readytorunbook Chapter 172 I Suspect You Are Cheating
Chapter 172 I Suspect You Are Cheating
Chapter 172: I Suspect You're Cheating
The outcome of the duel was not suspenseful. Under the suppression of rank advantage, Yan Lingji used all kinds of tricks and barely lasted less than ten rounds before being swept away by Xue Bingxuan's sword, resulting in a loss and elimination.
"...What rank can he achieve?" Qin Muling asked. He was not very familiar with the ranking rules of the Court's prodigy list, so he couldn't determine Yan Lingji's final ranking for a moment. He decided to ask the princess in front of him for a better answer.
Princess Longyi thought for a moment and said, "This will be finalized after the Swordsmanship Conference ends. But based on my personal experience, he should be able to secure a position within the top one thousand, towards the lower end."
Qin Muling nodded. This estimation was not far off from his own. Compared to the status and influence of the Jade Pearl Star Palace, this result was quite embarrassing. Under normal circumstances, Yan Lingji should have been able to enter the top two hundred, but now he could only rank in the eight hundreds. He wondered what expression Yan Lingji's nominal master and actual father, Yan Qinyang, would have upon hearing this news.
Although being within the top one thousand was not considered low, it was like heaven and earth compared to the generous rewards that could be obtained within the top two hundred.
The Swordsmanship Conference continued, and as time passed, the number of names that could be found in the moon in the sky was less than thirty percent of what it was at the beginning. The rest had been eliminated or voluntarily withdrawn.
Among them, a few names gradually turned golden, with strands of purple aura and radiance enveloping them. These were the outstanding prodigies, both human and non-human. The names of Xue Bingxuan's women were particularly eye-catching among them.
Qin Muling now understood that the purple aura and radiance represented the Court's favor and also meant that the fate and destiny of cultivators had the potential for a qualitative transformation. After all, with the generous resources bestowed by the Court, it was a matter of course to reshape the Dao Foundation, cleanse the marrow with the Book of Changes, and strengthen the divine soul. The future achievements that could be reached would naturally be further improved.
Judging solely from the current results, the actual rankings of his senior sisters were already firmly within the top fifty, and they still maintained a strong momentum. There should be great hope for the top twenty, or even the top ten.
Therefore, although Qin Muling himself did not participate, he could help his five senior sisters strive for a position at the very top of the list. This unprecedented achievement was naturally well-known to the higher-ups of the Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace.
However, in the time it took to burn an incense stick, Second Senior Sister Cheng Yulan once again obtained the opportunity to participate. This time, her opponent turned out to be the Seventeenth Prince of the Heavenly Witch Divine Dynasty, Ji Yunfeng.
"This is a bit troublesome!" Ji Yunfeng, who learned of the match result from a distance, frowned. He was currently only at the Immortal Ascension realm, while his opponent was already at the Origin Immortal intermediate stage, a whole realm higher. How could he fight like this?
To outsiders, he was the proud son of heaven with unlimited potential. But he knew best how his fate and destiny came about, seizing someone else's root bone aptitude to achieve his current status. Facing an ordinary cultivator genius, he could barely manage, but against Cheng Yulan, a genuine monstrous prodigy, he would only be beaten.
"Seventeenth Prince, Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace has always had a good relationship with our Heavenly Witch Divine Dynasty. Perhaps you can persuade her to forfeit and make concessions this time? As long as the prince promises to compensate her with some gifts afterwards," a senior elder suggested.
"Makes sense."
Ji Yunfeng's eyes lit up involuntarily, and hope reignited in his heart. Since Cheng Yulan's appearance, she had been unstoppable, with no record of abstaining. In theory, giving him a chance wouldn't affect his ranking on the leaderboard.
On the spatial arena.
Cheng Yulan, slender and graceful, descended gracefully in an ice-blue dress. In her jade hand, she held a plain cloud brocade flag. Her exquisite and ethereal beauty radiated a fairy-like aura. Her clear and tranquil eyes awaited the appearance of her opponent.
After a few breaths, Ji Yunfeng's figure was teleported to the other side of the arena. In his hand, he held a pitch-black, thick-backed straight knife, with a faint aura of blood swirling around it, accompanied by the faint roar of a fierce beast.
"Sister Cheng, I greet you." Ji Yunfeng's face beamed with a warm smile as he slightly bowed in greeting.
Cheng Yulan nodded expressionlessly and waved her jade hand, preparing to activate her formation.
"Sister, please wait..." Ji Yunfeng hurriedly interjected, quickly explaining his request and promising generous rewards if Cheng Yulan spared him.
Cheng Yulan furrowed her brows lightly. "Are you joking? You've already entered the arena, and now you want me to forfeit?"
It was true that Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace and Heavenly Witch Divine Dynasty had a good relationship, but Ji Yunfeng had no personal connection with this seventeenth prince. Moreover, he had shown ill intentions towards Qin Muling last time, and that old account had yet to be settled. Now he dared to make such an unreasonable request? Who gave him the audacity?
Ji Yunfeng accompanied his smile and said, "Sister Cheng, I only wish to achieve a better ranking. I hope you can accommodate me."
"Don't waste your breath!" Cheng Yulan's expression turned cold. "Let's begin. After this, I still need to rest."
All the senior sisters, junior sisters, and junior brothers were watching from the sidelines. Should they accommodate someone like him? Who does he think he is?
Ji Yunfeng's face turned somewhat ugly. "Sister Cheng, why are you being so aggressive? Aren't you afraid of affecting the friendly relationship between our two families?"
"Sorry, Your Highness Seventeen, you cannot represent the Heavenly Witch Divine Dynasty."
Cheng Yulan waved her flag lightly, and a vast expanse of white mist surged out, enveloping the entire arena. Not only did it obscure Ji Yunfeng's vision, but it also cut off his divine perception. Faint cries and curses could be heard from within the mist. When the mist dissipated, Ji Yunfeng was lying on the ground, covered in blood, his face blackened, and he was unable to breathe.
Cheng Yulan didn't even bother to look at him again, turning around and leaving gracefully.
"This guy's luck isn't actually bad," Princess Longyi commented, "To be able to hold on until now before being eliminated, considering his true strength, this ranking is already quite generous to him."
Qin Muling had no objections to this, "It's just a pity for the resources of the sect. It would be better to cultivate a grassroots genius than to give them to someone like him."
Being able to make it into the top five hundred seeds of genius would earn corresponding rewards. Although Ji Yunfeng's ranking was lower, he would still receive his own share.
However, given his true condition, he would inevitably encounter the backlash of the Heavenly Dao's laws and meet his end one day, which was why Qin Muling said that the sect was wasting resources.
Princess Longyi smiled, "I don't like this kind of person either, but in life, eight or nine out of ten things don't go as we wish. There will always be annoying people and things that we can't avoid. Fortunately, they can't cause much trouble, so there's no need to pay too much attention."
As she spoke, she peeled a snowberry and handed it over. Qin Muling opened his mouth and gently bit into it, silently enjoying the extremely sweet and crisp juice.
It had to be admitted that the snowberries of this Emperor's daughter were really good, truly deserving of the Supreme Grade title. They were no less inferior to his senior sisters', to the point that Qin Muling couldn't help but feel addicted.
But if Qin Muling had to make a choice, he would still choose his senior sisters. After all, being the son-in-law of Emperor Qing Huan was not an easy role to play. Once he fell into a trap, it wouldn't be so easy to turn the tables and become the master in the future.
On the arena, batches of talented individuals were eliminated one after another. While luck played a role, the main reason was their insufficient cultivation. The duels were personally supervised by the Emperor of the sect, so the probability of mistakes was basically negligible.
After two days and two nights, the number of cultivators remaining in the field became fewer and fewer, now less than one percent of the original participants. The average cultivation level had become even stronger, and anyone randomly picked out was a well-known elite of the new generation in the Extreme Void Starry Sky.
Facing increasingly powerful opponents, the senior sisters of the Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace also began to be eliminated. Su Yunmo, Qi Shuyu, Yu Binghua, and others were defeated one after another. However, the rankings they could achieve this time far exceeded their expectations, which was considered a good result.
After a moment, Luo Huan took the stage again. This time, her opponent was Li Chunyun from the Jade Drop Divine Temple, another well-known and outstanding seed of talent. His cultivation was at the Origin Immortal initial stage, and he had fought his way here with his own strength, making him a widely favored candidate.
In the end, as expected, Li Chunyun barely held on for a few rounds before being heavily injured by Luo Huan's sword, resulting in his defeat and elimination. Of course, based on his previous record, it is not a problem for him to rank in the top hundred on the leaderboard.
For the high-level members of the Jade Drop Divine Temple, this result is not too embarrassing.
"It seems that the genius ranking list created by the sect beforehand has a high level of credibility, with little deviation from reality," Qin Muling said.
Princess Longyi nodded, "But there are always variables, and this tournament is the biggest variable. Starting from ten thousand years ago, it was already an impressive achievement for the most outstanding talents of the Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace to make it into the top five hundred. But now, it is certain that all five of them will be in the top ten on the list."
"So... Qin Junior Brother, don't you think you should give me an explanation?" Princess Longyi asked, testing him once again.
Facing Princess Longyi's probing, Qin Muling continued to play dead, "They are only my senior sisters, not my disciples, so I cannot possibly understand what is going on. You should go ask the sect leader for the truth."
"Hehe..." Princess Longyi smiled ambiguously at him, knowing that she wouldn't get any results from further questioning, so she temporarily put her thoughts aside.
Hmm, did the effect go a bit too far?
A hint of regret surfaced in Qin Muling's heart. Xue Bingxuan and the others aside, he had softened his heart a bit towards Cheng Yulan and Luo Wanqing, the two senior sisters who were predestined. He couldn't resist their repeated pleas, so before arriving at the sect, he secretly provided them with some Innate Primordial Spirit Root's spiritual essence in an indescribable way.
As a result, the cultivation of the two women significantly advanced, breaking through the mid-level of the Origin Immortal realm and possessing actual combat power far beyond their surface level, allowing them to be invincible in the tournament.
But now, Princess Longyi and Emperor Qing Huan behind her seemed visibly surprised.
"I suspect you're cheating, but I have no evidence."
Therefore, Qin Muling felt that he needed to be even more low-key in order to effectively avoid Princess Longyi's attention and smoothly make it through the grand gathering of immortals.
After a while, Qi Yalan appeared once again, and this time even Qin Muling felt a bit nervous.
Her opponent this time was a rising star from the Ancient Phoenix Clan: Ni Qingyue, a strong cultivator at the mid-level of the Origin Immortal realm.
(End of this chapter)