The moment for the drawing was nearly at hand, and everyone stood tense with anticipation — everyone, that is, except Jun Beiyue and Ziqing, who sat back lazily, utterly at ease.

The Gu clan head could no longer hold himself back. “Beiyue, what if we happen to draw the Yu clan? What on earth will we do then?”

Whether the Bai clan won or lost hinged entirely on Mu Fusang, and the Hai clan’s fate rested entirely on Jiao Cha — but what about the Yu clan?

No one knew why the Yu clan had suddenly grown so confident, but everyone could tell that such an abrupt shift in their demeanor surely meant they held some near-certain guarantee of victory.

At that moment, Jun Beiyue was watching the Yu clan intently, and gave a cold smile. “It’s not likely to be quite that much of a coincidence.”

“Better safe than sorry — it’s the one-in-ten-thousand chance that worries me most!” the Gu clan head fretted.

Just as they spoke, the two Elders of Qinse had already given the order for each clan head to send forward a representative to draw lots.

Jun Beiyue turned back to look at Ziqing, smiling. “You go.”

“I can’t very well represent the Gu clan, can I? You go,” Ziqing declined, her eyes fixed on the Yu clan just as Jun Beiyue’s were. Apart from Jiao Cha and Mu Fusang, there were no other hidden powers on Liuxian Island — meaning that if the Yu clan had secured outside help, it could only have come from beyond the island’s shores.

Since Ziqing wouldn’t go, Jun Beiyue rose and strode toward the center himself. At the same moment, three other figures approached from the remaining directions — Bai Feiyao, Yu Xiao, and the young master of the Hai clan, Hai Ningtian.

The golden basin was wide and shallow, so even with four people standing around it, no one’s view was blocked. Whoever’s hand took which lot was plain for all to see — there was no room for cheating whatsoever.

The numbers on the four bamboo lots were hidden beneath the bark, and from the outside, all four looked identical, as if pressed from the same mold, leaving nothing to choose between them, no reason to worry about drawing in any particular order.

This drawing was purely a matter of luck.

And yet, despite this, everyone hesitated, staring intently at the lots — everyone, that is, except Jun Beiyue, who barely glanced at them at all before simply reaching out and grabbing the one nearest to him.

But the very instant he closed his hand around it, Bai Feiyao and Hai Ningtian both reached for lots at exactly the same moment. The three of them exchanged glances, and a tense standoff followed, which set the surrounding onlookers on edge as well.

Jun Beiyue was just about to speak when Bai Feiyao suddenly, magnanimously, let go. “Since Prince Yao seems to want it, I’ll yield to him.”

“Ha, well, since young master Bai puts it that way, I suppose I’ll yield as well!” Hai Ningtian said with a smile.

The word “yield” sounded courteous on the surface, but in truth, it was a deliberate insult to Jun Beiyue. When had a prince of his standing ever needed anyone to “yield” anything to him?

Ziqing didn’t care for that word one bit, and neither did Jun Beiyue. He said coldly, “And when it comes time for the actual matches — will you two be yielding then as well?”

At these words, the whole crowd was stunned. What exactly did Jun Beiyue mean by that?

Given his usual temperament, he wouldn’t even let others get away with a minor verbal advantage — and yet here he was, not only failing to grow angry, but actually asking such a question?

Could it be that the Gu clan really had fallen this low — that no miracle could possibly save them this time?

Both Bai Feiyao and Hai Ningtian froze, momentarily speechless. They’d half expected Jun Beiyue to fly into a rage and start throwing punches — but never in their wildest dreams had they expected him to ask something like this instead.

How were they supposed to answer that?

The two young masters stood frozen, but their fathers, at least, kept a clear head. The Hai clan head remained low-key, merely smiling without a word — but the Bai clan head, ever arrogant, lifted his chin and looked down his nose at Jun Beiyue. “Prince Yao, you’re overthinking this. We’ve already yielded the drawing to you — there’s no reason to yield in the actual match. No means no.”

Having said his piece, he laughed heartily to himself, entirely unaware that Mu Fusang, standing behind him, was watching him with a completely expressionless face.

Faced with such open provocation, Jun Beiyue displayed a rare show of good temper, refusing to grow angry and instead giving a cold smile. “And if this prince insists that you yield after all?”

Bai Feiyao had already recovered his composure by now, craning his neck forward, eyes narrowed in a cold, wicked smile. “You… can… dream… on!”

“This prince will remember that,” Jun Beiyue said, and turned to walk away, his thick black hair sweeping back, his black combat attire and finely honed frame cutting a striking figure against the wind. Far from looking defeated, he carried himself with an air of overwhelming, effortless dominance — enough to leave more than a few women present unable to tear their eyes away!

By contrast, Bai Feiyao and Hai Ningtian, left standing where they were, looked distinctly deflated, sullen and out of sorts.

Soon, the other three had each drawn their own lots and handed them over to the two Elders of Qinse.

The Elders opened the bamboo lots before the whole assembly, and in the order they’d been submitted, the very first one opened was Jun Beiyue’s.

The most tense moment of all had arrived. No small number of people silently cheered inside their hearts, “Bai clan! Bai clan! Bai clan!”

While no small number of others hoped just as fervently, “Yu clan! Yu clan! Yu clan!”

Bai Feiyao clenched both fists tight, glancing repeatedly at his father. Father and daughter alike hoped desperately that the Gu clan would draw the Yu clan as their opponent, while they themselves would face the Hai clan first.

That way, they could whittle down a good deal of the Gu clan’s strength beforehand — and who knew, the Gu clan might not even survive long enough to face them at all!

In this round, the Bai clan absolutely had to win — and win decisively. But more importantly, they needed the Gu clan to suffer a truly humiliating defeat.

Over on the Hai clan’s side, the Hai clan head sat in tense silence, his gaze fixed like a nail on the bamboo lot in Elder Qin’s hand, hoping instead that the Bai and Yu clans would face each other, leaving the Hai clan to face the Gu clan!

Against the Gu clan’s meager combat strength, the Hai clan could easily sweep the opening free-for-all and paired combat rounds outright. Jun Beiyue was formidable, no question — but in a best-two-out-of-three format, he’d never even get the chance to step onto the field!

Facing the Gu clan was the surest way to preserve their own strength, letting the powerful Bai and Yu clans tear each other apart while the Hai clan reaped the rewards as the third party benefiting from the conflict!

Every onlooker held their own hopes, each wishing to see the two clans they most wanted to watch face off directly, head to head.

And among the four great clans, each was scheming even more shrewdly than the last. Though the scene appeared calm on the surface, beneath it, storms were already brewing, ready to overturn the entire board!

Amid the silence, Jun Beiyue sat with his legs crossed, utterly relaxed, one hand resting idly on the armrest, the other holding Ziqing’s hand, as though he weren’t a competitor at all, but merely a spectator — his deep, penetrating eyes seeming to see through every scheme and deception unfolding before him.

“Qing’er, take a look at the Yu clan head,” Ziqing glanced over, and Jun Beiyue continued with a smile, “Now take a look at our own Gu clan head.”

Ziqing looked again, a flicker of complexity passing through her eyes. She said nothing, but Jun Beiyue could tell — she’d understood at once.

The Yu clan head’s demeanor was far calmer than the Gu clan head’s by a wide margin. Jun Beiyue had already promised the Gu clan head victory, and yet the Gu clan head was still anxious about who they might draw.

Meanwhile, both the Bai clan head and the Hai clan head kept their eyes fixed intently on the two Elders of Qinse — yet the Yu clan head, that old man, was calmly sipping tea, utterly at leisure!

The reason was simple. He already knew the outcome of the drawing.

And yet, the results of the drawing hadn’t even been announced yet!

How could he possibly know? The drawing itself was conducted under conditions that made tampering absolutely impossible — unless the lots themselves had been rigged beforehand.

Just then, Elder Qin had already peeled back the bark on the first lot, holding it high for all to see. “The Gu clan has drawn Jiǎ!”

The attendant maid on the left immediately recorded it, while the maid on the right hurried to hand over the second lot — the Yu clan’s lot!