Chapter 120 - First Elder’s Plot
The number of disciples arriving at the dojo was a lot less than the previous round, with only around four hundred disciples.
The first round of identifying ingredients and pills had ended up disqualifying quite a number of disciples.
At the elders' seating area, after seeing everyone had finished gathering at the dojo, Cheng Biao rose from his seat and announced, “The second round of the trial is a knockout tournament; there will be ten different groups, each separated according to your current ranks, and your opponents arranged in a random fashion. Those who win ten matches in a row advance to the next round. The seventh elder will be the person in charge of this.”
Following this, a white-haired old man came forward with a stack of papers and started reading, “The participants for the first round are: number eleven versus eighty three, ninety seven versus three hundred and twenty nine… and number five versus twelve!”
Upon hearing this, Qin Nan’s expression changed slightly; he took a deep breath and with a flicker, his figure landed on one of the rings.
Not long after, the disciple who was number twelve arrived before Qin Nan.
This number twelve disciple was none other than Xiao Leng.
Xiao Leng wore a helpless expression on his face; he had initially planned to showcase his strength in the trial, but he did not expect to stumble into Qin Nan in the first round of the knockout tournament.
Qin Nan looked at Xiao Leng, and let out a sigh; even he had not expected it to turn out like this.
The judge standing not far from the two began to speak, “Start the battle now, do not waste time.”
“I concede.” Xiao Leng did not hesitate, and he then said in a depressed tone, “Brother Nan, you have to come first in the trial.”
Qin Nan nodded his head, as he let out a sigh in his heart; he suddenly lost interest in the trial, and his figure withdrew from the ring.
The first round of the tournament ended swiftly, with Qin Nan advancing to the second round.
Qin Nan did not appear in the second round, but it was Nangong Cheng, Huang Long, and Mo Zishan’s turns. Those who were selected to face them surrendered immediately at the start of the battle.
In the third round, the seventh elder continued to read in a calm tone, "The third round of the tournament starts now; number twenty eight versus seventy seven, eighty eight versus ten, sixty five versus four hundred… and number five versus eleven!”
After hearing this, Qin Nan’s expression changed once again, and he glanced at the elders' seating area, his eyes filled with an icy expression.
At the elders' seating area, Cheng Biao appeared to have sensed Qin Nan’s glance, and stared at him with a threatening glint in his eyes.
Qin Nan withdrew his gaze and took a deep breath as his figure landed on the ring.
Number eleven came up to the ring as well; the person was none other than Chu Yun.
Chu Yun was not as desolate as Xiao Leng, and she calmly analyzed the situation and said, “Junior Brother Qin Nan, someone is using us against you—to trip you up. Don’t think too much; Xiao Leng and I will always support you.”
Following this, Chu Yun looked at the judge and said without hesitation, “I concede!”
The judge immediately declared, “Number five advances to the next round!”
Qin Nan clenched his fists tight and glanced at Chu Yun, before coming down from the ring without saying anything.
At that time, many disciples became aware that something was weird.
After Qin Nan’s marvelous performance the previous day, many of the disciples had begun to pay attention at Qin Nan.
They discovered that Qin Nan had stumbled into his friends twice in a row. It was way too coincidental, if it was really a coincidence.
Meanwhile, the tournament continued!
In the fifth round, Qin Nan encountered Xiao Leng again, Xiao Leng conceded!
In the sixth round, Qin Nan encountered Chu Yun, Chu Yun conceded!
In the seventh round, Qin Nan encountered Xiao Leng again, Xiao Leng conceded!
In the tenth round, Qin Nan encountered Chu Yun again, Chu Yun conceded!
Not only that, Xiao Leng stumbled into Huang Long in the eighth round, and he conceded. He was then chosen to face Nangong Cheng in the ninth round, and was defeated. In the twelfth round, he stumbled into Huang Long once again and conceded, which caused him to be disqualified.
Chu Yun too had encountered Nangong Cheng and Huang Long several times in a row, which caused her to be disqualified in the end.
At that instant, although Xiao Leng and Chu Yun both wore calm expressions on their faces, their eyes were filled with great anger.
Meanwhile, the crowd of disciples had already discovered the truth behind it, and their faces turned furious as they voiced out.
“What’s the meaning of this? Are they picking on Qin Nan?”
“Hehehe, those two who are friends with Qin Nan—either they were arranged to face Qin Nan, or they were chosen to encounter Huang Long and Nangong Cheng!”
“Damn it, this is unacceptable. The first elder is using his power to purposely suppress Qin Nan!’
“What kind of trial is this? Doing such a lunatic act just to pay a disciple back?”
……
Unlike the disciples, the other disciples could only let out sighs of relief in their hearts.
How could they not be furious witnessing this? However, the first elder possessed a stronger authority; they had no right to refute him.
They could only say that Qin Nan had offended someone he should not have offended.
As for Qin Nan, he had won nine matches in a row; one more match and he would be advancing to the next phase.
However, there was no sign of joy on Qin Nan’s face; instead, an icy murderous intent could be felt emitting from his body, which spread toward his surroundings.
The first elder’s plot had caused Qin Nan to became extremely angry.
He had not expected him to act so insidiously, using his friends to threaten him; Cheng Biao had definitely overstepped Qin Nan’s limit!
“Wow Qin Nan, you’ve won nine matches? So impressive.” Nangong Cheng came out from the crowd and said with a smile on his face, “However, it’s such a pity for your two friends. I recall their names to be Xiao Leng and Chu Yun, right? They were ranked eleventh and twelfth before, which means they should have been quite strong. If only their luck was better, they might have had a chance to be in the top five in the trial…”
After saying this, Nangong Cheng paused briefly before saying, “However, these two were so unlucky, to face you a number of times in a row; they even stumbled into me and Huang Long, so they had no choice but to surrender, causing them to be disqualified from the trial. Sigh, such a pity!”
Nangong Cheng shook his head after finishing this sentence, as if he were actually feeling sorry. However, everyone could see the unconcealed gloating expression on his face.
This caused the disciples to stare at him furiously; if it weren’t because of his identity, the disciples would curse him to his face immediately.
On the other hand, Qin Nan remained expressionless after hearing the words, with no intention of speaking.
Nangong Cheng felt quite content after seeing Qin Nan’s reaction, and he continued to speak, “Hmm? Qin Nan, why are you so quiet? Aren’t you first ranked? What happened to you? Are you scared?”
Nangong Cheng asked a series of questions, and continued to mock him; he felt good after seeing Qin Nan’s reaction of remaining quiet. He then decided not to waste any more time, and started walking away.
However, before Nangong Cheng was able to take even a few steps, Qin Nan began to speak suddenly, “Wait, Nangong Cheng, I have something to say.”
Nangong Cheng halted in his tracks and turned around, before he smilingly said, “Huh? You have something to say? The opponents are randomly arranged; it has nothing to do with me——”
Before he could finish, Qin Nan came up to him in a flash, reached out his finger pointing toward his Dantian, and said in a calm tone, “Nothing really, I just want to tell you not to make me stumble into you. If not, I’ll crush you!”
Such a ferocious and scornful sentence was spoken by Qin Nan in a calm manner.
The disciples around were all dumbfounded; Qin Nan was still being himself—scornful and ruthless—even Nangong Cheng was insignificant in his eyes.
Nangong Cheng’s face stiffened upon hearing this, as he then angrily blurted out, “You——”
He did not get to finish his sentence, as the seventh elder began to speak, “For the twentieth round, number nine versus number six, three hundred and thirty three versus two hundred and twenty two, three hundred and ninety nine versus seven… number five versus number three!”
After hearing this, the atmosphere of the crowd intensified.
Xiao Leng and Chu Yun, who were both immersed in anger, had their expressions change instantly.
Number five, Qin Nan!
Number three, Mo Zishan!
The battle between two geniuses.
The anger on Nangong Cheng’s face vanished, and it was replaced with a laugh, “HAHAHA, Qin Nan, I did not expect you to face Brother Mo in this round. I am quite curious to know who is stronger between you and Brother Mo! Regarding you defeating me… I’m sorry, maybe you will already be defeated before you could get the chance to defeat me!”
After saying this, the smile on Nangong Cheng’s face grew even more!