The exclamation startled Zhang Ergou from his reverie. He looked intently.
On the stage, the two combatants had already begun their fight, unleashing various magical skills from the outset. Every move was aimed at defeating the opponent.
The aftermath of the battle even extended to the spectator stands. Seeing this, the presiding elder quickly set up a barrier to enclose the arena. This is from Su Dan Novels.
Disciples with lower cultivation levels in the stands felt a bit better.
One of the combatants was Xu Yao of the Liuhai Sect, wielding a green longsword, and the other was Chen Feng of the Piaomiao Sect.
Both held the eighth rank within their respective sects, which was the reason for the earlier exclamations.
Whether by design or accident, each match in this sect grand competition seemed to have been deliberately arranged.
Furthermore, the people from the Liuhai Sect did not seem to harbor much worry about the Golden Core stage finals.
The elders of the Piaomiao Sect had already begun to frown, sensing that something was amiss.
In contrast, a slight smile of smugness appeared on the faces of the Liuhai Sect elders.
...
Bang!
With a loud noise, a figure fell from the stage.
"You are shameless!" Chen Feng stood below the stage, pointing at Xu Yao on the stage and shouting loudly.
"Shameless, hah, if your skills are inferior, don't make a fool of yourself." Xu Yao laughed heartily, clearly unfazed by Chen Feng's shouts.
"You..." Chen Feng was so angry he couldn't speak, pointing at Xu Yao for a long time.
"Come back, Chen Feng," Elder Tiandao squinted and called out in a deep voice.
He had observed the entire match. At the start of the battle between Xu Yao and Chen Feng, everything had proceeded normally.
Their strength was comparable, but during the fight, Xu Yao had, intentionally or unintentionally, lured him to a corner of the stage.
The corner from which Chen Feng had fallen was actually shaved off by a layer, making the stage surface no longer flat.
Instead, it formed a slope, and Chen Feng, caught off guard, was struck down by Xu Yao's palm.
Although the battle was over and Chen Feng was unharmed, he had fallen off the stage and thus lost the match.
...
"Elder, they..." Chen Feng returned to the spectator stands with a look of indignation still on his face, clearly disgusted by the Liuhai Sect's shameless tactics.
It wasn't just him; the elders and disciples of the Piaomiao Sect now understood what had happened.
If Chen Feng had been outmatched, they would have accepted the loss.
However, the Liuhai Sect had won through such means, enraging the members of the Piaomiao Sect.
"Sit down," Elder Tiandao said nothing, but his grim expression indicated his extreme displeasure with the Liuhai Sect's actions.
...
In the subsequent duels, the disciples of the Liuhai Sect had indeed made thorough preparations.
They intentionally or unintentionally lured their opponents to that corner of the stage where a section had been shaved off. Although the disciples of the Piaomiao Sect were on guard,
the stage surface, with its shaved-off corner, not only presented a steep slope, but the Liuhai Sect had also coated it with a layer of smooth wax.
The disciples of the Piaomiao Sect, one misstep, were directly hit by their opponents and fell off the stage.
"Shameless!"
This was already the fifth disciple of the Piaomiao Sect to be defeated in this manner by a disciple of the Liuhai Sect.
Not only were the participating disciples enraged, but the disciples of the Piaomiao Sect in the stands had risen to their feet, expressing their anger at the Liuhai Sect's despicable methods.
However, the elders of the Liuhai Sect completely ignored the anger of the Piaomiao Sect disciples.
Instead, they allowed the situation to continue, and the elders of the Piaomiao Sect could not voice any protests.
After all, the sect grand competition rules did not specify the shape of the stage, leaving the elders of the Piaomiao Sect helpless despite their anger.
"This is too much!" Beside Zhang Ergou, Xiao Qingyu gritted his teeth, saying that if his strength allowed, he would have gone up to beat up the higher-ups of the Liuhai Sect.
Zhang Ergou was also surprised by the sight of the stage corner being shaved off as if by a giant sword wielded by a Nascent Soul expert.
He gained a deeper understanding of the Liuhai Sect's shamelessness. The Liuhai Sect, disregarding the dissatisfaction of the Piaomiao Sect and other smaller sects, insisted on doing this.
It was evident they wanted to achieve good results in the Golden Core finals, thereby securing an advantage in personnel entering the secret realm.
Thinking thus, Zhang Ergou, recalling his previous experience of being inexplicably confined and the feeling of being secretly watched,
concluded that the Liuhai Sect must have a significant secret or a grand conspiracy.
Moreover, when he emerged from his room today, Zhang Ergou still felt that he was being observed from behind.
If it were before, Zhang Ergou might not have taken it to heart, but upon leaving the encampment and once again feeling someone secretly watching him,
Zhang Ergou was certain that he had been targeted, and the person watching him was not weak.
With the foregoing experiences and deductions, combined with the Liuhai Sect's unscrupulous methods to ensure their disciples' victories,
he felt that this matter was definitely not something he could handle alone.
After quietly telling Xiao Qingyu and a few others something, Zhang Ergou turned and went to Elder Tiandao's side.
"Elder, I have something to discuss with you." Reaching Elder Tiandao, Zhang Ergou did not speak directly but instead transmitted his voice to the elder.
Elder Tiandao was somewhat surprised to see Zhang Ergou approach him, but seeing his grave expression, he immediately waved his hand and set up a barrier.
What they discussed inside was unknown to everyone, but when Elder Tiandao dispelled the barrier, the members of the Piaomiao Sect felt a stifling atmosphere.
Clearly, due to anger, Elder Tiandao had not managed to control his aura from leaking out.
...
As Zhang Ergou left Elder Tiandao, his heart pounded, regretting his impulsiveness.
This was because Elder Tiandao had told him that he was to be used as bait to see what exactly the Liuhai Sect was planning.
"You stinky old man, do you really not care about my life?"
Zhang Ergou was furious, but he had no choice but to obey Elder Tiandao's command.
Yes, that was right, it was Elder Tiandao's command, because Zhang Ergou had been threatened, this was the first time Zhang Ergou had ever been threatened.
And the one threatening him was a Nascent Soul expert.
Elder Tiandao told him that if he refused to be the bait, he would inform the Sect Master about the incident at Bing Han Xue Shan (Ice Cold Snow Mountain).
Although Zhang Ergou did not know how Elder Tiandao knew about Bing Han Xue Shan, and he had never seen what the Piaomiao Sect's Sect Master looked like,
Zhang Ergou dared not take the risk. The matter of Bing Han Xue Shan being taken by him had been known only to himself from beginning to end.
And at the moment Elder Tiandao threatened him, he saw a hint of strangeness in the elder's eyes...
Clearly, Elder Tiandao knew a great deal.