Chapter 81
[What a terrifying level of misunderstanding.]
[A perfectly decent young man—poor but ambitious—had been forcibly molded into a stingy disaster by his parents.]
[If those female cultivators ever learned the truth, they'd probably cry themselves to death.]
Lou Yuqing truly couldn't take it anymore.
The crowd silently agreed.
Who could possibly argue with that?
Even Luo Buqi's followers lowered their heads in shame. They genuinely couldn't bear meeting anyone's eyes anymore. This was too embarrassing.
Maybe... maybe they really should've tried harder to advise Senior Brother Luo back then.
But then again, they were only subordinates. Interfering in his personal affairs too much might've made him think they had ulterior motives. If that happened, they'd never be able to clear themselves of suspicion.
Under the countless strange looks directed his way, Luo Buqi's expression cycled through colors so rapidly it resembled a spilled paint tray—red, green, blue, purple, one after another, practically completing the entire rainbow.
At that moment, Gu Qinghong finally sensed something was off. His brows furrowed slightly.
He'd already noticed earlier that the two onstage were holding back during the fight, but now it was even more obvious.
Luo Buqi had suddenly frozen in place, yet Tan Sheng hadn't seized the opening to press him.
What exactly was going on?
Beside him, Xiao Siwen blinked in confusion. "Brother Qinghong, what's wrong?"
"Nothing," Gu Qinghong replied flatly.
There was no point explaining it to her. It would only lead to more questions, and he couldn't be bothered.
Meanwhile, in a secluded corner beneath the stage, Shen Lijun stared at Gu Qinghong and gave a disdainful snort.
"You already have a partner. Can't you keep your distance from other female cultivators?"
He made absolutely no effort to hide his hostility.
Gu Qinghong immediately noticed the sharp glare aimed at him. Seeing it came from an unfamiliar male disciple, confusion flickered across his face.
This person clearly had bad intentions.
Gu Qinghong had never been one to tolerate provocation. He coldly glared back at Shen Lijun before calmly turning away to continue watching the duel with Xiao Siwen.
Shen Lijun pursed his lips, fingers twitching with the urge to punch him.
But after slaving away for so many days, he'd finally gotten time off to attend the Seven Sects Tournament. Missing it over something like this would be a complete loss.
Besides...
Gu Qinghong had relied on that pretty face of his to catch Qiu Yan's attention. Shen Lijun absolutely had to keep an eye on him. Ideally, he'd dig up some dirt and expose his true colors in front of Qiu Yan so she'd completely give up on this ridiculous substitute idea.
Meanwhile, atop the dueling platform—
"Wait!"
The moment Luo Buqi pulled out a communication jade slip, Tan Sheng immediately sent a telepathic message to stop him.
"You can't contact your parents right now. That'll only make Fellow Daoist Lou suspicious. Wait until later to confirm things."
By now, Tan Sheng was almost fully convinced by Lou Yuqing's mysterious inner voice. This bizarre ability had completely overturned his understanding of the world.
Luo Buqi hesitated for a moment before reluctantly abandoning the idea.
But inside, his thoughts churned violently.
Had I really misunderstood everything all these years?
For the first time in a very long while, Luo Buqi felt utterly lost.
Clang!
The sharp crash of colliding weapons snapped him out of it.
Luo Buqi jerked his head up.
A massive yellow spear had pierced straight through the shield formed by his countless golden swords.
The weapon screamed through the air as cracks spread rapidly across the shield's surface, looking moments away from shattering entirely.
At the opposite end of the spear stood Tan Sheng, fingers locked in a hand seal as he calmly watched him.
"The thing you wanted to test already has its answer," Tan Sheng said evenly. "Now stop holding back and fight properly. Let's decide a winner."
Luo Buqi: "..."
Apparently even final judgments could be stingy.
He slowly exhaled a long breath, forcibly suppressing the chaos in his mind before focusing again.
"Fine," he said grimly. "Then come."
To him, reputation mattered.
But winning mattered too.
The clash of techniques atop the stage instantly intensified again.
Gu Qinghong nodded slightly to himself.
Now this looked like an actual fight.
The surrounding disciples finally snapped out of the earlier gossip storm and refocused excitedly on the duel.
Regardless of how questionable Luo Buqi's views on romance were, his strength was undeniably formidable.
And Tan Sheng, as his opponent, was equally impressive.
The level of combat between the two was already well above the average among the Seven Sects' younger generation. Watching them exchange blows was genuinely thrilling.
Unfortunately, Lou Yuqing's inner thoughts derailed the atmosphere again.
[Wait a second. Why does Luo Buqi even like Wu Fengshu?]
[Every single one of his previous "true loves" was the innocent, delicate type. They're nothing like Wu Fengshu's bold, fiery beauty.]
[How did his tastes suddenly change this drastically?]
A giant light screen instantly unfolded overhead.
Five separate images appeared simultaneously.
Each frame displayed one of Luo Buqi's former partners.
And without exception—every single woman looked almost identical.
Si Nidie raised a brow.
Something about this felt very wrong.
A person's preferences didn't just completely reverse overnight. Changes like that either happened gradually... or because of something significant.
Ling Yunxiao subconsciously glanced toward Luo Buqi.
Outwardly, the man remained calm and expressionless, as though none of this concerned him.
But instinctively, Ling Yunxiao felt there was definitely more beneath the surface.
Tan Sheng's expression darkened instantly.
His attacks became fiercer and fiercer.
No matter what, he absolutely had to destroy Luo Buqi's delusions regarding Shu'er.
Luo Buqi, who had been preparing to unleash a powerful magical artifact, suddenly found himself completely suppressed by the relentless barrage of attacks, losing the opportunity outright.
A sharp glint flashed through his eyes.
Abandoning the artifact, he instead circulated spiritual energy directly into his pupils.
In an instant, his black eyes deepened into something terrifyingly dark—as though they'd swallowed the purest darkness in existence.
The sight alone sent chills through the crowd.
"The Illusionary Eyes?!"
Tan Sheng's heart dropped. Realizing the danger, he immediately tried to shut his eyes—but he was a step too late.
In the instant before his eyelids closed, the world around him twisted violently.
When his vision cleared again, he was no longer standing on the battlefield.
Mountains of corpses stretched endlessly before him. Rivers of blood wound through the wasteland like scarlet veins, carrying a suffocating stench of death.
And at that exact moment—
[It's said that if cultivators with compatible physiques dual cultivate together, their cultivation speed can increase several times over.]
[Luo Buqi possesses the Illusionary Eyes, while Wu Fengshu has the Thousand Illusions Body.]
[Both of them have illusion-based constitutions, so Luo Buqi thought—]
Thought what?
Dual cultivation?!
The crowd collectively stared.
What the hell?!
This reason completely exceeded everyone's expectations.
If Luo Buqi merely preferred Wu Fengshu's appearance, that was one thing.
But targeting her for cultivation benefits?
That sounded disturbingly calculating.
And with Wu Fengshu's personality, there was no way she'd tolerate it.
Sure enough—Wu Fengshu's beautiful face twisted with fury.
Her gaze became razor sharp as she stared at Luo Buqi like she wanted to skin him alive.
So this bastard had actually been coveting my physique the entire time?!
Meanwhile, Luo Buqi himself remained perfectly calm.
What was wrong with dual cultivation? It clearly benefited both parties.
He wasn't practicing any yin-yang harvesting technique where one side suffered losses. Both cultivators would gain tremendous advantages.
If not for all those failed relationships breaking his heart repeatedly, he never would've realized that blindly chasing "true love" was foolish.
Nothing was more important than cultivation.
Unfortunately, Wu Fengshu had always remained cold toward him—sometimes outright resistant—which frustrated him endlessly. That was why he'd increased his efforts to pursue her.
Only to come out of secluded cultivation and discover someone else had gotten there first.
[Dual cultivate your ass! You're not even together yet!]
[You haven't even successfully courted her and you're already thinking this far ahead? Shameless!]
Lou Yuqing was genuinely speechless.
Thankfully, the gossip panel hadn't shown any signs that Luo Buqi planned to use dirty tricks on Wu Fengshu.
Otherwise she wouldn't have stopped at verbally roasting him.
The crowd quietly looked toward Luo Buqi again.
Luo Buqi: "..."
He immediately sent a furious voice transmission to his followers.
I am a gentleman, alright?!
Do you really take me for some kind of sinister villain?
I would never force a woman!
Besides, every one of my previous partners willingly fell for my charm!
The followers exchanged glances before silently nodding.
That part was true.
Other than being arrogant, obsessed with saving face, and catastrophically lacking emotional intelligence... Senior Brother Luo actually did have plenty of strengths.
He was powerful.
Loyal.
Generous—depending on the target.
Overall, his reputation within the sect was genuinely quite good.
Otherwise, no female cultivators would've willingly approached him in the first place.
Still...
Senior Brother Luo was definitely the kind of person best admired from afar.
Getting close to him required an exceptionally strong heart.
Even his followers had survived multiple rounds of elimination before successfully remaining by his side.
Their survival secret was simple: Praise him.
Whatever Senior Brother Luo wanted to hear, they praised.
Still, the dual cultivation thing...
Yeah.
That was admittedly a little shady.
Originally, they'd assumed Senior Brother Luo's aggressive pursuit of Wu Fengshu meant he'd finally encountered genuine love again.
After all, they'd never seen him this proactive before.
Completely unaware that even his own followers were beginning to question him, Luo Buqi continued focusing on the duel.
On the other side—Tan Sheng's eyes snapped open. Blood surged violently through his body.
Without hesitation, he bit his tongue hard and spat out a mouthful of blood, forcibly tearing himself free from the illusionary realm.
At that moment, he was furious beyond words.
Yet terrifyingly calm.
Like a volcano moments before eruption.
Facing the impending counterattack, Luo Buqi remained composed.
He activated his strongest move—the Illusory Eye.
Although Tan Sheng had temporarily escaped the illusion, the technique had already taken hold.
As long as Luo Buqi continuously increased his spiritual output, Tan Sheng would inevitably be dragged back into the illusion again and again until his spiritual power was completely exhausted.
Then defeat would be unavoidable.
Luo Buqi raised his chin slightly.
"You're destined to lose."
"You're the one losing!"
Tan Sheng suddenly reached into empty air—and a small wooden doll instantly appeared in his hand.
Everyone's scalp went numb.
The doll had no facial features whatsoever.
Its body was densely covered in eerie black runes that continuously wriggled across its surface like living creatures.
Was that—a cursed voodoo doll?!
From Luo Buqi's Illusionary Eyes...
To Lou Yuqing laying bare Tan Sheng's dual cultivation scheme...
To Tan Sheng abruptly producing something that looked alarmingly close to demonic witchcraft...
The battle's progression had become more deranged with every passing moment.
The crowd immediately broke into an uproar and instinctively backed away.
After all, bizarre and sinister methods like these were notoriously difficult to defend against.
Even Wu Fengshu's anger faltered momentarily.
Tan Sheng had explained parts of his background to her before, including things like sorcery and Gu arts.
Supposedly, such techniques could kill someone silently from thousands of miles away.
But they required conditions—hair, blood, or some other medium from the target, plus lengthy preparations.
Successfully casting such a curse spontaneously during battle should've been nearly impossible.
There was even a risk of backlash.
Wu Fengshu immediately shouted anxiously toward the stage.
"Tan Sheng! Don't act recklessly!"
But Tan Sheng seemed not to hear her.
His eyes remained fixed straight ahead.
Then suddenly—everyone realized something was wrong.
Luo Buqi had frozen completely in place. His face turned deathly pale as he stared at the doll in horror.
"A-Are you a Southern Border sorcerer?!"
"No," Tan Sheng replied calmly. "I'm a Gu Master."
The instant those words fell—Luo Buqi's eyes lost focus entirely.
He looked utterly shattered.
The crowd: "..."
What was happening now?
Even Tan Sheng hesitated awkwardly.
He'd been fully prepared to vent his anger and beat Luo Buqi senseless.
Why had his opponent suddenly turned stupid?
Wu Fengshu narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "He's not pretending, is he?"
Then Lou Yuqing's laughter rang through everyone's minds again.
[Hahaha, no. He's genuinely terrified.]
[When Luo Buqi was little, he refused to sleep at night, so besides love stories, his mother also told him ghost stories.]
[And the villains in those stories were always Southern Border sorcerers.]
[She scared him so badly it left permanent psychological trauma.]
The entire arena instantly fell silent again.