Chapter 87

"Actually, I’m more curious about where I might have offended that Inspector? How could he agree to the life-or-death contract with Fei Xiushen?"

Regarding Li Chongzhen, Zhuang Wudao asked himself if he had ever deliberately gotten close to him, but he had never offended him either.

The only thing that might have angered this Inspector was that for the past two months, he had been sequestered at home, refining the Stone Brightness Essence Flame every day, and never once attended the academy.

However, this was not unique to him. In the past few months, anyone with a chance of placing in the top three of the competition had been in seclusion, never visiting the academy.

To say he had offended someone because of this seemed somewhat absurd.

Beitang Wan’er, however, put away her playful expression and coldly sneered, "The one who offended him isn’t you, Zhuang Wudao, but my Beitang family has become an obstacle to that person! Once the Mountain Moving Sect is completely defeated in Dongwu, with the wealth of Yuecheng, a new Dao Pavilion will certainly be established. That person has been appointed to temporarily lead the Lichen Academy. As long as there are no mistakes during his term, in a few years, the person who will be in charge of all affairs in the Yuecheng Dao Pavilion will most likely be this Inspector. His support for the Guyue family is merely a precaution. To prevent my Beitang family from becoming too powerful and uncontrollable—"

By the time she said this, Beitang Wan’er had already realized. Zhuang Wudao was not a fool; he was extremely intelligent, but most of his thoughts were focused on martial arts. However, something as obvious as this, with Zhuang Wudao’s intelligence, how could he not see through it?

Even if he couldn’t see through it, Qin Feng would have reminded him.

Today, asking this question clearly had another purpose. Was he trying to remind her of the price Zhuang Wudao had paid for the Beitang family? If so, it would truly disappoint her greatly.

Zhuang Wudao smiled again and changed the subject: "The Guyue family is indeed deeply rooted and has been recovering its strength rapidly recently. However, in the short term, they are not a real threat to your Beitang family. Even without the Guyue family, there are still the Bai Bing Xia family and the Lin and Kong families in Yuecheng. With the support of the Lichen Sect, they can rise easily and balance the situation in Yuecheng. I really can’t understand why you are so determined to destroy the Guyue family."

Beitang Wan’er raised her eyebrows, her expression becoming extremely complex. After a long pause, she said slowly, "The Guyue and Beitang families have been blood enemies for generations. Since the founding of Yuecheng, the conflicts and killings have never ceased. Just in my family, over three thousand descendants have died by the swords of the Guyue family. During the Guyue family’s peak, we struggled for two hundred years, nearly facing extinction several times. My great-grandfather and my second uncle were also killed because of this. This enmity is too deep to be resolved; it can only end with the destruction of one family. When Li Chongzhen first arrived, he did try to mediate between our two families. However, my uncle’s stance is that he would rather have the Bai Bing Xia family replace the Guyue family’s position than let the Guyue family survive. You can rest assured, two tigers cannot coexist on the same mountain. The Guyue and Beitang families can only have one survivor; the conflict will not end until one is destroyed. This is the clan vow of the Beitang family!"

Zhuang Wudao was taken aback. Beitang Wan’er’s tone was firm and resolute, leaving no room for compromise with the Guyue family.

However, he felt a sense of relief. Since the Guyue and Beitang families could not reconcile, he could focus all his energy on the battle with Guyue Ming!

At least, he wouldn’t be betrayed by the Beitang family while fighting Guyue Ming to the death.

※※※※

The opponent after Fei Xiushen was a First Stage Qi Practitioner, also a descendant of a prominent family in Yuecheng. He was added to the disciple list by Li Xiangnan just two months ago.

This person might not have expected to place in the top three. Although he possessed a mystic technique, after a few exchanges with Zhuang Wudao on the stage, seeing the vast gap in both cultivation and strength, he promptly conceded.

If one did not aim to become a Lichen True Disciple like Zhuang Wudao, or had other motives like Guyue Ming and Xia Miao, there was no need to fight to the death in the competition.

One could simply spend a few years in the academy, reach the Sixth Stage Qi Practitioner before the age of 28, and still become an inner disciple of the Lichen Sect.

After this person, the opponents Zhuang Wudao faced were mostly First or Second Stage Qi Practitioners. He swept through them like a whirlwind, with no one able to last more than ten moves against him on the stage.

Even those with mystic techniques could not penetrate his thick Yuan Magnetic Aura.

Even Fei Xiushen was helpless against his invincible body, let alone these ordinary people?

By noon, Zhuang Wudao had secured his place in the top eight.

The only unexpected development was on Guyue Ming’s side.

In his second match, Guyue Ming took an entire one and a half hours. In his third match, his opponent still held out on the stage.

Despite the vast difference in strength, Guyue Ming was unhurried and composed. He stabbed three times to the left, four times to the right, his sword technique scattered and full of flaws, yet he never gave his opponent a chance to exploit them.

Beitang Wan’er, watching from a high platform, was furious: "This guy is truly shameless! It’s just a First Stage Qi Practitioner opponent. With his strength, he could have resolved it in three to five moves, but this match took a whole hour. Are the instructors blind, letting him drag it out like this?"

Beitang Cangjue, however, had a serious expression, his cold eyes slightly admiring.

"This boy is good. No matter if the wind rises or the mountains collapse, he remains calm. By dragging the time until night, when the Moon God Sword is at its strongest, he can defeat his opponent. It’s a pity this boy was born into the Beitang family. The outcome of your battle with him is still uncertain."

Zhuang Wudao was also secretly impressed. Guyue Ming’s composure was truly awe-inspiring.

Knowing that Zhuang Wudao had used two mystic techniques in the battle with Fei Xiushen, he remained unperturbed. Regardless of the opponent’s strength, he would drag the time until night, when the Moon God Sword’s power would be at its peak, giving him a high chance of victory.

While both used various tactics, Guyue Ming was clearly not on the same level as Zhuang Tong.

It was hard to gauge Guyue Ming’s true strength, indicating that his cultivation had also advanced rapidly in the past few months.

Originally, he thought that with the Stone Brightness Essence Flame, this battle would be a sure win. Now, it seemed he couldn’t be too optimistic.

At this point, he had to abandon all侥幸 (侥幸 means '侥幸' in Chinese, which can be translated as '侥幸' in English, but in this context, it means '侥幸' or '侥幸').

Guyue Ming’s third match finally ended before the afternoon. His fourth opponent was a descendant of a prominent family allied with the Beitang family. He didn’t last three moves on the stage and conceded early. However, in the top sixteen match, Guyue Ming dragged the match for two hours, until the night fell, the moon rose, and the stars shone brightly.

At this moment, anyone who knew the secrets of the Guyue family’s Moon God Sword looked at Zhuang Wudao with a mix of sympathy and strangeness.

Night was when Guyue Ming’s strength was at its peak, and with Zhuang Wudao’s current cultivation, he couldn’t recover his mystic techniques in less than five hours.

Thus, even with the Stone Brightness Essence Flame and the Tianxuan Zhaoshi Zhenjing, Zhuang Wudao’s chances of winning were not high.

Despite the significant improvement in their strength, after the battle with Fei Xiushen, almost everyone was not optimistic about Zhuang Wudao.

Only Beitang Wan’er, without any hesitation, opened a betting pool. It wasn’t the balanced odds with a commission, but a direct bet with a high 1:6 payout for Guyue Ming, while Zhuang Wudao’s odds were only 1:2. In a short time, the pool absorbed a massive 60,000 gold.

Zhuang Wudao felt a bit uneasy. With such a large bet, if he won, Beitang Wan’er could earn 50,000 gold, but if he lost, even the wealthy Beitang family would suffer a significant blow.

He tried to advise, but Beitang Wan’er argued, "Since I believe you can win, why can’t I open this bet? Or do you, Zhuang Wudao, lack confidence and think you can’t win?"

She then smiled meaningfully, "Or are you worried about the city’s resentment? In your battle with Fei Xiushen, I knew you would win. If I had given Fei Xiushen high odds, it would have been a scam. So, I gave him low odds. Now, the situation is different. Everyone knows Zhuang Wudao might be stronger than Guyue Ming. By offering 1:6 odds, I’m already indicating that I only see you winning. If they bet wrong and lose, it’s their own fault! They are just a bunch of worthless commoners. Even if they resent me, what can they do?"

Zhuang Wudao was speechless. Beitang Wan’er truly didn’t care about the commoners. As for himself, he couldn’t say he lacked confidence in the battle.

Seeing that Beitang Cangjue also had no intention of dissuading her, clearly agreeing with her, Zhuang Wudao could only shake his head and let it be.

Fortunately, if he won this time, he would also receive a substantial share. The family business that the Zhuang family had built over a hundred years could be earned in a day.

A mid-grade spirit artifact refined to the thirteenth level of the Dharma Prohibition was roughly the same price.

At 7:00 PM, the long-awaited top eight matches finally began. Zhuang Wudao and Guyue Ming were assigned to the stage in front of the main hall of the academy.

The referee for this match was not any instructor from the academy but the acting head, Li Chongzhen, personally. The reason was that both Zhuang Wudao and Guyue Ming were exceptionally strong, far surpassing their peers. Ordinary instructors lacked the cultivation to intervene if something went wrong. Both were the most outstanding disciples of the academy and could not afford to lose.

Just before stepping onto the stage, Zhuang Wudao saw Li Chongzhen walk up to him with a indifferent expression.