Volume 7, Chapter 415 – You Still Dare to Crack Melon Seeds?

As Cheng Hongling’s voice fell, all murmurs of dissent below immediately vanished without a trace.

Qi Huang turned her head to glance at her main body, feeling a surge of emotion. If not for Cheng Hongling’s timely intervention, she might have found herself in an awkward situation.

“Now this is going to be interesting! Cheng Hongling, the main body herself, has taken the stage to provoke them. Let’s see if those two sects dare to respond!”

“Of course they have to! With so many cultivators watching, refusing would instantly ruin their reputation!”

“Respond, my ass! In the cultivation world, securing resources is everything. If they charge up now in the heat of the moment and end up mutually wounded, what will they do during the actual competition?”

“Exactly. Strength reigns supreme in the cultivation world. Reputation? Worthless!”

The cultivators from various sects below whispered among themselves.

Elder Zhou had never expected Cheng Hongling, despite her young age, to be so cunningly meticulous. She had effortlessly dismantled the strategy he had painstakingly devised, once again forcing him into a corner.

“Damn it, I can’t take this anymore! Who does this brat think she is, acting so arrogantly? Just wait till I get up there and beat her until she calls me ‘Daddy’!”

Lu Zhen’s eyes burned with fury.

“Right! The three of us should go up together. If we don’t shatter her Dao Heart, I’ll drink tea brewed from her melon seed shells right here!”

“And I’ll lick her shoes clean! I mean it!”

The other two foreign Immortal Seeds at the fourth layer of the Incarnation Realm also couldn’t hold back their anger.

“I’ll say it again, how do you know she’ll actually fight head-on? What if she forfeits? If you step onto that stage, the Donglai Sect’s Immortal Seeds will be forced to compete for their reputation’s sake. If both sides end up severely wounded, you’ll have fallen right into that little brat’s trap!”

Zhou Ming hurriedly intervened.

“Then what should we do?” Lu Zhen asked, nearly tearing his hair out in frustration.

“Hold our ground!” Zhou Ming replied after a brief moment of thought.

“Hold our ground? Didn’t you hear the whispers around us? If we don’t even dare to accept the challenge now, won’t we be looked down upon by all the cultivators from every sect? How will we establish ourselves in the cultivation world after this?”

Lü Zhen’s agitation grew.

“Are you an idiot? Don’t you understand the principle of ‘enduring small humiliations to accomplish greater goals’? This is the Evergreen Conference! If you have what it takes to take first place, even if you’re covered in filth, you’ll still come out shining!”

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Zhou Ming scolded him furiously, exasperated by his lack of foresight.

Lu Zhen froze for a moment before realization dawned on him. He quickly nodded. “Understood, Elder Zhou! I was too impulsive!”

Meanwhile, the Donglai Sect was also deliberating their next move.

“Master, it seems I have no choice but to step up. Cheng Hongling is dead set on forcing us and the Huxiao Sect to fight. Fine, I’ll grant her wish!”

Cheng Kang sneered.

“Oh? Are you saying you’re less composed than those from the Huxiao Sect?”

Ye Donglai casually reminded him.

“Composed? They’re just too weak to act! If they had the confidence to crush all competitors, they’d have already rushed up there, fists at the ready.”

Cheng Kang scoffed disdainfully before continuing, “But I, Cheng Kang, am different. Since I possess overwhelming strength, why should I hold back?”

“Let’s set aside whether you can defeat the Huxiao Sect’s Immortal Seeds unscathed. Answer me this, do you truly wish to become that little brat’s tool for clearing obstacles? How is that any better than backing down?”

Ye Donglai smiled faintly, neither confirming nor denying.

Cheng Kang frowned deeply at these words. He shot a venomous glare toward Qi Huang and Cheng Hongling on the stage before asking, “Then what should we do?”

“Follow the Huxiao Sect’s example and hold our ground. Let the cultivators say whatever they want. Don’t fuss over temporary gains and losses. Remember, this is the Evergreen Conference. The ultimate winner is the one who claims the top spot. I suspect the Huxiao Sect understands this as well, which is why they’re enduring it.”

Ye Donglai, wise with age, quickly deduced Elder Zhou’s intentions.

“That… does make sense.”

Cheng Kang felt as if a veil had been lifted from his eyes.

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On the stage, Qi Huang swept her gaze across the crowd, her mouth still running with provocations. Unfortunately, none of the targeted sects took the bait, each chose to turtle up in silence.

“Tch, how boring! I wanted to borrow you lot to prove whether a phoenix could emerge from Huangtian County’s rat’s nest. But it seems your courage is even more pitiful than your cultivation!”

Qi Huang continued her sarcastic taunts before turning to Jin Hu. “Now all we have is this one dumb oaf. How am I supposed to prove anything? Forget a phoenix, even a chicken training for a couple of years could peck him until he’s scrambling for his teeth!”

“What? The Donglai Sect and Huxiao Sect are just tools for her to prove herself?”

“I told you she’s insane. Why take her seriously?”

“But Fairy Hongling, her main body, didn’t object either. That means she thinks the same way!”

Another wave of murmurs rose from below.

“What’s the point of all this bluster? Do you think everyone’s a fool? You’re just trying to lure the strongest Immortal Seeds onto the stage with your provocations, then weaken them during the token battle so you can pick off the leftovers during the real competition. Even a three-year-old wouldn’t fall for that.”

Jin Hu wasn’t stupid, he saw right through her ploy.

“Huh?”

Qi Huang blinked in surprise before quickly realizing that her seemingly random provocations would indeed appear “malicious” to outsiders. Draining an opponent’s strength beforehand was the most logical explanation. No wonder those two sects were holding back!

“Whatever. If you’re too scared, then stay scared. Sooner or later, we’ll meet. You can hide from the first day of the month, but not the fifteenth! By the end of this Evergreen Conference, I’ll make sure you understand true fear. So much so that you’ll never dare utter the words ‘rat’s nest’ again!”

Seeing that her taunts had failed, Qi Huang settled for venting her frustration verbally.

“Is there no one else interested in this lot?”

Steward Cai called out to the crowd for a while longer, but with no response, he could only reluctantly shut his mouth.

“In that case, ownership of this token shall be decided by a match between the Jinliu Sect and the Honghua Sect. The rules are the same as the official Evergreen Conference. A ten-person team battle, commencing in fifteen minutes!”

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Steward Cai hastily announced before stepping down, disappointment etched on his face. He wasn’t even sure if the Jinliu Sect could handle Cheng Hongling and Qi Huang.

“The Donglai Sect actually backed down? The number one immortal sect of the Western Radiance Dynasty’s cultivation world, scared of a bottom-ranked sect? How humiliating.”

“And the Huxiao Sect! Weren’t they bragging everywhere about recruiting two fourth-layer Incarnation Realm Immortal Seeds? Might as well replace them with pig testicles, at least those could be eaten for courage. You know what they say, ‘like cures like’!”

“Cure what? They don’t even have the balls to begin with!”

True to expectations, the cultivators below showered the Donglai Sect and Huxiao Sect with scorn.

Though both sects had anticipated this, the vulgar insults still made their members seethe with rage, nearly driving them to violence.

Qi Huang curled her lips slightly. Her scheme wasn’t so easily countered, even if they didn’t die, they’d still be skinned alive.

“So? Do you need me to step in this time?”

As Qi Huang descended the stage with her main body, she couldn’t resist asking.

“I’ve said it before. Where I fall, I’ll rise again. I’ve participated in two Evergreen Conferences. My opponent from the last one has already been eliminated. The only one left is the Jinliu Sect. So, this opponent is mine.”

Cheng Hongling’s tone was resolute.

“Then when do I get to fight?”

Qi Huang’s fingers itched with impatience.

“Once the Jinliu Sect is out of the picture, you can fight whenever you want!”

Cheng Hongling laid down her terms.

“You said it!”

Qi Huang’s eyes lit up with excitement.

After fifteen minutes of preparation, both sides ascended the stage.

Aside from Qi Huang and Cheng Hongling, the Honghua Sect’s Immortal Seeds repeated their previous strategy. They introduced themselves with great fanfare, then promptly stepped off the stage. It was purely for show.

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“Again? Is Cheng Hongling really planning to face all ten of the Jinliu Sect’s Immortal Seeds alone?”

“No way! Even Cheng Kang and Lin Ran might not have absolute confidence against ten alone. Where does she get such audacity?”

“Alone? Isn’t Qi Huang there too?”

“A low-grade bloodline doppelgänger who might not even have reached the Unity Realm, what can she do besides spout nonsense?”

The cultivators below murmured in astonishment.

“You sent them away because you didn’t want them dragging you down, right?”

Jin Hu smirked, convinced of his own deduction.

“Nope. My main body and I are more than enough to handle you lot. They don’t need to lift a finger.”

Qi Huang shook her head. And it was true. With her here, her martial siblings could’ve stayed on stage eating hot pot for all it mattered.

“Hmph!”

Jin Hu snorted dismissively. “How stupid. Fine, let them leave. Flaunting themselves like that. If they win, they’ll gain fame and fortune. But if they lose? They’ll be remembered as laughingstocks for eternity.”

His tone dripped with disdain.

“Relax, they won’t lose. So this Evergreen Conference will immortalize them alongside me, forever etched in poetry and paintings.”

Qi Huang replied with absolute confidence before pulling out a small stool and a bag of melon seeds, ready to enjoy the show.

“What? You still dare to crack melon seeds against our Jinliu Sect?”

Jin Hu stared at her in disbelief.

“I said it before, if any sect or individual can force me off this stool, I’ll concede defeat on behalf of the Honghua Sect. That still stands. So this is actually a good thing for you, it’s much easier than defeating me!”

Qi Huang waved a hand dismissively before adding, “Though, even then, I doubt you’ll manage it.”