Chapter 7: Flaunting Seniority

After listening for a while, Lian Li understood. Yun Huizhou didn’t have much of a reputation; his sect had some fame, but it wasn’t known by everyone.

However, Lian Li felt that regardless of whether Yun Huizhou had been famous before, he would certainly be very famous after this competition.

Just like Zhao Honglan.

With this mindset, Lian Li adjusted his posture, preparing to get a good look at Yun Huizhou in action.

The last time Yun Huizhou had saved him, it had been pitch black, and he hadn’t seen much of anything.

Then, Lian Li was left speechless.

What on earth? How was it over in the blink of an eye?

He only saw the two figures rapidly close in on each other and then brush past. That Yang Jiang then dropped to one knee on the ground and uttered a single sentence: “I lose.”

Yun Huizhou replied, “I accept your concession.”

Immediately after, he flicked his body and returned to Lian Li’s side. Seeing Lian Li staring at him with a look of utter bewilderment, he raised an eyebrow triumphantly, as if to say, Impressive, right?

Lian Li hurriedly gave him two thumbs up.

At the same time, he secretly sighed in his heart—he had truly latched onto a powerful backer.

Sure enough, after defeating Yang Jiang, many people present turned their gazes toward Yun Huizhou.

Yun Huizhou tucked away his previous smug smile. He stood holding his saber, his face expressionless as he feigned an air of profound mystery. The wind was also tactful, blowing at just the right moment to give him the appearance of a transcendent master.

Lian Li also subconsciously stood up straighter, staring directly ahead.

The second round was no longer a 1v1, but a free-for-all with ten people per group.

The Martial Arts Alliance had assigned everyone from the same sect to different groups, while the other rogue cultivators were drawn at random.

If there were several acquaintances in a group, they would form a brief alliance to clear out the others before deciding on the final winner to advance to the next round.

Yun Huizhou was the only one from his sect who had come, so he was randomly assigned.

During the assignment, Senior Sister Qu suddenly teased, “If First Senior Brother and Brother Yun were assigned to the same group, wouldn’t the battle for the top spot happen ahead of schedule?”

Lian Li perked up upon hearing this. Senior Sister Qu’s meaning was that the champion of this competition would definitely be either Zhao Honglan or Yun Huizhou.

He knew Yun Huizhou was amazing, but he hadn’t expected him to be this amazing.

Furthermore, hearing Qu Tingquan say this, the other disciples of the Qinghong Sword Sect showed no intention of contradicting her.

The ten-person melee was even more exciting than the previous 1v1s.

Because Yun Huizhou’s performance in defeating Yang Jiang yesterday had been so outstanding, the people assigned to his group—aside from a very few who were extremely confident in themselves—all chose to team up. They wanted to knock Yun Huizhou out first.

As for the two who didn’t join the group, they also chose to stand by and watch, knowing Yun Huizhou was a formidable opponent.

They disdained ganging up with others, but they clearly weren’t going to lend Yun Huizhou a hand either.

Lian Li naturally saw through that group’s obvious intentions and stared at the field with some anxiety.

Then he realized his anxiety was for nothing.

Before long, those who had teamed up and those who hadn’t were all knocked out of bounds by Yun Huizhou, resulting in their failure.

“Beautifully done!” Lian Li suddenly clapped his hands and shouted.

Instantly, gazes from all directions converged on him.

He stiffened slightly, then lowered his head to his chest, pretending he hadn’t said anything just now.

Yun Huizhou naturally heard Lian Li’s voice as well. He looked up, only to see Lian Li shrinking back like a quail.

Scanning the surroundings, he also noticed many people staring at Lian Li. Among them, the disciples of one particular sect were glaring at Lian Li with fury.

Yun Huizhou’s gaze fell upon that sect; it was the sect of one of the people he had just knocked out, and also the sect of the person who had first suggested ganging up.

Withdrawing his gaze, he didn’t linger on the field. With a flash, he returned to Lian Li’s side, blocking all the surrounding stares.

Lian Li tugged at Yun Huizhou’s clothes from behind. Yun Huizhou turned to look at him. “What’s wrong?”

“Did I just draw too much aggro?” Lian Li asked him in a low voice.

Yun Huizhou waved it off dismissively. “Not at all. They besieged me and I knocked them all out. Wasn’t it beautifully done?”

As soon as he finished speaking, Lian Li felt the surrounding gazes become even more piercing against his back.

Sure enough, in the next second, a man of about forty years old let out a cold snort and said, “A yellow-mouthed brat who knows nothing of humility or the heights of the heavens. One day, you will surely bring suffering upon yourself.”

Lian Li’s brows furrowed upon hearing this. Why was it that in this kind of competitive event, one wasn’t even allowed to cheer when their own person won?

Besides, the two of them were celebrating by themselves; what did it have to do with him?

He hadn’t put anyone else down, and wasn’t what Yun Huizhou said the truth? If you’re besieged and you take out the people besieging you, isn’t that a job well done?

Thinking this, Lian Li looked over. It was indeed the elder of one of the people Yun Huizhou had just defeated.

When a disciple’s skills are inferior, an elder should be thinking about how to help the junior improve their martial arts so the disciple can reclaim their own honor. Instead, this man was narrow-minded enough to personally step in and make snide remarks. It was hard to say who was truly the embarrassing one.

With that thought, Lian Li opened his mouth, wanting to retort.

Just as he moved, he was pulled to the other side by Yun Huizhou.

“What are you do— mmpf.”

His mouth suddenly covered by Yun Huizhou, Lian Li thought Yun Huizhou was actually going to be a pushover.

He glared at Yun Huizhou but quieted down, comforting himself with the thought that the other side had more people and a wise man doesn’t fight against the odds.

To his surprise, Yun Huizhou had stopped him from speaking only to confront the middle-aged man directly himself.

He heard Yun Huizhou’s mouth twitch into a sneer as he said, “You’ve been ‘humble’ your whole life, yet in the end, you can only rely on flaunting your seniority just to wag your tongue a few more times.”

Lian Li’s eyes widened instantly. From an angle where the middle-aged man couldn’t see but Yun Huizhou could, he gave another thumbs up.

Yun Huizhou expressionlessly grabbed his hand and tucked his finger back in.

The disciples of the Qinghong Sword Sect had also looked over when the middle-aged man spoke, their brows furrowed just the same.

When their First Senior Brother had come down, they had also celebrated. Moreover, their First Senior Brother had finished at roughly the same time as this Brother Yun; that man might as well have been insulting their First Senior Brother too.

However, the Qinghong Sword Sect was a top-tier sect after all. It wasn’t appropriate for them to take the initiative to respond to such sour remarks that didn’t name names.

Yun Huizhou throwing the words back gave them a sense of immense satisfaction.

Hearing Yun Huizhou mock him like that, the middle-aged man immediately turned his head, his face filled with obvious rage. The disciples following behind him also looked on with fury; a few looked as if they were about to draw their swords.

Yun Huizhou reached out and pushed Lian Li into the midst of the Qinghong Sword Sect disciples. Gripping his saber, he stood there, meeting the group’s gazes head-on.