Ning Fan's Name on the Fire-Pattern Stele

"Look, there are names shining on the Yin Yang Fire-Pattern Stele again."

"Isn't that still Ning Fan?"

"Wait, the other shining name is Lei Miao!?"

Discussions erupted among the crowd. No one expected that the second time names lit up on the Yin Yang Fire-Pattern Stele, it would be Ning Fan once again.

This Ning Fan truly refused to sit still.

Only...

No one anticipated that Ning Fan's opponent this time would actually be Yin Yang Peak's first personal disciple-Lei Miao.

Lei Miao held the unspoken reputation of being the number one genius among the Yin Yang Divine Sect's younger generation. Even if Ning Fan possessed exceptional talent, he had, after all, entered the peak early. An early-entry martial artist facing off against the most outstanding genius of the current generation??

He was still somewhat unqualified.

The sheer gap between the two caused everyone present to doubt-perhaps this was all just a coincidence.

Ning Fan and Lei Miao's names lighting up at the same time... could it be that they were simply channeling their spiritual energy for separate matters?

But that didn't seem right either.

For Lei Miao and Ning Fan to simultaneously channel their spiritual energy against those ranked beneath them on the Yin Yang Fire-Pattern Stele was even more absurd. Leaving Ning Fan aside for a moment.

For anyone ranked beneath him on the Yin Yang Fire-Pattern Stele to take action against Lei Miao... wouldn't that be tantamount to courting death?

There couldn't possibly be such fools in the Yin Yang Divine Sect.

"Look."

"Lei Miao's name on the Yin Yang Fire-Pattern Stele has dimmed. Sure enough, it wasn't a clash between Ning Fan and Lei Miao at all."

"Haha."

"That Ning Fan has exceptional talent, but he's still not qualified to contend with Lei Miao."

"If nothing unexpected occurs, Lei Miao is slated to become the next Yin Yang Peak Chief. How could a new disciple possibly contend with an existence like him?"

Voices of sudden realization echoed through the crowd.

It made sense.

Lei Miao's name dimming made the situation far more logical. But in the next moment, names began to flare to life one after another on the Yin Yang Fire-Pattern Stele.

The sight instantly silenced the crowd's chatter.

Zhao Zhou, Zhao Chuang, Zhao Feixing, and a total of twelve Zhao family disciples. And, of course, Yun Qingyao's name lit up simultaneously.

Indeed.

When Ning Fan's name rose to around the nine hundredth rank, Yun Qingyao had also made it onto the list. For whatever reason, under the Yin Yang Tower's judgment, Yun Qingyao's ranking fell about a hundred places behind Ning Fan's. Naturally, the competition for the top one thousand positions on the Yin Yang Fire-Pattern Stele was fierce.

A gap of one hundred ranks was actually quite narrow.

As for why the names of the other twelve Zhao family disciples appeared on the Yin Yang Fire-Pattern Stele? The reason was simple.

The rest of the disciples had not channeled their spiritual energy, while these twelve Zhao family disciples were actively executing martial techniques or deploying their methods.

By pooling their strength and striking together, these twelve Zhao family disciples could barely appear at the very bottom of the Yin Yang Fire-Pattern Stele.

"What, what is this situation!?"

"Two against fifteen!?"

"Huh???"

"This lineup isn't any easier than fighting Lei Miao!"

"There are even three personal disciples among those fifteen Zhao family members. This is a certain-death trap!!"

Cries of alarm rang out repeatedly. Even standing outside the Yin Yang Tower, the crowd could clearly grasp the dire predicament Ning Fan and Yun Qingyao were facing.

With fifteen Zhao family disciples attacking in unison, how could Ning Fan and Yun Qingyao possibly find a path to survival?

"This is too excessive."

A cultivator subconsciously muttered to himself. The word 'excessive' echoed the thoughts of practically everyone present. Was four against two not enough?

Damn it.

Fifteen against two!?

That was the equivalent of seven and a half pairs of Dao Companions fighting Ning Fan and Yun Qingyao-an absolutely overwhelming numerical advantage!

But in the next moment, the cultivator who had called it 'excessive' clamped a hand over his own mouth, casting a fearful glance toward the upper seats.

Seeing that the prominent figures of the Zhao family hadn't noticed him, he sheepishly withdrew his gaze.

The Zhao family's status within the Yin Yang Divine Sect was too exalted, and their influence too massive.

Who would dare to speak out against them?

"Haha."

"This is the consequence of opposing my Zhao family. Today, that Ning Fan and Yun Qingyao will definitely be expelled!!"

"What a pity."

"This is the Yin Yang Tower. If we were outside, those two pieces of trash would have absolutely no escape from certain death today!"

Ninth Elder Zhao Bo sneered. He didn't find the fifteen-on-two ambush shameful in the slightest. In Zhao Bo's eyes...

The fact that the Zhao family could muster fifteen people against two was a testament to their profound foundation. It was a symbol of pure strength!

Haha!

Other families and factions couldn't gather this many people even if they tried! As long as they could overpower the masses, every action the Zhao family took was perfectly justified!

And reality reflected just that.

Not a single person present dared to openly criticize the Zhao family's encirclement. They could only silently break a sweat for Ning Fan.

In the upper seats of the viewing platform, Zhao Wuqing-the Zhao family Dao Lord-narrowed her eyes. A gaze as sharp as a hawk's shot forth from the slender slits of her eyes.

Her gaze swept across the shining names on the Yin Yang Fire-Pattern Stele one by one. Including Zhao Qingbo and the others who had been previously expelled by Ning Fan...

...practically all the Zhao family disciples from Zhao Qian's lineage were now listed.

In other words.

As long as this entire batch of people was driven out, her objective would be achieved. However, even in Zhao Wuqing's eyes...

...the difficulty for Ning Fan to expel all these people at once was simply too great.

Zhao Wuqing subtly shook her head, inwardly sighing at Ning Fan's impulsive nature. She had given him the opportunity of the five floors precisely so he could divide and conquer Zhao Qian's lineage-eliminating one personal disciple per floor, and using the remaining space to deal with the other Zhao family disciples.

That would have been a sensible approach.

For instance, Ning Fan taking out Zhao Qingbo and several others on the second floor had been, in the old woman's view, a rational choice.

But now...

To face all the remaining Zhao family disciples in a single breath-this was clearly a fatal trap.

Naturally.

The old woman knew it was a tall order to expect Ning Fan to constantly improve his cultivation within the Yin Yang Tower while simultaneously calculating how to pick off the Zhao family disciples one by one. It was especially difficult given the active hostility Zhao Qian's lineage harbored against him.

It was difficult.

But if it weren't difficult, why would she have arranged for Zhao Tanye to cooperate with Ning Fan?

Zhao Tanye was a hidden chess piece.

If deployed properly, she could have played a crucial role. After all, in the eyes of Zhao Qian's lineage...

...Zhao Tanye was still considered 'one of their own'.

Yet, with the situation developing to this point...

...it seemed Ning Fan hadn't utilized Zhao Tanye as a piece at all. Or, even if he had, he hadn't done so properly.

"No matter how complex the situation, dividing and conquering them was the only path to survival you could have chosen. Forcing yourself onto this dead-end road is your own failing."

The old woman shook her head, a flicker of disappointment flashing through her eyes.

It seemed...

...Ning Fan would not be able to reach the expectations she had set for him.

The old woman closed her eyes, centering her mind and breath. However, the very moment her eyes shut, a sudden cry of alarm shattered the silence.

"Look! Ning Fan's ranking..."

"...it rose again!"

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