A group of old masters burst out of the Sword Cave in a huff, but as soon as they stepped out, they saw an inner courtyard servant roaming around like a headless chicken. Upon seeing this group of old idle fish, the servant was shocked and then relieved. He picked up a rough Spirit Stone and said, panting, "Finally found you... Hurry and inform the steward, saying there's no need to send people out of the city; the masters have already been found! Tell the head of the house not to worry."
Li Minxing, who was leading the charge, felt a bit uncomfortable hearing this. Why did this young man speak as if they were a bunch of lost pet dogs? How could these senior cultivators possibly need others to find them?
Feeling offended, Li Minxing inadvertently leaked a bit of his Mountain-Overturning Realm pressure, causing the young servant's legs to shake like a sieve.
An old man nearby imdiately used a Purifying Heart Technique to calm the servant's mind, then asked, "What's going on?"
The servant stamred, "Mainly because you've been out of touch for so long, everyone was worried sothing unforeseen might have happened to you..."
"Nonsense, nonsense! We're dignified, respected cultivators; what unforeseen event could possibly befall us?"
Yet so of the old idle fish, being shrewd, quickly realized the problem and asked, "What day is it today?"
The servant replied honestly, "September 8th."
Before his voice had even faded, the old idle fish all rolled over in shock, exclaiming and shouting, "What?! September 8th! Impossible! Impossible!"
"I rember when we went to visit, oh no—inspect, or actually just to find that kid Wang Jiu, it was the 5th?!"
"That's right, that's right, it was indeed the 5th. How did it suddenly beco the 8th?! Ti travel?"
"Ti travel, my foot! Clearly, it's because you old guys were so absorbed in solving problems that you lost track of ti!"
"Li, have you no sha? You were the one most engrossed!"
"Aren't you surnad Li too?!"
Seeing that the old idle fish were about to start fighting over this, the quick-witted young servant hurriedly changed the subject, "Right now, there's a bet duel between Mr. Wang Jiu and the Chief Instructor at the Inner Sect's Qianhai arena."
The old masters were stunned upon hearing this and imdiately rembered that the date of the duel between Wang Jiu and Li Tingshu was indeed the 8th, which was today!
"The competition's already started?! Why didn't anyone notify us?!"
Shouting all the while, the group of old masters impatiently hurried toward the Qianhai arena together.
——
The so-called Qianhai arena is a welfare facility crafted by Li Family's ancestor, Li Qianhai, during his pri years for the inner sect cultivators—a highly controlled Grotto Heaven Blessed Land. Although not vast in space, its internal gravity, air, and Spiritual Power elents can all be regulated externally to shape various cultivation—or battle—environnts for the cultivators.
The Qianhai arena is considered the most lavish training ground within the Li Family Mansion's inner sect configuration and is generally not activated. However, the bet duel between Wang Jiu and Li Tingshu was a rare major event recently, so the Qianhai arena was activated for Li Chaolu and Li Qingshuang to compete.
When the old idle fish arrived at the arena, they were relieved to find that the match had not officially begun. Both sides were already present, and the three young girls, Li Chaolu, Li Qingshuang, and Li Junyi, seed a bit nervous, their bodies slightly stiff. The arena's surroundings were crowded with spectators, including not only the younger mbers of the inner sect but also hundreds of disciples and instructors from the outer sect, all eager to watch the excitent. In mid-air, the judges' stand was already occupied, with the presiding referee being none other than Lu Xin, who currently managed the inner sect.
Beside Lu Xin sat another person, her close friend, and the prominent theorist and bestselling author of the Li Family, Li Jinglun.
Imdiately, one of the old n was dissatisfied and said, "Lu Xin, as the Inner Mansion's matron, despite her chaotic cultivation, has a keen eye and is impartial, making her suitable as a referee. But why is Jinglun sitting on the judging panel as well?!"
Another old man was furious: "Who set up this judging platform? Why are the seats on both sides the sa height when Jinglun is clearly half a head taller than Lu Xin? Can't they distinguish the primary from the secondary?!"
Lu Xin, her face slightly flushed, quickly explained, "Jinglun is serving as the comntator."
Li Jinglun, also looking embarrassed, defended himself, "Uncles, I was inford recently that I would serve as the official comntator for the upcoming Cyan Cloud competition. I thought to find an opportunity to practice first for such a grand event."
"The Cyan Cloud competition has an official comntary?! What kind of convention is this?"
Lu Xin explained on behalf of her friend, "During the last competition, towards the later stages, although the disciples were of shallow realm, they all used their trump card skills, which were quite remarkable. However, many in the audience with diocre cultivation or none at all failed to see what was going on, so they said all kinds of things, including accusations of rigging the competition and cheating."
An old master scoffed, "Why bother about such mundane views? They can't affect the competition's outco. Would the Holy Sect Envoys care about the opinions of mortals?"
Lu Xin sighed, "Of course, it can't affect the competition's outco. But the tickets for the competition are sold to these ordinary folks, and organizing the Cyan Cloud competition each year is costly, with ticket sales being a crucial inco source."
...
Lu Xin sighed again, "Moreover, there's advertising revenue. The Cyan Cloud competition attracts nurous sponsors each year, and the competition's fairness is of utmost importance. So even mundane opinions can't be ignored. As a result, the decision-makers in QingCyan City have decided to appoint soone seasoned and eloquent as the comntator for this competition to explain the participants' subtleties right away, avoiding any dia frenzy below."
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