Chapter 97: Sixteen out of Sixteen.

　　“Senior Aunt!” Ban Qin nudged Jie Wenhan again.

　　Feeling irritated, Jie Wenhan snapped, “Poke me again and I will chop your finger off!”

　　Jie Wenhan rolled her eyes. She looked over and beckoned a disciple from the same line to come over, then whispered something to him.

　　“Senior Aunt, what did you tell him?” Being a busybody, Ban Qin asked as soon as the disciple left.

　　“Why do you always talk nonsense?” Jie Wenhan asked in annoyance before answering his question. “I asked him to challenge her so that she can use up more of her mystic force.”

　　Ban Qin’s eyes widened in surprise, “But isn’t that…?” He started to ask in a low voice.

　　“Devious?” Jie Wenhan sneered. “Do you think it’s only about us right now? If she defeats all of us, not only will we be embarrassed, the line of Fluffy Clouds will be embarrassed too. You guys – the line of Dawn – as well.”

　　“But…”

　　Jie Wenhan waved her hand, “It’s not like I’m asking you to fight her. You’ve already lost.”

　　That made Ban Qin speechless.

　　“I’ll take up the challenge!” A disciple stepped out of the crowd.

　　Without wasting any time, both parties attacked immediately after greetings were made.

　　Compared to the first four competitors, this disciple’s ability fell short. However, he had determination. Even knowing that he would lose, he still fought with all his might. The fight ended once again with Lu Mingshu breaking his weapon in half.

　　As soon as the disciple was defeated, another with similar qualities came up to challenge Lu Mingshu.

　　After numerous fights, Lu Mingshu figured out what was going on.

　　Trying to use up my mystic force and injure me, huh? Nice try, but it’s a pity that that plan won’t work.

　　Unlimited mystic force rushed through her meridians via meditation formulae. Her closed apertures then turned the mystic force into true energy, which then flowed into her Dantian. Paired with her exceptionally good control over her energy, she was able to balance her use of mystic force perfectly.

　　After a dozen or more rounds, disciples stopped coming up to challenge.

　　Blood started oozing from her arms. The continuous fights indeed left her with some cuts here and there, but that didn’t stop her from fighting; all she did was wrap her injuries with strips of cloth, then face the crowd once again, “Who’s next?”

　　Below the White Magnificent Peak, an uproar was happening among the spectating disciples.

　　“How many has she fought?”

　　“Sixteen….”

　　“Sixteen wins in a row! Wow… such an impressive result!”

　　“So, sixteen weapons have been broken now?”

　　“Yeah! I wonder what the fate of the next weapon will be….”

　　Lu Mingshu… who was she exactly? Reaching the Harmonization Realm at her age was already hard, and yet she could also win sixteen battles in a row in the Heavenly Door competition! Her ability was no worse than the best of the genuine successor disciples. Even if she lost afterwards, her streak had already made history. Comparing her to oneself, one has just wasted one’s life away living like a pig.

　　“What’s wrong with Wenhan?” The Zhou family’s Elder slammed his wine cup on the table in annoyance. “Why is she still taking up the challenge? Didn’t she get the message?”

　　Every disciple that Lu Mingshu defeated was like giving the Elders a tight slap on the face. By now, all the Elders’ faces should be swelling!

　　“Wenhan must have a plan,” The Elder of the line of Fluffy Clouds tried to defend Jie Wenhan, but his comment fell on deaf ears.

　　Many pairs of eyes involuntary landed on Fu Shangqing. Out of all the Elders, his face would be the most swollen; after this competition, there was no doubt that most disciples would hunt down Lu Mingshu’s origin.

　　Fu Shangqing remained silent. He sat there expressionlessly as if everything that just happened was none of his business.

　　However, the twins beside him reacted much differently. Fu Mingtang stared blankly into the phantom mirror while Fu Mingxi looked sullen.

　　“Father!” Fu Mingxi called.

　　Fu Shangqing turned to look at her.

　　“I’m upset!”

　　“Go find your mother then.” Fu Shangqing shrugged her off.

　　Fu Shangqing’s comment angered her. “Father…!”

　　She stomped and ran down the high stage.

　　All the disciples who were qualified to reach the upper door had already arrived.

　　Even so, no disciple dared to take up Lu Mingshu’s challenge. The streak of sixteen victories had them thinking twice before doing so.

　　Lu Mingshu scanned the crowd.

　　She didn’t even spare the ordinary disciples a glance. Her focus was on the potential genuine successor disciples. They are my opponents.

　　Her eyes landed on Tan Yubing and they made eye contact.

　　“Junior Niece Lu’s ability is astonishing. I concede defeat,” Tan Yubing replied with a smile.

　　The crowd was taken aback by her response.

　　There was no doubt that it would be hard to defeat Lu Mingshu, but given Tan Yubing’s ability, she still stood a chance at winning! Lu Mingshu’s definitely both physically and mentally tired after sixteen rounds, and Tan Yubing chose to give up without trying?

　　Was Tan Yubing being a coward, or did she really believe that she wouldn’t be able to defeat Lu Mingshu?

　　Seeing that Tan Yubing conceded defeat, Lu Mingshu diverted her attention away from Tan Yubing.

　　The Heavenly Door competition didn’t forbid sneak attacks, but if one admitted defeat then sneak attacking would be considered cheating, otherwise, the competition wouldn’t be able to continue properly.

　　Lu Mingshu then turned to stare at Yuan Ziyang.

　　Yuan Ziyang played with his peculiar-looking sword for a while before smiling at Lu Mingshu. He had a creepy smile that made people feel uncomfortable.

　　The crowd looked at him in anticipation. The previous disciples were all wannabes, but Yuan Ziyang was a genuine successor disciple.

　　To everyone’s surprise, Yuan Ziyang replied, “I too concede defeat.”

　　!!!

　　Yuan Ziyang conceded defeat? What is he thinking? Everyone was waiting for the moment where Lu Mingshu would fight a genuine successor disciple and yet Yuan Ziyang decided not to fight. Where’s his pride? Did he eat his own pride, or was it eaten by a dog?

　　Hearing Yuan Ziyang, Lu Mingshu then turned to… Jie Wenhan!

　　Jie Wenhan sighed. She had predicted Tan Yubing’s response; the line of Golden Door was inferior, so she wanted to wait for Lu Mingshu to mess up so that she could benefit. Yuan Ziyang’s reply did take Jie Wenhan aback for a moment, but after remembering that Shao Zhengyang was one of the first few to accept the challenge, she somehow understood Yuan Ziyang’s reply.

　　It’s hard, but… it’s time that the line of Jade Terrace put their pride aside. They may have already been on the weaker side, but if they couldn’t put their pride aside, they wouldn’t even be able to think about turning things around!

　　Jie Wenhan’s plan was going downhill. Jie Wenhan planned to let the previous disciples fight Lu Mingshu and tire her out. Then, when Tan Yubing or Yuan Ziyang fought her, they would be able to wound her, giving Jie Wenhan an advantage when she took on Lu Mingshu’s challenge….

　　“Junior Niece Lu, I’m afraid that this fight will be to your disadvantage,” Jie Wenhan stepped up.

　　“Senior Aunt Jie’s a genuine successor disciple and someone of the older generation, of course, Senior Aunt shouldn’t act rashly,” Lu Mingshu smiled.

　　Lu Mingshu sounded normal enough, but Jie Wenhan somehow felt that Lu Mingshu was hinting at something. Is it just me, or…?

　　“So, after watching the previous fights, does Senior Aunt think that I’m capable of fighting you?”

　　Jie Wenhan’s smile fell, embarrassment taking over her face. So, she knew. As a senior, scheming against a junior wasn’t something worth being proud of, but Jie Wenhan was left with no choice. She’s too powerful for me! It’s okay if others see me as someone without integrity, but the face of the line of Fluffy Cloud must be preserved!

　　Before Jie Wenhan could say anything, Lu Mingshu pulled out her sword. “Senior Aunt Jie, please.”