A Swift Decision
There is a fairly obvious misalignment between Zhang Xuezhou and Purladi.
No sooner had Zhang Xuezhou left than Puerladi was trapped at the entrance of the main hall, where he too was attacked by cursed insects.
It took Pulari half of his blood being drained before he could burn most of the cursed insects that Hongyi had been refining for many years.
While burning the lamp, he unexpectedly discovered the glass lamp that had fallen into the grass, and eventually took it and left.
Despite being completely disheveled, Purla did indeed win first place in the Kunlun Sacred Land.
Rulai searching back and forth, Buddha finally stumbled into the peach orchard, ate too many Drunken Peach, and collapsed under the peach tree.
After learning the situation upon entering Kunlun Ruins, Zhang Xuezhou found it difficult to express his dissatisfaction.
He stood respectfully to one side below the Emperor and Empress, listening to the relatively simple summary, and thus gained a good understanding of most of this extremely chaotic century-old grand event.
"Zhang Shengzi is truly skilled!"
Those who are meant to win, win; those who are meant to lose, lose.
It would be Qi Ingestion for the sleazy Zhang Xuezhou to win, but when Zhang Xuezhou, wearing the divine robes of the bestowed seal, stood below the Emperor and Empress, he was like a towering mountain that made people dare not even think of climbing over him.
Wang Wenqing and Hu Wenchang are outstanding young immortals of the Immortal Court. Even though they have fought their way out of the fierce competition and lost their awe of their peers, their eyes still darted away when they looked at Zhang Xuezhou.
"We need to replace him!"
Li Jing, who had stood up to listen to the Emperor and Empress's summary, glanced at the two men and sensed that they had developed a fearful attitude, making it difficult for them to deal with Zhang Xuezhou in the next round.
Zhang Xuezhou's record is indeed astonishing; he has almost completely outmaneuvered many opponents.
If it weren't for the chaotic battle arranged by the Emperor and Empress, but instead they were divided into groups, it wouldn't have been a problem for everyone to be defeated one by one by Zhang Xuezhou.
Li Jing's previous impression of Zhang Xuezhou was that he was good at deception, fighting, and ambushing. However, after seeing Zhang Xuezhou wearing the divine robes of the bestowed seal, he felt that Zhang Xuezhou must have other hidden methods that he had not yet used, and that he could even fight him in a fair and square manner.
"Fellow Daoists, I apologize for my abruptness!"
Although Purla had the highest score, the losers bowed to the team that had defeated them.
Zhang Xuezhou responded politely to the two from the Immortal Court, his attitude neither humble nor arrogant.
If Zhang Xuezhou had only tricked Wang Wenqing and Hu Wenchang, the two might still have been somewhat unwilling to admit defeat. But when the final results came out, many of the defeated ones no longer had any thoughts of admitting defeat.
Winning one-on-one is difficult enough, let alone winning against multiple opponents. Only a reckless person would think of relying on their individual strength to challenge others one-on-one.
The most terrifying people are those who are both skilled in combat and cunning. And Zhang Xuezhou, with his mask on, makes it impossible to know what he will look like the next time they meet, which brings even greater psychological pressure.
This creates a striking contrast with Cai Ma, who is standing to the side and showing her face.
Cai Ma needed others to keep their distance so they wouldn't dare to provoke him, so he chose to show his face, while Zhang Xuezhou's concealed face made him impossible to guard against.
The combination of light and dark increased the pressure on many people, and even Ao Sheng, who was not one to back down from anyone, looked solemn.
Appearances can be deceiving, but achievements don't lie.
Clearly, Zhang Xuezhou was the person most wary of in the two subsequent events, but also the one least able to guard against, and Cai Ma's tendency to take lives at will only intensified the fear.
The Kunlun Heavenly Court is old, but it can still easily produce two holy sons and daughters, which would be a game-changer.
Even if neither of them won first place, Kunlun was clearly the uncrowned king of this round.
"A two-on-two match is probably hopeless; the Emperor and Empress really took care of them by arranging for Kunlun to play at home!"
Li Jing couldn't help but sigh, feeling that the Immortal Court's participants needed to adjust their strategies in future situations to avoid a crushing defeat.
Li Jing's thoughts are not surprising. The power dynamics in the Three Realms are already based on the fundamental interests of each faction, and will not change because of competition among a few juniors.
Those who aren't qualified dare not win, while those who are qualified fear losing their ranking and becoming a laughingstock.
What's worse is that Kunlun, which had been silent for hundreds of years, suddenly joined the competition, which will inevitably impact the Immortal Court.
Winning is not only a personal necessity, but also an objective task of the Immortal Court.
The expressions on the faces of the many people reflected a variety of thoughts.
"Our Kunlun session has officially ended here. We hope the Lingxiao and Spirit Mountain sessions will continue the good work!"
The Emperor and Empress gave a brief summary and then gestured to the crowd.
The time frame wasn't too long; the Kunlun event lasted only three days, while the competition itself only lasted a day and a half before it ended. After that, the events were rotated among the other two host cities to ensure a fairer comparison.
"Mysterious Maiden, you will represent Kunlun in the Western Sect. You must ensure the fairness and impartiality of the competition!"
"Yes!"
"Please wait a moment, Your Majesty. I, the Buddha Son Shigong, am at a loss as to what to do."
The Emperor and Empress had arranged everything and were about to leave when Daoist Randeng stepped forward with a troubled expression and asked.
The Daoist Randeng Deng wished for the Buddha Son Shigong to die for a legitimate reason, but Buddha Son Shigong was very resilient and still had plenty of energy.
Dying in Kunlun and dying at the hands of Daoist Randeng are two different things. Daoist Randeng had no choice but to save him, but he was powerless to do so, so he had to ask the Emperor and Empress for help.
"What should we do?" the Emperor and Empress asked with slight disgust. "I also want to know what should be done with the hairpin on my head."
The thought of Zhu Chai being accidentally struck and inserted into the lower body of the Buddha Son Shigong filled the Emperor and Empress with nausea.
If a person dies and is burned to ashes, that would be one thing, but the key issue is that the Buddha Son Shigong is still alive. It would be difficult for her to pull it out and put it back into her hair bun, but it wouldn't be good to leave it on the Buddha Son Shigong's body either.
Of course, whether to pull out the blade or not also involves the possibility of medical treatment or death for the Buddha Son Shigong, and it is also a rule not to pull out the blade when seriously injured.
The hairpin is indeed still stuck in the body of the Buddha Son Shigong, putting everyone in a dilemma.
"The Empress's hairpin is no ordinary object. If the injury isn't stopped in time, it might spread throughout her body, and even if we return to Spirit Mountain, it will be too late to save her," Li Jing warned. "Master, it's best to make a decisive decision sooner rather than later!"
"Make a prompt decision?"
The Daoist Randeng's face turned pale and then red.
Li Jing's "decisive action" refers not only to the shortest time required to make a decision, but also to the manner in which the action is taken.
Cutting off the skin and flesh after being bitten by a venomous snake is the fastest way to solve the problem. If you delay, you will have to cut off the entire finger, and if you delay even longer, you will have to cut off the arm. If you delay for too long, even a god cannot save you.
The same principle applies to the hairpins worn by the emperor and empress.
No matter how much the Buddha Son Shigong cherishes his body, what needs to be cut still needs to be cut.
The Buddha Son Rulai gained an advantage, the Buddha Son Shigong suffered a physical injury, and the Daoist Randeng's leadership was a mixed bag. The decision made at that moment was neither a merit nor a punishment in the Western Sect. If the matter had been delayed for a longer period, it would have been a different story.
The identity of Buddha Son Shigong Buddhist disciple, differed from that of the deceased Dharma Master Hongyi. To have his life taken by Daoist Randeng was no small matter.
Li Jing offered some suggestions in a low voice, which prompted the Daoist Randeng expression was uncertain, to take out a monk's knife and then run off with a worried look on his face.