Rise of the Sword Son-in-Law

Chapter 507: Battle Against the Heavenly Moon Sect

"Group four, number thirty-two?" Xu Ping’an looked at the number in his hand, his face calm.

Fourth group?

He didn’t know who else was in his group.

He then glanced at the number held by Situ Xingfeng nearby, group three, number twenty-two.

Fortunately, they were not in the same group, otherwise meeting at the start would have been really unlucky.

"For this sparring session, there are a total of ten groups," the elder said. "The ten groups will compete simultaneously. Each group consists of eighty people. Eighty people will face off in pairs, with the ten remaining in each group marking the end of the first round. Everyone please infuse your names into the light orb, and your group details will appear on this scroll."

After finishing, he waved his hand, and a giant scroll appeared before the crowd.

The scroll unrolled, and names began to appear one after another.

Xu Ping’an infused his name into the light orb and saw the characters for Wu Qing appear in the fourth group.

Xu Ping’an took a quick look, and there weren’t many strong competitors in the fourth group. The only one worth noting was Zong Yu from the royal house, but as for ninth-rank cultivators, there were none.

Xu Ping’an also looked at the other groups and noticed that Li Qingyi was in the first group, as contestant number nine. Apart from one Fifth Princess, Jiang Lan, the rest were below the ninth rank.

However, the chances of Li Qingyi encountering Jiang Lan were slim.

Situ Xingfeng’s situation did not look good. His first opponent was not strong, only eighth rank, third layer realm.

In the third round, however, he might have to face Huo Yu from the Heavenly Moon Sect.

This Huo Yu was no pushover; it wasn’t certain Situ Xingfeng would lose, but he would need to be cautious in his response.

"Cousin Wu Qing, your first opponent is the eighth rank, fourth layer realm. How do you feel, do you have confidence?" After checking the scroll, Situ Qianqian asked Xu Ping’an with some concern.

Situ Lie also looked towards Xu Ping’an.

Although Xu Ping’an was very strong, all his techniques had been restricted from use. In such a situation, facing off against the eighth rank, fourth layer realm would likely be difficult.

In fact, from the start, he had not been too hopeful about Xu Ping’an making it into the top twenty.

The reason for allowing Xu Ping’an to participate was really just a form of self-consolation.

"It’s manageable," Xu Ping’an said with a smile.

He understood the concerns of Situ Lie and Situ Qianqian.

But he was unfazed. If he couldn’t defeat an opponent of the eighth rank, fourth layer realm, he would not have agreed to join the sparring competition in the first place.

Manageable?

Upon hearing this, both Situ Qianqian and Situ Lie felt somewhat disappointed.

Such an answer seemed a little forced. It seemed that even if he could win, this was likely to be Xu Ping’an’s limit.

Xu Ping’an saw their expressions, smiled, and did not bother to explain.

Everything would become clear once the competition started.

...

Meanwhile, as Xu Ping’an and Situ Lie were talking, a petite female disciple from the Heavenly Moon Sect said to a young man beside her with a smile, "Brother Shi, your opponent is quite weak, only a seventh rank peak."

The young man surnamed Shi grinned proudly upon hearing this: "A seventh rank peak daring to participate in the sparring competition? I wonder who gave him the courage. But this is good; it’s basically a free pass for me to advance."

"Exactly, and this Wu Qing is from the Lieyang Royal Mansion. Brother, defeating him might impress Ning Brother," said the petite girl.

"Oh, from the Lieyang Royal Mansion? Then he’s in for it. I wasn’t going to make it difficult for him but now that he’s from the Lieyang Royal Mansion, I’ll have to make sure he can’t get up. I want the Lieyang King to know, by rejecting our Heavenly Moon Sect, this is the consequence," said the young man surnamed Shi with a cold smile.

"Right, the Lieyang Royal Mansion actually dared not hand over the Rift Sky Secret Technique. They deserve to pay the price," the petite girl also said excitedly.

The young man surnamed Shi sneered continuously, looking at the name Wu Qing on the scroll with a thick sneer on his face.

...

Xu Ping’an was unaware that he had already become a target.

At this moment, he was watching the matches in the first group.

The competition had already begun.

The bouts of the first round were over quickly, typically consisting of just two or three moves per match.

So, it wasn’t long before it was Li Qingyi’s turn to compete.

To her great fortune, her opponent was in the Eighth Rank Third Layer Realm.

Facing an opponent from the Third Layer Realm, Li Qingyi merely used her Soul Power, and with a single Soul-settling Palm, she blasted the adversary away.

Xu Ping’an smiled faintly, seeing that Li Qingyi’s strength had truly increased by much.

From her Soul Attack, it was evident that her soul was also exceptionally solid.

However, Xu Ping’an was quite curious as to what Li Qingyi’s Soul Entity was.

Watching Li Qingyi walk down from the stage with a calm stride, Xu Ping’an did not go to acknowledge her.

After all, he was currently assuming the identity of Wu Qing, and Wu Qing did not know Li Qingyi.

If others were to notice, it could easily give away his identity.

"Wow, who is that woman? So strong, and so beautiful," a disciple in the crowd exclaimed.

Many had already taken notice of Li Qingyi, especially the male disciples, whose looks toward Li Qingyi were filled with admiration.

"You don’t know her? She is the recently very famous Li Qingyi from the Fire Divine Palace," someone immediately responded.

"That’s Li Qingyi? It’s said that she rejected Luo Yong’an. No wonder Luo Yong’an took a fancy to her; her beauty is truly capable of toppling empires," a male disciple sighed.

"Indeed, and her talent is also extraordinarily high. But the fact that she turned down Luo Yong’an suggests that she must have very high standards," another person commented.

Others nodded in agreement.

Listening to these comments, Xu Ping’an’s face revealed a faint smile.

"It seems there are indeed benefits to making an early move," Xu Ping’an muttered to himself with a chuckle.

Li Qingyi seemed to sense Xu Ping’an’s gaze, and as she looked toward him, she paused slightly.

"Why does this person give me a feeling of familiarity? I’m sure I’ve never met him," Li Qingyi wondered in surprise, but she quickly pushed the thought away.

She simply felt Wu Qing was somewhat familiar, but didn’t dwell on it too much.

It might just be her imagination.

Xu Ping’an also left the arena of the first group and headed to his own fourth arena.

During this period, Situ Xingfeng from the third arena had also defeated his opponent.

Soon, it was almost time for Xu Ping’an to enter the fray.

"Contestant number thirty-two, please enter the arena," the referee announced.

Following the command, Xu Ping’an knew it was time for him to go on stage.

So, he made his way up to the arena.

Situ Qianqian, Situ Xingfeng, and Situ Lie had all come to the area of the fourth arena.

They did not yet have a clear understanding of Xu Ping’an’s strength, so at this moment, they were quite nervous.

"Father, do you think Cousin Wu Qing will win?" Situ Qianqian asked Situ Lie.

"Winning should not be difficult for him, but how he wins is what concerns me," Situ Lie said.

"Right, Cousin Wu Qing’s time in cultivation is still too short. Winning with ease might not be easy," Situ Xingfeng also agreed with a nod.

Situ Qianqian nodded as well.

She too suspected that Xu Ping’an’s victory wouldn’t come too easily.

Xu Ping’an had by this time already stepped onto the platform, and a disciple from the Heavenly Moon Sect had also come up, looking at Xu Ping’an with disdain.