Chapter 377 Simple Rules

Chen Fei stood tall, his overwhelming display of power silencing the crowd.

Yen Wujiu glanced at him on the arena stage and shook his head with a wry smile.

“What an interesting young man… Fine. Let’s just wait for the Ghost King Order battle now.”

It was now clear that only those aiming for the Ghost King Order would be capable of rivaling Chen Fei.

This time, their objective was straightforward: seize as many Ghost King Tokens as possible, and while at it, suppress Tianqing Sacred Land’s momentum.

But Chen Fei’s performance had completely disrupted those plans.

Yen Wujiu wasn’t going to act rashly over a junior. He could only shelve the idea of pressing down Tianqing.

Thus, the challenges meant for Chen Fei were forcefully halted.

Liu Xu gave Chen Fei a deep look.

“You did well. I’ve heard of you before, but seeing you in person, you are indeed extraordinary.”

The Water Gate leader was a gentle woman, quite different from the usual sternness of Mu Yun Su. Her aura was warm and approachable.

“You flatter me, Gate Master Liu,” Chen Fei replied with a polite smile.

Liu Xu didn’t linger. Things were on the verge of spiraling out of control—further fighting would only bring unnecessary bloodshed.

Besides, with only one day left before the Ghost King Order contest, suspending the arena duels was a good decision.

At that moment, Ling Tianya stepped through the crowd and approached Chen Fei with eyes full of gratitude.

“Thank you,” he said sincerely.

Chen Fei sighed softly and patted his shoulder.

Ling Tianya didn’t say much more and turned to leave. The incident with Xu Wuxing had shaken him to his core.

That helplessness he felt… the bitter, crushing weakness had awakened him.

Living carefreely was fine only when someone else shields you from the storm. When that protection failed, the pain of powerlessness was unbearable.

It was time to break through.

Duo Mingzi, hidden in the crowd, stared at Chen Fei with an unreadable expression.

Seeing this, Fan Chen chuckled beside him, his voice silky and full of hidden meaning.

“Senior Brother Duo, it seems you’re not fond of Chen Fei?”

Though clearly unhappy with Chen Fei, Duo Mingzi wasn’t foolish enough to fall for Fan Chen’s manipulations. He simply gave him a cold smirk.

“There’s still one day left. When the time comes, I’ll make sure to test your strength myself.”

Fan Chen wasn’t offended.

“I look forward to it.”

He knew—the seed had already been planted. Now it only needed time to grow. Rushing it would only ruin the outcome.

After the arrival of the demon and evil cultivators, this rare day of peace settled upon Tianqing Sacred Land.

As time ticked by, the sides put their hostility aside and began planning their strategy for the upcoming contest.

The first issue to tackle was obvious: fairness.

But what counted as fair for so many conflicting factions? That was no easy thing to settle.

Mu Yun Su, Yen Wujiu, and other top leaders gathered to negotiate.

Yen Wujiu didn’t hold back.

“I have here an ancient ‘Discussion Platform’—originally used by immortals to teach the Dao. It’s also excellent for arena-style battles.”

The Discussion Platform wasn’t some rare treasure to the top-tier experts, but it was certainly powerful.

As he waved his sleeve, a floating platform appeared in his palm—small enough to fit in one hand.

But as it absorbed spiritual energy, it expanded rapidly into a floating island, hovering in the air before them.

“Gate Master Mu, please,” Yen Wujiu said politely—but stepped inside first. After all, it was his treasure. If he didn’t enter first, the others might be suspicious.

From the outside, the Discussion Platform looked like a floating island. But within—it contained an entire world.

The space inside was vast, and the material of the platform itself was impervious to spiritual destruction—especially from Human Dao cultivators. No matter how fiercely they fought, they couldn’t break the structure.

That solved the issue of a stable battleground.

Mu Yun Su inspected it and found no hidden dangers. The platform even came with projected screens to show the internal battle to spectators outside.

Since this was meant for lectures, it made sense that the audience needed to see and not just hear.

“What are the rules?” Mu Yun Su asked.

Yen Wujiu thought for a moment before replying.

“Simple. Strength rules. Everyone gets three challenge attempts. There will be eight arenas. Those who stand last on each arena will receive a Ghost King Token.”

A very basic rule. No elaborate setups—just straight duels.

No endless waves, no attrition battles.

Win three consecutive fights, and the Ghost King Token is yours.

It was obvious that Yen Wujiu was confident in his side’s chances.

“Seems you’re quite sure of victory,” Mu Yun Su said, casting him a deep glance.

Yen Wujiu smiled and shrugged.

“Surely Tianqing Sacred Land isn’t unprepared either?”

No further words were needed. They moved to announce the rules publicly.

With Yen Wujiu’s control, eight battle stages rose from the floating island and appeared before the crowd.

“There will be no referees. If you step into the ring, you take your life into your own hands.” Yen Wujiu’s voice was calm but clear.

“Good! I like that!” laughed Tian Zhen, clearly pleased. The other demon cultivators also grinned approvingly.

Just like humans used demons to refine pills, demon cultivators coveted human souls.

Devouring them could strengthen their own souls and hasten their cultivation.

Things had been restrained up until now. But on this battlefield—every duel would be a life-or-death fight.

“Since Tianqing Sacred Land is the host, you may select your defenders first. We’ll challenge them.” Yen Wujiu smiled kindly at Mu Yun Su.

Mu Yun Su turned toward Duo Mingzi and the others.

“The rule is simple. Win three matches, and the Ghost King Token is yours. Our top priority is to secure the tokens—go!”

Naturally, those chosen to defend the arenas had to be strong.

Unfortunately, Miao Yue was still injured from her earlier battle with Yuan Zheng and couldn’t participate.

Duo Mingzi looked at Chen Fei and the others.

“This concerns the face of our sect—give it your all!”

With that, he stepped onto Arena One, eyes narrowing as he looked straight at Fan Chen.

“Fan Chen! Do you dare come up?”

The rule actually offered many tactical advantages. Once Tianqing had deployed their defenders, the demon and evil factions could target specific ones with their strongest candidates.

But in the end—to keep a token, you still needed the strength to win three times.

Chen Fei, as always, didn’t hesitate.

He stepped onto Arena Eight, placed his giant sword in front of him, and said nothing.

Yet everyone instinctively avoided meeting his eyes.

His display the day before had left a deep impression on the demon and evil factions. They unconsciously began ignoring him, as if he didn’t exist.

The Ziyang Saintess chuckled softly.

“Seems we’ll need to show our best too—can’t afford to be looked down on, right?”

With that seductive tone, she leapt gracefully onto Arena Four, smiling sweetly at Chen Fei—completely unconcerned about appearances.