Gentlemen, it's time to enter the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls.

Chapter 113: Victory, Not Defeat

No one knew the efforts Chen Ye had made for the duel, and even Qin Ze, the disciple of the Mirage Sect who was being challenged, didn't initially realize that he had been challenged.

Anyone whose name is recorded on the dueling ranking list will carry a jade token with them, which is connected to the stone pillars of the dueling arena.

Once someone removes your name tag, the challenge bell is rung, and the jade pendant you carry will continue to vibrate until you respond.

However, ever since Su Chunyi overpowered all the other contenders and won the top spot in the battle, Qin Ze had abandoned this jade tablet.

After all, under the dazzling sword light, the subsequent rankings seemed insignificant.

As an outstanding disciple of one of the five major sects, how could Qin Ze be content with that?

Qin Ze, who was originally focused on seclusion and arduous cultivation within the sect, resolutely decided to travel and explore. Continuing to work in seclusion would only leave him further and further behind Su Chunyi.

Only by breaking through one's own limitations can one reach a higher level.

Whether it was good luck or bad luck, after changing his appearance and going on a journey, he soon discovered traces of the Crimson Serpent Demon Sect. Qin Ze immediately reported to the Mirage Sect and even volunteered to infiltrate the Crimson Serpent Demon Sect.

Seeing Qin Ze's fearlessness in the face of death, the Mirage Sect agreed to his request and even specially provided him with a new magic weapon to facilitate his alteration of appearance.

Qin Ze originally thought he had done a good job and quickly gained the trust of that lord, and a steady stream of information was sent to the Mirage Sect.

However, the Crimson Serpent Demon Sect was so deeply entrenched that no one knew how many demons were hiding in various places.

Therefore, the Mirage Sect kept Qin Ze in hiding and did not take action against the Crimson Serpent Demon Sect.

They wanted to wipe them all out, so they needed an opportunity.

Later, Qin Ze thought he had finally gotten his chance. The Crimson Serpent Demon Sect was gathering in Hundred Seas Valley, saying they had a grand plan to completely revive the Crimson Serpent Demon Sect.

Qin Ze felt it was a golden opportunity and took the initiative to participate in the plan.

The Lord also "valued" Qin Ze's talent and decided to let him get deeply involved in this conspiracy.

However, Qin Ze did not expect that he had already been exposed from the very beginning.

The Lord already knew he was a disciple of the Mirage Sect, but he used a trick to get him to send back information that was a mixture of truth and falsehood.

Although the Crimson Serpent Demon Sect ultimately failed, and the rogue cultivators of Hundred Seas Valley did not completely wage war against the righteous path, Qin Ze still became a sinner.

The Mirage Sect did not actually blame Qin Ze. The Venerable Master's methods were mysterious and unpredictable. Not only was Qin Ze ambushed, but the five major sects were also helpless.

For the younger generation, setbacks can sometimes be a good thing.

The Mirage Party publicly claimed that the disciple who sent the false information had been punished with ten years of solitary confinement, but did not reveal Qin Ze's name to the public.

In fact, Qin Ze was not blamed; instead, his elders in the sect comforted him.

After all, Qin Ze was quite talented and had extraordinary courage. How many young people would dare to go undercover in the Crimson Serpent Demon Sect?
Given more time and further training, he is sure to achieve great things in the future.

Qin Ze was extremely grateful to the sect, but he still couldn't let go of the matter of Baihai Valley.

In particular, the way this matter was resolved made the five major sects lose face.

When the rogue cultivators stormed the Mirage Sect's stronghold, Qin Ze watched as his fellow disciples went to persuade them to surrender, only to be severely injured. When had the Mirage Sect ever tasted such humiliation?

If it weren't for Master Ziyan stopping him, Qin Ze would have volunteered to punish these rogue cultivators.

In the end, it was an unknown rogue cultivator who resolved the matter.

I don't know what his abilities are, but he managed to persuade that group of rogue cultivators who were fighting to the death to go back with just a few words.

Later, I heard that he even forced his way into the Incense Burning Sect, captured Wei Changsheng, and forced him to confess, forcing the five major sects to apologize to the rogue cultivator.

The righteous sects have completely lost face, and even today, people still use this incident as a joke during their leisure time, mocking the failure of the five major sects.

Qin Ze blamed himself for all of this, and felt increasingly guilty.

After years of undercover work, Qin Ze felt he was close to breaking through to the Profound Realm, but now, plagued by inner demons, his connection to the Heavenly Profound Gate was becoming increasingly weak.

For the past few months, Qin Ze had been absent-minded and made no progress in his cultivation. Even his master couldn't help but advise him to let go of his guilt. However, letting go is easier said than done.

When the jade pendant vibrated, Qin Ze was drinking alone in the quiet room, looking listless and seemingly no longer interested in making any progress.

He looked dejected, raising his wine cup frequently, but the fine wine in the cup could not dispel the gloom in his heart.

It wasn't until he was tipsy and his vision was blurred that Qin Ze noticed the vibration coming from the jade tablet.

He was taken aback at first, staring blankly at the jade pendant, and it took him a long time to recall its purpose.

"Someone actually wants to challenge me to a magical duel?"

Qin Ze muttered to himself, his voice filled with doubt and surprise.

He truly hadn't expected that, after several years, there would still be people who cared about the rankings on that fighting arena.

Qin Ze thought to himself, "Could it be some busybody trying to gain some fame by doing this, thinking I've become an easy target to manipulate?"

Apart from this, I really can't think of anyone else who would care about this so-called ranking.

After all, the top twenty on the Battle Ranking only receive a reward of one thousand Azure Pearls per year, and they have to go there in person to collect it.

If one accidentally goes into seclusion for several years, this reward will not be made up.

For disciples of prestigious sects, this reward was indeed insignificant; Qin Ze himself had almost forgotten where he ranked on the list.

However, Qin Ze was feeling bored at the moment, and since someone had invited him to a duel, he was happy to accept the challenge, just to clear his mind.

In Qin Ze's view, this challenge was most likely the work of a new disciple from another sect.

After all, the name "Mirage Sect" was prominently displayed before his, and ordinary rogue cultivators would never choose to challenge a disciple of one of the five major sects.

This is not because Qin Ze looks down on those independent cultivators, but because it is an indisputable fact.

The magical treasures in the hands of those rogue cultivators are all miscellaneous items cobbled together from various sources. They could be broken with a single sword strike. Such a huge disparity is truly difficult to bridge.

Qin Ze reached out and picked up the jade tablet, slowly infusing it with his own spiritual energy.

The jade tablet responded in no time.

"Let me see which sect this challenger comes from... Wait, a rogue cultivator? Chen Ye?!"

Qin Ze felt as if he had been struck by lightning, his scalp tingling and his hair standing on end.

The name Chen Ye is Qin Ze's inner demon!
A mere rogue cultivator managed to humiliate the five major sects, making Qin Ze appear like a clown in comparison.

"This is outrageous! This is absolutely outrageous!"

All the worries in Qin Ze's heart turned into anger. He never expected that Chen Ye, who had already made a name for himself, would now try to step on him again.

What makes him dare to challenge himself?

Do you really think that all the disciples of the Mirage Sect are incompetent fools who can be easily manipulated?
He had to accept this challenge and win decisively, to make this arrogant rogue cultivator understand the true difference in skill.

Without hesitation, Qin Ze immediately sent a message back via the jade tablet, deciding to accept Chen Ye's challenge.

The reply came quickly from the jade tablet: "When?"

Qin Ze intended to reply that he would arrive immediately, but he stopped just as he was about to infuse the spiritual energy.

“My master once said that one must remain calm in the face of great events. I am so agitated now that if I rush into battle, I will surely be at a disadvantage. It was because I was too impetuous before that I was tricked by that demon and became a sinner of the sect. I must not repeat the same mistake. I need to calm down first.”

Qin Ze took a deep breath, suppressing his anger. After pondering for a moment, he replied, "Ten days later."

He remembered that the longest time limit for accepting the challenge was ten days, and he needed to use those ten days to calm his mind and make careful preparations.

In this battle, he was only allowed to win, not lose.

(End of this chapter)