The young girls and children, accompanied by a group of young disciples, went out for a social gathering. The other contestants glanced at them but didn’t pay much attention.

Originally, the young disciples were just there to observe and gain experience; their presence or absence didn’t make a difference.

Anyway, Lu Xingzhou and Dugu Qingli were still there, seriously observing others’ competitions.

However, as people watched the matches, they felt a bit uneasy.

The match between Dugu Qingli and Xiang Guang earlier was too powerful… Even before the final soul confrontation, the offensive and defensive exchanges had already made many second- and first-grade elders tremble with fear, not to mention the final “Soul-Frozen Ice Essence,” which was beyond Dugu Qingli’s cultivation level.

Of course, the opponent’s magical treasure, whatever it was, was also beyond their cultivation level.

After witnessing such a perverted level of match, watching ordinary disciples compete… the old folks all had a thought: these matches shouldn’t be held together.

In fact, the disciples currently competing on the field were also feeling listless and unmotivated. They had just witnessed such a high level of competition and knew that if they went up, they would be instantly defeated, losing all morale…

Lu Xingzhou also felt like watching a school sports day right after watching the Olympics…

But his thoughts weren’t on the arena; his eyes kept glancing in the direction of Jinfeng Dao.

Several people were gathered there, whispering with serious expressions, as if discussing something. It was clear that they had originally thought they could absolutely defeat Tianyao Shengdi and establish Jinfeng Dao’s prestige in one battle. Instead, they lost 2-0, and Lu Xingzhou didn’t even participate, which they found hard to accept.

In reality, they were already famous in the East Sea… but it was far from their expectations and left them unsatisfied.

It was evident that several people were arguing, and the elder leading the team couldn’t control the three “young people”; clearly, they were actually of the same generation.

Lu Xingzhou smiled, “They’re probably arguing about whether to do something big.”

Ye Tinglan rested her elbow on the armrest of her chair, propping her chin, and looked at him with a smile, “What do you think they’re arguing about?”

It was good to have a mature older sister; she wouldn’t dwell on what was said to Yuan Muyu earlier, as important matters took precedence.

Lu Xingzhou said, “Those with less aggressive tendencies would probably think that fighting their way up from the loser’s bracket could also bring fame, perhaps even more renown.”

Ye Tinglan nodded slightly, “If it were me, I would most likely choose that. Starting anew from the loser’s bracket, fighting all the way up, and then meeting Tianyao Shengdi in the finals to win—that would be incredibly legendary… It would be difficult for Jinfeng Dao not to rise after that.”

“That’s the righteous way of thinking, but that’s probably only achievable in stories. Qingli’s performance just now was too strong; they might not truly be confident in winning at this moment, so they’ll probably think of off-court tricks.” Lu Xingzhou continued, “If they’re more aggressive, they’ll likely think that the disciples’ strength has already been showcased, and their prestige has been established, so continuing to focus on disciple matches isn’t very meaningful. Whether Jinfeng Dao can truly rise still depends on the Supergrade cultivators.”

Ye Tinglan said, “So they’ll come for me.”

“Yes, as long as they can injure you, first, it will truly establish their prestige in the East Sea, and second, your recovery will throw Tianyao Shengdi into disarray, preventing them from effectively suppressing their subsequent actions.”

Ye Tinglan smiled faintly. Who would have thought that bringing her lover out to compete for face in the Grand Competition would end up with her bringing a strategist to deal with unforeseen changes…

If Lu Xingzhou weren’t here, who would have imagined that the opponent’s target, in a mere new disciple competition, would be the Tianyao Shengzhu? If they were suddenly attacked on their way back, chaos would erupt, and even if she herself wasn’t injured, it would be difficult to fully protect the disciples she brought, which she would probably blame herself for her entire life.

Now, everything was clear, with no more worries, yet the opponent probably still didn’t know their plan had been seen through, and the hunter and prey had reversed roles.

The Tianyao elders around them exchanged glances and remained silent. No wonder the Shengzhu and her sister fought over this man; it was even said she competed with the Demon Emperor… He seemed worth fighting for.

“So, what’s your plan now?” Ye Tinglan asked.

Lu Xingzhou said, “I want to lure the snake out of its hole.”

“How will you lure it?” Dugu Qingli immediately recalled the fake rape scene in Tianshuang Guo. Now, in the eyes of Bingyu Zong, rape had become adultery, so this guy’s plan for luring the snake was definitely unreliable.

Could he be planning to go out alone with Shifu for some private matters to lure the enemy to attack…

Lu Xingzhou knew that Little White Hair’s mind was twisted now and said helplessly, “My idea is for you to secretly send a message to the sect now, asking the sect’s Supergrade cultivators to come and assist, like Elder Feng? Then, find an excuse, saying that there’s an urgent matter in the sect, and you’ll lead everyone back first, leaving a representative to preside. They will definitely follow us and act on the way back, unaware that we’ve already arranged for assistance.”

Dugu Qingli: “…What if they don’t follow?”

“If they don’t come, then we’ll just go straight back. Afterwards, we’ll gather our superior forces and directly raid Jinfeng Dao. That’s better than now, where others have already made arrangements, and our response might not be good.”

Ye Tinglan pondered for a moment, then turned to ask the elder beside her, “Have the disciples been moved?”

The elder whispered in response, “They went to the island in the east. We immediately sent people to secretly evacuate everyone, and the other party should not have noticed.”

“Very good.” Ye Tinglan immediately activated her communication jade token and exchanged messages with the sect.

After waiting for a moment, confirming that the relief party had set off, she raised her voice and addressed the other “organizing committee” elders, “The sect has sent word that there are urgent matters requiring our return. Tianyao Xianzong will withdraw from this Grand Competition for now. We apologize for any inconvenience.”

If they hadn’t come at all earlier, they might have been seen as disrespectful.

Now, having presided for so long, and then seriously needing to leave halfway through, others genuinely felt that something major might have happened. Inwardly, they even felt a slight sense of relief; the Tianyao disciples were too strong, giving others too much pressure. If they stayed, there might really be nothing good to compare, so their departure seemed fine…

Not everyone wanted to challenge Tianyao Shengdi. Many sects were essentially vassals of Tianyao Shengdi, and they now expressed their loyalty, “Shengzhu, is there anything we can help with? We will go through fire and water without hesitation.”

“Just don’t blame our Tianyao Xianzong for breaking the rules of the Sea Grand Competition,” Ye Tinglan smiled kindly and stood up, “For this competition, I have prepared some valuable treasures as prizes, and they will be left here. Our sect’s disciples will not be included in the rankings. Just send someone to inform me of the final results.”

“Rest assured, Shengzhu, we will maintain order.”

Ye Tinglan nodded, then led her group away, “I still need to pick up the disciples who were competing privately just now, so I won’t talk much longer. Farewell.”

Lu Xingzhou thought to himself that this Lady was becoming increasingly skilled at acting. The disciples had long been moved, yet she was still lying, saying she was going to pick them up… Thinking back to her solemn and proper demeanor when they first met, it truly felt like an eternity ago.

A group of them boarded Ye Tinglan’s phoenix carriage, pretending to fly towards the eastern island to “pick up people,” then circled around and returned to Tianyao Shengdi.

Ye Tinglan stood at the bow of the ship, closing her eyes and expanding her divine sense, sensing all movements within a thousand-li radius.

With her peak Huiyang cultivation, it would be difficult for others to set up an ambush, but she couldn’t rule out the possibility of high-level magical treasures from the ancient realm interfering. Whenever ancient immortals were involved in anything, Ye Tinglan lost her confidence as the number one in this world.

Therefore, despite her reputation as the world’s number one, Lu Xingzhou always felt she was burdened with many concerns, precisely because of this. Not only did she have many worries, but her strength was also far from the dominant force that people imagined.

Her divine sense spread out, and sure enough, she found nothing.

Lu Xingzhou and Dugu Qingli stood by her side. Seeing this, Lu Xingzhou said, “Elder Feng advised me that if I like fist and foot combat, it’s fine not to use weapons, but I must have magical treasures… From what I’ve seen this time, the importance of magical treasures seems to be increasing. I really can’t rely solely on the Soul Banner… Do you have any suggestions, Lady?”

Ye Tinglan opened her eyes and smiled, “Originally, there was a magical treasure suitable for you among the prizes… Didn’t you want to earn it yourself, rather than directly asking me for it?”

Lu Xingzhou also smiled. He hadn’t explicitly said this to Ye Tinglan, but she clearly understood him.

“That’s usually the case. But now that there’s an unexpected change, who still adheres to such principles? What’s wrong with me relying on you?” Lu Xingzhou tugged at her sleeve, “I’m hungry.”

Beside him, Dugu Qingli remained expressionless, like a statue.

Ye Tinglan, despite her worries, chuckled, “Alright, alright. I just temporarily swapped one of the prizes I left behind; this one is for you.”

As she spoke, she pulled out an inner armor.

“Magical treasures correspond to Dao cultivation, but your Dao cultivation progress is stalled due to the lack of the Yinyang Jiyi Gong. I can’t predict now what direction your Dao cultivation will take in the future or what kind of personal magical treasure you’ll need to choose, so I haven’t been able to prepare any suitable active magical treasures for you.” Ye Tinglan smiled as she held the inner armor up to him, saying, “But regardless of its nature, a protective treasure is always useful.”

Dugu Qingli’s expression subtly changed, “Dragon-Subduing Armor.”

“That’s right.” Ye Tinglan smiled, “The material of this inner armor is unknown; in any case, it no longer exists in this world, and the weaving method has also been lost. It can automatically conform to your body shape, is light and unhindered when worn, as if you don’t feel anything extra, but its protective power is incredibly astonishing. Its name, Dragon-Subduing, means that even if it’s crushed by a dragon’s body, it can remain undamaged. Of course, that’s an exaggeration; you can’t rely on this to directly withstand Long Qinghuang’s attacks!”

Lu Xingzhou immediately took it, beaming with joy, “Thank you, Madam.”

Even though he was already accustomed to freely switching between addressing her as “Lady” and “Madam,” Ye Tinglan’s ears still felt a bit warm in front of her disciple. She turned her head away from him and continued to introduce, “This armor is powerful because not only is its physical defense extremely strong, but its magical defense is also quite considerable. Ordinary lightning strikes and fire won’t be able to harm you. Furthermore, it’s extremely effective against poison… Hmm, as a piece of protective gear, its biggest drawback is that it has no soul protection.”

“That’s enough.” Lu Xingzhou admiringly examined the inner armor repeatedly for a while, then took off his outer robe and put it on, “A great battle is imminent, I’ll wear it first.”

“Why would you need to participate in this great battle…” Ye Tinglan stopped midway, her expression suddenly changing, and she abruptly looked up.

A low chuckle came from the void, “Tianyao Shengzhu, please stay… Since this is a Grand Competition in the sea, isn’t it undeserving if only disciples participate? Jinfeng Dao, through Jingfeng, seeks guidance from Zhenren Tinglan. Please, Zhenren, do not hesitate to enlighten us.”

Although the voice was low, it echoed across the sea, reaching even those on the Grand Competition island, which was already very far away. Everyone’s expressions were filled with horror.

The horror wasn’t just that someone was challenging Tianyao Shengzhu.

It was the feeling this person gave everyone… was he more than just a Supergrade cultivator?

At the very least, he was on the same level as Ye Tinglan.