The blazing sun hung high, white clouds drifting leisurely across the sky.
At the venue of the Qingyou Grand Tournament, the atmosphere was lively and bustling.
As a wave of celestial music echoed, countless petals slowly rained down from midair.
Eight Yuntian Palace Attendants, dressed as palace fairies, surrounded two of Yuntian Palace’s esteemed figures, descending gracefully from above.
These eight palace-attired fairies unfolded their elegant dance moves from the sky, only coming to a slow stop once they landed atop the Jade Platform.
At this moment, the two Yuntian Palace experts being escorted by the eight fairies also stepped forward.
“This seat is Zhuge Ming, Vice Head of Yuntian Palace. The Qingyou Grand Tournament officially begins now.”
“All the young geniuses present, do not hold back in the slightest—give it your all and strive for the best results.”
“The rules for this Qingyou Grand Tournament are the same as always. Hall Master Lu, begin.”
As Zhuge Ming spoke, he flicked his robe and strode toward a Yuzuo on the Jade Platform.
At this moment, on both sides of the Yuzuo, twelve of the current cultivation world’s top experts were already seated.
Yet, even now, these twelve looked at Zhuge Ming with clear wariness. After not seeing him for a while, this guy had become even more terrifying.
Hall Master Lu Xuanshen could only let out a bitter laugh. He was the host of this Qingyou Grand Tournament.
Vice Head Zhuge Ming’s personality was always cold and indifferent, his face perpetually expressionless to everyone. Lu Xuanshen had long since gotten used to it.
“Everyone, this time the Qingyou Grand Tournament is divided into five arenas. All geniuses participating in the tournament may now take the stage.”
“Once on stage, the five arenas will each hold a free-for-all. By the end, the top four who remain on each arena will advance, the rest will be eliminated.”
As Hall Master Lu Xuanshen’s words fell, some particularly confident geniuses immediately set their bodies in motion, flying through the air toward the Jade Platform.
Streaks of multicolored light and surges of powerful auras left the many young cultivators in the audience stirred up with excitement, wishing they could go up and show off as well.
“Master, I’m a little nervous…”
At this moment, Ruo Ximeng nestled in Su Chen’s arms, seeing the crowd, she couldn’t help but feel a bit stage fright.
“No need to worry, just go up and have fun. I’ve already looked carefully; all these so-called geniuses are nothing but ants—none of them can be your match.”
Su Chen said this with a perfectly straight face, spouting utter nonsense. With Ruo Ximeng’s abilities, there really weren’t many on the arena she could defeat.
‘Host, you’re at it again, tricking her. Don’t you know what level she’s at?’
‘If she gets beaten up on stage, you’ll be the one feeling sorry for her.’
Seeing how Ruo Ximeng was almost convinced by Su Chen’s words, the Imperial Teacher System spoke with deep regret.
Ruo Ximeng was basically a little good-for-nothing, hadn’t cultivated for long, and her techniques and skills were all problematic. Going on stage now was just asking for a beating.
‘It’s fine, I’ll just find a chance to help her in secret later.’
Su Chen replied as if it were only natural, as though helping his disciple cheat was the most reasonable thing in the world.
‘Pfft! Host, that Zhuge Ming guy is extremely powerful. Can you really cheat without him noticing?’
The Imperial Teacher System voiced its doubts.
‘Not worth mentioning.’
Su Chen replied with some disdain, then turned his gaze back to Ruo Ximeng.
He wasn’t lying. The Zhuge Ming who made all the big shots here wary was, in his eyes, nothing but an ant as well.
On the Jade Platform, Zhuge Ming also cast an unnoticeable glance at Su Chen.
Of all the powerful figures present, he looked down on everyone—except Su Chen, who gave him a strange feeling.
This nameless rogue cultivator—something about him seemed off?
He looked completely ordinary, yet his eyes revealed a contemptuous gaze, as if looking down on the world. What made him so arrogant?
Of course, Zhuge Ming didn’t think too much of it. Although there were always those who pretended to be weak to catch the strong off guard, being able to eat a tiger didn’t mean you could swallow a nine-heaven divine dragon.
“Whoosh—”
The sound of a sword rang out, echoing across the arena, as a youth made a dazzling entrance, riding his sword onto the stage with effortless grace.
“What’s wrong with him? It’s just a few steps—seven or eight at most—yet he insists on flying in on his sword?”
“I disagree. In my opinion, a simple leap with spiritual energy is enough to get up there.”
“Hahaha, you guys are doomed. Just mocked Summer Yiming, and soon you won’t even know how you died.”
As the crowd bantered, some cultivators called out Summer Yiming’s name.
A person’s reputation precedes them—among the younger generation, the name Summer Yiming was an insurmountable peak.
“Boom!”
As if to compete with Summer Yiming, a Lei Jiao Battle Spear suddenly slammed into one of the arenas with a thunderous crash. As the dust cleared, Wei Tao of Taishang Residence appeared.
Wei Tao’s entrance seemed even more stunning than Summer Yiming’s, instantly drawing many eyes.
“Hmph!”
Seeing this, Summer Yiming snorted coldly, but said nothing more.
As the various young geniuses took the stage one after another, the first round of the Qingyou Grand Tournament officially began.
At this moment, Su Chen’s attention was entirely on Ruo Ximeng.
Originally, Su Chen had planned to help Ruo Ximeng cheat from the shadows.
But now, Su Chen was amused.
Ruo Ximeng’s strength was just too weak. The moment she stood on the arena, it was as if the words “total pushover” were written right across her face.
At this moment, the other cultivators were busy eliminating the stronger opponents and didn’t even bother with her.
After all, in their minds, someone like Ruo Ximeng—a little good-for-nothing—could be kicked off with a single move at the end.
Ruo Ximeng puffed out her cheeks fiercely, standing all alone at the side, but the more she thought about Su Chen’s words, the more sense they made.
When out and about, you must act fierce. Right now, she stood there, looking intimidating, and the surrounding cultivators didn’t dare make a move on her.
With no one attacking her, Ruo Ximeng had no intention of fighting anyone either. She continued to puff her cheeks, waiting for the battle to end.
At this moment, a cultivator was sent flying by a punch and landed next to Ruo Ximeng.
The cultivator tensed up, worried that Ruo Ximeng might take the chance to ambush him.
But when he turned around, he was instantly dumbfounded.
Good grief—there was Ruo Ximeng, standing on the arena like a little airhead, cheeks puffed out, with no intention of attacking at all.
They had all come to the stage to fight bloody battles, but this girl—was she here to act cute?
“Hm?”
Noticing the cultivator staring at her, Ruo Ximeng’s face turned cold, but she still puffed out her cheeks fiercely and glared at him.
“Hahaha, this is killing me…”
Seeing Ruo Ximeng like this, even though it was an inappropriate time, the cultivator couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
But before he could laugh any longer, another cultivator kicked him off the arena with a single strike.
After falling off the stage, the cultivator cursed in his heart.
“Shameless, too shameless! So there are accomplices—one acting cute, the other sneak attacking!”
Unfortunately, as he muttered and cursed, a Cloud Heaven Palace Disciple had already come over to escort him away.