At the Gambling Arena, the sun was slanting west. Mo Qi still hadn’t appeared, and the many disciples in the square had grown impatient.

The upper echelons of the Void Sect, who had been drawn over to watch the show, had already been gone for a long time, including Sect Leader Yun Xuzi and a number of Elders.

"Is Mo Qi coming or not? Isn’t this just a waste of time?"

"It’s already this late. I bet he got scared and won’t dare to show up."

"What a buzzkill. If he didn’t dare to fight, why did he even propose a life-and-death battle in the first place? It’s ridiculous!"

"You know how it is. Some people get hot-headed and get carried away, and once they get carried away, they start courting death."

"Hmph, he’d better not cross my path in the future. I’ll beat him up every time I see him!"

"Don’t say that. Chef Mo still has his supporters. Don’t forget, his cooking skills have won over a lot of people."

"Tch. Just some unrefined, unorthodox trick."

The crowd buzzed with discussion. The sun was about to set, and Mo Qi still hadn’t shown up.

There was disappointment in the crowd, disdain, and relief, but most of all, there was anger. No one likes being made a fool of.

Seeing that time was running out, Wang Hao ascended the Gambling Arena and faced the crowd.

"Everyone, one month ago, the servant Mo Qi passed the entrance trial with an exceptionally high score of eighty. Logically, this should be a joyous occasion for our Void Sect, worthy of us raising our cups in celebration." Wang Hao’s voice was resonant, his tone eloquent, and combined with his handsome face, he instantly caused countless female disciples to gaze at him with adoration, their eyes full of worship.

"But!" Wang Hao’s tone shifted, his face tinged with anger. "As everyone knows, Mo Qi cannot condense True Essence. Though I don’t know what trick he used to get a score of eighty, I believe that for the future of the Void Sect, and to protect the prestige our Void Sect has built over thousands of years, he must prove himself."

"Is that too much to ask?"

After a pause, Wang Hao continued, "I, Wang Hao, am untalented, but I am willing to be the touchstone for him to prove himself. Everyone present at the time can attest that it was Mo Qi who initiated the challenge. Now that the one-month deadline has arrived, he’s hiding like a coward, not only treating his promise like a joke but also making a fool of all of you."

"Tell me, does a person like that have the right to be a fellow disciple?"

Wang Hao spoke with such self-righteousness he was practically on the verge of tears.

"No! A person like that should be expelled from the Void Sect!" After the first person shouted out, others in the crowd began to jeer one after another, until it erupted into a massive uproar.

"Expel Mo Qi, that disgrace to the Void Sect!"

"The shame of the Void Sect! He’s not worthy of being an Official Disciple!"

"We support Wang Hao! May those who break their promises die a horrible death!"

The corners of Wang Hao’s mouth turned up. Everything was going according to his plan.

From a hidden spot, Liu Ruyan was so furious she practically flew into a rage. If Liu Hong hadn’t stopped her, she would have already slapped Wang Hao and those noisy hecklers to death.

’How dare they slander my Brother Mo?!’

"Don’t stop me! Get rid of this Array! I’m going to teach them a lesson!" Liu Ruyan glared at Liu Hong.

Just as Liu Hong was about to persuade her, a figure appeared in his Divine Sense. He immediately waved his large sleeve and dispelled the Array restraining Liu Ruyan.

"My dear granddaughter, calm yourself." Liu Hong stopped the rampaging Liu Ruyan, pointed in a direction, and said with a smile, "Look, who’s that?"

Liu Ruyan looked in the direction he pointed. The sight of the figure she had longed for day and night made her nose tingle. She covered her mouth and began to cry silently.

"Brother Mo..."

She was so overwhelmed with excitement and joy that she didn’t even notice Liu Hong pilfering all the snacks and food containers from her Storage Ring.

On the Gambling Arena, Wang Hao was basking in the glory.

Although this duel wasn’t a major event, by fanning the flames behind the scenes, he had gained the approval of many of his fellow disciples.

’Mo Qi, oh, Mo Qi, I really have you to thank for this. After this incident, my popularity among the disciples will skyrocket. Perhaps I can even use this to become a Core Disciple.’

Just then, a lazy voice rang out. Though it wasn’t loud, it cut through all the clamor.

"I say, a day has twelve periods. The sun hasn’t even set yet. Even after it does, there’s still a while until midnight, right? The day is just a little more than half over, and you’re already acting like the victor. Isn’t that a bit inappropriate?"

Mo Qi stood at the entrance to the square, looking speechlessly at the crowd shouting for his expulsion.

Liu Hui followed behind Mo Qi without a word, his eyes filled with arrogance and disdain as he looked at the crowd.

"Mo Qi?!"

Everyone was shocked, especially Wang Hao. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"You... Weren’t you already...?" Wang Hao pointed at Mo Qi, his face a mask of disbelief.

Mo Qi let out a cold laugh. "Weren’t I already dead? Heh, I’m afraid I’ve disappointed you, Eldest Young Master Wang. I just have a cheap life. Do you know what a cheap life is? It’s even tougher than a hard life. A man of your noble birth probably wouldn’t understand. But that’s alright. I’ll let you experience it firsthand very soon."

The crowd was stunned once again. No one uttered another word. From the dialogue, they could tell there was a hidden story here.

Wang Hao’s expression changed, but he quickly regained his composure. As if he hadn’t understood Mo Qi’s words, he demanded, "Mo Qi, you’re so late. You made so many people wait for you all day. What are your intentions? Do you have no respect for your fellow disciples?"

He was trying to pin another label on him.

Mo Qi rolled his eyes and pointed to his head. "I say, is there something wrong up there? Or can you just not understand human speech? There are at least six hours until the day is over. How am I ’so late’? Clearly, you’re the one who came too early!"

You’re the one who came too early... you came too early... came too early... too early... early...

Although Wang Hao was furious, he was speechless.

"Besides, this duel is between you and me. What does it have to do with them?" Mo Qi pointed to the crowd. "Did I invite them to watch? Or was it... that a certain someone deliberately incited them?"

Although he didn’t explicitly say who this "certain someone" was, everyone knew Mo Qi was talking about Wang Hao.

"Nonsense!" Wang Hao fumed. "You didn’t show up for so long during the day, making all these people wait around. And you think you’re in the right?"

Mo Qi tossed the Pig Emperor to Liu Hui, then leaped onto the Gambling Arena.

The Pig Emperor gave a dissatisfied snort, settled down on Liu Hui’s head, and fell fast asleep.

Liu Hui could be arrogant toward anyone except Mo Qi and the Pig Emperor, because he knew that the Yellow Dragon Ghost Infant Rice Ball that had saved his life had been provided by the Pig Emperor.

"Such precious time during the day should of course be used for meaningful things. Don’t I need to bathe and eat?" Mo Qi retorted as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

’So your so-called "meaningful things" are just bathing and eating?’ Wang Hao fumed.

’And the duel is meaningless?’

"You..."

"’You’ what? Enough with the nonsense. Are we fighting or not? If not, don’t waste my time. Look at them," Mo Qi said, gesturing to the crowd below. "They’ve been waiting with bated breath."

’Who’s the one full of nonsense? The reason they’re waiting with bated breath is because of you!’ Wang Hao felt like he was going crazy.

Wang Hao considered himself to be quite self-possessed, but for some reason, he was always easily provoked when facing Mo Qi.

"Come and die! I’d like to see if your skills are as sharp as your tongue!"

Wang Hao struck first. The immense pressure of the Qi Refining Ninth Heaven erupted from his body, causing the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy to fluctuate violently, as if it were boiling.

He spread his five fingers and slowly raised his hand. A giant palm made of True Essence smashed down toward Mo Qi.

This move consumed an enormous amount of True Essence and was flashy but impractical. Cultivators in the Qi Refining Realm rarely used it unless their opponent’s strength was far beneath their own, and their intent was to humiliate them.

Clearly, in Wang Hao’s eyes, Mo Qi wasn’t even worthy of his full effort.

He wanted to use this high-and-mighty posture to easily suppress Mo Qi and completely shatter his ridiculous pride.

However, Mo Qi simply extended a single finger and held it above his head.

"What is he doing? Does he plan to block that palm with one finger?"

The onlookers were completely dumbfounded.

They could all see that there were no fluctuations of True Essence within Mo Qi’s body. In other words, his Cultivation was, at the absolute most, at the Refining Essence Ninth Heaven.

Facing Wang Hao, who was at the Qi Refining Realm’s Ninth Heaven, he didn’t stand a chance.

Seeing Mo Qi’s action, Wang Hao sneered, "It seems you’ve given up. If you kneel and beg me, I might let you live."

Though he said that, the True Essence palm smashing down didn’t slow in the slightest.

BOOM!

The True Essence palm fell. Just as everyone thought Mo Qi would be smashed into a meat paste, an unbelievable scene occurred.

Mo Qi was completely unharmed. His finger had pierced through the True Essence palm.

Like a deflating ball, the True Essence palm fluttered down, broke into pieces, and quickly dissipated into nothing.

This...

Not only were the spectators stunned, but even Wang Hao himself was dumbfounded.

’What just happened?’ He hadn’t felt any counterattack from Mo Qi at all; the True Essence palm had inexplicably vanished.

"Ahem." Mo Qi gave a dry cough. "I say, you should stop bringing out these flashy things to embarrass yourself. Since you’ve made a move, it’s my turn now, right?"

Before the words had even faded, and before Wang Hao could react, Mo Qi vanished from his sight.

At the same time, the hair on Wang Hao’s body stood on end. A feeling of extreme danger made him subconsciously activate the Mystic-Level Armor that Wang Xinglong had given him.

In the Martial Arts World, Martial Techniques and Cultivation Techniques were categorized by rank, and naturally, Weapons and Armor also had different levels of quality.

Like Martial Techniques and Cultivation Techniques, Weapons and Armor were divided into four grades: Celestial, Earth, Mystic, and Yellow. As for anything above Celestial Level, it wasn’t called a weapon, but a Spiritual Artifact.

Although the Armor on Wang Hao was only a Low-grade Mystic-level Armor, it was enough to let him withstand any attack below the Purity Realm.

In other words, against anyone below the Purity Realm, Wang Hao could stand there motionless and let his enemy attack him without suffering the slightest injury.

CLANG!

A deafening sound rang out. Wang Hao felt a heart-stopping force slam into his chest, forcing him back three steps.

’Such terrifying speed, such terrifying power!’ Wang Hao broke out in a cold sweat. If not for this Low-grade Mystic-level Armor, that last punch would have left him severely injured, if not dead.

Mo Qi, however, felt as if he had punched a steel plate, the impact making his arm go numb.

His attack having failed, Mo Qi swiftly retreated without a moment’s hesitation.

Below, however, the crowd erupted in boos.

"How shameless! A Qi Refining Ninth Heaven fighting a Refining Essence Cultivator, and he’s even wearing Mystic-Level Armor? How is this a fair fight?"

"Exactly! Even if he just stands there, Mo Qi can’t hurt him."

"This isn’t fair, is it?"

Hearing the discussions below, Mo Qi revealed a cold smile. "Eldest Young Master Wang, I said you had a noble birth, and you’re really not shy about it, are you? Mystic-Level Armor... Why don’t you just get a Celestial Level set? That’d be even better. I bet even the Sect Leader couldn’t beat you then, right? Hahaha."