Chapter 67: Chapter 65: The Difficult Battle

"Whether it’s appropriate or not is for this Elder to decide. I don’t need your commentary. You should just worry about yourself and recover as quickly as possible. If you aren’t ready for the duel, this Elder will hold you responsible!" Ye Lei snapped.

With things laid out so plainly, Qi Tian could only swallow his indignation, no matter how much he disagreed.

Why was Liu Hui, who was only at the Refining God Fifth Heaven, scheduled to go last?

Ye Lei had his reasons.

Back when they were caught in the Beast Tide and the Heaven-Deceiving Array had been shattered, there was no escape for anyone.

Facing an overwhelming tide of Demon Beasts, everyone had fought with the determination to die, giving it their all.

Perhaps most disciples were too exhausted and focused on dealing with the Demon Beasts to notice anything else.

But Ye Lei and Ye Dian were powerful and had to consider the bigger picture, so they had observed everyone’s reactions and abilities.

It was for this very reason they had been shocked to discover that among all the disciples, the strongest wasn’t Diao Qing, nor was it the incessantly chattering Qi Tian. Rather, it was Liu Hui, the one with the lowest cultivation.

That was the real reason they had scheduled Liu Hui to go last.

’Hmph, I’d like to see what tricks this servant has to deserve going last!’ Qi Tian thought with utter disdain.

Diao Qing had a different take. He shot Liu Hui a thoughtful glance, then closed his eyes to meditate and recover his stamina and True Essence.

Liu Hui, the subject of their thoughts, paid them no mind. He possessed the Dragon Transformation Divine Technique and held an Earth Dragon Demon Beast Core within his body. The battle against the Beast Tide hadn’t left him feeling tired or unwell at all. On the contrary, he was in better condition than ever before.

More than the duels with the Wolf Fang Sect disciples, he was concerned for Mo Qi’s safety.

’I wonder where my lord is now, and if he’s safe.’

If Liu Hui knew that the lord he was so worried about was currently gorging himself with a man and a pig, fighting over pieces of Roasted Blood Lion, one could only wonder what he would think.

Outside the Void Sect’s encampment, the members of the Wolf Fang Sect hadn’t left. They simply surrounded the area, waiting for the appointed hour.

Jin Quan tilted his head back, observing the sky.

"Just a bit more time. Trying to stall? Heh. A futile, dying struggle."

An Elder sidled up to him and whispered, "Lord Jin, Young Master Zhang Cheng infiltrated the Spiritual Ore mine as planned but has yet to return. He’s our trump card for these duels. Shouldn’t we wait for him?"

Jin Quan shook his head and smirked. "No need. The Void Sect is nothing but a band of broken soldiers and weak generals now. The men we have are more than enough. Besides, I’ve already made other arrangements. Nothing can go wrong."

What they didn’t know was that their so-called "trump card" was already dead, killed by Mo Qi. His head had been severed from his body, and his corpse was left in pieces.

The seconds and minutes ticked by.

With only ten breaths left until midnight, just as the day was about to end, Ji Lin led the members of the Void Sect out.

"Well now, cutting it a little close, aren’t you?" Jin Quan taunted.

"When it comes to timing an Array Formation to trigger a Beast Tide, you’re the real expert, Jin Quan," Ji Lin shot back coldly.

"Grand Elder Ji, we’re all prominent figures here. You need to take responsibility for what you say. You keep falsely accusing me, trying to pin this whole Beast Tide mess on me. If you’ve got proof, then show it. Otherwise, it’s slander, and I will be demanding satisfaction after this!"

Ji Lin said no more. He wasn’t one for verbal sparring, and he considered it beneath his station to stoop to Jin Quan’s level of vulgarity.

"Enough chitchat. We’ll settle things between us after the duels." Jin Quan chuckled, and with a grand wave of his hand, ten disciples from the Wolf Fang Sect stepped forward.

"We await your instruction!" the ten of them declared in unison, cupping their fists.

Everyone from the Void Sect froze, a sense of foreboding washing over them.

"Jin Quan, what is the meaning of this?" Ji Lin demanded, his brow furrowed.

"The meaning? Can’t you tell?" Jin Quan’s eyes narrowed into slits, his lips pulled back in a humorless smile. "It’s the duels, of course. All ten at once!"

"All at once?! Absolutely not!" Ji Lin rejected the idea immediately.

What a joke. If they all fought at once, their stalling tactic would be for nothing. How would the others get time to recover?

Jin Quan shrugged nonchalantly. "Ji Lin, I’m just looking out for your Void Sect."

"Look at the time. It’s already past midnight. You aren’t planning to hold the matches one by one, are you?" Jin Quan wore an expression as if looking at a complete idiot. "The nine matches after the first would be past the deadline. You’d automatically forfeit."

"That way, even if you win the first match, the Void Sect will only get a ten-percent share of the Earth-level Spiritual Ore."

"If it weren’t for our long acquaintance, do you think I’d be here reminding you to hold all ten matches at once? Of course, if you insist on handing the Wolf Fang Sect a gift, I certainly won’t object."

Ji Lin was speechless, and everyone else from the Void Sect was struck dumb by Jin Quan’s sophistry.

They had predicted how things would start but had failed to see through Jin Quan’s entire scheme.

Seeing the Void Sect members staring blankly at one another, Jin Quan sneered inwardly. ’Do they really think I don’t know what they were planning? Trying to play mind games with me? They’re still far too naive for that!’

"Jin Quan, don’t you think you’re going too far?" Ji Lin asked, forcing his anger down.

"Too far? I’m just following the rules. And as I said, if you have a problem, feel free to report it. If not, then hurry up and send out your disciples to fight."

"Fine! We’ll fight!" Ji Lin agreed through gritted teeth.

At this point, they had no other choice but to risk it all.

Jin Quan had played the word games to perfection. He wasn’t wrong; he was, in fact, following the rules to the letter.

"Elder Ji, you can’t agree to this! It’s clearly a plot by the Wolf Fang Sect!" Ye Lei said frantically. "We should just fight them head-on!"

"Nonsense!" Ji Lin snapped, then sighed in resignation.

"This isn’t some hidden conspiracy; it’s an open-and-shut scheme. Jin Quan is clinging to the rules. As long as he refuses to admit his involvement with the Beast Tide, he’s in an unassailable position. There’s nothing we can do."

"We have to go through with it. All we can do now is trust our disciples. Trust that they can perform a miracle."

Filled with bitter reluctance, Ye Lei turned his face away, clenching his fists so tightly they audibly cracked.

The feeling of powerlessness was infuriating.

He glanced back at their ten disciples. Aside from Qi Tian, Diao Qing, and Liu Hui, who seemed to be in decent shape, the other seven were all pale. A few were even coughing up blood, barely able to stand.

How were they supposed to fight like this?

"Everyone," Ji Lin said, looking at the ten disciples, "I don’t have high expectations. Just do your best. The Sect will reward you handsomely afterward, no matter the outcome."

"Don’t worry, Elder. We will give it our all!"

Not far off, Jin Quan sneered and sent a mental message to his own disciples: "I don’t want there to be an ’afterward’ for any of them. Do whatever it takes. Kill them!"

The great battle was about to erupt. The Void Sect and the Wolf Fang Sect each had ten combatants, all now seeking out their opponents.

On the Wolf Fang Sect’s side, every single one of them was at the Refining God Ninth Heaven.

As for the Void Sect, with the exception of Liu Hui, the other nine were also at the Refining God Ninth Heaven.

"You lowly peasant, don’t you dare desert the fight like your master," Qi Tian’s voice hissed in Liu Hui’s ear.

Liu Hui shot Qi Tian a cold glare. "Worry about yourself, you useless trash."

"Trash?" Qi Tian laughed instead of showing anger. "Let’s see if you can still say that when the Wolf Fang Sect is wiping the floor with you."

Liu Hui ignored Qi Tian. His opponent had already found him.

His opponent was a short young man with thick, stubby limbs, built like a bullfrog.

Liu Hui, transformed by Dragon Energy and possessing the Dragon Transformation Divine Technique, stood nearly two meters tall, creating a stark contrast between the two.

"I have to ask, has the Void Sect run out of people? Sending a Refining God Fifth Heaven out to die!" The young man licked his lips, his eyes sizing up Liu Hui like prey as a bloodthirsty smile spread across his face.

Liu Hui had seen this kind of contempt countless times; he was used to it.

He looked down on the youth from his superior height. Though his face was devoid of expression, he exuded an innate arrogance that could be felt at all times.

Dragons possess a pride that stems from the very depths of their souls.

The youth’s heart skipped a beat. A mere Refining God Fifth Heaven was somehow giving him a strange sense of danger.

This piqued his curiosity, so he didn’t attack immediately.

Liu Hui, for his part, was too proud and disdained to strike first.

And so, the two of them remained locked in a standoff.

In contrast, the other nine duels had erupted into furious combat the moment the fighters met.

The signature trait of the Wolf Fang Sect was that each member had their own Beast Pet, and the Beast Pet was usually a sliver stronger than its master.

Because Jin Quan had given them a kill order before the duels, the Wolf Fang Sect disciples all summoned their Beast Pets the moment the fights began, immediately creating two-on-one matchups.

The Void Sect’s disciples were already in poor shape. Facing two opponents at once, they were almost powerless to resist and were quickly put on the defensive, forced to flee as the Wolf Fang Sect disciples hunted them down.

Only Qi Tian and Diao Qing had the strength to hold their ground, fighting their opponents to a temporary standstill.

Although Ji Lin and the other Void Sect Elders had anticipated this, the one-sided nature of the battles still made them sigh.

’Now we can only count on Qi Tian, Diao Qing, and Liu Hui. If they can win, a thirty-percent share, while small, is better than nothing.’

Just then, the most grievously injured, worst-off disciple from the Void Sect was tackled to the ground by his opponent’s Beast Pet. His throat was instantly ripped open. Blood gushed out, and after a violent convulsion, he lost all signs of life.

Spurred on by the scent of blood, the Demon Beast went into a frenzy, savagely tearing and devouring the disciple’s corpse. The scene was a gruesome, mangled mess of flesh and blood, too horrible to behold.

"Insolence!" Ji Lin roared in fury. His Grotto Heaven materialized behind him, its pressure bearing down.

Losing a duel was one thing, but death was another matter entirely.

Every disciple qualified to represent the Void Sect in these duels was a genius the Sect had painstakingly nurtured.

Each death was a tremendous loss for the Void Sect.

This was something Ji Lin could not tolerate.

At that very same moment, another Grotto Heaven rose from behind Jin Quan’s head, intercepting Ji Lin’s.

"Jin Quan, your man dared to strike a killing blow?!"

Ji Lin’s rage was practically palpable. The Wolf Fang Sect’s actions had crossed a line. If Jin Quan didn’t give him an explanation, there was no reason for these duels to continue.

Jin Quan, however, just chuckled nonchalantly. "Come now, Ji Lin. You’ve lived for hundreds of years. How can you still be so naive? Fists and feet have no eyes, as they say. Aren’t casualties normal in a duel? His skills were lacking, but he insisted on acting tough. Who’s to blame for that? Besides, if you know you can’t win, just surrender. Once you surrender, you’re safe, aren’t you?"