“What a coincidence, Junior Sister Ye.”
Lian Tianliu raised the lot in his hand. It was indeed the red-glowing “One.”
Seeing this, Ye Luqing’s heart, which had been hanging in suspense, suddenly gave up the ghost.
She had a strong impression of Lian Tianliu—one of the four Peak Nascent Soul Stage cultivators in this Singles Match.
Among them, Tong Yan at the Peak Nascent Soul Stage had been eliminated by An Wentao from the same peak. Another Peak Nascent Soul cultivator was eliminated by Chu He from Myriad Arts Peak. The remaining two were Lian Tianliu from Heavenly Sword Peak and Chu He from Myriad Arts Peak. No matter who she ran into, she might as well prepare to surrender.
Besides her and Lian Tianliu, the match order for the others was also determined.
The four in the Red Group were Lian Tianliu, Ye Luqing, Pei Ruyi, and Lin Zhaoyang.
Looking at the three opponents in his group, Lian Tianliu’s eyes immediately lit up. These people’s cultivations weren’t high. Ye Luqing’s aura clearly showed she had just broken through to Nascent Soul. Pei Ruyi and Lin Zhaoyang were only at the Mid Nascent Soul Stage. Moreover, Pei Ruyi was one of “his own.”
If he won against Lin Zhaoyang, the second match would practically be a free pass straight to the finals.
The eight, having drawn their lots, left the stage one after another to wait for the matches to begin.
During this time, Lian Tianliu looked towards the Blue Group on the other side.
The four in the Blue Group were Chu He, Tang Hongdao, An Wentao, and Mo Li.
Except for Chu He, the other three were all at the Late Nascent Soul Stage. And he had no “own people” there. That meant Chu He would likely have to fight two full-power matches. In this way, in terms of stamina and True Qi consumption, Lian Tianliu was already a head above Chu He.
Thinking up to this point, Lian Tianliu felt his future was bright. The Grand Tournament championship seemed like it was already in his bag.
On the other side, Ye Luqing was looking at Pei Ruyi with a thoughtful expression. She quietly sidled up next to Pei Ruyi.
“A-Yi, how confident are you of winning?”
Pei Ruyi glanced flatly towards Lin Zhaoyang from Myriad Arts Peak and transmitted her voice flatly: “If Qing wants me to win, I will win.”
Hearing this, Ye Luqing nodded, a plan quickly forming in her mind.
“Do your best, Senior Sister Pei,” she chuckled lightly.
Some time later, the Quarter-Finals officially began. The opening match was one from the Blue Group: Myriad Arts Peak’s Direct Disciple, Chu He, versus the body cultivator Direct Disciple, Tang Hongdao.
Both were Peak Lord Direct Disciples, making this match undoubtedly the most anticipated of the Quarter-Finals.
Ye Luqing watched from the sidelines nearby. As the first contestant in the Red Group, she would be up next, so she simply didn’t return to the Azure Sky Peak viewing platform.
Suddenly, a voice sounded next to her. “Junior Sister Ye is interested in Chu He’s match too?”
Ye Luqing turned her head. The speaker had sword-like eyebrows and star-bright eyes, looking at her with a face full of smiles.
Lian Tianliu from Heavenly Sword Peak.
“Is Senior Brother Lian not interested in this match?” Ye Luqing raised an eyebrow.
She knew Lian Tianliu had long coveted the Grand Tournament championship. Right now, the person on stage was Lian Tianliu’s biggest rival, Chu He. The other party’s query was likely a probe to gauge her own intentions regarding the champion’s position.
There were over a dozen disciples at the Peak Nascent Soul Stage in the Profound Firmament Upper Sect, but the vast majority were in seclusion, preparing to break through to Spirit Transformation.
The four Peak Nascent Soul cultivators participating in the Grand Tournament were all here for the championship—to obtain the Earth-Rank Dharma Treasure and Earth-Tier Technique to help propel their breakthrough to Spirit Transformation.
Lian Tianliu chuckled, a flicker of wariness in his eyes. As Ye Luqing had guessed, he came over wanting to understand if Ye Luqing had any plans for the title.
If it were any other Early Nascent Soul disciple, he naturally wouldn’t be interested in asking; he’d just crush them with sheer strength.
But behind Ye Luqing was that former Head Disciple, Xiao Qingxuan. As a senior who had joined three years earlier than Xiao Qingxuan, he had witnessed Xiao Qingxuan’s meteoric rise over these six years.
At first, he could still put on the airs of a senior brother. But ever since the Singles Match three years ago, when Xiao Qingxuan, at Golden Core Peak Stage, had reversed the match and defeated him, a Late Nascent Soul cultivator, he no longer had any temper at all.
Not to mention, Xiao Qingxuan was now an Elder at the Half-Step Spirit Transformation Stage. He had to weigh the consequences of making a move against Ye Luqing even more carefully.
Unlike the previous matches, although Ye Luqing had gotten injured on the arena, she had ultimately won. If Ye Luqing fought at full strength in the next match, it would be difficult for him to defeat Ye Luqing without injuring her.
If Ye Luqing lost the match and suffered injuries, and things weren’t handled well, even if he won two consecutive matches today, he couldn’t guarantee he wouldn’t be “stabbed eight times in the back and ruled a suicide” that very night.
Thinking up to this point, Lian Tianliu took a deep breath.
“Junior Sister Ye, I wish to make a wager with you.”
“Oh? What kind of wager?”
Ye Luqing tilted her head slightly.
“Let’s bet on how long it takes Chu He to win this match. Whoever guesses the closest time wins.”
“It’s not that I look down on Junior Sister Ye, but in a direct confrontation on the arena, the chance of Junior Sister Ye defeating me… isn’t very high, frankly.”
“So, I’d like to use this bet to decide our upcoming match. Consider it giving you an opportunity, how about it?”
Lian Tianliu planned to use this risky method to lock in victory for the next match. If he had a prior agreement with Ye Luqing, then even if Xiao Qingxuan blamed him later, he would have something to say.
Hearing this, a glint flashed in Ye Luqing’s eyes, as if she were calculating something.
“I can agree to that, but I’d like to add one condition.”
“What condition?” Lian Tianliu narrowed his eyes slightly.
“I have no objection to deciding the outcome by the wager. However, if I lose, I can’t just surrender outright and be judged as the loser. That would be too obvious,” Ye Luqing said.
“So, even if I lose the wager to Senior Brother Lian, we still need to exchange a few moves on the arena, to avoid others saying we threw the match.”
Upon hearing this, the calculating Lian Tianliu instinctively felt a twinge of something off. But a moment of disorientation washed over him, and he suddenly felt that Ye Luqing’s words were very sincere, not like he was being deceived.
He nodded. “Then let’s do as Junior Sister Ye suggests.”
With this, Ye Luqing nodded with a smile, secretly withdrawing the Six Desires Triggering Array enhanced by her “Magnetic Charm” ability.
“Since Senior Brother Lian proposed the wager, please make your guess first.”
Watching the two on stage about to begin, a sharp glint flashed in Lian Tianliu’s eyes. Based on his understanding of these two and their performance in this tournament, Tang Hongdao shouldn’t last more than ten minutes.
However, Tang Hongdao’s opponents in the first three rounds were relatively weak, so much so that this Body Cultivator Direct Disciple hadn’t even drawn her blade before defeating them.
Opting for a conservative estimate, he gave a prudent time.
“I bet that within a quarter of an hour, Chu He will defeat Tang Hongdao.”
Hearing this, Ye Luqing said, “Then I’ll bet that Senior Sister Tang can win.”
At Ye Luqing’s words, Lian Tianliu’s eyes widened instantly.
Betting Tang Hongdao can beat Chu He? How was that possible?
Although they were all Direct Disciples, there were differences between them, let alone Chu He being from one of the Three Peaks of Profound Firmament.
Just what was this Ye Luqing up to?
Lian Tianliu stared at the girl beside him, his eyes full of shock.
Was this person trying to cheat him?
