Chapter 118

"Greetings, Elder Qiao!"

He Pingsheng walked to Elder Qiao’s side and bowed respectfully.

Elder Qiao smiled warmly: "Good... you’ve come at last. I thought you wouldn’t make it to the tenth level of Qi Refining!"

"I never expected I’d actually make it!"

Elder Qiao’s face radiated warmth, but inside she was startled.

She truly hadn’t expected He Pingsheng, with his mediocre talent, to reach the tenth level of Qi Refining in just three years.

"Sit down—the contest hasn’t started yet."

"First, calm your breath and center yourself."

Elder Qiao’s emotions were complicated.

In truth, from her heart, she longed for a life-or-death match.

Let Xiao Xuan kill He Pingsheng outright, and my niece’s demonic obsession would vanish.

Yet, for some reason, she found herself harboring a faint hope for He Pingsheng.

She hoped he could defeat Xiao Xuan.

Though she knew it was impossible.

"Pingsheng!" Qiao Huizhu pulled He Pingsheng to sit beside her and whispered: "How prepared are you?"

Before He Pingsheng could answer, she hurried on: "Don’t you dare get nervous—just respond normally!"

"Xiao Xuan may be a once-in-ten-thousand-years Void Spirit Root, able to mimic countless spirit roots and cast countless spells, but it doesn’t matter!"

"As long as you stay steady, you’ll be fine!"

"The Void Spirit Root only grants faster cultivation speed and unpredictable changes—it doesn’t suppress your magic power!"

"You’re both at the tenth level; his spiritual energy isn’t necessarily much stronger than yours!"

"Don’t care about winning or losing—survival is what matters most!"

"Yes!" He Pingsheng nodded. "Don’t worry—I’ll give it my all!"

As he spoke, He Pingsheng glanced around—but didn’t see Xiao Xuan himself.

Yet soon after, Xiao Xuan, clad in a green robe, arrived on the plaza, surrounded by several young disciples.

Swish...

Countless eyes turned to him.

Xiao Xuan remained unperturbed, savoring the attention slowly, then fixed his gaze on He Pingsheng.

A faint smile curled on his lips.

A cold smile.

He’d thought He Pingsheng wouldn’t dare show up.

This guy actually came?

Good. When we step onto the stage, I’ll show you what true genius looks like.

No magic treasure—I’ll kill you with bare hands alone!

"Ladies and gentlemen!" The Ice Pole Sect’s Golden Core Elder in crimson robes suddenly spoke: "Welcome, fellow cultivators, to our Ice Pole Sect!"

"The contest among juniors is normally insignificant—not worth summoning you all here!"

"But this contest is extraordinary!"

"Because this dispute involves the Qiao family of Heaven Seal Mountain. I’ve already agreed with the Qiao family: if the Grand Void Gate’s disciple wins, the two sects shall form a marital alliance!"

"But if our Ice Pole Sect barely wins, that marriage contract shall be between our Ice Pole Immortal Sect and Heaven Seal Mountain!"

"That’s why we’ve invited you all—to witness it!"

Before the crimson-robed elder finished speaking, Qiao Huizhu whirled to face her aunt: "Auntie... that’s not right, is it?"

Elder Qiao frowned: "I didn’t know either... How can the Ice Pole Sect speak so recklessly?"

"Then..." Qiao Huizhu panicked: "What do we do?"

Elder Qiao said: "Now is not the time to argue—I’ll question them later!"

"Young man!" Elder Qiao turned her gaze to He Pingsheng: "Now, you must find a way to win—otherwise, your engagement to Huizhu may be broken!"

Pressure settled on He Pingsheng.

"Of course!" The crimson-robed elder continued: "Within the Daoxuan Alliance, all sects are brothers!"

"This contest is for victory alone—not life or death!"

"So let me state the rules!"

"First: no magic treasures may be used. Combat must be bare-handed—only strength and spells determine victory. No external aids allowed!"

"Second: during the contest, no talismans, arrays, elixirs, or any other heavenly treasures may be used!"

"In short: the two disciples ascend the stage with nothing—only their own strength and spells count!"

"This rule is set to prevent casualties during the contest!"

The Ice Pole Sect elder spoke with noble pretense, yet harbored private motives.

In the Ice Pole Sect’s view, their Void Spirit Root would surely win.

Forbidding defensive magic treasures would let their disciple win more decisively.

Otherwise, if the opponent pulled out a superior treasure, the match would be impossible.

Moreover, they feared for their Void Spirit Root’s safety—if the opponent used a forbidden artifact and killed their disciple, they’d have no recourse.

Now, no other items are permitted.

With only fists, feet, and spells, you can’t instantly kill our disciple, can you?

"This contest was proposed by our Ice Pole Sect, so there must be a prize!" The crimson-robed elder stood, smiled, and waved his hand—then a object appeared in his palm.

It was a storage bag.

"And..."

Upon seeing the storage bag, many couldn’t suppress a sneer.

Just a storage bag? We thought the Ice Pole Sect was being generous!

This thing costs only a few thousand spirit stones in the marketplace.

For Qi Refining disciples, it’s valuable—but for a sect, it’s miserly.

You summoned everyone here with such fanfare, only to offer a storage bag?

How petty.

Yet the crimson-robed elder smiled confidently: "Ladies and gentlemen, don’t underestimate this storage bag!"

"It’s not what you think—it’s a supreme-grade storage bag!"

"When worn, it merges invisibly into flesh and blood—even Nascent Soul cultivators cannot perceive it!"

At these words, everyone was stunned.

Their earlier disdain vanished.

Storage bag?

Supreme-grade?

Invisible?

This thing could no longer be measured by spirit stones.

It was extremely precious.

Extremely rare.

Even Nascent Soul cultivators might not afford it.

Because normally, you simply couldn’t buy it.

The crowd erupted in murmurs.

He Pingsheng was also startled.

He already owned four of these—so this prize meant nothing to him.

Yet one phrase from the crimson-robed elder struck him like a treasure.

The elder had said: a supreme-grade storage bag, once hidden, cannot be seen even by Nascent Soul cultivators.

Hehe...

So now, I can use it openly.

Perfect!

"This is the prize offered by our Ice Pole Immortal Sect—the winner takes this supreme-grade storage bag!" The crimson-robed elder smiled and placed the bag atop a high platform.

In his eyes, the bag was already Xiao Xuan’s—no chance of escape.