The Impact Was Too Great

"Hey! You old codger, it's good that you're in a hurry, it's just that you're not!" Yue Qianchou looked at the hand on his shoulder and said very seriously, "Elder Yan, you're hurting me."

"Ah!" Yan Tuo realized what was happening, immediately released his hand, and forced a rather awkward smile, saying, "Tell me your suspicions."

"Well! Since Elder Yan has asked, this disciple will naturally tell the truth." Yue Qianchou lowered his head and pondered for a while, then looked up and said, "Elder Yan may not know, Ghost General has a beloved concubine named Yu Ji, and my suspicions are related to her. When I begged the Ghost General to spare those disciples, I angered him and was kicked out. As I was leaving, I seemed to hear Yu Ji begging the Ghost General not to kill those people."

Yan Tuo's eyes widened as he asked, "Didn't you say you personally witnessed the Ghost General killing those disciples?"

"Who said that? I never said I Ghost General kill them with my own eyes. I would never dare to say anything without evidence. You know, when the Ghost General broke camp afterwards, I didn't even see a single one of the disciples' bodies. All the disciples present at the time saw it." Yue Qianchou looked very innocent.

Yan Tuo swallowed hard, his expression excited, and asked, "Do you remember what Yu Ji said back then?"

"Elder Yan, please don't rush me! So much time has passed, let me think it over!" Yue Qianchou said, frowning.

Yan Tuo nodded quickly and said, "Think about it slowly. Once you've figured it out, I won't rush you."

Yue Qianchou struck several thoughtful poses, seemingly trying to recall something, while Yan Tuo waited patiently on the side, making the former almost burst out laughing. After a long while, he slowly nodded and said, "That Yu Ji's original words seemed to be something like this—General, I've seen those servants who serve me in Yin Feng Valley for thousands of years and I'm really tired of them. Why don't you release them and send them to Yin Feng Valley as servants to add some life to the place? What do you think?"

After Yue Qianchou perfectly imitated Yu Ji's way of speaking, he came to his senses and said seriously, "If I remember correctly, that's how she should have said it."

"Do you remember if the Ghost General agreed to her request?" Yan Tuo asked excitedly.

Yue Qianchou frowned and pondered, "Because I had already stepped outside the tent at the time, I seemed to vaguely hear the Ghost General say something like 'Very good,' but thinking about it afterwards, I felt that I must have misheard. Otherwise, after the Ghost General let them go, how could we not even see their shadows? Alas! Elder Yan, just pretend I didn't say anything today! My account of what happened that day was purely speculation, so let's take everyone's conclusion as the truth! This disciple has some matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave first."

Yan Tuo stood there somewhat lost in thought. It took him a long time to come to his senses before he realized that Yue Qianchou had long since disappeared. He opened his mouth, then froze in place.

Two days later, a large wooden sign in the square in front of the Penglai Pavilion announced the list of participants for the competition, attracting a large crowd. Nearly three hundred disciples were competing in the Nascent Soul Realm, while almost a thousand were competing in the Core Formation stage, almost all of them disciples of the Cultivation Pavilion. However, there was one exception: at the very bottom, it clearly stated, "Alchemy Pavilion – Early Core Formation Stage – Yue Qianchou."

The more than a thousand disciples of the Cultivation Pavilion stood out prominently against the backdrop of the text above. It was unclear whether someone was deliberately being mischievous or what, but the text at the bottom was twice as large as the text above, making it impossible for it not to stand out.

This news immediately caused a huge uproar on Fu Xian Island. Firstly, no one expected the renowned Yue Qianchou to have reached the Core Formation stage so quickly. Secondly, no one expected something unseen for thousands of years to happen—a disciple from another lineage was going to the Cultivation Pavilion! It was truly something to look forward to! In comparison, no one paid attention to why his cultivation had improved so rapidly; everyone was speculating Yue Qianchou could win...

Thanks to the celebrity effect, the Alchemy Pavilion suddenly became the focus of Fu Xian Island. Whenever someone encountered a disciple of the Alchemy Pavilion, they would stop him and ask him questions, naturally about Yue Qianchou. The questions asked were strange and unusual, and most people felt that Yue Qianchou was looking for a thrill.

The courtyard where Yue Qianchou lived was also constantly receiving visitors. The first to arrive was Furong. After the two spent some time together, they parted ways. Then Gu Qingyun arrived, and upon seeing him, he asked in astonishment, "Tsk tsk! Your actions are no different from challenging the Cultivation Pavilion! Many of our Core Formation stage disciples in the Cultivation Pavilion are hoping to meet you in their first battle, and then defeat you to make a name for themselves. By the way, when did you reach the Core Formation stage? How come I didn't know? It seems that having the head elder of the Alchemy Pavilion as your master is really good! Elder Guan must have given you a lot of elixirs and medicines, otherwise how could your cultivation have improved so quickly? Do you have any good stuff for me too?"

Yue Qianchou simply shooed the gossipy woman out of the room after she bombarded him with questions. Not long after, Cheng Gengqing arrived, praised his courage, and then shook his head and sighed before leaving. Then Yang Qian arrived, seemingly resigned, and said, "You really dared to do that!" He circled Yue Qianchou a few times before leaving as well.

Later, Kou Xuehua and her two companions, who were also undergoing trials in the Demon Ghost Domain, and Xiao Wanqing from the Anran Pavilion also arrived together. The four women had a lot of confidence in him, and Xiao Wanqing kept encouraging him, declaring, "Tomorrow, the four of us will watch your competition together."

Yue Qianchou thanked the four women and saw them out. Just as he was about to catch his breath, his master arrived again. Guan Wei Wu stared at him from head to toe countless times before finally sighing, "Disciple, if possible, try to persevere through a few more matches. You know, losing the first match would really look bad for our Alchemy Pavilion's reputation. Sigh! I didn't expect you to be so impulsive!" After saying that, he scratched his dirty hair vigorously and walked away, seemingly very confused.

He thought everyone who was supposed to come had arrived, and that was about it, but then more people came, each one higher in rank than the last. The first person to surprise him was Yan Tuo, who actually came in person, gave him a good word of encouragement, and then left.

Then Elder Fei Denan, the head of Myriad Fragrance Garden, also arrived. Elder Fei had the air of a father-in-law looking at his son-in-law. He nodded with satisfaction and said, "Since you've signed up, don't overthink it. Just fight with all your might. So what if it's the Cultivation Pavilion Core Formation stage. Why should we be afraid of them?" Yue Qianchou repeatedly agreed and saw him out.

The person who arrived next startled Yue Qianchou; it was none other than his master's father, the current Guan Gongfeng, and the former head of Fu Xian Island, Guan Dinghai. Guan Dinghai stared at him intently and asked, "Did you make this decision yourself, or did your master, or did someone else instruct you to do so?" After Yue Qianchou repeatedly emphasized that it was his own decision, Guan Dinghai nodded noncommittally and left, his expression unreadable.

Yue Qianchou sighed, thinking of everyone, and thought to himself, "Next up is Grandma Ma Jiu." Sure enough, he was right; Grandma Ma Jiu, accompanied by Lan Bingxue, did indeed arrive. Grandma Ma Jiu, unusually, smiled and said, "I knew I hadn't misjudged you. A real man shouldn't be so timid! Ah! Youth is truly wonderful!" Before leaving, she added, "There's something you might not know. Not long after you left Sang Cao Garden, that girl Yan Zixia went back. As for where she went, I think you should know. (Not many words)" With that, she walked away shakily, while Lan Bingxue gave her a complicated look.

Not far from the courtyard, two Nascent Soul Realm disciples were chatting idly. When they noticed the people coming and going, they couldn't help but take notice. When they realized that the level of the people coming was higher and higher, they were speechless. They looked at each other and quickly left, afraid that they might see something that their superiors didn't want them to see.

Yue Qianchou stood at the entrance of the courtyard and let out a deep breath. He really hadn't expected that participating in a competition would cause such a commotion. After confirming that no one else would come, he decided to rest well and conserve his energy for tomorrow's competition. Actually, he was really worried that the sect leader might also come...

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