Chapter 262 - Substitutes (1/2)
Chapter 262 Substitutes
“How are they strange?” Xiao Chen asked.
Han Moyang contemplated for a moment before replying, “The Order of the Divine Fire is an average sect located in the western border of the Middle Continent. It was behind us in the rankings in the previous assembly, but this time, they sent a disciple called Wan Yanyan. No one whose cultivation is below the Nascent Soul Realm is a match for him. From the looks of it, he seems to be a novice Nascent Soul Realm cultivator…”
“Nascent Soul Realm!”
Zhou Li cried out in surprise before Han Moyang could finish his explanation. His eyes were colored with disbelief. Qingyu and the rest, including Mu Shaoai, were also stunned. None of them had ever heard of a Nascent Soul Realm disciple hailing from any of the sects. Without fail, this cultivator would be the champion of the Immortal’s Sword Assembly. After all, not even ten peak of the Core Forming Realm cultivators were a match for a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator.
Everyone felt suffocated as if there was a great mountain pressing down on their heads.
Unlike the rest, Xiao Chen wasn’t surprised. He slowly said, “Nascent Soul Realm? If they have such strength, what are they doing in the Grade 5 district instead of going to the Grade 6 or even 7 district? Even if the Grade 7 district is tough, how much tougher can it be for a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator? And the Hearts of Illusory Moon they can rob every day are not enough for them at all in the Grade 5 district, right?”
Han Moyang nodded. “That’s the strange part. They keep a low profile, not acting as arrogant as the Fallen Immortals Sect and the Divine Mist Sect. With a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator among their ranks, they could very well fight these two sects. Brother Xiao, why do you think they’re doing this?”
“There’s only one possibility: Wan Yanyan isn’t the real thing. They must be avoiding Grade 6 and 7 districts out of fear of discovery.”
“Don’t tell me… Don’t tell me they hired an expert!” Qingyu said in disbelief.
Xiao Chen didn’t comment. There was a great loophole in the seven-day qualifying round in the Forest of Illusory Moon waiting to be exploited. If he, Qingluan, and Ziyun’er could “join” the Jade Qing Sect at the last minute, why couldn’t another sect invite an expert to “join” them at the last minute as well?
Even so, one shouldn’t be exploiting the loophole to invite some experienced master. It would plunge the world into chaos. Who among the young ones had truly stepped into the Nascent Soul Realm? As far as he knew, the only person with the chance to ascend to the Nascent Soul Realm among the younger generation was None-flower Dust alone.
However, why would someone like None-flower Dust help the Order of the Divine Fire? Even the Divine Mist Sect didn’t have enough sway to convince a young Nascent Soul Realm expert to help. While there were quite a few Nascent Soul Realm cultivators around, a young one was very rare—and that person surely hailed from an impressive background.
Regardless, the most pressing issue right now was the matter of the Hearts of Illusory Moon. Without going to a higher-grade district, they would gather at most another 200 Hearts in the next two days. Never mind cultivating in the Heaven-level Violet Illusory Land, they might not even make it to the Earth-level one. They would be forced to cultivate in the Human-level with other sects that didn’t make the cut. Perhaps over in the Human-level, they might be able to enter a higher-ranked one.
To be honest, he wasn’t desperate for those two months of cultivation. However, the situation was getting dangerous and his enemies were only getting stronger. He had lost too many years of his life; he couldn’t afford to lose these two months.
“Does the Order of the Divine Fire steal from everyone they see?” he asked, frowning.
Qin Shaoyang replied, “Not necessarily. They’d demand twenty Hearts from each person, so 200 in total for the whole ten-people team. Then they’d leave you alone.”
“That’s to say, each of you handed them 20 Hearts?” Zhou Li asked impatiently.
Embarrassed, Qin Shaoyang coughed a little.
Judging from their pathetic state, they must have undergone an intense and miserable battle before finally losing and having no choice but to hand over a part of their Hearts of Illusory Moon. Zhou Li stopped speaking as soon as he realized how rude he sounded.
For smaller sects, handing over 200 Hearts meant that they would be left with almost nothing.
Xiao Chen had a good grasp of the situation now. The Order of the Divine Fire’s dominance would only last for as long as they were in the Forest of Illusory Moon. They avoided Grade 6 and 7 districts out of fear of offending great powers like the Divine Mist Sect, Su family, and Fallen Immortals Sect. Basically, they were bullies of the weak and avoidant of the strong. They must have offended the Order of the Countless Blades and Xianyong Sect as a calculated risk in a moment of desperation.
Still, he was determined to enter the Grade 5 and 6 districts. Thinking of this, he imbued his jade pendant with a wisp of Divine Sense. “Senior Su Mei, are you there?”
“Yes. But I won’t help you.” Su Xiaomei refused him resolutely.
“Don’t misunderstand. I just want you to protect my companions in the event of a battle.”
Su Xiaomei said, “I can’t do that either. Your mother is a Su, and so are you. This is your training. I won’t help you. Moreover, I look forward to you meeting that kid from our family. Oh, and stop calling me Senior. You make me sound so old.”
She spoke no more. Xiao Chen sighed to himself. It seemed that she had made up her mind not to help him. Even so, he would never request Evernight in the Nine-heaven Jade Pendant to waste his Soul Power to help him.