Sect Master Gu Huai: Lu Clan, Do You Dare!

Zhou Shiyu, who had appeared at the Great Xia Sword Sect at some unknown point, had been watching the battles on the arena in silence. At this moment, Zhou Shiyu's eyes trembled, his heart deeply shaken! Looking at Xiao Chen, who was gravely wounded and teetering on the brink of death, he could not help thinking of himself... Meanwhile, the morale of the Six Domains' clans and sects had plummeted to rock bottom. Before this wagering arena began, everyone had harbored limitless hopes for the Great Xia Sword Sect. Some might have entertained the thought that the sect could lose, but no one had imagined they would lose two matches in a row. Li Guanqi nodded at Zhou Shiyu. Without speaking, he took advantage of the intermission to carry Xiao Chen away. Uneasy, Lu Kangnian followed closely behind, extracting a strand of spiritual light from a river adjacent to the Spirit Fish Clan. They settled Xiao Chen into the medicinal pool. Cao Yan was still struggling against the Purple Dragon Thunder Flame, though he had already gained a slight upper hand. The pool was scalding hot, bubbling noisily as steam billowed upward. The moment Xiao Chen was lowered into the water, an uncontrollable roar of agony tore from his throat. Rushing over, Lu Kangnian raised his hand, wrapping countless grains of fine golden sand over Xiao Chen's mangled flesh. Holding a dagger, Pengluo sprang straight to his feet, eyes wide with utter disbelief. "Immortal-Gazing Sand?! The Great Xia Sword Sect even has this stuff?! Just who on earth was that fellow from your sect who ascended to the Immortal Realm?!" Lu Kangnian glanced at Pengluo without answering. Watching Xiao Chen enveloped in the golden sand, he let out a quiet sigh of relief. Turning to the silent Li Guanqi, he said softly, "It's alright. Don't let the pressure get to you." Li Guanqi drew a deep breath and said in a heavy voice, "The third match... I might have to take the stage myself." "Why?" "Old Ye hasn't returned yet. If we truly send Zhou Shiyu up, as long as Lu Wuhen takes the stage, Zhou Shiyu is dead! And if Zhou Shiyu dies, the Great Xia Sword Sect will have lost any chance to turn this around! So for this round... if Lu Wuhen steps up, or if it's someone whose strength far surpasses Zhou Shiyu's, I have to go!" Lu Kangnian nodded solemnly and exhaled heavily. "Phew... Fine! Regardless of the outcome, you are all heroes of the sect!" *Whoosh!* The two returned to the edge of the arena. Li Guanqi looked at Zhou Shiyu, whose aura had settled, and said, "Thank you." With sword-like brows and starry eyes, Zhou Shiyu wore a deeply grave expression, his breathing somewhat hurried. Facing the life-and-death stakes of the third match, he had no confidence either. Yet he spoke in a firm, resolute voice: "If I take the stage this round, and if I lose, it will only be because I have fallen in battle upon that ring." Zhou Shiyu fixed his gaze on the arena, his words carrying the resolve of someone who had already prepared himself to die. Nearly the entire upper echelon of the Six Ancient Sacred Sects had gathered. Dressed in the robes of a sect master, Gu Huai stood on the viewing platform behind him in silence, gazing at Zhou Shiyu's back with unshed tears in his eyes. That was his closed-door disciple... Though he knew it was a fatal trap, he had no choice but to let him come. He knew full well why the Six Ancient Sacred Sects enjoyed their present peace. Now that the Great Xia Sword Sect had fallen into such dire straits, he had to step forward! Li Guanqi stood shoulder to shoulder with Zhou Shiyu and said softly, "If Lu Wuhen takes the stage this round, I'll go up. If it isn't him, I'll leave it to you. Losing is fine, but... preserving your life is what matters most." A strange glint flickered in Zhou Shiyu's eyes, and he nodded in silence. Time slipped by. As the stick of sandalwood incense burned down to ash, Nangong Xuandu glanced at Zhou Shiyu. Right then, a tall young man strode up from the Lu clan's side. Li Guanqi's brow furrowed slightly. He caught the faint, mocking smile playing on Lu Wuhen's lips. Before Li Guanqi could speak, Zhou Shiyu took a deep breath and stepped forward, reappearing right on the arena. At that moment, however, the Lu clan ancestor, Lu Hengtian, spoke up calmly from his chair. "Heh. As far as I know... the person who just took the stage isn't a disciple of the Great Xia Sword Sect, is he? If we're going to disregard the rules like this, does that mean I can call upon a junior of the Zhu clan to fight in our place?" Those words stirred up a tempest. The disciples of the Great Xia Sword Sect naturally knew Zhou Shiyu did not belong to their sect. But in their current predicament, even knowing the truth, they could say nothing. On the stage, Zhou Shiyu frowned slightly and turned to look back. "Hahahahaha! Can a grand sect not even scrape together five Void Refining Realm cultivators under the age of a hundred?!" "How humiliating! In a matter of life and death that concerns the very foundation of their sect, they actually have to beg an outsider for help! Hahaha!" "Exactly! Fellow Daoist, how many benefits did they promise you to make you take the ring for them?" "Why not just put on a show and concede? Hahahaha! You get to take their money without throwing away your life, and our Lu clan will even give you another handsome reward afterward!" "Hahahahaha! The sects of the outside world are truly pitiful. To think they'd actually resort to such a disgraceful trick!" Filling half the western sky, the cultivators of the Ancient Clan sneered in derision, their sharp, piercing taunts ringing out relentlessly. Even the disciples of the Great Xia Sword Sect lowered their heads, unable to shake the feeling that every word was the truth. Yet amidst the heavy silence, an old man with graying hair suddenly stepped forward. Gu Huai, who carried the twilight aura of old age, unleashed his cultivation. The overbearing pressure of a Body Integration Realm cultivator rolled out, thoroughly suppressing every cultivator who had been sneering and taunting! His expression dark, Gu Huai suddenly let out a cold laugh. He reached into his robes and whipped out a sect contract! It was the alliance pact established between the Great Xia Sword Sect and the Six Ancient Sacred Sects! The scroll ascended into the sky, its radiant, glowing characters clearly displaying the allied bond between the two sects. Nangong Xuandu glanced at it, then turned his gaze toward Lu Hengtian. "Do you have any further questions?" The Lu clan ancestor looked at it with a darkened face and sneered, "A mere scrap of paper. Even if it was drawn up beforehand, so what? Does an alliance contract give an outsider license to participate in this arena? If so, were I to forge an alliance with the Zhu clan right now, could I not do the exact same thing?" The moment his voice fell, the Ancient Clan cultivators raised their voices once more in a chorus of clamorous agreement, making Nangong Xuandu's brow furrow. Just as Nangong Xuandu was about to suppress the uproar in anger, Gu Huai raised his hand, sending dozens of storage rings floating into midair. In the blink of an eye, an array of heavenly treasures, earthly rarities, and more than a dozen massive spiritual veins materialized in the sky. Not only that, but the dharma artifacts of the six ancient gates of the Six Ancient Sacred Sects were laid out among them. The old man took a slow step forward. His cloudy eyes held not the slightest fear against Lu Hengtian's razor-sharp glare as he stared fixedly at the two cloud boats. His mocking voice, infused with primal energy, carried a hundred li through the air. "Since we are allies, the millennia of accumulated heritage of my Six Ancient Sacred Sects can also be placed on the table!! If the Great Xia Sword Sect loses, my Six Ancient Sacred Sects will offer up every scrap of our resources and heritage with both hands! Lu clan, do you dare?!" On the stage, Zhou Shiyu's face changed drastically. He stared at his master in disbelief. "Master..." Gu Huai barked sternly in reprimand, "Aren't you afraid? Isn't your mind bogged down with doubt and stray thoughts? If so, then with everything the Six Ancient Sacred Sects owns staked on the line, throw caution to the wind and fight with everything you have! Even if you lose, our Six Ancient Sacred Sects will pay the forfeit for you—what is there to fear from them?!"