There was still a while to go before the newly-risen-power ranking battle. During this stretch of time, Ziqing and Jun Beiyue never once left the main residence atop the mountain — Ziqing practiced the zither, Jun Beiyue practiced swordsmanship, and the two of them, as husband and wife, truly relished this rare stretch of peaceful, undisturbed time together.
They were at ease, but down at the foot of Liuxian Mountain — and even right beneath their own residence — their arrival had already stirred up a storm of gossip and speculation!
“With Jun Beiyue here, why even bother with rankings — I’d say this battle is a foregone conclusion!”
“Heh, don’t be so sure. This is the Bai clan’s chance for revenge. The Bai patriarch was so furious back then that Jun Beiyue made him cough up blood — surely they won’t let this chance slip by without seizing it!”
“The roster hasn’t even been posted yet — who knows who’s actually going to show up!”
“And nobody even knows what the rules will be for this year’s tournament. If they follow last year’s format, even with Jun Beiyue there, the Gu clan might not have much of a chance at all!”
…
The days flew by amid all this speculation, and tomorrow was already the newly-risen-power ranking battle!
The battle would begin tomorrow, yet today the roster still hadn’t been made public — and not even the match schedule had been announced!
This was precisely what made the newly-risen-power ranking battle so unusual — and also where things were most likely to go wrong.
Yet even once the roster was made public, all it would reveal was who was competing — no one would know in advance who they’d actually be facing!
That night, Patriarch Gu came rushing in once again, but unlike his excitement the last time, this time he looked thoroughly troubled.
His voice arrived before he did. “Trouble! Beiyue, big trouble!”
Jun Beiyue, in the middle of discussing matters with Ziqing, looked up with a raised brow, clear displeasure in his eyes. Whatever Patriarch Gu had managed to dig up, Jun Beiyue had already learned long before him — and whatever Patriarch Gu didn’t know, he already knew too. Otherwise, what right would he have had to enter this competition at all?
Before Patriarch Gu could even speak, Jun Beiyue said flatly, “A free-for-all, a doubles match, and three rounds of singles. Best two out of three, and each person may only compete once.”
Patriarch Gu slapped his thigh. “Exactly right — how did you already know?”
This particular set of rules was extremely unfavorable to the Gu clan, for one simple reason: the Gu clan had no people to spare!
Even with all three hall masters combined, they couldn’t match up to a single one of some other clan’s illegitimate branch heirs!
Other clans could be disregarded, but the Bai and Yu clans were both massive families — with only a single legitimate heir each, but no shortage of collateral branch members hungry for a chance to prove themselves!
The Gu clan, on the other hand, had only two daughters — one already cast out, and the other, in terms of martial skill, was frankly useless. As for Jiang Chen — he had some ability, true, but the scandal of his affair had only just quieted down after all the uproar; sending him out to compete would utterly disgrace the Gu clan, practically an open admission to the whole world that the Gu clan had no one left worth fielding!
The newly-risen-power ranking battle had always been hosted by the Qinse Sea Valley, and naturally, the rules were set by its elders as well. Patriarch Gu had spent these past days making inquiries, bribing person after person by every means possible, and had finally gotten word tonight!
The rules for this competition were exactly the same as last year’s!
Not only was it a best-two-out-of-three elimination format, but opponents would also be decided entirely by drawing lots — with no arrangement whatsoever!
This was danger piled upon danger!
The roster Jun Beiyue now held in his hands was precisely what he and Ziqing had been discussing just moments before — though what concerned him more was whether this roster itself was genuine or falsified.
These past few days, he’d sent Yingzi running back and forth to the Qinse Sea Valley more times than he could count, and to the Bai clan besides, yet had found nothing at all out of the ordinary about the roster.
Seeing Jun Beiyue’s grave expression, Patriarch Gu understood all the more clearly how difficult this battle would be, and for a moment didn’t dare say another word.
Beyond the names of the primary competitors on this roster, there followed a long string of additional names — the younger generation disciples and hall masters of the various great clans.
“Have these Bai clan people all been thoroughly investigated?” Jun Beiyue asked flatly.
“All thoroughly checked. They’re definitely Bai clan people — every single one a collateral branch heir, and their abilities are all well beyond our three hall masters!” Patriarch Gu answered hastily.
Three rounds — free-for-all, doubles, and singles. The free-for-all required five people, doubles required two, and singles required one — not counting emergency substitutes, that meant a total of eight people needed!
Where on earth was the Gu clan supposed to find eight people now?
Even Ziqing’s expression showed a flash of concern. Knowing Jun Beiyue’s temperament in battle — whether large-scale or small, whatever the rules, he had to win completely, no exceptions — this current situation truly was a difficult one.
They’d originally thought the Gu clan’s internal cultivation technique would give them the upper hand; now, it seemed, it had instead become their greatest weakness.
After Patriarch Gu finished explaining, Jun Beiyue still said nothing, his deep, sunken eyes fixed intently on the roster. Even Ziqing had to admit — this man’s focused expression, so solemn and cold, was enough to make even her hesitate to interrupt.
Under these rules, if the Gu clan couldn’t produce enough people, they were bound to lose — and yet the Gu clan truly didn’t have that many people to produce.
Time slipped by little by little, and dawn was fast approaching. Patriarch Gu and Ziqing both watched Jun Beiyue, brows knit tight, until finally Ziqing couldn’t hold back any longer. “I’ll learn the Gu clan’s internal cultivation technique!”
At a time like this, even the faintest sliver of hope was worth pursuing. Fortunately, the competition wouldn’t all take place in a single day — starting with the lower-ranked clans and working up to the Gu clan, they’d have at least three days before their turn came.
Those three days would be their most precious time to watch the competition and prepare their strategy.
Best two out of three — all the Gu clan’s hopes rested on Jun Beiyue, and even as powerful as he was, he could only win a single round by himself.
If Ziqing could compete too, that would solve everything!
“The Gu clan’s internal cultivation technique isn’t something learned in a single day!” Patriarch Gu said bluntly. He couldn’t afford to take such a risk, and after mulling it over for a moment, said, “Beiyue, if there’s truly no other way — bring… bring Jiang Chen in.”
At the very least, in terms of martial skill, Jiang Chen could still shoulder some of the burden.
Since ancient times, the victor writes history — if the Gu clan won, they would go on leading the younger generation of Liuxian Island, and history had always been written by the victors. Who would dare say anything snide after the fact?
So long as he himself could get past his own conscience on the matter, that would be enough!
“This prince has no need of him!”
Before Ziqing could even refuse, Jun Beiyue’s voice had already gone cold. Since he had returned to fight for the Gu clan, that meant he now considered it his own — and he would absolutely never fight side by side with a spineless coward like Jiang Chen.
“Have the people already on the roster compete. Keep a close watch on the Bai clan — the moment there’s any movement, report it immediately!” Jun Beiyue said coldly.
“Beiyue! At this rate we’re certain to lose!” Patriarch Gu’s voice rose in pitch.
“The battle hasn’t even started. This prince doesn’t care for such defeatist talk. If I say we’ll win, then we will win,” Jun Beiyue said, slapping a hand down on the roster, deadly serious.
“Beiyue, this matter…”
Patriarch Gu wanted to say more, but seeing Jun Beiyue’s icy expression, he had no choice but to fall silent. “Fine, it’s all up to you — this was always your call to make anyway. This old man will go personally keep watch on the Bai clan!”
Patriarch Gu wasn’t giving up out of desperation so much as he simply had no choice but to rely on Jun Beiyue now.
Ziqing said nothing, studying Jun Beiyue with a suspicious look, thinking to herself — could it be that this man was actually planning to…