"Go for it! I believe in the old lady’s strength!"
Xiang Beifei said leisurely.
"It’s ’sister’!" He Qing replied instinctively, annoyed.
Xiang Beifei chuckled carelessly and then strolled down the pavilion leisurely.
"Where are you going?"
He Qing was choked up, feeling quite irritated.
This guy, why is he always so annoying!
Yet, for some reason, she found that when she shifted her attention to Xiang Beifei, her mood improved significantly, and the pressure from Tang Yingxin seemed to fade away considerably.
"Does he believe in my strength?"
Reflecting on Xiang Beifei’s nonchalant demeanor, He Qing thought, though this guy was a bit irritating, he wasn’t ambiguous in words or actions.
Speaking of which, did he call me "old lady" on purpose to relieve my stress?
Xiang Beifei pulled a disguised crane race feather from his ear, clamped it in his mouth, and wandered leisurely among the crowd.
At that moment, the audience over there had received news that Dao Palace had announced who the first challenger of the day would be. Many practitioners were intensely discussing it.
"Did you hear? The one challenging the crane race prodigy He Qing today is none other than the 199th ranked Tang Yingxin!"
"Tang Yingxin? Oh, I know him, he was defeated by Qu Shiyang ten days ago, causing him to drop from 150th to 199th!"
"To be honest, although Tang Yingxin was defeated by the rapidly improving Qu Shiyang, his true strength is still above He Qing, who is ranked only 188th, right?"
"Is that even a question? Tang Yingxin couldn’t beat Qu Shiyang, but he’s more than capable of defeating He Qing. It looks like the crane race’s ranking will fall back to 199th place today."
Many people were discussing the upcoming ranking battle, and almost everyone favored Tang Yingxin, feeling sorry for He Qing.
But at this moment, an unharmonious voice suddenly emerged from the crowd.
"Who said He Qing would lose to Tang Yingxin? He couldn’t even defeat 199th-ranked Qu Shiyang, yet he hopes to beat 188th-ranked He Qing? I think Tang Yingxin’s previous 150th ranking was just for show!"
This voice sounded particularly jarring in the one-sided conversation, and everyone turned to see who had spoken.
"Are you stupid? The fact that Tang Yingxin was defeated by Qu Shiyang only shows that Qu Shiyang is strong, not that Tang Yingxin isn’t strong. He reached 150th place, do you think he talked his way there?"
A practitioner with deer antlers, seeing Xiang Beifei with the feather in his mouth, retorted.
"Then how can you be so sure that 188th-ranked He Qing’s strength is just 188th? She just hasn’t had the chance to challenge others! She hasn’t made a move in ten years; her cultivation has long since improved." Xiang Beifei said calmly.
"You’re too naive... Wait, are you from the crane race? What is He Qing to you?" A practitioner recognized the crane race feathers on Xiang Beifei.
"Oh, you ungrateful brat."
"Not necessarily; he might be a junior from the crane race and might really know He Qing’s true strength. After all, even 199th-ranked Qu Shiyang has taken off, right?"
Some Yi Tribe practitioners reexamined the issue.
But at this moment, the crowd suddenly quieted down, making way, and soon their eyes revealed awe.
Upon closer inspection, it turned out that the genius challenger of the day, Tang Yingxin, was approaching.
Tang Yingxin was a major figure here, and even though he lost to Qu Shiyang, he was still someone from the Earth Ranking, and no one underestimated him.
He seemed to have heard Xiang Beifei’s words, sneered, then stopped in front of Xiang Beifei.
Xiang Beifei still held the crane feather in his mouth, unfazed.
"Kid, do you think I’ll lose to your crane race’s He Qing?"
Tang Yingxin slightly opened the fan in his hand, showing a mocking expression: "Didn’t your family tell you where the gap between your crane race and our Avian Clan lies?"
"Oh? Where is it then?" Xiang Beifei asked in return.
Tang Yingxin squinted his eyes and sneered coldly, "A snot-nosed brat, dare to speak nonsense without even understanding the basics, truly overestimating yourself. Just remember this, our Avian Clan is countless times stronger than your crane race! We’ll always keep you crane race under our thumb!"
As he spoke, a faint aura from Tang Yingxin spread to Xiang Beifei!
This aura went unnoticed by others because it’s a power belonging to the Avian Dao, effective only on avians.
The Crane Dao is part of the Bird Dao, susceptible to this aura.
Tang Yingxin planned to use the Avian Daoist Art to teach Xiang Beifei a lesson, letting him understand the true Bird Dao!
Xiang Beifei stood calmly, watching the opponent’s system interface.
[You used bird suppression on the crane race junior, Dao value +2]
Dao value points, not bad.
Xiang Beifei expressed satisfaction with this value.
Tang Yingxin sneered coldly, waiting for Xiang Beifei to be overwhelmed by his aura, panicked, drenched in sweat, running scathelessly... Yet, strangely, Xiang Beifei didn’t care about the bird suppression aura at all.
It shouldn’t be; he could clearly perceive the other’s influence! But why didn’t this guy care?
While Tang Yingxin was pondering, a clear voice came over. The most update n0vels are published on NovᴇlFɪre.nᴇt
"Tang Yingxin, what are you doing?"
He Qing strode over, protecting Xiang Beifei behind her, simultaneously releasing a force to shield him from the Avian Daoist Art.
She knew Xiang Beifei wasn’t from the crane race; the Avian Daoist Art was ineffective against him. However, Xiang Beifei was merely an early-stage Eternal practitioner, while Tang Yingxin was mid-stage Eternal. She worried Xiang Beifei would be detected and his identity exposed!
"Nothing much, just having a good chat with your junior." Tang Yingxin replied with a forced smile.
"Your target today is me. Attacking juniors, is that the style of your Avian Clan?" He Qing asked coolly.
With a snap, Tang Yingxin closed his fan and said, "What? You think a small crane race like yourself can fight against me?"
"Whatever you have to say, take it to the battlefield." He Qing said in a deep voice.
Tang Yingxin glanced mockingly at Xiang Beifei, then walked forward. As he passed by He Qing, he said in a voice only He Qing and Xiang Beifei could hear:
"I won’t show any mercy; you’ll soon understand that in front of our Avian Clan, a low race like crane race is nothing! You don’t deserve to possess the Divine Phoenix Bone."
He Qing’s expression slightly changed!
This guy was after the Divine Phoenix Bone!
But Tang Yingxin laughed and left.
Watching Tang Yingxin’s back, He Qing took a deep breath, and then said to Xiang Beifei, "Why did you provoke him? Don’t you understand your identity?"
"Just setting the stage for you." Xiang Beifei yawned.
"I don’t need you to set the stage; just behave yourself!"
He Qing turned and walked towards the battlefield.
"Good luck, win and I won’t call you an old hag."
Xiang Beifei’s light voice reached He Qing’s ears.
He Qing’s steps halted slightly, turning her head to stare at Xiang Beifei, who was fiddling with crane feathers, pursing her lips tightly.
This guy really needs a lesson!
She felt a nameless anger rising again.
"You wait here for me!"
He Qing gritted her teeth and headed towards the battlefield, standing opposite Tang Yingxin.
An inexplicable battle intent surged from her, reducing the pressure Tang Yingxin had on her, because now she had a more specific target!
"Give me the Divine Phoenix Bone, and I’ll make your defeat look better." Tang Yingxin mocked.
He Qing’s gaze suddenly turned extremely sharp, like a knife, falling on Tang Yingxin!
She didn’t care at all what Tang Yingxin was saying.
She only knew she had to correct Xiang Beifei’s rogue name calling!