Chapter 161: Fat Lambs

　　Indeed, he lived up to his name as the best disciple of one of the top three sects.

　　It was uncountable how many better-than-average Harmonization Realm disciples there were here that put themselves into Qi Zining’s situation, and the results…

　　He’s too fast! There isn’t even time to unravel any of his strategies.

　　It reminded Lu Mingshu of the strengthening seal that could freeze the opponent’s mystic force.

　　If she still had that with her, she might’ve still had a small chance of winning over Wei Chunqiu. Without it…

　　Nine Jade Palace had really declined too much. During the recent Heavenly Door competition, Kuai Xin was said to have a good chance to break through to the Spirit Realm in a few years’ time, similar to Wei Chunqiu. However, the difference in their actual ability was huge. With Lu Mingshu’s current ability, she had a 70-80% of defeating Kuai Xin, but if she went against Wei Chunqiu, it probably wasn’t even 20%.

　　After Wei Chunqiu kick-started the competition, other disciples from the strong sects started to submit their names as well.

　　One by one, the names were announced. Each time any of them went on stage, there would be disciples cheering loudly for them, and as they fought, they proved themselves worthy of those cheers.

　　During the fourth day, the challenger’s fight had entered a weird stage.

　　Despite all the experts coming up to challenge, the matches weren’t as interesting as the first three days.

　　The matches ended too quickly because of the huge difference between the two fighters’ abilities.

　　Not even a day had passed before there was a huge change to the name list.

　　The names who were in the higher ranks during the first three days could no longer be seen on the list as they were replaced by famous names.

　　That’s how it should be! Most of the spectators looked at the list with satisfaction.

　　The Qilin Festival – a gathering of the best – should be like this.

　　“Yu Chen from Fallen Skies Valley challenging Lu Mingshu from Nine Jade Palace!”

　　Silence took over the venue as the two names were announced.

　　“What the hell?” somebody muttered in irritation. “Can’t they just let us watch the good matches in peace?”

　　His fellow disciple patted him on the shoulder and shook his head. “You’re stupid. Yu Chen from Fallen Skies Valley is unlike those previous random guys.”

　　“Fallen Skies Valley… Yu Chen…. Oh! Isn’t he the…?” the guy gasped as he realized who it was.

　　Fallen Skies Valley was situated in Bei Ming, and they were the best sect there. Thus, Yu Chen could be considered quite well-known.

　　He wasn’t as good as Yue Lingyin, but he wasn’t far either. He entered the Harmonization Realm seven years ago, and he was the best disciple in Fallen Skies Valley.

　　In other words, he was more-or-less expected to be in the New Ranking. Even if he didn’t get in, he would only be a few ranks short.

　　Him challenging Lu Mingshu was no doubt for a different reason than the previous challengers – a real fight.

　　“Yu Chen?” In Amethyst Phoenix Pavilion’s tent, Yue Lingyin narrowed her eyes to get a better look. “That guy certainly has issues, eh?”

　　Her straightforwardness left her junior sister speechless. “Senior Sister Yue…” That’s another sect’s best disciple, can’t you give him some face?

　　“Hey, everyone’s busy trying to gain marks right now and yet he’s challenging Lu Mingshu. Either he lost his mind, or he never had one in the first place.”

　　“Senior Sister, look at the list….”

　　After half a day had passed, most people’s rankings and points had dropped, except for Lu Mingshu, who was still in the same position as the previous day. In other words, her points were way higher than anyone else present.

　　Yue Lingyin widened her eyes in surprise. “Huh? So he wants to get points from her?”

　　Duh. Her junior sister rolled her eyes.

　　But the next moment, she heard Yue Lingyin slamming the table happily. “See! He definitely has issues! Who would choose Lu Mingshu out of so many opponents? Haha, let’s see how he dies!”

　　In the other tents, people were similarly shocked, but the only one who would be as straightforward as Yue Lingyin was Qi Sheng.

　　“He must be the most idiotic human being ever!” Qi Sheng exclaimed.

　　Kou Wei hit him hard on the head. “Watch your language.”

　　“I am just stating the facts!” Qi Sheng pouted. “Hasn’t he watched the matches during the past three days? Isn’t it enough to show that Miss Lu is good? He should be careful not to cry when he loses, it will be so embarrassing, haha.”

　　Kou Wei sighed. “You can’t look at it that way. Miss Lu’s points right now are enough to make people’s eyes green with envy. If she wins a few more rounds, later on, she will be able to get into the New Ranking. If she’s lucky and nobody challenges her from this point on, she might be able to get into the New Ranking with just what she has now. The person who wants to take her down didn’t expect this, but she fought a lot of matches during the past three days.”

　　“But her power…”

　　“Somewhere around Bo Zhong’s,” Kou Wei said. “Yes, she’s good, but she’s only been in the Harmonization Realm for a year! You can only be good to a certain extent without strong basics. Furthermore, there’s no doubt that she’s not in her best state right now. Yu Chen definitely has a better chance of winning this.”

　　With all of the current conditions surrounding Lu Mingshu, some would dare to fight her, and Yu Chen, in particular, was the adventurous type.

　　Lu Mingshu went up on stage slowly.

　　Yu Chen’s appearance deviated from his name. He was young – either twenty-two or twenty-three – and he looked decent, but the way he walked and acted made him look like a gangster.

　　“Oh, Miss Lu, I finally get to meet you.” Yu Chen bowed and winked at her. “I’m called Yu Chen, the successor disciple of Fallen Skies Valley, and my master is Zuo Hufa. I’m the second eldest among the disciples, and I’m twenty-three this year. I’m still single and currently looking for a partner. I like gentle and caring girls, like-”

　　“So, nothing like me then?” Lu Mingshu cut him off.

　　Yu Chen laughed out loud. “Oh no, absolutely like you.”

　　“Gentle and caring?” Lu Mingshu sneered.

　　“Miss may seem to be an icy beauty, but your true personality is something that most can’t see….”

　　“Enough.” Lu Mingshu held up her hand. Just as nagging as Yu Kuang. “Games are unnecessary because they have no effect on me.”

　　Think that I’m easy? Don’t be stupid. Xie Lianzhen’s acting was excellent, and she could still see through him, so who was this Yu Chen?

　　Lu Mingshu furrowed her eyebrows. She felt a bit irritated. This will be a tough match; I must stay focused.

　　“Miss, why won’t you give me a chance?” Yu Chen smiled cheekily. “I’m really interested in you!”

　　“Hah!” Lu Mingshu sneered. She fished out her sword and pointed at him. “Shut up and start.”

　　She used the Physical Manifestation of Sword Intent as soon as the match started. The sword energy rushed up to the sky like a dragon and dashed toward Yu Chen.

　　“Miss Lu, I am not even done!” Yu Chen realized it and got into his ready position. “In that case, let’s just talk when the fight is over, okay? Haish.”

　　The sword energy dash toward him.

　　Yu Chen swayed his weapons and enlarged his mystic light, creating a shield.

　　In a normal scenario, he would be able to block the attack. However, when the sword energy clashed with the shield, Yu Chen’s hand felt sore.

　　He felt like he was being pinched, and the shield already had holes in it.