Fellow Daoist! That scoundrel has written a new book again.

Chapter 118 Who's the Guest and Who's the Host?

These words, like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, instantly stirred up a storm.

The clamor was incessant, like countless tiny waves sweeping over sand and stones, eventually coalescing into a towering roar, like crashing waves against the shore.

The net of heaven and earth is so tight that either the east wind prevails over the west wind, or the west wind prevails over the east wind.

If I win, if I triumph, if I stand out from the crowd—

So, in your inescapable web, who is the guest and who is the host?

The sword intent of falling leaves swirled and surged, while pink lotus flowers stretched out serenely. The withered autumn and the vibrant summer together supported that world within the grand formation of the dueling arena.

Using the wooden hibiscus ornament at Xu San'er's waist as a starting point, they stood together in front of Zhang Huai.

Is this Zhang Huai's Heavenly Net?

No! This is our Heavenly Net.

This is our net of heaven, hence there is no sharp sword to guide it, and idle flowers reflecting their shadows can stir up waves.

Those who bully others by virtue of their power will also be bullied when they are less powerful. The grand mansion that once built its power will crumble and collapse when it falls, and the broken bricks and stones will all fall on Zhang Huai, who thought himself the master.

His expression was extremely ugly. Now that this matter had been exposed, even if Zhaixinglou didn't take action, those who had been on the network wouldn't let him stay in Zhaixinglou peacefully in order to protect their reputation.

No! This won't do, we need to think of something quickly!

Seeing his uncertain expression, Xu San'er felt extremely pleased and kindly offered a solution:

"Senior brother, you can't do this. After the competition, not only will the Star-Picking Tower punish you, but others won't let you off the hook either. You'll offend one side and not the other!"

The plan's final line was: "Senior Brother Zhang Huai, hurry up and confess your sins."

Zhang Huai glared fiercely at Xu San'er, then turned to look at the angry crowd outside the formation, and at the two people standing quietly amidst the clamor of condemnation.

In the end, a decision was made.

I surrender!

"It was because I coveted the strength of Senior Brother Xiao Qingyu, Senior Sister Feng Chen, Senior Brother Shi Tao, and Senior Brother Mo Dao that I devised a scheme to ensnare their chances of winning!"

"Having been exposed today, I am ashamed before my fellow disciples and my revered teacher from Zhaixing Tower. I humbly request to reflect on my mistakes!"

The Star-Picking Tower doesn't care, because Zhang Huai's Heavenly Net is also an attempt to determine the victor among other sects.

But once Xiao Qingyu gets involved, it's no longer just an experiment. It will prevent the Star-Picking Tower from selecting truly capable individuals and allow the sect competition to be manipulated by Tianluo, which is clearly unfair.

The Star-Picking Pavilion will not cut off its own arm to deal with the Heavenly Net, thus implicating disciples with the ability to participate in the Immortal Cultivation Conference.

By singled out Zhang Huai, the sect competition will be free of any net of intrigue from this day forward.

This is the best way to deal with it.

“Zhang Huai, a disciple of Zhaixinglou, used unfair means during the sect competition and maliciously affected the balance of the battle. He was exiled to Siguo Cliff for five years to reflect on his mistakes.”

"Although the others were unaware of this, some of them took advantage of his help, and those who benefited from it seized his fame."

"Zhu Wuyao, Hua Yingting, and Xu San'er have made meritorious contributions in exposing the truth and restoring fairness to the sect competition. Each of them shall be rewarded with five hundred spirit stones."

……

Even after the verdict was handed down, the discussions among the crowd continued unabated. They refused to believe that Zhang Huai had only caused trouble in this sect competition, especially those who had lost ten years ago, who were particularly indignant.

"I was clearly strong enough to beat that person, but I still lost. It must be because he also entered Tianluo and had the help of other people!"

"What do you mean? I won fair and square, and now you're making baseless accusations because you can't accept defeat?"

"Ha, that sounds nice, but who knows if they've resorted to underhanded tactics to win?"

"Let Zhang Huai name who entered the Heavenly Net in the last sect competition!"

"That's right, give us an explanation!"

……

Zhang Huai stepped down from the dueling platform. Ignoring the shoving and accusations from those around him, he went to Zhu Wuyao and Hua Yingting.

Now that things had come to this, he no longer deliberately provoked anyone; he simply clasped his hands in a fist salute and left with a single sentence—

"I am not as skilled as others, so I admit defeat."

After saying this, he turned and left, insisting that only this sect competition had been part of the Heavenly Net, and refused to reveal the names of the others. He silently walked towards the Cliff of Repentance.

Xu San'er also came down from the stage. Upon hearing this, he exclaimed "Ouch!" and said:

"I've finally started to find this kid a little more agreeable."

The next instant, he slapped his thigh, quickly chased after them, and shouted:

"Senior Brother Zhang Huai, my array flag!"

The next match was originally supposed to be between the senior brother from Mo Island, whom Zhang Huai had mentioned, and another person whose strength was even worse than Zhang Huai's. It took a lot of money to finally get Zhang Huai to set up the Heavenly Net on him.

At that moment, with the phrase "the winner takes away the glory," everything came to naught.

His face was grim, yet he couldn't demand an explanation from Zhang Huai.

Otherwise, it would be an admission that he entered the game voluntarily.

Zhu Wuyao looked up at Xiao Qingyu, and their eyes met at opposite ends of the noisy and resentful crowd.

Xiao Qingyu clearly had the ability to win.

But now, he has lost a game.

As the verdict was announced, he seemed to remain silent for a moment before returning to his calm state. When he looked up, he saw a pair of eyes that, beneath the calm surface, held the chilling force of a north wind.

He underestimated this person.

If I had known earlier... I should have stopped her and Hua Yingting and dragged them both into the net of heaven and earth.

Zhu Wuyao calmly shifted his gaze, helped Hua Ying sit down, and continued to watch the next part of the battle.

Xu San'er got the array flag from Zhang Huai and came back excitedly. Only then did he notice Hua Yingting's physical condition, and he immediately frowned and scolded:

"That Zhang Huai still got off easy!"

Tang Xin, the queen of bargain hunting who got the biggest advantage, is still a little stunned.

In other words, she, an outer disciple at the fifth level of Qi Refining, defeated Xiao Qingyu...?

Although it was a judgment victory rather than a direct fight win, it was still quite a pleasant surprise.

By conceding defeat in time and suffering no losses, they ended up winning the game!

Moreover, the net has been removed, and if we're lucky, we might be able to win another match!

Tang Xin turned to look at Zhu Wuyao and the other two who were talking about something, and felt a surge of gratitude. Her strength was already at a rather dangerous critical point.

However, unlike Xu San'er, who has many hidden cards, he doesn't have them.

This win might give her a better chance of making it into the top ten!

This excitement came to an abrupt end when I saw the schedule for a match.

Tang Xin sighed, pointing to his own section, where it clearly stated—

"Huaying Station vs. Tang Xin"

"Is this serious?"

"Of course I'm serious, little sister! Show that same fighting spirit you'll have when facing Xiao Qingyu tomorrow!"

Hua Yingting winked at her and said with a smile.

Then Zhu Wuyao pulled me over, and I listened to the muttering in my ear:

"Alright, alright, go back and recover. If you keep wandering around, we won't have enough time tonight."

Zhu Wuyao waved to Tang Xin, but in his heart he was thinking—

His own strength was basically at the early stage of Foundation Establishment. He could use his skills to form a bond with Tang Xin.

She owed herself a debt of enlightenment, and Hua Yingting's injuries might not heal completely tonight...