The crowd was baffled by the sudden shout. They had no idea what was going on.

In the dueling ring, however, Wu Di’s body shuddered. What’s going on? Why does someone know my real name?

The rules of the tournament clearly forbade a middle-aged man like him from participating in this Clans Tournament. That was why he wore the mask made by a runemaster, to disguise himself as a youth.

However, there were so many sets of eyes trained on him right now. If his identity were to be revealed right here, not even Governor Sang Hong or the Sunspring Duke would be able to cover for him, and there was no way the Brightmoon Duke would let this matter go easily. On top of that, he was certain to be harshly punished on his return, for foiling the plans of the Wu clan and Yuan clan.

Did something happen to my mask? Wu Di subconsciously reached out to touch his face.

This brief moment of hesitation left a sudden lull in his attacks. Chu Chuyan’s body was already cloaked in a layer of blue snow, which enhanced her movement speed greatly. Her body blurred into a silhouette and pierced right through Wu Di’s sword of inferno, her sword coming to a halt just before it touched his throat.

“You’ve lost!” Chu Chuyan looked at Wu Di with clear eyes as she said calmly.

Wu Di was astonished. While his concentration had wandered for an instant, it should have been impossible for Chu Chuyan to pierce through his sword of inferno and ki armor. Yet, all of his defenses had somehow been shredded in the blink of an eye.

What’s going on? Is her cultivation somehow higher than the fifth rank? But how could that be possible?!

Chu Chuyan’s face started to turn unnaturally red. In order to gather sufficient burst power to pierce through Wu Di’s defenses, she had to resort to utilizing a forbidden art, and had sustained severe internal injuries in the process.

She glanced down toward the edge of the dueling ring, and saw Zu An looking at her with a smile. If his sudden shout hadn’t distracted Di Wu earlier, I might have already… Was it calculated, or was it just a coincidence?

The official from the City Lord Estate declared, “The victor of the seventh round is Chu Chuyan!”

“Objection!” After seeking approval from Wu Wei and his father, Yuan Wendong leaped into the dueling ring, pointed at Zu An, and said, “The Chu clan has cheated in the fight. Zu An’s sudden shout affected the performance of our fighter!”

How could the Wu clan and Yuan clan not be furious? Wu Di was their greatest trump card in this Clans Tournament! They had even taken the risk to disguise him in order to have him defeat the pride of the Chu clan and to crush their morale once and for all. And yet, all this was foiled due to the interference of an insolent brat.

The powerhouses overseeing the duel wore slight creases on their foreheads. They were busy contemplating the situation, and weren’t willing to give their judgments right away.

Zu An made use of this opportunity to speak up. “Oh? I’m afraid I’m having difficulties understanding your point. I was hungry, so I let out an exclamation. And now, you're saying that this exclamation somehow affected your fighter’s performance? I must ask, is this the level of concentration a sixth rank cultivator has?”

Loud cheers rang out from the spectators. Clearly, most of the crowd was firmly behind the beautiful Chu Chuyan. To them, the reasons the Yuan clan had come up with were too forced.

Zu An’s argument agitated Yuan Wendong. He retorted furiously, “You weren’t just exclaiming casually. You clearly shouted Wu Di…”

The moment those words came out of his mouth, Yuan Wendong’s heart skipped a beat. He knew he had screwed up.

Zu An immediately pounced on Yuan Wendong’s mistake. “Yes, I’m pretty sure I shouted ‘Wu Di, your mama's calling you back for dinner’, not ‘Di Wu’. I don’t understand why he would react to those words. Or could this mean that his true name isn’t ‘Di Wu’ but ‘Wu Di’?”

“What a load of rubbish!” The flustered Yuan Wendong roared in rebuttal. How could Zu An know Wu Di’s true identity? This doesn’t make sense!

You have successfully trolled Yuan Wendong for 868 Rage points!

“Di Wu? Wu Di?”

Chu Zhongtian quietly mumbled those words under his breath, and a thought flashed across his mind. “I recall a member of the Wu clan named Wu Di, who is a sixth rank cultivator. It just so happens that he cultivates a flame element cultivation technique too.”

Chu Chuyan immediately caught his drift. Her hands darted towards Wu Di’s face, ready to claw off any mask he had on.

There was a sudden movement, and Wu Wei landed in the dueling ring. Chu Chuyan felt a powerful force rushing up her sword, forcing her back. Fortunately, Chu Zhongtian stepped in front of her and neutralized the force jolting her. His palm flashed out and met Wu Wei’s with a thunderous crash.

*BAM!*

A powerful force ravaged the surroundings, knocking the spectators to the ground like bowling pins. The shockwave stirred up a huge cloud of dust.

When the dust finally settled, the dueling ring was completely cracked, and seemed on the verge of crumbling at any moment.

Zu An was alarmed by the sight. It’s said that eighth rank cultivators are able to tap into the natural energy of the world. Is this the prowess they wield?

He remembered his sense of triumph when he discovered that he had turned into a little superman. However, compared to the prowess of these top-level experts, his strength was not even worth mentioning.

“Stinky brother-in-law! You took advantage of me again!” Chu Huanzhao shoved the man lying on top of her aside before glaring at him angrily.

Zu An turned to her with a look of indignance on his face. “I only stood in front of you because I was afraid that you would get injured. How can that be considered as taking advantage of you?”

Chu Huanzhao sniffed in response. “I’m already a third rank cultivator! What about you? Why would I possibly need a weakling like you to shield me? You’re obviously taking advantage of me!”

Zu An laughed awkwardly in response. He had misjudged the danger of the earlier shockwave. He had somehow sensed that Chu Huanzhao was far weaker than he was, and had tried to shield her under his body. However, it would be hard for him to explain this to her at the moment.

Chu Huanzhao’s face reddened as she reached a compromise. “All right, all right. I know that you did that for my sake. However, you shouldn’t be so reckless in the future. I’m the one who should be protecting you!”

Seeing that Chu Huanzhao’s anger had dissipated, Zu An laughed it off and said, “I would love nothing more than that. Oh? I see some dust on your chest area. Come, let me brush it off for you.”

“Scram!” Chu Huanzhao spat at him.

Meanwhile, in the dueling ring, Chu Zhongtian glared lividly at Wu Wei, who stood opposite him. “Wu Wei, what is the meaning of this?”

“Since the victor has been decided, why bother pursuing this pointless matter?” Wu Wei’s voice remained calm as he shielded Wu Di behind him. That Yuan Wendong sure is a brainless dolt! He nearly gave Wu Di’s identity away!

Sang Hong also stepped into the dueling ring and interposed himself between the two of them. “Indeed. Since the victor has been decided, there’s no reason to sully the harmony here. It would reflect badly on the royal court if two dukes of our dynasty fought in public like this.”

Chu Zhongtian’s face darkened further. He could tell that Sang Hong was protecting the Wu clan.

City Lord Xie Yi spoke up as well. “Yuan Zhengchu, do you all admit defeat in this match?”

Yuan Zhengchu knew better than to argue the outcome of the match at a time like this. He quickly nodded and said, “Yes, we admit defeat in this match.”

Even though they were currently lagging by three wins to four, the remaining two matches were sure-wins for them. There was no need for them to kick up a fuss over this match.

Xie Yi nodded with a smile and said, “That’s good. Let’s move on to the next round then. Principal Jiang, what are your thoughts?”

As someone from King Qi’s faction, he was more than happy to see the royal court cornering the Chu clan. Once the Chu clan was utterly cornered, they would be left with no choice but to join King Qi’s faction.

Hmph, you wish to steer clear of everything and survive till the end? How could such a convenient path exist?

Jiang Luofu hesitated for a brief moment before nodding in agreement. “I have no objections either.”

With her wits, she could easily see through the schemes that were being played by the Wu clan and Yuan clan. However, the academy had never gotten itself involved in political games. Moreover, strictly speaking, the academy was also a subsidiary of the royal court. It made no sense for her to oppose Sang Hong publicly.

Hearing her words, Wu Wei said with a smile, “Brightmoon Duke, are you going to question the verdict of our three judges?”

Chu Zhongtian was reluctant to let the matter rest, but he felt utterly helpless. It was as if everyone here was out to get them. For the first time, he wondered if he had erred in his decision. However, the Chu clan had survived throughout countless generations by maintaining a neutral stance. With this in mind, he decided to grit his teeth and persevere.

“Fine, let’s move on to the next round then!”

To lose the lion’s share of the arms market would be a heavy blow to the Chu clan, but it would not be enough to cripple them. The salt trade was by far the more important one to them.

Furthermore, the wealth of connections and supply routes that they had built up over the years was not something that the Yuan clan could hope to subvert within a short period of time.

“Father, don’t be too pessimistic. It’s not certain that Huanzhao would lose. Even if she fights to a draw, we’ll still stand a chance.”

Chu Chuyan forced herself to maintain her poise despite the surge of blood rushing up her throat. Taking a deep breath, she consoled her father silently.

Currently, the Chu clan was leading by four wins to three. The best-case scenario was for Chu Huanzhao to win her duel, but a draw would still give the Chu clan a chance. If the eventual result was a tie, the final winner would be selected through a single duel between two chosen champions from each clan. If it came down to that, the Chu clan was sure to emerge victorious.

Of course, both Chu Chuyan and Chu Zhongtian were treating Zu An’s duel as a sure-lose match.

“You’re right!” Chu Zhongtian perked up his spirits. He walked over to Chu Huanzhao’s side and began giving her some pointers, hoping that this last minute cramming could do some good.

Chu Huanzhao was still in a daze. She never thought that she would carry the fate of the Chu clan on her shoulders. Utterly devoid of confidence, she said, “I think my opponent is likely to have a higher cultivation rank than me.”

“He’s stronger than you, but it’s a gap that can be bridged. As long as you use the ability of your Wailing Whip well, you still stand a good chance.”

Zu An nodded in agreement. He had tasted the prowess of Chu Huanzhao’s whip himself. The electrifying sensation as the whip struck my body… Ah, it’s an experience never to be forgotten.

Chu Huanzhao was still panicking. “But… what if I fail to hit my opponent? Big sister, you also know the limitations of my strength! Even though I’ve been abusing my strength to bully Zu An, fighting a duel in the ring is…”

She was starting to regret just how she had idled her time away. She should have paid more attention to her training!

Zu An, on the other hand, was left utterly speechless. Why do arrows still fly my way even when I’m not doing or saying anything at all?!

Qin Wanru grabbed her hand and said grimly, “Huanzhao, this duel concerns the future of the Chu clan. No matter what, you must try your best!”

The seriousness of the matter made her voice sound much sterner than usual.

Chu Huanzhao nodded vehemently. Her mothers words had bolstered her tenacity. She bit her lips anxiously, but her reply was firm. “Yes, I’ll definitely win the match. I won’t let father or mother down.”

Zu An was perturbed by the determined look on Chu Huanzhao’s face. Wait a moment, will this lass try to desperately hold on during the fight later on? This matter concerns the Chu clan’s future, so Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru won’t intervene until the very final moment. What if she suffers permanent injuries or trauma in the process?

He could clearly sense the humongous amount of pressure being heaped on Chu Huanzhao. He stepped forward and said earnestly, “Huanzhao, don’t feel too pressured. If you feel like things are going awry, just admit defeat. Don’t worry, I’m here.”

“No one will think you’re a mute if you don’t speak!” Qin Wanru raged at Zu An. It hadn’t been easy for her to spur her younger daughter’s motivation, and yet this fellow was actually trying to undo her efforts!

You have successfully trolled Qin Wanru for 404 Rage points!

Chu Zhongtian frowned as well. “Zu An, it’s a good thing for you if Huanzhao wins too. You don’t stand much of a chance against Yuan Wendong.”

Zu An was utterly frustrated by the lack of trust in him. “But I really do think that I can win my match.”