71: Obtain the identity of the organizer

Lu Chen stood in place. Listening to Cao Bu's words and feeling Qin Bingyao's coldness and the suspicious gazes of those around him, he felt extremely uncomfortable.

This was no flattery from Cao Bu; he was clearly roasting him over a fire, leaving him no room to even argue.

He could only clench his fists and forcefully suppress a belly full of anger, so embarrassed he wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

Just then, a voice saved him.

"Alright, in that case, the opportunity to host the Heavenly Pride Battle will be given to the Gu Clan."

"I hope the Gu Clan takes this to heart. If we lose, Fellow Daoist Leng should have an idea of how many treasures our Righteous Path Alliance will lose."

The speaker was none other than the Wine Emperor.

As for whether Lu Chen was a true Heavenly Emperor, the Wine Emperor also harbored doubts.

He had seen true Heavenly Emperors; every one of them had fought their way out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, and none were as pathetic as Lu Chen.

Furthermore, he sensed that Lu Chen was clearly a Mortal. Even if the other party had hidden his cultivation such that he couldn't see through it with his Great Emperor Third Layer strength, as a Heavenly Emperor, he should at least have some level of composure, right?

Leng Yue immediately stood up and said solemnly, "Please rest assured, Wine Emperor, and please rest assured, everyone. My Gu Clan will definitely select the ten strongest people to fight against the ten Prodigies of the Demon State; we won the last session, and we will certainly not lose this time."

The Wine Emperor nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over Cao Bu below before turning to Elder Jin. "Elder Jin, issue the Heavenly Pride Battle Hosting Token."

Seeing that things had come to this, Lu Chen gave Cao Bu a fierce glare and turned to walk back to his seat.

Noticing Qin Bingyao's distancing, he felt a pang in his heart.

The relationship they had managed to build over the past month with great difficulty had returned to the starting point in an instant.

In an instant, his hatred for Cao Bu deepened by several degrees.

He had wanted to see Cao Bu make a fool of himself, but he hadn't expected to become the joke himself.

Seeing this, the powerhouses became even more suspicious of Lu Chen's identity.

If they were Heavenly Emperors, even if their Heart-Nature was not as good as Cao Bu's, they wouldn't have left Cao Bu alive.

Suddenly, they remembered Lu Chen saying earlier that he wanted to comprehend nature. Could it be that he hadn't acted because of that?

Thinking this, their suspicion of Lu Chen faded slightly.

Elder Jin stepped forward in response and took out a palm-sized black iron token from his storage ring.

On the front of the token were the four seal script characters "Heavenly Pride Battle Host," surrounded by a faint halo of spiritual Qi, while the back was stamped with the emblem of the Righteous Path Alliance.

"Little Friend Cao, here." Elder Jin handed the token to Cao Bu.

Cao Bu stepped forward and took it, cupping his fists toward the Wine Emperor and Elder Jin. "Thank you, Wine Emperor. Thank you, Elder Jin. The Gu Clan will definitely not fail your trust."

The Wine Emperor looked at his steady demeanor, and a hint of approval appeared in his eyes.

He looked around and continued, "This time, the Demon State is coming with great momentum. It is said that their ten Prodigies have already been selected, and all members have already touched the threshold of the World King. The Gu Clan needs to put more thought into setting the competition rules."

"Of course, I also hope all forces will actively sign up and not hide away their own Prodigies."

"You all should know that a Prodigy who hasn't seen blood is, in the end, just a vase and cannot become a great talent."

The powerhouses all stood up and replied in unison, "We follow the Wine Emperor's command."

The Wine Emperor nodded with a smile, his previous majesty gone. "Since the organizer has been determined, is it time to proceed with the next Wine Gambling?"

Hearing this, a sharp light flashed in the eyes of the powerhouses.

If one looked closely, they would find that most of them had various wine gourds hanging from their waists.

Because the Wine God Temple was the Alliance Leader Sect, almost every session's drawing for the Heavenly Pride Battle organizer would host a Wine Gambling activity.

And the people who came from the major forces were basically all lovers of wine.

Their purpose for coming here was never to compete for the slot of the Heavenly Pride Battle organizer, but for this Wine Gambling.

"The last time we gambled on wine, no one could outdrink the Wine Emperor. I wonder if a Wine Talent capable of drinking will emerge this time."

"With Heavenly Emperor Lu here, maybe he will be the first this time."

"Is this your first time here, Fellow Daoist? To tell you the truth, the wine prepared by the Wine Emperor isn't something where you can use your cultivation to suppress the intoxication. Before these wines, everyone is equal. It tests pure drinking capacity and has nothing to do with cultivation."

Amidst the chatter, Cao Bu had already walked to Leng Yue's side.

"Adoptive Mother, please take this." Cao Bu respectfully handed over the Heavenly Pride Battle Token.

A smile spread across Leng Yue's face as she reached out to take it, praising him without concealment: "Bu'er, you are too wonderful. With this opportunity to host the Heavenly Pride Battle, my Gu Clan will definitely be able to make a huge profit."

Cao Bu's face suddenly flushed red.

Seeing this, Leng Yue asked in confusion, "Bu'er, what's wrong?"

Cao Bu hesitated for a moment before saying in a low voice, "Adoptive Mother, next time you praise someone, could you please not use the phrase 'too wonderful'?"

Leng Yue was stunned upon hearing this, then immediately realized what he was referring to.

In an instant, two red clouds climbed onto her cheeks, even the roots of her ears turning pink.

A subtle atmosphere suddenly fell between the two, with a hint of vague ambiguity wrapped in the embarrassment; the air seemed to slow down by half a beat.

Just then, the Wine Emperor's voice rang out again, breaking this subtle silence.

"Someone, set up the scene."