Compared to the towering flames of Molten Fire Peak, the howling gales of Dharma Seal Peak, and the colorful, bewitching mist of Cuixiang Mountain, Longxi Peak was remarkably low-key. They produced no earth-shattering commotions, nor any dazzling phenomena.

Yet, despite being so unremarkable, Longxi Peak’s points were skyrocketing, and their ranking was firmly entrenched at the top of the leaderboard. This contrast made their performance seem indescribably bizarre.

On the viewing platform, the crowd began to give the Law Enforcement Elder, Wei Jingcheng, strange looks.

’He couldn’t be secretly adjusting Longxi Peak’s points, could he?’

No one voiced this thought, but the meaning was plain to see in their eyes.

Considering the Law Enforcement Elder, Wei Jingcheng, was a Sword Cultivator from Longxi Peak himself, it seemed perfectly reasonable that he would show favoritism. This thought made the crowd’s gazes all the more complicated.

At this moment, even City Lord Yue Shan and the leaders of the three great families were thinking the same thing.

’I thought that as a Sword Cultivator, you would be an open and honorable person. I never expected you to be so devious... No, this is blatant cheating. It doesn’t even qualify as devious anymore. You’re playing us all for fools!’

Wei Jingcheng naturally felt their strange gazes, which made him snort coldly. "Hmph. Spare me your vile speculations. As a Sword Cultivator, I have always acted with integrity. I would never commit such an injustice!"

As he spoke, a single Thought from him switched the battle scene on the sky-screen to the Longxi Peak area. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

He intended to prove his innocence. However, after watching the sky-screen for a while, the crowd’s expressions didn’t soften. Instead, they grew even stranger.

This time, even Wei Jingcheng himself couldn’t help but wonder.

’Did I... actually give Longxi Peak an unfair advantage?’

It was no wonder he thought so. After the scene switched to Longxi Peak, the image on the sky-screen was bizarre.

The Longxi Peak disciples fighting within the Heaven-Filling Array Map were by no means weak, and they fought with extreme aggression.

Dozens of Longxi Peak disciples had spread out in all directions, actively seeking out Shadow monsters to engage in fierce combat.

During the battle, many of the Longxi Peak disciples performed commendably, and one person in particular stood out.

Xue Yao. Her body exuded an icy aura, making her seem like a snow fairy. Her Swordsmanship was incredibly sharp; most monsters that fought her were wounded within just a few exchanges.

Furthermore, her Magical Power was mystical. Once a monster was injured by her, its body would stiffen and its movements would slow, allowing Xue Yao to quickly slay the Shadow monster.

"This girl is just a notch below Zhu Feiyu. She’s not far from comprehending Sword Intent."

This was the outsiders’ assessment of Xue Yao. Even the Law Enforcement Elder, Wei Jingcheng, regarded her with utmost satisfaction.

A hint of pride was visible on Mo Shuying’s face; after all, it was she who had trained Xue Yao.

Longxi Peak’s performance was impressive, but the crowd’s expressions... only grew stranger.

The reason was that Longxi Peak’s disciples were all on the offensive, and the large number of Demonic Fiends they had slain matched the points displayed on the sky-screen.

But what was both infuriating and comical to the onlookers was that after fighting for so long, the Longxi Peak disciples had suffered almost zero casualties!

Whenever a Longxi Peak disciple fell into a perilous situation, the Shadow monster before them would abruptly explode from the inside out.

It was as if a Guardian was watching over the Longxi Peak disciples, keeping them safe at all times.

This blatant "special treatment" made many of the spectators feel insulted.

"Could they be any more obvious about it?!"

"With a Guardian to cover for you, how could anyone possibly win..."

It was no wonder the crowd was so resentful. Having a Guardian secretly helping them meant the Longxi Peak disciples didn’t need to worry about their own safety and could focus all their energy on killing enemies. To the other factions, this was a crushing injustice.

Take Yan Chen, for instance. In the center of the ruined town, he looked like a Fire God, wielding Flames to incinerate everything in a tremendous display of power.

But aside from him, most of the Molten Fire Peak disciples were warily guarding their surroundings, sticking close to him with no intention of charging out to fight the Demons and Evil Spirits.

It wasn’t that they were cowards. The sect’s assessment may have increased in difficulty, but its most fundamental rule had not changed—survival!

The longer they survived, the more points they would earn.

Under these circumstances, the Molten Fire Peak disciples didn’t dare to act rashly. If they failed to kill a Demonic Fiend and were killed themselves, their peak’s score wouldn’t just stagnate—it would decrease.

Another reason they adopted such a cautious strategy had to do with Yan Chen’s inability to rescue them.

By using a supreme-grade magical artifact embryo that surpassed his own limits as his Lifebound Magical Artifact, combined with some pre-battle preparations, Yan Chen possessed Magical Power far exceeding the mid-stage of Qi Cultivation. It was even comparable to the late stage.

But this immense Magical Power also made it impossible for him to control it with any precision.

Every time he attacked, he unleashed a vast sea of fire. This was a display of might, but it was also a necessity born of his lack of control.

His lack of fine control meant that even if he saw a teammate in danger, he was unable to rescue them.

If that raging torrent of Flame surged forward, it was debatable whether the Demonic Fiend would be incinerated, but his own sect members certainly wouldn’t survive.

This situation meant that he was practically the only one from Molten Fire Peak racking up points.

It was a similar situation for Cuixiang Mountain. The poison mist was slow to take effect, so if her sect members were in danger, Su Lingya wouldn’t be able to rescue them in time. This left most of Cuixiang Mountain’s disciples with no choice but to huddle close to her for protection.