"Feels so good—if only they lost every match," Xie Yue said to Elder Lu with a smile.
Elder Lu had been holding in his anger for days, so seeing something so satisfying was a relief. He knew that Ethereal Sanctuary was basically part of the Yang Clan—if they lost, it would definitely be good news.
So he smiled and said, "That's right."
Secretly, Yang Han muttered to himself, "You two... let's see if you're still so happy after your own matches."
The second match continued, and once again, Ethereal Sanctuary's team lost.
No one could believe what was happening, but the fact was, Ethereal Sanctuary's representatives lost in the Earth-Immortal group.
Next up was the Heavenly-Immortal group, and just like the Earth-Immortal group, the first two out of three contestants had already lost.
Seeing the Heavenly-Immortal group lose, Nangong Palace Lord couldn't sit still and cursed, "Damn it, what's wrong with these people?"
"No idea. Are they all cultivating qi? Why is everyone so good at manipulating it?" Yang Tian wondered suspiciously.
Nangong Palace Lord didn't care if it was qi or not; he was just furious. Soon, the Heavenly-Immortal group lost as well.
When the contestants came down, Nangong Palace Lord scolded them harshly. Seeing his expression, Xie Yue and Elder Lu were secretly delighted, and Yang Han even more so. If he could laugh, he'd be cracking up, thinking, "Serves you right!"
After the Heavenly-Immortal group, it was the Profound-Immortal group's turn.
Just like before, even the Immortal-Lord group ended up the same way. Nangong Palace Lord was completely losing it—all matches lost, and he was so angry he was practically jumping. "If this keeps up, there's no hope of even advancing!"
That's right—if Ethereal Sanctuary keeps this up, forget about fighting for the top spots; even making it into the top ten would be a miracle.
After all, the contest rules stated that only teams with enough points could advance, then rankings would be decided. If they didn't even have enough points to qualify, how could they rank? They'd be eliminated outright.
This made Nangong Palace Lord furious. Other sects and families crowded around him for answers, since they'd staked their assets on Flowcloud Star. If they lost, they'd be ruined.
"Nangong Palace Lord, didn't you promise us you'd definitely win?" someone asked.
Nangong Palace Lord was in a foul mood and replied, "The contest isn't over yet, so what's the rush?"
"How can we not worry? If the next round ends up like today, we'll be eliminated for sure," the man said gloomily, and the others echoed his concern.
Nangong Palace Lord felt the same way. If they lost again, only teams with enough points could advance, and the rest would be eliminated.
Thinking about all this, Nangong Palace Lord was more anxious than anyone. He had contributed the most planets, and never expected to lose so much on the very first day.
To calm down, Nangong Palace Lord sent everyone away, then paced back and forth in his own quarters.
"Stop pacing—it's useless," Yang Tian said.
"Young Master Yang, I'm just worried," Nangong Palace Lord sighed.
"Isn't there still one more round to decide who advances?" Yang Tian replied.
"But if the next round ends up as another total wipeout..." Nangong Palace Lord said, worried.
"Next round shouldn't be that tragic. Maybe they're all just cultivating qi?" Yang Tian said.
"Even so, today was way too weird. Were all those people cultivating qi? Every one of our people got bounced off," Nangong Palace Lord said, frustrated.
"At first I thought someone was secretly cheating, so I checked, but found no other auras—only the contestants' own," Yang Tian said.
"That's strange," Nangong Palace Lord said, suspicious.
"Don't worry about it. Just wait for the next round," Yang Tian said. Though he said this, he wasn't confident either, but it wasn't his problem—he only cared about the final contest, not these wins or losses.
But Nangong Palace Lord was anxious; the last round only involved a hundred planets, not enough to divide up. If they didn't advance, it meant losing every planet—everything would go down the drain.
But worrying was pointless; all he could do was fret. So he called the twelve contestants together, ordering them to train their techniques intensively over the next few days to win in the next round.
The twelve were all depressed—today's events had hit them hard. But there was nothing else to do except reflect and figure out how to handle things if the same happened again next time.
Elsewhere, Xie Yue and Elder Lu were overjoyed. Seeing them laugh so happily, Xie Xiaoyuan—who was still tied up—couldn't help but ask, "What's got you two so happy?"
"What's this? You want to talk to us now?" Xie Yue asked. Ever since Xie Yue and the others fell out with Yang Tian, Xie Xiaoyuan had stopped talking to them, but seeing them so happy, she couldn't resist speaking up.
Xie Xiaoyuan pouted. "Can't I even ask?"
"Fine, I'll tell you," Xie Yue laughed, then explained everything that happened today to Xie Xiaoyuan.
When Xie Xiaoyuan finished listening, she smiled as well. "Really? They lost every match?"
"That's right. Total defeat—now everyone is mocking them," Xie Yue said.
"That's great! If the Yang Clan lost like that, I'd dance and cheer with my whole body," Xie Xiaoyuan laughed.
"Come on, the Yang Clan is full of elites—they're always first or second. There's no way they'd lose that badly," Xie Yue shook his head.
Elder Lu could only sigh at Xie Yue's words. "That's right—the Yang Clan isn't ordinary."
"So what? Even if they're elites, everyone slips up sometimes," Xie Xiaoyuan said.
"Not likely," Xie Yue insisted.
"You're just boosting their morale and killing your own," Xie Xiaoyuan retorted.
Xie Yue and Elder Lu understood Xie Xiaoyuan's mood, so they didn't say much. Just as they were about to leave, Xie Xiaoyuan called out, "Let me go."
"No way," Xie Yue replied.
"You're still guarding against me? I said I won't go kill him, okay?" Xie Xiaoyuan promised.
"Your word isn't trustworthy," Xie Yue said.
"Dad, you don't even trust your own daughter?" Xie Xiaoyuan complained.
"That's just how it is. Don't I know your personality?" Xie Yue sighed.
"I just want to watch the matches, okay?" Xie Xiaoyuan said.
"Watch the matches?" Xie Yue asked, suspicious.
"Really! If you don't believe me, I'll stay glued to your side the whole time, okay? I just want to see their angry faces when they lose—it's so satisfying."
Xie Yue and Elder Lu exchanged a glance, then Xie Yue said, "Fine, but remember what you said. If you leave my side even half a step, you'll deal with the consequences yourself."
"Deal, deal," Xie Xiaoyuan said.
So Xie Yue untied Xie Xiaoyuan and took her away. Since there were no more Ethereal Sanctuary matches, Xie Xiaoyuan and the others weren't interested, but seeing Nangong Palace Lord and Yang Tian sitting on the field made them angry.
A few times, Xie Xiaoyuan wanted to rush over and curse them out, but Xie Yue stopped her.
Until one day, it was Ethereal Sanctuary's turn again. Nangong Palace Lord knew that no matter what, they couldn't lose today—or they'd have no more chances.
So as soon as the match started, strict orders were given: anyone who lost would face severe punishment. Faced with such consequences, everyone became alert and prepared to fight desperately.
So in the first match, an Earth Immortal glared at his opponent, unleashing his full strength in attack.
His opponent was immediately pushed back, but Yang Han, standing behind him, smiled and said, "Let me give you a hand."
A powerful aura, masked by the treasure Xie Xiaoyuan had given, shielded his own energy and directly bounced the Ethereal Sanctuary contestant away.
Seeing the opportunity, the opponent remembered that Ethereal Sanctuary contestants had suffered similar setbacks before, so he attacked without hesitation.
The Ethereal Sanctuary contestant stopped immediately. After days of training, he was prepared—he steadied himself, clenched his fists, and braced for the attack.
"Too bad—he didn't get knocked out," Xie Xiaoyuan sighed.
On the other side, Nangong Palace Lord wiped his brow. "I thought it was going to be like last time."
"Don't scare yourself," Yang Tian said.
"I can't help it. If we lose everything today, we'll really have no chance," Nangong Palace Lord replied.
Yang Tian understood what Nangong Palace Lord meant. He didn't feel the same way—he only cared about his own matches, and if necessary, he'd just take the planets he wanted from his victories.
As soon as he finished speaking, the crowd booed. The Ethereal Sanctuary disciple who had braced himself was still knocked out by a single punch.
The winner looked shocked. "Since when was my punch so strong? I can send someone of the same level flying?"
"Damn it!" Nangong Palace Lord stood up in a rage.
The thing he dreaded most happened: Ethereal Sanctuary lost the first match. Nangong Palace Lord scolded the contestant harshly, even threatening, "I'll deal with you after the tournament."
The contestant wasn't hurt, but was terrified. The rest went up, also filled with anxiety.
But the outcome was the same—everyone found it hard to believe Ethereal Sanctuary could be so weak.
How could their contestants lose every match? Not a single victory—no other sect had ever set such a record.
Ethereal Sanctuary became the first. Their faction instantly erupted, and everyone confronted Nangong Palace Lord.
Nangong Palace Lord shouted, "We'll discuss this later!"
After his outburst, everyone quieted down. Nangong Palace Lord found Xie Yue and said, "Emperor Xie Yue, I feel like something's off."
Xie Xiaoyuan, still excited, said, "What's off? You're not going to deny your loss, are you?"
"If we truly lost, I'll accept it. But don't you think something's strange? No matter what, it's impossible for us to lose every match!" Nangong Palace Lord insisted.
Yang Tian stood beside Nangong Palace Lord. He didn't say anything, but he knew something was odd—just no proof.
"What do you think is wrong, Nangong Palace Lord?" Xie Yue asked.
"Feels like someone's playing us!" Nangong Palace Lord said.
"Playing you? Where's your evidence? If everyone thought like you, how could there ever be a tournament?" Xie Xiaoyuan scoffed.