Words Were Useless. Did She Dare Take a Walk to the Arena?

"Leng Yue..."

At that moment, Xia Hong spoke up.

But before she could say anything, Leng Yue cut her off.

"Shut up! I know you. You're from the Qingyang Xia Family. Your Xia Family has some business in Great Gan. Are you sure you want to stand up for Jiang Hao?"

Leng Yue's manner was aggressively overbearing.

Xia Hong's face flushed red.

She was furious as well.

Leng Yue was simply too arrogant.

Although the Xia Family had some business in Great Gan, that was all it amounted to.

Now that Xia Hong was an Inner Disciple of the Huangtian Sect, she held considerable weight within the Xia Family.

Why would she fear Leng Yue's threats?

"Leng Yue, this is the Huangtian Sect, not Great Gan. You are merely an Inner Disciple of the Huangtian Sect, not a princess!"

"So you insist on stepping forward?"

Leng Yue fixed Xia Hong with an icy gaze.

Xia Hong was just about to say something.

But Jiang Hao shook his head slightly. He stepped forward, positioning himself before Xia Hong.

"Senior Sister, there's no need to waste words on her."

Then Jiang Hao raised his head, stared straight at Leng Yue, and said each word distinctly, "Leng Yue, words are useless. Do you dare take a walk to the arena?"

"The arena?"

Leng Yue's eyes widened, as though she could not believe it.

Jiang Hao actually dared to go to the arena?

Boom!

The surrounding Inner Disciples erupted into commotion as well.

This had blown up.

They were actually going to the arena?

The Huangtian Sect's arena was no ordinary place.

Once one stepped onto the arena, life and death were left to fate!

Even if an Outer Gate disciple and a True Disciple entered the arena, and the Outer Gate disciple killed the True Disciple, it would still comply with the rules, and the sect would not punish them.

Of course, an Outer Gate disciple could not possibly defeat a True Disciple.

The Huangtian Sect was vast, with countless disciples.

Between disciples, and between disciples, deacons, and elders, there would always be innumerable sordid disputes and conflicts.

That was perfectly normal.

Large sects were generally like this.

It could not be avoided.

And this arena was tantamount to a public means of resolving such matters.

As long as both parties stepped onto the arena, they were equals.

But precisely because everyone knew the arena's rules, no one would enter it unless driven into a corner.

To enter the arena, both sides had to agree.

No one had expected Jiang Hao to propose going to the arena the instant words failed to agree.

What was that equivalent to?

It was equivalent to flipping the table outright!

When disciples had conflicts, shouldn't they trade verbal barbs, then use their connections to exert pressure, or leave the sect and go down the mountain to find another way to settle things?

Who would just flip the table and head for the arena?

That was truly reckless!

"Leng Yue, you don't dare?"

"I'm only a Ming Jin Martial Artist, and you still don't dare enter the arena?"

The coldness in Jiang Hao's gaze was truly dazzling.

Leng Yue was about to explode with rage.

She desperately wanted to agree.

But her maid clutched tightly at her hand and kept shaking her head.

The arena!

This was no joke.

Even though Jiang Hao was merely a Ming Jin Martial Artist, and the gulf between Ming Jin and Transforming Force was enormous.

But what if?

Jiang Hao had, after all, passed the Ninth Floor of the Desolate Heaven Tower. His combat strength was astonishing.

If they entered the arena and something unexpected happened, it would be too late for regrets.

The surrounding Inner Disciples watched the scene before them, and every one of them felt their hearts jolt.

Jiang Hao, a mere Ming Jin Martial Artist, had taken the initiative to propose the arena, while Leng Yue, a Transforming Force Martial Artist, actually did not dare agree?

"Jiang Hao really is... reckless! He's still just a child..."

"Heh, Leng Yue is a princess of the Great Gan Imperial Family. Even in the Huangtian Sect, she carries herself with arrogant pride. Yet this is all she has? Jiang Hao, a Ming Jin Martial Artist, proposes the arena and she doesn't dare agree?"

"Jiang Hao might not be a Ming Jin Martial Artist anymore. Wasn't he attending Hidden Force lessons in the Outer Gate before? He has probably begun trying to break through to Hidden Force, perhaps he has even already broken through."

"So what if Jiang Hao has broken through and become a Hidden Force Martial Artist? Leng Yue is a Transforming Force Martial Artist! The difference between Hidden Force and Transforming Force is vast. Surely you all know that? What is Leng Yue afraid of?"

Gazes upon gazes fell upon Leng Yue.

They carried a trace of amusement.

Leng Yue's face turned crimson.

She was nearly driven mad with anger.

But her maid held tightly onto her hand, and she still retained her basic rationality.

The arena?

There were too many uncontrollable factors.

If her ship capsized in a gutter, she might very well die.

Even if she was angry, she did not dare take that risk.

"You are the future 'Seed of the Dao.' How could I dare enter the arena with you?"

"However, it is true that I injured your tiger pet. I only regret holding back at the time and failing to kill that beast."

"Go back."

After leaving behind those harsh words, Leng Yue turned and returned directly to her cave abode.

She even sealed off the cave abode.

No matter what rumors flew outside, Leng Yue ignored them all.

Jiang Hao frowned.

Leng Yue was actually still so calm?

He had underestimated her.

Shouldn't an arrogant and domineering imperial princess have been blinded by rage, agreed to enter the arena in a fit of anger, and torn him, a tiny Ming Jin Martial Artist, into ten thousand pieces?

Yet she had become a turtle hiding in its shell?

With Leng Yue hiding in her cave abode like a turtle hiding in its shell, Jiang Hao truly had no way to deal with her.

"Big Tiger, let's go."

Jiang Hao took Big Tiger and turned to leave as well.

Although Leng Yue and Jiang Hao had not gone to the cave abode, nor had they fought.

The news nevertheless spread without wings, swiftly sweeping through the entire Huangtian Sect.

No one had expected the low-profile Jiang Hao, after two years, to suddenly make trouble for Leng Yue.

One had to know that Leng Yue was an established Transforming Force Martial Artist.

How did Jiang Hao, a Ming Jin Martial Artist, dare press a Transforming Force Martial Artist so aggressively?

"Jiang Hao truly deserves to be called a genius who passed the Ninth Floor of the Desolate Heaven Tower. Even with Ming Jin cultivation, he fears no Transforming Force Martial Artist. Instead, Leng Yue was the one who cowered and hid in her cave abode, not daring to emerge."

"If you ask me, Leng Yue should have been dealt with long ago, her arrogant and domineering airs suppressed. Ever since she entered the Huangtian Sect, she has always put on the airs of a Princess of Great Gan. This is the Huangtian Sect, not Great Gan. What does her status as a princess even amount to here?"

"Exactly. No one paid attention to Leng Yue before. Now that she has provoked Jiang Hao, she still failed to gain even the slightest advantage."

"Does Jiang Hao truly believe he can defeat Leng Yue in the arena? She is a Transforming Force Martial Artist..."

"That is unclear. Jiang Hao's cultivation may be Ming Jin, or it may be Hidden Force. But his strength should be formidable. After all, among those who pass the Ninth Floor of the Desolate Heaven Tower, which one is not an invincible existence capable of sweeping aside all peers of the same rank? Yet Ming Jin against Transforming Force would likely find victory difficult. Jiang Hao is probably just a newborn calf unafraid of tigers, utterly fearless of Leng Yue, while Leng Yue was instead cowed by Jiang Hao's momentum and did not dare accept the challenge."

As the news of Jiang Hao and Leng Yue spread.

Not only did the Inner Gate learn of it, even the Outer Gate heard the news.

Jiang Hao did not take the outside speculation to heart.

He brought Big Tiger back to his cave abode, with Xia Hong following close behind.

"Jiang Hao, you were too impulsive just now. Never say something like 'go to the arena' again. Don't gamble with your life out of anger."

"What if Leng Yue had agreed? Wouldn't you have been in danger?"

The moment they returned to the cave abode, Xia Hong began "advising" Jiang Hao.

Xia Hong also felt that Jiang Hao had been too furious and too impulsive earlier.

Even if Jiang Hao had just broken through to Hidden Force, facing Leng Yue would still have been extremely dangerous.

Jiang Hao shook his head and said, "Senior Sister, I wasn't impulsive just now. I had thought of this long ago."

"Master once told me that one must fight for things in the Huangtian Sect! But I have always adhered to the principle that if others do not offend me, I will not offend them. I will not casually make enemies. But Big Tiger was injured. I can't endure that!"

"Even if we entered the arena, I would not fear Leng Yue."

Jiang Hao naturally had confidence.

Although his Great Sun Battle Sacred Body had yet to reach the entry level, his Great Sun Golden Crow Divine Blood could still be used.

Especially the Great Sun True Fire.

If he truly used his divine blood, what did a Transforming Force Martial Artist amount to?

"Senior Sister, aside from entering the arena, is there any other way to fight Leng Yue?"

"If I don't avenge Big Tiger, I can't swallow this anger!"

Jiang Hao asked.

"You mean it?"

Xia Hong looked at Jiang Hao suspiciously.

She had previously thought Jiang Hao wanted to enter the arena with Leng Yue only because he was angry.

Yet now that they had returned to the cave abode, Jiang Hao still wanted to fight Leng Yue.

That was no longer impulsiveness.

That was confidence!

But what was Jiang Hao's confidence based on?

"Of course I mean it!"

"Besides, there have been all kinds of rumors throughout the Outer Gate and Inner Gate over the past two years. I do not care about them, but they are inevitably troublesome."

"I can take this opportunity to display some strength, set the Huangtian Sect's higher-ups at ease, and show that this future 'Seed of the Dao' has not reached the point of Shang Zhongyong."

Jiang Hao's words made Xia Hong's eyes shine repeatedly.

So Jiang Hao had challenged Leng Yue not merely out of impulsiveness, but for other purposes as well.

To put the higher-ups at ease.

To make all the rumors within the Huangtian Sect disappear.

One move, three gains!

"Jiang Hao, with Leng Yue acting like a turtle hiding in its shell, there truly is nothing we can do."

"If this were the Outer Gate, it would be easier to resolve. There are too many excuses for fighting in the Outer Gate, and the sect does not value it much. But the Inner Gate is different. Every Inner Gate disciple counts as one of the sect's own, and the sect would never permit Inner Gate disciples to fight privately."

Jiang Hao nodded.

The Inner Gate and Outer Gate were ultimately different.

The Inner Gate still followed rules.

If the Inner Gate could casually engage in violent fights, or even have disciples slaughter one another, how could the sect retain any cohesion? Much less speak of developing the sect?

"Jiang Hao, this time you forced Leng Yue into becoming a turtle hiding in its shell. Throughout the entire sect, she has become a laughingstock. For someone as proud as Leng Yue, that is simply more painful than killing her."

"So you have already vented this anger for Big Tiger."

Jiang Hao thought about it, and that was indeed true.

After this incident, Leng Yue probably would not dare leave her cave abode casually.

"This matter has troubled you, Senior Sister."

"Alright, then I'll be leaving first."

"Remember, strength is the foundation. You should still raise your strength as soon as possible and strive to reach Transforming Force early. Once you become a Transforming Force Martial Artist, you will be the Sect Master's personally acknowledged 'Seed of the Dao.' By then, matters like Leng Yue will not be a problem at all."

Jiang Hao nodded.

He understood the status of a "Seed of the Dao" within the Huangtian Sect very well.

Not to mention Inner Disciples—even True Disciples did not hold a status equal to a "Seed of the Dao."