Chapter 268: Is Contestant Number One Disqualified?

Watching Han Xuhan leaving the dueling field, Elder Shen’s emotions were indescribable.

A little brat with a mind no less twisted than some old monsters of the deceptive Dao path... If he were allowed to continue on the path of cultivation, unimpeded, he’d probably become a dreaded competitor to every practitioner in this road.

For a moment, he couldn’t help but feel tempted to find a way to recruit this brat as his personal disciple. But then, if both the master and the disciple were to walk the path of deception, they’d probably spend the rest of their lives scheming to harm each other...

Shuddering at that idea, Elder Shen discarded those wayward thoughts and focused on the matter at hand.

The frightening conclusion of his deduction could not manage to weigh down his weathered heart. The only effect the shock and awe had on him was to awaken a spark of the drying passion inside him, a passion towards the grand Dao of deception!

Moreover, far too many of his goals depended on engineering the perfect outcome of this public contest. An ideal platform full of momentum, carried by public incitement, was needed to kickstart the insurrection against Xuan Zi.

He wasn’t certain whether Han Xuhan was facing Chen Yan in this contest as a direct representative of Xuan Zi, or all by himself over some motives of self-preservation. But he was certain of one thing.

If he couldn’t find a way past this puzzle so carefully set up by Han Xuhan, the situation could spiral out of control in a bizarre direction at any moment. That unstable factor could definitely jeopardize the momentum of the insurrection.

To nip the problem in the bud, he had to figure out what exactly Han Xuhan’s goal was.

With that thought, Elder Shen pondered. For a peak Soul Reformation realm cultivator like him, the flow of time was not as inflexible as it was to mortals. Especially in the realm of thoughts and consciousness, a Reformed Soul in sync with a Transformed Physique could work at a speed unfathomable to mortals.

So, he was in no hurry. He framed the major questions in his mind and contemplated numerous variations of their possible answers meticulously.

What did Han Xuhan gain from this scheme?

Before being exposed and disqualified, his focus seemed to have been on Chen Yan’s defenses against poison. What was the point in learning that information if he couldn’t even participate in the third round and lost by default?

Could it have been another misdirection, firmly planted in everyone’s mind to hide some other secrets?

Why? What secrets could there be that required such drastic cover-up measures?

Elder Shen could not deduce the answer, and his instincts said he was chasing after a mirage. It would be better to approach from a different thread of causality.

He recalled Han Xuhan’s reckless advertisement plan. To many, the advertisement of the legalist path might have appeared as the highlight of the day. But his true goal can’t surely just be that advertisement.

Because if he lost this contest, Chen Yan would usurp the benefits brought by the advertisement, as well as Han Xuhan’s current assets.

Faintly, Elder Shen felt that he was on the cusp of the answer. In both threads of cause and effect, there was one common point of mystery.

This mystery was hidden in the deepest layer of the mountains of schemes Han Xuhan had set up. If one dug a hole into that mountain and got a good look at its core....

To dig that hole, Elder Shen needed an opening. But at this moment, he couldn’t sense one. He had far too little information in his hands, and mere deductions must never be trusted. After all, such deductions can be a trap too!

He had no choice but to make an opening himself, then!

In the blink of an eye, Elder Shen designed a scheme of his own and moved into action.

In the distance, just outside the dueling field, Han Xuhan was about to take a seat beside his fellow disciples of the Salted Fish Mountain Peak. At the same time, Arena Official Yu was about to announce Chen Yan’s victory in this public duel, since Han Xuhan had been disqualified for violating the rules.

Quietly, Elder Shen launched his core Mystic Art.

Myriad Deceptions Art: Body Of Truth!

Then he took a step towards Chen Yan and Arena Official Yu, as if he wanted to stand by them during the announcement.

Myriad Deceptions Art: Shadow Of Falsehood!

Then he turned around and shot towards Han Xuhan like a bolt of lightning.

From the perspective of everyone else present inside and outside the arena, Elder Shen simply walked over to Arena Official Yu’s side. They couldn’t see, or even sense that he was simultaneously present in a different space and moving in a different direction.

Of course, there were certain people in the crowd with a cultivation base high enough to detect this deception, such as Elder Kong Ye.

However, he had already taken that opponent into consideration. Kong Ye’s presence outside was the factor that had made Elder Shen move inside the dueling field, so that he could execute sudden moves like this without being interrupted.

There were plenty of protective arrays on the border walls of the dueling field that could be used to mask the traces of his Mystic Art. He had activated a few of those arrays while entering the field, unbeknownst to all.

With this setup, Elder Shen’s trick completely evaded everyone’s perception. In a flash, he was standing next to Han Xuhan, while at the same time, another ’he’ gave his approval to Arena Official Yu for the announcement.

Han Xuhan’s martial siblings and supporters swarmed around him, some praising his incredible performance, some helping him apply medicine to his injuries, and some lamenting the current predicament he was in.

Inside the dueling field, Arena Official Yu cleared his throat loudly and shouted, "Since contestant number one has been disqualified, according to rule number-"

"Wait a moment, please!"

An unfamiliar voice cut him off. Everyone turned to look at the speaker, who turned out to be...

That cloaked, anonymous ’senior disciple’ who had entered the arena today as Han Xuhan’s backer!

Elder Shen’s pupils shrank. Because of all the wild twists and turns in the duel, he had nearly forgotten that this ’person’ existed!

He had heard from Chen Yan that this mysterious ’senior disciple’ was none other than Han Xuhan’s own minion, a weak skeleton soldier that wouldn’t even be able to threaten an ordinary mortal.

Han Xuhan was supposedly using this ’impersonation’ tactic to shift the weight of the legalist path’s revival strategy from himself.

Before the start of the duel, Elder Shen had verified this information personally. Although the refined cloak gave a great deal of protection to the wearer’s anonymity, some signs, especially the wearer’s interactions with various elements of nature and external qi, could not be hidden.

He had confirmed that under that thick cloak and mask, there indeed was no sign of life, no creature of flesh and blood.

However, right now, why could he sense a powerful life force emanating from this ’person’?

And why did the voice... not match?

Arena Official Yu was just as flabbergasted as the rest. He hesitantly asked, "Do you have something to say?"

The cloaked person stood up under the astonished gazes of all present.

"I, contestant number one, haven’t yet stepped inside the arena. How did I get disqualified?"