The next morning, after Shu Lan finished washing up, there was a knock on her door.
"Junior brother, I need to talk to you." Just as Shu Lan was wondering who was looking for him so early, Venerable Lieyang's voice rang out from outside the door.
Shu Lan quickly opened the door, "Senior brother, please come in."
After Venerable Lieyang entered the room, Shulan quickly brewed a pot of tea and personally poured a cup for him. "Senior Brother, is there something important that you came to see me so early in the morning?"
Venerable Lieyang took the teacup and slowly took a sip. "It's nothing serious, just have you heard the rumors circulating outside?"
"Rumors? What rumors?" Shu Lan asked, somewhat puzzled.
"Junior brother, you still don't know?" Venerable Lieyang put down his teacup and then told Shulan all the rumors about Shulan and Nangong Ting from yesterday.
"Rumors are already circulating that our two sects are about to form a marriage alliance, and that you and Nangong Ting will become Daoist partners." Finally, Venerable Lieyang said, "Junior brother, what do you think?"
After hearing what Venerable Lieyang said, Shu Lan frowned slightly. "The innocent are innocent. No matter how the rumors spread outside, they have nothing to do with me. Nangong Ting and I are completely innocent."
"However, I'm not afraid of these rumors, but I'm worried that they might affect Sister Nangong Ting's reputation." Shu Lan felt a headache coming on when she thought about this.
“You don’t need to worry about that.” Venerable Lieyang picked up his teacup again. “This kind of thing can be left to the Zixiao Sect to handle. Besides, they’ve been indifferent to these rumors so far, so they probably don’t care at all.”
"Alright, I won't bother you any longer." Venerable Lieyang put down his teacup and stood up. "Weren't you going to watch your disciple's match?"
Shu Lan nodded somewhat helplessly: "Senior brother understands me best."
"Then hurry up and go." Venerable Lieyang smiled and left Shulan's room.
Shu Lan then left the room and headed towards the platform where the Tengyun Competition would be held.
Qin An didn't disturb Shu Lan this morning, wanting his master to rest a little longer. So, he got up early and even took some time to practice his sword.
Qin An is now standing around the arena, ready to go on stage at any moment.
When Shu Lan arrived, Qin An happened to be looking towards the stands, and their eyes met.
Shu Lan smiled encouragingly at Qin An, who returned a confident smile. Then, Shu Lan and Qin An looked away.
"Everyone, today is the second day of the Tengyun Conference." Just when everyone was getting impatient, the elder finally appeared, and the restless crowd immediately quieted down.
"The rules for today's competition are a little different." The elder looked around and, seeing that everyone was listening attentively to him, continued, "Today's competition is divided into an elders' area and a disciples' area. Elders will compete against each other, and disciples will compete against each other."
"Furthermore, there will be no more drawing lots for today's competition. Anyone who feels strong enough can go up to defend their title. Anyone else who feels they can defeat the defending champion can go up to challenge them. If the challenge is successful, the new defending champion will take their place. If the challenge is unsuccessful, the defending champion will have successfully defended their title."
"The defending champion has the right to request a rest," the elder added. "The remaining ten champions can challenge each other to determine the strongest one." Finally, the elder concluded.
"I now declare the title defense match officially open!"
As soon as the elder finished speaking, ten people quickly filled the arena.
Then, soon many people went up to challenge. These challenges resulted in wins and losses, and the people in the arena kept changing.
Qin An did not immediately step onto the arena; he simply stood aside and observed the battles of the Golden Core stage disciples.
Just then, Qin An felt a somewhat cold gaze fall upon him. Qin An's senses were very sharp, and he immediately turned around. But as soon as Qin An turned around, the cold gaze suddenly disappeared.
Qin An couldn't find the source of that gaze, but he didn't forget this incident. He just kept it in mind and became more vigilant.
Some distance from Qin An, a pair of gloomy eyes were fixed on him. When Qin An turned around, he quickly lowered his gaze. However, the two tightly clenched fists beside him betrayed his inner turmoil.
"Qin An, it's all your fault! If it weren't for you, how could I have become like this?!" A gloomy voice rang out in a low voice, "As long as, as long as I destroy you! Hahaha! Then I will definitely be able to go back to the way I was before..." The gloomy voice became more and more frantic, full of malice.
Everyone around was watching the competition intently, and no one noticed this dark corner.
Gradually, fewer and fewer people went up to challenge in the ring.
Qin An sensed that the time was right, so he leaped onto the arena.
"My name is Wei Yi."
"My name is Qin An."
After a brief greeting, the two began their intense competition.
Golden Core cultivators compete not only in physical skills but also in spells.
Wei Yi was skilled in wood-based magic, but unfortunately he encountered Qin An.
"Wei Yi is in trouble this time. Qin An's fire elemental root is a perfect counter to his wood elemental root," commented an elder who was observing the scene.
The elders around them all nodded in agreement.
Wei Yi conjured up a large number of vines, which tightly bound Qin An. However, unfortunately, as soon as Qin An used his flames, his vines were all burned off.
Therefore, Wei Yi had no choice but to confront Qin An head-on.
Wei Yi also wields a sword, and his swordsmanship is quite good, but compared to Qin An, who has been carefully taught swordsmanship by Shu Lan, he is somewhat outmatched.
In just a few moves, Wei Yi was defeated.
"I surrender!" Wei Yi shouted as Qin An held the sword to Wei Yi's neck.
"I hereby declare Qin An the victor in this contest and the new champion," the elder in charge of the referee announced loudly.
Qin An stood in the center of the arena and looked up at Shu Lan in the stands.
At this moment, Shu Lan was watching Qin An closely. When he saw Qin An succeed in the challenge, he smiled sincerely.
Looking at his master's brother's smile, Qin An felt that everything was worthwhile.
Next, Qin An continued to compete with those who came up to challenge him, winning easily and without expending much effort.
Qin An's performance attracted the attention of most people.
"This child's aptitude is truly remarkable."
"What a rare talent!"
"This is the future of our cultivation world."
Many elders expressed their opinions.
Just as Qin An was competing, that chilling feeling of being watched returned.
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