Pu Erge never expected that he would pause in his actions and pat Ji Yuanchi on the back. “We will definitely avenge this. She is just barely hanging on for now. Don’t take it to heart. We will settle the score with her after the competition.”

Pu Erge analyzed the situation with a clear and rational mind. They couldn't act now. If they did, and something went wrong, they would become sinners against the sect, and the sect would lose a great help by losing two people. It wasn't worth doing this for their own selfish desires. Although Pu Erge felt sorry for her, he still analyzed the situation rationally.

Ji Yuanchi understood in her heart, but the physical disgust and fear made her tremble uncontrollably.

...

After everyone arrived at their destination and packed their belongings, someone came to fetch them to head to the meeting point.

A large arena was divided into two areas. One area was empty, while the other was crowded with people chattering and discussing, eager to see who would win this time.

"As for Qingtao Valley this year, there's no chance they'll win. Not only has the sect leader changed, but even the senior sister has been replaced. I remember that girl; an insider told me she came from the lower realm. A little girl from the lower realm—I don't know how Zisangyi could let her sit in that position." The man clicked his tongue twice, his eyes full of regret. It seemed he had some expectations for Qingtao Valley before, otherwise he wouldn't have known so much about it.

Those nearby, upon hearing this news, widened their eyes in disbelief. "Really?"

"Is this for real? I saw it with my own eyes. Sigh, it's been at the bottom twice in a row. It's not the Qingtao Valley it used to be." The man sighed as he spoke. Originally, Qingtao Valley only had one chance, but this man's appearance had already determined a different fate for them.

On the other side, people quietly walked up to the stage from the passage below and sat down. The master still had the sect's insignia, without any particular order, just like it had been for so many years.

Xu Yuehuai and her entourage took their seats, and soon everyone had arrived.

At this moment, a small round platform appeared on the main arena, with a table on it. A person sat in a chair with his hands placed in front of the table.

After everyone was seated, he took out something and began speaking into it, "Welcome everyone to the sect competition. I'm sure you've all been waiting for this for a long time. Let's rub our hands together and place our bets. The betting pool will be closed in a short while, so those of you who want to place your bets, hurry up!"

"You can place your bets on your favorite sect. The following are the bets available this time: the first place of the new sect, the overall first place in the individual competition, and who the audience thinks is the most outstanding. Everyone will cast a vote. The button is in your place."

"There might be duplicate names in the last two matches, so please keep your eyes open when voting." The speaker was a young man with a bright smile, looking very youthful and lively. His speaking style was also unprecedented, which immediately made the audience burst into laughter. "I'm Xiao Feng, and I'll be sitting here from now on to explain the matches for everyone, so that some viewers who don't understand the moves won't be disappointed!"

Upon hearing these words, Xu Yuehuai thought to himself, "Isn't this just like the commentary industry of the past?"

In the VIP box, a member of the Zhentian Clan looked at Longyin Valley and said cryptically, "You've come up with some different tricks this year, haven't you?"

The Valley Master of Dragon Roar Valley was an old man with white hair. He had a smile on his face and was not modest at all. "That's natural. If something is always done in the same way, it will always get boring."

The competition format has never changed, which is to prevent cheating within the sect.

The competition covered all categories, so it wasn't an easy task to cause trouble under the watchful eyes of so many people.

"The time has come. Next is the competition we have been looking forward to. In the first match, each team will send out ten people to fight. There will be a total of fifteen battles, and the same people can appear in each match."

In a team, there are excellent people and there are naturally those who are less capable. Among 150 people, not everyone will have the same level of ability.

This situation was divided into fifteen stages, requiring them to send people out to fight fifteen times.

"Each team has five minutes to discuss and decide who will play in the first and second rounds as soon as possible. At the same time, while the first and second rounds are underway, decide on the players for the third and fourth rounds, and so on." The person explaining this was Xiao Feng, who was sitting on the circular platform in the air.

After Xiao Feng finished speaking, he smiled slightly and put down the thing in his hand that looked like a trumpet flower. No one had seen it before, but judging from how Xiao Feng used it, they could roughly guess what kind of magical artifact it was.

Xu Yuehuai sat in the first seat and pondered for a while. Wasn't this just a very simple horse racing problem?

She looked at everyone, and for a moment everyone avoided her gaze. They didn't want to play the first match because the opponents in the first match were relatively weak. They all felt that their strength was extraordinary and that they could stay until the end.

Everyone had already been assigned positions according to their abilities. The first tier undoubtedly belonged to the direct disciples, and so on down the line. Everyone was worried that Xu Yuehuai would pretend to know what he didn't and send them on stage, which would result in a lot of losses.

Nangong Yu saw the problem, but he pursed his lips and couldn't speak up, because if he spoke now, it would be tantamount to weakening Xu Yuehuai's leadership.

Ultimately, after some analysis, Xu Yuehuai realized she wasn't entirely clear on the strength of the other sects, so she chose to send someone from the fourteenth tier. Immediately, someone grumbled in dissatisfaction, "I told you she doesn't know anything! Now they're sending us, what are we going to do in the second match?!"

Xu Yuehuai ultimately played conservatively, sending people from the fourteenth tier to the first match and people from the thirteenth tier to the second match.

For a moment, no one understood what she was doing. Why send someone in a higher position out to fight? What would happen to the rest of them?

The people sitting next to them were from Qianlibao and Shanhai Sect, and they were all baffled when they saw Xu Yuehuai's actions.

But they have no right to interfere.

The people on the fourteenth step walked onto the preparation area with resentment on their faces, and the same was true for the people on the thirteenth step. Ji Yuanchi was among the people on the fifteenth step. She had only been in the sect for a short time, and being able to reach the fifteenth step was already considered outstanding.

Pu Erge's talent is slightly higher, and he cultivates every day. Compared to Ji Yuanchi, his previous foundation is also better, so he is fortunate to be on the fourteenth step.