"You can't be afraid, right? It would be a shame if that is the case," Luo Lin said provokingly. Right after he said that, the disciples behind him roared with laughter.
"If you don't even have the courage for something like this, just go back to where you came. You will just die at the Battle of Towns."
"That's right. They don't even have the courage for that. How are they supposed to fight the geniuses of other towns? Just go back. You will only embarrass yourself there."
"Haha, maybe they are only hiding their strength and are not willing to waste time on us."
"Yeah, stop calling them cowards. These are the geniuses of Wu Town. What will we do if they decide to beat us up in their anger?"
The Gateflag Academy disciples jeered.
Looking at their taunting expressions, it was as if they wouldn't stop until they managed to make the Martial Hall Palace disciples fight. The Martial Hall Palace disciples were so infuriated they started shaking in fury.
"Bastard! Vice palace master, permission to battle, please. Let me teach them a lesson!"
"They are obviously trying to provoke us. What are we afraid of? Bring it on! They will be the losing side if we do fight!"
"Yes! Let us trample these Gateflag Academy trash!"
"How about we beat them into submission? That will teach them our actual strength!"
The Martial Hall Palace disciples were all hot-blooded youngsters. They naturally couldn't resist such provocation and started shouting as well. The disciples of the two parties bickered with each other.
"Shut up!" Tan Guanghua berated.
His loud and clear voice rumbled, entering the ears of every single disciple, including those of the Gateflag Academy. He looked at Luo Lin and said, "Luo Lin, is this the Gateflag Academy's attitude?"
"Hehe, they are a bunch of hot-blooded children. Don't mind them, Brother Tan. But then again, if the Martial Hall Palace is afraid of losing, just forget my proposal then," Luo Lin said. He was advancing by taking a step back.
In this situation, it would be hard for Tan Guanghua to not agree to the challenge. If he shirked from this, the Martial Hall Palace would lose all face. None of them could accept that.
"Fine, what do you propose? Don't tell me you will get all the disciples to fight for a winner. If we did that, I'm afraid we won’t have any disciples left to participate in the Battle of Towns," Tan Guanghua said.
"Of course we can't do that. We will send out our strongest disciple. Your party will do the same. The winner will lead the alliance during the Battle of Towns. What do you think?" Luo Lin proposed.
"No, that is not proper," the first elder, Jie Shi, interjected before Tan Guanghua could say anything.
"What's not proper about that?" Luo Lin asked.
"An individual's strength does not represent the strength of the group as a whole. How about this, we will fight three rounds. The side with two victories will be the winner," Jie Shi said.
"Yes, I agree," Tan Guanghua said. This would be a comparatively fairer method of selecting the leader. With this, the Martial Hall Palace could also avoid falling for the other party's trick.
Luo Lin hesitated slightly before agreeing, "Sure. Three rounds it is then. The loser will have to obey the winner!" He then shouted, "Fang Qing'er, Lin Yuan, Liao Hao, step forward!"
At that command, one young woman and two young men stepped forth. The young woman was extremely beautiful and alluring. Standing there, she looked like a bright peacock that overshadowed all other women, snatching all attention for herself.
She was Fang Qing'er, 18 years old this year and the number one genius female disciple of Gateflag Academy. Like Gong Qinyin, she also had a five-star physique. As she was two years older than Gong Qinyin, her cultivation level was higher than Gong Qinyin’s. She was already a Transformation Realm cultivator, a genius that the Gateflag Academy had kept hidden for the past three years. She was also the reason Luo Lin had made such a proposal to the Martial Hall Palace.
With Fang Qing'er, they were fully confident they could enter the top 10 this time. The other two, Lin Yuan and Liao Hao were similarly very powerful as well. They were also the geniuses of the Gateflag Academy. They were both handsome and heroic, and with their cultivation level of ninth-stage Astral Realm, they were both reliable disciples of their academy. Tan Guanghua and Jie Shi were not blind. The moment they laid their eyes on the three disciples, their faces fell.
"Transformation Realm! That girl is a Transformation Realm cultivator!" Jie Shi cried out in alarm.
"Yes, I know. Looks like we got tricked. Good thing you made your suggestion when you did. Otherwise, we will stand no chance," Tan Guanghua said with a frown.
"Mo Zhu, Lu Yanchao, and Chen Xin. Step forward," Tan Guanghua said.
Three Martial Hall Palace disciples stepped out. Mo Zhu was the proud disciple of Tan Guanghua and was a ninth-stage Astral Realm cultivator only one step away from the Transformation Realm. He also had a handsome appearance. Dressed in his white outfit, he radiated elegance and grace. He was the prince charming for many girls in the Martial Hall Palace.
As for Lu Yanchao, he was a rather low-profiled disciple. A disciple of Vice Palace Master Qing Xiuhe, he was similarly a ninth-stage Astral Realm cultivator. He was rarely seen in the Martial Hall Palace, as he spent most of his time cultivating alone. Lastly, Chen Xin was the eleventh elder, He Yinghua's disciple. She was beautiful and enchanting, comparable to Fang Qing'er the Gateflag Academy had sent out.
"Everyone is here. Do you want to start now or do you have anything else in mind?" Tan Guanghua asked.
"Regular fights are boring. Why don’t we increase the difficulty? Let's throw some planks on the river and get them to fight on the planks," Luo Lin suggested.
One had to admit that the difficulty of fighting in such conditions was extremely high. When the young disciples heard that, their expressions changed. Battling on a plank floating on water was no easy task. One would have to control their strength while focusing on the opponent at the same time. This was a feat requiring one to do two things at once.
"Fine," Tan Guanghua agreed. It would be too late to back off now. They both tossed a plank each onto the river.
Liao Hao leaped off the ship and landed on the plank before shouting, "I, Liao Hao, will be first. Who of the Martial Hall Palace will face me?"
"I'll go first." Chen Xin knew she was the weakest of the three; thus she had offered to go first.
But before she could go, Jie Shi said, "We can't afford to lose this round. Lu Yanchao, you go. Don't hold back."
"Yes, first elder." Lu Yanchao cupped his fists before leaping off the deck onto the plank.
When the Martial Hall Palace disciples saw Lu Yanchao landing firmly on the plank without losing balance, they shouted, "Well done!"
"Remember, this is a friendly match. Stop accordingly when a victor is decided. Start now," Luo Lin announced.