Chapter 174

174. When Zhang Gongshi Chuo learned of this news…

Upon learning this news, Gong Shichuo immediately planned to go find his father.

Then I was turned away.

Gongshi Feifei was determined to go into seclusion this time, and even though Gongshi Chuo was his daughter, she had no right to disturb him.

After being stopped at the door, she became fierce and said, "My sister is also Father's daughter. If something happens to her, can you bear the responsibility?"

Gongshi Feifei's attendant's expression was unreadable, but a hint of contempt could be seen deep in his eyes.

“Miss Zhuo, if something happens to you, we will inform the clan leader. But as for Miss Yue, the clan leader is probably too busy to worry about this right now.”

Gongshi Chuo asked instinctively, "How are we different?"

My father was a man of integrity, with no concubines, only one wife, and only two daughters.

They grew up together, both receiving the love and respect of their parents and others; they should be the same.

At least that's what Gongshi Chuo always thought of himself.

At this moment, Gongshi Chuo suddenly remembered a sentence he had said to his sister before.

"Sister, once I break through to the Nascent Soul stage, I'll be able to protect you."

How can they be the same? If they really were the same, why would she think that her sister needed her to "protect" her to be safe?

She had known all along that they were not the same, but she had always ignored this issue due to the indulgence of her parents and her sister.

She is a cultivator with a Heavenly Spiritual Root, a rising star of the Gongshi Clan, and the future hope of the Gongshi Clan.

My elder sister is a vessel for a furnace, she is...

She had no idea what her sister meant to the Gongshi clan.

Whether it's not knowing or not wanting to know, it's impossible to tell now.

Gongshi Chuo calmed his mind for a while.

It's just a minor setback.

It's just that my sister isn't that important to my father. She's still the daughter of the Gongshi clan chief, so we'll find another way.

“In the name of the clan chief’s daughter, I order you to immediately send people to find Gong Shiyue.”

The servants all nodded in agreement.

Fortunately, there are still people who listen to her.

Before he went to find his sister, Gongshi Chuo went to find Chu Xingjin first.

Chu Xingjin has also been staying at home recently, saying that he is preparing for the next round of the All-Region Competition. However, when Gong Shichuo pushed open the door without saying hello, he found Chu Xingjin admiring the Beauty Ranking.

Each of the ranked beauties was accompanied by a picture, drawn so vividly and beautifully that it seemed as if the real person was standing right in front of you.

Gongshi Chuo was already in a bad mood, let alone today. Upon seeing this scene, she threw a fireball, much like her father.

The fireball landed on the painting of a beauty in Chu Xingjin's hand. It failed to burn the finely crafted painting, but it did ignite Chu Xingjin's sleeve, startling him into frantically trying to extinguish the fire.

Chu Xingjin has recently developed a psychological aversion to fire.

Fortunately, it wasn't Phoenix Fire, so it was easily extinguished.

Chu Xingjin looked up at the person who had come, feeling annoyed: "I've been staying here lately and haven't had any contact with anyone. Are you going to cause me trouble too?"

His attitude was far less respectful than before.

The engagement was already arranged and there would be no further trouble. He and Gongshi Chuo were both the next generation that the Gongshi clan had devoted their efforts to cultivating, and their rankings in the regional competition were only slightly different. Naturally, he was not as afraid as before.

Gong Shichuo's eyebrows shot up: "My sister has disappeared, and you're here looking at other women. Have you no shame or heart?!"

Chu Xingjin quickly protested his innocence: "How was I supposed to know she was missing?"

"You're her fiancé, and you don't even know something like this? Where are your servants?"

If something like this happens, the attendant should inform you immediately.

Chu Xingjin said, "I am cultivating diligently and have instructed my servant to come once every half day."

Cultivation, it's cultivation again.

Gong Shichuo felt a surge of anger again.

One or two of them claim to be cultivating, but what they're cultivating is that painting of beauties?

"Now I'm telling you, my sister Gong Shiyue, your fiancée, has gone missing. Her cultivation level is low, so she's not as good as you or me at protecting herself, and she's very vulnerable. Now, you and I will go look for her together. I'll be responsible for the south of the city, and you'll be responsible for the north."

Chu Xingjin was displeased: "I was also anxious and saddened by her disappearance, but Gong Shichuo, the most important thing right now is the second round of the All-Region Competition starting tomorrow."

Gong Shichuo suddenly looked up, and the hairpin she was wearing, which was not quite secure, fell off her head: "What nonsense are you talking about? The most important thing is of course my sister's life."

A moment later, she realized that Chu Xingjin was unwilling to go.

She might be able to defeat Chu Xingjin, but their cultivation levels are not much different, and she would inevitably get injured, which would delay her from finding her sister.

Why is neither her father nor her fiancé worried about her sister?

Chu Xingjin continued, "It's normal for girls to be playful. Maybe they've gone off somewhere to play and will be back soon. Even if they get lost in the suburbs, the servants will be able to find them, that's enough."

Gongshi Chuo found it absurd: "Playful? You're saying Gongshi Yue is playful?"

Gong Shiyue, a woman known for her composure, is now being described as playful by her soon-to-be fiancé.

It's ridiculous; Chu Xingjin doesn't understand Gongshi Yue at all.

Gong Shichuo slammed his fist on the door of Chu Xingjin's residence and began searching the city alone.

That's enough, she's done enough on her own. She's the one who understands her sister the most.

Gong Shichuo searched for a whole day and night, but there was no trace of him.

The psychic mirror had been flashing at her waist for a long time.

She didn't need to open it to know what the message was; it was nothing more than the All-Region Competition starting soon, urging her to hurry back and participate.

But her older sister hasn't been found yet!

It was just a competition. Although she could win a huge reward and have a chance to become famous, none of that mattered as much as her sister's life!

She felt she couldn't reason with the people in her clan, so she simply stopped opening the Spirit Mirror.

I only glance at it occasionally to see if my sister has contacted her.

Exhausted of her spiritual energy, Gongshi Chuo sat on a tree branch to rest. Perhaps due to exhaustion, her mind was not clear, and she even felt that she saw her father.

Ha, how could that be? Father is still in seclusion. Even something as simple as my sister's disappearance couldn't get him to come out. How could he possibly appear in front of her?

*Smack*

A slap landed on Gongshi Chuo's face.

Her eyes finally focused, and the huge figure in front of her blocked the sunlight between the trees, his face as black as mud.

It was her father.

"Gong Shichuo, can't you even tell what's important and what's urgent? Get back here right now and participate in the regional competition."

The father, who was completely inseparable from his sister's disappearance, broke out of his seclusion because she didn't participate in the All-Region Grand Competition, a trivial matter.

The second round of the regional competition has begun.

Xie Jiaoyue commented that the competition format has been changed from PVP to PVE.

She still prefers PVE, as it's easier to get freebies.

I heard that PVP didn't start so quickly in previous years. Perhaps it's because this year's competition has produced so many talented players that there are too many people entering the second round, so they had to adopt this method that can quickly reduce the number of participants.

The competition format is very simple: each track is separated, and players compete against each other in a three-elimination format, giving them ample opportunity to showcase themselves. The second round ends when only the last twenty players remain in each track.

Of course, they weren't completely inhumane. The kind-hearted patriarchs of the four major families worked together to group their disciples, ensuring that there wouldn't be any instances of disciples repeatedly encountering the same opponent, outstanding disciples being assigned to matches early, or disciples fighting five matches in a row within an hour—all things considered immoral.

As the winner of the first round, Xie Jiaoyue was fortunate enough to be matched with opponents of average skill, which gave her the leisure to observe the other battlefields around her.

In the first match, Chu Xingjin was in the battlefield not far in front of her, within sight of the naked eye.

Considering that she might become Chu Xingjin's opponent in the future, Xie Jiaoyue devoted a little more attention to observation.

Very impressive. He has made great progress since he was in the Southwest Region. You can tell at a glance that he has learned a lot of new things. He also uses newer items, just like a nouveau riche.

His attack style was extremely bold and unrestrained, as if he was afraid others wouldn't know how skilled and capable he was. Each sword move was displayed like a show of skill, frightening his opponents into begging for mercy.

Even when he begged for mercy, Chu Xingjin could only barely stop his sword, leaving a bloody mark on his opponent's cheek.

Xie Jiaoyue always felt that Chu Xingjin's every move was unnatural at certain times, as if he was deliberately hiding or trying to resolve something.

Xie Jiaoyue observed for a long time but still couldn't find out what Chu Xingjin was hiding, so she had to give up.

When the third match ended, she happened to see Gong Shichuo enter the arena.

Xie Jiaoyue took out the melon seeds she had taken from Jin Wan and sat down in the spectator seats to enjoy the performance presented by Miss Gongshi.

Fifteen minutes later, with a loud crash, sunflower seeds scattered all over the ground.

Good heavens, Gongshi Chuo actually lost.

"Hahahaha, I actually beat Gongshi Chuo! I'm going to kowtow at my ancestors' graves right now!" He seemed to have gone mad, and didn't care about the upcoming matches.

"Gong Shichuo! You fixed the match! I bet everything I had on you to win! I'm going to fight you to the death." This was stopped.

Seeing Gong Shichuo looking over, Xie Jiaoyue quickly lowered her head and started picking up melon seeds.

She is very protective of the environment.

Of course, you can also use a spell; a simple fire spell can burn it directly, which is quick and convenient.

But that would be too fast, and she was afraid of making eye contact and feeling awkward.

Gong Shichuo walked past Xie Jiaoyue, but instead of confronting her as usual, he did so quietly, like a gust of wind that left no trace.

Xie Jiaoyue looked up at Gong Shichuo's back. He seemed completely out of sorts.

They might not even make it to the next round.

Of course, Xie Jiaoyue didn't care much; she was more focused on planning her own competition.

If you want to improve yourself in a competition with a large gap in skill level, you can't let yourself use the difference in skill level to suppress your opponent. It's best to suppress your own skill level first, or even set some restrictions for yourself, before facing the competition.

Similar to weight training, it often yields better results.

She fell silent, and Gongshi Chuo was distracted. Apart from the three old stars of the Wan, Jue, and Baili clans, the most dazzling new star became Chu Xingjin, who shone brightly all the way.

The rankings changed, and quite unexpectedly, Gong Shichuo's opponent became Chu Xingjin.