Chapter 176

Chapter 176: Thank You for the Reward, First Senior Sister
Li Jingrang could not watch anymore. He stepped forward and shouted: “That is enough! Fellow Daoist Zhou, stop forcing her like this!”

In his eyes, Junior Sister Ye was so fragile and sensitive. There was no way she could bear the pressure coming from Zhou Jin Yue.

His original intention had been to let Junior Sister Ye live a better life, not to make things harder for her.

For Junior Sister Ye, he was willing to step back.

“This matter ends here.”

When he said that, his teeth were clenched. He looked as if he was swallowing his anger and bearing a heavy humiliation, and this made Zhou Jin Yue laugh from sheer anger.

“Li Jingrang, you rushed up just now and scolded me for no reason. Now you want to send me away with one sentence, saying it ends here. Are you looking down on me, Zhou Jin Yue, or are you looking down on my Five Elements Dao Sect? Hm?”

“You… you did not suffer any loss.”

Li Jingrang still remembered clearly how Zhou Jin Yue had treated him just now.

“So because I did not suffer a loss, I deserve to be bullied?”

Zhou Jin Yue’s voice sank. The authority of a First Senior Sister flowed out of her without a word. Not to mention the people from Tai Bai Academy, even Zhang Jun, who usually joked and laughed around Zhou Jin Yue all day, straightened his back in an instant and did not dare to smile.

Right now, the ones who felt the worst were Ye Cong Xin and Li Jingrang.

Ye Cong Xin was so angry she almost choked.

She had set Li Jingrang as her target first because of his overwhelming fortune, and second because he was the First Disciple of Tai Bai Academy.

But who could have thought that Li Jingrang only looked useful on the surface? He seemed clever and sharp, but in truth he was a muddled fool.

He was riding on the Five Elements Dao Sect’s flying boat, right under the eyelids of the Sect Master and the elders, and he still dared to threaten the First Senior Sister of the Five Elements Dao Sect.

He really had a pig’s brain.

Li Jingrang himself did not feel that he had done anything wrong. He even thought Zhou Jin Yue was bullying others just because she had power and was acting too arrogant.

She must be jealous of Junior Sister Ye’s beauty… hm, beauty sounded a bit forced. Then it had to be her talent. Yes, her talent!

She was jealous of Junior Sister Ye’s talent, so she was deliberately suppressing her.

She dared to act but did not dare to admit it, and even wanted to use her status to pressure him.

This was truly hateful.

Li Jingrang looked around again.

At this time, all the disciples of the Five Elements Dao Sect and Tai Bai Academy had gathered on the deck, at least three to four hundred people.

Li Jingrang’s lips moved twice, then quickly closed again.

With so many people watching, there were some things he really could not say out loud.

“Jin Yue, an elder from Tai Bai Academy came to me to beg for mercy. How about we split the compensation in half?”

Just then, Sect Master Ji Yuan’s slightly sleazy voice sounded in Zhou Jin Yue’s ear.

Zhou Jin Yue’s eyes lit up.

Her lips moved silently: “I get seventy, you get thirty.”

“Deal!”

Just when everyone thought a shocking battle was about to break out, the pressure around Zhou Jin Yue’s body suddenly vanished.

“Since Junior Sister Ye says it was a misunderstanding, I will give her some face. We will let today’s matter end here. Fellow Daoist Li, I hope you will be careful with your words and actions in the future.”

The topic changed so fast that everyone was caught off guard. They could only stare as Zhou Jin Yue hurried away.

Zhang Jun’s eyes rolled, and he immediately followed after her. He said in a sticky, fawning voice: “Senior Sister, my most respected and most adored First Senior Sister…”

“Shut up. I will give you ten percent.”

“Thank you for the reward, First Senior Sister!”

Zhang Jun happily followed his First Senior Sister to find their Master, the one best at making money, to collect his share.

The remaining disciples of the two sects looked at each other. None of them spoke.

“Junior Sister, come with me.”

Ye Cong Xin was still feeling lucky that she had escaped one more disaster when she heard Fang Cheng Lang’s cold voice.

Her heart sank, but her face stayed calm as she agreed.

Su Ming and Quan Ye wanted to follow, but Lan Zi Yu stopped them.

“First Senior Brother called Junior Sister away alone. He must have something to say to her. You two should not get involved.”

Ever since Fang Cheng Lang stopped serving as steward, Lan Zi Yu’s personality had become much steadier than before.

If this were in the past, he would never have stopped Su Ming. He might have even rushed up to watch the drama.

It had to be said, pressure was the fastest way to make someone grow.

Quan Ye clenched his fists, already fuming: “First Senior Brother called Junior Sister over at a time like this. It cannot be anything good!”

Lan Zi Yu had the same thought, but he would never admit it. Instead, he shifted the blame.

“In the end, this whole matter has nothing to do with Junior Sister or Senior Sister Zhou. The ones truly at fault are the people from Tai Bai Academy.”

When Quan Ye heard that, he felt it made good sense. He glared at the people of Tai Bai Academy with fierce anger.

“From the time they started chatting with Junior Sister, I already thought they had bad intentions. They must have done this on purpose to stir things up, to ruin our relationship so we will lose in the competition. Such a shameless trick! When the Sect Grand Tournament comes, I will make sure they taste how strong my fist is.”

At last, Lan Zi Yu managed to pull Quan Ye’s attention away.

Lan Zi Yu let out a secret sigh of relief. Then he looked worriedly in the direction Fang Cheng Lang and Ye Cong Xin had left, not knowing what First Senior Brother would say to Junior Sister.

Lan Zi Yu and Quan Ye had both guessed wrong.

Fang Cheng Lang called Ye Cong Xin over, but he did not say a single harsh word. Instead, he encouraged her to interact more with disciples from other sects.

After Ye Cong Xin returned to her room, she kept replaying Fang Cheng Lang’s expression when he spoke to her.

She suspected that Fang Cheng Lang might have guessed something.

But Fang Cheng Lang’s reaction had been too calm.

So calm that there was not even the smallest flaw to catch.

She could not guess what Fang Cheng Lang was thinking at all.

“System, check Fang Cheng Lang’s Favorability.”

“Ding. Fang Cheng Lang’s current Favorability is 30 points.”

“Thirty points?”

Ye Cong Xin let out a cry of surprise.

Fang Cheng Lang’s Favorability toward her had not gone down. It had actually gone up.

So had she guessed wrong?

Did Fang Cheng Lang really have no other meaning behind his words of advice?

For some reason, Ye Cong Xin felt even more afraid.

Fang Cheng Lang’s fickle, unpredictable behavior made her feel that he had already slipped out of her control.

Even with the System’s Favorability value, she did not dare to be sure whether Fang Cheng Lang held goodwill or malice toward her.

“Ding. The Favorability values checked by the System are completely accurate. Host can use them with confidence.”

The System’s voice sounded at just the right time.

Ye Cong Xin pressed her lips together.

Yes, the System had never made a mistake. She should trust the System.

The System was right.

The System would not be wrong.

Ye Cong Xin repeated these words over and over in her mind, barely pressing down the worry in her heart.

Next, she had to be even more careful.

…

Ten days later.

Yu Zhao opened her eyes right on time.

Today was the day the Individual Competition would begin.

She pushed open the door. The courtyard outside was completely silent.

The Sect Competition and Individual Competition had different schedules. The disciples of the Five Elements Dao Sect were still on their way.

Yu Zhao closed the door behind her and walked toward the mountain gate. She had only gone a few steps when she saw the monk Bu Yan standing by the roadside.

“Bu Yan.”

Bu Yan smiled slightly. Holding his prayer beads, he bowed calmly.

“Did you wait here on purpose for me?”

“Yes. Yu Zhao, your name has already spread through Wending Pavilion these past few days.”

Bu Yan had noticed long ago that Yu Zhao was not ordinary. Otherwise, he would not have so easily suggested teaming up with her. He just had not expected her to be from the Five Elements Dao Sect.

He was sharp enough to guess that Yu Zhao would take part in the Individual Competition with no one by her side, so he waited here ahead of time to offer what little help he could.

Yu Zhao understood his good intentions and thanked him seriously. Then the two of them walked together toward the Martial Practice Field for the Individual Competition.