For a moment, the disciples of the Seven Courtyards were filled with indignation.
In their eyes, Chen Changqing was utterly unremarkable.
Before this, they had not even heard his name.
How could someone like him be chosen to represent the Seven Courtyards in the Outer Sect Grand Competition?
Faced with the doubts all around him, Chen Changqing remained calm and paid them no mind.
He had already vaguely guessed it earlier.
He had thought Liu Mu would choose him.
"Elder Liu Mu really thinks highly of me!"
Chen Changqing secretly sighed.
At first, Liu Mu had not paid much attention to him.
But after he broke through to the Qi Refining realm.
Liu Mu had first given him a bag of low-grade spirit stones, telling him to cultivate as quickly as possible.
A few months ago, during the mission to Green Creek Village.
Liu Mu had even brought Chen Changqing along, and before they departed, he had bestowed upon him the high-grade magic artifact, the Shadow-Bearing Sword.
The extent of his favor was self-evident.
At the same time, the disciples who had been selected earlier all fixed their gazes on Chen Changqing.
Liu Ruyan narrowed her beautiful eyes slightly, deep in thought.
"Strange."
"Why... why can I not quite see through his cultivation?"
Liu Ruyan muttered softly.
When they had gone to Green Creek Village together before, she had seen at a glance that Chen Changqing was at the fifth layer of Qi Refining.
But upon meeting him again this time, she found that she could not see through him.
"Could he have some magic artifact on him that conceals his aura?"
Liu Ruyan secretly guessed.
Qingyang casually swept Chen Changqing a glance. He showed no emotional fluctuations and remained very calm.
"I never expected the elder to give him the final spot!"
Zhao Wuji sighed, involuntarily recalling the scenes in Green Creek Village where Chen Changqing had slain Demon Sect cultivators.
"His cultivation may not be high, but his combat strength is fairly formidable."
"Back in Green Creek Village, he killed quite a few Demon Sect cultivators."
"..."
At the same time, Chu Feng, Xiao Yun, and the other disciples who had gone to Green Creek Village also began speaking up.
Their impressions of Chen Changqing were still rather deep.
Seeing this, Elder Liu Mu, who stood on the platform, did not offer any further explanation for Chen Changqing. The corners of his mouth lifted into a meaningful smile.
At that moment, a disciple suddenly remembered something.
The look in his eyes as he stared at Chen Changqing changed drastically, and he could not stop himself from crying out:
"I... I remember now!"
"Isn't this Chen Changqing the gatekeeping disciple who guards the mountain gate?"
"I ran into him at the mountain gate before. That brat was leaning against the gate and dozing off, slacking on the job!"
As soon as the disciple said this.
The scene exploded once more!
After learning that Chen Changqing was an obscure gatekeeping disciple, the disciples became even more dissatisfied.
"What?"
"He's actually a gatekeeping disciple?"
"Did I hear that right?"
"Why should he represent our Seven Courtyards in the Outer Sect Grand Competition?"
"He's not even an official disciple. What qualifications does he have?"
"Could the elder have made a mistake?"
"Our Seven Courtyards have not fallen so low that we need a disciple guarding the mountain gate to fight for us, have we?"
"..."
For a moment, countless disciples voiced their outrage.
Their doubts toward Chen Changqing reached their peak.
In their eyes, what right did Chen Changqing, a disciple guarding the mountain gate, have to represent the Seven Courtyards in the Outer Sect Grand Competition?
Hearing these discussions, the few disciples who had carried out the mission in Green Creek Village alongside Chen Changqing merely smiled knowingly.
They had witnessed Chen Changqing's strength and acknowledged him in their hearts.
"These people still do not know how formidable Junior Brother Chen is!"
"Though he is a gatekeeping disciple guarding the mountain gate, his strength cannot be underestimated."
"Other than us, he can also be considered one of the standouts in the Seven Courtyards."
Zhao Wuji said with a faint smile.
Upon hearing Zhao Wuji's words, an unusual expression appeared on Qingyang's formerly calm face.
Just now, he had not paid much attention to Chen Changqing.
It was only after hearing a disciple recognize Chen Changqing's identity and say that he was a disciple guarding the mountain gate that Qingyang developed some interest.
Now, hearing the praise for Chen Changqing in Zhao Wuji's words, Qingyang could not help but examine Chen Changqing a few more times.
"Just a disciple guarding the mountain gate, yet he went out on missions with Zhao Wuji and the others."
"And judging by the looks of it, he seemed to have performed quite well."
"What is so special about Chen Changqing that he has earned such favor from Elder Liu Mu?"
Qingyang pondered inwardly.
The last time Elder Liu Mu had led people out on a mission, Qingyang had happened to be in secluded cultivation, so he had not gone with them.
He was extremely unfamiliar with Chen Changqing, but he could still judge one thing.
When Liu Mu went out on missions, he brought not only the outstanding disciples of the Seven Courtyards, but Chen Changqing as well.
That alone was enough to show how highly Liu Mu regarded Chen Changqing.
Moreover, Chen Changqing was also among the candidates representing the Seven Courtyards in this Outer Sect Grand Competition.
Liu Mu's expectations for Chen Changqing were therefore self-evident.
After thinking it over, Qingyang became even more curious about Chen Changqing.
Just then, someone stepped out from the crowd.
The man was broad and burly, with a tiger's back and a bear's waist. After glaring fiercely at Chen Changqing, he turned to Elder Liu Mu on the platform.
"Elder, I, Zhang Hu, refuse to accept this!"
"Why should a mere gatekeeping disciple represent the Seven Courtyards? I want to compete with him!"
"If I can defeat him, then he must give up that spot!"
Zhang Hu said angrily. He was at the seventh layer of Qi Refining.
He had originally thought he would definitely be selected this time and might even seize the chance to enter the Inner Sect. Who would have thought the spot would be snatched away by a gatekeeping disciple?
As soon as Zhang Hu spoke, quite a few disciples present echoed him:
"That's right, Elder!"
"What right does a gatekeeping disciple have?"
"I want to challenge him too! If I can defeat him, then give me the spot in the Outer Sect Grand Competition."
"You are not up yet. Let me do it!"
"Chen Changqing, do you dare fight me?"
"Aren't you all just bullying him? Chen Changqing, how about this—I'll give you one hand!"
"..."
In an instant, the disciples of the Seven Courtyards were fired up with righteous indignation. In their eyes, Chen Changqing had clearly become a soft persimmon waiting to be squeezed.
After all, no matter how strong could a gatekeeping disciple guarding the mountain gate possibly be?
If they could defeat Chen Changqing and obtain a spot in the Outer Sect Grand Competition, would that not be a tremendous bargain?
Seeing that so many disciples wanted to spar with Chen Changqing, Zhang Hu became unhappy and hurriedly said to Liu Mu on the platform:
"Elder, I was the first disciple to propose competing with Chen Changqing!"
Elder Liu Mu smiled faintly and slowly raised a hand, signaling everyone to quiet down.
Then his gaze shifted and landed on Chen Changqing.
"Changqing, Zhang Hu has doubts about you and wishes to spar with you."
"What do you think?"
Chen Changqing remained calm. He slowly stepped forward, looked directly at Zhang Hu, and said, "I am willing to learn from you!"
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