The next day,
The red sun rose in the east, casting its light across the land.
With the arrival of the three Sages, the competition between Chanjiao and Jiejiao resumed.
Yuanshi's expression was grim.
Having lost eight matches in a row yesterday, he had completely lost face.
Although overall defeat was already sealed,
he still hoped his disciples could pull themselves together and win back a few matches. That way, the loss wouldn't feel so absolute, and he could salvage a bit of his dignity.
For the first match,
Chanjiao sent out Real Person Huanglong.
Huanglong flew up onto the arena platform, cupped his hands toward the members of Jiejiao, and said,
"I am Huanglong of Chanjiao, at the Golden Immortal cultivation realm. I wonder which fellow daoist from Jiejiao is willing to step forward and offer some pointers?"
Before long,
a Jiejiao Golden Immortal flew up onto the stage.
"I will face you."
The two immediately engaged in a fierce battle.
As one of the Twelve Golden Immortals of Chanjiao, Real Person Huanglong—despite being mockingly called the "Real Person of Four Nothings"—was not entirely useless.
Being of the Dragon Clan,
he possessed a naturally powerful physique and incredible resilience against damage... in other words, he was extremely tough to beat.
Roar!
Real Person Huanglong transformed into his true form,
refusing any spell-based defense and taking the attacks of the Jiejiao Golden Immortal completely head-on. He then surged forward ferociously and whipped his tail outward.
The Jiejiao Golden Immortal failed to dodge in time, suffered injuries, and was knocked flying off the arena platform.
In this match, Chanjiao wins!
Gasp!
The entire audience was shocked.
So many powerhouses from Chanjiao had failed to win a single match, yet Huanglong, merely at the Golden Immortal Realm, had actually won.
The members of Chanjiao reacted as if they had been injected with adrenaline,
instantly puffing up and acting arrogant once again.
The disciples of Jiejiao, however, remained completely calm. So what if they lost a single match? What kind of big deal was that?
Zhao Gongming curled his lip in disdain and said,
"What's there to be so cocky about?"
Luoxuan wore a thoughtful expression, and after a brief moment of reflection, he understood the reason behind it all.
Chanjiao had won this round through an unexpected strategy.
When it came to battles between Taiyi and Daluo powerhouses, the Jiejiao side had nothing to fear, since such experts were a dime a dozen.
Cultivators at the Golden Immortal Realm certainly existed here, but they were all outer disciples.
Anyone with decent aptitude had already broken through long ago.
Real Person Huanglong, after all, was a direct disciple of Chanjiao, and his strength far surpassed that of average Golden Immortal cultivators. The Golden Immortal Realm cultivators of Jiejiao truly were no match for him.
Of course, that was assuming a normal, straightforward battle.
If it came to setting up formations, any single one of the Ten Heavenly Lords could easily snuff out Huanglong.
Up on the high platform,
Tongtian's expression remained calm.
Yuanshi's smile, however, was somewhat strained.
Among the Twelve Golden Immortals, Real Person Huanglong had always been looked down upon by Yuanshi due to his background, and he was treated with indifference within Chanjiao.
Yet,
the one who ultimately upheld Chanjiao's dignity was precisely the Huanglong who was always despised.
This left Yuanshi utterly embarrassed.
For the second match,
Manjushri faced Qiu Shouxiu.
Qiu Shouxiu was a green-haired lion who had attained the Dao, and as one of the Seven Attending Immortals, his strength was naturally beyond question.
Yet after only a few exchanges,
Manjushri was beaten into a continuous retreat, on the verge of defeat.
Suddenly,
Manjushri formed a hand seal,
and a palace lantern abruptly appeared in the void. This treasure was no ordinary item; it was the very lantern Yuanshi Tianzun used for illumination while lecturing on the Dao.
It was named: the Yuxu Glazed Lamp.
Manjushri struck the body of the lamp, and instantly, countless golden flames surged forth from within.
The blazing fire consumed the heavens,
and Qiu Shouxiu hurriedly unleashed his divine powers in an attempt to resist, but he was completely swallowed by the flames. Scorched by the fire, he fell off the arena platform.
In the second match, Chanjiao wins!
For the third match,
Yuding deployed the Taiji Talisman Seal and defeated Lingya Xian.
For the fourth match,
Samantabhadra used the Hunyuan Box and defeated Bixiao.
For the fifth match,
Cihang used the Wuji Apricot-Yellow Flag and defeated Jinguang Xian.
At this point,
Chanjiao had won five consecutive matches. While it couldn't compare to Jiejiao's streak of eight consecutive wins, it undoubtedly restored Chanjiao's prestige in a major way. One needed only look at Yuanshi—who normally valued solemnity above all else—as a proud smile bloomed across his face.
However,
Tongtian flew into a towering rage.
"Yuanshi,"
"do you truly take this seat for a fool? That Apricot-Yellow Flag, Glazed Lamp, Taiji Talisman Seal, and Hunyuan Box are all your personal spiritual treasures."
"To win using such methods—how is that any different from cheating? Have you no shame left at all?"
Clearly,
Tongtian had seen through the reason why the Chanjiao disciples were suddenly able to turn the tables and win match after match.
Seeing Tongtian pick a fight, Yuanshi's expression inevitably sank.
He let out a series of cold laughs and retorted,
"This deity bestows spiritual treasures upon my disciples as a reward. What is wrong with that?"
"What?"
"Could it be that you, Tongtian, have never bestowed spiritual treasures upon your disciples?"
Tongtian was so angry he almost laughed.
Yuanshi's argument was sheer sophistry. Could ordinary spiritual treasures and a Sage's personal spiritual treasures possibly be the same thing?
The treasures in the hands of Manjushri and the others all belonged to Yuanshi, refined by a Sage himself, making their might vastly superior to ordinary items.
Otherwise, how could the Jiejiao disciples have been so easily defeated?
Yuanshi's actions
were practically tantamount to cheating in disguise.
Tongtian wasn't someone who couldn't afford to lose, but for Yuanshi to employ such despicable methods merely to let his own disciples win—he truly had discarded all sense of shame.
The two immediately began to quarrel, pointing needles against awls, sending sparks flying in all directions.
Tongtian angrily drew his sword,
"Yuanshi, do you think my sword is not sharp?!"
Yuanshi sneered,
"As if I'd be afraid of you!"
A terrifying Sage's majesty swept across all directions.
The disciples of both Chanjiao and Jiejiao trembled, lowering their heads like quails; conflicts between supreme powerhouses were not something they could afford to meddle in.
Seeing that the two were genuinely about to fight, Taishang hurriedly stepped forward to mediate.
After a round of earnest and persistent persuasion,
Yuanshi and Tongtian finally ceased their quarrel.
Taishang said in a deep voice,
"For the final match, let each rely on their own true ability. Second brother, you must on no account show favoritism toward your own disciples again."
The underlying meaning of those words was:
Chanjiao disciples were strictly forbidden from using Sage-level spiritual treasures ever again.
Yuanshi's expression was icy cold, but he did not refute the statement, silently acquiescing to Taishang's words.
For the final match,
the expressions of both Chanjiao and Jiejiao disciples were solemn.
Since the two Sages had almost come to blows just moments ago, this final match appeared all the more crucial.
If Chanjiao won,
it would mark six consecutive wins for them. Although they still lost overall, the defeat wouldn't look quite as ugly, and Sage Yuanshi would recover the face he had lost earlier.
If Jiejiao won,
Tongtian would thoroughly vent his pent-up anger and strike another blow to Chanjiao's pride.
Therefore,
even though this match could not alter the outcome of the inter-sect competition, it was deeply tied to the Sages' dignity.
Chanjiao only had Real Person Taiyi left on their side,
so he would undoubtedly be the one to step into the arena.
As for Jiejiao, they had plenty of people left; many disciples had yet to fight, such as Bixiao, the Golden-Hooped Immortal Masui, and Pilu Xian.
Tongtian wore a cold expression,
sweeping his gaze across the assembled Jiejiao disciples, before finally making a decision.
"Luoxuan,"
"you will step up for the final match."
In an instant,
the gazes of every single Jiejiao disciple snapped toward Luoxuan in unison.
Luoxuan was stunned.
"Ah?!"
"Me?"
Luoxuan had never expected that, despite merely being a spectator eating melons while watching the show, Tongtian would actually call him out by name to take the stage for such a crucial final match.
One had to know,
Real Person Taiyi was at the peak Taiyi Golden Immortal cultivation realm, merely a single step away from breaking through to Daluo.
Yet he himself was only at the mid-stage Taiyi Golden Immortal realm.
Although confusion filled his heart,
faced with his master's command, Luoxuan naturally would not disobey.
As for Tongtian's decision,
the gathered Jiejiao disciples were likewise filled with utter bewilderment.
In their view,
Luoxuan's cultivation was far inferior to Real Person Taiyi's. Wouldn't sending him into the arena mean certain defeat? Wasn't this just humiliating Jiejiao?
Although, out of fear for Tongtian's majesty, no one dared to voice their objections openly,
quite a few disciples held a pessimistic view of Luoxuan.
Some even harbored feelings of schadenfreude.
Over this recent period,
Luoxuan's reputation had risen sharply within Jiejiao, yet quite a few people found him grating to the eye.
The root cause of this was jealousy.
We are all outer disciples, so why is it that you alone can gain our master's favor? Why is it that you can chat and laugh freely with the inner disciples?
You simply stumbled into some sheer dumb luck; put me up there and I could do it just as well.