Yan Qing's question was polite and courteous, putting him in a superior position.

Elder Zhou sneered, "If you try to make excuses, you might be able to last a few more days. But if you continue, I'll have to break your hands."

Yan Qing wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, "Please, senior."

Elder Zhou didn't say anything more. He pulled a long face and let out a sudden shout, charging at Yan Qing again. It seemed that his palm power had reached its limit just now, but unexpectedly, stimulated by the Ghost Eyes, the true qi in his palms increased several fold. There was no wind on the field, only the crisp sound of exploding beans caused by the palm winds. At first glance, it seemed as if there were thousands of palms beside Elder Zhou, becoming an angry "Thousand-Armed Guanyin".

On the other side, without the Nuo mask, Yan Qing's speed had also increased several times. The palm winds tore through the air like thousands of flying knives, but Yan Qing, despite carrying the heavy Compassion Stone Sword, was not hit at all.

Yan Qing came from Taiheng, so naturally he knew that Elder Zhou was a top expert of Taiheng and a famous senior. However, he had suffered enough today and had no fear in his heart--

After all, Elder Zhou was from Taiheng, and his techniques carried righteousness. He was not as cunning and vicious as Su Si, nor as cold and changeable as Yin Ci. Yan Qing had been beaten like a sandbag by those two and was already used to real combat.

Elder Zhou used all his skills, his footwork like withered vines in the wind. His movements were fast and unpredictable, but his stance always stuck within three steps of Yan Qing, forcing him to be unable to fully utilize the Compassion Stone Sword.

Yan Qing seemed to be squeezed by invisible walls, unable to exert force no matter how he moved. The good Compassion Stone Sword had become a stone shield. Although he was not as restricted as before, he still could not reverse the situation.

However, those fiery red eyes peeked out from behind the Stone Sword, watching Elder Zhou's every move intently, as if in a world of his own.

Yan Qing was not just defending. When the timing was right, he would tentatively thrust out a sword, trying to break through Elder Zhou's techniques. Every time the sword was raised, the powerful sword qi it brought was shocking. But when this sword qi touched human skin, it turned into rippling spring water, without a hint of malice.

This time, no one in the audience was cheering. Although a hundred years had passed, the emergence of the Ghost Tomb was a recent event. The absurd and strange legends of Yan Budu were something that people in the jianghu had heard since childhood.

It was said that most of the remnants of the Yan family had been eliminated, and those who survived had been recruited by the Ling Sect. When it was heard that the main altar of the Ling Sect had been destroyed, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Who knew that a wild one would appear now?

...And even wielding the Compassion Stone Sword from Jianchen Temple.

Everyone knew that Monk Kongshi was harmed by Yan Budu, and Monk Zhixing was still watching the battle from the side. Wasn't this like rubbing salt into the wound of Jianchen Temple? Who knew what evil techniques this kid used to be able to fight with the Compassion Stone Sword?

On the stage, Elder Zhou's heart was even more mixed with complex feelings.

He was not a shallow person. After exchanging blows for a long time, although he could not figure out this person's techniques, he recognized the righteous and gentle style. Techniques reveal the heart, and Yan Qing being able to fight with the Compassion Stone Sword may not necessarily mean he used shady methods.

In addition to anger, Elder Zhou even had a few thoughts of cherishing talent. If this kid was not a descendant of the Yan family, just based on his character, he would have a bright future.

Unfortunately, this kid had gone too far astray and it seemed he could not be pulled back. The Ku Mountain Sect was a mess, and this kid listened obediently to Shi Jingzhi's words, even willing to reveal his identity in public. Could he still be an unstained lotus?

But just as he was distracted, Yan Qing took a deep breath, "Senior, excuse me."

He narrowed his ghost eyes and smiled very gently. Then he took two steps forward, actually inserting the sword at an angle and entering the dazzling palm winds with his bare hands. Yan Qing actually fought back and forth with Elder Zhou using his two hands.

Elder Zhou was secretly shocked, but fortunately this kid lacked experience and his movements were stiff. As long as he made a mistake, he would be able to find a flaw and completely counter. But Yan Qing clearly knew his own weaknesses and did not linger in battle. He deliberately lured Elder Zhou to the edge of the Stone Sword, suddenly spun around, and fiercely kicked the Compassion Stone Sword with his foot.

Originally, the two were in close combat, with very stable stances and little movement, competing in agility. Yan Qing suddenly accelerated, aiming precisely at the weak point of the Palm technique. Elder Zhou did not have time to gather strength and actually failed to defend against this move.

But to attack like this, Yan Qing could not assume a proper posture either. Relying solely on the body to charge at a master was undoubtedly the worst strategy.

But unexpectedly, Yan Qing did not attack. He opened his arms and wrapped the shocked Elder Zhou in his embrace, and the two shot towards the edge of the stone platform like an arrow leaving the bow. Powerful internal energy exploded around Yan Qing, making the surrounding air hot.

Was this person trying to crash into the ground together?

Elder Zhou's old bones could not withstand such a heavy move. He hurriedly withdrew the true qi from his palms and used his internal energy to protect his internal organs. But when they landed, Yan Qing actually used his own body as a cushion.

Then, despite the pain of the fall, Yan Qing twisted his body and actually used his flesh to urgently brake. Elder Zhou did not react in time and was immediately thrown out of the arena.

Elder Zhou was about to adjust his posture to return to the stage, but found that he was standing on mud.

Stepping out of the arena, he had already lost.

When Yan Qing inserted the sword, he had calculated the distance and movements, intending to send him off the stage in an almost gentle manner. If he had not used his internal energy to protect his internal organs, he would still have had a chance to turn the tables. But how could Elder Zhou have guessed that this person would use his own body as a cushion to protect him, the opponent?

This kid...

Elder Zhou stood up unsteadily, a few blue veins bulging on his wrinkled neck, "You little brat, are you humiliating me?"

"Senior's martial arts are superb, so I dare not," Yan Qing stood at the edge of the stone platform, rubbing his sore back. He looked at Elder Zhou frankly, answering neither humbly nor arrogantly.

"But senior is old, and it is true that your body is weak and your bones are brittle. This is not because senior's martial arts are not refined, but because it is human nature. If I took advantage of this to make heavy moves, that would be unrighteous."

Elder Zhou opened his mouth, but could not find words to refute.

The leader of the Golden Jade Gang cleared his throat with difficulty and announced somewhat numbly, "Yan Qing of the Ku Mountain Sect - victorious!"

There was a commotion at the scene. Some were in despair after losing bets, some were dissatisfied and denouncing, and there were also excited onlookers. Several people who had a feud with Yan Budu rushed to the front of the stage, wanting to grab Yan Qing, but were stopped one by one by the disciples of the Golden Jade Gang.

The surging crowd inevitably bumped into each other. Not far away, the jianghu doctors had opened their stalls, and the queue behind the stalls was visibly getting longer and longer.

Yan Qing, on the other hand, looked around hopefully, wanting to find the figure of his close friend. But Su Si was nowhere to be seen, and after searching for a long time without finding him, he showed a little disappointment.

Below the stage, no one noticed this subtle change in emotion. People were busy being shocked and excited, unable to even stand properly.

No one had expected the current situation.

Shi Zhongyu had lost his qualification, and only three people entered the final competition, two of whom were from the Ku Mountain Sect. If this had been said a couple of days ago, probably no one would have believed it.

After getting their fill of the ghost eyes, people couldn't help but look at Shi Jingzhi below the stage.

Sect Leader Shi still had his head lowered, still looking like he was on his last breath, even trembling slightly. Yin Ci stood beside him, whispering something to him.

"Hold it in," Yin Ci said expressionlessly.

Sect Leader Shi trembled and grunted audibly, clearly trying hard to hold back laughter. It's just that Yin Ci didn't feel much relief - if it was just Yan Qing winning, this person definitely wouldn't be so happy.

"How much did you actually bet?" Yin Ci couldn't help asking again.

"Enough," Shi Jingzhi said blissfully, "Yan Qing has sparred with you for many days, how could he possibly lose. Once this matter is settled, I'm going to invite the best carpenter and use top-grade fragrant wood to make a double bathtub..."

Yin Ci: "..." He even kind of missed the time when this person was wholeheartedly seeking to survive. Back then, Sect Leader Shi at least had the eyes of a hawk, but now he was like a peacock displaying its feathers.

Who knows if he would give Yan Qing some reward money.

However, as time passed, the commotion not only didn't stop, but showed signs of escalating. Yan Qing was trapped on the stage, unable to find a way to get down. Elder Zhou stood dumbfounded below the stage for a long time, but ultimately didn't return to Taiheng. The old man jumped back onto the stage, adding true qi to his voice, expanding it to the maximum-

"My Taiheng Sect earnestly requests to suspend the competition and revoke the Ku Mountain Sect's qualification!"

"Elder Zhou!" Qu Duanyun immediately spoke up to stop him.

Voices of opposition instantly rose. The martial arts people could forget it, but the wealthy households and commoners who came to watch the battle were unwilling to let the matter end hastily. Everyone had spent money on transportation to come here, not to watch people win without a fight. Besides, could Taiheng's young hero Qu Duanyun really be pulled down by this tiny Ku Mountain Sect?

Old Man Zhou fully displayed the stubbornness of a Taiheng disciple, pretending not to hear: "Among the three people now, the Ku Mountain Sect occupies two. These two people have unknown origins and definitely cannot convince the crowd. Deliberately participating in this tournament, I'm afraid they want to win through evil and crooked ways! My Taiheng has just lost its sect leader, Sect Leader Qu absolutely cannot have any mishaps again."

"The reason our sect invited Master Zhixing here this time is to have the two confront each other face to face and uphold justice for the Jianchen Temple case. If the Ku Mountain Sect are really people from the evil sects, wouldn't this competition be meaningless?"

The small sects below couldn't help but get angry: "Elder Zhou, you didn't say it earlier or later, but only spoke up when Taiheng was about to lose out. We've also crossed hands with those two monsters, aren't we even more wronged?"

Elder Zhou wasn't backing down either: "That's wrong. My Taiheng Sect cannot cover the sky with one hand. According to the rules, our sect wanted to wait until the martial arts alliance leader was decided before asking the leader to preside over this matter. Everyone, please calm down. If the Ku Mountain Sect's qualification is indeed revoked, we will indeed have to compete again - the current situation is special, please forgive us."

The crowd realized - Taiheng clearly didn't think the Ku Mountain Sect could go far, which is why they made such an arrangement. Who knew the two from Ku Mountain Sect would advance all the way, Taiheng was showing weakness.

But this weakness was shown with reason. Although the small sects were making a ruckus, everyone knew their own sect couldn't produce the martial arts alliance leader. The jianghu was turbulent, Taiheng was the only remaining backbone. If the Ku Mountain Sect really was from the evil side and took this opportunity to eliminate the last backbone, everyone would suffer in the end.

Moreover, Elder Zhou gave enough hope. If they could compete again, forget about the position of alliance leader, second or third place would also be great.

Qu Duanyun leaped onto the stone stage again. He first bowed to the fat sect leader: "My sect's disciples were indeed presumptuous, truly troubling you. I don't mind continuing the competition, please decide according to the rules, Sect Leader."

The leader of the Golden Jade Sect was also quite troubled. Small chaos was good for business, but big chaos would harm the foundation. His eyes swept over Yan Qing, glancing at Yin Ci and Shi Jingzhi, mumbling to himself.

Yin Ci whispered with his own master for a while, then also turned and ascended the stage.

Just as everyone thought he was going to refuse, Yin Ci also removed his Nuo Mask and smiled slightly: "Elder Zhou's concern is not unreasonable. Our sect has nothing to hide, if you want to confront, then let's confront properly."

The crowd below fell silent.

Yan Qing had handsome features, but unfortunately the ghostly air from his eyes was too strong, overshadowing the gentleness in his face. However, just looking at the immortal-like appearance of the eldest disciple of Ku Mountain Sect, he didn't seem like an evil sect demon at all.

His voice was also pleasant to hear, cool but not displaying arrogance, making people feel like drinking ice in the scorching summer, very comfortable.

Not to mention the jianghu people, ordinary people were always especially tolerant of beautiful people. The commoners originally just wanted to watch the excitement, and now with a great beauty appearing, they were even more reluctant to give up.

"Continue the competition, continue the competition!" A thunderous roar of cheers rose from below the stage.

Yin Ci still had a smile on his face. He raised his hand in a gesture for quiet and spoke again: "It's just that ending it like this would inevitably give Taiheng a bad name for being timid as a mouse. How about this - today, Sect Leader Qu and Yan Qing will finish this match properly, and we will confront each other before the final competition."

With that said, he turned his head and his ink-jade-like eyes pointed at Qu Duanyun.

"After all, Young Hero Qu's martial arts are powerful, he definitely won't be harmed by our sect's subordinate."

Qu Duanyun laughed loudly: "It was originally just my sect's elders being overly worried, I of course don't mind competing to the end. But in this situation, doing it this way is also a compromise."

The leader of the Golden Jade Sect didn't miss any opportunity to step down. He seized the chance and immediately made a decision.

"Tomorrow morning Qu Duanyun versus Yan Qing, afternoon Ku Mountain Sect confronts Jianchen Temple. Afterwards, we'll make arrangements based on the results!"

That night, in a corner of the nameless town.

Shi Zhongyu was locked up in a temporarily built prison, and Ma Shili, the bandit she brought, was locked up next door. But compared to the cursing Ma Shili, Shi Zhongyu was much more at ease. She wore the plain elegant clothes from the competition, the bloodstains on them particularly eye-catching.

Ma Shili kept spewing profanity: "...fought until being caught and locked up, but had to drag me down too. Now you can't hit me anymore, you stinking woman, after all that, you're also just a money and fame-loving goods, what are you pretending to be pure for!"

Shi Zhongyu ignored him. She pulled the hairpin from her head and played with it by herself.

Originally there was only the smell of damp soil and mold here, but following a set of footsteps, some fragrance of food was added. Shi Zhongyu stopped her movements and put the hairpin into her sleeve. She raised her eyes and looked, seeing Elder Zhou holding a food box.

Inside the food box was steamed chicken and millet porridge that she loved to eat, with some goat liver dumplings bought from a stall added in. "Thank you, Elder Zhou." Shi Zhongyu bowed. "With Jin Lan taking care of my meals, these..."

"That kid is all talk and no action, but he does follow the rules. With higher-ups watching, he probably doesn't dare give you anything too good."

Elder Zhou's face showed a hint of weariness. He carefully observed Shi Zhongyu for a moment before sighing.

"Eat up."

"Outside..."

"I wanted to let Ku Mountain Sect and Jianchen Temple confront each other first, but it didn't work out. Tomorrow is the match between Yan Qing and Qu Duanyun... Now I understand why you're protecting Ku Mountain Sect. If nothing else, they train their subordinates well."

"Does Elder Zhou also believe Ku Mountain Sect is trustworthy?"

"Trustworthy? Just from fighting their subordinates once, who knows if they can be trusted."

Elder Zhou's tone turned serious again.

"The Yan family bloodline is the Yan family bloodline, it cannot be left unchecked. I just feel that the kid being born into the Yan family is his misfortune. I have no intention of specifically targeting him. Confronting him early and settling this matter would make things easier for everyone."

"Unfortunately, Sect Leader Shi doesn't understand my intention. When it comes to hating evil, no one surpasses Qu Duanyun. If the Yan kid falls into the sect master's hands, he'll inevitably suffer more - if handled according to the rules, as a subordinate, his offense is not severe. He could at least have a few days of peace."

Shi Zhongyu silently chewed on a piece of steamed chicken with her chopsticks.

"I watched you and Qu Duanyun grow up, but now I don't understand what you're thinking... I told Duanyun before that I'm old, impatient, and not suitable to represent Taiheng in battle. Better to find a good-looking, promising young man to earn more face for Taiheng. But he insisted I fight... Sigh, this matter is glorious, yes..."

Shi Zhongyu's chopsticks paused.

"Because only Elder Zhou is straightforward and simple-minded, and especially cares about the sect's younger generation. Such a person would disregard his own reputation and immediately propose 'confronting early' after losing to Ku Mountain Sect."

Her gaze pointed straight at the ground as she abruptly continued, "You took the lead in proposing this, so Qu Duanyun only needs to play peacemaker, very convenient for him."

Elder Zhou choked up. After a long while, he spoke, "Zhongyu, this isn't like you. You weren't so..."

"So darkly suspicious before?" Shi Zhongyu's words carried a hint of self-mockery. "We've known each other for a long time, I can see through his schemes."

"Old Qi sent you away for your own good, to let you calm down. Duanyun succeeding as sect master was decided long ago, you don't need to-"

"Master did it for my own good, I have no doubt. I say this not out of jealousy towards Qu Duanyun. Elder Zhou, thank you for the meal. Just go back and rest well."

She smiled faintly.

"I trust Ku Mountain Sect for my own reasons."

Faced with Shi Zhongyu's smile, Elder Zhou was at a loss for words. He stood there blankly for a long time before finally picking up the empty food box.

"Lass, take care of yourself." The old man said bitterly, "The situation is perilous now, Taiheng has suffered heavy losses. This old man can't even understand the thoughts of those close to him anymore. Time spares no one..."

"This is not Elder Zhou's fault."

Through the cell door, Shi Zhongyu's voice was as calm as ever.

"Elder Zhou... Uncle Zhou, don't worry. Taiheng's spirit remains unbroken. This chaos will be resolved tomorrow."

"Stinking wench, give me some chicken too!" Ma Shili couldn't hear their low voices at all, and started hollering again like a restless ghost. "Old man, buy me some wine too while you're at it-"

With a snap, a few more veins popped out on Elder Zhou's neck. The old man rolled up his sleeves and angrily headed next door. Before long, Ma Shili's miserable screams echoed through the entire courtyard.

That night, he could only lie on the ground groaning, without any intention of insulting Shi Zhongyu further.

The next day, the crowd around the arena grew rather than shrank - this time the remaining three people were all young, dashing, and handsome. There was no better spectacle in the world.

Not to mention, there would be a confrontation between Ku Mountain Sect and Jianchen Temple in the afternoon. Who doesn't love excitement?

At this moment, Yan Qing and Qu Duanyun were already standing on stage. Yan Qing wore clean, neat reddish-brown linen clothes. His hair was not long, the texture quite coarse, tied in a slightly messy ponytail at the back of his head. He still had that somewhat dazed, gentle look. If one ignored those ghost eyes, his aura showed not a hint of sharpness.

Qu Duanyun wore Taiheng's signature embroidered white robes, his hair also tied up neatly with a fine jade band. The usual smile was absent from his face, replaced by an air of imposing dignity. The long sword in his hand emitted a dazzling light - it was surprisingly the Guanwu Sword recovered from the Ghost Tomb.

"Sect Master Qu, please instruct me." Yan Qing cupped his hands.

Qu Duanyun politely returned the salute. "To bring the situation this far, Sect Leader Shi is quite capable."

Yan Qing looked puzzled.

"We're using internal energy to converse, those below can't hear." Qu Duanyun smiled. "He probably hasn't lost that 'Shi Rou's key'. His plan is likely for the head disciple to become alliance leader, then turn the tables to obtain the Shi Rou."

Yan Qing: "Oh, they never mentioned this to me at all."

Qu Duanyun: "..."

Yan Qing continued honestly, "Senior Yin said to fight as far as I can, no need to force it. In any case, the sect master won't pay an extra cent. This time I'm just here to hone my skills."

Qu Duanyun: "You carry royal blood, yet are content to be used by them?"

Yan Qing: "Demonic bloodline, royal bloodline, are they that different? Clearly both are troublesome things. I just escaped one pit of fire, why would I jump into another?"

Qu Duanyun was taken aback, then laughed instead of getting angry. "As expected of a sect raised by that Desire Child, the people they take in do have some character."

He raised the Guanwu Sword, his aura suddenly turning sharp. That aura was as vast as the sea, and as piercingly cold as a winter storm.

"Talking further is pointless. Come."