Chapter 172 : True Lord! You’re Not Reliable at All
Chapter 172: True Lord! You’re Not Reliable at All
Long Tao was in quite a good mood today, because Nan Yuchen’s opponent was none other than that Senior Brother Xia Huatou who had previously seemed ready to take his formation talent and run off to the west.
Under the guidance and assistance of many fellow disciples, along with a bit of social maneuvering, Senior Brother Xia had actually managed to enter the Top Eight as a Formation Master. Although there were some rather… ahem… intriguing aspects to the whole affair, not a single person in the sect had brought them up.
Now that he had reached the Top Eight, he would no longer be forced into marriage by his family. He looked utterly relaxed.
In his match against Nan Yuchen, though he remained at a disadvantage throughout, he relied on all kinds of formations and mechanisms to put on a very flashy performance.
All sorts of dazzling spells and formation diagrams flew across the arena in chaotic splendor, making for a spectacular sight.
An insider could tell at a glance that he was barely holding on, but outsiders were dazzled and shouted in delight. Senior Brother Fang, in a rare show of restraint, did not expose the truth.
Instead, he cooperated with Long Tao, describing what was nearly a one-sided battle as if it were evenly matched.
Long Tao had already completely relaxed, simply waiting for the match to end and for the System to announce task completion. Although this mission had encountered some minor twists, overall it could be considered thrilling but safe.
Choosing the path of commentary had indeed been the right move.
As for Nan Yuchen’s Destiny Luck, it was practically heaven-defying.
Aside from the Third Round, where he had encountered a powerful opponent and nearly lost, he had won the other rounds with relative ease.
The Fourth Round, which should have been the most difficult, had ended with Guo Si voluntarily forfeiting.
And now, in the Fifth Round, he had just happened to face the most widely acknowledged weakest contender in the latter half of this year’s Grand Competition—Senior Brother Xia.
This little fellow was truly someone whom the Heavenly Dao was scrambling to feed.
Speaking of luck…
Long Tao suddenly thought of that Destiny Luck Thief, Ye Jingchen. He wondered how that fellow was doing.
In the previous rounds, Ye Jingchen had come to watch, but today he had not appeared for some reason. Of course, it was also possible that Long Tao had simply missed him. After all, the Martial Arena was huge; overlooking someone was perfectly normal.
In any case, with True Lord Luohong, the Sect Master, and True Person Mingzhu handling it, there was no need for a small fry like him to worry.
While he was lost in thought, another one of Senior Brother Xia’s formations was broken by Nan Yuchen. Though neither side had suffered any injuries and it still looked evenly matched on the surface, anyone perceptive could see that Senior Brother Xia had already lost.
He was merely holding on to make the scene look better.
Yet whether insider or outsider, the audience watched with great enthusiasm. There were only four matches today, and time was abundant. A match that was both exciting and “enduring” like this was exactly what they hoped for.
“Oh my! Senior Brother Xia’s defensive mechanism has been broken, and there’s no time to set up a new formation. It seems the overall situation is decided. And indeed… he’s raised his hand. Looks like he’s confirmed there’s no need to keep holding on.”
With Senior Brother Xia’s voluntary surrender, cheers erupted once more from the sidelines. Nan Yuchen had actually entered the Top Four with only Foundation Establishment Third Layer cultivation!
Although luck had played a role in a few rounds, most people still acknowledged his strength.
However, at the very moment the elder announced the end of the match, all Golden Core cultivators—and even some at Foundation Establishment—seemed to sense something. They simultaneously turned to look in a particular direction.
The Sixth Imperial Princess of the Suhuang Heavenly Dynasty muttered to herself,
“The Nine-Xia Heavenly Sect truly doesn’t treat us as outsiders at all. This aura… it is clearly the lingering resonance of the Ancient Heavenly Court…”
Fang Wuqi, who had been smiling moments before, suddenly grew solemn and murmured,
“What is the sect doing? If it involves a treasure connected to a Heavenly Court Fragment, at the very least they should wait until these outsiders leave before activating it.”
Seated high above, Zhu Huaisu sensed nothing. She was merely somewhat displeased.
Today was her Junior Brother’s advancement into the Top Four, yet her Master had not come to watch. She would have to report the good news after returning to the peak.
When she withdrew her gaze from Nan Yuchen, who was leaving the arena, and casually glanced toward the commentary platform, she froze.
On what should have been a two-person seat, only Senior Brother Fang remained.
Long Tao… was gone?
Almost simultaneously, every Golden Core cultivator present keenly noticed the figure that had vanished from the commentary platform.
Even the Foundation Establishment prodigies such as the Saintess of Guanghan soon realized something was wrong.
A living person who had been chatting and laughing just moments ago had disappeared without a sound!
Fang Wuqi, who sat closest to Long Tao, was actually the first in the entire arena to react—and the one who saw most clearly. He had first seen a deep rift in the void abruptly split open above Long Tao’s head.
A sliver of an immensely high-level pressure seeped out, and just that tiny trace was enough to freeze the spiritual power throughout his body, rendering him immobile.
Before he could even process what was happening, he saw Long Tao violently dragged into the rift by an invisible force.
Under that overwhelming pressure that towered above all living beings, he had not even been able to lift a finger.
……
As for Long Tao himself, he had not even had time to react before the world spun violently around him.
The familiar scene of the Martial Arena was torn apart like a fading painting. A violent spatial turbulence ripped at his senses, nearly knocking him unconscious on the spot.
He did not know how much time had passed—perhaps only an instant, perhaps much longer.
When his consciousness finally reassembled, intense dizziness and nausea nearly made him vomit. He found himself collapsed on a cold, hard surface.
Suppressing the discomfort, he struggled to look around.
It seemed to be a shattered platform floating in endless void, its surface engraved with ancient runes long since dimmed. Beyond the platform’s edge flowed bizarre and fantastical void energy, drifting slowly.
Twisted shadows and indescribable sounds occasionally swept past, sending chills down the spine.
The air was suffused with an ancient, deathly silence and an incomparably lofty aura, as if one had stepped into the ruins of some long-forgotten hall.
“Ugh…” he groaned, trying to move his stiff body.
“You?!”
A hoarse voice filled with shock, disbelief, and even a hint of absurdity rang out not far away.
Long Tao turned toward the sound, and his heart clenched violently.
At the center of the platform, a man knelt on the ground, his face pale as paper, his aura utterly dispirited.
Upon closer inspection—it was none other than Ye Jingchen.
Perhaps the System’s several missions had tempered his temperament.
After the initial panic, Long Tao quickly steadied himself and deduced that his current situation was likely connected to this person.
At this moment, Ye Jingchen was staring fixedly at Long Tao, his eyes filled with extreme confusion and incomprehension.
“How could it be you?! Where is Luohong?! Where is Yaxi?! ‘The one who exposed me’… how could it be you, you piece of trash?! You’re just a Qi Refining garbage—how could you possibly see through my disguise?! That’s impossible!!”
He looked almost insane, completely unable to accept this reality. But the binding oath had been sworn by himself, and the executor had been the Star Lord of Fate in person.
A great being who controlled destiny would never mistake the person involved.
In Ye Jingchen’s expectations, the one capable of discovering his whereabouts and leading to his total defeat must have been Saintess Yaxi, who possessed some special tracking secret art.
Even if not her, it would likely have been some Nascent Soul–level great power. But no matter what, he had never imagined… it would be Long Tao! This ant in his eyes, someone who relied on glib commentary to gain a bit of fame—a mere Qi Refining trash?!
Long Tao was momentarily stunned by the tirade, but when he heard the words “the one who exposed me,” he instantly understood part of the situation.
Ye Jingchen had probably been forced by True Lord Luohong and Saintess Yaxi to use some method to escape to this place, and at the same time had dragged along “the one who exposed him.”
He had originally assumed that person would be Yaxi or True Lord Luohong. Instead, it had turned out to be himself. Thus, the innocent him had been inexplicably seized from the Martial Arena by some mysterious force.
Well… in a certain sense, not entirely innocent.
Damn it!
Long Tao’s first reaction was to curse inwardly. He had already handed everything about Ye Jingchen over to the sect.
True Lord Luohong had even said before that he did not need to worry about it anymore. And yet… how had he still been dragged into this?!
True Lord… you’re really not reliable at all!
Just at that moment, the familiar mechanical voice of the System sounded in Long Tao’s mind, and the interface panel appeared:
【Task: Participate in the Sect Grand Competition Completed】