Volume 7, Chapter 395 – Why Is He Going Up Alone?

The moment the scene unfolded, the inn’s guests scattered like startled birds and beasts. Even the innkeeper and the waiters dared not intervene.

Qi Huang casually glanced up at the old man. For some reason, he gave her a faint sense of familiarity.

“May I ask what your intentions are?”

Qin Quan calmly wiped his hands before leisurely standing up. With disciples like Cheng Hongling and Qi Huang present, what did he have to fear?

As for the other disciples, most were still stuffing their faces, completely disregarding the unfriendly group that had barged in.

“I won’t waste words. Hand over your lot. Otherwise, don’t blame me for being impolite.”

The leading old man’s expression twisted into a snarl.

“You must understand well enough that qualifying for the Evergreen Conference is no easy feat. Losing this lot is equivalent to forfeiting. Do you really think I’d hand it over so easily?”

Qin Quan remained unruffled as he countered.

“This old man is willing to exchange with you.”

The old man proposed what he considered a “win-win” solution.

“May I ask what number your token bears?” Qin Quan inquired curiously.

“Number sixteen!”

The old man answered bluntly, his tone brimming with confidence.

“Sixteen?”

Qi Huang mulled over the number, then suddenly brightened. The Huxiao Sect had drawn number fifteen. If they exchanged tokens with these people, it would mean the two factions would face off in the very first round.

‘If we can eliminate these eyesores in the first round, nothing could be more satisfying!’

Excitement surged through Qi Huang’s heart.

“The opponent for number sixteen is fifteen. Who holds fifteen?”

Ruan Lingyu scanned the surroundings in confusion.

“Fifteen? Why does that sound so familiar? It must be one of the sects we investigated.”

Yun Fei fell into thought.

“It’s the Huxiao Sect,” answered Wang Zong, the male disciple beside her, as he was primarily responsible for intelligence gathering.

“What? The Huxiao Sect? That’s a tough opponent!”

Ruan Lingyu was instantly alarmed.

Rеαԁ оn ΚatRеαԁiոgСαfе

“We can’t exchange! We haven’t even had the pleasure of crushing weaklings yet. I don’t want to become a spectator so soon.”

Yun Fei rejected the idea without hesitation, and the others quickly echoed her sentiment.

“Let me make this clear, I am Yue Lai, an elder of the Chongyue Sect. The Chongyue Sect is not some minor faction your Honghua Sect can afford to provoke. Don’t think that just because you have a so-called ‘little genius’ like Cheng Hongling, you can act without fear. She may be talented, but she’s not strong enough yet. If you agree to the exchange today, we’ll part peacefully. If you refuse… well, whether this ‘genius’ of yours lives long enough to grow stronger remains to be seen!”

The old man’s threat hung heavily in the air.

“Chongyue Sect?”

Qi Huang felt the name was familiar again. She racked her brain and soon recalled that when she had gone to capture the Nine Nether Demon Cat for the Yuxiao Sect’s leader, she had once impersonated a Divine Realm expert to rob several Incarnation Realm cultivators. Among them, two were from the Chongyue Sect, and this man had been one of them.

No wonder he seemed familiar earlier. So it’s the victim making a comeback.

“You dare threaten us?”

Shen Yuan, hot-tempered as ever, immediately leaped to his feet, glaring furiously. The other disciples also stood up, and the atmosphere in the inn grew tense.

“Oh? So you’d really sacrifice the Honghua Sect’s future over a mere lot?”

Yue Lai narrowed his eyes.

“Sect Leader Qin, give him the token.”

At that moment, Cheng Hongling’s icy voice cut through the tension.

“What? Are you sure?”

Qin Quan turned back in astonishment. The others wore equally incredulous expressions. None of them had expected the usually unyielding Cheng Hongling to back down.

Qi Huang, however, smiled. She knew her main body would never yield, not in this lifetime!

Cheng Hongling didn’t respond further, only fixing Qin Quan with an unblinking stare.

Understanding the temperament of this genius disciple, Qin Quan sighed helplessly and handed over the lot marked “Fifty”.,

“Many thanks, Sect Leader Qin, for your generosity!”

Yue Lai accepted the token with a mocking remark before tossing his own “Fifteen” token at Qin Quan. Then, with a wave of his hand, he led his disciples away in triumph.

“Junior Sister! Why did you agree? In broad daylight like this, I refuse to believe he’d dare to outright rob us!”

Ruan Lingyu was indignant.

“Exactly! The Huxiao Sect is already formidable, and they’ve even recruited two powerful external reinforcements. They’ll be extremely difficult to deal with!”

“Sigh… I was hoping that if luck was on our side, they’d face one of the stronger sects early on. Even if they weren’t eliminated, they’d at least be weakened, and we could swoop in for an easy victory. But now you’ve handed ourselves to them on a platter!”

“What were you thinking? With Junior Sister Qi Huang here, what kind of waves could those clowns possibly make?”

Rеαԁ oո ΚаtRеaⅾіոgСаfе

The other senior sisters also voiced their complaints, unable to comprehend her decision.

“Afraid? When have you ever seen me afraid? I simply want to personally send the Huxiao Sect packing.”

Cheng Hongling stated her stance succinctly before rising and heading upstairs.

Qi Huang’s lips curled slightly.

As expected, the main body never disappoints.

“I think Hongling is right. On the path of cultivation, if you rely on luck, you’ll never achieve greatness.”

Xu Mei chimed in with earnest persuasion.

Hearing this, the senior sisters’ faces flushed with shame.

“I understand, but… Master… The reason we came to the Evergreen Conference was to protect Little Junior Sister. If we face the Huxiao Sect in the first round, what can we even do? What if she gets hurt?”

Ruan Lingyu voiced her concerns.

“Right! Let them fight among themselves first. Once they’ve weakened each other, dealing with the Huxiao Sect will be much easier for Junior Sister!”

Yun Fei agreed.

“What are you all so worried about? Am I not here?”

Qi Huang shook her head helplessly.

“What if she absolutely refuses to let you intervene? You know Junior Sister’s temper better than any of us, don’t you?”

Ruan Lingyu retorted.

“Then I just won’t listen to her.”

Qi Huang replied with unshakable confidence.

“You’re sure you’d dare to defy her?”

Ruan Lingyu pressed.

“O-Of course I’m sure.”

Qi Huang declared firmly.

“Then why are you stuttering?”

Ruan Lingyu smirked knowingly.

Reаd οո КаtReаⅾіոɡСαfе

“What stuttering? Who’s stuttering? What does Li the Stutterer ¹ 结巴 (jiēba = stutter) can be used as both a verb and a noun, hence “the Stutterer”. Meanwhile Li is the most common surname in China, therefore it would be equivalent to “John Doe” or “Jane Doe” in English. She is essentially saying “Oh, you mean some random stuttering guy named Li? Never heard of him!” Jokes that contain wordplays like these are hard to localize without it losing the original intent and meaning, and not to mention time consuming for me to learn and research. have to do with me, Qi Huang?”

Qi Huang played dumb.

Ruan Lingyu was so exasperated she shot her a glare brimming with feminine charm.

Yet Qi Huang remained cheerfully unbothered. She wasn’t lying, no one would ever lay a finger on her main body in her presence.

“Enough joking around! Since we’ve exchanged lots, we’ll be competing tomorrow, and against the Huxiao Sect, no less. We can’t afford to be careless. Everyone, rest early.”

Xu Mei issued the command.

The night passed without incident. The next morning, after breakfast, the Honghua Sect members headed to the Immortal Alliance’s branch. Though their match was scheduled for the latter half of the day, as Qin Quan had said, “Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.” Scouting their opponents beforehand was essential.

Of course, many others shared the same idea. By the time the Honghua Sect arrived, the branch was already packed with people.

Qi Huang swept her gaze across the crowd, the Donglai Sect, Huxiao Sect, Jinliu Sect, Longchang Sect, all the factions they had clashed with were present. The sight of those detestable faces made her itch with the urge to charge forward and turn the Evergreen Conference into a battlefield. But in the end, reason prevailed. Though she was bold, she wasn’t reckless.

As everyone waited eagerly, the appointed time, 9:15 AM, finally arrived. Steward Cai instructed the Immortal Alliance members to maintain order before stepping onto the stage to announce the start of the first match: Number One versus Number Two.

Qi Huang immediately perked up, focusing intently like everyone else. But she soon realized that the first match was nothing more than “amateurs clashing”. Not a single Incarnation Realm cultivator was present, not even a Unity Realm genius. It was utterly dull.

‘I shouldn’t have gotten my hopes up.’

Qi Huang sighed inwardly. She should have known better. While the Evergreen Conference seemed lively, the number of sects with Incarnation Realm geniuses was still small. Most matches were, in the eyes of experts like her, mere child’s play.

Once she grasped the situation, Qi Huang began zoning out, conserving her energy for the third match, Number Five versus Number Six, the real highlight of the day.

Cheng Hongling also closed her eyes to meditate. Battles of such low level were riddled with flaws; observing them was pointless.

In contrast, the other disciples watched with great interest. After all, they were the “amateurs” Qi Huang referred to.

The first match concluded, and at that moment, an unfamiliar cultivator stepped forward with a cheeky grin.

“Apologies for interrupting, but I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce my newly developed Blood-Restoring Pill. Though the Evergreen Conference is just a competition, blades and swords have no eyes. Who can guarantee they won’t get injured? It’s always good to be prepared—”

The Immortal Alliance disciple beside him opened his mouth several times, unsure whether to cut him off. This was the first time he’d encountered such a situation.

“Scram!”

The next moment, Lü Er leaped onto the stage and kicked the pill-peddling cultivator flying, then calmly stepped down as if nothing had happened.

“Now, let us welcome Numbers Three and Four to the stage.”

The Immortal Alliance disciple announced shakily.

Thus, the second match began, another snooze fest.

“Have you noticed something strange? From yesterday until now, we still haven’t seen Lü Er’s main body.”

Rеαd οո KаtRеaⅾіոgСаfе

Cheng Hongling suddenly sent a mental message.

“True. But an expert like him could arrive in the blink of an eye. He’s probably lying low somewhere, conserving his energy.”

Qi Huang analyzed.

“Is that so?”

Cheng Hongling sounded uncertain but had no counterargument.

“Hurry up! I’m waiting to see how Lü Er begs for mercy!”

“I’m more curious about who Number Six is. To dare hide their token under such pressure!”

“If they can’t even handle Lü Er, I’ll teach them a lesson they won’t forget!”

“Just forfeit already. Even if you barely scrape through this round, you’ll just be cannon fodder in the next. Why waste everyone’s time?”

“If you don’t step down now, I’ll be the one to ‘cure’ your cultivation addiction next round!”

The spectators grew impatient, hurling taunts. Thanks to Lü Er, “curing cultivation addiction” had become a popular catchphrase.

The two sects on stage flushed with humiliation, but knowing how rare this opportunity was, they stubbornly dragged out the match for another quarter of an hour before a winner emerged.

“It’s happening! Lü Er is taking the stage!”

The square buzzed with excitement.

‘The real show is finally starting!’

Qi Huang slowly opened her sharp, clear eyes. Beside her, Cheng Hongling did the same.

“Next, let us welcome Numbers Five and Six to the stage!”

Before the Immortal Alliance disciple could finish speaking, a figure had already leaped onto the platform, startling him into retreat.

“Who’s Number Six? Get your ass up here! You can hide, but you can’t escape. I promised to cure your cultivation addiction. Time to deliver!”

Lü Er shouted provocatively to the audience.

“What’s going on? Why is he going up alone? Where’s his main body?”

Qi Huang and Cheng Hongling exchanged puzzled glances. The crowd, too, murmured in confusion. Wasn’t this guy just a lackey running errands for his main body? Did he plan to participate in the Evergreen Conference as a mere doppelgänger?

“Oh really? Who’s curing who remains to be seen.”

A male voice rang out from the crowd.