If I stay in the Hehuan Sect, I'll live off the pampered daughters of the Heavenly Pride Sect.

Early in the morning, before the mist on Qingquan Peak had completely dissipated, a sickening metallic clanging sound rang out precisely on time.

"Ping—!!"

"clang--!!"

The sound didn't sound like sword practice; it sounded more like a demolition crew entering a village. Each sound was accompanied by the dull thud of a heavy object hitting the ground, and a muffled groan suppressed to the extreme.

Without a doubt, this is the second senior sister, Qin Wanzhuang, giving the fourth junior brother, Wenren Ji, a "special training in love."

Since losing the last match, Wenren Ji seems to have been possessed, transforming from a gloomy boy who only knew how to throw lime into a "hot-blooded young honey badger" who only knows how to charge blindly.

Every day before dawn, my second senior sister would drag me out of bed and take me to the woods behind the mountain for "physical reshaping".

Mo Chengyue leaned against the windowsill, holding a cup of goji berry tea in his hand. Listening to the rhythmic screams, he couldn't help but shiver.

"Tsk tsk tsk, that's too brutal."

"Is this the world of the strong? Luckily, I'm a piece of trash."

He touched his thigh with lingering fear; the terror of being dominated by his second senior sister with willow branches a couple of days ago was still etched into his DNA.

Fortunately, it was his turn to rest today, so he didn't have to go to that grove of trees that was called "special training" but was actually an "execution ground".

After finishing the last sip of tea, Mo Chengyue straightened his clothes, deliberately wearing a soft armor under his Taoist robe and attaching two Vajra Protection Talismans before slowly leaving the house.

Today is the competition for the top 30 to 16 in the Core Formation stage group.

That was a true battle of gods.

Compared to the Foundation Establishment stage, where cultivators are still competing in terms of techniques and total spiritual power, which is essentially a "chicken fight," Core Formation stage cultivators have already begun to understand the rules of heaven and earth and frequently unleash large-scale AOE (area of ​​effect) attacks.

As a "low-key passerby" who values ​​his life, watching the excitement is fine, but if he gets caught in the crossfire of some unknown area-of-effect attack, he'll become the biggest joke in the cultivation world.

Meanwhile, as the self-proclaimed "cheerleading captain" of Qingquan Peak, Mo Chengyue had no choice but to go to the scene.

After all, today is the day of Xie Buci's match.

……

The training ground was bustling with noise.

Compared to the clashes between noobs in the Foundation Establishment stage, the matches in the Core Formation stage are obviously more interesting.

Various magical artifacts flew around wildly, with superb spiritual effects; even a single aftershock could shatter an ordinary person's eardrums.

Seeing that something was wrong, Mo Chengyue skillfully took three more "Diamond Protection Talismans" for himself.

At the same time, two wads of cotton were stuffed into his ears.

Finally, he found a corner furthest from the ring but with a clear view of the entire arena and squatted down.

He was also holding a handful of spiced melon seeds that he had taken from the cafeteria.

"Eating melon mode activated."

The area around Arena Number Seven was now completely surrounded.

It even had more participants than all the other arenas combined.

Moreover, eighty percent of the audience in these layers of viewers are female cultivators.

They all had rosy cheeks and piercing eyes, waving various handkerchiefs and glow sticks.

If you didn't know better, you'd think it was some top idol holding a concert.

"Is this... the kind of status Senior Brother Xie has?"

Mo Chengyue rolled his eyes as he ate sunflower seeds.

On the stage.

Xie Buci wore a flamboyant pink robe with a wide-open neckline, revealing her delicate collarbone.

He waved the folding fan in his hand with such dashing elegance.

He ignored the screams from the audience, a smile playing on his lips that was a mixture of nonchalance and deep affection.

It looks exactly like a peacock with its tail feathers spread out.

It was as if he wasn't there to fight, but to walk the red carpet.

And opposite him.

Standing there was a female cultivator in the early stage of Core Formation, dressed in red.

She has a hot body and a fierce look in her eyes.

Most importantly, it was the way she looked at Xie Buci.

It was an extremely complex look in his eyes.

Three parts resentment, three parts anger, and four parts the threat of "I'll kill you if you don't give me an explanation."

"Oh?"

Mo Chengyue's eyes lit up, and he even stopped eating the melon seeds in his hand.

He was all too familiar with that look in his eyes.

That was the anger after being seduced and then abandoned, the resolute determination of "I'm going to kill you, you scumbag, today."

"There's a story behind it!"

"This is definitely not a simple sparring match between fellow disciples!"

"Looks like it's another one of Senior Brother's romantic entanglements."

"It's... the creditors have come knocking!"

really.

Before the competition even started, the female cultivator in red spoke first.

She gritted her teeth and let out a sharp, mournful cry that moved listeners to tears.

"Thank you, but I won't accept!"

"You've been avoiding me for three years!"

"A full three years!"

"Do you know how I've spent the last three years?!"

The entire audience erupted in uproar.

Countless female cultivators' hearts were shattered, turning into QR codes.

The spectators below the stage instantly became excited, craning their necks as if they wanted to put their ears right up to the ring.

Mo Chengyue sat up straight, forgetting to even crack the melon seeds in his hand.

"Wow, a royal flush right from the start?"

"I know this plot like the back of my hand! Is it a cultivation-themed version of 'The Temptation of Going Home'?"

On the stage.

Xie Buci remained completely calm.

He gracefully closed the folding fan, gently tapped his palm, and looked at the other person with an innocent and affectionate expression.

"Junior Sister Liu, let me explain."

"I didn't intentionally avoid you these past three years."

"I am... reflecting on myself."

"To be worthy of a better you, I have no choice but to let go and wander far away..."

"vomit--"

Mo Chengyue almost vomited on the spot.

What the hell is this?! Wandering the streets!

For the past three years, you've clearly been living a life of leisure, drinking tea and listening to music with all sorts of different senior sisters in a paradise, living a life more comfortable than that of an immortal!

That's such a flimsy excuse, even a dog on the street wouldn't believe it!

really.

Junior Sister Liu didn't believe it either.

"Settling?"

She sneered, and suddenly a crimson whip appeared in her hand.

"Since Senior Brother has been pondering for so long..."

"Then let me see what exactly you've come up with!"

Before he could finish speaking...

Snapped!

The long whip, like a fiery dragon emerging from the sea, lashed fiercely at Xie Buci's handsome face with a scorching heat wave.

There was no probing.

It was a deadly move from the very first strike!

"Damn it! You don't hit someone in the face, junior sister!"

Xie Buci let out a strange cry.

With a misstep, his figure drifted backward like a ghost.

The whip grazed the tip of his nose, and the resulting wind pressure severed a lock of his hair.

"That was close!"

Xie Buci patted his chest, looking as if he was still in shock.

"Junior sister, are you serious?"

"Didn't you used to like my face the most?"

"Shut up, you lecher!"

Junior Sister Liu was clearly blinded by anger.

The long whip in his hand danced so fast that it created a dense, impenetrable curtain of whip shadows, enveloping Xie Buci within it.

Each lash contained the violent spiritual power of a Core Formation stage cultivator.

The bluestone floor of the arena was smashed to pieces like tofu, with pebbles flying everywhere.

"This lash is to repay you for those romantic moments under the moon and flowers of yesteryear!"

Snapped!

"This lash is to repay the vows you made back then!"

Snapped!

"This lash is a tribute to my mother's lost youth!"

boom!!

The entire arena was trembling.

The heat was intense, and flames soared into the sky.

The audience members below the stage were so frightened that they all backed away, afraid of being accidentally injured by the aftershocks of the battle between the two "odd couples".

Even through the defensive array, Mo Chengyue felt his eyebrows were about to burn.

He quickly slapped another [Frost Protection Talisman] onto his body, and only then did he feel alive again.

Instead of backing down, he watched with great interest.

"Brilliant!"

"This isn't a martial arts competition; it's clearly a large-scale emotional dispute mediation session!"

"but……"

Mo Chengyue narrowed his eyes, a barely perceptible glint of shrewdness flashing in them.

From an outsider's perspective.

Xie Buci was in a sorry state, being chased and beaten by Junior Sister Liu, and had no power to fight back.

It looked like a monkey running away with its head in its hands.

But in the eyes of Mo Chengyue, who had the "Yin Yang De He Jing" hanging on the wall, the situation was completely different.

"His footwork is too steady."

Mo Chengyue thought to himself.

Xie Buci appeared panicked, but in reality, every step he took landed in the blind spots of the opponent's attack.

Each dodge perfectly avoided the core area where spiritual energy was strongest.

Not a penny more, not a penny less.

This demonstrates an exceptional level of control over the situation.

"Moreover, he hasn't used even one-tenth of his spiritual power so far."

Mo Chengyue shook his head.

"This sixth brother of the senior brother is a better actor than me."