In the end, they were so loud that it took the Xiaoling Sect disciples responsible for maintaining order to come and stop them.
The line was rearranged neatly. Ji Mofan kept his eyes down, but he couldn't help but be bombarded with overly eager gazes.
He didn't even need to look up to know that the direction was the Yun Cang Sword Sect group.
They lost their team leader yesterday, and the other disciples' performance wasn't great either. They're in a panic right now and desperately want to find someone to rely on.
Ji Mofan, who had served as the sect's pillar for several years, was once again targeted.
It's true what they say, "People are afraid of becoming famous, just as pigs are afraid of getting fat."
But he still cannot completely disappear from the world's sight.
The sect's resource allocation is all tied to the disciples' contributions. If he is not more proactive, he will not receive more resources, and his cultivation speed will naturally be affected.
He originally intended to use the same trick he had used on that disciple from Wushang Temple, saying a few words to distract them so that these idle brats wouldn't have the energy to focus their attention on him anymore.
But before he could even open his mouth, a disciple from the Chaoming Palace stepped forward to take his place.
"What are you looking at? In front of everyone, are you trying to be a hooligan?" Whether it was his personality or he was applying what Ji Mofan had just done, the tall, thin man immediately slapped a huge, unjust accusation on the other person.
"What are you talking about? That's our former senior brother. We're acquaintances. Can't we just say hello?" The disciples of Yun Cang Sword Sect were embarrassed by his nonsense, even if they didn't mean it that way.
"That's right, you guys are in charge of everything, why should you care about other people's friendships?" A fellow disciple chimed in.
"Make friends? I think it's just you guys forcing your way in!" The burly man stepped forward as well.
This man had very broad shoulders; if you put Xihe's true form on him, she could do somersaults on it. He stood between the two groups of people, completely blocking Ji Mofan's figure.
"Who doesn't know that your Yun Cang Sword Sect couldn't wait to sever ties with your junior brother when rumors circulated that he was a spy for the demonic path?"
"Haha, now that he's living a comfortable life, you all want to come up and cause him trouble?"
"Are you kidding me? Let's see if we agree first."
"He's wearing the disciple's robes of our Chaoming Hall right now. What kind of friend is he to you?"
A group of cultivators dressed in twilight-colored robes crowded around, chattering amongst themselves, pushing Ji Mofan to the back and almost causing him to fall off the edge of the arena.
Jimo Fan: ......
I don't know what to say, these hotheads.
In the instant his body swayed, someone grabbed his arm.
Upon seeing the arm wrapped in the light blue robe reaching out, Ji Mofan instinctively dodged, staggering a step before regaining his balance.
What a mess! If he hadn't overexerted himself last night, he wouldn't have almost fallen over with just a gentle push.
In the end, it's not entirely fair to blame Chaoming's fellow disciples for squeezing in and out; no one could have imagined that he was now just a pretty face that could be easily shattered with a flick of a finger.
After regaining his balance, Ji Mo Fan Cai looked up at the person in front of him.
The moment he saw his face clearly, he couldn't help but pause in surprise, "Lin Ju'an?"
For some reason, Lin Ju'an managed to run to the back of the group in Chaoming Hall without attracting anyone's attention.
His face was no longer as striking as before; it was sallow and wrinkled, blending into the crowd, and it was hard to remember his appearance after a few glances.
No wonder he had only heard from others that Lin Ju'an had participated in this Daoist Conference, but had never heard anyone discuss his competition.
Given the general public's impression of cultivators with water-elemental roots, it's impossible for them to focus their attention on someone like him.
"Senior Brother, are you injured?" The strange movement just now confirmed Lin Ju'an's suspicions, who already felt something was wrong. "What happened? You were fine on the stage yesterday."
His match yesterday did not overlap with Ji Mofan's. At that time, he watched as Ji Mofan easily pushed his opponent off the stage.
However, he left early... Did something happen after he left?
Ji Mofan shook his head at him, unwilling to say more, "It's nothing."
Although he had tried his best to minimize his presence and draw attention to others, an unpleasant gaze clung to him like a persistent leech from the moment he entered.
It is Qu Jin.
Unlike his seemingly casual attention the previous two days, this time he was not afraid that Ji Mofan would notice, and stared at him directly.
Ji Mofan even felt that it wasn't the look of someone looking at prey, but rather the look of someone looking at a delicious snack placed in front of them.
The prey at least has a sliver of hope to struggle, but a snack is not; a snack is something that has been prepared and served to the prey.
Whether he eats it or not is up to him; he won't starve to death without it.
But the little snacks are doomed; their only fate is to end up in the slop bucket.
Ji Mofan didn't really want to reveal too much about his interpersonal relationships in front of Qu Jin.
Even if it's not shown in front of him, it might not escape his notice.
Ji Mofan no longer has the same high moral standards as in his previous life, but he has not stooped to the point of making unrelated people bear the consequences of his actions.
Lin Ju'an wanted to ask more questions, but the disciples of the Xiaoling Sect had already approached. Left with no other option, he obediently retreated and lined up properly.
Everyone drew lots in reverse order of their strength from the previous conference, with independent cultivators first and sect disciples second.
Yun Cang Sword Sect was placed among the first few in the Chaoming Hall, and Lin Ju'an kept glancing anxiously towards the back.
He barely looked at the number plate in his hand; he was extremely distracted.
Who hurt Senior Brother? What exactly happened in that short period of time last night?
Besides... how can he possibly participate properly in today's competition when he looks like he could fall over with just a push?
Lin Ju'an's gaze remained fixed on Ji Mofan's hand as he reached into the lottery bucket, his grip on the number plate almost deformed.
The Xiaoling Sect disciple in front of him, who was in charge of announcing the names, blinked and said, "Chaoming Palace, Jimo Fan—this round is a bye!"
The audience erupted in a huge chorus of boos.
Heaven knows how many of them traveled thousands of miles specifically to see what kind of spectacular performance those contenders would deliver.
The Xiaoling Sect sells tickets at a fair price of five spirit stones each, but in the hands of middlemen, these items have increased in value more than tenfold.
Without Jimo Fan, it's easy to imagine how much less exciting today's match will be.
Some people even clamored for a redraw.
But none of this affected the referee's judgment. The disciple holding the lottery tube smiled and took back the empty lottery ticket from Ji Mo Fan's hand. "Fellow Daoist Ji Mo, you're in good luck. Have a good rest today."
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