The next day.
The central plaza of Chizhang City.
Compared to yesterday, the atmosphere here was much more subdued.
This was because the cultivators from other regions had not appeared.
Clearly, after observing yesterday, they had a general understanding of the standards of the academies in the Southern Region and had lost interest in watching further.
In truth, their reason for coming was not a noble one.
The Southern Region had been causing too much of a stir lately, with the birth of a new king and the suspected appearance of a divine artifact. These individuals, unable to find any clues about the divine artifact in the Southern Region, had come to Chizhang City to gather information.
Otherwise, why would they be willing to associate with what they considered "Southern barbarians"?
With the cultivators from other regions gone, so were their sycophants, naturally leading to a quieter scene.
Ji Mo felt much better. He disliked seeing a group of arrogant individuals looking down on others from the stands, with a swarm of fawning followers trying their best to please them.
Under the covert manipulation of the Tang family, Langya Academy's opponent today was Jiga Academy, ranked thirty-ninth.
"The Tang family has gone too far. While it's customary for the preliminary rounds to pit strong teams against weak ones, arranging Jiga to face your Langya is simply unreasonable."
"Exactly. To accommodate weaker academies and prevent them from losing too badly, the difference in strength between the two sides shouldn't be too vast. Now, to arrange Jiga against Langya is blatant bullying!"
"Moreover, Jiga Academy has always been ruthless and vicious. Yesterday, their opponents had their limbs broken and suffered greatly."
"Miss Song, in my opinion, it would be best for you to concede, to spare your students from suffering."
The elders from several allied academies had come to cheer for Langya Academy.
Upon learning that their opponent was Jiga Academy, they all felt indignant on behalf of Langya and then kindly advised Song Weixi to forfeit the match.
Since victory was impossible, why let their students be brutalized by the opponents?
Song Weixi was naturally aware of Jiga Academy's reputation, and there was even a past grievance with them.
A few years ago, Jiga Academy's ranking was not as high as it was now. Langya Academy had clashed with them in a championship match.
As a result, Langya Academy had lost miserably, and one of their promising students had been crippled in the process. Song Weixi had not forgotten this feud.
"Excellent. Old grudges and new ones, it's time to settle the score with Jiga Academy."
How could Song Weixi concede? She was eager for such an opportunity for revenge.
She immediately instructed Lin Mengmeng and the other two to show no mercy and to teach Jiga Academy a lesson.
"A lesson must certainly be taught, but we mustn't reveal our full strength. A narrow victory will suffice," Ji Mo said, offering a reminder.
A narrow victory?
Song Weixi was somewhat perplexed. Yesterday, so many people had mocked Langya Academy, and she had been holding back a lot of frustration.
Today was a perfect opportunity to display their strength and shut those people up. Why should they hide their abilities?
Xuan Yang, with a flash of insight, immediately understood Ji Mo's intention and nodded, "Sir, your student understands. By hiding our strength and securing a narrow victory against Jiga Academy, we can continue to quietly amass wealth."
Song Weixi, Lin Mengmeng, and Wang Wenjian finally realized. So, it was to continue fleecing money from the Tang family's gambling house.
The academy elders nearby listened, utterly bewildered. What did they mean by a narrow victory? Hiding their strength?
From their words, it sounded like Langya intended to play the underdog and then strike, but did they have the capability? This was Jiga, ranked thirty-ninth!
Just then, a group of over a dozen people from Jiga Academy appeared.
There were as many as ten participating students, accompanied by a physician.
This was the configuration of a true participating team, with sufficient substitute students to guard against unforeseen circumstances and a physician to provide escort. In case of injuries or accidents during the match, they could respond calmly.
In contrast, Langya Academy only had three participants. According to the best-of-five match format, this was barely enough.
If someone were injured or an accident occurred, and their numbers were insufficient, they would even lose the qualification to compete.
The Jiga group swaggered over, showing no intention of greeting anyone. They didn't even bother to glance at Langya, as they clearly didn't regard Langya Academy as a threat.
They had no pre-match strategy and did not intend to deploy their main students. They casually sent out their three weakest substitutes, confident that they were more than enough to sweep aside Langya.
In the distance.
Tang Heng, the steward of the Tang family, stood high on the viewing platform with his hands behind his back, gazing at them with a mocking expression.
He had already learned the details of the situation from Tang Sanqin.
Initially, he had insulted Langya Academy with ten taels of silver, only for them to use it as gambling stakes and fleece the Tang family's gambling house in return.
Since the matter originated with him, he would be the one to deal with Langya.
Therefore, Tang Heng had secretly manipulated events, arranging Jiga as Langya's opponent, and had also hinted to Jiga Academy that they need not hold back during the match, regardless of life or death.
The prestige of the Tang family was not to be trifled with by any commoner. Langya Academy had to pay the price for this.
On the battle stage, the referee signaled to both Langya and Jiga that the match could begin.
From Langya's side, Lin Mengmeng leaped up, her skirt fluttering, and landed gracefully on the battle stage.
She appeared very low-key, deliberately concealing the aura of her "Town Heaven Hegemon Body," not wanting to reveal her true strength.
"Hmph, a woman. I, Wan Hao, love to beat women. I enjoy hearing their pitiful screams of pain."
A student from Jiga Academy leaped high and landed heavily on the stage. A pair of inverted triangle eyes flowed with a beast-like glint.
This person was psychologically twisted and enjoyed beating women, especially cute and innocent-looking ones like Lin Mengmeng, which ignited his inner ferocity.
Such a delicate woman, a single punch would surely make her whimper for a long time.
If her limbs were broken, the painful cries would surely be incredibly pleasant to hear.
"The match begins."
The referee's command rang out.
Wan Hao was incredibly excited. Like a hungry wolf, he lunged directly at Lin Mengmeng, his fist carrying the sound of wind and thunder, aimed straight at her face.
The referee beside them frowned. The girl from Langya Academy was so adorable. This brute from Jiga Academy was truly unmanly, always aiming for her face. What if he disfigured her? That was too vicious.
However, as the referee, he could not intervene and could only fret anxiously.
Boom!
With a deafening sound, the spot where Lin Mengmeng stood was showered with flying debris, but she was no longer there.
"You're running fast, but you won't be able to dodge the next move."
Wan Hao grinned, his inverted triangle eyes flashing with malicious intent. Missing with his first strike made him feel somewhat disgraced.
After all, as a substitute, he didn't have many opportunities to perform. Now, he couldn't even hit a student from the most trashy Langya Academy, which would lead to him being looked down upon.
He let out an angry roar, his body turning into afterimages, his fists like wind, and layers upon layers of fist imprints assailed Lin Mengmeng.
Wan Hao's strength was indeed not bad, and his boxing techniques were also quite skillful.
Unfortunately, he just couldn't hit her.
Lin Mengmeng, like a butterfly dancing among flowers, moved with the wind, easily evading Wan Hao's attacks.
She did not counterattack because Ji Mo had told her to win narrowly. She was afraid that if she didn't control her strength, she might kill Wan Hao with a single punch.
Wan Hao, like a mad dog, chased Lin Mengmeng, attacking relentlessly. After several rounds, he was panting heavily, his face turning green, and he roared, "Why are you running? Have the guts to fight me!"
"I'm afraid I can't control myself and will kill you with one punch."
Lin Mengmeng was very honest and spoke her mind.
"Kill me with one punch?"
Wan Hao felt this was the greatest insult. How dare a trashy woman speak so boastfully? She was courting death.
He gritted his teeth and said, "I'll stand here and not move. If you have the ability, come and kill me with one punch."
To prove his words were not false, he actually stopped moving and stood motionless.
But in his heart, he harbored a wicked thought: as soon as Lin Mengmeng got close, he would unhesitatingly break her legs, and then see how this wretched woman would run.
"Then, I'm going to make a move."
Lin Mengmeng took delicate steps and charged towards Wan Hao.