On the Trial Platform, Huang Yao stood with arrogant bluster, shouting angrily. With the Cave Dwelling incident exposed, he urgently needed to demonstrate his strength to everyone to salvage his dignity. Yet, despite his provocations on the platform, Gu Qingfeng's figure was nowhere to be seen.
The disciples gathered in the trial grounds were all discussing animatedly, convinced that Gu Qingfeng must be too scared to show up. Just as the crowd buzzed with talk, someone suddenly shouted.
"Look! Gu Qingfeng is here!"
Everyone looked over to see two figures walking toward the Trial Platform.
One was a short, fat man with a large head and big ears—everyone recognized him as the inner gate steward, Fei Kui.
The other appeared to be in his early twenties, with a tall, straight posture, dressed in a white robe. He lacked the youthful vigor one would expect, possessing instead a twilight-like weariness. He walked slowly, his expression calm, his brows slightly furrowed, his eyes narrowed as he gazed at the crowd, seeming somewhat helpless.
It was none other than Gu Qingfeng.
When he appeared, without exception, all eyes fell upon him. The gazes held various emotions: those watching for amusement, those filled with disdain, anger, displeasure, worry, and even shock.
The amused ones were naturally the many disciples present.
The disdainful ones were naturally True Person Feixue and Tan Siru.
The angry ones were precisely Li Sen, Li Can, Yun Hong, Ye Hui, and others—all of whom had been beaten by Gu Qingfeng. They held this grudge deep in their hearts, and seeing Gu Qingfeng now made their teeth itch with hatred.
"Third Brother, that's Gu Qingfeng!"
Li Sen stared fixedly, wishing he could charge over right then and tear to pieces the man who had stolen his beloved and humiliated him.
"He doesn't look particularly special."
Li Zheng's face was dark, his eyes fixed on Gu Qingfeng like a venomous snake. "However, since he dares to oppose our Li family, I'll make him pay the price."
On the high platform, Outer Sect Elder Li Ziheng, and even True Person Guang Yuan, also looked at Gu Qingfeng with displeasure. Last time, when Li Sen was beaten, the two had gone to the Spirit Concealment Garden to settle accounts with Gu Qingfeng, only to be harshly scolded by Huode. They had long held a grudge against Gu Qingfeng.
"If this old man recalls correctly, he's a Mutated Constitution from a Foundation Establishment failure, right? Why is he also competing for the Chief position?"
Elder Mude clearly remembered that over a month ago, the Fiery Sun Blazing Bird had inexplicably charged out. He had thought he'd found a genius disciple with a fire spiritual root, never expecting it to be a Foundation Establishment failure.
Elder Rende responded, "Junior Brother, you may not know. Although this person failed his Foundation Establishment, his comprehension is remarkable. During the assessment, he mastered the Flaming Thunder Technique to Great Perfection."
"So that's how it is..." Elder Mude shook his head slightly. "What a pity."
However, no one in the grounds noticed that when Gu Qingfeng appeared, three people's expressions turned as ugly and shocked as if they had seen a ghost.
The three were Mu Zibai, Li Qian Dong, and Huang Yao on the Trial Platform.
The events in the Cave Dwelling a month ago were something none of the three had forgotten; they remembered everything clearly to this day. Besides anger, what they felt more was fear—a deep-seated terror of that mysterious man. They could never forget how utterly brutal that person had been.
After returning, the three had planned to go into seclusion to cultivate, intending to settle accounts with that man after improving their cultivation.
But they never, in their wildest dreams, imagined that person would be a disciple of Yunxia Sect, and moreover...
Moreover, he would be participating in the Twelve Courtyards Chief competition today.
The moment the three saw Gu Qingfeng, their hearts were already in turmoil. Especially Huang Yao, standing on the Trial Platform—as Gu Qingfeng drew closer and closer, even his breathing grew heavy, as if the air itself had frozen at this moment. His mind held only the sound of Gu Qingfeng's footsteps.
On the platform, Elder Rende announced the start of the challenge.
"Huang Yao, don't go too hard on him. I still have personal matters to settle with him."
Li Zheng stood up and said lightly.
Everyone knew the 'personal matters' Li Zheng referred to were the previous incidents where Gu Qingfeng had injured Li Sen and Li Can. Clearly, he didn't want Huang Yao to cripple Gu Qingfeng.
"Oh my, Junior Sister, it seems your sweetheart is quite popular..." Tan Siru mocked. "It seems whether your sweetheart survives today is even a question... Hehe..."
Ouyang Ye glared at her, feeling utterly vexed, her heart extremely tense as she watched.
While she watched nervously, the disciples in the grounds were also eagerly anticipating, all wanting to see just what qualifications this fellow named Gu had to be so arrogant, daring to say during registration that he could knock down the Twelve Courtyards Chiefs with a snap of his fingers.
But after waiting a while, Huang Yao still showed no sign of making a move.
Not only were the disciples in the trial grounds growing impatient, even the Elders on the platform were becoming restless.
"The challenge has already begun, Huang Yao. What are you standing there for?"
True Person Guang Yuan urged.
"Huang Yao, make your move."
Li Ziheng also barked an order.
Despite the Elders' urging, Huang Yao still did not move.
Moreover, he looked...
He looked very strange.
The Huang Yao from before had been imposing and domineering. Now, he stood there dumbly, his face deathly pale, his forehead beaded with sweat, his eyes wide open, staring with extreme terror.
Yes!
Terror.
Was Huang Yao afraid?
How could this be?
Everyone found it unbelievable, not understanding why Huang Yao, who had been so arrogantly proud just moments ago, could be so terrified.
So terrified that his clothes were soaked with cold sweat, so terrified he could barely stand steady, his legs trembling unnaturally.
Seeing this scene, the Elders on the platform looked at each other, wide-eyed with astonishment.
"Huang Yao, what are you afraid of?" True Person Feixue frowned and scolded. "Why aren't you making a move?"
Make a move?
Huang Yao didn't dare.
He truly didn't dare.
Over a month ago in the Cave Dwelling, he had witnessed with his own eyes Gu Qingfeng kick Mu Zibai's Color Spirit Guardian into dispersion. How could he dare to make a move now? His mind was filled with the events from the Cave Dwelling. Especially facing Gu Qingfeng here and now, for some reason, he suddenly felt very cold, as if...
As if he had suddenly fallen into an endless abyss, his very soul trembling uncontrollably.
Opposite him, Gu Qingfeng also said nothing, standing quietly, his brows slightly furrowed, his eyes narrowed as he looked at Huang Yao. He shook his head and said, "Alright, just admit defeat and step down yourself."
Hearing his words, everyone in the grounds was somewhat slow to react.
What did he mean, 'admit defeat and step down yourself'?
This Gu Qingfeng was too arrogant.
Just as everyone felt this scene was rather odd, something jaw-dropping happened.
Huang Yao seemed to make a very difficult decision. He took a deep breath, opened his mouth as if to speak but hesitated, then finally spoke, his voice trembling. "I...
I admit defeat."
As soon as these words were spoken, the entire grounds erupted in an uproar!
No one knew why Huang Yao was so afraid, nor why he suddenly admitted defeat.
It was just too strange, too unbelievable.
You, Huang Yao, were after all one of the Twelve Courtyards Chiefs. How could you admit defeat without even fighting?
This Gu Qingfeng was nothing more than having a slightly stronger physical body, having mastered the Flaming Thunder Technique to Great Perfection, and having defeated Li Can, ranked twenty-third.
So what?
You, Huang Yao, had Foundation Establishment sixth-level cultivation! Your martial arts attainments were so impressive—Thunderbolt in your left hand, Black Fiend in your right. In the previous match, you utterly thrashed a Foundation Establishment fifth-level disciple. How could you be so terrified when facing Gu Qingfeng?
Admitting defeat without even fighting?
Perhaps this scene was too shocking, so much so that even Elder Rende found it hard to believe. He asked, "Huang Yao!
You...
You admit defeat?"