Chapter 78

"Wow, so many..." Bu Zheng exclaimed in surprise, thinking to himself that the sect seemed even larger than the county town when he first arrived. The county town of Le County had a population of over a hundred thousand, so this place must have even more people.

There were twenty thousand outer disciples, so the miscellaneous disciples should number around fifty to sixty thousand, while the regular disciples would be fewer. This was a pyramid structure, the same in any organization, with fewer people at the higher levels and more at the lower levels.

"Do you still want to bet?" the gambling den owner asked, seemingly trying to persuade Bu Zheng to think carefully.

"Since I've already placed the bet, I'll stick with it. I don't like changing my mind once I've made a decision," Bu Zheng shook his head, not intending to retract his bet. This wasn't just about a single copper coin; even if it were a bigger matter, once he had decided, he wouldn't change his mind.

"Tsk, it's just a copper coin, and you make it sound so serious," Bu Haifeng criticized Bu Zheng's rare attempt to look cool.

"Let's go, I need to make Xiu Ying work harder..." Bu Zheng ignored Bu Haifeng, took the ticket, and left, planning to think of ways to refine some good elixirs for Xiu Ying.

Bu Haifeng watched Bu Zheng leave, his eyes filled with deep hatred.

"Haifeng, it's not worth it. You are a fine porcelain, while he is just a clay pot," a friend beside him said.

"Killing him isn't hard, but if he were to have an accident now, you would be the prime suspect," another person added.

"Don't worry, I wouldn't stoop to quarreling with a mere servant, it would demean me," Bu Haifeng waved his hand, seeming to have thought it through. Without further provocation, he wouldn't bother with Bu Zheng.

"Right, we still need to prepare for the regular disciples' competition. You are no longer a new disciple, so participating in the competition won't be as easy as before. Be prepared to get hurt."

In the Qingyun Sword Sect's regular disciples' competition, new disciples are usually treated with care, grouped together for preliminary matches where they only spar to a certain extent. The winners then advance to the main competition, which is much more brutal.

Regular disciples, who have experienced the trials and tribulations of the outer sect, naturally have a different style, more akin to real combat. Injuries and even deaths are common in the competition, not because they don't want to show mercy, but because sometimes they can't control their actions.

However, this seemed to have nothing to do with Bu Zheng, who wasn't even eligible for the outer disciples' competition, and he wasn't even present during the competition.

On the day of the competition, Xiu Ying wasn't with Bu Zheng but with the people from Yan Yun Manor. As for where Bu Zheng was, she really didn't want to say.

"Hmph, that scoundrel Bu Zheng, even if he doesn't participate, he could at least cheer me on. He said he was going to gather herbs and then ran off."

Bu Zheng went to gather herbs, the competition would last for many days, and he felt he wouldn't be able to watch it all, so he decided not to go. Instead, he focused on his own tasks, gathering herbs and hunting fierce beasts to stock up on food.

After training with Chu Xiong and others, Bu Zheng had learned a lot about hunting fierce beasts. He even dared to hunt weaker demonic beasts, but he usually targeted those that could be poisoned or disabled, using traps and ambushes. He wouldn't dare to engage in direct combat.

Regarding Xiu Ying's competition, he simply said, "I believe in you!"

Thinking about it made her angry, he had even said he placed a heavy bet on her...

Xiu Ying didn't know how much Bu Zheng's "heavy bet" was. If it was a heavy bet, it should be a lot, but she wouldn't have guessed that it was just a single copper coin. If she knew, she would definitely have confronted Bu Zheng.

How much did she think it was?

From her understanding of Bu Zheng, a heavy bet couldn't be that much. She guessed it was—ten copper coins!

Cough, cough...

"Xiu Ying, come over here. What are you thinking about? It's almost our turn," a girl said to Xiu Ying. This girl seemed quite ordinary, similar to Xiu Ying.

Generally, the numbers for a manor are arranged together, so they are close in the lineup, with the venues and rounds connected.

"Ah, I know," Xiu Ying replied.

"You two, just watch from the side. You'll be knocked down as soon as you go up," another girl appeared, and she was not ordinary. She was quite annoying.

No matter where you are, no matter who you are with, there are always a few annoying fellow disciples. Some have the strength to back them up, while others are just scum but think everyone else is scum.

This annoying girl belonged to the former category, having some strength, she looked down on those weaker than her, in short, she liked to bully the weak.

And such people are usually not alone; they always have a few of their own kind.

Fellow Disciple A, a young man, said, "Sister Liu, you can't say that. Without people like them, we wouldn't have anyone to knock down."

"Right, their role is to go up and let us beat them, and then go down and let us scold them," Fellow Disciple B added.

"Senior Brother, you are truly insightful. I admire you," Sister Liu clasped her hands and said, with a serious expression.

"Ha ha..."

"Ha ha ha ha..."

Sister Liu and her fellows laughed, and interestingly, Xiu Ying also laughed, and her voice was not weaker than theirs, which surprised them.

"Li Xiu Ying, what are you laughing at?" Sister Liu asked coldly.

"What you are laughing at, I am laughing at," Xiu Ying smiled and replied. This was a trick she learned from Bu Zheng, and it worked, at least it could dampen the other party's morale.

In the past, Xiu Ying thought Bu Zheng's actions were too foolish, not knowing what others were laughing about, he would just follow along. Now, thinking about it, this guy was a genius.

"I am laughing at you being an idiot."

"I am also laughing at myself being an idiot," Xiu Ying said with a smile.

"..."

Although Xiu Ying was laughing at herself being an idiot, the words seemed to have another meaning, as if she was saying that talking to them was a foolish act.

"Fine, very fine. I hope we don't meet on the stage, otherwise, hmpf..." Sister Liu looked at Xiu Ying. If it were any other time, she might have exploded, but with so many people around, she didn't dare to do anything too outrageous.

"Same to you!" Xiu Ying smiled and replied, I don't want to meet you either, or I might lose.

At this moment, Xiu Ying didn't know how strong she was. She had been training on the Alchemy Peak for a long time and hadn't sparred with her fellow disciples for a while. She had no idea how her current level was.

She knew she had improved a lot, but she didn't have the confidence to be stronger than the more capable fellow disciples, and Sister Liu was one of them, with some talent.

Xiu Ying was like Bu Zheng, completely unaware of her own strength. Xiu Ying was a bit better off, as she could gauge her strength through sparring, and this competition would clearly show her progress.

Bu Zheng, on the other hand, had no one to spar with, and he didn't even come to watch the competition. To know his own strength, he would have to discover it himself.

Who knows when he would realize that he wasn't actually that weak.

At the same time, without practical combat experience, the extent to which he could utilize his strength was also limited, which was a significant disadvantage for him.

When Xiu Ying stepped onto the stage to face her first opponent, she felt a bit nervous. After bowing, she drew her sword and went into a defensive stance.

——

Xiao Xiao waved a big flag, asking for votes...

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