Zhang Xiaohua looked at Zhang Chen, her eyes full of curiosity.
Zhang Chen and Xiaodouding, along with the third person, returned to the small cottage. Xiaodouding looked at Zhang Chen excitedly, "Junior Brother, you’ve really made me proud this time. I’m afraid no one expected you to enter the top ten."
"Calm down! What is the top ten? I’m aiming for first place," Zhang Chen said with a smile.
"You want to get first place? That’s simply impossible. Not to mention me, just Zhang Xiaohua’s strange body-protecting divine technique is not something you can break. Junior Brother, don’t be delusional; you should give up early. There’s too much at stake here, and you can’t handle it," Li Donglai said, smiling as he tried to dampen Zhang Chen’s confidence.
"What do you know, you little fatty? My Junior Brother is the bright moon in the sky, and you’re just a firefly. How could you understand my Junior Brother’s methods?" Xiaodouding was displeased upon hearing this and quickly spoke up to rebuke, his voice full of defense.
"Haha, you three-inch nail, wait until the stage, and you’ll see my ability," Li Donglai replied leisurely, full of confidence.
He indeed had reason to feel confident, as he mastered Copper Skin and Iron Bones.
Standing by, Zhang Chen did not care about their bickering and was instead contemplating the upcoming competition: "If I don’t use Blood Dao divine techniques, I truly can’t break Zhang Xiaohua’s protective means."
Thinking of this, Zhang Chen got up and walked toward the main hall, wanting to see if the will of the Great Virtuous Master was still there. If it remained, then everything would be for naught. If it had left, he could continue to pilfer the power of incense to see if enhancing skills could offer a way to break through the opponent’s golden body.
Zhang Chen realized how troublesome these kinds of horizontal cultivation divine techniques could be. It’s incredibly troublesome; it’s not enough to pin them down; one must find a way to break their divine techniques for safety.
As he walked into the main hall, Zhang Chen’s Dharma Eye inadvertently opened, and sure enough, the will of the Great Virtuous Master was still hovering and had not left.
Zhang Chen felt a slight heaviness in his heart and temporarily gave up on the idea of stealing incense. He then knelt on the ground, seemingly praying, as if asking the Ancestral Master to bless him with victory in the big competition tomorrow.
While Zhang Chen was pretending to pray and kowtow, a detestable voice came from outside the hall: "Yo, you lad, are you clutching at straws, coming here to pray and worship, hoping the Ancestral Master will bless your success tomorrow? Praying to the Ancestral Master is useless; you might as well beg me. Beg me that when I encounter you tomorrow, I’ll go easy on you."
Chu Mingyue watched Zhang Chen’s back with sneering eyes, her words full of mockery and undisguised malice.
Hearing this, Zhang Chen smiled inexplicably, stood up, and looked at Chu Mingyue: "No, I’m just praying that the Ancestral Master won’t bless you tomorrow so I can kill you."
After speaking, Zhang Chen brushed past Chu Mingyue. Chu Mingyue’s expression instantly changed, turning her head to watch Zhang Chen’s back, secretly thinking: "This kid has such strong self-confidence."
Zhang Chen walked out of the main hall, knowing that the path of stealing the power of incense was not feasible and had to think of another way.
"Perhaps I can pin my hopes on my Bloodstain skill, hide my Blood God Child in the Treasure Sword. With the defiling nature of the Blood God Child, breaking that body-protecting divine technique should be easy," Zhang Chen thought to himself.
Whether it was Zhang Xiaohua or Li Donglai, they were merely first-stage existences. Zhang Chen’s Blood Control Skill had already reached the fifth stage, making them hardly comparable.
"About this Treasure Sword..." Zhang Chen looked down at the Treasure Sword in his hand. The Blood God Child can only possess living beings, not dead objects, but Zhang Chen could tamper with the Treasure Sword.
"This Treasure Sword is a good thing. Corrupting it with Bloodstain would be a waste; it would be better to find an ordinary iron sword, then slot the Treasure Sword and hide the Blood God Child in the Blood Slot..." Zhang Chen mused internally.
However, he quickly dismissed this idea; given the importance of this competition, he didn’t know if there were any Yellow Heaven Dao old folks secretly watching. If they detected the presence of the Blood God Child, it would be troublesome.
"I can use Bloodstain to nurture the Treasure Sword; once it is imbued with my Bloodstain power, it will naturally have the defiling effect to break the golden body," Zhang Chen thought of a seemingly perfect idea.
Yet, when Zhang Chen returned to the courtyard, he saw a familiar figure standing there, while Xiaodouding and Li Donglai stood respectfully before that figure.
Observatory Master Liu Feng was admonishing the two, and as Zhang Chen reached the door, he heard Liu Feng say, "In tomorrow’s match with the Crown Prince, you are only allowed to lose, not to win."
"Why?" Li Donglai was taken aback, his eyes full of confusion and shock: "Didn’t the Daoist Temple advocate fair competition? By instructing me to do so, aren’t you violating the essence of the competition?"
"Because he is the Crown Prince, and he is worthy of the Water God’s blessing. Only by allowing him to gain benefits will he be more devoted to joining the Yellow Heaven Dao, and our efforts to propagate in the Northern Land will be more fruitful, making our future lives smoother," Liu Feng said sternly, "So, tomorrow, you’re only allowed to lose, not to win."
"So you’re saying, Master Uncle, that the first place was predetermined even before the competition?" Li Donglai asked grimly.
"You could say that." Liu Feng didn’t conceal it either: "The first place can only be the Crown Prince’s."