“Did I not see wrong? Who won?”
“No, I was just joking when I said Lin Xuan could win, and then he played for real?”
“Too cool, too cool, Lin Xuan!”
Even though they couldn't believe it, the victory was real.
The Seven Stars Sword Sect now wanted to throw a celebration party and gathered around Lin Xuan.
In this moment, Lin Xuan was their hero.
Seeing the Seven Stars Sword Sect win the first round, the Moonstar Gate felt like they had eaten something disgusting.
When Lin Xuan woke up, it was time for the award ceremony.
The prize was definitely a great item and useful for Lin Xuan.
Lin Xuan also gave some victory remarks.
“Do not fear challenges, for anything is possible.”
Of course, Su Luo thought these words were just for show. If someone else had done what Lin Xuan had done, it wouldn't be a challenge anymore—it would be ridiculous overconfidence.
Next came the playoffs.
Each sect could designate someone to challenge.
There were grudges to settle, and the Seven Stars Sword Sect most wanted to face the Moonstar Gate. When they had previously been in a position to win, the Moonstar Gate had deliberately held back, giving the Seven Stars Sword Sect false hope, only to continue to beat them down.
It was only later that the Seven Stars Sword Sect realized what had happened, and they were even more furious.
After recovering, Lin Xuan directly went for the Moonstar Gate, challenging them. After all, they had gone too far before.
Even the difficult battle with Ding Guanghua was won, so dealing with the Moonstar Gate was a piece of cake.
Lin Xuan avenged the Seven Stars Sword Sect with a strong victory.
Other sects challenged whom they wanted to, just to see the unique skills of other sects.
However, the Cloudmist Sect challenged Lin Xuan several times, not because of any grudges but to get close to Lin Xuan, even attempting to touch him and flirt with him.
Others thought, "How shameless!" (But also, damn, how envious.)
There was also an unexpected incident. Su Luo himself was challenged, by none other than Ding Guanghua.
“Why did you challenge me?”
Not only was Su Luo curious, but so were the others.
“On the Pure Martial Pagoda, you're said to be the strongest. I want to see for myself.”
“You could’ve just asked around.”
“I don’t care. I just want to experience it personally.”
“Fine, let me take you down.”
“I’m waiting.”
In Ding Guanghua’s stunned expression, Su Luo defeated him with a single strike.
The boasts earlier? All for this?
“Is this real? Let’s go again!”
“You... You're strong, remember that!”
Su Luo left those words and walked away, unwilling.
He had once again become a mere joke. He had thought that with such arrogance, surely he had some hidden cards—turns out, it was just a joke.
Ding Guanghua felt strange, but he couldn’t quite put it into words.
In the end, he asked Lin Xuan.
“How would you evaluate that?”
“Very strong.”
“You mean me?”
“Of course, Su Luo.”
“Oh, he’s hiding his strength. Why? Aren’t you joking, right?”
“That’s none of your business. If you want to fight, come at me.”
Lin Xuan wouldn’t say more.
“Alright, I admit my defeat. Short term, forget it. I’ll challenge you again when I’ve improved.”
And so, the playoffs ended. Each sect had communicated sufficiently, gaining a clearer understanding of one another.
It was time for the second round, where ten members needed to be selected to prepare for the survival challenge.
While they were still discussing who should go, Su Luo stepped forward, arrogantly declaring, “I am not belittling anyone, but you all are not good enough, so let me go.”
“You? Hahaha, you must be kidding me.” Xie Feiran had heard the biggest joke today.
“You don’t understand your own capabilities, do you? You want to participate in the second round? Go back to sleep, trash.”
Others shared the same opinion. There was no way Su Luo could be chosen.
“What if I show you this?”
Su Luo pulled out a large tube, white, covered in array patterns.
“What is that?”
“A treasure, capable of delivering a strike with the power of a Golden Core Early Stage.”
“Are you kidding us?”
“Then why don’t you try it out?”
“Sure, come on, hit me with it.” Xie Feiran was not convinced.
Su Luo activated the cannon.
This cannon, oddly enough, had a story behind it. Originally, Elder Yan Xi had given Su Luo a treasure capable of firing a massive amount of flame.
While it looked impressive, the flaws were significant—easy to dodge, slow to activate, and loud.
If it were effective, Su Luo would have used it against Lin Xuan long ago instead of relying on plans.
It was lacking in handling Lin Xuan, but it was useful for group battles, which was why Su Luo had been allowed to join the team.
However, Elder Yan Xi hadn’t provided it.
Instead, he gave Su Luo a powerful variation of the treasure—the cannon, capable of firing a beam with the power of a Golden Core Peak.
One could easily argue that Su Luo could’ve used it to blast Lin Xuan, with the chance that Lin Xuan wouldn't die but would still be left gravely injured.
But mature Suzuo? How could he do such a thing? He still had to help modify the treasure, downgrading its power and other aspects.
Sometimes, Su Luo wondered if Elder Yan Xi had accepted him as his secret son, given such preferential treatment.
It was almost over though—might as well mourn him three seconds early.
The modified cannon required a long charge time, which was why Xie Feiran became impatient.
Just as the cannon unleashed a powerful beam, Xie Feiran tried to dodge it, his intuition telling him danger.
But how could Su Luo let him avoid it? He directly predicted the dodge.
Boom!
Xie Feiran took the full damage and instantly collapsed.
“With this, am I qualified to join? Or don’t you want to win, to make our sect proud?”
Those words silenced everyone.
Indeed, with such power, he could join.
Not everyone was Lin Xuan, capable of skills that could leap through levels. Others might not even be able to break the defenses of opponents from the Golden Core stage of other sects.
“I refuse to admit this!” Xie Feiran shouted from the ground, unable to get up.
Su Luo sneered, “If you’re weak, practice more. If you can’t accept losing, don’t play.”
“You’re strong only because of your treasure. Contribute it to others, and they’ll do just as well, will they not? Or are you unwilling to contribute to our sect?” Xie Feiran tried to reverse the moral high ground on Su Luo.
“It’s my treasure, why should I lend it to you? Letting me go will have a greater effect than any of you.”
If I lower my morality, you can’t trap me.
And blow the horn as well, just to tell them: my impact is huge.
“You!”
Xie Feiran was so angry he couldn’t say anything.
After further discussion, they decided to let Su Luo join, taking up one slot.
After all, few could unleash attacks with Golden Core level power.
At this time, Han Ying’er and Yuan Jie, injured in the first round, were in no condition to participate in the second round.
So now, the main force for the second round was only Lin Xuan and Zhuo Mingyuan, which was too weak compared to others.
Little Yu and Li Siyi also couldn’t join, mainly due to their lower cultivation level.
The victory in the first round was something the Seven Stars Sword Sect hadn’t anticipated.
They were naturally happy, but after the happiness, they also needed to face reality.
In the second round, although they dearly wanted to win, they couldn’t help but be pessimistic. They just hoped to perform well and not lose too badly.
Sects like Skylight Thunder Cloudmist Moonstar all had several Golden Core members, how could the Seven Stars Sword Sect compete in a team fight like that?