Ye An of Black Tortoise Hall Challenges Song Qinglin, Chief Disciple of Azure Dragon Hall

Before the elders who were allocating resources could speak, Song Qinglin interrupted, "Alright!"

The shout of "Good!" was very loud, as if Song Qinglin had long been anticipating Ye An's challenge.

Song Qinglin stared at Ye An and questioned, "Was it you who came? Or Zhou Zhong?"

"There's no need to trouble Chief Disciple Brother to deal with you; I can handle it myself."

Song Qinglin stared at Ye An for two breaths, trying to find some flaw in Ye An's expression, but Ye An's expression remained unchanged, as if he were completely confident.

Does this mean they've got me cornered?

"Early game against mid-game?" Shen Jingfeng was almost out of the palace gate when he heard the conversation between the two and became even more interested.

"That's interesting."

Jiang Tingxue remained silent, her gaze lingering on Ye An for a moment, her eyes cold.

She didn't offer any comment, but her eyes held a different meaning.

The difference in their cultivation levels was obvious; if they were to compete, wouldn't it be like throwing an egg against a rock? Although reckless, Jiang Tingxue acknowledged Ye An's courage.

The elder in charge of resource allocation closed the booklet, glanced at the two of them, and said somewhat uncertainly, "Alright, let's pick a date."

"Now!"

Ye An and Song Qinglin spoke almost simultaneously.

The two voices landed simultaneously in the hall, like two Stone hitting the same spot, one after the other.

The news of the two's impending duel spread from the Resource Hall and soon swept through the entire Four Symbols Sect.

From the Inner Sect to the Outer Sect, from the Scripture Repository to the Medicine Garden.

In less than half an hour, the entire Four Symbols Sect knew about this.

Ye An of the Black Tortoise Hall challenged Song Qinglin, the Chief Disciple of the Azure Dragon Hall, to fight against Song Qinglin, who was in the Qi Condensation Initial Stage Mid Qi Condensation.

At the mountain gate, two disciples stood on duty, one on the left and one on the right.

The two men's gazes fell on the stone steps outside the mountain gate. Their faces, which had been dejected, suddenly perked up after hearing the news.

"Have you heard? The Black Tortoise Hall has challenged the Azure Dragon Hall, and it's said that the challenger is none other than Senior Brother Ye An, who's been making waves lately."

The disciple on the right turned his head. "I know, but isn't it a bit too arrogant to fight a mid-stage Qi Condensation Initial Stage- Mid Qi Condensation cultivator?"

Honestly, no one had a good opinion of Ye An when this news reached their ears.

After all, the difference in cultivation level is undeniable.

Who do you hope will win?

The disciple on the left thought for a moment and replied, "If I had to choose... I'd actually like to see Senior Brother Ye An win."

"But this idea is a bit far-fetched."

People always love stories of early success, late bloomers, and the underdog triumphing over the strong.

After exchanging glances, the disciple on the right mustered a tiny bit of courage. "How about... we sneak a peek?"

"Come on, you'll be finished once all your Contribution Point are deducted."

In the end, the two stopped talking and refocused on guarding the mountain gate.

Medicine Garden.

Lin Qiushui has Meridian Opening and become a junior steward in the Medicine Garden.

At this moment, she was squatting beside a patch of medicinal herbs, carefully examining a herb that had just sprouted tender buds.

Shen Qing lay on the wooden chair next to her, holding a book in her hands and reading.

The two chatted occasionally, creating a quiet yet pleasant atmosphere.

The next moment, a series of hurried footsteps came from afar. In their haste, they didn't even notice the mud under their feet, causing their feet to splatter loudly on the muddy ground.

Shen Qing put down her book and saw Lu Xingzhou running towards her frantically, her face showing an expression as if the sky had fallen.

Lu Xingzhou was out of breath from running. He was a martial artist who had reached the Meridian Opening, and the fact that he was bent over and supporting himself on his knees showed that he had been running at full speed all the way.

Seeing Lu Xingzhou's condition, Shen Qing asked casually, without any concern, "What happened? You look like you're about to die."

Lin Qiushui also looked up, her face blank. "Senior Brother Lu, what's wrong?"

Lu Xingzhou took a couple more breaths and said haltingly, "Something... something terrible has happened!"

"Brother Ye... Brother Ye, he..."

Shen Qing frowned. "What's wrong with him?"

"Brother Ye..." Lu Xingzhou finally caught his breath, "He's challenging the Chief Disciple the Azure Dragon Hall! Right now! They've already gone to the Combat Arena!"

Shen Qing slammed the book shut and stood up. Lin Qiushui stared blankly at Lu Xingzhou, her wooden shovel frozen in mid-air.

The Inner Sect office, a room piled high with documents.

A deacon at the Late Meridian Opening Realm pushed open the door and saw Lu Yun sitting at the table organizing documents. He quickly walked over and said, "Junior Brother Lu, stop what you're doing! Come with me!"

Lu Yun had just raised his head when he saw his anxious senior brother and asked, "What's wrong, senior brother?"

"First, clear out the Sect's largest Combat Arena! While you're at it, clear out the disciples at the surrounding arenas as well; the situation is urgent!"

Lu Yun put down the booklet, stood up, and followed the steward outside. "What happened, Senior Brother?"

The two walked briskly down the corridor, followed by several Body Tempering disciples. Their steps were rapid, and the steward said as they walked, "Today is the day the Four Halls distribute resources, you know that, right?"

"Know."

"The Black Tortoise Hall has objections to the allocation and has challenged the Azure Dragon Hall!"

Lu Yun paused, almost losing his footing. "Chief Disciple Zhou has broken through to the mid-stage?"

He subconsciously thought of Zhou Zhong's breakthrough in cultivation, so he wanted to avenge the humiliation of losing to Song Qinglin last time.

The deacon shook his head, his tone carrying an ambiguous meaning, whether excitement or sigh, it was hard to tell, "It's not Chief Disciple Zhou."

Who is that?

The deacon turned around, a complex and indescribable expression on his face. "It's Senior Brother Ye An."

A large number of disciples had already gathered around the Sect's largest Combat Arena to watch the spectacle.

From the Outer Sect to the Four Halls, from Body Tempering to Qi Condensation, many disciples gathered in twos and threes around, their eyes fixed on the two figures.

Sounds arose from all sides.

"It's really here."

"If Black Tortoise Hall loses again, its resources will likely be even fewer."

"What if we win?"

The crowd grew larger and larger, even more so than when Zhou Zhong and Song Qinglin competed last time.

Even Shen Jingfeng and Jiang Tingxue were present.

The disciples of the Black Tortoise Hall gathered on one side of the arena.

"Junior Brother Ye, why didn't you tell us about such a big decision beforehand?"

Zhou Zhong stood at the front, his brows furrowed, his face filled with barely suppressed worry. "You'll definitely get injured if you go up there. Rather than delaying your cultivation progress, it's better to give up directly. If all else fails, the Black Tortoise Hall is willing to give up another half a percent of its resources. It's more important that you don't get injured."

The meaning behind those words seemed familiar; when Ye An was still at the Meridian Opening, he also told Zhou Zhong to protect himself.

Ye An raised his eyes and glanced around at the Black Tortoise Hall disciples.

There were concerns, confusion, and some people thought Ye An was too arrogant.

Trying to fight a mid-stage Qi Condensation Initial Stage Mid Qi Condensation? Isn't that just asking for trouble?

But Ye An did not explain.

The Three Internal Martial Arts greatly enhanced Ye An's abilities.

At the same time, more resources are needed.

Ye An needs a battle to prove his worth and his potential.

Excluding the two protectors who were killed earlier, their foundations were too weak to be sufficient proof.

But now, Ye An has an opportunity.

"Chief Disciple Brother, I'm well-prepared this time."

After Ye An finished speaking, he walked past Zhou Zhong and headed towards the arena.

Zhou Zhong watched Ye An's retreating figure, but ultimately did not speak up to stop him.

"Fine, I'll take responsibility afterwards!" Zhou Zhong didn't think Ye An would win and was prepared to give up his Cultivation Resources.

Ye An climbed the steps one by one onto the arena.

Song Qinglin, dressed in a dark blue robe, stood on the other side of the arena, his posture upright and his Mid Qi Condensation Ye An the arena.

Ye An was dressed in a blue and white robe. He was a little thinner than Song Qinglin, but his eyes were filled with determination.

The two faced each other across the white line in the center of the arena.

The crowd below the stage fell silent.