Chapter 43

The crowd outside was shocked.

Even the elder from the Sword Seeking Sect couldn’t help but stare at Elder Zhao, unsure whether to express amazement or complexity, “Is this how wild your Changming Sect’s alchemists are nowadays?”

Elder Zhao awkwardly covered his mouth with his fist.

He clearly saw that Ye Qiao had shouted ‘Smash him!’ which was why Xue Yu acted.

Who taught this girl to do that!!

The spectators outside commented, “Although the initial intent was unethical, it is theoretically feasible.”

Perhaps because they had grown up in their respective sects, even if some disciples had nasty personalities, they wouldn’t resort to such opportunistic tactics. But obviously, Ye Qiao’s presence had overturned their understanding.

This also heightened their enthusiasm.

Inside the secret realm, Ye Qiao was unaware of the excitement outside. She looked at Chu Xingzhi, who had collapsed on the ground, and immediately, without any regard for martial ethics, stomped on his shoulder, displaying a bright smile, “Who was it you said would be the first to be eliminated? Come on, say it louder.”

Xue Yu quickly fed him a Spirit-Sealing Pill.

Chu Xingzhi was left with no room to struggle. He was really dazed by the impact; the pill furnace could be large or small, and no alchemist had used such a flamboyant method before. It was hard for anyone to react to such a sudden enlargement and smashing!

Not being knocked out on the spot was already a feat.

Seeing Chu Xingzhi’s dazed expression, Ye Qiao immediately dragged him towards the inner circle of the secret realm.

Yes, dragging him.

She completely disregarded him as a person, pulling him along like tilling the soil.

Chu Xingzhi felt his bottom nearly catching fire. As he gradually came to his senses from the daze, he shouted loudly, “Ye Qiao, why don’t you just crush my identity token directly?” Who are you insulting?!

Ye Qiao didn’t care, “That’s boring. You’re still useful.”

Waste utilization, it’s more eco-friendly.

“What use?” Hearing that he wasn’t immediately eliminated, Chu Xingzhi immediately wanted to struggle again.

Ye Qiao: “Can you unexpectedly rush over and hold someone down?”

Chu Xingzhi: “???”

The audience was laughing hysterically: “Hahaha, look at the expression on the Sword Seeking Sect’s disciple’s face.”

Chu Xingzhi’s expression was complicated, “I will not condescend to your level.”

Ye Qiao casually tossed his identity token up and down, showing a bright smile, “Don’t be like that. Let’s go find Song Hansheng and have some fun together.”

If Mu Chongxi were here and saw her smile like that, he’d probably have a stomach ache again.

But unfortunately, the fourth senior brother wasn’t around.

Ye Qiao even kindly said, “All you need to do is hold him up for a while.”

Chu Xingzhi sneered, “In your dreams. Even if I die, I won’t follow your orders. Do you think you’re someone?” Even if Xue Yu could be accepted, how dare Ye Qiao, a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator, command him?

Ye Qiao wasn’t angry but nonchalantly waved the identity token in her hand, “Not happy?”

“Alright.” She nodded, “Then when you get out, you’ll be the first disciple from the Five Sects to be eliminated this year.”

“First one,” Ye Qiao smiled brightly, “Although you’re not the best in swordsmanship, at least you’re the best at being eliminated in the first round, right?”

Being eliminated in the first round was too disgraceful. How could someone from the Sword Seeking Sect, known for its excellence, endure this? Chu Xingzhi’s scalp tingled as he imagined how the cultivator forums would mock him when he got out.

He at least needed to drag Song Hansheng down with him to not look so pathetic.

Though he wasn’t in a good position himself, he absolutely, absolutely could not be the worst one.

Thinking this, Chu Xingzhi immediately chose to betray his remaining shred of integrity, “I’ve been thinking, and you’re somewhat right.”

“Speak, how should we cooperate?”

It wasn’t about losing face; it was just that he liked listening to Ye Qiao’s words.

……

Ye Qiao wasn’t in a hurry at all; she even leisurely took out a jade slip to check the overall rankings.

Sword Seeking Sect: 1,000 demon beasts hunted.

Chengfeng Sect: 700.

Yueqing Sect: 500.

Bishui Sect: 300.

At the bottom, the Changming Sect’s fifty directly stung her eyes.

It was embarrassing to look at.

So Ye Qiao immediately pretended not to see it. As long as she couldn’t see it, this embarrassing result would never hurt her.

“Do you know where Song Hansheng is?” Chu Xingzhi, now sealed of his spiritual power, couldn’t be arrogant anymore.

Ye Qiao: “Of course.”

She knew where he was. In the original plot, while the main characters were having their romantic escapades, Song Hansheng, the diligent worker, was hunting demon beasts in the secret realm.

Sometimes Ye Qiao felt quite sorry for him; he was risking his life for the sect’s glory while his little sister was off dating.

When Song Hansheng saw Chu Xingzhi approaching, he instinctively took a step back, protecting the identity token at his waist, and looked at him warily, “What are you doing here?”

Since he couldn’t beat him and had a teleportation talisman to escape, Song Hansheng wasn’t worried about having his identity token stolen.

Chu Xingzhi raised his hand innocently and, following Ye Qiao’s instructions, said slowly, “Nothing much. I’m here to find you to cooperate.”

“We can join forces.” He calmly looked at Song Hansheng.

Anyway, he had been thoroughly subdued by Ye Qiao. If he could drag Yueqing Sect down before being eliminated, it wouldn’t be a total loss.

Who would have thought that one day he would be subdued by a Foundation Establishment cultivator?

Let’s all be embarrassed together.

Song Hansheng, not hurried or flustered, met his gaze, “Reason?” He didn’t believe that a sect as high and mighty as the Sword Seeking Sect would team up with them.

There was absolutely no need.

The Sword Seeking Sect was currently far ahead in the rankings. Unless something major happened, their first place was secure.

At this moment, Song Hansheng found it hard not to suspect Chu Xingzhi’s motives for approaching him.

Chu Xingzhi was shaken by Song Hansheng’s sharp gaze. After all, they were all inexperienced disciples. No one had the thick skin of Ye Qiao. Just as Chu Xingzhi was hesitating, unsure of what to say, he suddenly noticed Ye Qiao eavesdropping from a nearby tree. Chu Xingzhi’s eyes lit up with inspiration: “We can work together to take revenge on Ye Qiao.”

Song Hansheng, who had previously shown no interest in teaming up, raised his eyes and spoke slowly, “Oh? Tell me more.”

Clearly, he was swayed.

Chu Xingzhi seized the opportunity and began a lengthy tirade against Ye Qiao, emphasizing her vile actions.

Ye Qiao maintained a calm demeanor, pretending not to understand.

The audience was abuzz with chatter.

“LMAO. How many disciples from Changming Sect has this little sister offended?”

“Before mentioning Ye Qiao, Song Hansheng: Not interested, don’t cue me. After mentioning Ye Qiao: Oh? Tell me more?”

“So just how much does Ye Qiao annoy people?”

“This is the first time I’ve seen such a lively competition. Don’t stop, bring on more, we love watching it!!”

Previously, competitions were just about fighting and killing, but this year was incredibly lively.

Various flashy tactics kept emerging.

At this moment, the two were hiding behind a tree, and the KFC, which had apparently eaten some crystal stones, had grown a bit bigger than before. Its soft fur had hardened a little, and it was almost shedding to grow feathers.

The fire-red little beast lazily nestled on top of Ye Qiao’s head, looking rather conspicuous.

Mu Chongxi had previously fed all the fire attribute crystal stones he obtained from the secret realm to Ye Qiao’s contracted beast. Since he had no use for them, it was quite good for the little sister.

Thanks to the good feeding, the beast had visibly grown larger. Fearing it might be a hindrance during a fight, Xue Yu reached out to help the little sister hold onto it.

Using the tree branches for cover, the rustling of the forest, Ye Qiao slightly bent her knees and used the rebound force to launch an attack on Song Hansheng.

Her strike was quick, ruthless, and accurate, directly knocking the unsuspecting man to the ground. Song Hansheng, alerted by the rustling of the branches, had been on guard. The Vajra Talisman in his arms blocked Ye Qiao’s attack, and talismans flew from his fingertips.

Ye Qiao, however, would not let him touch her. She quickly stepped back to create distance.

As Song Hansheng attempted to use a teleportation talisman to escape, Ye Qiao immediately shouted, “Chu Xingzhi, what are you standing there for?”

Hearing this, Song Hansheng smirked coldly, about to taunt her. But the next second, he found Chu Xingzhi actually charging at him.

Chu Xingzhi’s reaction speed was no match for a sword cultivator’s. He grabbed Song Hansheng’s wrist, knocked away his teleportation talisman, and, to ensure he could drag someone down with him, Chu Xingzhi desperately hugged Song Hansheng’s leg and pulled him down to the ground.

Song Hansheng, who was stabbed in the back, felt his pupils quiver violently as he looked at Chu Xingzhi, never having seen such a dirty play before.

His eyes seemed to say, ‘I considered you a brother, and you’re teaming up with Ye Qiao to ambush me?’

Chu Xingzhi had completely lost his sense of shame. Seeing Song Hansheng still trying to struggle, he shouted loudly, “If you keep struggling, I’ll strip you of your pants!”

Song Hansheng: “……?”

He was momentarily stunned. Taking advantage of this pause, Ye Qiao didn’t hesitate to grab his identity token from his waist and crush it decisively.

Perfect.

Finally, managed to drag someone down with him.

Chu Xingzhi felt he had died with honor. When the senior brother asked why he was eliminated on the first day, he could proudly tell him that he had managed to drag Yueqing Sect’s top disciple down with him before being eliminated!

At the moment Song Hansheng was eliminated, his identity token was also crushed by Ye Qiao.

Ye Qiao clapped her hands cleanly, satisfied after eliminating two people in one go.

At the moment both were eliminated, all the disciples in the secret realm stopped in their tracks.

Song Hansheng and Chu Xingzhi were both eliminated?

How was that possible?

“What’s going on?” Ming Xuan, who had just met with the senior brother, was extremely shocked.

The first to be eliminated were actually Song Hansheng and Chu Xingzhi? Did the Sword Seeking Sect and Yueqing Sect face each other and end up destroying each other’s identity tokens right away?

Zhou Xingyun also couldn’t react, astonished, “So soon?”

Usually, it was the alchemists who were eliminated the fastest. Even if Xue Yu had been eliminated, the two wouldn’t be this surprised. But how did Song Hansheng and Chu Xingzhi end up being eliminated?

……

Song Hansheng had never encountered such a dirty trick. He stared at Ye Qiao with a blank mind, furious, “You! You were the one who instructed Chu Xingzhi?”

Clearly, Song Hansheng was so shaken he was questioning life itself.

Ye Qiao shrugged, “No. Don’t wrong me. We’re partners in crime.”

Mutual benefit is not the same as being instructed.

She had watched the recorded stones of previous sect competitions. It was usually just mindless hunting of demon beasts. If they happened to encounter each other, they would fight, and whoever won would continue hunting. The winner was determined by the number of demon beasts hunted.

This left Ye Qiao confused.

Who would confront head-on when they could do a sneak attack?

Facing someone head-on when one had strength was called being powerful; doing so without strength was called foolish.

Looking at Song Hansheng’s anger mixed with confusion, Ye Qiao kindly said, “Senior Brother Song, didn’t anyone tell you the importance of teamwork in the grand secret realm?”

“……”

A moment of silence.

Song Hansheng nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.

Who the hell would collaborate with their enemies? When he saw Chu Xingzhi and Ye Qiao at odds, he had lowered his guard and fully believed Chu Xingzhi was there to cooperate with him.

At this point, he was so enraged that he wanted to kill Ye Qiao. After a few seconds of crazed anger, he expressionlessly asked:

“Why would Chu Xingzhi listen to you?”

Ye Qiao quickly replied, “Maybe he thought it would be too lonely to be eliminated alone, so he wanted to drag someone down with him for company?”

As the saying goes, when two disciples hold hands, they’re not lonely on the path to elimination.

As soon as her words fell, with the disappearance of the teleportation array, Song Hansheng became the first disciple to be eliminated in this round.

The suddenness of the end left his face green with shock.