Chapter 431: The Heavenly Secrets Competition (Part 3)

Seeing Liang Qian collapsed in a pool of blood, the crowd on the stands fell deadly silent, shocked by Ling Chen’s ruthlessness and decisiveness. Confronted with Liang Qian’s sneak attack, he had actually killed him mercilessly.

"Ling Chen, how dare you kill someone from Qingyang Sect! Prepare to meet your end!"

At that moment, an enraged voice rang out. Disciples of Qingyang Sect, led by Qu Yuan, rushed onto the arena, heading straight towards Ling Chen with menacing auras.

"Who dares to touch my Ling Chen!"

Accompanied by a furious shout, the Eight Eccentrics, led by Qiu Yong, swiftly assembled in front of Ling Chen, staring coldly at the approaching Qu Yuan.

Qu Yuan clenched his fists, veins bulging on his forehead as he gritted his teeth. "Qiu Yong, you saw it too! He killed my disciple. Do you intend to shield him? Hand him over! I want him to pay with blood for blood!"

Qiu Yong said coldly, "That was your disciple’s own fault. If it weren’t for my Ling Chen’s quick reactions, he would be the one dead. Qu Yuan, you fail to instruct your disciples properly. They either harass women or launch sneak attacks; completely undisciplined. Yet you want to shift the blame onto my Ling Chen. Hmph! Let me tell you, don’t even think about it. If you dare touch a hair on my Ling Chen, I will make sure your Qingyang Sect members’ blood splatters right here, including yours, you shameless old creature."

As Qiu Yong’s words fell, Yuan Yun drew his steel blade, stepping forward toward Qu Yuan, his sharp gaze sweeping over Qu Jinxian and the others.

"People of Qingyang Sect, listen up. I’ll count to three. Either get lost, or die here. It’s your choice." Yuan Yun’s words were domineering, just like his swordsmanship, leaving no room for mercy.

"Yuan Yun, you..."

Before he could finish, Qu Yuan suddenly felt a bone-chilling cold rising from beneath him, abruptly stopping his words as he glanced towards the stands.

Unbeknownst to him, Zhang Zhongfeng had already left the arena, standing at the back of the stands, with one hand holding a longbow, the arrow nocked and aimed directly at Qu Yuan’s forehead.

Seeing this, Qu Yuan’s face drastically changed, the corners of his mouth twitching uncontrollably.

In the world of Martial Arts, who doesn’t know the name of Zhang Zhongfeng, the Archer God?

Once the arrow is released, it means certain death, and in front of the Archer God, no one dares harbor any hope.

At this time, the onlookers watched Qingyang Sect with schadenfreude. Clearly, it was their own disciple who disregarded the rules and initiated a deadly sneak attack, now being counter-killed by Ling Chen. They could only blame his own disregard for the rules.

Qingyang Sect was already in the wrong, yet they still wanted to trouble others, which was truly shameless. Now confronted with the tough stance of the Eight Eccentrics, let’s see how they’ll step down.

"One!"

Yuan Yun spat out the number, causing the hearts of the Qingyang Sect disciples led by Qu Yuan to sink suddenly, becoming involuntarily tense, palms sweating.

"Two!"

The corners of Yuan Yun’s mouth slightly raised, watching Qu Yuan with a sneering smile, raising his steel blade slightly. Simultaneously, behind the stands, Zhang Zhongfeng had already pulled his bow tight; he only needed to loosen his fingers and there would be another corpse on the arena immediately.

Watching Yuan Yun’s lips preparing to open again, Qu Yuan’s forehead was covered in cold sweat, having lost his earlier anger and firmness. Not waiting for Yuan Yun’s "three," Qu Yuan quickly turned his head, looking down at the arena to Zhou Qi, and spoke, "Elder Zhou, you are the referee. You’ve seen everything that just happened. Please uphold justice for our Qingyang Sect."

Hearing this, the crowd on the stands couldn’t help but laugh, carrying a hint of mockery.

"I thought Qu Yuan was made of sterner stuff, but it turns out he’s just like everyone else. All his talk of asking Zhou Qi to preside over justice was just looking for a way out."

Zhou Qi glanced at Ling Chen and said at a leisurely pace, "I believe everyone has seen that Ling Chen acted in self-defense, without fault. Liang Qian’s death was his own doing; no one else is to blame. Sect Leader Qu, everyone knows the facts clearly. Can’t your people from Qingyang Sect see that?"

"I..." Qu Yuan was momentarily at a loss for words, not expecting Zhou Qi to put him on the spot. He wanted a way out, but Zhou Qi’s words only added to his embarrassment.

"Alright, everyone please return to your seats," Zhou Qi walked up to the platform and addressed the people from both sides.

Seeing that Zhou Qi had given him an out, Qu Yuan said nothing more and immediately led his people back to their seats. Once everyone had seated themselves again, Zhou Qi looked at Qu Yuan and said indifferently, "Sect Leader Qu, I hope in the upcoming matches your people from Qingyang Sect will keep their eyes wide open. I don’t want to see another incident like this."

With these words, Zhou Qi ignored the displeased look on Qu Yuan’s face, turned his head to survey everyone present, and continued: "Please abide by the rules of the competition. If anyone acts like Liang Qian, Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion will not seek justice for them. Also, I would like to congratulate Ling Chen for securing the last spot in the rookie competition. That concludes this morning’s competition. Everyone can go back and rest for a bit. At 2 PM, the rookie championship will officially start. Please make sure to arrive on time at the venue and not miss out on the exciting event."

After leaving the venue, seeing that it was still early for lunch, Ling Chen and Qiu Yong went straight to the luxury cruise ship’s tea café.

Ling Chen took a sip of the coffee brought by the waiter, savoring it delightfully. His gaze drifted through the window, looking out at the vast expanse of the azure sea, which brought him a great sense of relief.

"Ling Chen."

At that moment, Ye Liangyong, carrying tea, came over and greeted everyone with a smile.

"Mr. Ye, please sit."

"Ling Chen, you killed Liang Qian on the platform. Although everyone knows it was out of necessity, you still need to be cautious of Qingyang Sect’s reprisal," Ye Liangyong kindly warned.

"Mr. Ye, don’t worry, I understand," Ling Chen replied, slightly puzzled, "I had no enmity with that Liang Qian. Why would he desperately fight me for his fellow disciples?"

"Do you remember Xu Song?"

Ling Chen nodded.

"Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion sentenced him to fifty strokes. Who knew his body was so weak; he couldn’t withstand it."

"Is he dead?" Ling Chen was shocked.

"He’s not dead, but he’s become a cripple. I heard that Liang Qian and Xu Song are cousins and very close. That’s probably why Liang Qian was so ruthless with you. Now one is crippled, and the other is dead. Just now in the venue, you also made Qu Yuan lose face. With his temperament, he most certainly won’t let this go."

"What is there to fear?" Qiu Yong said indifferently, "If he dares to cause trouble, we, the Eight Eccentrics, aren’t pushovers either. Sixth Brother... Sixth Brother..."

"Huh?" Ling Chen snapped back to reality, shifting his gaze from the window, and asked, "Big brother, what happened?"

"What got into you? You suddenly drifted off mid-conversation."

Ling Chen smiled sheepishly, his eyes returning to the calm sea outside the window, his brows slightly furrowed.

Strange!

There seemed to be something floating on the sea surface just now, but it disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Could I have seen it wrong?