Chapter 111 Cat Accepts the Challenge
The other peaks did not dare to question Jian Zun's decision openly, but when Hanyuan Peak's allocation list came out, everyone was dumbfounded.
These two precious places were actually given to Bai Qingchen, who had five spiritual roots, and a disciple who almost no one had any impression of or even heard of.
Suddenly, there was a lot of discussion in the sect, and voices of dissatisfaction were heard everywhere.
Many people felt that it was unfair. Why should a loser with only five spiritual roots occupy such a precious secret realm spot? They all wanted to cancel Bai Qingchen's spot.
Su Yue became increasingly angry as she spoke, and she felt sorry for Bai Qingchen: "The quota was set at two for each peak. Hanyuan Peak just didn't take any before, but it's not like they don't have any! What right do they have to object?"
"Brother, you don't know that those people have challenged your peak's disciple named Xingchen before, but they failed to defeat him. Now they are targeting you. In my opinion, we don't need to pay any attention to them!"
Bai Qingchen had been at Hanyuan Peak for several years, and indeed had never heard of another disciple named Xingchen.
Although he had doubts in his heart, he was more concerned about the matter at hand.
He comforted Su Yue and said, "The secret realm is dangerous and often requires the cooperation of fellow disciples. If they look down on me because of my low cultivation level, even if I go, I will probably be excluded, which will be detrimental to the whole team."
Su Yue's face fell: "What should I do then? Should I really accept their challenge?"
A sharp light flashed in Bai Qingchen's eyes: "If they want to challenge me, I will accept the challenge."
Su Yue was startled and hurriedly tried to dissuade him: "Brother, don't be impulsive. Those who challenged you are basically at the Golden Core stage. You are only at the middle stage of Foundation Establishment. How can you defeat them?"
"Besides, there are so many people who want to challenge you. Even if you win one game, they can still wear you down with round-robin battles."
Bai Qingchen smiled upon hearing this and said, "Don't worry, I'm not that stupid. I can challenge you, but I will only accept one match."
"They can choose the strongest person among themselves. I will only compete with that person. If I lose, I will give up my spot."
Su Yue was stunned, then she understood Bai Qingchen's intention.
This move is very clever. He only accepts one challenge and gives up the spot if he loses. This seems like a concession, but in fact it completely transfers the pressure to those who covet the spot.
They will inevitably fight endlessly for this sole challenge qualification, which will invisibly resolve the crisis that Bai Qingchen needs to face.
"But..." Su Yue was still a little worried, "Even if there is only one fight, the opponent must be a Jindan cultivator."
"We have to try." Bai Qingchen's tone was calm but firm.
The news that Bai Qingchen accepted the challenge spread quickly to all the peaks of Lingxiao Sect as if it had wings.
Those disciples who were already dissatisfied with the quota allocation were first surprised at the courage of this loser with five spiritual roots, and then began to fight openly and secretly for the only challenge qualification.
In the end, after several fierce internal competitions, Qiu Ci'an, a Jindan early stage music cultivator from Taiyi Peak, stood out and gained the qualification to challenge Bai Qingchen.
Taiyi Peak specializes in music and is famous for its sonic attacks and ability to disrupt the mind. In everyone's opinion, it has a very high chance of winning against a talisman cultivator in the middle stage of foundation building.
The arena at Wendao Peak was already packed with people.
Disciples from all the peaks wanted to come and see for themselves what kind of abilities this disciple with five spiritual roots who occupied the quota of Hanyuan Peak had and why he dared to challenge a Jindan cultivator.
Some people in the audience even set up a makeshift gambling game to bet on the outcome.
"Do we even need to guess? Senior Brother Qiu will definitely win! Golden Core versus Foundation Establishment, the realm dominance is obvious!"
"I heard that Bai Qingchen is a talisman cultivator. The combat effectiveness of a talisman cultivator in the early stages is not very good. He relies entirely on the pile of talismans."
"He was able to cultivate to the middle stage of foundation building, which is considered a good understanding for someone with five spiritual roots."
"What's the point of having good comprehension? My talent ceiling is stuck. I guess this is how my life will be."
There was a lot of discussion in the audience, and almost everyone was optimistic about Qiu Ci'an.
Su Yue, who had hurried over, heard these discussions and puffed up her cheeks in anger. Without saying a word, she walked directly to the gambling table and slammed her bulging wallet on the table: "I bet on Senior Brother Bai to win!"
Her actions attracted a lot of attention. The disciple in charge of collecting bets was stunned for a moment before confirming, "Junior Sister Su, are you sure you want to bet on Bai Qingchen to win? The odds are ten to one."
"Sure! I'm betting on Senior Brother Bai to win!" Su Yue shouted, as if cheering up Bai Qingchen on the stage, "Senior Brother Bai won't lose!"
Lin Feng, who was following behind Su Yue, was feeling a little guilty for forgetting to inform Bai Qingchen about the quota controversy in advance. Seeing this, Lin Feng took out all the spirit stones on him and placed them on Bai Qingchen.
"I also bet on Senior Brother Bai to win."
Everyone around looked at them as if they were being taken advantage of.
On the stage, Bai Qingchen and Qiu Ci'an were already standing opposite each other.
Qiu Ci'an was dressed in white, holding a jade flute, with an elegant temperament, and bowed slightly to Bai Qingchen.
"Junior Brother Bai, please give me some guidance."
His attitude was quite polite, but his eyes carried the confidence and a hint of contempt of a Jindan cultivator.
Bai Qingchen returned the greeting: "Senior Brother Qiu, please."
The challenge begins.
Qiu Ci'an did not launch a violent attack immediately, but instead placed the jade flute across his lips and played a melodious and soothing tune.
The sound waves spread out slowly like invisible ripples, with the effect of confusing the mind and slowing down movements.
However, to Bai Qingchen, the sound of the flute was like a small stone thrown into a deep pool, failing to stir up much waves.
His spiritual awareness was far more powerful than those of his peers, and this level of mental interference had little effect on him.
But he did not show it, but went with the flow. His steps seemed to become a little messy and slow, as if he was really affected by the sound of the flute.
At the same time, he moved his fingers slightly, and several inconspicuous rays of light silently sank into the ground around the ring.
Seeing this, Qiu Ci'an's lips curled slightly, and the vigilance in his heart relaxed a little. It turned out that the Foundation Establishment Stage was indeed the Foundation Establishment Stage.
The tune of his flute changed and became more rapid. Solid sound blades shot out along with the sound waves and slashed towards Bai Qingchen, who seemed to have difficulty moving.
Puff puff puff!
The sonic blade easily penetrated Bai Qingchen's figure, but it was like hitting the air, without any sense of force. The figure shook and disappeared like a reflection in the water.
"Illusion?" Qiu Ci'an was stunned.
At this moment, he felt that the light around him seemed to dim a little, and the scene on the ring began to distort slightly. Bai Qingchen's figure appeared and disappeared around him, sometimes appearing on the left, sometimes on the right, making it difficult to capture his true position.
"A trifle."
Qiu Ci'an snorted coldly, and the spiritual power of the Jindan stage surged, trying to use the powerful spiritual power to directly break through the surrounding illusion array.
The sound of the flute became high-pitched and sharp, and stronger sound waves spread out in all directions like a tide.
However, the illusion array was extremely tough and did not break instantly as he expected, but it shook more violently.
Bai Qingchen's figure was still like a ghost, moving back and forth in the distorted light. Every time Qiu Ci'an's attack seemed to be about to hit, it was always just a hair's breadth away, and even if it hit, it was still an illusion.
Qiu Ci'an gradually felt that something was wrong. His spiritual power was depleted faster than expected, but Bai Qingchen never attacked head-on. He just kept using illusion arrays to consume him, making him feel powerless as if his fist was hitting cotton.
He began to feel a little irritated, and the sound of the flute lost its initial calmness and took on a hint of anxiety.
Most of the disciples in the audience were not affected by the illusion. What they saw was that after Qiu Ci'an and Bai Qingchen politely saluted each other, Qiu Ci'an began to play the flute, and then started to attack the air in various ways, sometimes turning to the left, sometimes hitting to the right, with messy and disorganized steps.
Bai Qingchen had been standing quietly in a corner of the ring, hardly moving, only looking at Qiu Ci'an with focused eyes.
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