“It does make sense to say so, but there’s insufficient evidence. We can’t confirm the truth.”
“Regardless of whether it’s correct or not, let’s assume first that Chen Yuanxun is not the mole. Then the Black Robed People must have another mole hidden in the City Lord’s Mansion. If we don’t find out who that person is and mistakenly kill Chen Yuanxun, even if we manage to eliminate those Black Robed People, there will still be a hidden danger of poison that could erupt at any moment.”
Li Tan appeared somewhat worried. Tang Leyin murmured, “So, we must find Chen Yuanxun to verify the truth. Leave this task to me. Young Master Li, you should be heading to watch the Frost Festival martial arts competition later, shouldn’t you?”
Li Tan nodded, smiling. “Thank you, Miss. That little girl will be very upset if you’re not there with her.”
Tang Leyin remained silent for a moment before asking, “Today’s martial arts competition will bring together the leaders of all major families in Linjiang. I’m afraid the Black Robed Ones might stir up trouble. Can you manage things in my absence, Young Master Li?”
“Tang Miss, you’re underestimating me. First of all, those Black Robed People won’t dare to act openly. They can only resort to underhanded tricks, like poisoning someone and framing others to create chaos. I have no problem guarding against such petty tricks.”
“Alright then, let’s decide it this way. There’s no time to lose; let’s take action immediately.”
“In that case, I’ll take my leave now.”
Li Tan turned and left, and Tang Leyin immediately headed back toward the City Lord’s Mansion.
The Frost Festival martial arts contest, its full name being the Frost Festival Family Martial Arts Contest.
It is held once every year, with the venue rotating among the three major families. The rules are very simple: whoever’s family member secures the championship will host the contest at their family’s premises next year. This carries little practical significance, serving more as a matter of honor, and thus has never involved smaller, second-tier families, with the most occurrences happening at the Liu family’s premises.
Now, with less than half an hour until the contest begins, Liu family’s spacious martial arts arena is already packed, filled not only with cultivators but also many ordinary spectators who have come to watch.
However, the crowd has been confined to an area outside a designated boundary. Inside this boundary lie the resting zones for the disciples of the major families, where entry is strictly prohibited to unauthorized individuals. Given that no one would dare to trespass recklessly, security here is relatively light—after all, at least three Xiantian-level experts are present in this vicinity, and causing any disturbance would essentially be tantamount to courting death.
The Lin family’s rest area is quite close to the Li family’s rest area. At this moment, Li Tan is with Li Jiaying and Li Xiu. Li Hantian and others who refused to participate in the training yesterday are also there, but due to Li Yang’s presence, they dare not do anything excessive, merely glaring at Li Tan with expressions full of contempt.
Although Li Yang is disabled, his status remains formidable. They can act privately, but if they dare to cause trouble in such a public setting, they wouldn’t even know how they died.
Since they aren’t causing trouble, Li Tan couldn’t care less about their behavior, directly ignoring their stares, and instead giving Li Jiaying and Li Xiu some extra coaching.
With such limited time, he couldn’t explain anything too complicated, so he could only share some relatively simple practical techniques.
Time flew quickly amidst the sunlight and monotonous instruction. As the great bell rang three times, all the noise in the martial arts arena disappeared instantly, creating an eerie silence that carried a solemn atmosphere.
The contest finally began.
The initial rounds were elimination matches. Generally speaking, nearly half of the participants would be eliminated in this stage, and these individuals were mostly from the second-tier families outside the three major ones.
It wasn’t a matter of bullying or favoritism; it was simply a matter of real power suppression. As previously mentioned, the three major families possess more cultivation resources, such as techniques and martial arts skills.
Given these advantages, it’s extremely difficult for individuals from smaller families to defeat disciples from the three major families at the same cultivation level.
The elimination rounds were conducted through random draw for matchups, with a total of forty slots. Winners of these matches would advance, while losers, after the first round concludes, could freely choose any successful qualifier as their opponent. A victory would allow them to replace the opponent and gain the advancement qualification.
Based on this premise, the elimination rounds officially commenced.
The first match involved disciples from two minor families and wasn’t particularly noteworthy. The second match was somewhat interesting, as a disciple from a minor family defeated someone from the Lin family, becoming the focal point of the entire event. The third match was the most intriguing, with a fierce battle between members of the Lin and Li families, flipping over a large section of the floor tiles, causing a temporary halt for repairs.
The fourth match featured Li Hantian as the main participant, facing off against a young man named Liu Hu from the Liu family.
After the referee announced their names, Li Hantian expressionlessly walked onto the temporarily set-up stage.
Liu Hu’s lips curled slightly upward, showing a hint of disdain.
“Li Hantian, right? I’ve heard that among your generation, you’re the most outstanding in the Li family.”
“So what?
What are you trying to say?”
“Hehe, I’m not much, just the weakest in the Liu family, but I still want to defeat you, the best from the Li family.”
“You’re not afraid of talking too much and getting your tongue bitten by the wind?”
“You’ll know soon enough whether it’s just talk or not!”
Liu Hu first acknowledged Li Hantian as the undisputed top talent in the Li family, then humbly described himself as the weakest in the Liu family. Li Hantian didn’t deny this, thus solidifying this perception.
Liu Hu’s intention in doing so was entirely for psychological intimidation.
If he won, the entire Li family would become a laughingstock, with everyone saying, “Look, the Li family’s genius couldn’t even beat the Liu family’s weakest.”
Conversely, if he lost, no one would think the Liu family was weak, after all, how could a weakling possibly defeat someone else’s genius?
Moreover, the loss could be further categorized.
If Liu Hu lost without putting up too much of a fight, Li Hantian might be labeled with the reputation of “struggling so much against a weakling.”
His intentions were indeed ruthless, and Li Hantian wasn’t a fool. He naturally saw through this. The reason he dared to go along with it was entirely due to his confidence in his own strength.
The subsequent events proved that his confidence was justified; among his peers, he was indeed quite strong.
Within ten moves, Liu Hu was sent flying off the stage by a single Stone Crushing Fist strike from Li Hantian, and the brief match ended decisively with Li Hantian’s victory.
“It’ll be your turn soon, right?
I wonder if I’ll still see you all in the next round.”
Back at the rest area, just off the stage, Li Hantian taunted Li Tan.
Li Tan pretended not to hear; these words indeed didn’t deserve his attention. However, Li Jiaying seemed to take the mockery to heart.
She stood up angrily, puffing her cheeks and said, “Ying’er will definitely make it to the next round!”
Perhaps out of reluctance to say too much to a little girl, Li Hantian snorted coldly and turned his head away. “It’s good if you can make it to the next round, but don’t just talk big.”
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