Seeing his gaze, I couldn't help but wryly grin.
Although I wasn't afraid of Xu Yingqu with my current strength, Xu Wei wasn't killed by me, so I didn't want to be the scapegoat.
Fortunately, Xu Yingqu only coldly glared at me before turning his head to the side. It was obvious that he was suppressing the anger in his heart for the sake of the overall situation.
It seemed that this person wasn't as reckless as he appeared to be.
Xu Yingqu didn't say anything. Instead, Elder Zhao waited until everyone's attention was focused on him before he said in a clear voice, "Today's Zhongyuan Grand Competition is the most important event of our Corpse Sect. Everyone here is a pillar of the sect, so you must display your full strength in this competition.
After the competition, any disciple that can obtain a ranking will have a limitless future.
I won't say anything else. Everything will be revealed on the stage.
Let's begin! "
Following his order, a few attendants from the Purple Zombie Cave and Black Zombie Cave came to the square formations below the stage and announced the lineup for the competition.
This competition was different from the previous ones. It no longer followed a one-on-one duel. Instead, based on the previous performance, a few seeded members would be determined in each group. Then, each group would be divided into ten groups. Each group would have ten people fighting each other to determine the winner. The winner would then enter the top ten of each group. After that, the top ten would have a second round of competition to determine the final winner. At the same time, the top three would be determined based on their performance.
Because this was a rule that had always been used, the attendants didn't say much and simply announced the grouping before leaving.
I didn't know how the Third and Fourth Era Groups decided on the seeded players, but the Second Era Groups that I was in easily decided on the list. I just had to choose from the twenty people in Purple Zombie Cave. They were all in Glory Memory Realm and their strength wasn't something that the people in Black Zombie Cave could compare to.
Of course, the final ten seeded members weren't just from the Purple Zombie Cave. There was an exception, and that was me.
This result wasn't out of my expectations and the others weren't surprised either.
After all, in the first competition, Zhang Tianqi, who was at the middle stage of Glory of Knowledge, was defeated by me.
On the other hand, the sacrificial evil spirit's Taotie technique had already been revealed, so there was no need for me to hide it. Against the sacrificial evil spirit's Taotie technique, it was hard to say how many of the Corpse Sect disciples would be able to protect their corpse puppets.
The elders of the Corpse Sect must have thought of this, so they decided to make me a seeded player in order to recover some of their losses.
The Corpse Sect's style of doing things was concise and pragmatic, so there were no more formalities. Elder Zhao waved his hand and the competition officially began.
The first to start was not our Second Era Group, but the oldest Fourth Era Group.
The weakest disciple of the Four Era Group was at the later stages of Glory of Knowledge. There were a few seeded contestants who were close to Master of Heaven Realm. However, I looked closely and there was nothing special about their battles. Most of them relied on their puppets and there were some who fought to the death. Their cultivation techniques were also nothing special. Maybe it was because my cultivation had increased and my horizons had broadened. After looking for a while, I felt bored and closed my eyes to rest.
It wasn't until noon that the first round of the Fourth Era Group and the Third Era Group ended, and it was finally our Second Era Group's turn.
I was placed in the tenth group, and it was only after everyone else had finished fighting that it was finally my turn to go on stage.
After I went on stage, I glanced around. The elders of the Corpse Sect were really meticulous. The people in my group were all disciples of the Black Zombie Cave, and their cultivations were all at the Pressure Point Realm.
There was nothing to say. After I called out the Sacrificial Evil Spirit, the nine people in my group directly admitted defeat and left the stage.
After leaving the stage, they all encouraged me, telling me to defeat all the disciples of the Purple Zombie Cave and gain face for the disciples of the Black Zombie Cave.
In the intense competition, our group was the most harmonious. We didn't even need to fight before the winner was decided.
After we finished here, the final ten matches of the Zhongyuan Competition officially began.
The top ten matches were also a ten person battle royale, but it was different from the previous group matches. Everyone had overcome many obstacles to reach this step, so the difference in strength was very small. No one dared to be sure that they would be able to obtain first place.
Of course, I was the only exception. In the Second Era Group, the highest cultivation was only at the Glorious Memory late stage. With the Sacrificial Evil Spirit's cultivation, even if the other nine joined hands, they wouldn't be his opponent.
Just like before, the Fourth Era Group and the Third Era Group started their matches first.
In these two groups, most of the people that made it to the end were people at the Glorious Memory late stage or even Glorious Memory complete stage. In the chaotic battle royale of ten people, they would either focus their firepower on one person or be in a deadlock with each other. The situation was much better than before.
After watching these two matches, it was finally the Second Era Group's turn to fight. I casually brought the Sacrificial Evil Spirit to the stage.
Just as I went up, I met Chen Fenglin, who had just provoked me. That guy had brought his corpse puppet and was blocking the exit of the stage. When I came over, he didn't even look at me. Instead, he stared at the Sacrificial Evil Spirit for a long time. Then, he contemptuously smiled and said, "In the end, a corpse puppet is just an inanimate object. I want to see how long your corpse puppet can last against me.
Hehe, when the time comes, I'll also destroy a corpse puppet to see what it feels like. "
Looking at his expression as if he was my mortal enemy, I could only helplessly smile wryly. I didn't say anything as I walked around him and entered the crowd.
The previous two matches had started immediately after going up the stage. I thought that it would be the same for our group, but I didn't expect that before Elder Zhao, who was in charge of this competition, could say anything, Xu Yingqu, who had been sitting at the side with a gloomy expression, stood up and looked at us from afar.
My heart skipped a beat and I immediately felt that something was wrong.
As I had expected, Xu Yingqu gloomily looked at me for a while before he loudly said to everyone, "The Zhongyuan Competition is to test and promote the cultivation of my Corpse Sect's disciples.
Although my Corpse Sect's disciples have corpse puppets to help them, when it comes to actual combat, one's own cultivation is still the most important. Thus, I hereby announce that in the Second Era Group's top ten competition, no one is allowed to use the power of corpse puppets. You must use your own cultivation to fight and determine the final victor. "
As soon as he said this, everyone present was in an uproar. Almost everyone's eyes focused on me.
This matter, coupled with Xu Wei's death, didn't even need to think about it. Everyone subconsciously believed that Xu Yingju was targeting me.
However, I felt that something was strange. If Xu Yingqu wanted to deal with me, he didn't need to wait until now. The only reason he hadn't done anything was because of the Taotie technique that the evil sacrificial spirit had used.
The matter of the Taotie technique was far from over, so why would Xu Yingqu act so hastily?
I thought about it and suddenly remembered the conversation I had overheard between the Corpse Sect's Sect Master, Yu Wenming, and Yan Dongyue in the Yin energy passage.
At that time, the two of them looked flustered and said that once the Taotie technique was used, the matter of the past would be exposed. They also said that if the Ancestor found out, he would kill thousands of Corpse Sect disciples …
Could it be that the two of them had secretly given such an order?
Before I could think about it, Elder Zhao hastily asked Xu Yingqu, "Junior Brother Xu, our Corpse Sect's rule has always been to treat corpse puppets the same as humans. Why did you say that?
If you have any grudges, you can settle them privately. You must not disturb the competition. "
It was obvious that Elder Zhao had the same idea as the others.
However, Xu Yingqu shook his head with a smile and said, "Senior Brother Zhao, don't wrongly accuse me. The Sect Master asked me to tell you this. If Senior Brother Zhao doesn't believe me, you can ask Sect Master Yu Wen."
"This …" Elder Zhao suddenly hesitated. After a moment of silence, he announced that the competition was suspended and hurriedly went to find Yu Wen to verify it.
Elder Zhao was hesitant, but I was almost certain that Xu Yingqu didn't need to lie so easily. This order was most likely made by Yu Wen Ming, and the reason was similar to what I had guessed.