Chapter 183: She Is Yu Zhao?
This novel is translated and hosted only on BCatranslation
The shock in Liu Zheng’s eyes quickly gave way to a calm indifference. She glanced at Li Jing Rang up and down before turning on her heel to leave without sparing him another word.
Li Jing Rang felt an inexplicable panic rising in his chest. “Liu Zheng, you’re not allowed to leave! Explain yourself!”
He hurried after her, reaching out to stop her.
A sharp buzz suddenly sounded, and a blade of sword light slashed across the space just in front of his fingertips.
The icy sword aura sent shivers through him, making him recoil instinctively. His hand snapped back, and a look of fear momentarily crossed his face, soon replaced by a surge of rage.
“Liu Zheng!”
But when he raised his head again, Liu Zheng’s figure had already disappeared around the corner.
A chill seeped into his bones, leaving him feeling as if he had fallen into an icy cavern. Could Liu Zheng really be planning to escalate things and annul their engagement? Didn’t she care about her reputation?
No, she must feel guilty. That’s why she didn’t dare stay.
As long as I don’t relent, this annulment will remain a mere fantasy!
Despite trying to comfort himself, Li Jing Rang spent several anxious days. It wasn’t until the day of the Sect Competition began, without hearing any additional rumors, that he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Standing among his sect’s ranks, Li Jing Rang surveyed his surroundings, a surge of pride swelling in his chest.
Today is the day I, Li Jing Rang, will dazzle the cultivation world and make my mark for generations!
While he was reveling in thoughts of his glorious future, someone bumped into him hard from behind.
“Excuse me, coming through.”
Irritated, he turned to see a group striding confidently past him. Leading them was none other than Liu Zheng of the Heavenly Sword Sect.
“Senior Brother, are you okay?” A fellow disciple from Tai Bai Academy asked in concern, noting Li Jing Rang’s grim expression.
Feigning calm, Li Jing Rang’s mind seethed with resentment. Liu Zheng, you better pray we don’t meet in the Sect Competition, or I’ll make sure you lose all face!
Meanwhile, disciples from the Heavenly Sword Sect were deliberately stirring trouble.
“Senior Sister, so that’s Li Jing Rang? He’s not much to look at.”
“I know, right? He’s nowhere near as handsome as Senior Brother Ji Han Zhou!”
“Forget Ji Han Zhou; even those monks from Harmony Sound Temple outshine him!”
The nearby monks from Harmony Sound Temple overheard their conversation and were momentarily unsure how to react.
Silence rubbed his unevenly shaved head and grinned at his senior brother, Wu You, saying, “At least the Heavenly Sword Sect has better taste than their Sect Leader.”
Wu You glanced at him coldly. “Junior Brother, you’re talking too much again.”
Feeling the throbbing pain from a bump on his head, Silence immediately shut his mouth.
The Sect Competition followed a straightforward elimination format, with no separate preliminary rounds. Participants drew lots for one-on-one matches, with winners advancing and losers eliminated. The top sixteen teams earned the right to enter the Floating Island, with additional rewards for the top three.
Aspiration Pavilion had set up forty arenas in the competition grounds. The twenty on the left were for the Sect Competition, while the right twenty hosted the individual matches. The simultaneous events saved time and heightened the atmosphere of the competition.
The Sect Leaders and elders of the major sects had already taken their seats on a high platform overlooking the grounds. Their faces wore polite smiles, though their conversations were laced with subtle hostility.
Meanwhile, Yu Zhao, along with Yao Wu Ji and Si Tu Xuan, stood among the thousand-strong lineup of individual competitors, awaiting their turn to draw lots for the final round.
As they waited, Yao Wu Ji suddenly grinned mischievously at Yu Zhao. “Yu Zhao, can you guess what odds the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion’s betting house has set for you to win first place?”
“One to one?”
“Wrong. It’s one to half!”
Yao Wu Ji’s voice was filled with disbelief.
“Even a 1.5-to-1 payout means that even if someone bets correctly, they only win half their stake. This essentially means that the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion has already decided that Yu Zhao is the unbeatable choice for the championship. They’re not leaving any opportunity for anyone else to exploit.”
Yu Zhao was initially surprised upon hearing this, but after a moment of reflection, she understood the reasoning behind it. After all, back when she had decimated the assassins under the Dark Pavilion, another faction of the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion, none had dared to challenge her again for a long time.
“What are the odds for you and Si Tu Xuan?” Yu Zhao asked curiously.
Yao Wu Ji snorted lightly. “Si Tu Xuan is the young master of the Si Tu Family, so naturally, more people bet on him. His odds are 2-to-1, while mine are 5-to-1. Aside from him, there’s also a female cultivator named Yao Ji, who shares the same 2-to-1 odds.”
Yu Zhao nodded. She couldn’t deny that the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion had sharp insight. In their previous lives, both Si Tu Xuan and Yao Ji had made it into the top three.
“The third round is about to begin. Contestants whose numbers are called, step forward to draw your opponent. Everyone else, stay and wait,” announced Elder Sacrificial Blade.
The mention of the third round sharpened everyone’s focus. The moment had finally come.
At the same time, another elder from the Aspiration Pavilion stood before the sect teams to declare the rules, instantly heightening the tension in the arena. The atmosphere was heavy, as if a storm was brewing.
“Numbers one through twenty, step forward.”
The cultivators holding numbers one to twenty advanced in turn to draw their opponents.
“Number one versus number six hundred sixty-nine.”
As Elder Sacrificial Blade’s voice echoed, Yu Zhao, Yao Wu Ji, and Si Tu Xuan simultaneously turned their eyes to the number plate in Yu Zhao’s hand—six hundred sixty-nine.
Yu Zhao raised an eyebrow, calmly stepping forward.
The confidence of the cultivator holding number one crumbled instantly when he saw Yu Zhao emerge from the crowd. His shoulders slumped, and he looked as if he were mourning his own fate.
Elder Sacrificial Blade glanced at her in surprise. “You’re number six hundred sixty-nine?”
“Yes,” Yu Zhao replied.
The number one cultivator offered a grimace that was worse than tears. He knew his journey in the Cultivation World Grand Competition was about to end here.
“By the heavens, that guy is a true hero, willing to sacrifice himself to spare us from a tough opponent.”
“What rotten luck! He deserves the misfortune.”
“Thank the heavens it wasn’t me!”
Laughter erupted among the onlookers.
Soon, the remaining nineteen cultivators drew their opponents, and all stepped onto the competition platform together.
As soon as Yu Zhao ascended the stage, she drew countless gazes. Disciples from the Green Wood Sect and Hundred Flowers Valley abandoned their own sect competitions to gather around and cheer for her.
Yu Zhao smiled in gratitude, prompting an even louder wave of applause and cheers.
The unfortunate number one cultivator, seeing the enthusiastic support for Yu Zhao, felt his spirit sink even further into despair.
From the high platform, sect leaders and elders turned their attention toward the commotion.
Though Yu Zhao was not wearing the robes of a Disciple of the Five Elements Dao Sect, her commanding presence unmistakably exuded the demeanor of a sect cultivator.
An elder from another sect, unaware of the situation, asked, “The female disciple on platform one appears extraordinary. May I know whose esteemed student she is?”
The atmosphere froze.
Those who knew the story hesitated to speak, while those who didn’t remained silent out of ignorance.
Sect Master Ji Yuan, casting a glance at the impassive Master Qing Yan beside him, sighed softly. “That young woman is Yu Zhao, a disciple of our Five Elements Dao Sect.”
“She’s Yu Zhao?” someone exclaimed in astonishment, clearly having heard of her exploits.
Meanwhile, leaders from smaller sects, puzzled by the intrigue, began asking about Yu Zhao’s identity. It didn’t take long before everyone learned she was the infamous discarded disciple of Master Qing Yan. Reactions varied wildly across the crowd.