Volume 11, Chapter 752 – Whoever Dares to Obstruct, Dies (Part 4)

“I said… this Cheng Hongling… is none other than Huarong Sect’s Holy Maiden Jiang Ling!”

Cao Hong repeated every word with deliberate weight.

“How… how is that possible? You… how do you know?”

Cao Hong asked in a trembling voice. If there was anyone among the younger generation that made him wary, perhaps even fearful, it was that monstrous Holy Maiden of the Huarong Sect. She had once fought seven opponents at once and still prevailed. Even with his high opinion of himself, he knew that was something he could never achieve!

“I presided over that particular continental Evergreen Conference myself. Her voice… I will never forget it for as long as I live!”

Cao Hong drew in a deep breath as he spoke.

Whatever sliver of hope Cao Guang clung to instantly crumbled. His momentum collapsed, his lips twitched as he looked at Cheng Hongling, utterly trapped, unable to advance or retreat.

“Strange, why did it suddenly go quiet? Are they not fighting anymore?”

“Knew this would happen. Even if you gave that Cheng Hongling a hundred guts, she wouldn’t dare raise a hand against the grandson of Alliance Leader Cao in this setting. She must have yielded.”

“Of course. This isn’t the Evergreen Conference where fights are measured to a point. If she dares to strike here, whether she wins or loses, it won’t end well for her!”

“Not just that, who knows if Cao Guang has an Immortal’s protective aura on him? If she accidentally brushes against that immortal pressure, she’ll be doomed without a chance. How could she dare?”

“What a shame. I was planning to snatch her corpse and turn her into a zombie wife!”

The spectators outside Honghua Sect muttered with speculation.

“You… you are that Holy Maiden Jiang Ling of Huarong Sect?”

After much inner struggle, Cao Guang finally forced the question out. His voice was not loud, but it fell like a thunderclap on flat ground, leaving the million spectators outside Honghua Sect reeling and dizzy.

“What? Jiang Ling?”

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“Which Jiang Ling?”

“As if there’s another Jiang Ling besides that Holy Maiden of Huarong Sect?”

“The same Jiang Ling who once defeated the top seven of the previous Ten Great Monsters with her own strength?”

“The same Jiang Ling who missed two consecutive continental Evergreen Conferences, yet still remained ranked number one among the ten prodigies of the cultivation world?”

The million spectators exploded in uproar. They had never imagined that the country girl they had dismissed with contempt was actually the famed Holy Maiden of Huarong Sect, Jiang Ling!

Even most within Honghua Sect stared at Qi Huang in disbelief, for they too had been ignorant of this truth.

“Hongling Sister, are you truly that Holy Maiden of Huarong Sect who strikes fear into the younger generation of cultivators?”

Just then, Mu Ruoyi suddenly popped out from who-knows-where and asked.

Cheng Hongling did not answer. Her silence was itself an admission.

“Of course you are! In the cultivation world, only you deserve the title of monster!”

Mu Ruoyi then answered herself without hesitation.

“So, I’ve been recognized?”

Qi Huang had long anticipated that her identity would be exposed. She lazily walked forward, raising her voice: “Since that’s the case, I won’t act anymore. I’ll lay it bare… I am none other than Huarong Sect’s Holy Maiden Jiang Ling. That time, defeating seven the seven monsters with my own power, it was me, this Immortal!”

“No wonder… no wonder we could never uncover your origins despite searching for so long. To think you hail from such a remote, trivial sect in a small country.”

Cao Hong sighed with emotion.

“Surprising, isn’t it? In the eyes of you children of immortals, any powerful cultivator must surely hail from a mighty clan or sect. Even though I already slapped your face with reality, the obsession with bloodline runs so deep in your hearts that it’s practically fossilized. You could never have found me. Truly hopelessly old-fashioned.”

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Qi Huang sneered with biting sarcasm.

“……”

Cao Hong was left speechless.

Cao Guang, seeing his grandfather insulted, let his fury drown his reason. “So what if you’re the Holy Maiden of Huarong Sect? I originally planned to defeat you and then challenge the Holy Maiden of Huarong Sect, but now it looks like I can settle both at once!”

“Is that so? You are quite confident! It’s only been six or seven years since I last made a move, yet these little brothers and sisters of the cultivation world have already forgotten my might. The only question is whether your grandfather has that same confidence.”

Qi Huang mused aloud, then turned to look at Cao Hong. “You know my strength better than anyone. Knowing your grandson is no match for me, do you still intend to push him forward? If he loses, this won’t be about gilding his name, but about disgracing it!”

As she spoke, Cao Hong’s face indeed revealed deep struggle. He knew well how heaven-defying this little demoness was. Six or seven years had passed, and her cultivation was likely already at the late Divine Realm. Meanwhile, his grandson had only just stepped into the mid-stage Divine Realm, he wasn’t even as strong as Cao Yang had been back then. How could he hope to win?

“What’s the matter? Are you afraid? If so, have him get lost quickly! I still have Golden Fate Blossoms to distribute to these common folk!”

Qi Huang snapped impatiently.

Mu Ruoyi, Ruan Lingyu, and the other sisters watched Qi Huang’s domineering bearing. Their eyes sparkled with starlight, admiration practically overflowing from their gaze.

“No wonder she’s so confident. To think she really is that monstrous Holy Maiden of Huarong Sect!”

In the distance, Ouyang Yi’s pretty face flushed crimson with excitement.

“This identity might not help much. Even though Huarong Sect is the greatest sect for women in the cultivation world, it still cannot compare to the Immortal Alliance, much less the Cao Clan behind it.”

Beside her, Tang Yuning offered a rational analysis.

“I’ll still say this: she would never do something she’s not certain of.”

Jin Xue continued to trust Qi Huang unconditionally.

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Meanwhile, in the plaza, the pampered Cao Guang had never endured such humiliation. His temper flared, and he turned to his grandfather: “Grandfather, let me try! If I cannot defeat her, this woman will forever be a thorn in my heart!”

Cao Hong’s jaw worked for a long time before he finally clenched his teeth and transmitted through Soul Resonance: “If you want to, then go. But don’t force yourself. I will help you!”

“Help me? Grandfather thinks I’m definitely no match for her?”

Cao Guang’s emotions surged as he responded via Soul Resonance.

“No, I only mean as a precaution. This isn’t the Evergreen Conference, we don’t need to abide by any principles with her.”

Cao Hong hurried to explain.

“But…”

Cao Guang’s face showed hesitation.

“No buts. Your personal pride is secondary. If you damage the reputation of the Cao Clan and the Immortal Alliance, can you shoulder that?”

Cao Hong’s tone left no room for argument.

“……”

Cao Guang opened his mouth but said nothing more in the end.

“Well? Have you decided? Don’t waste everyone’s time!”

Qi Huang grew increasingly impatient. If not for wanting to shape her image here, she could have killed these clowns with just a glance.

“I’ve long heard of how monstrous you are, but I don’t believe it. Today, before a million spectators, I will prove that I am the true number one talent of this era!”

Cao Guang raised his momentum once more.

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“Number one talent? I recall during the Immortal-Forging Platform, I already said: as long as I live, no one in the cultivation world deserves to stand beside me. But you all treated it as idle words. Then today, I’ll remind you once again with action that I am the sole monster of the cultivation world, the only true genius. None of you are worthy to be compared with me!”

Qi Huang’s emotions flared strangely, for she had never tolerated sharing her pedestal. She only liked supremacy, none beside her.

“Allow me. A lackey like this doesn’t deserve your hand.”

Cheng Hongling volunteered on her own initiative.

Qi Huang thought for a moment and agreed, stepping back.

“A lackey? You dare insult me…”

Cao Guang roared with rage. He was about to unleash a tirade when he suddenly realized, Cheng Hongling had vanished.

He froze. Before he could react, a waft of fragrant wind brushed his face. Then his chest felt as if struck by a boulder.

CRACK!

A crisp fracture rang out. His body flew uncontrollably through the air, limbs flailing like noodles from the inertia. Blood sprayed from his mouth, bursting into a glaring crimson mist.

In that instant, silence blanketed a ten-mile radius around Honghua Sect. None had imagined that the Cao Clan’s number-one genius would be slain in a single move by Cheng Hongling!

Cao Hong least of all. He had thought that with his cultivation at the third level of the Heavenly Tribulation Realm, he could always intervene at the crucial moment. Never did he expect that demoness’s speed to be so overwhelming that even he could not react in time.

Thus, the dignified vice leader of the Immortal Alliance, a Heavenly Tribulation cultivator, could only watch helplessly as his grandson was sent flying with a single kick.

“Too much nonsense.”

Cheng Hongling stood proudly in the air, her face cold as frost, so frigid that no one dared meet her gaze.