Chapter 191: Chapter 160: The Curtain Rises

Jiang Qingfeng furrowed her brows: "I heard that the cultivators from the Divine Flood Dragon Sect practice secret techniques, controlling snake spirits from the moment they enter the sect. The snake spirit influences the divine soul, making the cultivators emotionally unstable. However, Ling Xuzi is far too impulsive and irritable; sending someone like him to lead, losing ten spirit crystals in vain. It seems that Sect Leader Ji lacks strategy."

Master Xuan Ji laughed beside her: "Heh, people often say big-busted women are brainless, Lady Ji strongly proves this saying isn’t false."

Jiang Qingfeng flushed and spat, How come even Elder Zhou turned improper after meeting Ji Yunrou? That big, does it really have such strong destructive power...

Her gaze secretly shifted downwards, instantly feeling dejected, and hurriedly looked toward Lu Qian.

Lu Qian shook his head: "No, that woman is no ordinary person. How could she not know her elder’s character? She deliberately sent Ling Xuzi out."

Now, in the conference room, Yunshan Sect elders and stewards sat, along with sect leaders from the Shuangye Alliance.

These sect leaders, after receiving the order last night, have already sent fifty late-stage Qi cultivation elites. Now, the marketplace is bustling with people, all pretending to be loose cultivators, entering in batches, causing not a ripple.

Currently, in this city, along with the original hundred-person law enforcement team, the most elite one hundred fifty late-stage Qi cultivation disciples of the Shuangye Alliance have gathered, essentially putting all their assets here.

These sect leaders were here to listen to Lu Qian’s instructions, while the elites they brought spread out, waiting for orders.

Yunshan Sect’s Tan Hong and Zhang Lemei had disciples remaining at the mountain gate; most of these disciples were early-stage Qi cultivation, not of use yet.

Lu Qian had already explained the cause and effect to everyone earlier, and now every sect leader listened to Lu Qian’s words, with a serious and thoughtful demeanor.

Sect Leader Xuu Yingcai of Qingli Mountain stroked his beard thoughtfully: "Sending such a reckless person deliberately, could it be that Lady Ji wants this conflict?"

"It’s not just a conflict. I’m afraid Ling Xuzi himself doesn’t realize he’s being used as a sacrificial pawn." Lu Qian’s words shocked everyone, "Ji Yunrou hid the entire time. She saw Ling Xuzi attack me but did not stop him. Perhaps at that moment, she wanted Ling Xuzi to kill me directly."

Master Xuan Ji slapped his thigh: "So that’s how it is. If Ling Xuzi could kill Sect Leader, Shuangye Alliance and Shuangye Square would instantly fall into chaos. People from Fanglan Square and Jiuzhi Square would then take the opportunity to cause trouble, and Shuangye Square might be destroyed directly."

"Afterwards, as long as Ling Xuzi is handed over to Xuanguang Sect to pay with his life, the deed is done, and Xuanguang Sect wouldn’t war with Liangxiang County for the sake of just one sect leader."

Everyone suddenly understood, gasping in awe; the woman is truly ruthless and decisive, not someone easy to deal with.

"But they didn’t expect Ling Xuzi failed to succeed and was surrounded by our side instead. Lady Ji couldn’t let Ling Xuzi die in vain and had to come out to ransom his life. The subsequent arena invitation also followed smoothly."

Lu Qian said solemnly: "With Ling Xuzi dealing with me, though called a friendly match, the arena changes unexpectedly, certainly harboring the intention to kill me if possible. And she pinned down Elder Guh, our Shuangye Alliance’s only Foundation Establishment fighting force, while loose cultivators invited by Fanglan Square and Jiuzhi Square could then freely wreak havoc in the marketplace."

"Thus, the most likely time for them to make a move would be during the Foundation Establishment arena match, June 16th, the last day of the festival."

Lu Qian waited until everyone digested this part of the speech, then stood: "But what they don’t know is, while they plan to attack opportunistically, we wish even more for them to take the initiative."

"Sect Leader," Zhou Chao couldn’t resist asking, "But if this happens, indeed Elder Guh is pinned down. If they employed Foundation Establishment loose cultivators, how do we respond?"

In the afternoon, outside the arena, a new sect tournament schedule was posted, eagerly awaited cultivators rushed in to watch.

For Qi cultivation level matches, loose cultivators are in the arena, while sect cultivators are in the multi-purpose hall. Foundation establishment level matches are held in the arena.

Participating in the sect Qi cultivation level tournament are cultivators from Zhongming County’s Shuangye Alliance, Spirit Talisman Sect, Kong Family Castle, Shouzhuo Sect, Shahe Gang, and surprisingly, Liangxiang County’s Divine Flood Dragon Sect put in a hand, totaling one hundred twelve people, all late-stage Qi cultivation. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

For the foundation establishment level tournament, there are three matches, unexpectedly apart from Ling Xuzi vs. Lu Qian and Ji Yunrou vs. Guh Nishang, there are two Foundation Establishment loose cultivators registered, both early-stage foundation establishment, likely seeking fame and better recruitment chances by major sects.

Speaking of which, the funds earned by the marketplace this time could generously hire honored guest elders if Yunshan Sect takes it, but Lu Qian has other plans, so it must be temporarily postponed.

For these three matches, Lu Qian arranged two loose cultivators in the first match, Ling Xuzi against him in the second, and the last match was the duel of two fairies.

These three foundation establishment matches attracted the most attention, tickets sold hotly. Beyond this, cultivators studied the match schedule carefully, pondering which Qi cultivation stage match to watch first.

After all, before the top thirty-two, Qi cultivation stage matches don’t require tickets, no reason not to watch.

Soon someone noticed something odd: "Why did Yunshan Sect, the marketplace master, only send three cultivators to compete?"

"Master Xuan Ji, Jiang Qingfeng, Zheng Duan... Is it possible these three have exceptional cultivation, and Yunshan Sect feels assured without needing more disciples?"

"But regardless, Yunshan Sect is at least the leader of Shuangye Alliance, sending only three cultivators is too shabby, isn’t it?"

"Indeed, I thought Yunshan Sect’s cultivators would dominate, showcasing their strength, but only this?"

The crowd discussed heatedly, but it didn’t affect their interest and enthusiasm for Yunshan Sect; once they found the corresponding arena numbers, they hurried to the sect cultivators’ competition venue.

This multi-purpose hall lives up to its name, suitable for multiple uses; now, since used for arena matches, it’s entirely arranged as a competition venue.

As the bell rang, the hall’s three gates, each three zhang tall, opened slowly, thunderously. The cultivators surged inside, all mouths agape.

The entire venue is circularly distributed, the base a spacious open area, with five differently numbered arenas built on it, allowing five matches simultaneously. Surrounding the competition area are tiered seating rising to the top, topped by curtain-draped boxes.

At this time, all curtains lit with array light, clearly the private boxes housing distinguished guests watching the games.

Above the boxes is the venue’s dome, a height of eight zhang, with numerous round holes through which bright sunlight beams in, illuminating every detail.

If the venue needs to be sealed for other purposes, those holes can be closed.

The cultivators initially feared arriving late would mean no seats, but scanning the seating tiers, which can accommodate three to five thousand, encompassing the entire marketplace, they couldn’t help but marvel at the venue designer’s ingenuity.