Volume 7, Chapter 403 – Second Round Draw (Part 2)

“Understood! Don’t worry! I’ll make sure the task is completed!”

Wang Zong accepted the order and immediately gathered the male disciples to carry out their mission without delay.

“Sigh! Being beautiful sure has its perks. These guys never move this quickly when I give them orders.”

Qin Quan watched the backs of the departing male disciples with a hint of jealousy.

Qi Huang let out a self-deprecating laugh at his words, thinking to herself: ‘Beautiful? It was my second brother’s sacrifice that made this possible. If you knew the truth, you wouldn’t be so envious!’

In less than fifteen minutes, Wang Zong and the others returned with the information they had gathered.

“Junior Sister, we’ve confirmed it, the Haizhi Sect drew number two.”

Wang Zong hurried back to report.

“Number two? So they’ll be fighting in the first match?”

Xu Mei was slightly surprised.

“First match? Perfect. I’ll teach those guys what real arrogance looks like.”

Qi Huang, however, was thrilled.

“I already told you, you can’t act until after I’ve fallen.”

Cheng Hongling’s voice cut in once again.

“Uh… Fine. Can I at least keep cracking melon seeds on the stage then?”

Qi Huang asked helplessly.

“No. Do you know what those disgusting men do with your discarded melon seed shells?”

Cheng Hongling immediately vetoed the idea.

“What do they do?”

Qi Huang was genuinely curious, she had never paid attention to this before.

“They… buy them to brew into tea.”

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A faint flush of discomfort crossed Cheng Hongling’s delicate face. After all, in the eyes of others, she and Qi Huang were one and the same.

“Huh? They sure know how to enjoy themselves.”

Qi Huang was rather impressed. If she were still a man, she might have done the same.

“Hm? What did you just say?”

Cheng Hongling’s beautiful eyes narrowed slightly.

“N-nothing! Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to collect all the shells this time. I won’t let them get a single one.”

Qi Huang quickly corrected herself.

Cheng Hongling trusted her enough to drop the matter.

“Senior Brother Wang, I’ll have to trouble you again, find out who drew the first lot.”

Qi Huang then issued another request.

“No need. I already checked. The first lot was drawn by a prefecture-level sect from Qingshan County in our prefecture, the Qingshan Sect.”

Wang Zong answered promptly.

“Qingshan Sect? If I recall, their strength is mid-to-lower tier in our prefecture, right? In that case, they’ll definitely be happy to trade lots with us!”

Qi Huang grinned, then turned to Qin Quan. “Sect Leader Qin, hand over your lot. I’ll go make the exchange.”

“Leave it to me! I’ll handle it flawlessly.”

Qin Quan immediately offered his services eagerly.

“No thanks. At your age, with that shrewd smile of yours, they’d suspect a trap if you suddenly offered to trade lots for no reason.”

Qi Huang replied with a sarcastic jab.

“Ah… Are you sure you don’t need me? Then I’ll trouble you to go personally.”

Qin Quan hastily handed the lot to Qi Huang.

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Once she had it, Qi Huang left, with all the female disciples following closely behind.

“This Sect Leader Qin, he mocked Senior Brother Wang and the others, but he’s even more eager to please than they are.”

Ruan Lingyu remarked in amusement.

“He’s not stupid. He knows his position as sect leader depends entirely on Junior Sister’s favor.”

Shen Yuan sneered.

“Don’t talk nonsense. He’s still the sect leader. Though his cultivation isn’t high, his experience in managing the sect isn’t something just anyone can match. Your Junior Sister may have outstanding talent, but the more gifted she is, the more she should focus entirely on cultivation. She can’t afford to be distracted by trivial matters, so she can’t replace him just yet.”

Xu Mei quickly intervened.

“Master is right. I have no interest in being sect leader for now.”

Cheng Hongling also made her stance clear. With her qualifications, if she truly cared about fame and status, she wouldn’t just be eyeing the measly position of Honghua Sect leader, even half the kingdom would be within her reach.

“I’m interested! If he doesn’t want the position, give it to me. I’ll do a better job than him.”

Qi Huang immediately jumped in. Coming from a humble background, she was easily satisfied, the position of Honghua Sect leader was an absolute prize in her eyes.

“Want it? Fine. First, cure that ‘mental illness’ of yours. Otherwise, what’s the difference between you two? One is physically disabled but strong-willed, the other is mentally disabled but physically strong.”

Cheng Hongling smirked.

Qi Huang was left speechless. It seemed that obtaining that psychiatric certificate wasn’t entirely a good thing. Now even job opportunities were being denied because of it.

Meanwhile, the Qingshan Sect members were in complete despair. They had exhausted every trick to get through the first round, only for the heavens to reward them with an even stronger opponent in the second.

“This is just ridiculous! Sect Leader Li, how could you draw such a terrible lot? The Haizhi Sect is the second most powerful sect in Yongning Prefecture! Forget their Incarnation Realm external reinforcement, just their own disciples are beyond our ability to handle!”

One of the accompanying elders complained.

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“Elder Huang, what are you saying? Since when can I control what lot I draw?”

Sect Leader Li snapped back in embarrassment and anger.

“But your luck is just awful. If I’d known, I would’ve gone up to draw instead.”

Elder Huang muttered resentfully.

“Hah! Your luck is even worse than mine. You might’ve ‘rewarded’ us with the Donglai Sect instead!”

Sect Leader Li retorted sharply.

“Sect Leader, isn’t it possible to exchange lots? Why don’t we find someone to trade with?”

A particularly clever disciple suggested.

“Are you stupid? The Haizhi Sect is the second strongest sect in Yongning Province! Their disciples are all at least Unity Realm, and they even have an Incarnation Realm third-layer reinforcement! What idiot would trade with us?”

Sect Leader Li immediately berated him.

“Not necessarily. The lot numbers aren’t public. We could trick someone. Once the trade is done, it’ll be too late for them to back out.”

The disciple whispered conspiratorially.

“Hmm… There’s some logic to that.”

Sect Leader Li’s eyes lit up as he handed the lot over. “Good thinking, Zhang Qiang! This mission is yours now.”

“Leave it to me!”

Zhang Qiang puffed out his chest confidently.

Unfortunately, reality didn’t cooperate. After running around for a while, he couldn’t fool a single person. After all, who would hastily agree to trade such an important lot without investigating first?

Zhang Qiang had no choice but to sheepishly return the lot.

“See? I told you no fool would fall for it! You were just daydreaming!”

Sect Leader Li gnashed his teeth.

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“Ahem… Fellow Daoists of the Qingshan Sect, may I ask which lot you drew and who your opponent is?”

Just then, a timid female voice spoke up.

The Qingshan Sect members turned to see several female cultivators standing before them, each more beautiful and youthful than the last, with figures ranging from slender to curvaceous. A captivating fragrance wafted from them, leaving the men momentarily stunned.

Sect Leader Li was the first to snap out of it, having noticed the Doppelgänger Mark on the leading girl’s forehead. Upon closer inspection, wasn’t this the Honghua Sect’s prodigy?

“Honghua Sect’s junior, correct? What brings you here?”

Sect Leader Li quickly responded.

“Sect Leader Li, we were hoping to exchange lots with you. May we ask which sect you drew as your opponent?”

Qi Huang repeated her question, deliberately putting on an innocent expression.

“…”

Sect Leader Li was momentarily stunned. He never expected the “fools” to come knocking on their own. After a brief internal struggle, he made up his mind and lied smoothly:

“Ah, we were quite lucky! We drew the second lot, our opponent is the Heyi Sect from the neighboring prefecture. They’re quite weak.”

The Honghua Sect women were dumbfounded. They hadn’t expected the other party to outright lie, making it awkward for them to propose an exchange now.

“You, a sect leader, how can you lie so shamelessly?! You clearly drew—”

Shen Yuan, ever the righteous firebrand, immediately spoke up to expose him.

“Wait! Senior Sister, a dignified sect leader like him would never lie! If that’s the case, they’d never agree to trade with us. Let’s not disturb them further.”

Qi Huang quickly stopped her, then pretended to turn away.

“Wait! Junior Sisters, wait! May I ask which sect you drew?”

Sect Leader Li panicked and called out hastily.

The corner of Qi Huang’s lips curled up slightly before she turned back with a pitiful expression.