While Mo Qi was quietly making a fortune, holed up at the bottom of the Earth-level Spiritual Ore mine, the members of the Void Sect on the surface were having a terrible time.

No sooner had Ji Lin arrived at their encampment with the exhausted Ye brothers and numerous other disciples, than Jin Quan came knocking, leading a group of Wolf Fang Sect elites.

According to the rules previously established by the Four Great Sects, whenever a conflict or dispute arose between them, the matter would be settled—and benefits divided—based on the results of a competition among the younger generation of disciples, so as to avoid harming the core strength of the Sects.

The allocation of shares for this Earth-level Spiritual Ore, therefore, would be decided by a competition between ten disciples under the age of eighteen.

For every match won, the victorious side would receive a ten percent share of the allocation.

After surviving the Beast Tide, the ten disciples from the Void Sect were not only utterly exhausted, but nearly all of them were injured as well.

To face the Wolf Fang Sect in this state... one could predict the outcome without the competition even taking place.

"I refuse to hold the competition now!" Ji Lin said firmly. "If you want to compete, we’ll do it in three days."

The members of the Wolf Fang Sect broke into scornful smiles.

"Not competing?" Jin Quan sneered. "So, is the Void Sect admitting defeat?"

Ji Lin roared, "Who said anything about admitting defeat! Are you deaf? I said we’ll compete in three days!"

"In three days?" Jin Quan shook his head. "That’s not your call to make. You don’t have the authority to change the date of the competition. There are rules for a reason. Since we agreed on today, it cannot be postponed!"

"Oh, wonderful. Jin Quan, you want to lecture me about rules? Was the Wolf Fang Sect following the rules when you set an ambush and triggered a Beast Tide?" Ji Lin laughed in fury.

"I have no idea what you’re talking about," Jin Quan said with a light chuckle. "My Wolf Fang Sect sympathizes with your plight, but that doesn’t mean we need to pay for your misfortune. After all, who but someone with terrible luck would run into something as rare as a Beast Tide?"

His flippant tone made the members of the Void Sect boil with uncontrollable rage. The disciples who had just escaped the Beast Tide with their lives would have already started cursing aloud if several Elders hadn’t stopped them.

"Do you dare swear that the Beast Tide wasn’t your scheme?" Ji Lin asked, suppressing his rage. He wished for nothing more than to fight Jin Quan for three hundred rounds.

Jin Quan’s smile vanished. He narrowed his eyes and scanned Ji Lin from top to bottom.

"Listen here, Ji. Let alone you, not even Yun Xuzi himself would have the right to make me swear an oath. I can’t be bothered to argue with you. Just give me a straight answer: are you competing or not? If not, the Wolf Fang Sect will take over this entire Spiritual Ore mine."

"Of course, if you have any proof that my Wolf Fang Sect caused the Beast Tide, feel free to report it. Demand that the Four Great Sects convene a joint assembly. Put me on trial!"

"You!" Ji Lin was speechless.

’Evidence? Where would I find any evidence?’

Even though everyone knew the truth in their hearts, as long as the Wolf Fang Sect refused to admit it, what could anyone possibly do to them?

The so-called joint assembly of the Four Great Sects was an even bigger joke.

"Spit it out. Stop dithering like a woman. Are you competing or not?" Jin Quan asked impatiently.

"We’ll compete! Of course we’ll compete!"

Ji Lin knew. ’Since the Wolf Fang Sect orchestrated all of this, there’s no way to avoid a confrontation today.’

’Rather than wasting time on pointless arguments, I should be thinking about how to handle this.’

"But not right now," Ji Lin shouted coldly. "For now, take your people and get the hell out of our encampment!"

Jin Quan shrugged nonchalantly and waved a hand, signaling for the Wolf Fang Sect members to depart.

"A friendly reminder," he called out, "there’s less than an hour left in the day. If the Void Sect doesn’t put anyone forward to fight by then, we’ll take it as your forfeiture."

With that, Jin Quan departed from the Void Sect’s encampment, laughing raucously.

"Elder Ji, what are we going to do? In less than an hour, the disciples won’t have time to recover," Ye Lei said anxiously.

"Stop worrying about that for now. Have them recover as much as they can," Ji Lin ordered. "Spirit Stones, Elixirs—don’t be stingy! Give them the absolute best of everything!"

...

Meanwhile, there was someone else suffering even more than the Void Sect.

This person was none other than Zhang Shao, the Sect Leader of the Wolf Fang Sect.

The moment Zhang Cheng was killed by Mo Qi, Zhang Shao sensed that the imprint he had left on his son had been triggered.

Then, the final moments of Zhang Cheng’s death were transmitted back as a Spiritual Power image, along with the appearance and aura of Mo Qi.

"My son!"

Zhang Shao let out a long, grief-stricken roar. His voice pierced the nine heavens, reverberating throughout the Wolf Fang Sect and startling its countless experts from their seclusion.

"Cheng’er, rest assured. Father will avenge you, no matter the cost!"

Following this, a series of secret orders were issued from the main hall of the Wolf Fang Sect. Mo Qi’s appearance and aura were copied countless times, until nearly every member of the Sect had a copy.

The Wolf Fang Sect’s highest-level pursuit order was issued: For anyone who could find a trace of Mo Qi, the reward would be one million Spirit Stones, a suit of Earth-level Battle Armor, and three Fourth-Grade Elixirs.

The moment the order was given, everyone in the Wolf Fang Sect—from Elders and Stewards down to disciples and servants—mobilized in a frenzy, with Mo Qi as their one and only target.

"Attendant! Where has Cheng’er been these past few days?"

"Reporting to the Sect Leader, due to the recent emergence of the Earth-level Spiritual Ore and the required competition with the Void Sect, Young Master Cheng volunteered to go and lend his support."

"Immediately dispatch thirty thousand Beast Soldiers to the Earth-level Spiritual Ore! Seal off a perimeter of a thousand li. Without my order, no one is to enter or exit—and that includes the Void Sect!"

"As you command."

...

"Elder Ji, in my view, our goal should no longer be to fight for a larger share of the Spiritual Ore, but to cut our losses," Ye Lei said. "Given the disciples’ current condition, every single match we win is a net gain."

"I understand the reasoning, but the crucial question is *how* do we cut our losses?" Ji Lin was deeply troubled. ’I was ordered here to oversee things, and I thought it would be a cushy assignment. I never imagined it would end up like this.’

’If the results of the competition are a complete disaster, the blame will fall squarely on my shoulders.’

’When I return to the Void Sect, I’ll probably face severe punishment.’

"How about this," Ye Lei proposed. "We’ll sacrifice a few shares of the Spiritual Ore from the start. We’ll send out our more heavily injured and weaker disciples to engage the Wolf Fang Sect in stalling battles. Their goal won’t be to win, but to tie up their opponents for as long as possible, buying more recovery time for the others."

"This way, if three of them can successfully stall their opponents for two hours, the remaining seven will have enough time to recover—and they are our seven strongest disciples."

Hearing this, a brilliant gleam flashed in Ji Lin’s eyes, and his face lit up with delight. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"Yes, an excellent plan!"

Soon after, the ten disciples, including Liu Hui, were called before Ji Lin and informed of the plan.

Ye Lei and Ye Dian arranged the fighting order for the ten disciples based on their strength and the severity of their injuries.

After the order was finalized, Qi Tian discovered he was placed eighth, and Diao Qing was ninth. In contrast, Liu Hui, the disciple with the lowest Cultivation, was placed tenth.

’According to the logic of the arrangement, doesn’t that mean Liu Hui is the strongest of the ten of us?’

Qi Tian was immediately indignant.

"Elder, why does Liu Hui get to go last?"

"Hm? Are you questioning my decision?" Ye Lei’s brow furrowed. He didn’t have a very good opinion of Qi Tian.

’The kid has a foul mouth, and now he dares to question me!’

Qi Tian knew he had been impulsive. He quickly lowered his head and bowed respectfully. "I wouldn’t dare. I’m just very confused. Liu Hui is only at the Refining God Fifth Heaven. Is it really appropriate to place him last?"