Ever since Jing Zhe declared his ambition to become the leader of the martial arts alliance, Qing Qiu had lost much of her interest in participating in the martial arts tournament. Perhaps she was already calculating how she could gracefully and naturally lose to Jing Zhe if they were to actually meet…

She never got to see that moment.

What awaited them was a battle against Lin Qingshan.

In this martial arts tournament, the strongest opponent Jing Zhe will face is Lin Qingshan—as for Pei Yunxi, she doesn't believe that her fourth sister will really hold back when facing Jing Zhe.

If that's the case...it seems she has no choice...

However, since she had drawn Lin Qingshan's name, she was prepared to go all out. Even if she lost, she wouldn't let Lin Qingshan have an easy time; she would make him exhaust himself so that even if she encountered Jing Zhe again, he wouldn't pose much of a threat to him...

It must be said that Qingqiu put a lot of thought into it.

Jing Zhe chuckled after hearing this: "Third Sister, you're mistaken. Lin Qingshan isn't just at the initial stage of the sixth level, but at the intermediate stage of the sixth level!"

How did you know?

Qingqiu paused for a moment, then asked.

So Jing Zhe said that it was his master, the old medicine boy, who told him. Qing Qiu had no doubt about the Grandmaster, and then she looked bitter.

If Lin Qingshan were at the initial stage of the sixth level, she would still have the confidence to give it a shot, but if he were at the middle stage of the sixth level, how could she possibly compete?

"Third Sister, you said you had already caught up with Lin Qingshan's cultivation level, while he doesn't have the Qingyun Sect to rely on. How could he surpass you by two levels in the same amount of time?"

Qingqiu is also a prodigy, which is indeed surprising.

"Perhaps it's because..."

Qingqiu thought for a moment and said, "Let's go to Tongtianque!"

"???"

So Qingqiu recounted how Lin Qingshan had approached Prince Jin and the Qingyang Sect Leader. He had always believed in using miraculous medicines to increase the speed of his training, which contradicted Master Mingji's martial arts philosophy, and that's why he was eventually expelled from the sect.

After listening, Jing Zhe was even more certain: "It seems that he has not simply been in seclusion for cultivation these past few years. He probably obtained a lot of rare medicines from the Prince of Jin to practice his skills and has achieved some success, so he is now working for the Prince of Jin!"

Qingqiu also understood the key point and nodded repeatedly.

At this moment, Jing Zhe prepared to get into character.

So he frowned and sighed, "Alas, I was hoping to become the leader of the martial arts alliance, but I didn't expect Lin Qingshan's martial arts to be so strong. It seems I'll not only lose face, but I also won't be able to complete His Majesty's mission..."

Seeing Jing Zhe's dejected and disappointed appearance, Qing Qiu suddenly felt a pang of heartache.

After thinking for a moment, she bit her lip and said softly, "Aren't you already at the initial stage of the sixth level? Your... dual cultivation technique can quickly increase your training speed, right? Why don't you... take advantage of tonight and tomorrow night to practice with Yingqiu a little more!"

After she finished speaking, Qingqiu's expression turned somewhat strange, a mixture of red and pale, as if she wasn't entirely happy about pushing her younger brother to another woman.

Jing Zhe was secretly delighted, knowing that his opportunity had arrived!

He frowned and said, "Third Sister, because I've practiced with the Garden Master too many times, and my cultivation level has already increased, the effects of the jujube pills have weakened considerably. So, it's almost impossible to improve my cultivation level in a short period of time by practicing with the Garden Master!"

"..."

Qingqiu remained silent, lost in thought, wondering just how many times this "practice" actually meant...

She and Wang Yingqiu were best friends, and having known each other for so long, she had a pretty clear understanding of Wang Yingqiu's personality. She always felt that Wang Yingqiu was not much different from herself, and that she was also cold-hearted.

But why is it that someone with such a cold personality can practice with Jing Zhe so many times?

After all, she gets shy just thinking about it…

"However, it's not like there's no way..."

"What method?"

Upon hearing this, Qingqiu's eyes lit up, and she immediately asked.

"Didn't I just run into my master? He gave me some of his newly refined, enhanced version of the Jujube Pills, saying that this enhanced version is much more effective than the previous Jujube Pills. If used properly, it would be easy for me to advance to the next level!"

"Then hurry up and eat!"

Now that there's such a great enhanced version of the jujube pill, I no longer need to worry about Jing Zhe being unable to defeat Lin Qingshan.

To everyone's surprise, Jing Zhe's brows remained furrowed: "However, there are conditions for using this enhanced version of the jujube-eating pill..."

When Qingqiu heard Jing Zhe say that she needed to find a woman of similar cultivation level who had never been with Jing Zhe before in order to activate the enhanced version of the Jujube Pill, she was stunned.

This…sounds like…

As Qingqiu thought about it, her face turned red and she dared not think about it any further. She secretly glanced at Jing Zhe, but unexpectedly, Jing Zhe was looking at her. Their eyes met in mid-air, and Qingqiu fled in panic, quickly lowering her head again.

Hey, how can I just stay silent?

Jing Zhe came here to practice his skills, not to practice his silence.

After thinking for a while, she said in a deep voice, "Third sister, do you think it's important for me to take down the leader of the martial arts alliance, prevent Prince Jin from controlling the sect, and thus guard against his rebellion against the court to avenge our parents?"

Qingqiu thought for a moment, then nodded.

She didn't care about the imperial court or whether it was plotting a rebellion; she felt it had nothing to do with her. However, she was more concerned because her younger brother was now an official in the imperial court.

But what she valued most was the last sentence: "All these years of hard work, wasn't it all for the sake of avenging my parents?"

"If I'm just a little short of becoming the leader of the martial arts alliance, will Third Sister help me?"

"Probably..."

Qingqiu hesitated, because she knew what this gang was.

Jing Zhe thought Qing Qiu wouldn't agree. After all, with so much groundwork laid beforehand, she must know exactly how to help. Even if she got past her psychological barrier, she wouldn't agree so readily, would she?

And judging from her expression, she doesn't seem to have truly come to her senses...

However, since she had agreed, Jing Zhe pressed his advantage, saying, "Since Third Sister wants to help me, then—"

As he spoke, Jing Zhe walked to Qing Qiu's bedside and then lay down sprawled out.

"bring it on!"

"???"

Jing Zhe's maneuver left Qing Qiu speechless. Instead of moving forward, she crossed her arms and looked at Jing Zhe with a playful expression.

The clown was me!

Jing Zhe lay on the bed like a fool, and after a while, he got up and said with some dissatisfaction, "Third Sister, what are you doing? Weren't you going to help me?"

"Yes, that's right!"

"Then come and help me practice my skills!"

"Who said I was going to help you practice your skills?"

Qingqiu tilted her head and asked in a playful manner.

"..."

Jing Zhe felt he had been tricked, stood up and said in a deep voice, "If you're not going to help me practice, then what are you going to help me with?"

"I'll help you fight Lin Qingshan a little longer. Even if he wins, I'll exhaust his stamina, making it much easier for you when you encounter him. But the key is that you can't waste too much energy fighting Pavilion Master Mu!"

"..."

————