Chapter 416: Change of Heart

"If a fight breaks out later!" Wang Dun walked beside He Pingsheng and said, "Don't forget to crush the teleport talisman and leave immediately!"

He was afraid.

Afraid that the Qi Kingdom, for the sake of a single commandery, would burn its bridges.

But He Pingsheng shook his head and said, "Relax. The Qi Kingdom dares not defy the whole world!"

Long Yuan had acted, but He Pingsheng was not afraid.

Don't forget, when he was at the fifth layer of Golden Core, he had slain Master Ruo Kai.

Even if Long Yuan was slightly stronger, he could not harm He Pingsheng.

Of course, the Qi Kingdom still had a Soul Transformation elder here.

If that person acted, He Pingsheng would certainly not escape.

But if the Soul Transformation elder truly intended to kill him, He Pingsheng would not survive even if he stayed away.

They could simply slap him to death with one hand.

Of course, under normal circumstances, a Soul Transformation elder daring to strike a contestant would have consequences anyone could imagine.

The Sacred Mountain's face would be trampled into the dirt.

So it basically didn't exist.

Yet He Pingsheng still clutched the teleport talisman.

Just in case.

The two arrived at the Qi Kingdom's camp and were soon led into Long Yuan's palace.

"Wang Dun, you leave first…" Long Yuan waved his hand. "I have words to speak with He Pingsheng!"

Wang Dun turned and left.

The entire hall was left with only He Pingsheng and Long Yuan.

"Long time no see!" Long Yuan's face was calm, his voice equally indifferent. "We're old acquaintances…"

He Pingsheng said, "Where is my senior sister?"

"Why did you capture her?"

"Hehehe…" Long Yuan smiled. "He Pingsheng, the world isn't as full of justice and fairness as you imagine. A powerful royal house, when its goals go unmet, employs any means necessary!"

"For example, capturing your senior sister, your senior brother, and your master!"

"The True Person Yu Ning from Xiuzhu Peak of Grand Void Gate—isn't that your master?"

"Correct!" He Pingsheng nodded.

"Don't get agitated!" Long Yuan said. "They're still alive and well!"

"Originally… I captured them to find you… because at that time you took our Qi Kingdom's Tianque Divine Spear, and were suspected of being a great destiny bearer!"

"But you know what happened later—I saw you undergo your Golden Core heavenly tribulation at the entrance to the Five Dragon Gully Secret Realm. Once I learned you were a Three-Tier Tribulation, our royal house lost interest in you!"

"We wanted to capture Wang Dun!"

"At that time, I thought of releasing your sect members, but then I realized the Tianque Divine Spear was still in your hands, so I decided to use them as leverage to trade with you!"

"Just as I heard you were participating in this Nine Kingdoms Grand Competition, I came here and casually cut off your senior sister's arm!"

"But don't worry—I severed her arm only to prove to you that I truly captured them!"

"If you cooperate, there are countless elixirs in the cultivation world that can restore her severed limb!"

Long Yuan was not lying.

As He Pingsheng knew, many third-grade elixirs—even second-grade ones—could restore a cultivator's severed limb.

And the elixirs weren't particularly rare.

"Release them!" He Pingsheng's face was terrifyingly dark as he stared at Long Yuan. "There is enmity between us, between me and the Qi Kingdom. Over the years, you've driven me into exile, forced me into countless dead ends!"

"I can overlook all that!"

He Pingsheng took a deep breath. "If you release my sect, I'll erase all past grievances. From now on, I'll have no further ties to your Qi Kingdom—not a single hair's breadth of debt!"

"Impossible!" Long Yuan sneered. "If you were truly a great destiny bearer, we might have feared you a little!"

"But you're nothing but an ordinary cultivator with a Three-Nine Thunder Tribulation. Do you think our mighty Qi Kingdom can be threatened by a mere Golden Core cultivator?"

"He Pingsheng… you've vastly overestimated your own weight!"

"I summoned you here today to give you orders, not to point your finger at me!" Long Yuan clasped his hands behind his back, his sleeves nearly dragging the ground. "The Liang Kingdom's contestant is now only you. Starting tomorrow, I demand you lose."

"If you lose, the Liang Kingdom loses."

"I'll keep my word—I'll release your entire sect, and I'll no longer pursue the Tianque Divine Spear!"

"That's it."

"Go think it over."

"You know what consequences await if you refuse me, don't you?"

"Go."

Long Yuan waved his hand.

He Pingsheng said nothing and walked out of the hall.

"Young brother, how did it go?" Wang Dun followed behind He Pingsheng.

He Pingsheng said, "It's fine… let's talk tomorrow."

He didn't want to say much to Wang Dun, so he returned alone to his small chamber.

Closed the array, resumed cultivation!

…

The next morning, he returned to the arena.

"Ladies and gentlemen!"

The host stood before the crowd, looking at the hundred-odd people seated below. "Everyone saw yesterday's match between Liang and Qi!"

"Now there's a special situation!"

"The Qi Kingdom has petitioned the Sacred Mountain to request a rematch!"

"Their reason: yesterday, Xiao Xuan, after consecutively challenging nine Liang contestants, was exhausted in both stamina and spiritual power, and thus lost to He Pingsheng!"

"That does not reflect Xiao Xuan's true combat strength, nor the Qi Kingdom's true power!"

"Therefore, they petitioned our Sacred Mountain!"

"Our Sacred Mountain acknowledges the petition has some merit, but it violates the competition rules!"

"Because a loss is a loss, a win is a win!"

"Yet… competitions involve both sides!"

"Now I ask Liang's He Pingsheng…"

"Do you agree to rematch Xiao Xuan? If you refuse, the Qi Kingdom's petition is invalid!"

"If you agree, then rematch Xiao Xuan!"

Upon hearing this, both Liang and the other nations erupted in uproar.

In plain terms: the Qi Kingdom rejected yesterday's result and demanded a redo.

The Sacred Mountain's stance: if both parties agree, we have no objection.

If not, yesterday's result stands.

"Hehe…" Zhen Yu True Person sneered coldly. "Qi Kingdom is shameless—this is pure fantasy!"

"Exactly!"

"Shameless!"

All of Liang's people were outraged.

Long Yuan's gaze, however, held a faint smile as he looked at He Pingsheng.

He Pingsheng stood up calmly and said, "Fine. I agree."

"What?" Zhen Yu stared in disbelief. "You… you brat, what are you doing?"

He was baffled.

Liang Huaqiu, beside him, was more direct—she shot to her feet. "He Pingsheng, what do you mean?"

"Why agree?"

"When you went to Qi yesterday, did you accept…?"

"Shut up!" Zhen Yu's face darkened. "Girl, don't speak nonsense. I trust He Pingsheng!"

"Let him go!"

Zhen Yu waved his hand. "He, fight well!"

"I believe you—you'll defeat Xiao Xuan again!"

He Pingsheng smiled. "Of course."