"What's wrong?" Nie Songping looked at his grandson and then at Qingyun, puzzled.

"I'll be playing tomorrow," Qingyun said casually, straightening her sleeves as she looked down.

Nie Songping was taken aback, and immediately lit a row of candles for Lin Yuhao in his heart.

The Ancient Martial Arts Tournament was suspended for a day to give the champions, who had been fighting continuously, a period of rest before the highly anticipated challenge matches began.

Only the top-ranked player is qualified to challenge the previous champion, Lin Yuhao.

Lin Yuhao was warming up in his private rest room. Several martial artists from the Ancient Martial Arts Association stood around him. Unlike usual, when they would flatter Lin Yuhao, these martial artists were all as quiet as chickens, and the atmosphere in the room was very strange.

The reason was that Zhang Gang's miserable state the day before yesterday was shocking, and everyone assumed that Nie Chenyuan's cultivation had exceeded the ninth level of the Acquired Realm. Lin Yuhao's chances of winning against him were slim.

Zhang Jingguo walked in, handed Lin Yuhao a towel, and patted him on the shoulder, saying, "Don't be nervous. I've always had high hopes for you. Although Nie Chenyuan is strong, your ability to fight against opponents of higher levels is also quite impressive."

His words only made Lin Yuhao more agitated. What did he mean? Did everyone think Nie Chenyuan's cultivation level surpassed his?

Lin Yuhao pursed his lips and remained silent, while Zhang Jingguo's face showed a hint of nervousness. He checked the time and said, "Old He is coming to watch your match today; he should be in the car by now."

He patted Lin Yuhao on the shoulder again and turned to leave. Just then, the screen in the lounge displayed the lineups for the match.

Qingyun VS Lin Yuhao.

Lin Yuhao looked up and immediately stopped wiping his sweat with a towel. Zhang Jingguo glanced back as he walked out the door and was also stunned.

What's going on? Shouldn't Lin Yuhao's opponent be Nie Chenyuan? How come it's Qingyun?

"There might be a mistake. Let me make a call and ask." Zhang Jingguo frowned, picked up his phone, and made a call.

A moment later, he walked back into the lounge, his face full of disbelief: "It really is Qingyun. Nie Chenyuan has come this far and yet he gave up his qualification to him."

"This is against the rules." Lin Yuhao asked with a frown, but the immense sense of relief that welled up inside him made him want to laugh.

It was just a few rumors yesterday, plus Lin's mother saying something, and Qingyun couldn't help but use this method to clarify herself? She's still too naive.

Lin Yuhao's lips curled into a secret smile. He had originally intended to use public opinion to sow discord between Nie Chenyuan and Qingyun. In his view, Nie Chenyuan would not tolerate being used and might withdraw from the competition after learning of Qingyun's ulterior motives. However, he did not expect Qingyun to be so naive as to actually come up and compete against him herself.

Qingyun is already a cripple, what does he have to compare himself to?

“No, there is such a rule.” Zhang Jingguo’s expression did not ease, but instead showed some doubt. “Qingyun is participating as a guest of the Nie family. Guest members are allowed to replace direct members of the main family during the challenge competition.”

-

Seeing the names displayed on the big screen inside the arena, everyone became restless and whispered among themselves. But with the consequences of yesterday's arrogance still fresh in their minds, no one dared to utter any boastful words.

"Guest Elder?" The guests in the private room were also quite surprised. They knew about this rule, but the position of Guest Elder was the face of every aristocratic family. The Guest Elder they invited had to have a cultivation level that made people look up to them, otherwise they would lose face big time.

Several aristocratic families close to the Ancient Martial Arts Association did hire Lin Yuhao as a guest elder, but this also subtly aroused their contempt.

A proper guest elder must have reached the Acquired Perfection level in cultivation, but the few remaining Acquired Perfection cultivators in the world often disregard worldly affairs and are focused on breaking through to the Innate level. They would be hard to invite even if they wanted to.

Everyone in the private room turned their attention to Nie Songping, who remained calm and composed, and couldn't help but mutter to themselves.