Nine Dragons Saint Ancestor

Chapter 718: 718 Backroom Manipulation

”Nonsense, who saw me make a move?”

However, as soon as Lin Xuanhao said this, the old man rolled his eyes in a strange manner, adamantly denying it. Upon hearing this, the onlookers were taken aback, but none of them spoke up.

To tell the truth, although the onlookers had seen a flash of silver light in the old man’s eyes, everything happened in a flash, and many people hadn’t seen clearly before it ended.

Thus, it could be claimed that the old man hadn’t made a move, especially since these people had no acquaintance with Yun Xiao and Lin Xuanhao, and it wasn’t worth offending a high-level practitioner over two low-level practitioners.

With a cultivation in the Late Stage of the Qi Seeking Realm, he was considered a rare powerhouse on the first floor of the Douling Commerce, and given the old man’s disposition, if anyone spoke up for the two young men at this moment, they could likely be resented immediately, which would be a loss not worth the gain.

”I didn’t see what happened just now, but if anyone dares to make a scene in the Douling Commerce again, don’t blame me, Xu Huan, for being rude!”

Xu Huan completely ignored the argument between the two, merely dropping a harsh remark coldly, then glanced over Yun Xiao, and leisurely returned with several guards to the second floor of the hall.

As for Xu Huan’s identity, the old man was naturally aware. Although their Meridian Qi Cultivation was similar, their statuses were vastly different, and he dared not provoke him easily.

”Boy, you’d better pray you don’t encounter this old man in the Spirit Fighting Conference, otherwise...!”

Although he could no longer resort to violence, verbal threats were still on the table. Seeing the old man’s sinister voice being spoken, he directly gestured across his neck.

”Hey, that’s the Spirit Fighting Conference; are you saying you’re going to kill me?”

Seeing this, Yun Xiao’s expression became somewhat odd. The Spirit Fighting Conference, unlike the Countries Hidden Dragon Conference’s Meridian Qi competition, was merely a battle between Meridian Spirits; the physical bodies couldn’t get involved, so generally, there was no danger to one’s life.

At most, after the refining battle, one’s Meridian Spirit might be killed, causing some repercussions to its owner, but to say that it would kill the owner themselves was simply impossible.

Caught red-handed by a sharp retort to his harsh words, the old man’s face couldn’t quite maintain composure, and he could only glare fiercely at Yun Xiao before turning and walking towards a certain direction.

”Ah, why are there so many troubles?”

Seeing that just coming to register had inexplicably offended a practitioner in the Middle Stage of the Qi Seeking Realm, Yun Xiao couldn’t help but shake his head and sigh, his sentiment making Lin Xuanhao’s face reveal a weird expression.

”This Yun Xiao brother really has a knack for attracting hatred!”

Having followed Yun Xiao to Yuyang City only two days ago and already causing quite a stir, Lin Xuanhao truly wondered what else could happen if they stayed longer.

”Let’s go, let’s register!”

Yun Xiao didn’t think too much about it; this was just the Spirit Fighting Conference, and even if it were a battle of physical bodies, with his current Early Stage cultivation in the Qi Seeking Realm and using all his methods, he wouldn’t be too fearful of a practitioner in the Late Stage of the Qi Seeking Realm. With that, he waved his arm grandly and headed towards where the crowd was gathering.

”Here, keep it safe. This is your entry token!”

The registration process went smoothly without any mishaps. When a charming young girl handed over a wooden token to Yun Xiao, his registration for the Spirit Fighting Conference was successfully completed.

However, the onlookers looked at Yun Xiao with strange expressions, as participating in the Qi Seeking Realm category of the Spirit Fighting Conference with just Early Stage cultivation seemed somewhat inadequate; he seemed likely to be an easy target.

At this moment, many practitioners registered for the Qi Seeking Realm group of the Spirit Fighting Conference were hoping to encounter this roughly dressed young man in the first round, which would allow them to advance to the second round without any surprises.

But who they would encounter was not up to them; they had to wait for the distribution on the day the Spirit Fighting Conference began, so now they could only pray internally.

”Three hundred and twenty-six?”

Yun Xiao didn’t have as many thoughts as the other observers; he raised the wooden token in his hand and looked at the big number on it, slightly stunned, thinking how many practitioners had come to participate in this Spirit Fighting Conference.

Considering that there are nearly ten days until the Spirit Fighting Conference, and it was already number three hundred and twenty-six, it seemed likely that the number could easily exceed a thousand in the coming days, perhaps even reaching several thousand participants.

”Ah, who knows what kind of luck I’ll have this time?”

Lin Xuanhao was holding a token that was also numbered in the hundreds, but his words were filled with emotion, attributing the outcome to luck, which clearly wasn’t Yun Xiao’s style. Thus, he turned his head, looking somewhat puzzled at Lin Xuanhao.

”The rules of the Spirit Fighting Conference have always been to randomly assign opponents and then proceed with single elimination. This means that if you are lucky, it is quite easy to break into the last few rounds, and it is indeed not impossible!”

Seeing Yun Xiao’s confused face, Lin Xuanhao explained again, and these words also made Yun Xiao understand the rules of the Spirit Fighting Conference, single elimination which can be quite brutal.

It means that the cultivators participating in the Spirit Fighting Conference might only have one chance to compete. If they lose their first match, they can only wait for the next conference or another Spirit Fighting Conference in other big cities.

Hearing this, Yun Xiao nodded. Since this is the rule, Lin Xuanhao’s earlier mention of luck wasn’t without reason. After all, with good luck, being matched against weaker opponents makes advancing relatively easier.

After registering, the two didn’t stay too long in the grand hall of the Spirit Fighting Commerce. They went straight back to the Lin Family’s attic to quietly wait for the start of the Spirit Fighting Conference.

However, when Yun Xiao and his companion left the Spirit Fighting Commerce, inside a room on the second floor of this Commerce were standing two figures, one old and one young, among whom was Xu Huan, who held some grudges with Yun Xiao.

”Mr. Ge, have you found out that kid’s number?”

Xu Huan, looking through the second-floor window at the two figures gradually disappearing into the distance, finally asked in a deep voice. The elder beside him was none other than Ge Sheng, the Earth Rank Low-Level Meridian Refining Master from the Commerce, who had earlier failed to mediate the matter with the No Infant Fruit.

”I have found out; it’s number three hundred twenty-six!”

Ge Sheng nodded. As the host of the Spirit Fighting Conference, finding out a number was incredibly easy. Besides, Yun Xiao hadn’t hidden it, so he was very confident.

”Number three hundred twenty-six?”

A gleam flashed in Xu Huan’s eyes. After muttering to himself, he said, ”Arrange for Yun Xiao’s number to meet Jiang Nanchao in the first round. I want to see what this kid is really capable of.”

”Yes, young master!”

Ge Sheng would certainly not object to Xu Huan’s orders. As for who Jiang Nanchao was, he had some impressions—he was the old man who had a conflict with Yun Xiao in the lobby on the first floor previously.

”It seems that the young master hasn’t let go of yesterday’s affair!”

Ge Sheng knew that upon returning yesterday, Xu Huan was scolded by the chairman, who cautioned him not to cause trouble during this period. However, today’s arrangement already spoke volumes.

Yun Xiao was merely at the Qi Seeking Realm Early Stage, while Jiang Nanchao had reached the Qi Seeking Realm Late Stage. Although it was just a battle between Meridian Spirits, with such a disparity, it’s likely Yun Xiao’s Meridian Spirit wouldn’t withstand a single blow.

Ge Sheng knew that if Yun Xiao were to lose, he would have no further relation to this Spirit Fighting Conference. Then, if Xu Huan struck at him afterwards, it wouldn’t be considered as maliciously targeting a competitor of the Spirit Fighting Conference, and no one could fault him.

Through this, Ge Sheng realized that young master Xu’s temperament seemed rather unpredictable. It seemed necessary to be more cautious in the future because you never know when you might offend him, and then you might end up like Yun Xiao, unable to escape the consequences.

...

Nearly ten days passed in a blink of an eye!

During these nearly ten days, Yun Xiao did not go out to ”cause trouble” but stayed quietly in the Lin Family attic with Lin Xuanhao.

Lin Xuanhao naturally spent time getting familiar with his Meridian Spirit. As for Yun Xiao, he spent all ten days communicating with the stubborn Golden Snake Worm.

Yun Xiao cajoled and pleaded until he was out of words. Finally, with no other choice, he brought out Little Dragon, which reluctantly made the Golden Snake Worm, Xiao Wu, agree to serve as his Meridian Spirit in the battle.

Bear in mind that Yun Xiao had not refined his own Meridian Spirit yet. Xiao Wu and Red Feather were not strictly his Meridian Spirits, but only resided in his body due to some special reasons.

Given the pride of the Golden Snake Worm, considering itself a Five-Clawed Golden Dragon, it originally disdained to compete with ordinary Meridian Spirits from the Tenglong Continent, as that would only lower its status.

However, while the Golden Snake Worm dared to ignore Yun Xiao, it had to compromise following Little Dragon’s interference. This was its weak spot, and more frustratingly, Little Dragon was close to Yun Xiao, which immensely irritated the Golden Snake Worm.

The day finally arrived for the opening of the Spirit Fighting Conference. Yun Xiao and Lin Xuanhao came out of their room early, seeing the crowded streets of Yuyang City, Yun Xiao felt a sense of déjà vu with the Countries Hidden Dragon Conference.

However, this was still just a Spirit Fighting Conference in the Southern Domain of the Tenglong Continent, smaller in scale compared to the Hidden Dragon Conference previously held on the Hidden Dragon Continent, which gathered geniuses from various nations. In Yun Xiao’s view, there would be at most four to five thousand participants.

Four to five thousand participants in the Spirit Fighting Conference meant the spectators were much more numerous. It’s worth mentioning that this time, the venue was set up not in the city square but at the North Gate of Yuyang City, which meant Yun Xiao and Lin Xuanhao had to walk a bit further.

After all, unlike the previous Countries Hidden Dragon Conference that allowed entry into a special space for a chaotic elimination brawl, this required pairing Meridian Spirits to battle and determine the winner between them.