The Strong Mindset

Xuantian Stone Wall is a steep cliff at the foot of Peach Plum Mountain. It is as smooth as a mirror, and the stone is as white as jade. It is hundreds of feet high.

The name Zuoqiu comes from the two characters "Xuantian" written on a sword by his ancestor.

This stone wall is located in the eastern part of the city. Below it is a martial arts square with seventy-two Coiled Dragon- carved stone pillars. It was the venue for important ceremonies of Zuoqiu Courtyard and was magnificent in scale.

The square, which could easily accommodate tens of thousands of people, was now overflowing with people, so crowded that water could not be poured in.

Seven lanterns, each the size of a sedan chair, floated in mid-air, illuminating the square and surrounding streets as if it were daytime.

Li Weiyi couldn't squeeze in at all. On the street, more than a hundred feet away from Xuantian Plaza, Zuoqiu Baiyuan suddenly appeared and smiled at him, "Brother Weiyi, the First Inheritor has been waiting for you for a long time!"

Led by Zuoqiu Baiyuan, the two headed towards a fifteen-story, multi-eaved stone pagoda located in the southeast corner of Xuantian Plaza. A large number of martial arts practitioners from the Five Seas Realm Zuoqiu Courtyard guarded the base of the pagoda, with Great Mind Master protecting it.

"Young Master Li has arrived!"

"He is Young Master Li, said to be the close friend of the first inheritor, a peerless genius who defeated all experts of the same realm in five moves."

The martial arts practitioners from Zuoqiu Courtyard looked over with curiosity and admiration.

When Li Weiyi looked at them, everyone smiled and bowed, showing great respect and admiration for this rising star of the Fourth Realm of the Five Seas.

"Brother Weiyi Yi has truly become famous throughout the world in one battle."

Zuoqiu Baiyuan led him into the tower and up the stairs.

Li Weiyi said, "Don't even mention it. A martial arts tournament meant to be a friendly competition turned into a complete joke. All the money we worked so hard to earn was taken away in one fell swoop, leaving us with nothing but a wasted effort."

"That thief, don't let me find out who she is."

Zuoqiu Baiyuan's face was grim, and he let out a heavy groan.

Li Weiyi had given him instructions, so Qi Xiao didn't leak the news that the five boxes of Spring Coin might have been stolen by the Sui Sect. Lost wealth, of course, had to be retrieved personally to regain face.

If a successor of the Zuoqiu Courtyard were to take action, even if the wealth were recovered, it might not still belong to the Li family.

During the ascent of the tower, he frequently encountered young martial artists from the Zuoqiu Courtyard, most of whom could call Li Weiyi by name. Among them were Zuoqiu Lanlan and Zuoqiu Baiming, but neither of them knew that he was Sima Tan from Thirty-three Li Mountain, and they nodded and passed by.

Four Magic Tool Bone Lantern were lit on the top floor of the stone pagoda and placed in the corridors of the southeast, northwest and south directions respectively.

The four-sided tower chamber had its doors wide open. As one passed through, one could see outstanding figures sitting in chairs, their auras either as strong as dragons and tigers or so subtle as to be imperceptible. They were all top-level experts of the younger generation of the Zuoqiu Courtyard.

The Zuoqiu Courtyard is located in the southern region and effectively controls two and a half states, but its influence actually extends to all aspects of seven states, with many powerful clans and sects obeying its orders.

Other major powers could not possibly mobilize all their young experts under the age of thirty to Qiuzhou City to participate in the Qianlong Lantern Festival. They didn't have the time or the resources, and they were also afraid of total annihilation.

But Zuoqiu Courtyard could, and he didn't have those concerns.

That's why everyone knows that the Qianlong Lantern Festival is Zuoqiu Courtyard's home turf, and Zuoqiu Courtyard naturally becomes the target of everyone's criticism.

At this moment, half of the top experts of the Zuoqiu Courtyard Sect gathered in the West Tower Room, which offered a panoramic view of the grand spectacle at Xuantian Plaza.

The three inheritors of Zuoqiu Ting, Zuoqiu Lancheng, and Zuoqiu Qingyin were seated at the head of the table, whispering and discussing something.

Upon seeing Li Weiyi's arrival, Qi Xiao was the first to greet him, transmitting his voice through magical energy. "Why are you so late? I've been waiting for you all night! You Jiu Li Tribe people are all incredibly patient; Cangli and Li Jiufu haven't arrived yet either."

"I've already had my New Year's Eve dinner."

Li Weiyi also used his magical energy to transmit his voice, not wanting to disturb the tranquility of the place.

Qi Xiao was taken aback, then laughed and said, "You should have said so earlier! We just finished eating. The First Inheritor was really generous tonight; he brought out ten Dragonscale Fish that Soldier Ancestor Marsh caught, each one comparable to Thousand-Year Elixir, capable of enhancing physical strength."

"Aren't you deliberately trying to tempt me?" Li Weiyi said.

"Young Master Li, please come in!"

Zuoqiu Ting's voice rang out, her gaze fixed on him through the window lattice with a smile.

Inside the West Tower, many eyes were fixed on Li Weiyi outside the door.

There was curiosity, doubt, and surprise.

Defeat All Enemies Within Five Moves was indeed astonishing, attracting the interest of many top experts in the Five Seas Realm. However, given his low cultivation level, why was he brought to the top tower?

This floor is where the most key figures of the Qianlong Lantern Festival are gathered.

Li Weiyi was also puzzled as to why Zuoqiu Ting wanted to see him.

Zuoqiu Ting's appearance had changed again, and he was completely unfamiliar with the person he was. His Disguise Art were so advanced that if he hadn't been sitting between Zuoqiu Lancheng and Zuoqiu Qingyin, with a folding fan always in his hand, it would have been very difficult to recognize him at first glance.

Unless you use the Heavenly Eye.

Zuoqiu Ting up, beaming, showing no disrespect for Li Weiyi despite his low cultivation level. Instead, he introduced him to the core experts in the tower room with great ceremony.

"Lan Cheng, the second successor of our Zuoqiu Courtyard, you already know him. As for this one..."

When they reached Zuoqiu Qingyin, Zuoqiu Ting speaking before he could even finish.

The Pure Immortal Body woman in a green robe stepped forward, her voice like the tinkling of silver bells, and asked, "Are you really Cangli's brother-in-law? Quite a few elders in the clan have been talking about you to me lately, as if they want to set us up."

She is outspoken and has a cheerful personality.

Li Weiyi felt a terrible headache coming on as Zuoqiu Qingyin stared at her with extremely aggressive eyes. She looked at Zuoqiu Ting, "You had Bai Yuan pull me up here, wasn't it for this reason?"

"The old folks in the clan gave me a task: to arrange a meeting between the two of you. Whether you can get along or not is up to you!" Zuoqiu Ting chuckled.

"Absolutely not! Miss Qingyin is the inheritor of the Hundred Meridian Lines All Silver, and possesses a beauty that could rival the most beautiful women in the world. There is no way she would marry into the humble Li family. Please tell the elders of the Zuoqiu Courtyard not to play matchmaker!"

After Li Weiyi said these words, the gazes in the tower room softened, and the hostility diminished significantly.

It's unclear whether these people felt he was unworthy of Zuoqiu Qingyin, or if they themselves were admirers of Zuoqiu Qingyin.

"The phrase 'so beautiful it could make fish sink and geese fall from the sky' is quite an interesting description," Zuoqiu Qingyin with a charming smile.

Seeing that Li Weiyi only mentioned marrying down and never mentioned marrying into the family, Zuoqiu Ting felt that the matter was probably over. He said no more, but his expression turned serious. "Brother Weiyi, I regret asking you to write those banners! I shouldn't have helped you get the invitation to the Qianlong Lantern Festival and led you into danger."

Li Weiyi appeared calm and smiled, "Are you afraid of losing?"

I knew from the beginning that wanting to participate in the Qianlong Lantern Festival to compete for the Longevity Pill was wishful thinking and overestimating my abilities. I thought about backing down and giving up, but in the end, my fighting spirit overcame everything.

So he came to the capital of Qiuzhou.

At that time, he knew he had no chance whatsoever, yet he still went for it without hesitation. He had worked hard for months, finally securing a sliver of opportunity; how could he possibly give it up now?

Zuoqiu Ting said, "It's just a Dao Lotus, I can afford to lose it. If you're willing to withdraw from the Qianlong Lantern Festival, I'll give it to you right now."

Li Weiyi looked through the tower window at the distant Xuantian Stone Wall: "Whether we can get the invitation is still unknown. Why is Zuoqiu so quick to admit defeat? By the way, I have something important to tell you."

By channeling magical power into their eyes, they could see three rows of wooden plaques hanging on a distant stone wall.

The wooden plaques bore the names of several young martial arts practitioners.

The four directions—east, west, south, and north—each have their own wooden plaques for martial arts practitioners, which are hung separately.

The first row consists of ten people from each of the four realms, totaling forty people, and is known as the First Class.

The second row, also consisting of forty people, was called the Second Class (二甲).

The third row, still containing forty people, is known as the "Top Three".

The invitation limit for the Qianlong Lantern Festival is fifty people per region.

In other words, twenty more slots will be announced from each region tonight, for a total of eighty people. These eighty people obviously won't be able to get into the top tier.

Li Weiyi saw that the top of the three in the Southern Territory was Hidden Nine, whose alias was "Li Jiufu". The second in the three in the Southern Territory was Hidden Eleven, whose alias was "Li Jiao".

The top ten in each realm are undoubtedly strong. However, the top ten in the second and third realms are not necessarily weaker. It is possible that suddenly emerging experts like Hidden Nine and Hidden Eleven will be included among them.

Zuoqiu Ting temporarily asked everyone in the West Tower room to leave, "Speak, what important matter is it?"

Li Weiyi told the Imperial Court that it might launch an attack on Zuoqiu Courtyard and Jiu Li Tribe that night. Of course, he didn't mention Jiang Ning, but attributed the source of the information to a hidden person who was lurking in the Imperial Court.

After listening, Zuoqiu Ting unusually calm. "The Imperial Court believes that the Zuoqiu Courtyard is militarily strong and has made a fortune from war over the past ten years, hoarding countless resources. Once they participate in the struggle for supremacy, they will pose a greater threat than the Xue Jian Tang Ting, the Zhu Clan, the Dragon Gate, and the Lei Xiao Sect."

"Holding the Qianlong Lantern Festival at Du'e Temple is an even more blatant act of defiance against the Imperial Court, which can be described as treasonous."

"The Zuoqiu Courtyard will naturally be their first target. Once the younger generation of the Zuoqiu Courtyard is wiped out, the Qianlong Lantern Festival will become a joke. The Zuoqiu Courtyard will be a joke, and the Du'e Temple will be a joke too."

Li Weiyi said, "It seems you predicted it, and I worried for nothing. Isn't Ge Xiantong afraid of a lose-lose situation, with the younger generation of the Imperial Court being besieged by wolves? If I were him, I would first openly and secretly cooperate with the Zuoqiu Courtyard to eliminate other threats before considering anything else."

Zuoqiu Ting dismissed it. "You, that's typical weak-minded thinking."

"Oh!"

Li Weiyi asked, "Then what is the mindset of the strong?"

"The idea of being number one in the world is the mindset of a strong person. Everyone else, except for the number one person in the world, thinks about problems in a weak person's way."

When you are not afraid of anyone, you will not hesitate or be timid.

Zuoqiu Ting continued, "Tell me, when you are invincible in the Fourth Realm of the Five Seas, have you ever thought about joining forces with an enemy in the Fourth Realm of the Five Seas to kill another enemy in the Fourth Realm of the Five Seas? When you are invincible, the sword in your hand is your best ally. One person and one sword are enough to kill through everything and subdue all enemies."

"What do you think Cangli, Li Jiufu, and I are in Ge Xiantong's eyes?"

Li Weiyi thought for a moment, then uttered two words: "Prey?"

Zuoqiu Ting said, "Pretty much! In the eyes of the young generation's number one in the world, as long as the Dao Seed Realm doesn't interfere, all the martial artists in the entire Qiuzhou City are his prey. As long as he kills the three of us, the Zuoqiu Courtyard and the Jiu Li Tribe will naturally collapse, and then we will be the ones torn apart by the pack of wolves."

"You must know that the strongest beings in the world possess a special power: fear!"

"Yu Yaozi controls fear, which is why Lingxiao Palace has stood firm for ten years despite the great battle."

"When powerful forces like the Zuoqiu Courtyard and the Jiu Li Tribe were wiped out by Ge Xiantong in a single night, the fear was enough to make the people of the Dragon Gate and Lei Xiao Sect tremble. How could they dare to oppose the Imperial Court?"

"The mindset of the strong is to decide the fate of the world in one battle."

Li Weiyi pondered for a moment, "Isn't he worried about the Phoenix-born Unicorn-young?"