"Why did Qin Haoyu lose?"

"Didn't Ye Qingzhou win effortlessly last time?"

"Qin Haoyu seems so much weaker than Ye Qingzhou. Could his ranking have been bought with money?"

"Damn, is this Hidden Dragon List for the World Martial Arts Discussion reliable at all?"

As the crowd watched, a tumultuous noise erupted as people began questioning the fairness of the rankings in the World Martial Arts Discussion.

In the spectator stand, Yuan Jingfei and many others who had high hopes for Qin Haoyu were shocked, their faces as gloomy as they could be.

Especially Yuan Jingfei, who couldn't accept this result at all!

"On the Hidden Dragon List, Qin Haoyu is ranked ahead of Ye Qingzhou, his Fire Technique reaching the realm of mastery. How could he lose? How could he lose!"

There's no reason!

But no matter how hard it was to accept, the iron-clad fact was laid before them, forcing her to come to terms with it.

Reflecting on her actions over the past few days, Yuan Jingfei was now full of regret, lamenting her poor judgment and betting on the wrong horse.

Meanwhile, in another spectator stand in the Martial Arts Arena, Ye Qingzhou felt somewhat disappointed: "It's a pity. I thought I would see a fierce battle, but Qin Haoyu is so weak. Looks like he's not qualified to be my whetstone."

Before the match began, Ye Qingzhou had higher expectations for Qin Haoyu, considering him a worthy opponent to test each other's martial paths.

But who would have thought that Qin Haoyu would be easily defeated by Gu Mingye.

With such weak strength, how could he provide enough grind from a fierce battle?

Ye Qingzhou sighed deeply, his expression seeming to say: "Kid, I'm really disappointed in you."

"What the hell, why is Qin Haoyu so weak? I feel like I could do it if I went up."

Leon was itching to give it a try; not having been beaten lately, his bones were beginning to itch.

Ye Qingzhou glanced at him and remarked mercilessly: "If you go up, you wouldn't even withstand one strike from Gu Mingye. At least Qin Haoyu managed to exchange a few blows with Gu Mingye. Do you really think he's just a weakling?"

Though Qin Haoyu's strength wasn't remarkable, Ye Qingzhou still used Cicada Awakening to sense the Six Ding Divine Flame within Qin Haoyu.

This peculiar power was of high quality, much like the Dan Feather Sacred Flame on Zhu Jinfeng at the time, definitely not trained by Qin Haoyu himself but rather bestowed by someone else.

"This flame moves slowly yet persistently, and it should be the Six Ding Divine Flame among the Nine Great Divine Flames."

Ye Qingzhou's eyes shone, clearly interested in this power: "Within the Innate Five Qi, fire qi is divided into Yin, Wen, and Martial types—Ding Fire is Yin and Wen Fire, while Bing Fire is Yang and Martial Fire. If acquired, this would allow me to cultivate a complete strand of Innate Fire Qi, significantly boosting my cultivation."

The Innate Bing Fire Qi and Innate Ding Fire Qi are things Ye Qingzhou is determined to obtain since they are indispensable resources for practicing his modified Five Emperors Dragon Sword Art.

"Seems I must find an opportunity to visit Yanling Grotto Heaven."

Upon considering this, Ye Qingzhou had a plan in mind.

Elsewhere, after easily defeating Qin Haoyu, Gu Mingye went to see Gu Minghui: "Brother, is that Qin Haoyu really a Hidden Dragon?"

"Genuine article."

"But he's so weak."

Gu Mingye couldn't help but complain: "Compared to Ye Qingzhou, he's far inferior, unable to compete with me."

"I see..."

Upon hearing this, Gu Minghui didn't say much but felt less convinced about the Hidden Dragon List rankings.

After all, they are human-derived rankings, and the Ten Great Hidden Dragons haven't all fought—how did the World Martial Arts Discussion compile this list?

"I should've challenged Ye Qingzhou once more instead of dealing with this Qin Haoyu. He's too weak, entirely unable to spark my combat motivation—utterly uninteresting."

Gu Mingye complained aloud.

The cultivation technique he practiced, "Nine Battles of the Prairie Fire," only ignites combat motivation through fierce encounters, and the greater the motivation, the more the benefits post-battle.

This unique cultivation technique exemplifies the principle of growing stronger through encountering powerful adversaries.

Therefore, Gu Mingye longed for clashes with strong opponents to enable continuous progress on the martial path.

Gu Minghui shook his head and advised Gu Mingye: "I suggest you don't waste your time. Your mind is too fragile right now; you probably wouldn't withstand even one strike from him. Before the combat motivation could build, you'd likely end up in the infirmary for days, which is pointless."

"Hmm? That's impossible; I've obviously become stronger."

Gu Mingye was somewhat incredulous.

After all, he had ingested the Thousand Threads White Lotus, providing substantial body recovery.

But Gu Minghui knew better; the Thousand Threads White Lotus might heal physical injuries but does little for mental recovery, hence advising Gu Mingye against challenging Ye Qingzhou.

"My 'Celestial Calculation' never errs; while you've been progressing, so has he, at an even greater rate. Just last night, he passed the Grand Sacrificial Officer's assessment at Yuelu Academy, obtaining the 'Literature Carries the Dao' inheritance, and even refined two divine weapons—one sword focusing on killing, the other on life. Martial artists with inadequate mental discipline before him would find themselves under his control, utterly powerless."

"That powerful!"

Gu Mingye's eyes glimmered. His aptitude is only considered an ordinary genius, but with his elder brother Gu Minghui's assistance, he practiced "Nine Battles of the Prairie Fire," becoming ever stronger, fostering a joy-seeking battle personality.

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