Chapter 121 The Only Way to Defeat Fear

　　The gazes of many disciples seemed to be filled with panic…

　　However, that was not a big deal. As long as they were not curious, intrigued, or excited, it would not be a big deal.

　　Li Changshou had expected that reaction from his peers.

　　The only thing he was worried about was whether the elders in the sect would be displeased with the small punishment that he had given that disciple.

　　Li Changshou weighed the pros and cons carefully.

　　We

　　When that disciple provoked him verbally, it was already tantamount to scolding all the seniors of Little Qiong Peak.

　　If he did not respond, others might think that he was scheming. That way, they would be wary of him and that would affect his image as an incompetent immortal seedling.

　　The response and punishment that he had given would not harm the other party, and it would also seem like a joke. It would also make others feel that he was not scheming because he had taken revenge on the spot…

　　Li Changshou sat back down on his meditation cushion and scanned his surroundings. The disciples either turned their heads away or hung their heads low, not daring to look at him.

　　He took a few glances at his Little Aunt-Master, who was smiling at the side. He thought to himself in awe, Ah, the wonders of heaven and earth, the wonders of living creatures, and the wonders of the world.

　　Then, he closed his eyes to rest and “replenish his Dharma powers” while secretly casting the Wind Speech Incantation and monitoring his surroundings. Soon, Li Changshou smiled.

　　Most of the elders who had some reactions were biased towards him.

　　Although he had done them a favor by giving them the Ambition Pill, they were all reasonable people. Most of them felt that the disciple of the Immortal Downpour Peak had been rude first.

　　Li Changshou had already planned in detail. He would appear a few more times later. He would fight normally and not use the Earth Escape. Regardless of whether he won or lost, he would be able to build a “positive” and “ordinary” image for himself.

　　The next battle between disciples had already begun.

　　Coincidentally, both of them had started dabbling with the Earth Escape technique after watching the sparring session between Li Changshou and Ao Yi back then. After seeing Li Changshou’s battle earlier, both of them were full of confidence. They smiled.

　　The executives in the sect reminded them to stop as soon as they scored a point. The battle then began.

　　The two male disciples bowed and looked at each other. Their auras were connected and they flew backward at the same time.

　　The two of them quickly moved their hands and launched spells. Their actions were very similar as if they were copying each other!

　　The Dharma seals were formed at the same time. The two of them threw out two Dharma treasures each. The Dharma treasures that were thrown out a flying sword, a Ruyi Scepter, a flying dagger, and a small gourd…

　　Earth Escape!

　　Earth Escape!

　　Boom! Boom! The moment the two figures landed on the ground, it was as if a trap had appeared on the ground. They were forcefully thrown into the trap and disappeared!

　　The surrounding disciples looked around. The immortals standing on the jade platforms in the clouds were also staring intently.

　　The four Dharma treasures floated in mid-air and revolved…

　　The target… disappeared…

　　The two disciples underground were also stunned.

　　They had obtained inspiration from the Spiked Mace of Little Qiong Peak. They could hide with the Earth Escape technique and use Dharma treasures to attack their opponents. They would then be invincible.

　　However… how do they use Earth Escape? The female disciples from one of the peaks burst out laughing. More and more laughter could be heard.

　　The expert from the Immortal Du Sect on the jade platform felt a little awkward. However, he suddenly heard a burst of laughter that was rather weak. The Sect Leader, Daoist Wuyou, was already laughing while seated on the main seat.

　　“The disciples of this batch are quite interesting… Haha.” *Coughs*

　　The people from Golden Ao Island, Ren School, and the insignificant immortal sects all looked down with a smile.

　　Originally, they had thought that that half a month would be boring and that there would naturally be nothing much to see during battles between disciples who had yet to become immortals.

　　However, he did not expect the Immortal Du Sect to be that interesting.

　　After a while, the two disciples who were fighting, thought of a way to deal with the situation. They began to search underground and secretly came up with strategies…

　　After a “great battle”, one of the disciples had a slip-up and was driven out of the ground. He was immediately slightly injured by two Dharma treasures that had been waiting to be launched for a long time. He lost the opportunity to do well.

　　During the later fights, some disciples used Earth Escape.

　　As a result, Li Changshou’s Earth Escape technique became more concealed. It made people feel that it was not that outstanding. It was as if it was the Immortal Du Sect’s special immortal technique… However, the average duration of the battle became a little longer.

　　After another two hours, Youqin Xuanya took the stage and dealt with her opponent without losing her composure. She was still enjoying the limelight that she usually did as the Head Disciple… The first day of the battle ended. The disciples had also gone through one round of fighting. The twelfth match of the preliminary round was the most time-consuming. However, during the later parts of the preliminary round, the progress became faster and the battles became more exciting as well.

　　An hour later, a Heaven Immortal Elder would be explaining the Dao to the disciples. During that hour, the disciples would also make some conclusions…

　　Li Changshou, who had been meditating the entire time, suddenly heard the sounds of chanting coming from the side.

　　Jiu Jiu carried half a pot of wine and shook her head.

　　“The East Continent is in the west of the East Ocean. There is a faction of the Ren School in the East Continent, known as the Immortal Du Sect. In Little Qiong Peak of the Immortal Du Sect, there’s a disciple named Li Changshou. Now, he’s in the Dao Requital realm. He’s good at alchemy, array formations, and escape techniques. He loves to stab others!”

　　Ling’e smiled and said, “Uncle-Master, stop it. Senior Brother is going to be angry.”

　　“Little Changshou!”

　　“Huh?” Li Changshou opened his eyes and looked over. He smiled and took out two bottles of Sugar Bean Pills. Jiu Jiu snatched them away.

　　Jiu Jiu smiled in satisfaction and said, “Give me your Dharma treasure for fun!”

　　“It’s just a Dharma artifact.” Li Changshou took out the Spiked Mace and handed it to his Aunt-Master. “There are many outsiders now. Aunt-Master, you must not go and make fun of others.”

　　“Hmph! Am I that unreliable?”

　　Jiu Jiu rolled her eyes and carried the Spiked Mace on her shoulder. She puffed her chest out proudly and then flew out on a cloud.

　　Not long after, a scream could be heard from afar.

　　When the wonderful weapon returned, the sharp spikes were stained with immortal blood. The disciples did not dare to look at it at all.

　　“As expected, it’s such a thrill!”

　　Jiu Jiu returned the spiked club to Li Changshou. “Lend it to me and let me play with it again next time!”

　　The corners of Li Changshou’s mouth lips twitched slightly. He did not dare to ask further and put away the Spiked Mace.

　　On the first day, the elder who started preaching the Dao and reading sutras was the Deputy Sect Leader, Exalted Zhong Yu.

　　The old Daoist priest flew into the sky and recited a few mysterious sutras that he might not even understand. Then, he began to talk about the Kindness Sutra of Ren School.

　　After all, it was impossible to talk about the contents of the Inaction Scripture.

　　That night, the disciples held themselves back from yawning and listened to the lecture for the entire night.

　　The guests on the jade platform had already returned to the Immortal Du Hall. There was a banquet to entertain them. They sat and chatted happily.

　　The next morning, the disciples were in high spirits again. The second preliminary round had already begun.

　　Jiu Jiu, who had gone to the Immortal Du Hall to eat and play for half the night, also appeared behind Li Changshou and Ling’e on time.

　　Jiu Jiu said, “Little Ling’e, continue working hard. When you go on stage, don’t be afraid. Beat them until they cry like you did yesterday! Little Changshou… if you meet a female disciple, don’t use the move that you applied yesterday!”

　　“Don’t worry, Aunt-Master.” Li Changshou smiled. “I know my limits.” Perhaps it was because Aunt-Master Jiu Jiu’s mouth was consecrated, but Li Changshou met a female opponent during the 132nd match of the day.

　　Today, there seemed to be no hidden schemes. The elders did not arrange for a “battle of equal strength”. This female disciple was only at the sixth stage of the Void Return realm. She was slightly inferior to Li Changshou…

　　When she saw Li Changshou flying over the disciples’ heads and landing on the field together with her, the female disciple’s face turned pale.

　　Li Changshou continued to follow his previous plan. He would not use Earth Escape this time, nor would he use his Spiked Mace. He would just use the talisman array formations to force his opponent to admit defeat.

　　However, what Li Changshou did not expect was…

　　The two executives in the sect checked the jade slips in their hands and retreated to the side. One of the executives raised his hand to signal for the battle to begin. The female disciple took two steps back and looked at Li Changshou vigilantly.

　　Li Changshou tried his best to put on a calm smile. Seventy-two talismans flew out of his sleeves…

　　What a familiar opening routine…

　　“I admit defeat!”

　　Li Changshou stopped his actions.

　　The female disciple’s face was full of grief and anger. She gritted her teeth, her eyes filled with indignation as if she had suffered a huge humiliation. After saying that, the female disciple turned around and flew away. Her back view was resolute.

　　Li Changshou was rendered speechless.

　　What did I do?

　　For a moment, the gazes that were cast on Li Changshou were mostly filled with helplessness and condemnation. There was also a hint of fear as if he had really bullied that female disciple.

　　Shaking his head, Li Changshou rode a cloud back to his seat and sat down with his legs crossed.

　　Today’s match is really baffling.

　　However, it was not just the match on the second day that was baffling…

　　On the third round of the third day, Li Changshou appeared at noon. His opponent was an outstanding disciple who was ranked amongst the top 100 places within the sect, and his cultivation level had reached the ninth stage of the Void Return realm.

　　Before that person faced Li Changshou, his eyes were filled with fear. He kept pinching his fingers to deduce and calculate as if he was planning to use his insignificant deduction ability to immediately come up with a strategy to deal with the Earth Escape technique and the Spiked Mace.

　　This time, without waiting for the executive of the sect to move forward, the disciple let out a long sigh…

　　“I can’t undo this spell.”

　　Then, he bowed to Li Changshou and flew towards the crowd.

　　“Li Changshou, the disciple of the Little Qiong Peak has won!”

　　Li Changshou was rendered speechless.

　　It’s alright. There are seven more matches later. It’d be enough for me to salvage my reputation.

　　Although he was using the Wind Speech Incantation, he only heard a few words.

　　“That ruthless person from the Little Qiong Peak has scared off two of his opponents.”

　　“There’d be no way out if I didn’t retreat. It’s impossible to deal with his Earth Escape and the Spiked Mace… It’s said that the Spiked Mace is an Immortal Treasure that can break through the protective immortal light.”

　　“Sigh, I didn’t think that there would be such an unexpected expert this time. We underestimated that ruthless person from Little Qiong Peak.”

　　“What should we do if we get matched with him tomorrow?”

　　“Just admit defeat. There are still so many matches. It’s impossible for me to run into him twice.”

　　Hence, on the fourth day… The familiar face from yesterday appeared in front of Li Changshou again. However, it was in the afternoon instead of noontime. Before the executive in the sect could move forward, Li Changshou immediately said, “Junior Brother, why don’t we fight him head-on…”

　　“Why is it Senior Brother again…”

　　There was a look of helplessness on the man’s face. He looked up and heaved a long sigh. “Time and fate. In the end, I still can’t break your spell. There are always some things in this world that I can’t do. This is the logic that Master told me about. As people, there is no need to force ourselves. What we want to achieve from cultivating Dao is freedom. Senior Brother… I admit defeat.”

　　After saying that, this person’s face turned gloomy as he turned around and flew out of the arena.

　　His back view was bleak, and it felt as if a familiar string instrument was playing…

　　The corners of Li Changshou’s mouth twitched a few times. He looked at the fourth square on his jade slip, which lit up. He flew back to his seat expressionlessly.

　　The words that he had heard using the Wind Speech Incantation were filled with emotions.

　　“How ruthless. This junior brother has been driven crazy.”

　　“This junior brother is unlucky. However, the third time…”

　　“Hey, don’t say that. You’ll be in trouble!”

　　The corners of Li Changshou’s mouth twitched. Ling’e, who was at the side, wanted to say something but stopped herself. However, she was quickly pulled away by Jiu Jiu who advised her regarding her battle techniques for tomorrow.

　　Ling’e had won three battles and lost one. She had previously lost to a senior sister who was ranked in the 72nd place, but her cultivation level had not been completely exposed.

　　On the fifth day, the “reputation dilemma” that Li Changshou finally had a chance at turning things around for the “reputation dilemma” that he was facing. He was going to fight against Liu Sizhe, the immortal seedling of the Du Lin Peak, who was currently ranked sixth in the sect! Finally, they could fight fair and square in a battle of “equal strength”! Li Changshou, the “hidden guardian of the Immortal Du Sect” during the previous calamity, actually felt a little excited. “Junior Brother Liu,” Li Changshou said in a clear voice, “Today, we will go all out and fight openly. How about that?” Liu Sizhe forced a wry smile and said seriously, “Today, I will definitely experience Senior Brother Li’s spells and techniques. I will not retreat without fighting like the others have. Also, I have made some preparations.”

　　Li Changshou heaved a sigh of relief and felt rather emotional for a while.

　　Look! What is an immortal seedling?

　　This is what an immortal seedling should be like!

　　Confidence, calmness, and grace. He was able to display the right spirit and appearance of the current disciples of the Immortal Du Sect very well, bringing glory to his teachers!

　　As a fellow disciple who was also an immortal seedling, Li Changshou could not help but feel a little… proud.

　　The two sect executives acted as usual and checked the jade slips in their hands…

　　Liu Sizhe took out a few treasures. As the immortal seedling of Du Lin Peak, Liu Sizhe naturally could not lack them.

　　In particular, he had an immortal-treasure-ranked armor. After taking it out, he hesitated slightly before undoing the armor and wrapping it around his waist to cover the area of weaknesses on his body.

　　After thinking about it, Liu Sizhe seemed to feel that something was amiss. He took out another treasure robe and strengthened it worriedly.

　　After that, Liu Sizhe held a longsword and smiled at Li Changshou.

　　“Senior Brother, please enlighten me.”

　　Li Changshou was rendered speechless.