Jing Zhe walked towards his room, but before he got back, he saw Su Xiaoxiao standing outside his door in the distance.

He paused for a moment, then walked over.

"Thank you for your trouble, little princess!"

"???"

Su Xiaoxiao turned around when she heard the voice and asked in confusion, "Why did you say you were troubling me?"

"Because the little princess is here guarding the gate for me!"

"..."

Su Xiaoxiao was stunned for a moment, then scolded, "You're shameless! Who...who's guarding the gate for you? I just came to talk to you about something!"

"Oh? What is it?"

"Let's go inside and talk!"

Su Xiaoxiao looked to both sides and said.

"No need, just say what you need to say here."

"Go in, stop dawdling, hurry up!"

Su Xiaoxiao urged impatiently.

"..."

But there was a clear ambiguity in what he said. Jing Zhe even had some thoughts of the wrong thing after hearing it. This little girl is too fierce!

Jing Zhe opened the door, and Su Xiaoxiao immediately stepped inside. Seeing that Jing Zhe hadn't closed the door after entering, she became dissatisfied again.

"Why don't you just close the door!"

Why close the door?

Jing Zhe said warily, "If a man and a woman are alone together and the door is closed, and word gets out, it will damage my reputation. Are you going to take responsibility?"

"..."

I'm a girl and I haven't even mentioned anything about my reputation, nor am I worried that you have ulterior motives towards me, yet you're worried about me?

Sure enough, they're shameless!

Su Xiaoxiao suppressed the urge to bite him to death and said fiercely, "If you don't close the door, I'll tell you you're bullying me!"

"Little princess, don't talk nonsense. When have I ever bullied you?"

"Hitting me...hitting me...isn't that bullying?"

Thinking about how he had spanked her back then, Su Xiaoxiao blushed, especially since he had clearly bullied her, yet she had kept his secret like a thief—how foolish!

"Um... Little Princess, I just wanted to open the door for some fresh air. Now that I've had some fresh air, I'll close it right away."

As he spoke, Jing Zhe very naturally closed the door, then walked back with a grin, as if nothing had happened.

Su Xiaoxiao was stunned, then mentally cursed herself:

Pah! Pah! Pah! Shameless!

Just as Jing Zhe returned, he heard Su Xiaoxiao say, "Can you withdraw from the martial arts tournament?"

"???"

Jing Zhe looked at her with a question mark in his eyes and asked suspiciously, "Why? Before I went on stage today, it was one thing for the little princess to stop me, I just assumed she was worried about me because I don't know martial arts. But now you clearly know that I know martial arts and you still stop me, why?"

"Pah, shameless! I'm not worried about you, I'm afraid you'll die at someone else's hands!"

Su Xiaoxiao, hands on her hips, retorted a couple of times before saying, "Who said I didn't know you knew martial arts? I knew all along!"

"..."

Jing Zhe was taken aback, then remembered that he had shown his martial arts skills when he first spanked Su Xiaoxiao. He had almost forgotten about it, but he didn't say anything, wanting to wait for her to continue.

"So what if you know martial arts? So what if you beat Long Aodi?"

Su Xiaoxiao said with a serious expression, "Do you really want to become the leader of the martial arts alliance? Do you think the four major sects are so easy to deal with? Besides, you'll be facing... more than just the four major sects!"

Seeing Su Xiaoxiao's somewhat anxious eyes, Jing Zhe remained silent for a moment before asking with a smile, "Princess Xiaoxiao, did you hear something?"

"No."

Su Xiaoxiao quickly shook her head: "I didn't hear what my father and master said. I was just afraid that you were too arrogant and thought that the position of martial arts alliance leader was so easy to obtain! The four major sects are also determined to become the martial arts alliance leader. If you want to snatch it, why would they agree?"

"..."

Su Xiaoxiao was still too naive; her eyes flickered when she lied, and Jing Zhe saw through her immediately.

He quickly pieced together the information and understood the general idea.

His appearance today must have disrupted the plans of Prince Jin and the Qingyang Sect Leader. When they left today, the Qingyang Sect Leader was with Prince Jin, presumably discussing how to deal with him. But they certainly didn't expect that Su Xiaoxiao would come and tip them off.

Or perhaps Su Xiaoxiao was deliberately sent by them?

He looked up and examined her again, noticing the innocent light still shining in Su Xiaoxiao's eyes. He shook his head; if she was also a fraud, it only meant her acting skills were too good.

As for what method the Prince of Jin had come up with, Jing Zhe did not inquire, so as not to put Su Xiaoxiao in a difficult position.

So he laughed heartily and said, "Little princess, I know you must have some feelings for me, so you're worried about me and don't want me to participate?"

"..."

Su Xiaoxiao was stunned for a moment, then flew into a rage.

Is this guy crazy?

I tried to advise him out of kindness, but he just took it for granted.

"I'll tell you again, the martial arts tournament is not as simple as you think. If you continue, the consequences... you'll have to bear them yourself!"

After saying that, she ignored Jing Zhe and stormed off.

Thinking of how the little girl's body had swayed up and down in anger, Jing Zhe smiled and shook his head.

...

The afternoon competition was quite simple, and the winner was decided in no time. Everyone's attention was not on the competition, but on the drawing of lots.

So, the four people selected in the past two days, including Jing Zhe and Lin Qingshan, went up on stage together.

The four participants from the four major sects also came up to the stage and stood with them.

But a surprising scene unfolded: Jing Zhe, who was originally unloved by his maternal grandparents and uncles, found himself kept at a distance by the other three members after going on stage.

As a result, after the four beauties from the four major sects went on stage, whether intentionally or unintentionally, they surrounded him, which immediately caused everyone to gasp in surprise.

When Lin Qingshan saw Qingqiu standing next to Jing Zhe with a warm expression, he clenched his fists even tighter.

Next, the Qingyang Sect Leader prepared four tags for the four Golden Flowers to draw lots from—this was a privilege of the four major sects, and no one felt it was unfair or dissatisfied with it.

Pei Yunxi and Qingqiu drew first. Pei Yunxi drew the name of the second-place winner who had unexpectedly benefited from yesterday afternoon's misfortune. When the name was read out, the second-place winner looked miserable.

Qingqiu drew Lin Qingshan instead.

The announcement of the draw drew gasps from the audience.

This match can be considered a clash of titans, and it also carries a hint of grudges, since everyone knows that Lin Qingshan is a disgraced disciple of the Qingyun Sect and was once Qingqiu's senior brother.

Furthermore, some insiders know that Lin Qingshan has feelings for Qingqiu, but he has been rejected.

Therefore, this match is full of highlights and everyone is looking forward to it.

Subsequently, Qiu Qianqian drew the winner of the afternoon's first place, which was easy for her and considered a favorable draw.

With only one draw left, there was no need to draw again. Jing Zhe and Mu Qingren were automatically paired up, which drew cheers from the crowd.

The showdown between the Pavilion Master of Wuxian Pavilion and the imperial officials is just as captivating as the battle between Qingqiu and Lin Qingshan, and it can be considered one of the highlights of tomorrow's event.

————

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