285: Chapter 285 Chen Lingqiong's Defeat

Zhao Shen returned to the Chen Family's group, apologized to everyone, and then fell silent.

Many people comforted him with a few words. After all, as a Fourth Layer Qi Refining Cultivator, being able to force a Fifth Layer Qi Refining Cultivator to fight with such difficulty, even if he ultimately lost, had already proven his strength.

There were still a few matches left, and the Chen Family's Cultivators took the stage one by one.

Until the end of the first day, quite a few Cultivators left the arena in low spirits.

Fortunately, only three people from the Chen Family were eliminated. The opponents they encountered all had higher cultivation levels than them, so there was nothing that could be done.

Because the assembly was supervised by five Purple Mansion factions, no one could pull any tricks.

Even those Sixth Layer Qi Refining Cultivators, despite having the strength to enter the top hundred, might exit early due to encountering Late Qi Refining Stage opponents.

The second day, the third day, all the way to the fifth day.

Cultivators were constantly being eliminated. Among them was even a Late Qi Refining Stage Cultivator—the Song Family's Genius Song Heqin—who unluckily ran into Xu Xian from the Xuantian Sect.

Xu Xian possessed the cultivation of the Eighth Layer of Qi Refining, and his thunder techniques were inherited from Lin Feng with formidable power. Even an ordinary Ninth Layer of Qi Refining Perfection Cultivator would find it difficult to last thirty rounds in front of him.

Song Heqin's strength was actually not weak; if his luck hadn't been truly terrible, he could have even fought his way into the top eight.

Besides him, there were others just like him whose own strength was decent, yet they unfortunately ran into opponents stronger than themselves.

Even among the twenty-four remaining people from the Chen Family, more than half were eliminated.

Among them were Chen Liyuan, who was at the Sixth Layer of Qi Refining Perfection, as well as three Fifth Layer Qi Refining Cultivators.

Fortunately, ten people still entered the top hundred.

However, among these ten people, most were only at the Fifth Layer of Qi Refining, holding no advantage when facing others, so the Chen Family did not hold high hopes for them.

This time, as long as Chen Lingqing and Chen Qifeng entered, it would be enough. As for the other two Sixth Layer Qi Refining Cultivators, namely Chen Lingqiong and Li Yuehua,

the two of them only had hope of entering the top thirty-two; wanting to enter the top sixteen was simply too difficult.

Because there were still seventeen Late Qi Refining Stage Cultivators ranked above them.

...

"Have you found out anything?"

At the Giant Sword Sect's encampment, a middle-aged man looked at the Qi Refining Disciple below and asked.

"We have found out. Among the Cultivators sent by the Chen Family this time, there are two clan members whose strength is not weak. One of them is Chen Qifeng. According to our hidden agents, this Chen Qifeng advanced to the Late Qi Refining Stage as early as last year. Coupled with a Wind Spiritual Root, his strength is definitely formidable, and he can even fight against a Ninth Layer of Qi Refining Cultivator."

The Qi Refining Disciple below paused for a moment and continued, "The other person is Chen Lingqing. This person is the offspring of the Chen Family's Old Ancestor, Chen Changqing."

"Oh? That offspring of Chen Changqing?" The middle-aged man's eyes flashed with great astonishment in his heart, but on the surface, he still maintained his composure.

"Yes, Junior Martial Uncle. It is rumored that this Chen Lingqing has a Dual Spiritual Root, and the Chen Family's Old Ancestor once personally taught him how to Cultivate. Although he has never made a move, his cultivation level is definitely not low, and he might even be harder to deal with than that Chen Qifeng."

"Mn... Alright, you may step down first!" The middle-aged man pondered for a moment and then waved his hand.

Watching the Qi Refining Disciple depart, his mouth opened and closed, though it was unknown what he muttered to himself.

...

On the seventh day—having separated the matches by a day to let these Qi Refining Cultivators rest—the competitions resumed.

Most of the top sixty-four were Sixth Layer Qi Refining Cultivators. Following the matches on the fifth day, nearly all of the Chen Family's Cultivators had been eliminated.

Only four remained: Chen Lingqing, Chen Qifeng, Chen Lingqiong, and Li Yuehua.

However, Chen Lingqiong's luck was also not very good, as her opponent was Lin Hao of the Giant Sword Sect.

This Lin Hao was precisely that Giant Sword Sect Disciple whose cultivation had reached the Eighth Layer of Qi Refining.

Chen Lingqiong knew this person, so as soon as she took the stage, she immediately unleashed her full power. However, the disparity between the two was too vast; Lin Hao didn't even need to use the Giant Sword Technique to easily defeat Chen Lingqiong.

He looked at Chen Lingqiong with a disdainful tone, "The Chen Family? Is this all the level they have?!"

Hearing this, the Chen Family's Cultivators glared furiously at the other party.

Lin Hao didn't even look back and simply left on his own, while those Giant Sword Sect Disciples also smiled contemptuously before following Lin Hao away.

On the arena, the other Cultivators consciously stepped back; they certainly dared not join in the disputes of these Purple Mansion factions, as that could cost them their lives.

On the viewing platform, the Foundation Establishment Cultivators of the five major Purple Mansion factions sat in the very front.

The Giant Sword Sect's Foundation Establishment Cultivator sitting on the far left laughed and said, "That brat Lin Hao is getting more and more arrogant. When he comes back later, I will definitely teach him a lesson. I hope the Chen Family's Fellow Daoists won't take offense."

Upon hearing this, Meng Ze and Chen Linglong also smiled and said, "Our Chen Family wouldn't stoop to bickering with a junior. It's just that we wonder if all Disciples of the Giant Sword Sect act with such demeanor?"

"Alright, the juniors have their own sense of proportion. We should just focus on watching the matches." The Xuantian Sect's Foundation Establishment Cultivator chimed in at this moment to prevent the two sides from starting a fight right here.

However, if both sides really started fighting, their Xuantian Sect and the Song Family would naturally stand on the Chen Family's side. Although there were no direct, open conflicts among the five Purple Mansion factions, they each shared a tacit understanding regarding their stances.

Their Xuantian Sect and the Song and Chen families formed one camp, while the Giant Sword Sect and the Jiupo Sect formed another.

It was fine when there were normally no conflicts, but if a conflict arose, they naturally had their own positions to uphold.

Therefore, after the Xuantian Sect's Foundation Establishment Cultivator spoke, the Foundation Establishment Cultivators of both the Chen Family and the Giant Sword Sect fell silent.

Below the viewing platform, Chen Lingqing and the others gathered together. Chen Qifeng glared furiously at the backs of that batch of Giant Sword Sect Cultivators, his tone extremely low, "Hmph, this Lin Hao is nothing much. If he runs into me, I will definitely let him know who is strong and who is weak."

Chen Lingqing stood to the side, remaining silent, but his eyes never left Lin Hao's figure from beginning to end.

"Sorry, it was my fault." Chen Lingqiong said softly.

"It's fine, it's not your problem. The opponent's cultivation is far too much higher than yours, so it's completely normal for you to lose." Chen Lingqing softly comforted her.

The others also offered a few words of comfort one after another.

As a Family, the Chen Family's cohesion was much stronger than that of a Sect.

Even within the Qinghe Alliance, because most of them were families, their cohesion was stronger than that of ordinary Sects.

Because all Cultivators in Qinghe County knew that the status and resources they enjoyed today relied entirely on the Chen Family operating behind the scenes.

Moreover, their relationship was one of shared glory and mutual loss.

If it were just these Foundation Establishment or Qi Refining families, or even those originating as Loose Cultivators, let alone participating in the Taihe Assembly today, whether they could even Cultivate at all would be uncertain.

After the seventh day ended, without any surprise, the other three people from the Chen Family all entered the top thirty-two.

Beginning on the eighth day, the thirty-two young Cultivators competed one by one. Among them, Chen Lingqing and Chen Qifeng quickly defeated their opponents, while Xu Xian of the Xuantian Sect and Lin Hao of the Giant Sword Sect likewise resolved their opponents in just a few rounds.

Everyone witnessed the strength of these four individuals and knew that these four would be the leading candidates most likely to win the championship in this assembly.

As for that female Disciple of the Jiupo Sect, up until now she had only displayed a single soul of the Jiupo Art, and the strength she exhibited was far inferior to the other four.