Within the arena formation, Mo Fan raised his head to look at the Heaven Ranking in the void. He saw the name “Zheng Dao” prominently at the very top, glowing with a faint lustre.
Seeing this scene, the corners of Mo Fan’s mouth curved upwards. He murmured inwardly, “This should be enough, right?”
The next moment, he vanished from the formation amid a flash of light.
However, Mo Fan’s disappearance did not quiet the surrounding cultivators. Instead, it pushed the atmosphere to its peak.
Compared to the excitement and agitation of a certain young girl, the vast majority of cultivators were left wide-eyed and tongue-tied, their faces full of disbelief.
No one had expected that the top of the Heaven Ranking would actually be defeated by someone from the very bottom of the Earth Ranking.
This was simply too thrilling.
At the same time, it left many people with burning cheeks. These were the ones who had mocked Mo Fan in the crowd earlier. Now it felt as though Mo Fan had slapped them hard across the face, leaving them flushed with embarrassment.
“No.”
“How could Wang Lin possibly lose?”
“That fellow Zheng Dao is nothing but a waste. There must be some shady dealings here.”
In the crowd, the one who found it hardest to accept was Ye Lengzhan, who saw Mo Fan as a mortal enemy. He shouted about unfairness, trying to incite the surrounding people to cause trouble.
As a result, the twelve core elders in the sky all turned their gazes towards him in unison.
“…”
Seeing the look in his grandfather’s eyes, as if he wanted to skin him alive, Ye Lengzhan immediately shivered and wisely shut his mouth.
In the sky, Elder Huang Dao spoke faintly, “Elder Ye, your grandson is becoming more and more outrageous. It was bad enough that he rudely attacked a prodigy disciple of our sect, but now he actually dares to question the sect grand competition presided over by this old man. This is rather too disrespectful towards me, is it not?”
As soon as these words came out, the other core elders also turned to look at Ye Kongcheng.
Ye Kongcheng’s expression changed slightly. He immediately smiled awkwardly and said, “Elder Huang Dao, please do not be angry. This grandson of mine was spoiled by his parents from a young age, which rather ruined his character. That is why he lost his manners. This old man apologises on behalf of Zhan’er to the elder.
After the grand competition ends, this old man will certainly discipline that boy properly.
So I ask Elder Huang Dao not to be angry. After all, you are the senior. Why lower yourself to the level of the juniors?”
“Since Elder Ye has put it that way, let this matter drop. However, if your precious grandson dares to show disrespect to his superiors again in the future, this old man may have to discipline him properly on your behalf.”
Elder Huang Dao snorted coldly and let the matter rest there.
A trace of coldness flashed in Ye Kongcheng’s eyes. He then swept his gaze over the crowd below, looking towards the new top of the Heaven Ranking who had just appeared. His eyes narrowed slightly.
As for Mo Fan, after being teleported out of the formation, he planned to leave right then.
In Mo Fan’s view, now that he had become the top of the Heaven Ranking, there was no point in staying longer.
Yet just as he was about to depart, a familiar voice reached his ears.
“Zheng Dao, now that you have become the top of the Heaven Ranking, according to the rules of the grand competition, you may not leave the Tianlu Daoist Arena until the sect grand competition concludes.”
Mo Fan frowned slightly. He instinctively looked up at a figure in the sky. It was an elder wearing a yellow robe, with somewhat grey hair tied into a Taiji bun on his head. He looked just like an old Taoist priest.
Mo Fan knew this person. His name was Huang Dao, the core elder presiding over the sect grand competition in this area. The previous matches had also been hosted by him.
Though somewhat surprised that such a rule existed, Mo Fan still nodded. He simply flew out of the crowd, found a sparsely populated spot, and sat cross-legged on the grass.
However, his high-profile actions soon drew the attention of many people. Before long, some cultivators approached him, calling him “Senior Brother Zheng Dao” one after another, all in hopes that Mo Fan would offer them a few pointers.
There were even some bold female cultivators who came forward directly, presenting scarves expressing their affection.
Mo Fan took one scarf and glanced at it. There was actually a lipstick mark on it. His face twitched at once. He casually tossed it to a nearby junior brother, then closed his eyes, pretending not to see anything.
Seeing that Mo Fan clearly did not wish to entertain them, the crowd eventually took the hint and left. Only a group of female cultivators with ordinary appearances continued to surround Mo Fan, clearly intent on acting as guardians of their idol. This left a certain little girl who wanted to congratulate Mo Fan unable to squeeze through at all. She grew so anxious that her face turned red.
“Senior Brother Zheng Dao.”
“Senior Brother Zheng Dao.”
“It’s me. I am Lu Qianqian.”
“Little junior sister, everyone wants to see Senior Brother Zheng Dao. But have you not seen that Senior Brother Zheng has just fought a great battle with that Wang Lin?
Senior Brother Zheng clearly needs to rest properly now. You should not disturb our Senior Brother Zheng Dao any further.
We know that for an outstanding person like Senior Brother Zheng Dao, no young girl could remain unmoved.
But sometimes it is better to keep one’s affection hidden in the heart. If you truly like Senior Brother Zheng Dao, then join us in protecting him. Do not let those stinking men disturb Senior Brother Zheng Dao’s rest.”
“Exactly.”
“Before, it was those stinking men who slandered Senior Brother Zheng Dao, saying he was inferior to that Wang Lin.”
“And what happened? Senior Brother Zheng Dao proved his strength with actions. Even that Wang Lin is only fit to carry shoes for our Senior Brother Zheng Dao.”
“Precisely. Senior Brother Zheng Dao is not only going to be the top of the Heaven Ranking. A prodigy like him is destined to become a direct disciple.”
Listening to the words of these women in front of her, Lu Qianqian felt both angry and annoyed. She suddenly pointed at one of them and said in surprise, “I saw you earlier. Were you not a supporter of Wang Lin? Just now, I saw ‘Wang Lin’ written on your clothes.”
As soon as these words came out, the group of women immediately turned to look at that female cultivator.
The female cultivator’s face flushed slightly. She then snorted coldly and said, “What does Wang Lin count for? He is merely a defeated opponent of Senior Brother Zheng Dao. How can he be compared to Senior Brother Zheng Dao?
I have already thrown away those clothes. Now I am a supporter of Senior Brother Zheng Dao.”
As she spoke, the female cultivator reached into her undergarments and rummaged around. Soon she pulled out a pink dudou. With a flip of her hand, brush and ink appeared.
Swish, swish, swish.
As the brush danced, the large characters “Zheng Dao” appeared on the dudou.
“See that?”
“I truly support Senior Brother Zheng Dao.”
The female cultivator waved the pink dudou proudly. Lu Qianqian’s eyes widened in shock.
Even Mo Fan, surrounded by the women, could not help but twitch his face. Yet he did not dare make a sound.
Good heavens. Even Wang Lin’s die-hard fans have switched to my side?
The cultivation world is truly straightforward, perfectly embodying the principle that the strong are king.
Mo Fan felt a wave of emotion in his heart.
In the distance, Ye Lengzhan watched Mo Fan being protected by the crowd of women. His eyes turned red with envy, jealousy, and hatred, with hatred being the strongest.
“This waste actually managed to become the top of the Heaven Ranking?”
“Which of you will go challenge him and knock him off the top spot of the Heaven Ranking? I will reward you handsomely.”
Ye Lengzhan swept his gaze over his group of lackeys.
The cultivators who had been clustered around Ye Lengzhan moments before immediately scattered like birds and beasts, all frightened by his words.
Are you joking? That is the top of the Heaven Ranking.
You want us to beat him down?
That would be like courting death in a latrine.
In an instant, not a single person remained by Ye Lengzhan’s side. This left him so angry that he cursed loudly, “Wastes. You are all a bunch of wastes.”
Finally, he looked at Mo Fan with a sinister gaze, then turned to the rankings on the Heaven Ranking. His eyes narrowed slightly in the end. He snorted coldly, “Zheng Dao, I will never let you have it easy.”
