After Jiang Dongcheng left, the afternoon competition immediately began.
Since the first round had the most matches and I had already participated in the morning, I didn't have any matches at the beginning of the afternoon. I just stood below the stage and casually watched the matches of the others on the stage.
Because of my cultivation, the matches of the strongest people on the stage were only at the early or middle stage of the Glorious Memory realm. Although my eyes were fixed on the stage, my attention was mostly on the three referees.
Just as I had speculated, Daren Hu, Palace Master Liu, and the other Lower Palace Master sat on the rostrum and were just going through the motions. From time to time, six pairs of eyes would look in my direction. Their gazes carried a lot of indescribable thoughts.
The more they acted like this, the calmer I felt.
Although with their status, it was impossible for them to decide how to deal with me. However, from their actions, it was clear that the Corpse Sect was still very hesitant about what to do with me.
I was betting on their hesitation. As long as I could get through these two or three months, the imprint on my body would disappear and I would immediately leave the Corpse Sect to avoid the pursuit of Dragon Tiger Mountain. After that, I would be able to soar freely in the vast sky like a fish in the vast ocean.
Therefore, the more hesitant they were, the better. The more hesitant they were, the safer I would be.
Half of the afternoon quickly passed and the first round of the competition was finally over.
Not long after the second round began, I received a notice to prepare for the match.
After defeating Zhang Tianqi in the morning, I had almost no chance of encountering any trouble in the following matches. However, as soon as I stepped onto the stage, I was stunned.
My opponent in the second round was Xu Wei!
I couldn't understand it. When I met Zhang Tianqi in the first round, it could be said that Xu Wei used some connections and purposely arranged it for me. But now, Zhang Tianqi was defeated by my hands, and even his corpse puppet was destroyed. Xu Wei should have been scared out of his wits. Why did he have to meet me of all people?
There were at least one or two hundred disciples from the Black Zombie Cave that were participating in the competition. It was impossible for this to be a coincidence.
Could it be that Xu Wei had arranged this schedule beforehand, but he didn't expect Zhang Tianqi to be killed by me?
But that wasn't right either. With his and Zhang Tianqi's strength, they both had the chance to obtain a ranking in the Grand Tournament. If that was the case, then even if I lost to Zhang Tianqi, my next opponent would be the two of them. In the end, one of us would be eliminated. No matter how stupid Xu Wei was, he wouldn't make such a mistake.
What was going on?
I couldn't understand, so I stopped thinking about it and directly walked towards Xu Wei.
Walking in front of Xu Wei, I couldn't help but chuckle. Xu Wei, this fellow, had lost all of his previous arrogance. He stood there with a pale face, his body even trembling. It was obvious that he didn't have the courage to fight me.
Of course, I didn't want to mock him, so I didn't bother with him. I took a step back and leaned against the guardrail. Then, I waved my hand, signaling the evil sacrificial spirit to attack.
Although Xu Wei was extremely frightened, he wouldn't just sit and wait for death. He jumped up and commanded his corpse puppet while he himself dashed forward. He didn't bother with me and gathered the Yin energy in his body, forming a long spear. Then, he joined hands with the corpse puppet and fiercely attacked the evil sacrificial spirit.
The evil sacrificial spirit didn't care about Xu Wei's long spear and only stared at his corpse puppet. When the two of them came in front of it, the evil sacrificial spirit swung its right hand. Xu Wei and his long spear were sent flying, while the evil sacrificial spirit grabbed his corpse puppet.
Following this action of sacrificing the evil spirit, all the spectators let out a collective gasp. Even the three judges on the rostrum focused their attention on the battle in the arena for the first time. They stared at the corpse puppet with a burning gaze. Even Lord Hu, who was sitting at the front, stood up subconsciously.
The evil sacrificial spirit's Taotie technique had been exposed, so there was no point in hiding it. It was better to absorb more Yin energy to help him recover his cultivation base. That was why I didn't forbid him from using it.
Unfortunately, after the evil sacrificial spirit grabbed Xu Wei's corpse puppet and looked at it, it didn't use the Taotie technique. Instead, it looked as if it disliked it and directly threw it away. It was probably because its cultivation base was too low that it didn't want to bother with it.
The three judges on the platform looked regretful. Their eyes moved from the evil sacrificial spirit to me. They seemed to be resentful. Then, they announced the result of this match.
The competition in the afternoon could only continue to the second round. After I won, I took the evil sacrificial spirit and jumped off the arena, preparing to return to my cave.
However, before I could take a few steps, Temple Master Liu, who was sitting on the platform, hurried to catch up with me. He shouted, "Junior Brother Wang, Junior Brother Wang, please wait!"
I stopped and turned around. I pretended that I didn't know anything and smiled at Temple Master Liu. "Senior Brother Liu, what's the matter?"
Palace Master Liu also looked at me with a smile and talked about these unimportant things. He told me that after winning the second round, it meant that I had entered the top 100 of the Second Era Group. According to the rules of the Corpse Sect, I would be able to receive a Mysterious Yin Leaf and cultivate in the upper hall for a week. He told me not to be in a hurry as he wanted to tell me about the rewards.
As he said that, he followed me out. When we were out of the crowd, he finally stopped talking nonsense. He smiled at me and finally asked the question that was on his mind.
"Junior Brother Wang, last time, your corpse puppet advanced so fast that I was scared silly. I didn't expect that your corpse puppet would have other magical abilities."
I pretended to be confused. My expression didn't change as I replied with a smile, "I've let Senior Brother Liu see a joke."
Seeing me feign ignorance, Temple Master Liu wasn't satisfied. He bluntly said to me, "Junior Brother Wang, there are no outsiders here. Tell me, how did you refine your corpse puppet that absorbs the Yin Qi of other corpse puppets?"
"Absorb the Yin energy of other corpse puppets?" I shook my head in confusion. "How is that possible? What's the use of a corpse puppet absorbing Yin energy?"
Perhaps Temple Master Liu was angered by my pretense, but his face became cold. He shook his head and said, "Junior Brother Wang, don't play dumb. In the match this morning, your corpse puppet bit the Heavenly Strange corpse puppet's neck and directly absorbed all of its Yin energy.
Moreover, it was obvious that after your corpse puppet swallowed the Yin energy, its cultivation base became more stable. "
Since he had already said it like this, it would be inappropriate for me to continue playing dumb. I could only reply with a bitter smile, "I won't hide it from Senior Brother Liu. Actually, I also noticed this matter, but because it was too strange, I didn't dare to confirm it.
When I returned at noon, I asked the evil sacrificial spirit, but he ignored me. So … I didn't know about this. "
"You didn't know?" Temple Master Liu raised his voice. "Didn't you control the corpse puppet at that time?"
I shook my head. "At that time, Zhang Tianqi used a strange method to control the corpse puppet. I was worried and wanted to rush forward to save it. I didn't control it. It was completely its own behavior."
Temple Master Liu's face was full of doubt, but he didn't ask further. After pondering for a while, he told me to go back first.
After returning to the cave, I recalled what had happened today. I was sure that the Corpse Yin Sect wouldn't do anything to me or the evil sacrificial spirit for the time being.
Of course, this was just my guess. I wasn't sure.
So, when night fell, I opened the Yin energy passage connecting the cave and the cave.
"The higher-ups of the Corpse Sect must already know about today's matter. Because this matter is very important, the elders will definitely discuss it. If I go to the Yin Qi passage and listen to the results of their discussion, I'll be able to determine their attitude.
Just as I broke the wall connecting the Yin energy passage and was about to summon Tong Tong to guard the cave, someone knocked on the door.