Invincible Soul Emperor-Chapter 299: Bye

Ye Qingchen hadn’t even seen how Ling Xiaoyu moved. In an instant, an expert at the peak of the Ninth Layer of the Martial Spirit Realm was turned into a meat patty. Such strength was truly befitting a master from the Wuji Immortal Palace.

After killing Lie Buqun, Ling Xiaoyu announced to the audience below, "Lie Buqun cheated in the competition and has been duly executed. I am hereby canceling all of the Shenhuo Sect’s results. Furthermore, I declare that from this day forward, the Shenhuo Sect is permanently disqualified from promotion!"

Ling Xiaoyu’s words were like a bolt from the blue to the disciples of the Shenhuo Sect, but they spurred waves of cheers from the spectators.

After dealing with the matter, Ling Xiaoyu returned to the judges’ bench. Xiao Xiao gave Ye Qingchen a quick wink before also turning to leave.

Ye Qingchen stepped down from the arena and walked over to Li Qingfeng and the Venerable.

The Venerable patted Ye Qingchen’s shoulder heavily. He spoke no words of thanks, but Ye Qingchen understood the meaning perfectly.

Ye Qingchen had now entered the top five of the individual competition. Once this round of matches concluded, the top ten sects in the overall point rankings would be more or less decided.

However, Li Qingfeng shook his head and said, "Don’t be too optimistic yet. Now that the Shenhuo Sect’s results are void, the sects with points close to ours might surpass us. We won’t know for sure until all of today’s matches are over!"

Ye Qingchen nodded. No matter the outcome, he was determined to lead the Qingyun Sect to a promotion spot.

After a day of competition, the final five who advanced in the individual matches were:

Li Chenyang of the Ziyun Sect, Second Layer of the Martial King Realm! The Ziyun Sect also held first place in the sect competition.

Lin Xiaoqing of the Yuhua Sect, First Layer of the Martial King Realm! The Yuhua Sect was also second in the sect competition.

Guo Tianyu of the Yulong Sect, peak of the Ninth Layer of the Martial Spirit Realm!

Zhao Yunfan of the Huan Ying Sect, First Layer of the Martial King Realm!

Ye Qingchen of the Qingyun Sect, Fifth Layer of the Martial Spirit Realm!

After Ling Xiaoyu announced the final top-five list, the audience was in an uproar.

It was obvious that Ye Qingchen was the weakest among them. Although Guo Tianyu was only at the peak of the Ninth Layer of the Martial Spirit Realm, the unique nature of his Martial Soul gave him combat strength comparable to an ordinary expert at the First Layer of the Martial King Realm. In other words, for Ye Qingchen to advance further, he would have to defeat an expert with the combat power of a First-Layer Martial King.

Upon hearing this, Li Qingfeng’s brow furrowed. He said to Ye Qingchen, "Qingchen, I’m afraid you’ll have to win one more match. The Yulong Sect was twelfth in the team competition, but now they’ve surged into the top five of the individual matches. If we want to secure our top-ten spot, we have to win another match to be absolutely sure."

Li Qingfeng felt a little embarrassed as he said this. He was the Sect Leader of the Qingyun Sect, and Ye Qingchen was his own disciple, yet he was placing such a heavy burden on the young man’s shoulders—a battle against an opponent in the Martial King Realm.

Although Ye Qingchen and the Venerable had teamed up to slay a First-Layer Martial King Realm Black Dragon at Dragon Tiger Mountain, Li Qingfeng knew how it had happened. Ye Qingchen had only accomplished the feat by borrowing a power that wasn’t his own.

In response to Li Qingfeng’s words, Ye Qingchen simply gave a slight nod, showing no complaint or even the faintest hint of unease.

Seeing Ye Qingchen’s calm composure, the initially worried Li Qingfeng gradually relaxed. He began to believe that Ye Qingchen would surely create another miracle.

Ling Xiaoyu hadn’t wanted to provoke Xiao Xiao further, but Ye Qingchen’s situation now seemed hopeless. If Xiao Xiao were to offer the direct promotion spot to the Qingyun Sect now, given their performance, I don’t think I could object. He decided to test the waters. "Junior Sister Xiao Xiao, he’s facing four opponents with the strength of the Martial King Realm. At this point, do you still believe your young master can advance?"

However, he was surprised when Xiao Xiao replied nonchalantly, "I’ve said it before: my young master is capable of anything. It’s just the First Layer of the Martial King Realm. Even I can beat an opponent like that, let alone my young master!"

Ling Xiaoyu was speechless. Xiao Xiao possessed a Ten-star Vermilion Bird Holy Soul, granting her naturally high combat power. Combined with her own strength at the Ninth Layer of the Martial Spirit Realm, defeating an ordinary Martial King was more than possible for her. Ye Qingchen, however, was only at the Fifth Layer of the Martial Spirit Realm, and his Martial Soul was a mere Seven-star Willow Wood Martial Soul. How could he possibly compare to Xiao Xiao?

Seeing how resolute she was, however, Ling Xiaoyu didn’t press the matter. Instead, he gathered the five contestants who had reached the top five before the judges’ bench.

Since only five contestants remained, they could not be grouped fairly for matches. Thus, according to tournament procedure, it was time to draw lots again. Five lots were prepared, numbered one to five. Number one would face number five, and number two would face number four. The contestant who drew number three would receive a bye and advance automatically. Once the top three were decided, the elimination rounds would continue with the same lot-drawing method, where two would fight and one would receive a bye. Finally, the last two remaining would battle for the championship.

Under Ling Xiaoyu’s supervision, Li Chenyang of the Ziyang Sect drew first. When he opened the slip of paper, it showed a large number four.

Next, Lin Xiaoqing of the Yuhua Sect drew lot number one.

Guo Tianyu drew number two, and Zhao Yunfan received number five.

Only Ye Qingchen had yet to draw. The result was already obvious—the only lot left was number three. Ye Qingchen had received a bye and would advance automatically!

Ling Xiaoyu curled his lip. What kind of luck does this kid have? I deliberately had him draw last to prevent Junior Sister Xiao Xiao from tipping him off about the lots, but he still ended up with the bye!

If Xiao Xiao knew what Ling Xiaoyu was thinking, she would probably have flown into a rage. In her heart, Ye Qingchen was omnipotent. Why would he ever need her help to cheat?

However, seeing Ling Xiaoyu’s strange expression, Xiao Xiao couldn’t help but smile and say, "Senior Brother Xiaoyu, you have to admit, sometimes luck is part of one’s strength!"

When the audience saw Ye Qingchen draw the number three bye, they erupted into another uproar.

Ye Qingchen was the weakest of the five, so watching him advance this way was incredibly frustrating for many.

But upon seeing this result, the members of the Qingyun Sect began to cheer. Ye Qingchen’s bye meant he was guaranteed to be at least in the top three of the individual competition. Combined with their previous scores, the Qingyun Sect’s place in the top ten for the sect promotion tournament was now set in stone.

Seeing his long-cherished wish finally fulfilled, Li Qingfeng was so moved that tears streamed down his face. The Venerable stood beside him, offering comfort.

When Ye Qingchen stepped down from the stage, he was welcomed by a corridor of cheering experts from the Qingyun Sect. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Li Zongrui excitedly threw an arm around Ye Qingchen’s shoulder and raised an eyebrow. "Our Qingyun Sect’s promotion to a two-star sect is secure now! Qingchen, I think you should sit out the rest of the matches to avoid any risks."

Ye Qingchen was now a treasure to the Qingyun Sect, and Li Zongrui couldn’t bear the thought of him being put in any danger.

But Ye Qingchen simply shook his head and said, "Since I came to compete, I intend to see it through to the end. Besides, this is a rare opportunity for tempering. Of course, it would be even better if I could win the championship!"