Chapter 82: Ten Duels

“Dongliu Cangshui of Qingcheng came to meet Tianshui Yifang of Emei.”

Dongliu Cangshui suddenly strode forward, his eyes sharp and unyielding as he stared directly at Tianshui Yifang, not showing any weakness in presence.

“Oh, Dongliu Cangshui? I’ve heard that name. Finally, someone who can make decisions showed up.”

Tianshui Yifang tilted his head slightly, wearing a bright smile, but the hidden arrogance behind his lazy grin was extremely irritating.

“Tianshui Yifang, you led your people to surround the Qingcheng Mountain Gate. You must give us an explanation.”

“Your Qingcheng players killed two of our Emei disciples. I came with my brothers to seek justice!”

Tianshui Yifang spoke with righteous fury, and the Emei players behind him cheered and clapped loudly, which made Dongliu Cangshui so angry his nose twisted.

“So how do you want to resolve this? Do you plan to keep blockading our Qingcheng Mountain Gate indefinitely?”

Oh no!

Ye Rong inwardly groaned. By responding like that, Dongliu Cangshui was practically admitting that Qingcheng players had killed Emei players. If it were him, he would have flatly denied it and demanded proof from Tianshui Yifang.

Sure enough, a trace of smugness appeared on Tianshui Yifang’s face. “Hand over the players who killed our Emei disciples. Strip them of their equipment and let us kill them ten times each. Then we can consider the matter closed.”

“Nonsense! What do you take Qingcheng for?”

If they did as Tianshui Yifang said, Qingcheng would lose all face, as if offering their own cheeks to be slapped.

Dongliu Cangshui couldn’t agree to such terms, nor did he have the authority to agree on behalf of all Qingcheng players. By now, over five thousand Qingcheng players had gathered, all raising their arms in angry shouts, wanting to charge out and wipe out the thousand Emei players.

Even though they only had one-fifth the number of players, the members of the Emei Tianshui Division remained perfectly composed, showing no signs of panic.

“If you refuse our demand, that’s fine too. Each side sends out ten players for a series of duels. If you can win more than five matches, we’ll drop the matter.”

So it came to this!

Ye Rong sighed inwardly behind Dongliu Cangshui. They were using such a crude and forceful method. It was clear they intended to humiliate the Qingcheng Sect today, and whether Qingcheng agreed or not made little difference.

As for relying on their numerical advantage to surround and kill the Emei players, judging by their confident demeanor, they likely had some hidden tactic and weren’t afraid of being outnumbered.

“Give us some time to discuss.”

Dongliu Cangshui sighed and walked back inside the mountain gate. The leaders of Qingcheng’s major factions had already gathered there, none missing.

“We can either choose ten players to fight them, or we can all charge out and fight those guys to the death. You decide.”

“Emei surely has more top players than we do. Winning more than five matches against them is nearly impossible. It’s better if all our brothers charge together; we might still have a chance to win.”

“A large chaotic battle is too hard to control. None of us have established Factions, so we can’t even set attack modes. Without proper coordination, our numerical advantage won’t count for much. It’s better to send ten players to face them.”

“In my opinion, there’s still room for discussion. We don’t need to fight so fiercely. Harmony brings wealth, harmony brings wealth.”

…

Ye Rong watched them with a cold inner laugh. Probably many were considering the third option: hand over the Qingcheng players who killed Emei players as Tianshui Yifang initially said, let each be killed ten times, and let the matter drop.

But doing so would completely strip Qingcheng of its dignity, leaving not even a shred of pride. Anyone who dared suggest it would be scorned by everyone and wouldn’t remain a leader for long.

“Are you still discussing without any result when they’re already at our doorstep?”

A cold voice spoke. A tall, slender player strode forward, his steps firm and resolute.

“Choose ten players. We fight. Count me in.”

After speaking, he leaped onto a large bluestone, sat cross-legged, and began adjusting his state to prepare for the upcoming combat.

“Mo Feng!”

“Mo Feng, you’re here!”

Dongliu Cangshui and Houdao Xiaosheng both called out the newcomer’s name, a hint of pleasant surprise in their tones.

Mo Feng was the most aloof and coldest of the Seven Great Disciples of Qingcheng. He hadn’t created or joined any Faction, preferring to explore dangerous places and Immortal Manors alone. But his strength was the greatest among the Seven Great Disciples. During the Closed Beta, when a powerful expert from the Demon Race crossed the sea and came to Mount Qingcheng, only he lasted more than ten moves; the other six were defeated in just two or three moves and had to respawn.

With him here, they might win at least one match out of ten, avoiding total humiliation.

“So he’s Mo Feng?”

Only three of the Seven Great Disciples from the Closed Beta had joined Qingcheng again in the Open Beta Test. Ye Rong hadn’t met this Mo Feng before and was somewhat curious.

“An ice block. He talks coldly to everyone. Not fun at all.”

Manzhu Lver said beside Ye Rong. The girl was clearly in a bad mood, her lips pouted, making her plump, baby-faced cheeks look even more tender.

“Why couldn’t they come two days later? Then I could have equipped Huan Xisha. Hmph, let’s see who could beat me then!”

Ye Rong smiled faintly. This girl was quite competitive, still thinking about that.

But then again, Manzhu Lver wasn’t wrong. If she could equip Huan Xisha, she’d have a good chance of winning a match, unless she faced an expert of Tianshui Yifang’s caliber. Without Huan Xisha, Manzhu Lver’s strength was very limited. That set of fire-element Magic Treasures was great for killing monsters, but not for dueling.

Ye Rong had a vague feeling that Tianshui Yifang’s deeply hidden arrogance wasn’t an act but his true nature. Judging by the aura around him, it was layered and complex, making it hard to gauge his true power.

“Don’t worry, I’ll take your place. I will definitely win and return victorious!”

Ye Rong suddenly felt a surge of boldness, not just because of the girl before him, but also because he wanted to test his strength against a true expert to see what level he was really at.

A strange light flickered in Manzhu Lver’s eyes. She didn’t speak, just looked at him with a soft, admiring smile.

But on the other side, the faction leaders were arguing fiercely over the list of ten players for the duels, their discussion escalating into near-quarrels.

Apart from Mo Feng, who was definitely included, they still needed to choose nine others.