Chapter 94: Who’s Next?

　　Below the White Magnificent Peak, everybody held their breath.

　　On the high stage, after watching Ban Qin be defeated so quickly, an Elder from the line of Dawn abruptly stood up, “How is this possible?!”

　　He only sat down after someone urged him to, but he did so with anger.

　　The old lady at the upper door was an Elder in the Assimilation Realm; if Lu Mingshu had defeated Ban Qin through some kind of trick, she would have noticed and said something. Since she didn’t, that indicated that Lu Mingshu defeated Ban Qin fairly.

　　However, how could it be possible for the spectators to accept that fact? Ban Qin was the best in the line of Dawn.

　　Even Jie Wenhan couldn’t defeat Ban Qin easily. If Lu Mingshu could take Ban Qin down in no time, how powerful was she? Moreover, she only entered the Harmonization Realm a few months ago!

　　When Lu Mingshu declared her challenge earlier, everyone commended her courage. However, in their hearts, they just figured her as an innocent little kid who didn’t know anything, and they couldn’t wait to see her fall into despair when she lost.

　　But in actuality, the ones who were falling into despair were the spectators, not Lu Mingshu!

　　“Father,” Fu Mingtang looked over at his father.

　　But Fu Shangqing just continued to stare at the phantom mirror in silence.

　　“How arrogant!” Amongst the crowd, a shout could be heard as someone stood up.

　　It was a man in a green robe. His eyebrows were thick, making him look stern, which paired perfectly with his solemn presence.

　　Lu Mingshu turned to look at him. After quickly looking him over, she asked, “How do I address you, sir?”

　　“Tang Jingrong from the line of Scarlet Sunrise!”

　　Lu Mingshu then greeted him, “So, it’s Senior Uncle Tang.”

　　Tang Jingrong. A potential candidate for genuine successor disciple. The line of Scarlet Sunrise.

　　Tang Jingrong went up to the platform, “You want to block the way, huh? Well, let me speak to your sword!” He said mockingly.

　　Lu Mingshu nodded, “Senior Uncle, please.”

　　What, she doesn’t have anything else to say? Tang Jingrong was taken aback by her behaviour, then angered since he felt that she was being disrespectful.

　　“Okay then! Let me bring you to your senses, you arrogant little kid!”

　　The whole platform turned bright red as Tang Jingrong pulled out his sword.

　　Flaming Sword –

　　an infamous method from the line of Scarlet Sunrise. All their methods involved the element of Fire, due to their line inhabiting Scarlet Sunrise Village. Scarlet Sunrise Village was a land steeped in the essence of Fire, so it was considered normal for the residents to fuse fire into their methods.

　　The bright red light became a sea of flames as it made a beeline toward Lu Mingshu.

　　Using his status as a fifteenth generation disciple, he accepted Lu Mingshu’s challenge in order to put her down and show off his abilities.

　　The sea of flames was so huge that it engulfed the whole platform.

　　Below the platform, shrieks could be heard.

　　“Senior Uncle Tang’s flames are quite something!”

　　“Yes, the flames are huge! Maybe they could even take down Senior Uncle Kuai!”

　　Upon hearing such praise, Tang Jingrong tilted his head back in pride. Why do I always work so hard? It’s been years, and all I’ve wanted was a moment to shine just like this! Lu Mingshu, thanks for being the first stepping stone on my journey toward becoming a genuine successor disciple!

　　“Hah!” Tang Jingrong shouted. The sea of flames curved inward and went for Lu Mingshu.

　　The raging flames had the characteristics of a sword as they burned and sliced everything in their way. The attack seemed to hide the sky and cover the earth

　　Seeing that Lu Mingshu was just standing there and letting the flames engulf her, Tang Jingrong was secretly delighted.

　　Why say boastful things when you don’t even have the ability to escape one attack?

　　Among the sea of flames, a tint of mystic light could be seen as it started to grow bigger. The delighted look on Tang Jingrong’s face disappeared immediately

　　Boom——

　　The sea of flames turned into smoke, leaving behind some ashes that slowly fell to the ground.

　　As soon as Tang Jingrong saw what happened, his face turned red with anger. He attacked several more times in his anger, completely ignoring his status as a senior.

　　Both parties dashed forward, and the clashing of swords could be heard. Suddenly, a ray of light shot up into the air before dropping back down to the ground.

　　Clang——

　　The disciples’ eyes followed the ray of light. The broken blade of a sword was lodged in the stone platform, still vibrating.

　　Tang Jingrong stood motionless as he blankly stared at his broken sword.

　　He noticed his reflection on the other sword, which was pointed directly at his chest.

　　“You let me win, Senior Uncle Tang.”

　　Tang Jingrong blanked out for a while. When he regained his senses, he threw his broken sword on the ground and walked away, covering his face out of embarrassment.

　　I didn’t even get to fight the guard!

　　“Trash!” Shao Zhengyang muttered.

　　Yuan Ziyang turned to look at Tang Jingrong before adding, “He highly values his pride. It’s hard for him to bear such embarrassment.”

　　“Hmph!” Shao Zhengyang snickered.

　　“Losing to someone stronger than you is a disgrace? How can you win when you don’t even have the courage to lose!?”

　　Yuan Ziyang remained silent for a while before asking, “Do you think… we can defeat her?”

　　Meanwhile, Jie Wenhan pulled Ban Qin to the side.

　　“What happened? Why is she still alive and kicking?”

　　After being defeated, Ban Qin was still in denial. Toward Jie Wenhan’s questions, all he did was reply with a shake of his head.

　　Jie Wenhan furrowed her eyebrows, “You only lost once yet you’re so upset about it? Answer my questions properly!”

　　Ban Qin looked up at her, face covered in shock.

　　Jie Wenhan took a deep breath and changed her tone.

　　“So, what exactly happened? Wasn’t she badly injured? Why is she here right now? And why did you fight with her?”

　　“Senior Aunt! That’s my question to you! Aren’t you the one who said that she’s dead?” Ban Qin whined, feeling wronged and upset. He then summarized the whole situation for Jie Wenhan. “Senior Aunt, is she that strong? While fighting with her…” I couldn’t even resist.

　　Ban Qin didn’t finish his sentence. It’s so embarrassing. Not only did I lose, but I also couldn’t even fight back.

　　“That’s weird. I examined her wounds; even if she was able to survive, she would still be wounded. How could she have recovered so fast?” Jie Wenhan ruminated over what Ban Qin said. She hadn’t seen Lu Mingshu fight before, but she could tell that she was good. However, even for Jie Wenhan herself, it wasn’t so easy to defeat Ban Qin, which Lu Mingshu did in no time. Suspicious.

　　“Senior Aunt Jie, what should we do? Lu Mingshu is blocking the path over here, and Zhou Yinru still hasn’t arrived….”

　　“She’s not coming. I heard that she’s left the competition,” Jie Wenhan replied.

　　“What happened?” The unexpected news almost knocked him over.

　　“I heard that she was attacked on her way up, and her injury was so bad that she had no choice but to leave,” Jie Wenhan sneered, “but in reality, she was the one who tried to attack Lu Mingshu with the help of Jun and Rui Xiang. That’s why the three of them ended up leaving while Lu Mingshu ended up seriously injured.”

　　“What?”

　　“Let’s wait and see what happens. I bet that Lu Mingshu not only wants to hold us back, she also probably wants to hold back the line of Jade Terrace too.”

　　Jie Wenhan hummed. In high spirits, she continued, “Interesting! It’s unexpected, but she’s gonna make things fun!”

　　After defeating Tang Jingrong, Lu Mingshu stood up straight with pride while grabbing her sword tightly and eyeing everybody.

　　Despite having such a young age and thin body frame, she looked at everyone disdainfully out of the corner of her eyes.

　　Four years of hard work and holding herself back. It was all for this moment. Who could stop her now?

　　“Who’s next?!” She bellowed, attracting the attention of the crowd.