Chapter 126 - 91: The Assessment Ends, the Six Extremes Demon Sect Snatches People

His gaze toward Li Feng burned with rage.

The intense glare made Li Feng, whose consciousness had just returned to his body, shrink back instinctively.

But the next moment, he forced himself to argue,

"I was just careless! If we fought again, I definitely wouldn’t lose."

Some people actually agreed with him.

The crowd could tell that Li Feng had indeed been somewhat nonchalant when facing Zhong Ming.

But that didn’t diminish the significance of Zhong Ming’s victory. He had withstood a blow from Li Feng, a late-stage Qi Cultivation warrior, and shattered his defense in a single strike. No matter how you looked at it, Zhong Ming’s strength was top-tier. And besides...

"Careless? Heh. Are you saying that in the future, when you encounter Demonic Fiends and Evil Spirits, they aren’t allowed to strike first? They can’t launch a sneak attack? They have to wait for you to be fully rested and at peak condition before they make a move?"

"And during the fight, are those Demonic Fiends not allowed to mislead you? They can’t intentionally reveal a weakness to lure you into a trap?"

These words, dripping with sarcasm, naturally came from Law Enforcement Elder Wei Jingcheng.

His words made Li Feng’s face flush red, but as he clenched his fists, he sighed, realizing there was nothing he could say.

Before the assessment, Elder Wei Jingcheng had made it perfectly clear that this was a real combat simulation.

The sudden increase in difficulty and the various misleading messages during the assessment were all part of Wei Jingcheng’s warning: a real battlefield is fraught with danger and riddled with traps, and one can never afford to be the slightest bit careless.

Under these circumstances, Li Feng being eliminated due to carelessness wasn’t the Seven Profound Sect’s fault. It was because of his own arrogance, conceit, and foolishness.

’Sigh, I shouldn’t have been so careless!’

Li Feng was reflecting on his mistake, but Wei Jingcheng wasn’t about to let him off the hook.

"And another thing. You say you were careless, but did my Zhong Ming even use his full strength?"

"Zhong Ming’s specialty is stealth and assassination. If he hadn’t revealed himself and just kept his eyes locked on you, do you really think you could have won?"

"..."

Li Feng couldn’t refute that, either.

This last point was also the reason why the many Patriarchs on the viewing platforms were all trying to curry favor with Longxi Peak.

—Right now, Zhong Ming was merely a genius, not yet a true powerhouse. It was possible for him to fall before reaching his potential.

Faced with this reality, these Patriarchs should, by all rights, be more cautious about investing in him.

However, the powerful defense of Zhong Ming’s Longxi Magical Robe, his ability to turn invisible at will, and his—to put it bluntly—cunning approach to dealing with enemies all left the Patriarchs thoroughly satisfied.

Yes, even the Patriarchs on the viewing platforms thought Zhong Ming fought like an Assassin and were wary of his sudden attacks.

A younger disciple might see Zhong Ming’s methods as despicable and shameless.

But these Patriarchs were all ruthless figures. When they looked at Zhong Ming, they only saw someone who was steady and difficult to kill.

’If the difficulty of killing a normal Swordsman is a one, then killing Zhong Ming is a ten. Plus, after what just happened, Longxi Peak is bound to protect him fiercely. The risk of investing in him isn’t as great as one might think.’

...

While others were calculating the risks of investing in Zhong Ming, Wei Jingcheng, having finished berating Li Feng, quickly dispelled the Heaven-Filling Array Map and announced that the Seven Peaks Tournament would be ending early.

His reason for doing so wasn’t that the rest of the tournament was pointless.

After the previous battle, the matter of first place was more or less settled—no one remaining in the Heaven-Filling Array Map dared to compete with Zhong Ming.

However, the contests for second and third place among the Seven Peaks still needed to be fought.

Under these circumstances, the reason Wei Jingcheng was so eager to dispel the Heaven-Filling Array Map was to—protect Zhong Ming’s secrets.

In Wei Jingcheng’s eyes, the outcome of the Seven Peaks Tournament was no longer as important as Zhong Ming’s safety.

And the best way to ensure Zhong Ming’s safety was to prevent all of his intelligence and trump cards from being exposed.

That way, it would be far more troublesome for anyone who wanted to kill him.

Hmm... and in doing this, he had a small, selfish reason of his own.

The Six Extremes Demon Sect had sent two people. Li Feng had been defeated, but the other one, Hua Lingdie, had yet to make a move.

He was also well aware that Li Feng’s defeat was largely due to the element of surprise—an advantage that, by its very nature, is most effective on the first encounter.

’Hua Lingdie came with Li Feng, and from the look on her face, she’s completely unimpressed by him. This means their strength is probably comparable.’

’Without the element of surprise, Zhong Ming might not be able to win against her.’

’And even if Zhong Ming did win, it would likely be a long, drawn-out battle. That wouldn’t be nearly as shocking to outsiders as instantly defeating a disciple from the Six Extremes Demon Sect in a single blow.’

’Rather than take that risk, it’s better to quit while we’re ahead.’

...

With these thoughts in mind, Wei Jingcheng kept a close watch on Elder You Qiang of the Six Extremes Demon Sect as he dispelled the Heaven-Filling Array Map, afraid the man would step in to stop him.

But to his surprise, as he dispelled the array map, allowing everyone’s consciousness to return to their bodies, and announced that the assessment was temporarily concluded, Elder You Qiang made no move to stop him.

His expression didn’t even change much.

It remained the same even when Wei Jingcheng praised Zhong Ming right in front of him.

Finally, a slight smile even graced his lips.

This scene didn’t cause Law Enforcement Elder Wei Jingcheng to lower his guard; on the contrary, he grew even more cautious.

’When things are this unusual, something is definitely afoot. He’s absolutely plotting something!’

Just as alarm bells started ringing in his mind, CLAP, CLAP. Elder You Qiang began to applaud as he rose to his feet and slowly walked toward Zhong Ming.

"What do you think you’re doing!"

SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!

His movement instantly put everyone from Longxi Peak on high alert. The next moment, the Peak Masters and elders from all Seven Peaks of the Seven Profound Sect moved to block Zhong Ming, surrounding Elder You Qiang.

After a moment of stunned silence, Yue Shan, Yi Qing, and the others also rose to their feet and began to rebuke him.

Yue Shan: "Elder You Qiang, remember the contract the Sovereign made with you. The Frost Moon Dynasty invited you here, but not to cause trouble for your fellow humans!"

After him, Yi Qing also spoke up, "Mu Huai, I advise you to think carefully before you act. Don’t forget, you were all driven out by the combined forces of the three major sects... You cannot act with impunity in Frost Moon."

Yi Qing’s words made Mu Huai’s expression darken, but he quickly laughed it off. "Hahaha, why is everyone so tense? We are all human. I naturally have no ill will toward young friend Zhong Ming."

"On the contrary, at such a critical time, for a prodigy like young friend Zhong Ming to appear... I am nothing but delighted."

As he spoke, Mu Huai turned to Zhong Ming and said with sincerity, "To be able to raise your cultivation to this level and possess such combat strength in such a weak sect... Zhong Ming, your Talent is immense, and your comprehension is second to none in Jade Lake City."

"???"

Mu Huai’s praise was delivered with great sincerity, but Wei Jingcheng’s heart skipped a beat. He had a vague feeling that something was wrong.

But before he could figure out what it was, Yue Shan had already spoken, sighing in relief.

"Is that all?"

He looked at Mu Huai, whose title was You Qiang, his eyes filled with complaint, as if to say, ’If you were just going to congratulate him, you could have done it from your seat. What was the point of suddenly standing up?’

Ignoring City Lord Yue Shan’s glare, Mu Huai smiled and added, "Of course, it’s not just for congratulations. I came forward because there is something I wish to discuss with young friend Zhong Ming."

With that, Mu Huai turned his gaze back to Zhong Ming and sincerely extended a shocking invitation.

"Zhong Ming, I know this might sound abrupt, but I simply cannot bear to see you waste away here... Your Talent is extraordinary, but because of that, staying in the Seven Profound Sect makes you a pearl lost in the vast ocean."

"Shallow waters cannot nurture a Flood Dragon. The Seven Profound Sect is too small. It lacks sufficient resources and high-level Cultivation Techniques."

"If you continue to stay here, your Talent will be constrained, and your future will be limited and predictable."

"But it would be different if you joined our Six Extremes Saint Sect. We even have Celestial Level Cultivation Techniques. If you come with us, your Talent will surely be developed to its fullest potential!"

CRACK!