Chapter 17 Who Else Could It Be?

"Who else could it be? Of course, it's Senior Sister Ziwei's beloved disciple, the Di Zong Saint—Li Shouzhen!"

A hint of grimness appeared on Liu Yue's face. "This child possesses extraordinary strength and decisive ruthlessness. Most importantly, he has a heart of stone. My disciple, Liu Rushi, died by his hand!"

Liu Yue's words seemed to be introducing Li Shouzhen, but in reality, she was challenging the Ziwei Dao Lord.

The subtext of her words was: the Di Zong Saint killed my disciple; everyone, please give me a fair judgment!

Upon hearing this, the crowd exchanged glances and whispered among themselves.

The story of the Di Zong Saint defeating Yun Hao, even making him cry, had already spread like wildfire.

However, this didn't mean everyone knew about it, and those who did might not know it also involved Baihua Sect's saintess, Liu Rushi.

Moreover, Liu Rushi was already dead.

Therefore, when Liu Yue revealed this, the expressions on everyone's faces turned exceedingly angry!

During the Heavenly Pride Battle, prodigies from all over gathered, and conflicts and friction between them were considered normal.

But killing someone broke the rules.

So, the fact that Li Shouzhen made Yun Hao cry was considered a joke.

However, the fact that he killed Liu Rushi made things serious.

"Hmph, Ziwei Dao Lord, I really don't know how you manage your disciples in Di Zong!"

"Disputes between disciples are common, but taking a life is going too far, isn't it? Di Zong is really bullying us!"

"That's right, even if there's a deep-seated hatred, you can resolve it on the stage. Killing someone in private is disrupting the order of the Heavenly Pride Battle!"

Liu Yue was beautiful and alluring, with many admirers.

Therefore, after she started, many people stood up to accuse the Ziwei Dao Lord.

After all, even if Di Zong was powerful, it couldn't provoke public anger.

They intended to join forces and force the Ziwei Dao Lord to lower her head.

However, after listening to their barking, the Ziwei Dao Lord sneered and said calmly, "As far as I know, the one who truly killed Liu Rushi was the Tian Zong Saint, Yun Lan. She died from the effects of the Mieshen Dan (Soul-Destroying Pill), which is Tian Zong's unique pill. You're all aware of this, aren't you!"

The Ziwei Dao Lord's words silenced the crowd, as she spoke the truth, which could withstand scrutiny and investigation!

Then, the Ziwei Dao Lord said with pride, "Moreover, it's not up to others to comment on how my Di Zong acts. I advise you to watch your mouths and not be used as pawns by others!"

Hearing this, the crowd dared not speak again. The Di Zong Dao Lord's authority was not something they could challenge.

However, not everyone was afraid. Liu Yue snorted angrily, "Hmph, Ziwei Dao Lord, are you trying to use your power to suppress others? Are you trying to provoke public anger? Everyone, tell me, is that right?"

Liu Yue tried to incite her admirers, but facts proved that she overestimated her position in these men's hearts.

No one was willing to offend the Di Zong Dao Lord for her sake.

So, after she finished speaking, the few who had been clamoring all lowered their heads, silent, pretending nothing had happened.

Liu Yue bit her lip in anger, but she was helpless. In the end, she could only turn her gaze to Yun Lan.

After all, Baihua Sect was within Tian Zong's jurisdiction, and Yun Lan, as the Tian Zong Dao Lord, had reason to stand up for her.

Moreover, there were some unspeakable past events between her and Yun Lan…

However, Yun Lan remained aloof, showing no intention of interfering.

He didn't even seem to be paying attention to the matter.

"Heh, Liu Yue, you have great胆子 (dǎnzi, courage)! Who do you think you are, daring to speak to me like this?"

The Ziwei Dao Lord's phoenix eyes widened as she glared fiercely at Liu Yue.

"I, I, I'm just talking to you like this, what can you do?"

Liu Yue puffed out her not-insignificant chest and shouted at the Ziwei Dao Lord.

*Slap—*

The Ziwei Dao Lord slapped her, as if swatting a fly.

After hitting her, a palm print appeared on Liu Yue's face.

The Ziwei Dao Lord secretly said in her heart, "So slapping people is so satisfying. No wonder that scoundrel likes to slap people so much!"

Liu Yue was stunned, and the crowd around her was also stunned.

However, the other two leaders of the three super sects said nothing, acting as if it was none of their business. Naturally, they were all silent, not daring to provoke the Ziwei Dao Lord.

"Alright, the time has come, the Heavenly Pride Battle should begin. Don't waste your time and energy on such unimportant matters."

Yun Lan finally spoke, and his words finalized the matter…

Liu Rushi's death was just an unimportant matter. The Heavenly Pride Battle was the real, important event!

"Senior Brother Yun is right, let's start the Heavenly Pride Battle soon!"

"That's right, we can't lose sight of the big picture and forget today's main event!"

After Yun Lan spoke, people immediately echoed his words, and Liu Yue stood there dumbfounded, becoming an irrelevant person.

Due to these minor delays, the prodigies in the audience had become somewhat impatient.

Before they became restless, the Dao Lords of the three sects and the representatives of the major sects finally walked onto the high platform in front of the square to announce the official start of the Heavenly Pride Battle.

The first test of the Heavenly Pride Battle was simple and brutal: the Dao Lords of the three sects and the thirty-odd representatives of the sects would apply pressure to the one hundred and fifty prodigies present.

This pressure wouldn't kill anyone, but it would make those heavenly pride children very uncomfortable.

Those who couldn't withstand the pressure would either leave the arena voluntarily or be forced to the ground by the pressure and then leave.

In short, when only thirty-two people remained on the field, the first test of the Heavenly Pride Battle would be over.

And the remaining thirty-two people would be the prodigies who entered the finals.

There was nothing to say about the first round. This bit of pressure was nothing more than a tickle to Chen Xiao.

But for most of the prodigies, the pressure was still great. After all, among these one hundred and fifty people, some were still in the Divine Sea Realm.

The first round of competition didn't last long. After only half an hour, the top thirty-two of this Heavenly Pride Battle had been born.

Among these thirty-two people, some had indifferent expressions, thinking it was their due. Some were ecstatic, and these were disciples from small and medium-sized sects.

For them, entering the top thirty-two was already defying fate.

Wang Dong, who once had some connection with Chen Xiao, was among them. However, at this time, he no longer remembered Chen Xiao, let alone Chen Xiao disguised as the Di Zong Saint.

Some were secretly rejoicing, as they were only one step away from being eliminated. Correspondingly, there were those who were only one step away from successfully advancing.

They gritted their teeth, clenched their fists in anger, and finally deflated, regretting their failure: "Alas, just a little bit!"

And the first round of the Heavenly Pride Battle also produced a major upset… Of course, for some who knew the inside story, it wasn't an upset.

Because this upset was that the Tian Zong Saint, Yun Hao, was eliminated early!

Yun Hao only lasted less than a minute under the pressure before voluntarily leaving the arena. Then, in the incredulous gazes of the crowd, he fled the scene of the Heavenly Pride Battle!

On the high platform, Yun Lan sighed at this scene, but he quickly recovered.

It was just a Heavenly Pride Battle. Yun Lan didn't care. What he cared about was romantic affairs.

Moreover, even if the Tian Zong Saint was eliminated, there was still the Tian Zong Saintess to hold the line!

Yun Jin successfully advanced without pressure.

Similarly, the Ren Zong Saint and Saintess also advanced to the finals without pressure.

Before the arena match began, Duan Shikong specifically found Chen Xiao and clenched his fist fiercely in front of Chen Xiao, his muscles bulging.

"Boy, I heard you've been in the limelight recently. I hope you can last a few rounds, because I want to personally beat you to your knees and beg for mercy!"

After saying this, Duan Shikong snorted and left proudly.

Throughout the whole process, Chen Xiao just looked at him with the eyes of someone looking at an idiot. After he walked away, he muttered, "Who's this idiot? It's just inexplicable!"

After the drawing of lots, the arena match officially began.

Below the high platform, a ten-meter-long and ten-meter-wide arena was set up. For these cultivators who were at least in the Divine Sea Realm,

This hundred-square-meter arena was obviously a bit small.

However, the smaller the place, the more it could show each other's skills and strength.

Chen Xiao's first-round opponent was a cultivator in the early stage of the Transformation Realm, from the Changsheng Sect (Longevity Sect).

After the match began, Chen Xiao defeated his opponent without bloodshed, using only one move to knock him off the arena…

The Di Zong Saint showed his prowess for the first time!

Li Miaozhen was lucky. Her opponent's strength was only in the Divine Sea Realm, and it didn't bring any trouble to Li Miaozhen.

After successfully advancing, Li Miaozhen hopped to Chen Xiao's side: "Saint Brother, I've also advanced!"

"I hope we don't draw each other in the next round."

Chen Xiao said casually.

Li Miaozhen's expression changed slightly: "Quickly, bah, bah, bah, how can you say such unlucky things?"

"Bah, bah, bah…"

Chen Xiao quickly spat a few times.

However, these few spits obviously didn't work, because Chen Xiao's second-round opponent was indeed Li Miaozhen.

After getting on the arena, Li Miaozhen was numb. She glared at Chen Xiao and then said resentfully, "Saint Brother, it's all your fault, talking nonsense. Now look what's happened!"

The internal derby that everyone expected didn't happen, because Li Miaozhen sensibly raised the white flag and surrendered.

Chen Xiao successfully entered the top eight. Not long after, the top eight players had all been decided.

The Di Zong Saint Li Shouzhen, the Tian Zong Saintess Yun Jin, the Ren Zong Saint Duan Shikong, and the Ren Zong Saintess Duan Yuyan were all among them.

And among the top eight, there was also a person wrapped in a black robe, which caught Chen Xiao's attention…