Lonemoon was about to ask further, but the emperors were already getting up to offer their congratulations.

　　“She is indeed the disciple of the Celestial Emperor. Her cultivation is outstanding.”

　　“As they say, good masters turn out skilled disciples. Celestial Emperor is really good at recognizing talent, that is why you brought her to the Upper Realm.”

　　“Celestial Emperor, why can’t we find disciples of such caliber like you.”

　　“You’re all too kind with your praises.” Chen Ge said laughingly, “It’s just that this disciple of mine is diligent with her practice.” However, Chen Ge had his doubts about his disciple too. By right, Hui Ling was no match for the body cultivators, the outcome today… However, he did not give this matter further thought; she was his disciple after all.

　　The other groups had also finished their matches. Once the various emperors had completed another round of mutual congratulations, Chen Ge formally announced the end of the competition. Waving his hand, he conjured a seal. The four platforms below instantly joined to become one platform which then slowly rose up.

　　Standing on the platform were the top three winners from the competing groups. Si Yu was first in the Golden Core group. Perhaps realizing what had befell the Earth Immortal’s group, she did not display any joyous expression; in fact, she bowed her head throughout the ceremony.

　　Lonemoon felt an explicable anger stir in his chest. His dislike of this green tea wretch intensified. Yi Qing was very sensitive to Immortal Qi. He could sense what others on the platform could not. And he just said that there was something suspicious with Hui Ling’s tactics. Lonemoon believed him. But he just could not put his finger on it.

　　Chen Ge praised the competitors and then started handing out the prizes, which were mostly immortal artifacts and elixirs. All the top ten winners in each group got a prize. Being a Celestial Emperor, he handed out all the artifacts without batting an eyelid.

　　Moreover, the top competitor in each group got to choose a top grade immortal artifact that suited them; their prizes were as good as custom-made. Lonemoon was still thinking about Hui Ling’s match and showed no interest in the prize ceremony. Anyway, all the immortal artifacts they had were all custom-made by Xun Shu.

　　“Master!” When it was Hui Ling’s turn to receive the prize, instead of telling Chen Ge what she wanted, she stepped forward and asked, “Can I refuse the immortal artifact?”

　　Chen Ge smiled at her; he was used to his disciple’s impulsive nature. So he asked dotingly, “Oh? You don’t want it?” His disciple naturally did not lack for immortal artifacts.

　　“I know that my cultivation is weak but I’m determined to follow the Dao. I entered the competition to test my limits and train my skills. But I never thought…” Sweeping her gaze towards the Invincible Sect, she continued in a slightly belligerent tone, “I never thought that I would emerge a winner. So… I don’t want anything other than to accumulate combat experience.”

　　Chen Ge nodded and asked, “Then what do you want?”

　　“I want…” Hui Ling trailed off and suddenly looked towards Shen Ying, who was sitting on the viewing platform. She answered loudly, “I would like to request a duel with the Invincible Sect Master!”

　　What?

　　(⊙_⊙)

　　Everyone fell silent at her words.

　　“…”

　　The rest of the crowd were shocked, but those from the Invincible Sect’s were…

　　“Hahaha, Hahaha…” A loud burst of laughter erupted. Before the members of Invincible Sect could respond, Xun Shu was pounding the table, laughing hysterically. He laughed until he almost collapsed on the table, attracting all eyes to him.

　　“Sorry… Sorry I couldn’t help it.” Xun Shu tried his best to hold back his laughter. Then turning to Chen Ge he said, “Celestial Emperor, this disciple of yours is… is really… Hahah.” He really could not help himself; it was too funny.

　　Lonemoon and Yi Qing were similarly bemused. They had both lived to such an age, yet they had never seen someone who was so eager to die. She actually wanted to fight against Shen Ying? Who was the person who gave her the courage? Was it Liang Jingru ¹ ?

　　There was a complicated expression in their eyes as they gazed at Hui Ling.Could this person be… mentally challenged?

　　Actually, they could understand the reason for her request. It was all because she had felt humiliated at the palace yesterday and wanted to take the opportunity to regain her pride. She thought that, having won the match against the body cultivators, she could similarly beat Shen Ying, who was also an Earth Immortal.

　　It was only now that Lonemoon really felt that Hui Ling was a little— innocent!

　　Naturally, Chen Ge saw through his disciple’s real intention. His expression darkening, he chided her, “Little Ling, don’t be rude!” Sect Master Shen is the master of a sect, so by right she is your senior. How can she fight against such a junior like you.”

　　“Master, the Immortal Realm has always valued real skills above all else, Just because she’s a sect master doesn’t mean we can’t spar with each other.” Refusing to give in, Hui Ling said in a righteous tone, “Furthermore… this is only a duel, just take it like Sect Master is guiding a junior… unless … she’s afraid.”

　　“What insolence!” Chen Ge’s face darkened.

　　“Master…” Hui Ling looked aggrieved. Why was he always siding with Shen Ying?

　　Chen Ge felt annoyed. He wanted to be on good terms with this Invincible Sect, but Hui Ling’s comments were not unexpected given her impulsive nature. He was in a dilemma as to what to do. But he also had a secret desire to find out Shen Ying’s true strength.

　　“I’m sorry if my disciple has offended you.”

　　“Not at all, Celestial Emperor.” There was a gleam in Lonemoon’s eyes as he said, “Your disciple is right. Sparing between cultivators is common, moreover, she has emerged the winner. You should be happy that she’s so eager to improve her skills.”

　　“But…” Chen Ge could not make out Lonemoon’s intention. “She’s only a junior.”

　　“Yes. You’re… right!” Lonemoon nodded his head. “It might lead to injuries.”

　　“I’m not afraid!” Hui Ling suddenly raised her voice. “Sect Master Shen, let’s begin our duel. Whatever the injuries, I’ll not complain.”

　　“In that case… All right.” Lonemoon gave a sigh, but his eyes narrowed into a slit. Turning to face Shen Ying, he said, “Go on, Shen Ying!” Don’t need to give me face. Thrash her!

　　Shen Ying: “…”

　　Why did she feel that he was even more elated than her?

　　“That old fox.” Xun Shu scolded silently, rolling his eyes. Lonemoon clearly wanted to beat her up from the start, yet he went through this whole rigmarole and acted like he was forced to do so.

　　“Sect Master Shen, please!” Hui Ling walked towards the stage behind her, a picture of confidence.

　　At this stage, Chen Ge did not feel he should object any longer, so he returned to his seat. The Emperors seated around the stage all looked excited. They all held a grudge against Yi Qing so they were more than happy that someone was willing to take up the cudgel. Moreover, this person was the Celestial Emperor’s disciple. It was their fault for choosing such a sect master. Everyone was waiting to see the Invincible Sect being disgraced.

　　Everyone, except for Xun Shu and the Invincible Sect’s members, had a … retarded expression on their faces.

　　“Shen Ying, go quickly,” Lonemoon urged. He snatched the fruit from her hand and said, “Enough, stop eating. Get up to the stage.”

　　Shen Ying finally stood up and strolled to the stage. Hai, what a bother!

　　She walked leisurely and finally reached the center of the stage. All the array formations around lit up again, blocking off the audience.

　　Hui Ling took a look at the lethargic person in front of her. Giving a cold snort, she said confidently, “Sect Master Shen, please accept my apologies if I offend you later. Don’t worry, I’ll restrain myself, I won’t hurt you… too seriously!”

　　She deliberately emphasized the last three words as if she could see her opponent begging for mercy on her knees.

　　Shen Ying cocked her head, still looking lethargic. Her gaze fell on Hui Ling’s neck. “You’re sure you can win?”

　　“Of course!” Hui Ling laughed more cockily. “Didn’t I defeat your sect’s body cultivators?”

　　“Oh.” Shen Ying paused for a moment. There was a blur as her figure suddenly disappeared and reappeared in front of Hui Ling. “Is it because of this object?”

　　Before Hui Ling could react, she felt something cold on her neck. Before she knew what was happening, the familiar white necklace was already in her opponent’s hand. She subconsciously touched her chest; it was indeed gone.

　　“You…” Hui Ling face paled instantly. A feeling of intense fear rose in her heart. That was her trump card. How did she know about it? “Give it back!” She charged towards Shen Ying to retrieve her possession.

　　“Wait, You…” A voice rang out from her necklace.

　　However, Shen Ying clenched the object in her fist tightly.

　　There was a loud cracking sound…

　　“No!” Hui Ling cried out.

　　It was too late; the necklace was crushed to pieces.

　　“It’s gone,” Shen Ying said slowly.

　　Struck dumb, Hui Ling look at Shen Ying’s fist in disbelief. She… She actually…

　　Hui Ling looked up at Shen Ying, her eyes ablaze with anger. “You… You. I’ll kill you!”

　　Hui Ling seemed to have lost her senses. Summoning her immortal sword, she charged towards Shen Ying.

　　Shen Ying stood rock still. Just as Hui Ling’s sword seemed about to pierce into her body, she stepped to the side, then… stealthily stuck out her leg.

　　There was a loud boom. The person who had been charging aggressively towards Shen Ying, tripped and fell directly on the ground. Her face landed smack on the ground, stirring up a cloud of dust.

　　Ouch… That must have been painful.

　　“I say Sister…” Bending down, Shen Ying lightly tapped her shoulder and chided gravely, “Cheating is wrong.”

　　Hui Ling’s face turned green in shock. A frightening thought flashed across her mind. She knew! How could she? Even Master could not tell, it was clearly…

　　“You’re talking nonsense…” Hui Ling instinctively tried to get up, but found that she could not; the hand pressing down on her body seemed to weigh a ton.

　　How could this be?

　　Hui Ling could only turn her head to face Shen Ying. However, she was terrified by the look in Shen Ying’s eyes. It was as if something terrifying smothered her, suffocating her until she could not even breathe. The low voice was like a voice transmission from hell.

　　“You know, you’ll get a beating for cheating.”

　　“…”

　　Up on the spectator platform.

　　“Shen Ying. What’s happening?” asked Lonemoon. As there was an array formation around the stage, the people outside could not hear anything within. Instead of beating her up, Shen Ying was chatting with her?

　　“There’s something wrong with the necklace,” said Yi Qing through voice transmission.

　　“What?”

　　“Just now, toward the end of each round of the match, the necklace would emit a special kind of immortal Qi that helped her defeat her opponents. That immortal Qi did not belong to her.”

　　“…” Lonemoon was speechless. Wow! That wretch was really a cheat!

　　No wonder Shen Ying crushed her necklace right at the start. This was the reason!

　　But who did this Immortal Qi belong to? Lonemoon subconsciously suspected Chen Ge, but then dismissed the thought. As a Celestial Emperor he could not favor his disciple under the very eyes of the crowd. There was no need, for as an emperor, even if his disciple lost, who would dare say a word against him?

　　Moreover, at the start of the duel, Chen Ge had been sitting here the entire time, there was no way he could have the chance to use his Immortal Qi to help her. It seemed as if no one, except for Yi Qing, who was sensitive to Qi and the cheat Shen Ying, had discovered anything amiss.

　　Who could do such a thing under the very noses of all the state emperors and the Celestial Emperor? And what was so special about that necklace?

　　Just he was thinking about this, the ground suddenly shook and a white beam of light shot down from the sky, straight towards the stage, bringing a huge cloud of Immortal and Sword Qi in its wake.

　　“Little Ling!” Chen Ge cried out in shock.

　　“Master!” Yi Qing stood up as well.

　　Two figures simultaneously dashed towards the stage, snatched the girls and flew off with them just as the beam of light descended on the stage.

　　The next moment there was a loud boom and the whole stage was blown to pieces. Even the surrounding arrays were shattered by the impact.

　　“Little Ling, are you all right?” Chen Ge looked anxiously at Hui Ling, who was now in his arms. If he had not got there in time, she might have…

　　“Master…” Hui Ling’s face was deathly pale. Subconsciously, she looked towards Shen Ying, then immediately retracted her gaze. Shivering, she shrunk herself even deeper into Chen Ge’s arms. What she feared was not that bolt of white light, it was Sect Master Shen … Her heart lurched. Maybe it was just a trick of perception. How could an Earth Immortal have such a terrifying aura?

　　“Master, are you all tight?” Yi Qing enquired anxiously as well.

　　Shen Ying, who had been dragged along by him: “Er…”

　　“How could she not be?” said Lonemoon, rolling his eyes. “You’re worried for nothing.”

　　Lonemoon’s comments jolted Yi Qing to his senses. Just now, seeing Chen Ge rushing to save Hui Ling, the only thought that came to his mind was that Master was also on the stage. So he had dragged her away, without giving a thought as to whether she needed saving.

　　“Thank you!” Shen Ying could not help consoling the embarrassed chef. Pointing to the dust swirling on the ground, she said, “At least you saved me from inhaling a few breaths of dust.”

　　Yi Qing: “…” Why didn’t he feel the least bit consoled by her words?

　　“Hahaha…” Suddenly a male voice rang out from within that beam of white light. Following a gust of wind, a figure clad in blue emerged from the sky.

　　“Chen Ge, why didn’t you inform me of your Mystic Spirits and Immortals Meeting. I too would like to join in the fun.”

　　Chen Ge’s brows furrowed. Clenching his fists he looked upward at the man in the sky and called out, “Chu Xuan!”

　　Everyone was stunned when they heard this name and raised their heads to look at the man in the sky.

　　“Who?” The Invincible Clan members were the only ones with a baffled look on their faces.

　　“The Celestial Emperor from the He Chuan continent.” Xun Shu explained. Turning to look at Che Ge, he immediately changed to voice transmission and explained, “He’s also the one who fought with Emperor Chen Ge ten thousand years ago. The thing is … Emperor Chen lost.”

　　“Oh.” Lonemoon finally grasped the situation. He recalled that the young Chen Ge had said that he had been implanted with a demonic seed when he was seriously injured. So this was the guy who injured him.

　　From the looks of it… He was obviously out to wreck the ceremony!

　　“I see that you Feng Cang immortals are pretty diligent in your cultivation practice.” Chu Xuan scanned the people around him. “Since you have the time to organize this Mystic Spirits and Immortals Meeting, why don’t you spar with an immortal from He Chuan too? Let’s see if Feng Cang immortals are really stronger than those from the other continents?

　　“Emperor Chu Xuan.” Chen Ge stepped forwards and said, “The Mystic Spirits and Immortals Meeting is only meant to be a normal sparring practice for Feng Cang immortals, not to test their skills against immortals from other continents.”

　　“Normal sparring?” Chu Xuan snorted coldly and swept a look at the people on the platform. “From what I see, these are not ‘normal immortals’. Let me guess, are they from Yi Shui or Chang Nuo continent?”

　　Chen Ge did not reply. The other continents had sent their people over but they were all his acquaintances. Sending them over was their way of congratulating him on his coming out from seclusion.

　　“Do you mean to say other people can come but I can’t?” Chu Xuan snorted before saying, “Or do you mean to say… they’re like you, afraid of people from He Chuan?”

　　“…” Che Ge’s expression turned even darker.

　　The emperor seated below, unable to hold back his anger, exploded, “What insolence! So what if you’re He Chuan’s emperor, you think we from Feng Cang are afraid of you…”

　　Before he could finish his sentence, Chu Xuan had unleashed the force of his immortal Qi at him, causing him to kneel down under the pressure.

　　“Chu Xuan!” Chen Ge too unleashed his immortal Qi, to protect that man. He said a little angrily, “I told you… I had nothing to do with the incident involving Emperor Lan Hua. Why do you keep bothering me and even taking out your anger on others?”

　　“Shut up!” Chu Xuan exploded in anger. “You’re not fit to speak his name!” His eyes were filled with rage. He looked as if he was going to charge at Chen Ge with his sword any minute.

　　Lan Hua?

　　Hmph, it looks like this has something to do with Boss Lan? Lonemoon narrowed his eyes as he pondered.

　　“I don’t want to discuss these old issues with you today.” Chu Xuan took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. “I think you have decided who the top three competitors are. How about this… I’ll also send three people from each level to compete with you?”

　　Chen Ge frowned in thought before replying, “Since Emperor Chu Xuan is so keen, we of the Feng Cang continent will play along.”

　　“Good! Then we will meet at the Interspatial Arena at noon tomorrow!” With a wave of his hand, he summoned a huge gust of wind and vanished into the air.

　　Che Ge sighed deeply. Turning to look at the crowd, he said gravely, “You have all witnessed what happened. Looks like I’ll have to ask all of you to stay a while longer at Heavens beyond Heaven.”

　　The various state emperors responded by saying that they would all support the Feng Cang continent in the upcoming battle.

　　Shen Ying’s group were also feeling exhilarated.

　　So exhilarated that… they could not wait to get back to find out about the story involving Boss Lan and Chu Xuan!