240: Unwise plans

"Impossible, this is absolutely impossible. At most, it's just a coincidence. He couldn't possibly have all his Disciples wearing a heaven-rank red magic artifact!"

A Green Silk Sect Elder slammed the table, a look of horror appearing on his face.

The others nodded in succession, all of them fully agreeing with this assessment. Judging by the current situation, the Heavenly Profound Sect indeed possesses one heaven-rank red magic artifact, but it is likely just that one.

If they put it on one of their own Disciples, the other Disciples wouldn't need to fight, so naturally, no flaws would be revealed.

As long as we make them fight simultaneously, we will be able to spot the flaw immediately.

"Our Sect can barely scrape together a Haotian Mirror. It was once a heaven-rank red magic artifact, but it is now damaged and will shatter after being used three more times. We used it twice during a previous Sect crisis, and the power of this last remaining use has already diminished significantly because the Magic Treasure can no longer hold up. Now, it should barely pass as a standard Heaven Rank Magic Treasure."

"If everyone is willing to provide resources, we can bring out the Haotian Mirror to ambush and kill the Heavenly Profound Sect Disciples. Let's see if you all have any sincerity."

An Elder from a Sect frowned and then spoke slowly. He had his own considerations for saying this; if he could trade this dilapidated Magic Treasure for some resources, it would naturally be excellent.

Everyone contributed money and effort, determined to drag the Heavenly Profound Sect down. They had long coveted the position of one of the Ten Great Powers; whoever sat in it was fine, as long as it wasn't the Heavenly Profound Sect!

"I have a suggestion. Since they actually brought out a Great Emperor Powerhouse to protect these Disciples, why don't we secretly send people to join forces and destroy the Heavenly Profound Sect? With so many of our factions, destroying their tiny Heavenly Profound Sect should be as easy as pie!"

An Elder from a Sect proposed, and looks of surprise appeared on everyone's faces. They seemed to be contemplating the possibility of this idea, but ultimately shook their heads.

"We absolutely cannot make a move against them now. We have created such a huge conflict; even if we act silently, no matter how secretive we are, people will still suspect us. A single Great Emperor Powerhouse cannot decide the outcome of the war, and they likely have other Great Emperor Powerhouses guarding their Sect."

"Let's continue with the previous plan to first knock them off their pedestal, and then we can discuss everything else later."

Everyone nodded and began their respective deployments, checking to see if their own Disciples would encounter anyone from the Heavenly Profound Sect in the upcoming battles.

Many powerful factions encountered Heavenly Profound Sect Powerhouses. Due to the organizer's arrangements, there were indeed situations where two of them ended up fighting together.

"Let's seize this opportunity to have two Disciples attack simultaneously. With two heaven-rank red magic artifacts, we can definitely kill one of them."

Everyone nodded, excited expressions appearing on their faces.

Li Haotian and the others had no idea that a conspiracy against them—one that posed no threat whatsoever—was brewing behind the scenes.

Soon, the battles proceeded one after another. Aside from Crimson, who was slightly injured by her opponent, everyone else passed through unscathed.

Xue You was even more effortless; she merely shifted back a single step, and for some unknown reason, her opponent suddenly lost their balance and toppled off the Arena.

A heavy thud sounded upon landing, and a light breeze blew through the sky. The spectators were all stunned by the scene before them: a Heaven Monarch Powerhouse had actually fallen off the Arena due to a slip, failing to even recall their aerial movement techniques, and was immediately disqualified from the competition.

This kind of coincidence was simply baffling. It didn't even look like a coincidence anymore; it looked more like the Heavenly Profound Sect Disciples had bribed their opponents to put on an act.

But everyone knew this was absolutely impossible, because Xue You's opponent was actually an enemy of the Heavenly Profound Sect.

The opponent didn't have a heaven-rank red magic artifact on them, yet they fell off the Arena looking completely bewildered. Their heaven-rank red magic artifacts had already been scheduled for specific rounds and would be used immediately afterward.

After so many battles, these factions also discovered that apart from those four killers, the remaining two Disciples of the Heavenly Profound Sect would not harm their opponents—or rather, they wanted to, but the referees would intervene in time.

Therefore, when facing these two, there was no need to go to great lengths to protect themselves; they just had to exhaust as much of the opponent's spiritual power as possible.

Crimson's opponent had directly injured her on the Arena.

The opponents of the others either surrendered directly or didn't even show up at all.

Those four didn't even step onto the Arena and secured victory directly.

"Why are these guys being so well-behaved now? Are they planning to give up?"

Zhang Hai picked his nose, looking at his number plate. He would be up in the next round, and Senior Sister Su Yao would also be fighting on another Arena.

"Not sure. Anyway, it doesn't have much to do with us. If they surrender, it saves us some trouble; we won't have to get on the Arena. Our next two rounds will probably be the same."

Su Yao held her chin, looking at her number plate with some boredom, her face filled with a helpless expression.

If she had known, she would have gone easier on them. Now, their current state had terrified the opponents so much that they didn't even dare to make a move.

Coming here, basically all the opponents chose to surrender directly. Where was the fun in that?

While the two were chatting idly, the referee suddenly called both of their names at the same time. They both stepped onto the Arena, waiting for the referee to announce the results, but they unexpectedly saw their opponents appear on the other side of the Arena.

"You're not surrendering?"

Zhang Hai asked with some surprise, and Su Yao felt the same. What did the opponents mean by this? Did they look down on them? They had chosen to surrender directly when facing the Junior Brothers, yet they actually chose to fight when facing their Senior Brother and Senior Sister.

What is the meaning of this?

Li Haotian raised an eyebrow slightly, a look of curiosity appearing on his face. What were they planning to do?

They had suddenly accepted the challenge; there must be some conspiracy hidden within this, but it wasn't clear what exactly it was. Given the strength of his two Disciples, there shouldn't be too much to worry about.

Li Haotian breathed a slight sigh of relief, then continued to lounge on his recliner, drinking tea while watching the battle outside.

"Surrender? Do you deserve it? You don't even know your own weight, yet you dare to ask me to surrender. Who do you think you are?"

A Disciple cursed angrily at Zhang Hai, with not a shred of fear in his eyes, only endless mockery.

Su Yao's opponent, on the other hand, appeared much calmer. Without a word, they gently cupped their fists and walked to their position, a fierce murderous intent flashing in their eyes.