Chapter 1037 Identity Exposed? (Seeking Subscriptions)_1
Gazing at Xu Sheng and Zhou Qingruo in front of her, Duanmu Lian couldn't help but bow her head, clenched her teeth, and held her palms tightly as she said, "Xu Sheng, Qingruo, I...I lost!"
Despite not believing she had lost, the fact remained as such!
Whether she accepted it or not, the result of this first round was her defeat!
Xu Sheng patted her shoulder and comforted her in a soft voice, saying, "It's okay, Miss Lian, you did your best. To face three opponents of the same realm at once, there aren't many in the Cultivation World who can do that!"
Especially at the Immortal Monarch Realm, wanting to take on several opponents, unless one's own strength is far greater than the others!!
Faced with these comforting words, Duanmu Lian couldn't settle her mind at all...
She said with a heavy tone, "But the upcoming contests..."
She had already lost this round, and if the next round's victory went to the Elder of a Family that won this round, then the Duanmu Clan would be considered defeated!
After all... the rest of the Families were allied, and as long as one Family won, the slots to enter the Xuanming Domain would be divided equally!
Xu Sheng's dark eyes lingered on her cheeks, seeing through her thoughts with a glance, and he smiled faintly, "Isn't Qingruo and I still here? Don't worry!"
Hearing Xu Sheng's words, Zhou Qingruo turned her head away and said coldly, "I never said I'd go!"
Xu Sheng was rendered speechless, feeling that her long-standing aloof character was slowly melting away...
Uninformed, Duanmu Lian suddenly panicked, immediately rushed to Zhou Qingruo's side, clutching the latter's hand, and pleaded softly, "Qingruo, I know you hate the Duanmu Clan, but you don't want to see it suffer this humiliation, right?"
Zhou Qingruo still spoke coolly, "So what if I do, it has nothing to do with me..."
Before she could finish her sentence, she happened to catch a glimpse of intense pleading in Duanmu Lian's beautiful eyes...
The words she wanted to blurt out suddenly got stuck in her throat, and she couldn't say them...
Seconds later, she swallowed and pouted, "I...I'm only giving you face this time! Don't take it as a precedent!"
Hearing these words, Duanmu Lian was overjoyed and without another word, kissed Zhou Qingruo's cheek...
"I just knew you wouldn't stand by and watch, Qingruo. You truly are the friend I value most!"
Just then, the three Elders on the Martial Arts Stage had already "decided" the winner!!
The Elder in charge of overseeing the contest sighed helplessly but had no choice but to announce, "The winning Family of this round is the Xu Family!!"
And the sitting Xu Family Clan Leader, with a face full of smiles, cupped his fists and said, "My fellow Clan Leaders, thank you for your generosity!"
The other Clan Leaders merely smiled casually, but only the head Clan Leader, Duanmu Shuo, scoffed coldly, directly ignoring his sycophantic attitude...
Now, he could only pin his hopes on Xu Sheng and... his own daughter. If even they lost, the chance to enter the Xuanming Domain this time would elude the Duanmu Clan!
The first round's loss also caused the disciples of the Duanmu Clan to start losing confidence...
One disciple sighed, "I fear that this time, our Duanmu Clan is going to lose the chance to enter the Xuanming Domain, alas!"
Another disciple was a little more defiant, rallying, "Don't lose faith, everyone. Don't we still have Elder Xu and Elder Qingruo?"
"I'd like to believe in the two Elders too, but the people from the other Families are just too shameless, ganging up three against one; no one could win under such circumstances!"
"Exactly, even Elder Lian couldn't withstand the attacks of three opponents of the same realm. The situation for Elder Xu and Elder Qingruo seems quite precarious!"
Hearing her Family's disciples say these words, Duanmu Lian felt a chill in her heart, but there was nothing she could do...
If she were in their place, she definitely wouldn't believe there was a slim chance of victory either!
With that thought in mind, she took a deep breath and encouraged them, "Xu Sheng, Qingruo, give it your all. Whether you can win or not is up to you now!"
Xu Sheng nodded slightly, while Zhou Qingruo only shot her a glance...
Shortly after, Zhou Qingruo inquired, "Xu Sheng, will you take the second match?"
Xu Sheng shook her head, a gleam in her dark eyes as she said, "No, you will go for the second match!"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Qingruo frowned and hesitated, "But I..."
Even Duanmu Lian had been unable to win against the three Immortal Monarch Realm Elders, she feared she would meet the same fate!
Seeing her reaction, Xu Sheng explained, "Qingruo, all you need to do is eliminate that Elder from the Xu Family with all your might. Aside from that, it doesn't matter if we lose this round!"
After she heard these words, Zhou Qingruo suddenly had a moment of clarity, "So that's the strategy!"
As long as she could eliminate the Xu Family Elder, even if Elders from the other families won, they could still advance to the next round instead of deciding the winner immediately!
With this realization, her confidence surged. Facing the three Elders alone would certainly be tough, but if she focused solely on eliminating one, she felt she could do it!!
Meanwhile, the Elder hosting the duel saw that the situation was nearly set and spoke up again, "The second round of the duel will commence shortly. Please send another Elder from each family to the Martial Arts Stage!"
Soon after, Zhou Qingruo walked up to the Martial Arts Stage along with several other Elders...
When the rest of the Elders realized that the Duanmu Clan had sent a woman again, surprise and admiration appeared in their eyes...
"To think that our opponent in the second round would be another nation-toppling beauty. Are all female Elders of the Duanmu Clan this beautiful?"
"Don't let her looks fool you. This woman gives off a terrifying vibe! Be very careful!"
"Tch, don't joke. As if she alone could defeat the three of us."
Zhou Qingruo, on the other hand, drew her blood-colored Pei Sword and faced their lecherous gazes with disgust in her heart, "They truly are a bunch of trash!"
If this had not been the Duanmu Clan's estate, just that repulsive look they gave her earlier would have been enough to make her want to slay these Elders hundreds of times over!
Suddenly, a male voice rose sharply...
"The second round of the duel will begin in three seconds! All the family's Elders, prepare yourselves."
...
On the other side, a Clan Leader from an outside family was fixated on Zhou Qingruo's face and narrowed his eyes, "Something's not right. Why does this Elder look so familiar? It's as if I've seen her before."
All of a sudden, another Clan Leader sitting next to him exclaimed, "Wait... That blood-colored Pei Sword, I remember it belonged to the former Sect Master of the Blood Lotus Sect!"
"How is that possible? Didn't the former Sect Master of the Blood Lotus Sect fall years ago? That was personally stated by the current Sect Master of the Blood Lotus Sect!"
When he heard their conversation, Duanmu Shuo's pupils shrank sharply...
"Hmm? The Blood Lotus Sect? Isn't that the sect that Qingruo founded with her own hands?"
It seemed that something had happened to the Blood Lotus Sect!
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