h4Chapter 728: Chapter 733: The Decision of the Top Four (1)/h4

    Facing the advancing Ling Chen and others, Tong Nan, holding Xia Yue hostage, retreated to the corner of the room. His arm tightly choked Xia Yue’s neck as he shouted loudly, "Everyone back off!"

    Ling Chen’s face was stern as he coldly said, "Tong Nan, admit defeat. You can’t escape our grasp. If you must me someone, me your own arrogance, daring to sneak into my room alone at night to harm me. Did you really think I was that easy to bully? Let me tell you, I knew you woulde, so I was prepared in advance."

    Tong Nan frowned and asked, "You knew I woulde for you?"

    "Of course. All thanks to your friends who secretly sent messages to me, otherwise, you might have seeded by now."

    "My friends?" Tong Nan was momentarily stunned and shook his head, "I don’t have friends."

    Ling Chen retorted, "Aren’t those two who frequently follow you around your friends?"

    Hearing this, Tong Nan’s expression suddenly changed as he coldly said, "You mean those two... Who exactly is it?"

    "Sorry, I can’t tell you exactly who, and moreover, I don’t think you have a chance to seek revenge. Tong Nan, don’t forget, you lost to me in yesterday’s martial arts match, hence, you’ve lost your qualifications. I know contestants can use any means to defeat their opponents, but that only applies to those who are qualified, and you’re not. Hence, your actions have seriously vited the rules. What do you think the Pavilion Master will do if she finds out?"

    "I..." Tong Nan opened his mouth but didn’t know how to speak. Ling Chen was right. Once the Pavilion Master learns he did not follow the rules, she surely wouldn’t let him off easily. Even if he was a disciple of Yangxin Pavilion, things might get difficult for him.

    With this in mind, Tong Nan nced at the window nearby, still holding Xia Yue, and slowly shifted towards it.

    As he neared the window, Tong Nan used his peripheral vision to inspect it and saw that both sides of the frame were fitted with springs – mechanisms that sealed the window from the inside, allowing entry but not exit.

    Then, suddenly, Tong Nan pushed Xia Yue forward and lunged toward the window. Waving his dagger swiftly, he knocked down all the springs. Immediately following, before the people could react, Tong Nan leaped out the window and disappeared into the darkness.

    Ling Chen walked to the windowsill and looked at the now absent Tong Nan, his lips curled slightly with a faint smile.

    "Third Brother, thank you!"

    "No need to be polite." Yuan Yun said with a smile, "When you gave me that look, I knew what to do. However, I just don’t understand why, after finally catching that kid, you let him go again?"

    "Let them fight among themselves," Ling Chen stated.

    Just now, Ling Chen had told Tong Nan that the betrayal was reported by two of his close friends. Since only Song Yi and Liang Zheng had been constantly following Tong Nan, undoubtedly, Tong Nan would suspect them. Then, Tong Nan would inevitably go looking for trouble with Song Yi and Liang Zheng. Using Tong Nan to teach those two a lesson was undeniably the right choice.

    "Alright, everyone head back. It’s gettingte, and we shouldn’t dy our rest."

    ...

    The next day.

    Early in the morning, Ling Chen, along with Qiu Yong and others, returned to Yangxin Pavilion.

    Stepping into the valley of Yangxin Pavilion, there were already numerous people waiting around the arena. Ling Chen’s arrival immediately drew lots of attention. Being a disciple of Su He, this identity alone was enough to pique everyone’s interest.

    As Ling Chen approached, many people from the crowd came forward, wearing friendly smiles, and actively greeted Ling Chen.

    As the saying goes, one does not p a smiling face. Ling Chen had no choice but to squeeze out a smile and greeted them back.

    After a round of greetings, Ling Chen felt his face almost stiffening.

    When it was nearly eight o’clock, Du Kang and others leisurely arrived and seated themselves in the stands, awaiting the start of the martial artspetition.

    Shortly after the arrival of Du Kang and the others, Su Mei, apanied by an elderly man and several Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion Disciples, arrived in the valley.

    "Ladies and gentlemen!"

    It was still the same referee as the day before. He stepped onto the stage, greeted everyone with a bowed fist, and then began, "Today is the quarterfinals. Winning one match today means advancing a significant step toward the final victory. However, I must emphasize here, no matter who the opponent is or whatever grievances you have had before, once you step onto the stage, you must abide by the rules and not randomly injure your opponent. Otherwise, don’t me me for being unkind. Now, no more idle talk, everyone please hurry up. I invite the top eight contestants toe on stage to draw lots to decide their opponents."

    Hearing this, Ling Chen stepped onto the stage. Other than him, Wang Hao, Yang Zhe, and others sessively went up.

    Once everyone was on the stage, Ling Chen swept his gaze around and found that Song Yi and Liang Zheng were not present. Odd, where had these two guys gone? Didn’t they know today was the semifinals?

    While pondering, he suddenly saw someone quickly approaching from a distance. Ling Chen looked up, and his expression instantly stiffened – wasn’t that... Liang Zheng?

    However, Liang Zheng’s appearance was quite aughable sight. At that moment, Liang Zheng, with a bruised face and messy hair, looked like a beggar, even sporting several cut wounds on his mouth.

    Seeing this, the crowd took a few more nces, full of curiosity.

    Liang Zheng seemed like he had just been beaten up.

    When the breathless Liang Zheng got on stage, the referee frowned and asked, "Liang Zheng, what happened to you?"

    "It’s... it’s nothing," Liang Zheng said with his head bowed down, "I identally trippedst night."

    However, such a low-skilled lie wasn’t believed by anyone. One could tell from Liang Zheng’s wounds that he had definitely been beaten up; he was just too embarrassed to admit it.

    Holding back augh, Ling Chen turned his head away. It was obvious that Liang Zheng had been troubled by Tong Nan.

    The referee snorted lightly, obviously not convinced by Liang Zheng’s words. However, he did not pursue further, only asking, "What about Song Yi? Why hasn’t he arrived yet? Aren’t you usually always together?"

    Hearing this, Liang Zheng’s eyes flickered, not daring to meet the referee’s gaze, and he said in a low voice, "I...I don’t know, I haven’t seen him."

    "Then never mind. Since the time has already passed and he has not shown up, let’s consider him to have forfeited. Now, there are still seven people left on the stage. I won’t waste words – among you seven, one person will get a bye, directly advancing to the semifinals."

    Upon hearing this, the eyes of Ling Chen and others lit up. This was unexpected but weing news - it remained to be seen who would be so fortunate.

    While speaking, the referee handed over a bamboo tube to everyone, containing eight bamboo sticks marked with corresponding numbers. Whoever drew the same number would be opponents.

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