Chapter 79: The True Disciple Appears

“Die if you lose?”
Yu Qing’s words left Zhen Lan stunned. Her delicate face lost all color instantly. She widened her eyes and murmured in disbelief, “Do you really hate me that much? You want me to die?”
To be honest, no matter how resentful Zhen Lan was toward Yu Qing, she had never thought of killing him. She only wanted to keep hitting him, punishing him, until he finally repented, apologized to her, and submitted to her.
But he was actually this heartless…
Tears blurred her vision uncontrollably. At this moment, the heartbroken voice of a woman could be clearly heard by everyone present, yet Yu Qing himself remained unshaken, his resolute face showing only coldness and determination.
Linglong, standing nearby, knew best that her cousin was completely devoted to the path of cultivation. He had never been attracted to any woman nor shown favoritism toward any opposite sex. To put it bluntly, Zhen Lan’s current situation was largely her own fault.
It’s not wrong to like someone, but you shouldn’t turn love into hatred just because they don’t like you, only to start an endless feud…
Still, as a woman, Linglong felt sympathy for Zhen Lan, so she spoke up to ease the situation and defend her cousin, saying, “Senior Sister Zhen Lan, my brother is completely devoted to cultivation. He once swore that he wouldn’t form a romantic relationship until he reached the Yuan Ying stage.”
But at such a moment, Zhen Lan couldn’t hear any of this. Her eyes were filled with sorrow and despair as she spoke in a hoarse voice, “Fine! Then I’ll fight you to the death! Today, only one of us can leave this competition peak!”
Everyone was shocked by these words!
Su Che, sitting in the audience, smiled bitterly. “Well, now I’ve become just a spectator. I wonder how this situation will end…”
In the Immortal Prison, Lao He watched the chaos with glee, chewing on a bright red fruit as he commented, “Master, your brother Yu Qing is really ruthless toward women. He definitely has no patience for such things.”
“Not form a relationship until Yuan Ying…” Su Che thought to himself, “With such firm dedication to cultivation, in his eyes, men and women are the same.”
As they spoke, Yu Qing once again demonstrated his decisive and straightforward style. Without a word of nonsense, he lifted his robe and soared straight onto the competition platform.
No further words were needed—life or death awaited on that platform!

Zhen Lan’s heart was in agony; she felt unsteady on her feet, as if something were blocking her throat, preventing her from speaking clearly. “Okay, okay! Yu Qing, you’re truly ruthless…”
A heartbroken woman cares nothing about victory or defeat. At this moment, all she wanted was to rush onto the arena and perish together with this heartless man.
Whoosh!
Zhen Lan’s figure had already soared into the air, just a dozen feet away from landing on the arena, when she heard a clear cry from behind: “Wait!”
Along with the voice came a streak of white light, moving faster than lightning, instantly freezing Zhen Lan, who was at the peak of the Qi Cultivation stage, mid-air, rendering her completely immobile.
Everyone turned toward the entrance of the arena and saw a young woman approaching calmly, dressed in a white dress, exuding an elegant and refined aura, like a fairy from a painting…
No matter how beautiful she looked, that wasn’t what mattered most. What was crucial was that three silver threads were embroidered on her collar and cuffs.
Three silver threads—she was a true disciple! There were only a hundred such true disciples in the entire Tianxuan Sect, and their status was even higher than that of ordinary Golden Core stage elders.
“Senior Sister Zhen Zhen!”
Someone in the arena exclaimed in shock.
Inside the Immortal Prison, Lao He immediately recited, “Zhen Zhen, one of the top ten true disciples of Tianwu Peak, with a Wood-type Heavenly Spirit Root. She reached the Foundation Establishment stage at 24 and became a true disciple at 27—truly a genius… Master, don’t be deceived by her appearance of being eighteen or nineteen. In fact, she’s already 32 years old.”
Su Che smiled to himself, “Come on, 32 is not old at all. In the cultivation world, it’s only one’s cultivation level that matters. Who cares about age?”
Though he was laughing, Su Che knew that today’s situation might get out of control. Now that even true disciples had appeared, who knew what even more astonishing figures might show up soon!
Another person followed ‘Zhen Zhen’ into the arena—it was Hua Lu from Tianlu Peak, with a sly smile on his face. It seemed he had arrived with Zhen Zhen.
“Second sister, don’t stop me! I’ll fight him to the end!”
Zhen Lan, suspended in mid-air, was trapped by a magic artifact in the shape of a jade ring, allowing her only to speak while completely unable to move her fingers.
Zhen Zhen was already at the middle stage of Foundation Establishment, wielding high-grade spiritual artifacts. Zhen Lan, at the peak of Qi Cultivation, couldn’t even withstand a single move from her sister and had virtually no chance of resistance.
In other words, those in the Qi Cultivation stage could only be considered apprentices; only after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage could one truly be called a cultivator.

The most fundamental difference is that cultivators in the Qi Training stage still have energy in the form of gas-like true qi; only after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage can true essence in liquid form be formed. The power of true qi and true essence differs vastly. Zhen Zhen, as divine as an immortal, simply waved her hand to bring her younger sister back before her eyes from mid-air, then said softly to her, “Sister, be good and obedient. Don’t do anything foolish.” Indeed, given Zhen Lan’s current state, she would lose to Yu Qing within a few moves once she stepped onto the competition stage, for she had already lost her composure and was in complete turmoil. “Second sister…” Zhen Lan sobbed a few times before obediently nodding. After all, as one of the top ten on the Inner Sect Disciples’ Ranking List, she still had some self-control despite being overwhelmed by emotions. At that moment, Yu Qing also jumped down from the stage. Holding her sister in her arms, Zhen Zhen said to Yu Qing, “How can you be so heartless? If I hadn’t come, would you really have killed her?” “I knew you would come,” Yu Qing replied with a smile. “Huh?” With tears still on her face, Zhen Lan suddenly raised her head and realized that this man didn’t intend to kill her deliberately; he was just using some tactics. “I just wanted to provoke her a bit. Extreme measures might force her to see things clearly.” With that, Yu Qing turned his gaze toward Su Che. “It’s one thing if you keep causing me trouble, but she shouldn’t be dragged into this and harm innocent people.” Everyone was sensible, so there was no need for further words. Zhen Zhen nodded slightly. She also felt that her sister’s approach to certain matters lacked grace, and her thinking had reached a dead end. Even if nothing happened now, she might become obsessed with love in the future, ruining her bright prospects. If Yu Qing could give her a harsh wake-up call or make her completely give up, that would be good too. Suddenly, things returned to normal, but with Zhen Zhen’s arrival, there was no need to invite any referees or officials to oversee the situation, as the status of a direct disciple was more authoritative than that of any referee or official on the competition stage. Yu Qing had no objections either, as he thought it was better without referees. If Su Che lost and his identity jade talismans and cards were taken by Zhen Zhen, he could still find a way to get them back… In any case, it was far better than the impartial handling by referees and officials.

As for whether Zhen Zhen’s judgment would be unfair, Yu Qing wasn’t worried at all—after all, this was a legitimate fight under everyone’s watchful eyes. Even if Zhen Zhen had biases, she couldn’t openly cheat.
“Then let’s begin.”
At Zhen Zhen’s command, Su Che stepped onto the fighting platform one step at a time along the stairs; yet his opponents, Song Pangzi and Jiang Chen, hadn’t decided who would fight first. This was because Su Che was fighting one against two, putting him at a disadvantage in theory. Out of fairness, it was Su Che’s turn to decide which opponent he would face first.
Below, Jiang Chen trembled, his face ashen, too afraid to look Su Che in the eyes. He wished he could find a crack in the ground to hide in, lamenting inwardly, “It’s over! We’re done! How could they let him advance to the third level of Qi Cultivation? Why am I only at the first level…”
Su Che was about to choose an opponent when he heard a woman’s whispered message…
“Su Che, it’s Zhen Zhen. I have a request: in today’s two fights, you can only win one. Win against Jiang first, then lose to Song. With one win and one loss, my sister and Yu Qing can save face… Then, Yu Qing and I will change your identity, letting you rejoin the sect and continue practicing on Xuanji Peak. I’ll also provide you with other compensations… If you win both fights and completely embarrass my sister, I, Zhen Zhen, will make sure your life becomes extremely difficult within the sect. Trust me—I have the ability to do that. Please think carefully.”
Win against Jiang first, then lose to Song—only one win allowed?
Su Che thought to himself, “This woman is definitely trying to play tricks. There’s no fairness here at all.”
“Master, she’s a legitimate disciple, her status even higher than that of ordinary Golden Core elders. It’s not worth offending her over such a trivial matter…” Lao He tentatively advised, “How about dealing with Jiang Chen first to avenge ourselves, and dealing with Song Pangzi later? I guess after today, Zhen Zhen and her sister won’t care about a worthless guy like Song anymore.”
On the platform, Su Che looked serious, his gaze first falling on Jiang Chen, then shifting to Song Pangzi’s face…
According to Zhen Zhen’s plan, he should first challenge Jiang Chen in the first fight—winning would be effortless. In the second fight against Song Pangzi, he would have to lose. At this moment, even Lao He couldn’t guess what decision his master would make.