218: Why don't you fight?

At this moment, Jiang Ye arrived at Nangong Mu's room and saw him lying on the bed with an extremely weak aura. He immediately activated the Nishitu Shen Jue Third Level to withdraw the Evil Qi from his body.

Once the Evil Qi was removed from Nangong Mu's body, his complexion visibly improved, and his expression was no longer distorted. Although his Dantian had been pierced at the time, the instantaneous erosion of the special Evil Qi had actually protected it, and Jiang Ye hadn't used any force to shatter it afterward. Now that the Evil Qi was cleared, he just needed to use Profound Energy to help him repair it.

Meanwhile, Nangong Mao was leading an Old Ancestor of the Xuan Lei Sect to collect that massive heavenly thunder crystal stone. Since this heavenly thunder crystal stone also required the Nangong Family's secret technique to be fully brought under control, Nangong Mao wasn't afraid of them taking it by force.

One hour later.

After learning that Nangong Mu had fully recovered, Nangong Mao finally felt at ease and handed over the final step of the secret technique to the Xuan Lei Sect. Their additional condition during the initial negotiations was that the core members of the Nangong Family would temporarily stay at the Xuan Lei Sect to Cultivate. Since the Nangong Family also practiced lightning techniques, the Xuan Lei Sect was perfectly suited for their cultivation.

After receiving the heavenly thunder crystal stone, the two Old Ancestors of the Xuan Lei Sect immediately returned to the Sect to set up array patterns and integrate the crystal into the Heavenly Thunder Pool's lightning-attracting Magic Array.

The next day.

The Profound Realm Youth Competition entered its final stage. Today, the top ten would be decided, and winning three consecutive matches would grant entry into the top ten. However, there were a few strange people: Shi Feng of the Shadow Gate and Shi Bao of the Mountain Moving Sect both forfeited directly after drawing their own fellow Disciples in the third round of today's qualifiers. Both had shown quite a powerful momentum, and just as everyone was waiting for a spectacular battle, they said they wouldn't fight.

Jiang Ye, similarly, after easily defeating his opponents in the first two matches, drew An Dong in the third round of the qualifiers for the top ten. He didn't even bother to step onto the martial stage, simply shouting from below, "I can't beat him, I forfeit!"

Lei Ming sat in the spectator stands, completely speechless! Hardly anyone could rival Jiang Ye's strength, but Lei Ming also knew that Jiang Ye's heart was no longer in the competition.

Jiang Ye was now eagerly anticipating the effect of the heavenly thunder crystal stone being integrated into the lightning-attracting array. If he could then enter seclusion inside for a month, his cultivation would directly surge to the Xuan King Realm. He sat to one side, occasionally giggling to himself unconsciously. The other Disciples didn't know what he was laughing at and even wondered if something was wrong with his head.

Watching his silly giggling, Lei Ming shook his head helplessly. "This kid, sigh!!"

Lei Jun walked over and said, "You bastard! Why aren't you fighting?"

Jiang Ye waved his hand and said, "Anyway, only one person can go in. There's no need to waste energy; I'll just properly prepare for the top ten ranking matches."

"Damn! Do you not care about the chance to make a name for yourself at all? Do you know that Elders from two Forbidden Ground factions came to watch today? If you're scouted and join a Forbidden Ground faction, the chances of breaking through to the Profound Emperor Realm in the future will greatly increase."

Jiang Ye adopted the tone of a Senior lecturing a Junior and said, "Young man, don't be so overly ambitious. Breakthrough to the Xuan King Realm first!"

"You bastard! I'm four years older than you, get lost!"

"Anyway, I'm not fighting. I just want this competition to end quickly so I can go back to the Sect."

Lei Ming knew what he was thinking and said, "Don't be in such a hurry! Even if the three Old Ancestors start setting up the array patterns now, it will take seven days to complete. The energy of the heavenly thunder crystal stone is not as simple as you think."

Jiang Ye was stunned. "It takes that long? I thought it would be done in a day or two."

"Heh, you wish!"

Soon, the top ten of the competition were determined. The Xuan Lei Sect had miraculously secured three seats: Lei Jun, An Dong, and Nangong Chen, who had defeated a Prodigy Disciple of the Taichu Sect. Now, the Taichu Sect only had one Prodigy Disciple remaining in the top ten.

Just then, the competition host announced a half-hour break to wait for the arrival of heavyweight VIPs. Everyone guessed that the newcomers were from the Forbidden Ground factions.

Half an hour later.

The people from the Forbidden Grounds arrived. Both factions consisted of an Elder leading two Disciples, one of which was a female-only faction. After the two factions appeared, Jiang Ye saw several people follow them out. Among them was a very familiar graceful figure—Wu Linglong. She was following a refined and suave middle-aged man. The two shared some resemblance; it was definitely her father, Wu Jiutian.

Jiang Ye wanted to check these people's strength, so he swept his Soul Power over them. He discovered that the leaders of each of the three factions had all surpassed the Xuan King Realm.

Jiang Ye was shocked. "Holy crap! Even those in the Profound Emperor Realm have come? I've got to keep laying low. Sigh... can't beat them, definitely can't beat them."

At that moment, the Elder from the female faction suddenly appeared in the center of the martial stage and said, "I wonder which Senior expert is present? I am Elder Cold Moon Elder of the Qingyue Palace. Would you do us the honor of watching the matches together?"

"What?" Everyone present was astonished. Was there actually someone hidden here whom even a Forbidden Ground faction had to treat with such courtesy?

"Hmm? This person has also practiced Soul Skills. She noticed my scan just now. As expected of a faction from a Forbidden Ground!" Jiang Ye thought to himself.

After waiting for a moment with no response, Cold Moon Elder returned to her seat in the spectator stands. Wu Jiutian, who was beside her, asked, "Elder Yue, what's going on?"

Cold Moon Elder said, "Someone just swept our area with Soul Power. That person's Soul Power is very strong. If I hadn't practiced Soul Skills, I wouldn't have noticed that subtle Soul fluctuation at all."

Wu Linglong immediately thought of who it was. She looked toward the Xuan Lei Sect and found that Jiang Ye was also looking at her. Suddenly, her pretty face flushed slightly, and she briefly avoided Jiang Ye's gaze before she couldn't help but look back at him again.

Just as she was thinking about Jiang Ye, Wu Jiutian suddenly called out to her, "Linglong, what's wrong? What are you looking at?"

"Nothing, just seeing who these top ten contestants are."

Wu Jiutian said, "The top ten of this competition are all quite strong. Is there any man you're satisfied with? Your father will step forward to recruit him for you."

Wu Linglong shook her head slightly and said, "No. There's no need for Father to worry about these things. I only want to focus on Cultivate right now and not discuss matters between men and women."

"You're not young anymore. If there's someone you like, you can certainly talk about it! By the way, I heard your mother arranged a marriage for you. That person is also one of the top ten this time. Why not watch his performance in a bit?"

"Whatever," Wu Linglong said indifferently.

Soon, the top ten ranking matches began. The first round was a ten-to-five elimination format. Then, the top five would fight another round; the winners would secure a spot to compete for the championship, while the one who received a bye would challenge one of the two winners. If they won, they would enter the championship match; if they lost, they would be ranked third.

In the end, Nangong Chen unleashed his true strength and entered the championship final! The other finalist was an unknown dark horse, a Disciple named Lü Tan from a place called the Lei Jian Sect. His Realm had also reached the Seventh Stage of Xuan Saint Realm!

The host said, "The final championship battle: Nangong Chen of the Xuan Lei Sect versus Lü Tan of the Lei Jian Sect! Begin now!"