Feng Ming took Bai Qiaomo back to recuperate, but the atmosphere in the arena couldn’t calm down for a long time. Almost everyone was talking about Bai Qiaomo’s arena defense.
The moment Bai Qiaomo left, the referee announced the list of 20 people who successfully defended the arena and entered the finals, which shocked everyone again.
Among the 20 names on the list, in addition to Yu Bin, who was lucky enough to pick up a ready-made victory, there were four other disciples from Sihong Academy who successfully defended the arena to the end.
Many people were confused. Shouldn’t all the disciples of Sihong Academy pay attention to Bai Qiaomo’s battle? They actually had the leisure to compete for other champion positions and successfully defended it?
Then someone soon reacted.
“D*mn, Bai Qiaomo attracted almost all the attention of the audience. How many people have the leisure to compete for other champions? Those seeded players were probably watching Bai Qiaomo’s fight at the third arena. Therefore, Sihong Academy took advantage of this great opportunity to win a few more arenas.”
“Are you saying that Bai Qiaomo still had the leisure to make such arrangements while he was fighting on the stage?”
“Don’t forget that Pei Yingmin and Bai Qiaomo are direct senior brother and junior brother. Isn’t it easy for them to reach a tacit understanding? Bai Qiaomo attracted attention on the stage, and Pei Yingmin took the opportunity to make moves behind the scenes.”
“Oh my god, I thought Bai Qiaomo was a gentleman who acted upright, but it turns out he has such a mind. I misjudged this Bai Qiaomo.”
“Shouldn’t the people from the Imperial Academy be scolded? They made the calculations first, and Bai Qiaomo fought back later. Without their calculations, Bai Qiaomo wouldn’t have gotten such a good opportunity.”
“In other words, those guys caused trouble rather than accomplished something?”
“Isn’t that exactly what they have done?”
Such voices became louder and louder, to the point where the disciples of the Imperial Academy not involved in the matter took their anger out on Gong Liquan’s group.
Due to their actions, Sihong Academy won five final spots on the first day.
In the next two days of the arena battle, even if none of the other Sihong Academy disciples didn’t gain anything, Bai Qiaomo wouldn’t lose his place.
This meant that among the 60 finalists, Sihong Academy would account for six, which was one-tenth.
The other cultivators were discussing it heatedly. They either mocked or cursed at the attitudes of Gong Liquan and the other disciples of the Imperial Academy.
Ji Yuan rolled his eyes when he heard this. “They are too slow to react now. Bai Qiaomo and Feng Ming are really the type of people who don’t want to suffer any losses.”
Qiu Yi was also one of the slow ones to react, but that was because he never paid much attention to this aspect. He ran out to watch the game because he was worried that Zong Yupao would be affected.
Qiu Yi had only one feeling. “This Feng Ming is so energetic. How could he have the leisure to plot this?”
Ji Yuan touched his chin. It seemed that Junior Brother Qiu was right. Feng Ming was indeed energetic and restless, and he was mixed with Bai Qiaomo.
If someone cheated him then he would return it fivefold or even tenfold.
Ji Yuan also thought of one thing, which was the malicious smile that Xiong Kui showed to Feng Ming before he went on stage. He suspected that Bai Qiaomo wouldn’t let Xiong Kui go so easily.
With Bai Qiaomo’s strength, he could take Xiong Kui’s life in the arena.
But at the last moment, his spear stopped and didn’t pierce Xiong Kui’s heart. It only stayed on the surface.
Everyone thought that Bai Qiaomo was a very sensible person.
But was this really the case?
Ji Yuan looked at Zong Yupao. “Should we go and see that guy Xiong Kui?”
Zong Yupao glanced at him. “Do you suspect that Bai Qiaomo has done something to him?”
Ji Yuan said, “I’m a bit suspicious. We have to go and see to be sure. Don’t you want to know?”
Zong Yupao nodded indifferently. The three of them went to the Imperial Academy to find Xiong Kui together.
OF course, even if there was something wrong with Xiong Kui, the three of them wouldn’t sympathize with him because this big guy wasn’t a good person.
Shi Yan wasn’t surprised by this result. Those two guys were smart people. How could they allow themselves to be schemed against and not maximize their own interests?
Cheng Miao was very surprised and delighted. “Xiao Qiao and Da Qiao are really awesome.”
He was a Qiao brothers braggart.
Jiang Qian patted his grandson Jiang Jing on the shoulder and said, “Learn more from smart people.”
Jiang Jing frowned. Was his grandfather saying he wasn’t a smart person? Was he really belittling his own grandson like this?
But he was also very happy.
The league’s top management was also discussing this matter. It was aimed at Bai Qiaomo and Sihong Academy to see if there were any violations.
Was there any need to say that there was a violation?
There was no problem unless the rules were changed. What Bai Qiaomo did was just taking advantage of the rules.
“If we want to change the rules, we have to wait until the next league. Otherwise, what is the point of the league? Besides, Bai Qiaomo was able to succeed in the plan due to his own ability, brain, and luck, which are all a type of strength.”
The tournament system itself recognized the existence of luck.
It was because the champion who successfully defended the arena might not be the one with the highest strength.
“This opportunity was given by those brainless people from the Imperial Academy, and Bai Qiaomo was forced to fight back. Don’t talk about how he was high-profile. One needs strength to be high-profile.”
“If the rules are really changed, who can guarantee that those two guys, Bai Qiaomo and Feng Ming, won’t have the idea of switching to other dynasties or the Shengyuan Sect? I believe that other forces will welcome the joining of these two geniuses.”
Some people had objections, but they were unable to convince others to suppress Bai Qiaomo.
The imperial family also sent a message that everything would remain the same.
This meant that even the emperor didn’t think there was anything wrong with Bai Qiaomo’s actions.
At this time, everyone remembered that the imperial family had just obtained the method of repairing the dantian from Sihong Academy. The real owner of this method was Bai Qiaomo.
Sihong Academy might’ve benefited from it, but those cultivators who were able to repair their dantian and return to the path of cultivation would be grateful to Bai Qiaomo.
This matter didn’t spread among the other four forces, or they would’ve welcomed Bai Qiaomo and Feng Ming to join them.
Feng Ming defeated Qiu Yi to win the alchemist competition, making everyone in Imperial City remember Feng Ming, the alchemist genius.
Today’s arena battle also let Imperial City know Bai Qiaomo’s name.
The most direct reaction was the increase in Bai Qiaomo’s odds of winning the championship among the 12 betting games.
The moment the arena battle ended, the odds increased from 1:20 to 1:10.
In addition, many people were waving yuan crystals to bet on Bai Qiaomo to win the championship. It was expected that the odds would increase even more.
On Xiong Kui’s side, no one dared to stop Zong Yupao and the other two from coming to check on Xiong Kui’s physical condition.
The three of them focused their inspection on the heart that was pierced by Bai Qiaomo’s spear. Zong Yupao didn’t find anything, but Ji Yuan and Qiu Yi, who had stronger soul power, both found some problems.
They didn’t say anything in front of others. They just left after checking.
Zong Yupao looked at Ji Yuan and Qiu Yi. “Did you find anything?”
Ji Yuan and Qiu Yi nodded. Ji Yuan said, “A small amount of residual lightning power was found deep in his heart. It might be difficult to completely remove it. It might not have much impact on Xiong Kui’s daily life, but I’m not optimistic about his future advancement.”
Ji Yuan secretly thought, ‘Bai Qiaomo is really as I thought. He isn’t that broad-minded.’
Bai Qiaomo really cherished Feng Ming and wouldn’t tolerate Xiong Kui’s offense against Feng Ming.
Therefore, he blocked Xiong Kui’s path to promotion. Even if he wanted to resort to violence in the future, he would inevitably be affected.
But it was better this way. As far as he knew, Xiong Kui had done a lot of shady things for Gong Liquan’s group in private.
He had killed many people and liked to treat others cruelly. Even if such a person died in the arena, he deserved it.
Ji Yuan suspected that it would take a powerful person in the soul opening realm to take action to eradicate it completely.
It was because he tried to use his soul power to penetrate into Xiong Kui’s heart and collide with the remaining lightning power, but the lightning power didn’t move at all and ignored his soul power.
Zong Yupao said with his hands behind his back, “This guy really can’t tolerate anyone touching Feng Ming. He is taking the initiative to expose his weakness.”
Ji Yuan said, “The two met when Bai Qiaomo was at the lowest point in his life. At that time, he was deserted by everyone, and even his own father abandoned him. This marriage might be forced, but Feng Ming and his father did a good job in all aspects except letting him marry into the family. The Blue Frost Spring Water that he used to repair his dantian was also purchased by Feng Ming and his father. It was a timely help.”
Qiu Yi was touched by what he heard, and his impression of Feng Ming improved a lot. He said, “No wonder why Bai Qiaomo treats Feng Ming like this.”
Zong Yupao and Ji Yuan looked at each other, shook their heads, and laughed. As long as they knew that Bai Qiaomo was an opponent worthy of their attention, they would have opportunities to cooperate in the future.
It could be seen from the information of the two people that they were the type of people who wouldn’t offend others unless they were offended. However, if they were offended, they would probably take revenge.
Ji Yuan gloated and said, “The saddest people should be Gong Liquan’s group and the Ningyuan Marquis’ Mansion. Oh, and the eleventh prince.”
Zong Yupao raised an eyebrow. He didn’t have any brotherly feelings toward his eleventh people. Ever since he showed his talent and was valued by his father, those brothers regarded him as a rival.
There was a lot of noise outside that night, but Feng Ming and Bai Qiaomo slept well.
After getting up early the next day, Bai Qiaomo was full of energy and showed no signs of fatigue after the battle.
Pei Yingmin came over to take a look and secretly nodded. It seemed that everything was under his junior brother’s control.
After finishing breakfast, the group continued to the competition venue. Today was the second day of the competition.
Pei Yingmin asked, “Junior Brother, will you go on stage today?”
The others listened carefully.
Bai Qiaomo smiled good-naturedly. “This will never happen again. If there is nothing today, I will watch the competition from the audience and cheer for the contestants.”
Pei Yingmin smiled and patted his shoulder. “Okay, then you should have a good rest today.”
The other disciples didn’t feel regretful. Just as Bai Qiaomo said, this would never happen again. The other contestants from the Imperial Academy must be wary of Bai Qiaomo and wouldn’t make the mistake of giving Bai Qiaomo the opportunity again.
Therefore, they had to continue working hard on their own based on the five places they already had. They hoped to win one or two more places in the finals besides Bai Qiaomo.
Avid fan of danmei novels! If you want access to advance chapters, you can subscribe on Patreon. Thanks!
https://www.patreon.com/WhiteLily476
