Volume 7, Chapter 461 – Thirty People? Still Too Few (Part 2)

As soon as the Immortal Alliance disciple finished speaking, the thirty elite disciples from the Gathering Heroes Sect simultaneously pulled out their protective talismans. In an instant, thick layers of divine sense shields enveloped their bodies.

“Heavens! Those are all Divine-grade protective talismans! A full thirty of them! How in the world did they get their hands on so many?”

“Obviously, it must have been Elder Zuo who made them! He and his disciples have a grudge against the Honghua Sect, of course they’d do everything they could to obstruct them.”

“Watch your words! Without proof, you’re just asking for trouble.”

“What proof do we need? Just look at how exhausted he is. He probably hasn’t slept in days.”

“Even if he did make them, so what? No matter how many there are, they’re only at the early Divine Realm. They can’t possibly pose any threat to Qi Huang.”

“Exactly. No matter how many ants there are, can they really kill an elephant? This is just a pointless struggle.”

The cultivators below erupted into another wave of shocked murmurs.

But at that moment, the divine sense shields around the twenty-nine elite disciples at the edge of the arena suddenly shattered, transforming into wisps of green smoke that converged toward the center, toward Jin Hu… or rather, Jin Shu ¹ Golden Tiger > Golden Rat in case you forgot . From a distance, it looked like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea, an awe-inspiring sight.

Qi Huang, however, remained unimpressed. As usual, she pulled out a small stool, sat down, and began cracking melon seeds as if watching a circus performance.

As time passed, the divine sense shield around the golden rat grew stronger and stronger. The surrounding air distorted under the pressure, and the shield itself rapidly expanded. After absorbing the protective talismans of all twenty-nine companions, the strength of the shield had increased dozens of times over, becoming so dense that it was now visible to the naked eye like a massive, translucent bubble protecting everyone beneath it.

‘No wonder it’s called the Hundred Rivers Array, like the sea embracing all rivers, growing stronger by gathering everything into one.’

Qi Huang finally understood.

“Heavens! What kind of formation is this? It can actually concentrate the divine sense of dozens of protective talismans into a single person!”

“How strong do you think that divine sense shield is now? It’s actually visible!”

“You’re wrong. No matter how strong divine sense is, it can’t be seen with the naked eye. What you’re seeing is just the air being distorted by its power.”

“As everyone knows, divine sense is intangible and invisible. But now, it’s warping the air itself. That alone proves how terrifying this shield is.”

“Exactly. I’ve heard that only divine sense at the mid-stage Divine Realm can produce such an effect.”

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“Mid-stage Divine Realm? Then doesn’t that mean they actually have a chance against Qi Huang now?”

The cultivators below grew excited, their faces alight with renewed hope.

‘Thirty early stage Divine-grade protective talismans combined should reach around the fifth layer in strength. If I use sixth-layer divine sense, I can suppress them without revealing my full power. Perfect for misleading my enemies.’

Qi Huang began calculating in her mind.

“Qi Huang, what do you think of our divine sense shield now? Why don’t you call your main body up here too? I’m feeling so confident right now that just dealing with you alone isn’t satisfying enough!”

Jin Shu spoke arrogantly. After all, he had been eliminated by Cheng Hongling. He wasn’t satisfied with just fighting a mere doppelgänger.

“Why not have the entire Honghua Sect come up? I’ve long been sick of their pretentious arrogance. This is the perfect chance to wipe them all out!”

Zhen Chao suggested.

“Elder Zuo, with your sharp eyes, if you were in their place, would you be this confident?”

Qi Huang called out to Elder Zuo, who stood at the entrance of the grand hall.

The drowsy elder jolted awake, then sighed in exasperation. “Focus on the fight! This is the Evergreen Conference, not some poetry contest!”

“Fellow cultivators, let’s go! No more talking.”

The golden rat gave the order.

“Remember what I told you, keep your movements synchronized. Don’t disrupt the formation, or the array will collapse.”

Cao You reminded them sternly.

“Do you think I’m just going to stand here and watch?”

Qi Huang smirked. With a single thought, divine sense at the fifth layer of the Divine Ability Realm descended from above like a meteor, crashing onto the arena with enough force to distort the surrounding air.

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BOOM!

A deafening shockwave erupted, shaking the earth. The solid granite arena collapsed instantly, as fragile as tofu.

With the platform gone, Jin Shu and his companions lost their footing. Yet they remained calm, using their divine sense to stabilize themselves midair. Some even reached out to help those who couldn’t fly. Clearly, they had trained for this scenario.

“Surprised? Did you really think your little trick would work?”

Zhen Chao sneered.

“Her divine sense isn’t that strong after all! Charge! Today, I will change my fate!”

Jin Shu roared with confidence.

And so, the thirty elites, bolstered by the Hundred Rivers Array, soared through the air toward Qi Huang. Maintaining their formation, they advanced steadily like a heavy cavalry charge on the battlefield, bearing down on a lone, slender girl. The contrast was striking.

The cultivators below were stunned. Before the Evergreen Conference began, no one could have imagined that a delicate-looking girl would force multiple sects to unite their strongest disciples just to face her.

“This is too shameless! Thirty grown men ganging up on a single girl! Look at Qi Huang, she looks so helpless!”

“What’s worse is that most of those thirty were already eliminated! Is this really the Immortal Alliance’s idea of fair rules? What a joke!”

“No matter if Qi Huang wins or loses, from now on, I only recognize the Honghua Sect as a true immortal sect.”

“Same here. My wife is about to give birth. If my child has talent, I’m sending them to the Honghua Sect!”

The ordinary people outside the walls voiced their outrage, already convinced Qi Huang would lose.

“I wanted to cut corners, but it seems I’ll have to show some real skill to deal with you.”

In contrast, Qi Huang remained utterly unshaken. She sat cross-legged on her stool, floating midair like an empress, alone yet fearless.

Just as the thirty cultivators closed in, Qi Huang’s mind stirred.

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Divine sense at the sixth layer of the Divine Ability Realm descended like a celestial river crashing down from the heavens. The air above the arena twisted violently, visible to the naked eye.

BOOM!

An earth-shaking explosion erupted. The rubble of the arena was instantly crushed into the ground, fissures spiderwebbing outward as the earth trembled violently. Weaker cultivators lost their footing, screaming as they tumbled to the ground.

At the same time, the translucent shield of the Hundred Rivers Array warped and collapsed, shattering within seconds.

Without protection, the thirty cultivators were fully exposed to sixth-layer divine sense. Like flies sprayed with poison, they plummeted into the crater below. Blood splattered, no one could tell whose.

Only when Qi Huang withdrew her divine sense did the groans of pain rise from the pit. These people wouldn’t escape with just scratches, sixth-layer divine sense suppression was no joke.

For a moment, the entire Immortal Alliance branch fell into dead silence.

No one had expected that even thirty elite disciples, united under a powerful formation, would still be so easily crushed by Qi Huang.

“Heavens… is this the end for us?”

Elder Zuo, barely holding on, felt his blood surge. Overwhelmed, he fainted on the spot.

“Master!”

Steward Cai rushed to his side in panic.

“Well? Was that cruel enough? Should I bury you all properly? Would that count as cruel?”

Qi Huang smirked, then waved a hand. The surrounding rubble and dirt began pouring into the pit, as if to bury them alive.

“Qi Huang, spare them! We surrender! Jin Hu is the future of our Golden Flow Sect, he can’t die here!”

“Qi Huang, we’re all sects under the Immortal Alliance! This isn’t a life-or-death feud, there’s no need for this!”

“Qi Huang, please spare Shi Fei! Our Solid Heart Sect has learned its lesson!”

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The leaders of the various sects panicked, scrambling forward to beg for mercy.

“Hahaha! Qi Huang won! She won again! Thirty against one, and they still lost! Are they even cultivators?”

“Qi Huang, don’t let them off easy! They need to learn their lesson, or they’ll never treat us common folk as human!”

“Qi Huang, you’re my goddess! From now on, I’ll worship you instead of my ancestors!”

In contrast, the commoners outside the walls erupted into cheers.

“So this is what high-bloodline cultivators are like? Begging me on their knees? How pathetic.”

Qi Huang’s voice dripped with disdain.

“Hey, Immortal Alliance disciple! Stop standing there like an idiot, announce the results already!”

Zhou Ming barked at the stunned disciple.

“I—I declare… the winner is… Contestant Number Two!”

The disciple finally snapped out of it, stammering out the verdict.

Qi Huang stopped her attack. She had only been toying with them. Burying people alive wasn’t really her style.

“Just… how strong is your divine sense?”

Steward Cai’s voice was laced with fury, he had finally lost his composure.

“Want to know? Then keep changing the rules. Thirty people was still too few. Next time, make it fifty… no, a hundred. Maybe then you’ll find out.”

Qi Huang’s taunt was fearless.