Are You Defending Him

Thinking of this, he nodded:

"Reporting to the Palace Lord, this disciple indeed already possesses the cultivation of the peak Mystic Martial Realm."

Hearing this, the three elders nearby were all startled.

Ye Yigeng wore a hearty smile and patted Xiao Rui on the shoulder amiably:

"Hahahahaha, besides the Holy Son and Saintess, our Azure Cloud Palace actually has such an outstanding disciple."

Zhao Zhixuan also smiled and nodded:

"It seems that this time, we will definitely make a great name for ourselves in the Sect Grand Competition of the Questioning Immortals Realm four months from now."

Only Lu Shenxing frowned with a suspicious expression:

"Xiao Rui, I've heard of you. Two months ago, your cultivation was merely at the late Human Martial Realm. How is it that your cultivation has surged to the peak of the Mystic Martial Realm in just two months?"

"Did you encounter some great stroke of fortune, or did you resort to unorthodox paths?"

If one observed carefully, they would notice that Lu Shenxing's eyes held not only suspicion, but also greed.

His cultivation had been stuck in the late Spirit Channeling Realm for a long time, while Zhao Zhixuan and Ye Yigeng had already reached the perfection of the Spirit Channeling Realm.

Fu Hanqiu had even reached the peak of the Spirit Channeling Realm, just a hair's breadth away from breaking through to the Spirit Sovereign Realm.

Due to having the lowest cultivation, his right to speak had always been the smallest.

Coupled with the fact that two months ago, his granddaughter Lu Jinyan had, at his instigation, picked a fight with Saintess Xia Wantang, only to return looking disheveled and disgraced, this matter had spread all over the inner sect and caused him to completely lose face.

Therefore, he was extremely eager for his own cultivation to achieve a major breakthrough to redeem the face of First Elder.

Yet his strength was lacking, and he was temporarily unable to break through.

Xiao Rui's appearance gave him new hope:

Could it be that this brat possessed some secret that could rapidly elevate one's cultivation?

Naturally, Xiao Rui sensed Lu Shenxing's malice. Just as he wanted to open his mouth to explain, Fu Hanqiu spoke up preemptively:

"Wantang has already told this seat that Xiao Rui simply knows how to hide his clumsiness and act low-profile. Even when his cultivation improved, he didn't let outsiders know."

"Now, for the inner sect grand competition, he is only willing to display his strength in order to be selected for the Sect Grand Competition."

Zhao Zhixuan also disagreed, saying:

"Elder Lu, there are so many ways to hide one's cultivation. We don't need to get to the bottom of it regarding a junior."

Ye Yigeng smoothed things over from the side:

"Hahaha, the most important thing is that if Azure Cloud Palace can make a name for itself in the Questioning Immortals Realm Sect Grand Competition this time, we won't have to worry about outstanding new disciples in the future."

The other three all exerted pressure on Lu Shenxing, leaving him no choice but to vent his anger onto Xiao Rui:

Xiao Rui, is it? So what if your cultivation is high? Without good cultivation methods and practical combat experience, you're probably just all show and no substance.

When the inner sect grand competition started in the afternoon, he would definitely have his personal disciple thoroughly deflate the boy's arrogance.

Right, and there was also that Xia Wantang.

Although it was his granddaughter who first took the initiative to stir up trouble, in the end it had damaged his prestige, so he was definitely going to reclaim his lost face in front of these two juniors!

Seeing Lu Shenxing's expression, Xiao Rui frowned inwardly:

Elder Sword, this junior always feels that this Elder Lu harbors malicious intentions.

Elder Sword quickly replied:

You must guard against him well during the sparring matches. This Lu Shenxing doesn't look like an upright gentleman.

Thinking of something, Xiao Rui became even more worried:

Lu Shenxing is also Lu Jinyan's grandfather. There's no guarantee he doesn't only want to trouble this junior, but might also make a move against Senior Sister Xia.

Elder Sword's tone was one of extreme exasperation at someone failing to meet expectations:

That girl Xia Wantang has such high cultivation and such great talent; her trump cards are definitely no fewer than yours. You'd better worry about yourself first!

Xiao Rui sighed:

But I want to be Senior Sister's companion on the Dao. Even if my ability is lacking, I should still strive to share her worries.

Besides... his rival in love looked so outstanding, which made him feel very uneasy.

Regarding Xiao Rui's thoughts, Elder Sword expressed understanding:

That girl is indeed quite good in all aspects. It's normal for you to have such an outstanding rival in love.

Kid, perform well. If you can defeat Fu Lingyun, you will definitely make that girl look at you in a new light.

On the other side, Xia Wantang and Ye Xing arrived together at the spectator stands high above the arena.

Since they could directly advance to the top four, they had no need to participate in the initial elimination matches.

Only after the inner sect disciples vied to produce the two strongest individuals would they take the stage.

Xia Wantang lowered her gaze and happened to see Xiao Rui walking into the grounds.

She didn't know what had just happened on Xiao Rui's end, but her favorability value had increased by another two points.

This way, she had just managed to save up for another ten-draw.

Right at this moment, Ye Xing by her side suddenly spoke up:

"Junior Sister, I feel that this Xiao Rui is not simple and has many secrets on him. Don't be fooled by him."

Xia Wantang:...Actually, I have even more secrets on me, come to think of it.

Besides, although the original text didn't write it in great detail, she more or less understood the male protagonists.

Up until now, only Lin Xi was an exception.

"Senior Brother, I know what I'm doing. It's impossible for Junior Brother Xiao to have elevated his cultivation to this level at this age without some secrets."

"I merely feel that his future is promising and hold high hopes for him, that's all."

As Xia Wantang spoke, she turned her head to look at Ye Xing.

Ye Xing's expression turned dark and serious. Only a short while later did he speak:

"This is merely the inner sect grand competition. I will prove that I am stronger than Xiao Rui, and you should hold higher hopes for me."

Xia Wantang:...

These two Sons of Destiny were actually getting competitive.

After all, their favorability ratings towards her had both reached 65. Generally, once it hits 60 or above, they realize that they genuinely like the host, leading to a sense of rivalry.

"Cough cough, can't they just be a bit more magnanimous?"

Pfft, after all, they were Sons of Destiny; they certainly had their pride. Besides, the two of them were strangers right now, not even friends.

Sigh, all of this was of her own doing. She could only say she had to keep things steady for now.

Xia Wantang deliberated and replied:

"Senior Brother, you are naturally the strongest of the younger generation in Azure Cloud Palace."

Of course he was, his cultivation had even caught up to the Palace Lord's.

"Why bother competing with an outer sect disciple?"

Wasn't it embarrassing?

Ye Xing's expression turned even worse:

"Are you defending him, hoping I'll show mercy to him?"

Xia Wantang:...Where was this even coming from?

Forget it, she wouldn't bother with them anymore. Let them scheme however they pleased; after all, Sons of Destiny were unkillable cockroaches—they wouldn't die so easily.

Moreover, the power of the plot was very strong. No matter how much Ye Xing and Xiao Rui were at odds right now, they would still slowly come to recognize each other over time.

"Senior Brother, let's watch the match properly. Look, the elimination rounds have already begun!"

As she spoke, Xia Wantang reached out and tugged at Ye Xing's sleeve.

This small action effectively placated Ye Xing's emotions:

At least Junior Sister Xia only ever displayed this kind of girlish demeanor in front of him.

Right, after all, he was the one she truly admired; what did Xiao Rui count as?

After some self-consolation, Ye Xing finally cast his gaze toward the arena, completely forgetting that at the very beginning, he had intended to use Xia Wantang as a chess piece.

The format of the elimination rounds involved all participating disciples gathering together, launching free-for-all attacks, with the final twenty remaining entering the tournament proper.

Most disciples of average strength would choose to temporarily form alliances with others and join forces to deal with more powerful enemies.

Take Xiao Rui, for instance. Hearing that he possessed peak Mystic Martial Realm cultivation, the other disciples were unwilling to let an inner sect spot be snatched away by an outer sect disciple, so they all teamed up to target him.

However, a counterattacking male protagonist was precisely the type to grow stronger the more he was battered. The more dangerous his situation and the more he was targeted, the better he was able to turn peril into safety.

They saw him wield his sword as fluidly as floating clouds and flowing water, scattering sword Qi in all directions--