Chapter 142: Questioning

Jiang Fan?

A moment of deathly silence fell over the entire venue, followed by an uproar far louder than before!

“Who’s the first-place winner? Jiang Fan?”“That disciple with no spiritual root?”“He killed eight Foundation Establishment realm demonic beasts?”“That’s absurd!”

No one had expected Jiang Fan, a disciple no one paid attention to, to be in first place. It was well-known that before their departure, Liu Wenchen hadn't even provided him with any resources. It was already considered a feat for him to return unscathed. How could he possibly have slain eight Foundation Establishment realm demonic beasts?

Even unrelated disciples expressed such strong doubts. It was easy to imagine what Tang Tianlong was thinking! Upon hearing that Jiang Fan was the top winner, he froze for a long moment, then burst into laughter, looking up at the sky:

“Haha! Jiang Fan! It’s actually Jiang Fan!”“Am I, Tang Tianlong, inferior to Jiang Fan?”“Hahahaha!”

His laughter drowned out the entire venue. Everyone could hear the suppressed rage in his voice. If it had been anyone else, it might have been acceptable. But it had to be Jiang Fan! The very good-for-nothing he disdained to even compare himself to! To place him above himself—what an utter humiliation!

After a moment of stunned silence, Feng Guchan also erupted in anger: “Liu Wenchen! No wonder you were being so secretive! So you pushed your own disciple to first place! Fine! You want to suppress my Samsara Peak? I accept that! But at least pick a decent disciple! Do you think it’s convincing to put someone with no spiritual root above my disciple, huh?!”

The various elders also looked speechless. Even Wen Hongyao couldn't help but murmur, “Sect Master Liu is being too ambitious, isn’t he? Young Jiang is skilled in alchemy, but with his martial arts strength, how could he possibly hold the top spot? Isn’t this just making Jiang Fan look bad?”

Hearing the widespread doubts, Liu Wenchen’s face was flushed with frustration. He retorted irritably, “I didn’t arrange for Jiang Fan to be first! He earned it himself!”

Not arranged by Liu Wenchen? Everyone looked at Jiang Fan in astonishment.

“His audacity is too great, isn't it? Openly cheating to claim first place?”“If you’re going to cheat, at least make it believable for your own strength!”“To place himself above Tang Tianlong—how naive is he to think no one would suspect?”

Some of the more attractive female disciples, seeing the beautiful Chen Siling, began speaking in sarcastic tones.“What was she thinking, marrying a good-for-nothing who can't even cheat properly as a concubine?”“What a waste of such a peerless beauty!”“She’s so pretty, but too bad her judgment is poor.”

Chen Siling bit her lip. Despite her continuous explanations, the voices of condemnation swallowed her words, leaving her unable to defend herself. Her face turned ashen with shame and indignation!

Jiang Fan frowned slightly. Slandering him was fine. But involving Chen Siling, he could not tolerate. He wrapped an arm around Chen Siling's waist, pulling her protectively into his embrace, and glared around, declaring: “Even if it was cheating, that just shows I have the ability to bribe the Enforcement Hall deacon to publicly fake the ranking! Which of you can do that? You? Or you? Or all of you? If you can't, then all of you shut up!”

His overbearing words shook the surroundings. The boisterous venue suddenly fell silent. Many female disciples gritted their teeth in anger but had no words to retort. Because Jiang Fan was right: to make the Enforcement Hall deacon cheat in front of the Sect Master, the elders, and countless disciples—how much power would that require?

Within the crowd, Xu Yining tightly clenched her fists. Watching Chen Siling being held tightly by Jiang Fan, as he stood alone against the entire sect, her jealousy peaked. She couldn't help but speak up, “That sounds so good! But cheating is cheating! How can you be ranked above Tang Tianlong?”

Jiang Fan looked at her indifferently. “Because I killed more beasts than he did! Any problem with that?”

Upon hearing these words, Tang Tianlong roared with laughter, “Jiang Fan, Jiang Fan! You’re being pointed at by a thousand fingers and scorned by everyone, yet you’re still trying to argue! Do you think you can bluff your way through this today? Let me tell you! Impossible!”

He strode over to the Enforcement Hall deacon. With a glance, he found the pouch Jiang Fan had just handed in. He snatched it up, held it high in the air, and sneered, “All the evidence of your cheating is in this pouch! Still want to argue?”

He had thought Jiang Fan would hesitate, worried about consequences. Unexpectedly, Jiang Fan's gaze remained calm: “With a clear conscience, why would I need to argue?”

At a time like this, still talking tough? Tang Tianlong laughed in anger, yanked open the drawstring of the pouch, and declared loudly: “Fine! Since you’re not afraid of embarrassment, I’ll grant your wish! Let the Sect Master, the elders, and all the disciples see the ugly truth of a Sect Master’s Peak disciple like you!”

Feng Guchan naturally didn't miss the chance to seize the moment. Striking hard at Liu Wenchen, he said, “All of you, take a good look. See what our good Sect Master’s disciple uses to fool us!”

Liu Wenchen couldn't help but rub his face. He shot an exasperated glance at Jiang Fan! Was this fellow trying to completely disgrace him, and the entire Sect Master’s Peak?

As Tang Tianlong flipped his wrist, the pouch turned upside down. One by one, round objects tumbled out, falling onto the ground with crisp clinking sounds. Tang Tianlong didn't even glance, sneering, “You all see, right? This is the masterpiece of our Sect Master’s Peak disciple! Using rocks as demonic cores? How dare he pull such a stunt!”

Hahahaha... haha... ha...

His laughter slowly died down. Because, as the contents fell to the ground, everyone's expression, without exception, changed dramatically! Liu Wenchen's eyes widened in disbelief. Xu Yining's pretty eyes were wide open. The disciples’ faces froze. The pretty female disciples covered their mouths, letting out low gasps. Even his own master, Feng Guchan, had a rigid, aged face, staring blankly at the items on the ground.

Tang Tianlong paused, then muttered, “What’s wrong with all of you?” He followed everyone's gaze, instinctively glancing at the items that had fallen. In his mind, they were just some common stones passed off as something else. But to his shock, on the ground were colorful, egg-sized orbs. Each one contained abundant demonic power. If not fresh demonic cores, then what were they?

“Demonic... demonic cores?”

Tang Tianlong's mind went blank. What Jiang Fan brought back were indeed demonic cores—a full eight of them! The Enforcement Hall deacon had not cheated. Jiang Fan had not cheated either! He truly was the first-place winner!

The entire venue fell as silent as a tomb. The earlier doubts felt like loud slaps echoing across their faces. The Enforcement Hall deacon finally had a chance to speak, saying with a wry smile: “Even if you gave me a hundred times the courage, I wouldn’t dare help a junior disciple deceive the Sect Master and all the elders! How great a benefit would he have to give me for me to take such a risk?”

Everyone came back to their senses. Their expressions were awkward. Feng Guchan, who had been the most vociferous earlier, immediately became quiet and docile. He didn't utter a single sound. As for Tang Tianlong, who had “exposed” him, his face was flushed crimson. So, the person hadn't cheated after all. He had genuinely surpassed him. Recalling his earlier arrogant words, he wished he could find a hole to crawl into! He had thoroughly disgraced himself today!

Yet, he still couldn't accept the fact that he was inferior to Jiang Fan, and retorted stubbornly: “Who knows where these demonic cores came from? Maybe you bought them, and they're not even from the demonic beasts hunted during this expedition!”

This statement allowed many embarrassed disciples to comfort themselves. “Exactly, it just means Jiang Fan's cheating method was more subtle.” “It’s not that he didn't cheat; it’s just that we can't prove he did!”

Hearing this, Jiang Fan smiled. Still defiant! Fortunately, he still had a trick up his sleeve! He walked up to the Enforcement Hall deacon. He placed a massive, fist-sized demonic core in front of him, and announced loudly, “Deacon, please tell everyone... what this is!”