"Boom!"
Amid cries of astonishment, the enormous Bronze Gate opened completely, and Ninth Madam emerged from within, accompanied by over a dozen young boys and girls.
At that moment, however, Gray Mist abruptly enveloped Ninth Madam, leaving only her outline visible.
"Boom...!"
The instant she stepped outside, the aura fluctuation from Ninth Madam swept out like a violent storm, pushing everyone except Xu Taiping and his companions away from the Bronze Gate.
Naturally, Yuwen Shuo's party was among them.
Yet Ninth Madam acted as though she had not seen Yuwen Shuo's party at all.
She smiled at Xu Taiping and said:
"Xu Taiping, it has been a long time."
Xu Taiping smiled and said:
"Ninth Madam, there was really no need for you to come in person."
Seeing that Xu Taiping was somewhat embarrassed, Ninth Madam giggled and said:
"Those old fellows down below haven't been causing trouble lately, so This Palace has had a rare spell of leisure."
Xu Taiping nodded and asked curiously:
"Has the match started?"
Ninth Madam naturally knew that Xu Taiping meant the match between Xiao Huang and Guan Cixue.
So she smiled and said:
"The two of them have only just taken the platform, and the bell has only rung once."
Hearing this, Xu Taiping immediately let out a long breath of relief.
If possible, he did not want to miss a single moment of this match.
The more he learned about Xiao Huang, the greater his chances of winning his upcoming arena challenge would be.
At this point, Yuwen Shuo, who had been stubbornly resisting Ninth Madam's oppressive presence for some time, finally could not help calling out:
"Ninth Madam, I am Yuwen Shuo, Sixth Seat of the Heavenly Prodigy Ranking and grandson of the head of the Yuwen Aristocratic Clan. In consideration