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

"That fat bastard..."

The wind stopped.

Even the pervasive smell of blood in the air seemed to freeze in that instant.

Lin Miaoyin's voice was very soft, as soft as a lover's whisper in her ear.

But to Mo Chengyue's ears, it was no different from the death knell of a judge from the underworld.

The warm, smooth photographic stone in his hand now seemed like a hot iron, impossible to throw away or keep.

"It's a misunderstanding!"

Mo Chengyue roared inwardly, his fat face trembling with fear.

"I was really just recording academic data!"

"Who knew you'd suddenly 'rip off your clothes'?"

"And sister, can't you be reasonable? There are thousands of eyes watching, and many people are drooling. Why are you only staring at me?"

Is it because my thick cotton robe, which I wore specifically to keep a low profile, is too conspicuous?

Or is it my "ordinary face," which I deliberately disguised to appear unremarkable, that's too ironic?

however.

Reality did not give him a chance to explain.

Lin Miaoyin's captivating peach blossom eyes were now fixed intently on the corner where Mo Chengyue was.

Shame, anger, murderous intent, and a hint of grievance at being exposed in public—all these emotions intertwined and transformed into two tangible daggers in his eyes.

If it were an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator, they would probably have wet their pants from the sheer pressure emanating from this mid-Core Formation stage cultivator.

But Mo Chengyue was, after all, an old cunning man who had cultivated the "Yin Yang De He Jing".

He silently calculated the distance in his mind.

Five hundred feet.

In addition, there was a huge crowd in between, as well as several elders who were on their way.

"Safe distance."

"As long as I don't respond recklessly, she won't be able to overcome her current state."

Having figured this out, Mo Chengyue immediately made the most correct response.

He stiffly turned his head back.

His movements were as mechanical as a rusty puppet.

Then, he quickly stuffed the recording stone into his crotch... no, into the deepest part of his storage bag.

Immediately afterwards, he covered his head with his hands, shrank behind the stone pillar, and activated the ultimate invisibility mode of "I am a stone".

As long as I can't see you, you can't see me.

This is called "Schrödinger's invisibility technique, like burying one's head in the sand".

"You got there fast!"

Lin Miaoyin gritted her teeth.

At this moment, several female elders finally arrived, and a large black robe quickly covered the saintess's exposed body.

"Holy Maiden, healing your wounds is the priority."

"That kid from Tiantai Peak went too far; we must report this to the sect leader!"

Lin Miaoyin took one last deep look at that sleazy corner, firmly memorizing the aura of that "fatso."

Then, with the help of others, she turned and left.

But no matter how you look at her back, she exudes a resentful air of "I'll be back."

"call--"

In the corner, Mo Chengyue didn't let out a long breath until he was sure that the murderous aura had completely disappeared.

My back was completely soaked.

"That was so exciting!"

"This is even more exciting than what I experienced with Elder Leng."

Mo Chengyue wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and, still shaken, pulled out a handful of melon seeds from his pocket to calm his nerves.

"Is this what they call 'sitting at home and getting blamed from the sky'?"

"Looks like I'll need to prepare an invisibility cloak when watching these high-level games in the future."

……

With Lin Miaoyin's departure, this thrilling battle for third and fourth place has finally come to an end.

The training ground was deathly silent.

All eyes were fixed on the swaying figure in the center of the ring, their expressions a mixture of emotions.

Xiao Fan.

He won.

But in his current state, he can hardly be called a "winner".

His entire body was covered in blood, not a single patch of undamaged flesh. His black disciple robes were stained dark red with blood, clinging to his body wetly.

The high-grade spiritual weapon that made him famous throughout the sect, the Dragon-Controlling Spear, was now covered in cracks, as if it would shatter into scrap metal at any moment.

If it were an ordinary person, suffering such severe injuries, they would probably be lying on the ground groaning.

But Xiao Fan did not.

He leaned on his gun, his spine still ramrod straight.

There was neither the joy of victory nor the pain of injury in those deep eyes.

There was only a chilling indifference.

It was as if he had just defeated not the Holy Maiden of the Hehuan Sect, but an ant blocking his way.

"That was a perfect show of bravado, I give it full marks."

While cracking sunflower seeds, Mo Chengyue mentally gave Xiao Fan a thumbs up.

"This is the protagonist template."

"Even if there's only one drop of blood left, I'll still stand there and finish the show."

"You should never mess with this kind of person."

"Because you never know how many cards he has up his sleeve, or whether he might suddenly unleash a powerful attack and turn the tables on you."

Mo Chengyue took out his notebook again and drew a large skull next to the name "Xiao Fan".

And a note was added next to it: 【Extremely dangerous. This child is terrifying beyond measure; he must not be allowed to live… ugh, I mean, he must not be befriended.】

Just then.

A majestic whooshing sound suddenly echoed through the sky.

Several streaks of light shot down from the main peak and landed above the arena, which had long since turned into ruins.

Leading the group was the elder who was in charge of this competition.

The old man, who had reached the peak of the Core Formation stage, looked down at the martial arts arena, which had been completely destroyed, and his eyes twitched a few times.

"Young people these days are really good at destroying things."

The elder sighed, then cleared his throat, and his loud voice instantly resounded throughout the hall.

"The Hehuan Sect's once-a-decade sect competition has now... come to a successful conclusion!"

"Perfect my foot! The platform's been blown up."

Mo Chengyue muttered a complaint under his breath.

"After discussion among the Grand Elders and the Sect Master, the final rankings for this competition are now announced!"

The entire room fell silent instantly.

Although everyone probably already knew what was going on, the moment of official confirmation still made people hold their breath.

After all, this ranking is not only about honor, but also about the allocation of resources for the next ten years.

"Core Formation Group, First Place: Tianmo Peak, Ye Wushang!"

Sparse applause.

Unfortunately, although Ye Wushang won, his "pay-to-win tactics" were hard to accept.

Especially compared to Ye Changfeng's ultimate swordsmanship, it always feels like something is missing.

Second place: Chaoyun Peak, Ye Changfeng!

There was thunderous applause.

Many female cultivators even screamed, shouting, "Senior Brother Ye, I want to have your babies!"

Mo Chengyue curled his lip: "Ha, women."

Third place: Tiantai Peak, Xiao Fan!

This time, the applause carried a greater sense of awe.

He broke into the top three at the early stage of Core Formation and even pushed the Holy Son and Holy Daughter to the brink of despair.

This name is destined to leave a significant mark on the history of the Hehuan Sect.

Xiao Fan showed no reaction to this, merely glancing at the sky as if to say: This is just the beginning.

Fourth place: Saintess Peak, Lin Miaoyin.

Upon hearing this name, the audience erupted in boos.

The main cause of the disturbance was the group of disciples in the back row who hadn't seen the "final perk."

"Fifth place..."

"Sixth place..."

"Seventh place: Qingquan Peak, Qin Wanzhuang."

Mo Chengyue raised an eyebrow.

Second Senior Sister Qin Wanzhuang, that battle maniac with mysophobia, actually only got seventh place?

"It seems this competition is really tough."