Chapter 318: One Eliminated, Beating Around the Bush (62k, Seeking Subscriptions)

Time passed leisurely, and in the blink of an eye, a hundred days had already gone by.

The Grand Competition was still ongoing. Since the other True Monarchs of the sect did not intervene to curb it, every day was filled with fierce life-and-death struggles. It was either death or injury, with no room for mercy, causing those who had been slightly relieved by Lu Quan's stroke of luck to become heavy-hearted once again.

The matches for this day arrived as scheduled.

On Du En's side, however, one spectator was missing.

"Aliao is on the stage!"

Xiong Fa was somewhat nervous; his bear-like face was pressed against the railing, as if he were trying to squeeze through it.

On this, the one hundred and first day, it was the turn of a member of their small group, the late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator Hao Liaoxue, to enter the arena for a match.

He stood up and flew into the arena, landing on the earth like a mountain peak, standing firm and unmoving, silent and soundless, yet impossible to ignore; one could only feel a heavy pressure rushing toward them, clearly indicating he was in his best state.

However, Su Wanhe, the spirited female cultivator whose posture was as straight as a brush, could not help but feel a bit worried at this moment: "Lord Yingcai, what do you think are Aliao's odds of winning?"

"It's hard to say right now."

Du En looked at Hao Liaoxue's opponent, who was none other than Tang Mingshuang, whose face was like frosted ice, cold and dignified, resembling a winter plum blossom on a cliff.

It was no surprise; their side had encountered the third disciple of the Great Cultivator Yun Yi.

After all, directly targeting Du En's side seemed unfeasible, so they began to use circuitous methods, attempting to try again by piling up conflicts.

In any case, even if the attempt failed, there was no loss.

This level of maneuvering was something even Meng Changqing could not find grounds to refute, because it fell within the normal rules; thus, True Monarch Yiyi would certainly agree, True Monarch Chengru would only push the boat with the current, and True Monarch Huiqing could easily obtain three votes.

At this moment, she felt as if she were in a daze, sensing a cold gaze cast down from above.

Consequently, Tang Mingshuang's expression grew increasingly cold and stern. Looking at Hao Liaoxue opposite her, many thoughts stirred in her heart as she weighed and measured various critical points.

An opportunity!

Seeing this, Hao Liaoxue, having been informed beforehand and not fooled, immediately decided to strike first, directly igniting the match.

He moved with a stride, like a collapsing mountain, suddenly teleporting as if the collapse had already arrived.

Abrupt! Hasty! The momentum was pressing and urgent!

Yet she merely raised her hand.

Clang!

Within a ten-zhang radius, everything was covered in ice and frozen solid!

Hao Liaoxue's eyes widened, and he was directly sealed within it!

"It is the Earth-Covering Ice Chill, a top-grade spell; she has already practiced it to the minor accomplishment stage."

Ying Dongqing, having dealt with her before, did not shirk her duty and began to explain with a grave expression.

"Aliao is not someone to be bullied either."

As Xiong Fa said this, and as his words fell, the earth here began to shake, and the ice shell began to crack.

At this moment, Tang Mingshuang was drifting like an immortal, retreating and skimming backward.

With lowered eyes, a layer of white frost ripples already surrounded Hao Liaoxue, who was erupting and trying to break free from the icy seal.

"Not good, it's the Extreme Cold Ice Prison! Her signature spell; it must be at least at the level of thorough mastery now. It seems she intends to win by trapping him!"

As Ying Dongqing's words rang out, Hao Liaoxue broke out of the ice in the arena, ice dregs clinging to his eyebrows. Just as he was about to roar and regain his momentum, he caught sight of the white ripples rising upward like a waterfall in reverse.

He wanted to run, but he could not.

Even space was frozen, forming a prison of ice pillars, directly freezing him again just as he reached the edge during his emergency movement.

The gap in strength is quite large.

Du En thought this, because from beginning to end, Tang Mingshuang had no unnecessary movements, and her train of thought had not been interrupted; she appeared exceptionally composed and at ease.

Xiong Fa and Su Wanhe looked at each other, not expecting this scheming ice woman to be so strong.

Ying Dongqing was not surprised; she felt a sense of wariness and emotion, but after carefully weighing it in her heart, she could not help but secretly smile to herself.

Without the opportunity of the thatched cottage this time, she might have already been left far behind by that woman, but with the thatched cottage opportunity, she had caught up again, feeling that she now had at least a sixty or seventy percent chance of winning.

While the moods here were varied, Tang Mingshuang on the other side did not stop.

With a lift of her finger, dark clouds began to gather, and snowflakes began to fall.

At the same time, Hao Liaoxue was struggling.

The Extreme Cold Ice Prison began to tremble slightly, gradually cracking from the inside.

"Aliao cultivates the Grand Mountain Code; its momentum is majestic, its power like a mountain—he won't lose so easily!"

Seeing this, Xiong Fa immediately began to mutter in a low voice, naturally revealing his nervousness, wanting to save face and cheer for his companion.

"Ha!"

As if it were truly as his companion said, accompanied by a deep shout, the ice prison shattered with a boom. Hao Liaoxue's momentum was truly like a majestic peak, and a mountain shadow even flashed by invisibly.

A meteor great hammer appeared in his hand; it was his natal dharma treasure, the Grand Mountain Hammer, which was now fiercely thrown and swung, suddenly increasing in size mid-flight—it grew as it met the wind.

In the blink of an eye, it was a hundred zhang in size, bringing with it a terrifying, majestic might that could directly suppress divine sense, preventing the opponent from moving through space, intending to suppress and kill her on the spot!

"Strong! So strong!"

Xiong Fa could not help but cheer immediately.

Du En glanced at him and calmly spoke at the same time: "He lost."

Huh?

Xiong Fa, who was excited, could not help but be stunned. Su Wanhe, who was about to echo the sentiment, also stopped speaking; only Ying Dongqing nodded secretly.

Then, the next moment, they saw Hao Liaoxue, who had been aggressive and mountain-like in the arena, suddenly turn into an ice sculpture along with his natal dharma treasure.

The whole thing was lifelike, as if he hadn't realized his current situation at all, frozen on the spot in what he considered his peak state.

"Wh-why?!"

Su Wanhe changed her tone, also squeezing to the railing, her spirited eyes wide.

Du En looked at the dark clouds and the quietly falling ice crystals and snowflakes, and before Ying Dongqing could explain, he said: "The secret technique Ice Flower Burial; it looks like it's at most at the level of proficiency, but the mutual reinforcement between her own cultivation method and her spiritual root has greatly boosted its power, and, hmm, there should be something else, is it... the influence of the natal dharma treasure mixed in?"

"Yingcai truly has a discerning eye!"

Ying Dongqing immediately praised her endlessly. Years ago, when she shared a room with Tang Mingshuang, who was on an external assignment, they competed and sparred with each other, but she had suffered many losses in this regard and for a long time had not realized it, to the point where her self-confidence was almost destroyed, thus noting that Tang Mingshuang was actually deep and calculating.

She did not expect that Du En could see the clues at a single glance right now; she was naturally very surprised, and her words of praise were spoken with extreme sincerity and genuineness.

"If that is truly the case, then she didn't use her real strength at all. It seems she has indeed touched the threshold of a genius; she can be called a 'weak genius'."

Du En did not pay attention to the flattery, but simply gave this calm evaluation, leaving Xiong Fa and Su Wanhe to only look at each other in dismay.

Then, they quickly stopped feeling dejected over the defeat of their fellow practitioner and turned their attention to another point.

"Will she... show mercy?"

At this moment, the arena had already fallen into a standstill; dark clouds lingered and snowflakes drifted down. Such signs indicated that Tang Mingshuang did not seem to want to let Hao Liaoxue off so easily.

The reason was also very simple: she had exposed a bit too much!

Although she appeared to have everything under control and took down her opponent easily, this was based on the situation of exposing her bottom line.

Just as Du En could see the clues, other geniuses generally could too. At this moment, faintly, it was as if pairs of sharp gazes were cast from afar, as if they were stripping her bare and throwing her into a world of ice and snow.

It was as if she had returned to the situation of walking naked on the ice plains to cultivate in bitterness in order to comprehend the mysteries of frost!

No, even colder!

Because a considerable number of geniuses, after finishing their scrutiny and observation, appeared to have little interest, showed no regard at all, and withdrew their gazes with cold indifference!

Tang Mingshuang's self-esteem and pride were much stronger than those of her junior fellow apprentice.

After all, among the disciples under the Great Cultivator Yun Yi, she was currently ranked first in reality; she was the pillar, she was...

In short, her goal was to clash with geniuses, break through herself, and then counterattack all the way to become a dark horse!

And now, exposing so much upon her first appearance would clearly cause her success rate to drop significantly.

However, if she did not expose these, she would need to fight to the death with Hao Liaoxue, who was clearly not afraid of death. If she made a mistake and left behind a serious injury, it might snowball, accumulating all the way, and in the end, it might be even worse...

Various thoughts flickered in her heart—anger, displeasure, disgust, and so on—but on the surface, she remained icy cold, making it difficult for others to see that she had so much emotional calculation.

Finally, she glanced in one direction.

Over there, there was a gaze that had been calm from the beginning, always watching.

There was no contempt, no arrogance, but also no sense of gravity or other emotions; it was truly as still as an ancient well.

Thus, she secretly felt resentment and raised her hand.

Xiong Fa and the others were exceptionally nervous and clenched their hands.

Then, the dark clouds dispersed, and the ice seal was lifted.

"Haya..."

"Stop."

Hao Liaoxue, who had no idea about the situation, wanted to continue his move after breaking free from the freezing, but he heard the two words transmitted by Du En.

Stop?

Why stop?

Although he was confused in his heart, he subconsciously stopped.

Because in Hao Liaoxue's view, Du En was not only the only genius among the young and upcoming generation in their faction, but also a figure who had walked all the way from the bitter bottom, building things from scratch and overcoming obstacles, someone he needed to study and ponder carefully.

Especially since this grand competition had lasted over a hundred days; every time he watched the battles, as long as he asked, the other party would definitely answer. Both the spirit and the discernment made him sincerely admire him and sigh at his own inferiority.

Therefore, he basically followed his lead now; if he said stop, then he would stop.

If there was a mistake or an omission, it must be his own!

"You lost."

"I lost... oh, I lost."

Listening to Du En's words, after being stunned for a moment, Hao Liaoxue touched the ice dregs on his forehead. In fact, he still didn't know where he had lost, but since even Du Yingcai had said so, then he must have lost; it wouldn't be too late to ask carefully when he went back.

Therefore, he admitted defeat straightforwardly, quite magnanimously.

Tang Mingshuang, however, gritted her teeth imperceptibly.

A little jealous!

She was clearly also a leader here, so why couldn't her words carry weight?

That bunch of junior fellow apprentices, every single one of them had the mentality of "I can replace her," harboring only competitive spirit and deep hostility toward her, constantly surging from behind to chase her; not a single one could properly listen to her!

There was no harm without comparison. She was originally the type of person who was cold on the outside but not on the inside. At this moment, she only felt regret—regret that she had lifted the spell so quickly just now, and why she hadn't taken the opportunity to inflict an injury on Hao Liaoxue.

However, things had reached this point, and Hao Liaoxue had already admitted defeat, so this duel came to an end...

"Punch yourself."

Meng Changqing's words suddenly reached Hao Liaoxue's ears, so he didn't say a word and punched himself directly, turning his face into a colorful mess.

Then, he just left the small world like that.

This works too...

The people still paying attention to the duel, especially those geniuses, all looked as if they had seen a ghost.

Because Hao Liaoxue looked miserable, but in fact, with a wipe of his hand, he was completely fine. He had just been putting on a show. At this moment, he put away his life-bound magic treasure and flew toward Du En's floating pillar.

For a time, those who felt they had someone above them and had a team to stand with immediately cast envious, jealous, and hateful gazes, following him to express their dissatisfaction.

Why is it that we are fighting to the death over there, while you guys can be so relaxed, and even your perfunctory act is so perfunctory?!

Sensing the pressure from these glaring gazes, Hao Liaoxue felt pressure greater than a mountain. For a moment, he slowed down, feeling that if he approached, he might cause trouble for Du En.

Anyway, he had already lost, and it was time to leave the arena...

Just as he was hesitating, Xiong Fa and Su Wanhe had already stepped back in unison, giving way to Du En, letting him stand alone behind the railing.

Noticing this, the crowd subconsciously held their breath, waiting for some heart-piercing words to be spoken from this side.

They had already prepared themselves mentally; no matter what they heard in a moment, they would be able to find a point to retort!

Du En looked around at the white iron floating pillars and said in a flat tone: "Although you are planted in a rotten land, like pitiful withered grass, yet my Meng resolution is like the silver moon in the night sky, still willing to radiate soft light. Therefore, if you abandon darkness for light and come to surrender with gifts, you will still not lose your place in the thatched cottage, and the grand competition will be worry-free. Is that not beautiful?"

The crowd: "..."

Hiss!

How are we supposed to retort to that?

Or rather, if we did retort, would the True Monarch leading our faction really stand up for us against the wrath of True Monarch Meng Zhun?

Although, as this child said, that person shouldn't get angry and shift the blame just because of this, but who would dare to bet on it!

They don't have such good treatment; if a duel really starts, how can they get by without fighting until one side is dead or alive?

Therefore, they absolutely dared not pin their hopes on their superiors for support. For a time, they were all speechless. With the upper echelons showing no reaction, they could only flick their sleeves and leave, feeling secretly depressed, the pressure in their hearts increasing by several degrees.

Of course, some couldn't help it and secretly pondered the matter of switching teams to defect.

This Grand Competition clearly woke them up. The other True Monarchs are more inhumane than the last. In the end, although True Monarch Meng Zhun is weak and a latecomer, at the very least, he treats people like people!

For a time, hearts were restless.

Hao Liaoxue held his head high and chest out, flew over to join, crossed the retracted railing, and arrived in front of Du En.

He had wanted to kneel on one knee, having the posture of carrying thorns to ask for punishment and feeling his own incompetence, but before he could do so, he heard Du En answer directly in advance, so his focus was shifted to how he had lost.

Actually, under normal circumstances, those who are defeated in the Grand Competition are basically on their last breath, and then they are thrown back to wherever they came from.

But he is an exception now; not only is he not injured, he is just a bit cold, and...

"When he came, he was on my side. Now, either throw him back to my mountain, or let him stay!"

In the Zhengshu Main Hall, Meng Changqing was saying this at the moment.

Under the beam of light from the Measuring Mirror, he had a sense of being proud and elated, his whole person shining as if he were truly glowing.

"Junior Brother, this is a bit unreasonable."

Behind the jade seat opposite, True Monarch Cheng Ru, as always, reacted to these words.

"So, Senior Brother, you are opposed to it?"

"No, it actually doesn't matter to me."

True Monarch Cheng Ru spoke with a light laugh.

True Monarch Hui Qing frowned slightly upon hearing this and looked at True Monarch Bu Yi.

"According to the rules, throw them back to where they came from, so putting them back on your mountain is actually fine."

This was clearly not what she wanted to hear.

It was one thing to let Meng Changqing give his subordinates special treatment for half a year, but now he must not be allowed to continue exploiting loopholes to consume the sect's foundation to strengthen the core members of his own faction.

Although that bit of consumption was just a drop in the ocean, not worth mentioning at all.

But it still wouldn't do!

Therefore, True Monarch Hui Qing spoke coldly: "Then let him stay."

"Not him, them."

Meng Changqing immediately wanted to completely solidify the exceptional status of the few people.

"It's only four or five people, not a problem."

True Monarch Zhu Ding spoke at this moment, immediately making Meng Changqing extremely vigilant.

He actually would rather this guy be like True Monarch Hui Qing, instead of thinking about poaching his people all day long.

Even though Du En had taken a roundabout way to curse you along with the others this time, you are still the same old way; truly thick-skinned and black-hearted, shameless!

"I don't have any objections."

True Monarch Cheng Ru replied.

True Monarch Hui Qing just nodded.

True Monarch Bu Yi had something to say; although this small resolution had already passed, what needed to be said still had to be said, and what needed to be opposed still had to be opposed.

In short, four to one; even if Du En and his group were defeated, they could still stay to watch the battle.

It looked like it was fought for the others, but in reality, it was still for Du En.

Because he had only broken through to the Nascent Soul stage not long ago, he was a latecomer with insufficient accumulation of foundation. Facing geniuses at the late or perfection stage of the Nascent Soul, it was inevitable that he would fall short, so some considerations needed to be made in advance.

It didn't matter if he was defeated this time; staying to watch the battle and seeing the splendor of his peers would naturally come in handy later.

True Monarch Hui Qing knew this, but still nodded.

The reason was simple: the more special they were, the more the dissatisfaction and malice brewed over a thousand days would gather and focus on them, and Du En was the absolute focus among them, so in the end, he would only attract eight or nine tenths of the hatred.

In a situation where the situation was clearly disadvantageous to her, introducing a secondary option became a preferred choice, so it required the force of four to one to ensure the operation went without error.

Moreover, doing so would also highlight the exception of True Monarch Bu Yi.

The gaze of this True Monarch, watching from afar at this moment, seemed to carry a hint of dissatisfaction.

And so.

"Not to mention the others, so you've drawn the hatred of another True Monarch for me?"

At the floating pillar, after the crowd dispersed, Du En had a conversation with Meng Changqing, or rather, Meng Changqing came to notify him, and then he learned of the actual change in the situation and immediately asked directly.

"Cough! With Senior Brother Bu Yi's temperament, he won't actually target you. If he really wants to target someone, it will be me."

"Therefore, at most, when you encounter people from the Northern Lands later, he might take the opportunity to give instructions to his own men not to be polite, just to maintain the rules of the Grand Competition."

Meng Changqing said this, seemingly feeling a bit guilty himself, so he didn't give Du En a chance to refute him directly and sharply, and quickly continued: "Anyway, only one person from the Northern Lands is participating this time, aiming for first place. You won't run into him, so it's no big deal, not a major problem!"

"Moreover, there must be sacrifice to have gain. Under various trade-offs, that is why I acted this way. Of course, if you are really careless and encounter that person and a crisis occurs, then on my side, there are still fifth or sixth-grade precious pills. As long as you have a breath left to hold on, the problem is also not big; I can restore you completely."

In these words, there was actually an unspoken meaning.

That is, as much as possible, do not use your divine abilities in this duel!

"If that's the case, then there is indeed nothing."

Du En nodded and answered.

In reality, even without this, True Monarch Bu Yi's subordinates could not possibly have gone easy on them; after all, the rules of the Grand Competition were just like that, so in the end, it had no substantial impact.

As for other aspects, the two consecutive targeted battles were successfully carried out, and it was obvious that they could not have been biased toward our side, so there was no impact at all.

In other words, Meng Changqing was beating around the bush just to point out the matter of divine abilities.

Not mentioning it earlier or later... no, should it be that it couldn't be mentioned before? So now he can only beat around the bush, making dumplings just for this saucer of vinegar? Or perhaps he wants to use this to pass false information to the higher-ups other than True Monarch Zhuding?

Or perhaps, it's both?

Then, let's assume it's both for now.

In that case, the previous time at the thatched cottage in the fence courtyard seems a bit inappropriate?

After all, the daily practice of the Phoenix Red True Flame requires the shallow application of divine abilities.

Perhaps because it only burns internally, lingering in the dantian, meridians, divine palace, and the organs, bones, flesh, and blood, without manifesting outside the body, and he endured it calmly and composedly, so there were no ripples, and thus it was not discovered or noticed?

Meng Changqing is the same as always and wouldn't pry casually, but others wouldn't be like that, so one cannot be so naive!

At the same time, regarding the Phoenix Blood Spear and the Phoenix Red True Flame, if they are revealed and used later, there must inevitably be a dual explanation, both open and secret, at that time.

So rather than giving up eating for fear of choking and pausing the hard training, which would pointlessly highlight something strange, it is better to continue and just quietly reveal this level of specification as a secret explanation.

If "Reflection of Life, Prosperity and Glory" and "Prosperity is Hard to Shift" are not used, that means keeping two cards up one's sleeve; if an enemy really is spying and makes a mistaken judgment, one can give them a surprise.

Du En had various thoughts in secret and quickly made his own decision.

Thus, he spoke: "Apart from the possible accidents from the North, this Grand Competition is actually full of dangers and hardships that are difficult to predict."

"..."

Meng Changqing fell into silence at once.

You saying this with a calm face only makes me feel it's strange!

However, harping on this, is he wanting an accident to occur so he can obtain a precious pill... it's obvious he would get one without needing to say much, what was just mentioned was only beating around the bush, so to speak, this is also beating around the bush, hmm, he wants to cover up a secret technique, right, that's it, enduring the burning of the Phoenix's Remnant Hatred must require the use of divine abilities.

Under the premise of a positional substitute, it indeed requires me to provide him with means like precious pills.

Hmm?

Wait!

Although it seems only natural, after all, I am the one increasing the difficulty for him, but how should I put it, this excuse used for cover cannot be leaked further; in other words, in the end, it still has to be used on this kid?!

You want to have it all again, don't you!

(End of chapter)