Chapter 183: Is She Really Yu Zhao?
This novel is translated and hosted only on BCatranslation
Liu Zheng’s initial shock slowly melted away, leaving her face calm and composed. She gave Li Jing Rang a quick glance, then turned and walked away without saying a word.
Li Jing Rang suddenly felt a surge of panic. “Liu Zheng, you can’t just leave like this! You need to explain yourself!”
He quickly took a few steps forward, reaching out to stop her. But before he could touch her, a sharp flash of sword light buzzed right in front of his fingers.
The cold sword energy sent a shiver down his spine, and he quickly pulled his hand back, fear flickering in his eyes before anger took over.
“Liu Zheng!”
But when he looked up again, Liu Zheng had already disappeared around the corner. His whole body felt cold, as if he had fallen into an icy pit.
Could Liu Zheng really be planning to break off their engagement? Didn’t she care about her reputation?
No, she must have felt guilty, which is why she left without saying anything. As long as he didn’t agree, breaking off the engagement was impossible!
Even though he kept telling himself this, Li Jing Rang remained anxious for several days. It wasn’t until the day of the big competition between the sects, when no new rumors had surfaced, that he finally felt relieved.
Standing among the sect members, Li Jing Rang looked around, his chest swelling with pride. Today was the day he would make a name for himself in the cultivation world!
Just as he was dreaming of his glorious future, someone bumped into him hard from behind.
“Excuse me, coming through.”
Annoyed, Li Jing Rang turned around, only to see a group of people confidently striding past him. Leading them was none other than Liu Zheng from the Heavenly Sword Sect.
“Senior Brother, are you alright?” asked a concerned member of Taibai Academy, noticing Li Jing Rang’s sour expression.
Li Jing Rang forced himself to remain calm, but inside, he was fuming. He silently vowed to himself, “Liu Zheng, you better hope we don’t meet in the competition, or I’ll make sure you’re humiliated!”
“Senior Sister, so that’s Li Jing Rang, huh? He’s not much to look at,” a disciple from the Heavenly Sword Sect remarked, clearly trying to provoke him while checking out the man who dared to have two fiancées.
When they saw him in person, they were sorely disappointed.
“Yeah, not nearly as good-looking as Senior Brother Han Zhou!”
“Don’t even mention Senior Brother Han Zhou; I think even the monks from the Harmony Temple are better looking!”
The Buddhist monks from the Harmony Temple, standing nearby, overheard the conversation and weren’t sure how to react.
One monk particular, Silent, rubbed his unevenly shaved head and grinned at his senior brother Bu You. “Seems like the disciples from Heavenly Sword Sect have better taste than their sect master.”
Bu You glanced at him coolly. “Junior Brother, you’re speaking out of turn again.”
Silent winced as the bumps on his head throbbed painfully from the recent beatings, and he quickly shut his mouth.
The sect competition didn’t have any elimination rounds. Like the individual competition, it involved drawing lots for direct one-on-one duels. The winner advanced, while the loser was eliminated. Those who made it into the top sixteen teams would earn a spot on the Floating Island, with additional rewards for the top three.
In the competition arena, the Achievement Pavilion had set up forty platforms. Twenty on the left for the sect competition and twenty on the right for the individual matches. The dual setup saved time and made the competition even more intense.
The sect leaders and elders from various sects had already taken their seats on the high stage in front of the arena. Though their faces were adorned with smiles, their conversations were sharp and full of hidden tensions.
Meanwhile, Yu Zhao stood among the thousand participants in the individual competition, preparing for the final round of lot drawing alongside Yao Wuji and Situ Xuan.
As they waited, Yao Wuji suddenly flashed a mischievous smile at Yu Zhao. “Yu Zhao, guess what odds the Hundred Treasures Pavilion set for you winning the top spot?”
“Even odds?” Yu Zhao guessed.
“Wrong, it’s half to one!”
Yao Wuji’s voice was filled with disbelief. A half-to-one payout meant that even if you won, you’d only get back half of your bet. In other words, the Hundred Treasures Pavilion had already decided that Yu Zhao was the undeniable favorite, leaving no chance for anyone else.
Yu Zhao was surprised at first but then quickly realized that the Hundred Treasures Pavilion’s decision made sense. After all, she had once decimated the assassins from the Hundred Treasures Pavilion’s Dark Hall, so much so that no one had dared to attempt another hit on her since.
“What about you and Situ Xuan?” Yu Zhao asked, curious.
Yao Wuji snorted. “Situ Xuan is the young master of the Situ family, so naturally, more people bet on him. His odds are two to one, while mine are five to one. Besides him, there’s also a female cultivator named Yao Ji that they favor, with the same odds of two to one.”
Yu Zhao nodded. She had to admit, the Hundred Treasures Pavilion’s judgment was sharp. In their past lives, both Situ Xuan and Yao Ji had indeed made it to the top three.
“The third round of the competition is about to begin. Contestants, please step forward to draw your opponents when your numbers are called. The rest of you, wait here,” announced the elder from the Achievement Pavilion, his voice commanding the attention of all.
The third round was finally here.
At the same time, another elder from the Achievement Pavilion stood in front of the sect teams, explaining the rules.
The atmosphere in the arena grew tense, like the calm before a storm.
“Numbers one to twenty, step forward.”
The cultivators holding numbers one to twenty walked up one by one to draw their opponents.
“Number one will face number six hundred and sixty-nine,” the elder announced.
Yu Zhao, Yao Wuji, and Situ Xuan all looked at the number in Yu Zhao’s hand.
Six hundred and sixty-nine.
Yu Zhao raised an eyebrow and calmly stepped forward.
The confident number one cultivator’s shoulders slumped when he saw Yu Zhao emerge from the crowd. His face fell as if he had just lost everything.
The elder from the Achievement Pavilion looked at Yu Zhao in surprise. “You’re number six hundred and sixty-nine?”
“Yes,” Yu Zhao replied.
The number one cultivator managed a smile that looked more like a grimace. He knew this was the end of his journey in the competition.
“Oh my, that poor guy is really unlucky, drawing her as his opponent.”
“His luck is just awful. Serves him right!”
“Thank the heavens it’s not me!”
The others couldn’t help but laugh.
Soon, the remaining nineteen cultivators had drawn their opponents, and they all stepped onto the platforms.
As Yu Zhao stepped onto the stage, she immediately drew countless gazes. Disciples from the Green Wood Sect and the Hundred Flowers Valley left their own matches to rush over and cheer for her.
Yu Zhao smiled and nodded in thanks, which only made the crowd cheer louder.
The unfortunate number one cultivator felt even more disheartened at the sight.
On the high stage, the sect leaders and elders heard the commotion and looked over.
Although Yu Zhao wasn’t wearing the robe of a Five Elements Sect disciple, her presence alone exuded the aura of someone who had undergone rigorous sect training.
This novel is translated and hosted only on BCatranslation
An elder who didn’t recognize her spoke up, “The female disciple on stage number one seems quite impressive. Whose disciple is she?”
The arena fell silent.
Those who knew the truth were hesitant to speak, while those who didn’t know couldn’t answer.
Sect Master Ji Yuan glanced at Master Qing Yan, who remained expressionless, and sighed softly. “That girl is named Yu Zhao. She’s a disciple of the Five Elements Sect.”
“Is she really Yu Zhao?”
Someone gasped, clearly having heard of her reputation.
Others, particularly the heads and elders of smaller sects who were unaware of the details, began asking around about Yu Zhao’s identity.
Soon, word spread among the crowd that Yu Zhao was Master Qing Yan’s former disciple, leading to a variety of reactions from the onlookers.