Chapter 122: A Large-Scale Recognition Scene
Just then, a graceful figure draped in a white cloak and wearing a silver half-mask ran out from the Clear Sky Sect's resting area. She moved quickly, her light blue dress fluttering, and planted herself in front of the fallen Tang Hao. She quickly approached Qin Xuan, her voice sweet but laced with a defiant tremor.
"Let go of my Brother Hao! You're not allowed to insult him!"
"What did I insult him about, little sister?" Qin Xuan glanced at the young girl, his gaze indifferent. He immediately recognized her identity; it was Tang Yuehua.
"Who are you calling 'little sister'? I'm not your sister. I'm Brother Hao's sister," Tang Yuehua said. A slight blush appeared on her masked face as she pouted, a gesture that was playfully defiant despite the terrifying situation.
Qin Xuan let out an 'oh' and looked back at the struggling Tang Hao, who was still pinned to the ground by the crushing, invisible weight of the Suzaku Domain.
"It seems our so-called 'Clear Sky Sect's top genius in a hundred years' is nothing special after all," Qin Xuan said, his voice carrying across the silent arena. "To be precise, he's famous for nothing. He loses, and he even needs his little sister to run out and beg for his life."
Tang Yuehua argued, her voice rising, "You're talking nonsense! Brother Hao isn't like that at all!"
"Yuehua, what are you doing here? It's dangerous! Go back now!" Tang Hao reprimanded, his face purple with the strain of both the domain's pressure and his own humiliation.
"No, Brother Hao, he just showed killing intent towards you! If I leave, he'll kill you!" Tang Yuehua worried, her intuition sharp.
[System Profile: [Daughter of the Clear Sky Sect Master, younger sister of Tang Hao and Tang Xiao, Tang Yuehua. Spirit: Ruyi Ring. Innate Domain: Noble Ring. Spirit Power: Level 9. Talent: ???. Affection: 55 (Dislikes)]]
She's a goddess target? Interesting.
"Didn't your Brother Hao show killing intent towards me?" Qin Xuan countered, his voice reasonable. "Did he not want to kill me? When he hammered my head just now, he showed no mercy at all."
He glanced at Tang Yuehua's panel and silently thought, "Bind."
[Ding! Binding successful. Congratulations to the host for successfully binding the goddess Tang Yuehua.]
"System, can't Tang Hao be bound?" Qin Xuan silently asked.
[Ding! This opposing character does not meet the criteria for a 'big sucker'.]
Qin Xuan clicked his tongue. He then remembered that in the original work, Tang Yuehua had a one-sided crush on someone else, while Tang Hao always treated her as his sister. It seemed that to bind Tang Hao, and even Tang Xiao, these two 'big suckers', he would have to wait until Ah Yin appeared.
"I..." Tang Yuehua was speechless upon hearing Qin Xuan's words. She couldn't deny that her brother had been the one to issue the challenge and had attacked with full force.
And just then, Tang Xiao walked over, his face a grim mask. "Yuehua, come back with me quickly." He had been careless for a single moment, and his sister had slipped onto the stage.
"No! I won't go back unless he lets go of Brother Hao!" Tang Yuehua was, after all, a girl not yet 16. Excluding her 'love-struck' nature in the original work, though intelligent, she was exceptionally stubborn.
By this point, she was no longer afraid of being ridiculed. Compared to Tang Hao's life, nothing else mattered.
"You say let go, and I let go? Wouldn't that make me lose face?" Qin Xuan's voice dripped with mockery. "Unless... you admit that the Clear Sky Sect is a sore loser. Or, perhaps, you can admit he is the Clear Sky Sect's once-in-a-century... trash."
The last sentence was directed at Tang Hao.
Tang Xiao shielded Tang Yuehua, his face grim. He said, "Isn't Your Second Majesty a bit too overbearing?"
"What if I am overbearing?" Qin Xuan scoffed, his voice rising to address the entire arena. "Is your Clear Sky Sect not overbearing? Challenging me by name, then refusing to admit defeat when you lose? And now, sending a young girl with no Spirit Power to mediate? Is this what you call the 'World's Number One Sect'?"
His words echoed in the stunned silence.
"Your Second Majesty, how exactly can you let my Hao'er go?" An old, deep, and heavy voice echoed from the Clear Sky Sect's platform. It was Tang Tian, his face dark as a storm cloud.
"My terms are simple," Qin Xuan said, looking up at the Sect Master. "Either admit defeat. Or admit you're a piece of trash. Or a coward will do."
He then smiled, a bright, cruel smile. "Then, perhaps, I can let Tang Hao go for the sake of your precious little daughter. Who told your Tang Clan people that they can't afford to lose!"
Qin Xuan looked at Tang Tian, his gaze unwavering.
Upon hearing this, Tang Tian, though visibly shaking with anger, knew he couldn't provoke Qin Xuan. He looked to the Supreme Pontiff, Qian Xunji, and found that he had already turned into a 'fun-seeker,' looking completely schadenfreude, with no intention of stopping Qin Xuan at all.
Qian Xunji disliked Qin Xuan, and had even wanted to kill him at one point, but he would never choose to help the Clear Sky Sect.
In his helplessness, Tang Tian could only tell Tang Hao to admit defeat. "Hao'er, admit defeat." Admitting defeat was better than being labeled trash or a coward.
"No, Father! I haven't even had a chance to unleash the true power of the Clear Sky Sect! Admit defeat? I'm not willing!" Tang Hao gritted his teeth, his face a mask of fury.
"It seems you still want to fight me again," Qin Xuan said mockingly.
"That's right," Tang Hao stated in a deep voice.
"What if you lose again?" Qin Xuan continued to ask.
"Then I'll be convinced," Tang Hao said as a matter of course.
"Truly hopeless." Qin Xuan no longer paid attention to Tang Hao. He looked instead at Tang Tian. "Haotian Sect Master, it seems your precious son is beyond saving. Take my advice, let me help you kill him, and while your sword is still sharp, have another one."
Tang Tian, Tang Hao, Tang Xiao, and all the male Spirit Masters present were stunned.
Tang Yuehua, on the other hand, blushed.
As for Bibi Dong on the VIP platform, she had long been covering her mouth and secretly snickering at Qin Xuan's audacious actions.
"Your Second Majesty, please tell us what you plan to do with Hao'er," Tang Tian said in a deep voice.
"Nothing much. Your Clear Sky Sect and my Spirit Hall are considered old friends, and you and my 'Big Brother' Qian Xunji are of the same generation." Qin Xuan's voice was light and reasonable.
"Strictly speaking, Tang Hao should call me 'Uncle' his whole life. Naturally, I won't make things difficult for Nephew Tang Hao. He just needs to call me 'Uncle' after losing to me. That's not too much, is it?" Qin Xuan said with a smile.
"Pfft," a chuckle escaped from the audience stands.
A large, burly man stood up from the Elephant Armored Sect's delegation. "Your Second Majesty is right! Tang Hao should indeed call Your Second Majesty 'Uncle'! Losing and calling him 'Uncle' isn't too much!"
The speaker was Hu Yanzhen, the young Sect Master of the Elephant Armored Sect, the 'iron-headed fool' in the original work who would one day try to take Tang San's Sea God's Trident with his head.
He had long been annoyed that the Clear Sky Sect, Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, and Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan had consecutively dominated the Upper Three Sects for two sessions.
He was just frustrated that his Sect had no one who had advanced to Titled Douluo, so they couldn't win.
Now, seeing the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School and Clear Sky Sect being played around with by Qin Xuan, this "Second Majesty" had become an idol in his heart.
"Right, right! Tang Hao, you good-for-nothing who can't afford to lose, hurry up and call Your Second Majesty 'Uncle'!" With the first one, there would naturally be a second.
For a moment, the originally solemn Sect Competition, even before it began, was turned into a large-scale family recognition scene by Qin Xuan.
Tang Tian's face twitched. "Not too much, not too much." Not too much my foot! Hao'er is more than ten years older than you; it's more like you should call Hao'er 'Uncle'!
"Did you hear that? My good nephew, Elder Brother Tang Tian has already agreed. Are you sure you still want to challenge me?" Qin Xuan said with a smiling face.
"Bah! Who are you calling 'nephew'? How dare you be of the same generation as my father?" Upon hearing this, Tang Hao's temper flared instantly. "If you lose, then what?"
In his heart, he had always looked down on Spirit Hall, looked down on Qin Xuan, and even looked down on Qian Daoliu. He believed Qian Daoliu to be his grandfather's defeated opponent, not worthy of being compared to his grandfather at all.
Now, for Qin Xuan to call him 'nephew' was simply asking for death.
"Then I'll reluctantly be your brother-in-law," Qin Xuan put away his Changming Sword and chuckled softly, speaking only loud enough for Tang Hao, Tang Xiao, and Tang Yuehua to hear.
"Bastard! Big Brother, quickly take Yuehua away!" Tang Hao roared. He leaped backward to create distance from Qin Xuan, his 7th spirit ring lighting up instantly.
"Spirit Avatar!"
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