"You're a shameless bastard! What right do you have to mention Senior Brother Zhang in front of me?!"
"Seeing that you still act like a despicable person, utterly vile, it's clear you deliberately refused to help back then, clinging to your own life out of fear. Despite your superior strength, you still feigned weakness..."
"Heh, so they're still hiding that fire python, planning to trick someone? That fire python can also activate an ancient treasure, capable of..."
Xu Hua's eyes were filled with hatred, and he was so ruthless that he almost tore off the mask of civility. He expressed only intense hatred towards Lin Xiuyuan, directly exposing Lin Xiuyuan's true nature.
This scene caused Lin Xiuyuan's expression to turn completely cold. He glanced at Xu Hua indifferently, his eyes filled with apathy.
Originally, she had a good impression of Zhang Zhenghai and thought that Xu Hua was just too heartbroken to accept the result, so she was looking for an outlet to relieve and suppress the sadness and emotions in her heart.
But at this moment, Lin Xiuyuan understood that this woman desperately wanted him dead.
It seems that Xu Hua blames Zhang Zhenghai's death entirely on his failure to risk his life to rescue him in time!
A murderous intent flickered in Lin Xiuyuan's heart, eventually settling slowly within him, hidden and unseen.
Lin Xiuyuan glanced at him coldly, then sat cross-legged, waiting for the second round of the competition to begin.
At this moment, after hearing Xu Hua's words, everyone showed a thoughtful expression, and many of them looked at Lin Xiuyuan with a hint of disgust and disdain.
Xu Hua's words were specifically aimed at Lin Xiuyuan. He recounted what had happened back then, embellishing the story and making everyone understand what had occurred. Many people were even misled by him, and their impression of Lin Xiuyuan also became negative.
For a moment, the room fell silent. Most people stopped talking. They had originally thought that seeing Lin Xiuyuan was so extraordinary, they wanted to make his acquaintance. After all, this was within the sect, and they wouldn't be so eager to befriend him in the outside world. Having a bond as fellow disciples would help build a relationship, which would be a guarantee for future missions.
But at this moment, there's naturally nothing more to say.
Immediately afterwards, some whispers could be heard.
"So this is the despicable person he is? It's one thing to leave someone to die, given his cultivation level, that's understandable, he might just be a little afraid of death. But now that he's clearly so powerful, he's still pretending to be weak. Is it because he's afraid of death, or is he just insidious and vicious?"
"I thought he was someone important, but I didn't expect him to be such a petty person. Sigh, it's really pitiful that Senior Sister Xu Hua and the others would take such a person on a mission."
"But is this person really that outrageous? Possessing a fire python as a spirit beast? And that fire python even has an ancient treasure... Could it be that he was captured deep in the demon realm? That's a bit too far-fetched!"
“…”
Some whispers arose, filled with sarcasm and cynicism. Others' eyes flickered, wondering if the truth was as Xu Hua claimed. After all, if Lin Xiuyuan truly had the ability to save people thirty years ago, wouldn't he have saved Zhang Zhenghai? Conversely, how could Xu Hua and the others have returned alive...? There were some doubts.
However, in the end, there are still a minority of people who think this way. After all, if Lin Xiuyuan is really that strong, as Xu Hua said, then the previous battle now seems to have been an unfair victory, or even a despicable act.
Lin Xiuyuan paid no attention to these matters, knowing that it was difficult to clarify things without evidence. As the saying goes, "Many mouths can melt a tongue, and three men can make a tiger." Even if something is false, if many people say it, it will arouse suspicion. Moreover, some things are so complicated that it is difficult to distinguish between truth and falsehood.
As far as Lin Xiuyuan's Dao heart is concerned, as long as his path of cultivation is not threatened, nothing else matters. A little bit of reputation is nothing, and it can't hurt him in the slightest.
But at this moment, the senior brother who had previously lost to Lin Xiuyuan stepped forward, walked up to Lin Xiuyuan, and loudly mocked, "Heh, so you're such a shameless scoundrel! What an unfair victory! With such high strength, you still put on such an air..."
However, before he could finish speaking, Lin Xiuyuan opened his eyes and looked over, saying coldly, "Don't forget, I was just being polite and respecting you as my senior brother. Do you think I asked you to give up the first move?"
"You really think I take you seriously? You judged me by my first impression and assumed I was weak, so you pretended to be magnanimous and gave me the first move. Heh, I just wanted to end the fight quickly, so I started with a fierce attack. If I really went all out, you might not be able to leave the arena unscathed. That would be an unfair victory, hah..."
"Or perhaps you're convinced that I can outdo you, senior brother? Then why don't we step onto the arena after the competition?"
After hearing this, the other person turned pale and stammered, unable to speak.
The faint whispers all around also fell silent at that moment.
Lin Xiuyuan's words made sense, and he did not deliberately show weakness. It was entirely based on the opponent's first impression. He had only unleashed ten talismans, yet he was already unable to withstand them. His quick surrender was not surprising.
In other words, even if this person hadn't given up the first move, he wouldn't have been a match for Lin Xiuyuan; the outcome was already predetermined.
Under Lin Xiuyuan's icy gaze, the other party didn't dare to actually agree to go to the arena with Lin Xiuyuan.
Lin Xiuyuan slowly swept his gaze across the area, and the people around him avoided his gaze. Regardless of how they viewed Lin Xiuyuan, in the world of cultivation, strength was always the most important thing. No one would be willing to offend Lin Xiuyuan to the death just to gain Xu Hua's favor, or because of those words that were impossible to verify the truth of.
But it seems that this bad reputation will spread uncontrollably from today onwards.
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