Chapter 248 - Let’s Duel
The crowd glanced toward Qin Nan, their eyes showing a hint of admiration.
Most of them were aware of the identity of the envoy, hence if Qin Nan managed to have a good performance, it would serve as a remarkable opportunity for him.
Qin Nan slightly frowned his eyebrows, as he covertly exchanged glances with Princess Miao Miao and the Longhu Ancestor Beast, before entering the Sect Leader’s Hall without saying anything.
The Sect Leader’s Hall was different from the White Jade Dojo. Some sort of rare substance was being combusted, resulting in a soothing fragrance which allowed one to relax the mind and the heart. Besides that, the dishes placed on the tables emitted auras of the Ancestor Beast Realm, not to mention a strong sense of Qi from the wines.
Qin Nan scanned the environment inside the hall.
The envoy from the Qinglong Sacred Area was seated beside Ouyang Ba, holding a cup of blue wine while taking sips from it. On the left hand of Ouyang Ba, Old Shan and the rest of the Sect Leaders were seated.
Before them, on two sides were the Hall Leaders and the elders.
What caught Qin Nan’s attention was that there were two young men and a lady inside the Sect Leader’s Hall too, whose bodies emitted extraordinary Martial Emperor Realm auras, indicating that they were most likely the geniuses from the other three sects.
Besides that, when he entered the hall, he immediately attracted the attention of the crowd, each gaze filled with a thoughtful look.
Qin Nan’s achievements had long shaken the entire Luohe Kingdom, hence everyone at the scene was familiar with him.
“Disciple Qin Nan greets the Sect Leader, the Great Elder, the envoy, and every senior!”
Qin Nan brought his fists together, showing no sign of being intimidated under the attention of the crowd.
“Hmm.” Ouyang Ba slightly raised his head and said with a pair of thoughtful eyes, “Qin Nan, I am told that the Honorable Elder is your master, and that the Longhu Ancestor Beast is with you too, why aren’t they here in the Sect Leader’s Hall?”
Many among the crowd were startled after hearing the words.
“To be honest, those two possess quite strange behaviors. It’s not that they are not willing to be seated inside the Sect Leader’s Hall, but they are having a fun time drinking with the disciples.” Qin Nan frowned slightly as he immediately answered the query.
“I see, let them be.”
Ouyang Ba nodded his head without showing any expression, as he continued to say, “Qin Nan, today is my fortieth birthday. According to our custom, every sect will send a genius from their sect to have a duel as entertainment for the feast. I’ll have you to participate on behalf of the Mystic Spirit Sect, are you willing to?”
Qin Nan’s eyes turned cold.
He had observed the cultivation of these three disciples. They had all reached the peak of the Martial Emperor Realm.
Ouyang Ba wants me to battle against those three?
It was obvious that most of the geniuses of the Mystic Spirit Sect were seated at the White Jade Dojo. Despite the absence of the core disciples, the first ranked of the inner disciples, the second-ranked Ma Qian, etc. were all present.
“HAHA, that’s a nice suggestion. We’ve all heard of Qin Nan’s name before, but are yet to witness his strength.” The Sect Leader of the Disordered Flames Sect, Wei Tong smilingly said, “The representative from the Disordered Flames Sect is the top genius among our sect’s inner disciples, Cao Fan. To make it fair, Cao Fan will limit his cultivation to the half-Martial Emperor Realm, what do you think?”
A young man wearing linen clothing brought his fists together with a calm expression, “Disciple is willing to fight Junior Brother Qin Nan with a cultivation of the half-Martial Emperor Realm!”
At that instant, Old Shan interrupted with a smile on his face, “That’s interesting, a fair duel! How about it Brother Zhao Fang and Sect Leader Lin Xuan? Since the Mystic Spirit Sect is the host today, we’ll be following your requests.”
Zhao Fang let out a curse in his heart, before he smilingly replied, “Of course, I’ve no objection, it’s reasonable for a fair battle!”
“I’ve no objection either!”
Besides Zhao Fang, a masked woman spoke with a calm voice, who turned out to be the Sect Leader of the Qing Nu Sect, Lin Xuan.
Ouyang Ba showed no sign of expression on his face, preventing anyone from interpreting his thoughts. He nodded his head, “You four shall battle at the White Jade Dojo, so the disciples could spectate it too, to gain experience from it. The rules are simple; the area is limited to a radius of one hundred meters, those who are knocked out of the circle will be disqualified.”
“Sounds good!”
“Not bad.”
“I wonder who is going to win this duel among the top four sects?”
“……”
The atmosphere of the entire Sect Leader’s Hall turned incredibly lively, as every Hall Leader and authority began to make their guesses. However, the confused look in their eyes had exposed their real thoughts.
What is Sect Leader Ouyang Ba trying to achieve here?
Qin Nan did not expect it to turn out like this, but his expression remained exceedingly unpleasant.
The other three were all first-ranked inner disciples among their sects. Even though their cultivations were being limited to the half-Martial Emperor Realm, their Martial Skill progress would surely be stronger than his, surpassing the Arcane Realm and reaching the Force Accumulation Realm. Not to mention that they would have lots of Magical Equipment.
There was no doubt that he was at a disadvantage facing these three opponents.
Although he was not afraid of the duel, he was incredibly pissed off by the way Ouyang Ba had forced him to participate in the duel.
Why would you choose me to participate in the duel instead of the top inner disciple geniuses of the sect?
“Could it be that this Ouyang Ba is trying to teach me a lesson?”
Qin Nan mumbled to himself as different possibilities were being considered in his mind.
At that instant, an impatient voice was heard, “Can you guys keep your voices down? Can’t you see I’m trying to enjoy my drink? If you want to fight, hurry up and finish it. It’s just a small duel, what’s the point of spending so much time on it?”
Following this, the entire hall fell into a dead silence, as the one speaking was none other than the envoy of the Qinglong Sacred Area!
“As you wish; you guys, go to the dojo at once and carry out the duel.”
Ouyang Ba showed no sign of being awkward, as he said while waving his hand.
Qin Nan frowned slightly. This envoy of the Qinglong Sacred Area did not give him a good impression, despite the fact that it was his first time meeting him.
Furthermore, the way Ouyang Ba was treating him, and the hidden confrontation between the sects in their conversation, the hypocritical atmosphere caused him to feel unpleasant. Hence, he immediately left the Sect Leader’s Hall without hesitating after hearing the Sect Leader’s words.
The other three geniuses exited from the Sect Leader’s Hall too.
When the four appeared in front of the crowd, the disciples at the White Jade Dojo immediately glanced toward them with blank expressions on their faces.
The Leader of the Hall of Life and Death sprang out from the Sect Leader’s Hall and shouted, “A duel will be taking place as entertainment for the feast! The cultivation of the participants will be limited to the half-Martial Emperor Realm. ‘Friendship first, competition second’. No killing is allowed, no severe injuring is allowed. Those knocked out from the circle will be disqualified!”
Following his words, he reached out his skinny hand and fired a radiant glow that landed on the White Jade Dojo. A circle with a radius of one hundred meters instantly appeared.
The crowd of disciples was stunned after seeing this, before a huge chattering exploded.
“What the f**k! A duel on the spot?”
“HAHA, about time. It seems like Senior Brother Qin Nan will be representing our sect!”
“Huh, isn’t that Cao Fan? And Li Qingyu and Yang Yiming? F**k, they are all the top-ranked inner disciple from their sects!”
“WTF, WTF, WTF, WTF, is Qin Nan competing against them three? Isn’t that a sure loss?”
“What is our sect thinking of? Why did they choose Qin Nan as the participant?”
“……”
The crowd turned utterly noisy.
The faces of Ma Qian, who was ranked second among the inner disciples, and the first ranked inner disciple turned incredibly unpleasant after hearing the words.
Qin Nan is only the top ranked outer disciple, why did the Sect Leader choose him instead of us?
However, the other disciples did not overthink it. They all discussed among themselves with excitement; Is Qin Nan going to crush his opponents again in this duel?!
In the midst of the chatter, Qin Nan and the other three geniuses entered the circle, taking one side each, as if a battle between the top four sects was going to take place.
“The duel begins!”
The Leader of the Hall of Life and Death yelled.
Qin Nan and the other three participants nodded their heads at the same time. At that instant, no one was willing to make the first move. Instead, they all exchanged glances with one another.
Due to the presence of the envoy of the Qinglong Sacred Area, and the Sect Leaders, Hall Leaders, and elders spectating, the duel was not just a simple duel. It was a duel closely related to their pride and their future.
Therefore, it went without saying that every participant would be taking the duel seriously, with no intention of making their move before they had the confidence to do so.
“Qin Nan!” The first one to speak was Cao Fan. He spoke in a calm tone, “Previously at the Trial of the Martial Serendipity Pavilion, you overpowered our Young Master. Since then, our Young Master has been a changed man, who fully devoted himself to the path of cultivation. You have my thanks for that. Therefore, in this duel, not only will I limit my cultivation to the half-Martial Emperor Realm, I will also limit my Martial Skill progress to the Greater Success Stage of the Arcane Realm, and I will not use my Xiantian Weapon, to ensure the fairness of the battle!”