After being reborn, all I want to do is run away.

Chapter 47 The Grand Competition Conspiracy

"The rules state that only those who lose twice in a row will be eliminated. If they go all out when they encounter us, and deliberately draw when they encounter their own people, then our chances of being eliminated will greatly increase, and the situation that Brother Yan mentioned could very well occur," Wang Bu explained.

"So that's how it is!" Chen Kaijia exclaimed in sudden realization.

"Then what should we do? Should we follow their example?" Lu Qingqing asked.

"That's not appropriate. They might not choose to do that, and if we do, we'll become the target of everyone's criticism. After all, it's an outer sect competition. If we cheat in public, how can we expect to have a good ending?" Yan Qingxue replied.

“Brother Yan is right. We absolutely cannot do that first. Given the current state of the sect, the sect leader certainly doesn’t want to see us, the younger generation, start fighting amongst ourselves,” Wang Bu added.

"What should we do then? We can't just keep putting up with this!" Chen Kaijia said with some dissatisfaction.

"Of course we can't just sit here and wait to die! Don't you guys think this outer sect competition is strange? First of all, the sect leader announced a year in advance that he would personally prepare the rewards for the top three, and then there's this brand new final competition format. I have a feeling there's some kind of conspiracy behind this!" Lu Qingqing suddenly said.

At this moment, Shen Xu suddenly remembered something from his previous life. It seemed that after the outer sect competition, many elders of the sect took the initiative to send their own disciples to Cuiyun Mountain.

Combining this with what Lu Qingqing just said, the answer is obvious: the leader of the Qingzhu Sword Sect wants to use this outer sect competition to eliminate the gap between the elders' disciples and the outer sect disciples at its root.

To achieve this, the sect leader must prove that Cuiyun Mountain's training methods are superior to those of the elders, and therefore they must win tomorrow's battle decisively.

Their overall strength is about the same as that of the elders and disciples. If they want to win decisively, the sect leader has to help them cheat. The facts of the previous life have proven that the sect leader did indeed do this. So how will the sect leader help them?

"I'd like to ask, does anyone know the relationship between Elder Chen and the sect leader?" Shen Xu asked.

"Elder Chen is one of the sect leader's disciples. Why is Junior Brother Shen suddenly asking about this?" Lu Qingqing asked.

"It's nothing, I was just a little curious!"

"Actually, I don't think things are that complicated. As long as we do our best, no matter the outcome, at least we will have no regrets."

If they really resort to such despicable means, I believe the sect leader and elders are discerning and will not tolerate anyone profiting from such behavior.

"After all, if there's a first time, there will be a second. If this continues, the entire sect's atmosphere will deteriorate, which is something the higher-ups cannot accept," Shen Xu said thoughtfully.

"We never expected that after all our thinking, we wouldn't be as insightful as Junior Brother Shen! Brother Wang, your gathering was a complete waste," Yan Qingxue teased.

“That’s right. Let the higher-ups handle the complicated matters. We just need to do our best and have a clear conscience.” Wang Bu agreed.

"You guys just keep messing with me! In the end, you'll just have to fight it out." Chen Kaijia stared intently at his fists.

"I think Senior Brother Wang's gathering was worthwhile; at least it allowed me to see Junior Brother Shen's pure heart!" Lu Qingqing said with a light laugh.

"A pure heart is truly rare!" Yan Qingxue exclaimed.

"Stop making fun of me. I don't have any innocent heart; I'm just a black-hearted person!" Shen Xu said with a smile.

Although his heart wasn't red, it hadn't reached the point of being black. Even though he had joined the Blood Fiend Palace in his previous life, he rarely took the initiative to do things against his conscience. He mostly followed the trend and went with the flow.

After chatting for a while in Bichun Garden, the five of them went their separate ways to their respective residences to rest and prepare for tomorrow's battle.

Unfortunately, Shen Xu had nowhere to go, so after wandering around, he had no choice but to return to the place where he had rested the night before.

With the sky as her blanket and the earth as her bed, she slowly closed her eyes.

……

As dawn broke, Fengming Mountain was already bustling with activity. Unlike the previous two days, almost the entire Qingzhu Mountain Range was mobilized this time. After all, no one in the Qingzhu Mountain Range dared to disrespect the Qingzhu Sword Sect. Shen Xu and his group of ten also arrived at Fengming Platform early to make preparations, since they were the main characters of today's competition.

Shen Xu also saw the true full view of Fengming Terrace for the first time. In just one night, Fengming Terrace seemed to have changed its appearance. It was no longer as simple and unadorned as it had been two days ago. Instead, it was brand new. Huge pieces of cloth embroidered with exquisite and intricate patterns hung down from the top of the mountain, as if dressing Fengming Terrace in a gorgeous new coat.

The changes on the platform below were even more dramatic. Not only were exquisite defensive array patterns arranged on each battle arena, emitting a pale blue light, but a huge and exquisite jade-colored suspended platform had also appeared in front of the battle arena. It was filled with tables, chairs, and fruits and vegetables whose names Shen Xu did not recognize. Shen Xu guessed that it was the location of the sect's higher-ups.

The stands on both sides of the arena were packed with invited guests, who were whispering and discussing something heatedly, making a great commotion.

There were also some seats set up around the Wind-Sounding Platform, which were prepared for the disciples who performed well in the preliminary rounds. Shen Xu and his group of ten were among those seats.

As the first rays of sunlight shone on Fengmingtai, melodious chimes resounded throughout the entire platform. The crowd on Fengmingtai fell silent upon hearing the chimes. As soon as the chimes faded, five rainbows of different colors appeared in the distance.

Upon seeing the streaks of light, the disciples and stewards immediately rose, bowed, and shouted, "Welcome, Sect Leader!!"

"Get up!" A voice, authoritative yet not angry, instantly echoed throughout the entire Wind Howling Mountain.

"Thank you, Sect Leader!" the crowd replied.

By the time Shen Xu and the others got up, the five figures in the sky had already disappeared.

In Shen Xu's view, Song Qi, the leader of the Green Bamboo Sword Sect, was a tragic figure.

In his previous life, when the Blood Fiend Palace attacked the Green Bamboo Sword Sect, he used his own flesh and blood as firewood and sacrificed himself to the Qinyun Bamboo branch, summoning the phantom of the Qinyun Bamboo and buying precious time for the many disciples of the Green Bamboo Sword Sect to escape.

Shen Xu had seen his body, almost charred, dissipate into ashes in a gentle breeze, and scatter onto the land he had protected with his life.

Unfortunately, Yang Qiqi did not listen to his advice to cultivate properly for a few years before returning to take revenge. Instead, she used the Qinyun Bamboo Branch to forcefully break through her cultivation level in an attempt to return and rescue Song Qi.

As a result, without Yang Qiqi, a high-level combatant, those who escaped from the Green Bamboo Sword Sect all became nourishment for the blood tide, and all of Song Qi's efforts turned to ashes along with his body.

The Qingzhu Sword Sect of the Qingzhu Mountains became a name that disappeared without a trace in the long river of history.