Chapter 9: Unconvinced
"What the hell, it's like this again. We are all disciples who started from the same batch. Is it necessary to lie like this?"

Not far away, under the No. 5 ring, Lou Nanguang, who had already defeated his opponent and won the victory, looked at Ding Hai with disdain and mocked him.

As for Qianhe, who was also in the No. 5 ring, he was defeated by another disciple in the quarter-finals.

"Brother, why do you say that?"

Thanks to his victories in the ring, Lou Nanguang has gained considerable popularity among the Maoshan disciples around him.

His words were so blunt that he almost pointed at Ding Hai's nose and scolded him for being shameless and cheating.

Immediately, several disciples who were also confused and didn't know why their junior brother Ding took the initiative to admit defeat responded.

"The victory of this brother in the No. 3 ring was indeed somewhat inexplicable."

"I remember when we entered the arena yesterday, the people on stage number three were not from the same lineage, right?"

The discussion gradually spread among the many Maoshan disciples around. Slowly, the eyes of the Maoshan disciples who gathered in twos and threes began to change when they looked at Ding Hai.

Not only do people with a lot of mouths have a lot of power, but they also have a lot of power. It didn't take long for the news that Ding Hai had a Yin Shen master as his backer to be discovered and spread throughout the five rings.

When they heard that Ding Hai had a master at the Yin Shen realm protecting him, many disciples showed a look of understanding in their eyes.

No wonder the two junior brothers in arena number three lost as easily as a child's play just now. It turns out they can't afford to offend the other person's background.

Qianhe in the crowd was so anxious after seeing this scene. If others didn't know what was going on, how could he not know about his own senior brother?

The two senior brothers who had fought with his senior brother before did have some skills, but compared with his senior brother, they seemed a little inferior.

If it weren't for my senior brother showing mercy, it would have been easy to cripple those two senior brothers.

But no matter how anxious he was, he had grown some brains in the past few days and realized that he was of little influence and that he and Ding Hai were from the same lineage and had the same master, so no one would believe what he said at this time.

So even though he was very angry, he did not rashly step forward to rescue Ding Hai.

Instead, he stared at Qingsong and other older generations who were watching the ceremony in front of Chongshou Temple, hoping that Qingsong and others who were strong and had great vision would stand up at this moment to clear Ding Hai's grievances.

In addition to Qianhe, there were several other disciples who did not follow the surrounding Maoshan disciples in making a fuss.

Shi Jian, who won the final victory in Arena No. 1, still had that disdainful expression on his face.

The strength displayed by Ding Hai did make him look up to him, but that was just a glance. He had no interest in speaking up to defend Ding Hai.

As for the other Maoshan disciples who were making a fuss around him, they were a bunch of mediocre people who couldn’t even figure out how Ding Hai won. Their achievements in this life were limited, so there was no need for them to care too much.

Uncle Jiu Lin Fengjiao, the champion of the No. 4 ring, did not question Ding Hai. He did not see through the means by which Ding Hai won, but he believed that Ding Hai would never cheat or play a fake match.

No matter how powerful Yin Shen Zhenren is, he is not as powerful as the many Maoshan elders in front of Chongshou Temple at this moment, not to mention the many fellow practitioners from Jiangnan who are watching the ceremony here.

Maoshan can't afford to lose face by having a fake match in such an occasion.

Four-eyed Chen You, who had just won the victory in Arena No. 2, also did not speak.

It's not that he saw or analyzed anything, but he had exhausted all his energy in fighting the enemy just now, and he had no time to observe whether Ding Hai had cheated before.

Without investigation, there is no right to speak, so he pursed his lips and said nothing at this moment, waiting for the many Maoshan elders in front of Chongshou Temple to come out and judge.

In front of Chongshou Temple, Jinling Chaotianque's representative, Elder Jingshan, looked at the noisy scene and joked to Qingsong with a smile: "Fellow Daoist, why don't you speak up and explain something to that disciple below?"

Although Elder Jingshan did not say it explicitly, everyone else present could hear the hidden meaning in his words.

Is this the disciple that you, Maoshan, are going to send out to compete with the other three families?
He hasn't even left the mountain to roam the world yet, but he's already caused discord among his fellow disciples. If he really becomes a master, who knows what will happen.

Qingsong, who was teased, remained calm: "Although this competition is mainly to test the skills of the many disciples on the field, the character of the disciples is also within the scope of the assessment.

Let this guy handle it himself. If he can't handle it, it won't be too late for us old guys to take over." Qingsong did not immediately extend a helping hand to Ding Hai, the main conflict object of this accident.

Although this group of disciples cannot be considered as outsiders who have joined Maoshan and have become monks, they are quite different from the boys who have been raised in the mountains since childhood. Now is a good opportunity to see what their character is like.

As for Lou Nanguang who started the trouble, he had no intention of blaming him.

Vision and vision are acquired through hard work. With Lou Nanguang's current strength and experience, it is normal for him to fail to see through Ding Hai's methods without experiencing it personally.

However, he still needs to work hard to cultivate his competitive, reckless and impulsive nature in the future, so as to avoid costing his beloved's life.

On the No. 3 ring, Ding Hai's junior brother, who was standing behind him, finally reacted after listening for a long time. It turned out that his awareness of the current situation was misunderstood as fear of Ding Hai's background, so he had no choice but to have a fake match.

He was about to explain to his fellow disciples below the stage. His lineage practiced the sword technique, and his strongest attack method was the invisible sword held between Ding Hai's two steel fingers.

Without the invisible talisman sword that he had practiced for more than ten years, he would not be able to compete with Ding Hai with just his sword dance.

Besides, didn't the senior brother on the field say that his boxing skills were not superb? His ability to sense the coming wind before it comes is not something that an ordinary person can achieve.

Junior brother Ding, who was in a state of intense psychological activity, did not forget to speak up to defend Ding Hai and himself while he was thinking wildly: "My fellow junior brothers, please be quiet and listen to me.

I didn’t know this senior brother who defeated me before, and I didn’t know he was a direct descendant of an elder in the sect before today. How could I possibly cooperate with this senior brother? The reason I admitted defeat was simply because I was not as skilled as him.”

Before Junior Brother Ding could finish his explanation, Ding Hai, who was on the same ring with him, waved his hand to stop him from speaking.

In Ding Hai's opinion, instead of standing on the field and explaining dryly, it would be better to be more direct and overthrow all those who doubted him, and naturally there would be no more doubts.

As for the consequences of doing so, Ding Kai was not worried at all. He really thought that his master, Taoist Qingyun, was just a decoration.

Yin Shen Zhenren is not a common person in Maoshan, where there are so many masters.

If you are in the wrong, there is nothing to say. You should admit your mistakes and stand at attention when you are beaten.

But if they are right, the master should not try to smooth things over. If the situation really cannot work, just bring it before the ancestors in the blessed land and let them judge for themselves and see who is more shameful.

"Junior brother, collect your things and go down. I will take care of this matter myself."

After sending the specially made talisman, which was as thin as a cicada's wing but extremely sharp, back to his junior brother Ding with a flick of his finger, Ding Kai tilted his head and looked at Lou Nanguang under the No. 5 ring.

"Whether it's true or not, you can find out by coming up on stage and trying it yourself. If you're interested, come up and have a discussion. I promise I won't beat you to death."

Ding Hai had originally planned to take advantage of this opportunity to have a few fights with Shi Jian, Lin Fengjiao and other acquaintances to test his own strengths.

Unexpectedly, just as he dozed off, Lou Nanguang brought him a pillow, which was exactly what he wanted.

However, although Lou Nanguang's questioning of his actions happened to help him, Ding Hai, who felt that the other party had bad intentions, did not intend to accept his "favor".

As long as Lou Nanguang dared to go on stage, Ding Kai would pat his chest and guarantee that he would not beat him to death.

"Let's give it a try." In response to Ding Hai's invitation, Lou Nanguang readily agreed.

Unlike Ding Hai who had just arrived, Lou Nanguang, who had been staying in Maoshan for several months, found out last night what the significance of this competition was to the current Maoshan.

The five winners of this competition will become representatives of the younger generation of Maoshan, be awarded the title of the Five Heroes of Maoshan, and receive the best training from the sect.

Having grown up under the praise of his teachers, Lou Nanguang is determined to win the position of one of the five heroes.

If possible, he would like to combine the five into one, occupy the position of the five heroes alone, and obtain all the cultivation resources under the names of the five heroes.

Maoshan, a major sect that has been passed down for thousands of years without decline, possesses cultivation resources that are unimaginable to ordinary people. Some of these resources are so precious that even Yin Shen Zhenren would be jealous.

If he could defeat all the other disciples and take the first place in this competition, and obtain all the cultivation resources that the sect was going to use on the five heroes, Lou Nanguang would be confident that he could reach the level of Yin Shen Zhenren within ten years.

After finishing the competition on Arena No. 5 early, he was thinking about how to stand out and become the number one disciple of the contemporary era.

Suppressing the other four heroes without any reason might cause dissatisfaction among the elders in the sect. The elders who have been here for a long time do not like disciples who are disunited and unfriendly.

It was not until he saw Ding Hai playing a "fixed game" that he suddenly had an idea and found an opportunity to take the lead.

As long as he can find a suitable excuse to prove that he is not deliberately suppressing the other four heroes, he can then defeat the other four heroes openly in the ring.

By then, even if he doesn't say anything, I'm afraid the elders in the sect will be able to see who is more worthy of training.

In order to avoid having to deal with two people at the same time, Lou Nanguang, who was not sharp enough, thought that it didn't matter who he picked, so he set his sights on Ding Hai, who always won inexplicably.

So, after accepting the invitation, he jumped into the air and rolled over to the No. 3 ring without saying a word.

After entering the ring, Lou Nanguang quickly pulled out a piece of black cloth from behind and held it in his hand: "I'm ready, but I don't know if you're ready to be beaten."

Faced with Lou Nanguang's provocation, Ding Hai did not refute. Wouldn't it be more satisfying to beat this guy a few more times?

With a move of his body, Ding Hai rushed straight towards Lou Nanguang. He twisted his waist and hips, and a punch heavy enough to break stones and split rocks slammed into Lou Nanguang's face with a sharp sound of breaking through the air.

If this punch landed on him, Lou Nanguang's nose would at best sink in and he would become a monster, or at worst his face would be covered with a water and land martial art.

(End of this chapter)