ground into scurrying away in panic. Yet, after a long wait, no one responded.

“What’s wrong? Weren’t you all so arrogant earlier? Now that you don’t know who holds the sixth lot, you’re scared?”

“Brother, let me give you some advice. If you’re really that afraid, just lie and say you lost your lot. That way, you won’t have to step onto the stage and embarrass yourself!”

“Better hide that lot well. If someone sees it, the humiliation will be even worse!”

The cultivators in the crowd burst into mocking laughter. In their eyes, Lü Er’s bluster was clearly an attempt to scare the holder of the sixth lot into revealing themselves so he could prepare in advance.

“These idiots are truly stupid!”

Qi Huang curled her crimson lips disdainfully.

“What do you mean?” Xu Mei asked in confusion, while the rest of the Honghua Sect disciples turned their gazes toward her.

“They actually think Lü Er is nervous? This is obviously the confidence of someone who knows he’s unbeatable!” Qi Huang declared.

“What do you mean?” Shen Yuan pressed, still not understanding.

“Think about it. Given the current situation, it’s better if the holder of the sixth lot remains unknown. The moment it’s exposed, every major faction will fight over it, and it’ll inevitably end up in the hands of the strongest sect. That would be disastrous for Lü Er. So why would he deliberately try to scare the holder into revealing themselves?” Qi Huang explained.

The Honghua Sect disciples exchanged glances, momentarily speechless.

“There’s only one explanation, he’s not satisfied with the strength of his opponent,” Yun Fei cut in. As the smartest among the senior sisters, she immediately grasped Qi Huang’s meaning.

“Exactly. The sixth lot clearly isn’t in the hands of any of the top sects, so he wants to switch opponents,” Qi Huang concluded.

“This bastard is way too arrogant!” Shen Yuan gritted her teeth in fury.

“Yeah, I thought Junior Sister Qi Huang was already the pinnacle of arrogance, but this guy takes it to another level. Which sect’s disciple is he, anyway?” Ruan Lingyu sighed.

“What? You think he’s more arrogant than me?” Qi Huang immediately flared up, indignant that someone had dared to steal her thunder.

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“No, no! Of course, Junior Sister is still the most arrogant!” Ruan Lingyu hurriedly backtracked with a placating smile.

“Heh. I’ve been keeping a low profile to let you all have fun crushing the weak first. But after the first round, I’ll show you what true, unbridled arrogance looks like. No one in this world understands how to be domineering better than I do!” Qi Huang declared fiercely.

The Honghua Sect disciples exchanged uneasy glances, recalling Qi Huang’s past antics. A collective shiver ran down their spines.

“This is all your fault, Senior Sister! You know she’s unstable, why provoke her?” Yun Fei complained.

“Sorry! Sorry!” Ruan Lingyu apologized profusely, her expression extremely awkward.

Cheng Hongling, however, remained silent. When it came to audacity, she wouldn’t back down from anyone.

“Hmph! You really think I’m some pushover?”

Receiving no response after such a long wait, Lü Er snorted coldly and shouted again:

“Listen well! No matter who holds the sixth lot, tomorrow, I’ll be the first to cure you all of your delusions of immortality! Mark my words!”

With that, Lü Er turned and strode away.

The cultivators in the plaza remained unimpressed, still convinced he was just bluffing.

Meanwhile, in the Huxiao Sect’s Camp…

A disciple was reporting to Elder Zhou Ming.

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“Elder Zhou, we’ve confirmed it, the Honghua Sect drew the fiftieth lot.”

“Fiftieth? Then who holds the fifty-first?” Zhou Ming pressed.

“The Yuanyuan Sect from Wufeng County!”

“Wufeng County? The Yuanyuan Sect? That’s a minor sect, isn’t it?” Zhou Ming mused.

“Yes. None of their disciples have even reached the Incarnation Realm, their strongest is only at the late-stage Body Refinement Realm!” the disciple explained.

“Heh. This is just pure bullying. Seems the Honghua Sect got lucky, no wonder they were laughing so smugly!” Elder Zhou chuckled wryly.

“Doesn’t matter. Their luck won’t last. The moment they face us, they’re done for,” Lü Zhen interjected.

“True, but when will that be? I can’t stand seeing them so pleased with themselves, not even for a second longer. The Honghua Sect must be eliminated in the first round,” Elder Zhou’s smile turned sinister as he handed his lot to Lü Zhen. “Swapping lots isn’t hard. Go negotiate with the Yuanyuan Sect, I’m sure they’ll be more than happy to oblige.”

“Understood!”

Lü Zhen grinned and immediately set off to find the Yuanyuan Sect.

At the Grand Hall’s Entrance…

Steward Cai was debriefing his master, Elder Zuo.

“Master, look. Normally, Yongning Province only has about twenty county-level sects participating, but this time, over sixty have shown up. Quite the spectacle, isn’t it?” Steward Cai remarked, gazing at the sea of cultivators in the plaza.

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“Indeed. It seems my plan was a success,” Elder Zuo smiled in satisfaction.

“Though it’s a shame about those treasures. Who knows whose hands they’ll end up in?” Steward Cai sighed, his tone tinged with regret. As a peak Incarnation Realm cultivator, he coveted those resources.

“You think any of them stand a chance against Lü Er?” Elder Zuo frowned slightly.

“No, but I do have one concern. Lü Er only came to see Cheng Hongling. Technically, he doesn’t need to participate in the Evergreen Conference. What if he drops out midway and humiliates us?”

“He won’t,” Elder Zuo said confidently.

“Why not? Please enlighten me, Master.”

“Simple. Cheng Hongling’s beauty is undeniable, even among the top-ranked beauties on the Sinking Fish Grand Ranking, few can compare. More importantly, she has no powerful backing. A woman like her, once her fame spreads, will inevitably attract the attention of young masters from major Central Continent factions.”

“Ah! So to secure his claim, Lü Er must suppress her reputation through the Evergreen Conference, keeping her within his control until he can claim her!” Steward Cai realized.

“Exactly. This is what they call ‘don’t flaunt your wealth’. That’s why I was certain Lü Er would participate the moment I used Cheng Hongling as bait. That boy is a lecher through and through. At just twenty-five, he already has hundreds of concubines. With Cheng Hongling’s looks, he’ll be utterly obsessed.”

“Master, you’re truly wise!” Steward Cai praised, though a trace of worry flickered across his face. If Lü Yi succeeded, how would he explain things to the Huxiao Sect?

“Master, do you really think Lü Yi can succeed? Cheng Hongling is notoriously proud, even the Emperor couldn’t obtain one of her doppelgängers.”

“You heard what Lü Er said to Ye Donglai earlier. Do you think he was bluffing? The Emperor of the Western Radiance Dynasty isn’t fit to carry his shoes! For instance, if Lü Yi were to forcibly inscribe Cheng Hongling’s name onto the Lü Family’s Immortal Stele as his concubine, do you think that little girl could resist?”

“Of course not! Once that happens, the Immortal Stele would recognize her as a Lü Family woman. She’d either submit or die under the weight of immortal authority!” Steward Cai’s breathing grew ragged just mentioning the concept.

“Precisely. Lü Yi has done this many times before, most of his concubines were acquired this way. Once a woman’s name is written on that stele, her fate is sealed. No one can defy it, unless they can shatter the stele itself.”

“Shatter the Immortal Stele? Impossible! As long as you’re mortal, you can’t oppose an immortal’s will!” Steward Cai shook his head in resignation. If Lü Yi was determined to claim Cheng Hongling, the Huxiao Sect’s plans were doomed.

“There is one exception, if she were also a descendant of an immortal, she could use another Immortal Stele to counter Lü Yi’s. But Cheng Hongling was born into an ordinary family. She has no such luck.”

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“What if another immortal descendant takes a liking to her?”

“Then it’d come down to whose Immortal Stele is stronger. That’s exactly why Lü Er must suppress her fame, until the ‘rice is cooked’ and she’s his.”

“Heh, this just occurred to me. Cheng Hongling’s name was already inscribed on Wen Jing’s tombstone by the Shuiyu Valley. What would happen if Lü Yi also writes it on his family’s Immortal Stele?”

“Then Shuiyu Valley would be doomed. Immortal authority would descend, and not even their chickens or dogs would be spared.”

Elder Zuo’s lips curled into a gloating smirk.

Meanwhile, Outside the Immortal Alliance Branch…

The moment Lü Er stepped out, he used mental transmission to contact his main body.

“Brother, I’ve seen Cheng Hongling.”

“And?” Lü Yi’s voice was calm. After all, as a man with a vast harem of peerless beauties, he wasn’t easily impressed.

“She’s a true rarity, on par with the top three beauties on the Sinking Fish Grand Ranking. The rumors about her receiving perfect scores in all six categories of the Phoenix Selection Token weren’t exaggerated!”

Lü Er’s voice trembled slightly with excitement.

“What? Truly?”

Lü Yi’s tone abruptly sharpened.