88: Chapter 88 The Transaction is Completed

Mid-air, the purple-robed elder presiding over the competition was the first to snap back to his senses.

Suspending himself above the arena, he took a deep look at the calm Lin Qing standing on the stage.

As a top-tier powerhouse with a Rank Six cultivation, he, like the others, had used his Divine Thought to repeatedly probe Lin Qing's background. Lin Qing's cultivation was indeed only at the Late Stage of Rank Four, and he hadn't used any underhanded or forbidden methods.

The purple-robed elder suppressed the thoughts in his eyes and stopped his probing. On the field, the winner had been decided; the opponent had been thrown directly out of the arena and lost the ability to fight. The result was clear and unambiguous, with no grounds for dispute or reason for doubt.

He circulated his spiritual energy, and his aged yet sonorous voice once again resounded throughout the entire venue:

"The third match, Lin Qing of Luoxia Valley, wins!"

As the Cultivators regained their senses, their gazes toward Lin Qing were filled with praise and admiration on the surface, but deep in their eyes, an imperceptible flicker of greed flashed.

A tree that stands above the forest will surely be toppled by the wind.

Lin Qing's performance today was too stunning. No one knew how many powerhouses were already beginning to plot, wanting to uncover Lin Qing's secrets.

Because the first three battles had proceeded very quickly, today's matches ended early. The group from Luoxia Valley returned to their small courtyard along the original path.

The atmosphere along the way was exceptionally quiet.

Yun Nian and the others crowded around Lin Qing, their eyes sparkling with worship.

They had spent the longest time with Lin Qing and had some basic guesses about his strength.

They weren't surprised that Lin Qing could defeat the Third Prince. What shocked them was that Lin Qing still managed to insta-kill his opponent with a single, effortless move even when facing the Third Prince.

Lin Qing was now practically their idol.

Meanwhile, Sect Master Shen Yurong and the other two walking at the front of the group still hadn't recovered from the shock just now.

Within these few short days, their moods had been like a roller coaster, rising and falling sharply, fluctuating wildly.

Back when they were first at Luoxia Valley, the cultivation Lin Qing displayed to the outside world was only the Middle Stage of Rank Four. Yet, he could easily defeat the veteran Rank Four Middle Stage Yuan Heng, showing exceptionally formidable combat power.

At that time, based on the standards of previous Heavenly Pride Competitions, they had estimated that with good luck, Lin Qing had a great chance of breaking into the top five.

Later, after gathering intelligence on this Heavenly Pride Competition, the hope in their hearts was gradually extinguished; there were simply too many Prodigies in this year's competition.

Then, Lin Qing actually achieved a Breakthrough to the Late Stage of Rank Four a few days before the Heavenly Pride Competition. Furthermore, he forcefully defeated two Rank Four Late Stages in the first round. For the next few days, Sect Master Shen Yurong and the others were grinning from ear to ear, believing Lin Qing was about to make history for Luoxia Valley.

But today, when the drawing of lots ended and they learned Lin Qing's opponent was actually the Third Prince, Third Prince Duan Chengyu, their hearts instantly sank to the bottom. Their original expectations were immediately replaced by despair.

Who was Third Prince Duan Chengyu?

He was at the Peak of Rank Four, a Prince of Great Qi, a user of Heaven-Grade Martial Arts, and the undisputed number one of this competition whom no one dared to provoke from start to finish. For Lin Qing to face him was almost equivalent to being eliminated early.

At that time, their hearts were filled with gloom, and they had already prepared for the worst.

But who could have imagined that the final result would once again overturn everyone's perception? Not only did Lin Qing win, but he won so cleanly and decisively.

Under such drastic ups and downs, even the usually composed Sect Master Shen Yurong felt somewhat unsettled. Even now, she hadn't completely calmed down.

The next day, the sky grew bright.

Sect Master Shen Yurong and the other two took Yun Nian and the rest to the venue to watch the matches. Since Lin Qing had no duel today, he did not follow the group.

He planned to train the Beast Taming Technique he had obtained previously to Perfection today.

During his recent free time, he had already made some progress in training the Beast Taming Technique. After finishing his low-level Spells, the proficiency requirement for the Beast Taming Technique had also dropped to 100 points. With another half-day of training today, he could reach Perfection.

However, just as Lin Qing had practiced only two or three times, there was a gentle knock on the door of his room.

The respectful voice of the elderly guard came from outside:

"True Disciple Lin, I apologize for disturbing your cultivation. Someone is at the courtyard gate specifically looking for you, saying there is an important matter to discuss. Please come out for a meeting."

Lin Qing opened his eyes, stopped his cultivation, tidied his clothes, and walked slowly out of the room to the courtyard gate.

Standing outside the gate was a man dressed in ordinary cloth clothes with a common face. He was one of the Sixth Princess's people, whom Lin Qing had seen before on the capital's commercial street.

Their eyes met, and the man bowed slightly to Lin Qing. Lin Qing already knew why he had come, so he turned to the old man behind him and said:

"I am going out for a bit and will return before dark."

Without saying more, he followed the man and left the Luoxia Valley courtyard, merging into the flow of people in the capital's streets.

The two moved forward along a familiar path and arrived at the same restaurant where they had met secretly before.

The middle-aged man led Lin Qing to the door of the private room on the top floor. After bowing, he retreated to guard the stairs to prevent outsiders from disturbing them.

Lin Qing raised his hand and gently pushed open the door.

The interior of the private room was still elegant and quiet, with sandalwood incense curling up and a peaceful atmosphere.

The Sixth Princess, Princess Duan Qingwan, had changed into a plain long dress today. Shedding her royal extravagance, she appeared gentle and refined, sitting quietly at the table waiting.

She also had no matches scheduled for today. Being free, she had come here early to wait for Lin Qing.

Seeing Lin Qing push the door and enter, Princess Duan Qingwan immediately stood up. With a warm smile on her face, she walked forward quickly to greet him:

"Young Master Lin, you've finally come. I must congratulate you in advance for securing the qualification to participate in the Chuyun Immortal Sect's entrance examination."

"The Princess is too kind. Congratulations to you as well for getting what you wished for."

During the drawing of lots yesterday, Lin Qing had seen the trickery involved.

The representative Disciples of those top-tier sects all drew opponents at the Rank Four Middle Stage, with Third Prince Duan Chengyu being the sole exception.

He believed his strength was the best in the field and that others should be the ones avoiding him, so he didn't make any arrangements for the drawing of lots.

It was precisely this blind arrogance that led him to crash straight into the trap laid by Princess Duan Qingwan, facing Lin Qing early and resulting in this total defeat.

Princess Duan Qingwan knew Lin Qing disliked beating around the bush. After a simple greeting, she got straight to the point.

With a flip of her jade-like hand, she took out three simple-covered booklets from her Storage Ring and placed them gently on the table in front of Lin Qing.

"Young Master Lin, since you defeated Third Prince Duan Chengyu as agreed, I naturally will not break my word. These three are the three Heaven-Grade Martial Arts we agreed upon."

Lin Qing's gaze fell on the three booklets. Without being polite, he picked them up and flipped through a few pages at random.

The booklets were not old, and the handwriting was clear and neat, obviously recent handwritten copies. Heaven-Grade Martial Arts were precious Legacies of the Dynasty; even as the Sixth Princess of Great Qi, Princess Duan Qingwan could never carry the original copies of Heaven-Grade Martial Arts with her, let alone give them directly to an outsider.

After confirming they were indeed Heaven-Grade Martial Arts, Lin Qing tucked them into his robes.

Princess Duan Qingwan cautioned:

"Young Master Lin, please do not pass these martial arts to others, lest unnecessary trouble arises."

Lin Qing nodded slightly:

"Rest assured, Princess. I know what I'm doing. No third person will ever know about this."

The transaction was complete and the promise fulfilled; there were no more ties between the two.

Lin Qing had no intention of staying longer and got up to take his leave.

Meanwhile, inside the Third Prince's mansion.

A faint medicinal fragrance filled the air. Third Prince Duan Chengyu had long since woken up from his coma.

But his current state was extremely poor. With many broken bones, he could only lie motionless on the bed, eyes wide open, staring fixedly at the bed curtains above.

In his eyes, a flash of confusion and disbelief appeared first, which then transformed into intense resentment and rage.

Lying on the bed with a dark expression, Third Prince Duan Chengyu radiated a bone-chilling killing intent. He spoke coldly toward the dark corner of the room:

"Come out."

In the next moment, a pitch-black figure appeared in the Third Prince's room.

From his attire, one could tell at a glance that this was the Third Prince's personal shadow guard, specialized in handling matters in the shadows.

The black figure did not speak after appearing, but simply bowed slightly toward Third Prince Duan Chengyu on the bed, waiting quietly for orders.

Lying on the bed with a sinister face, Third Prince Duan Chengyu issued his command word by word in a bone-chilling voice:

"After the Heavenly Pride Competition ends, find an opportunity to kill Lin Qing."

Hearing this, even the cold shadow guard couldn't help but cry out in shock:

"Your Highness! This... this is absolutely out of the question!"

"Lin Qing is now famous throughout the capital and is at the height of his fame. He is the most watched Prodigy in all of Great Qi, with countless factions keeping an eye on him. If we move against him now and are exposed, the consequences would be unimaginable and would bring immense trouble to Your Highness!"

Hearing the shadow guard's dissuasion, Third Prince Duan Chengyu's face grew even darker, and he let out an unquestionable sound from his nose.

"Hmm?"

Hearing this sound, the shadow guard knew the Third Prince had made up his mind and could only bow in response:

"This old servant... obeys! I will not fail Your Highness's trust and will take Lin Qing's head!"

Third Prince Duan Chengyu knew very well that doing this carried immense risk. If exposed, it would surely invite widespread condemnation.

There were five fixed spots for the Great Qi Dynasty in the Chuyun Immortal Sect's entrance examination. If someone were to die unexpectedly, who would be more qualified to take their place than Third Prince Duan Chengyu?

In the past, the top five of the Heavenly Pride Competition were basically from top-tier factions, and no one dared to move to steal a spot, otherwise it could easily trigger a war between top factions.

But Lin Qing was merely a Disciple of a mid-tier faction. For the sake of the Chuyun Immortal Sect spot and to wash away his humiliation, he decided to take the risk.