Chapter 41 Contention

"Qin Lang deliberately hid his true strength to trick my son into a challenge, and then he brutally injured Bo'er. To strike with such ruthlessness at such a tender age shows a crooked mind and malicious intent! I implore all the honorable overseers here to deliver justice for my son!"

Huang Guang glared resentfully at Qin Lang, abruptly stood up, and cupped his fists toward Tian Yuan and the other nine supervisors.

The moment Huang Guang's voice fell, the members of the Qin family were immediately filled with righteous indignation!

"You're talking nonsense!"

"It was clearly your son who took the initiative to challenge Qin Lang! Now that he's been defeated, you actually have the audacity to claim Qin Lang tricked him!"

"This old bastard is utterly shameless!"

Tian Yuan chuckled and shook his head, saying, "Family Head Huang speaks falsely! In truth, Qin Lang held back just now. If he had unleashed his full strength, your son wouldn't merely be heavily injured—he would have lost his life!"

Tian Yuan had naturally perceived that Qin Lang's casual palm strike was effortless and that he had not exerted his full power.

"Therefore, you should be thanking Qin Lang for showing mercy!" Tian Yuan added.

"Ha-ha! Did you hear that? Qin Lang showed restraint!"

"Why aren't you thanking Qin Lang right now?"

Tian Yuan's words lifted the spirits of the Qin family members, and they burst into hearty laughter.

Huang Guang's body stiffened, and his expression turned extremely ugly.

His son had been severely wounded, and yet he was expected to thank Qin Lang?

This was too humiliating!

Huang Guang felt a sudden, powerful urge to vomit blood!

"Family Head Qin, your Qin family has truly produced an exceptional talent!"

Disregarding Huang Guang entirely, Tian Yuan turned his gaze to Qin Zhanshan and smiled.

Qin Zhanshan hurriedly cupped his fists and said with humble modesty, "I never anticipated that Qin Lang would possess such formidable prowess. If you had told me during the clan assembly a year ago that he was only at the first stage of Martial Disciple realm, I truly wouldn't have believed it..."

"What?!"

"Only at the first stage of Martial Disciple realm a year ago?"

"That means in the span of just one year, his strength surged from the first stage of Martial Disciple to the first stage of Martial Practitioner!"

"Advancing ten levels in a single year!"

"Such cultivation speed is on par with Mo Tianji, the supreme prodigy of our soaring empire!"

Before Qin Zhanshan could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by the astonished cries of the ten overseers.

At that moment, all of them stared passionately at Qin Lang, a single, unanimous thought flashing through their minds:

No matter the cost, they had to recruit Qin Lang into their respective sects!

"Cough, cough... Actually, I haven't finished," Qin Zhanshan said with an awkward smile. "Qin Lang's rise from the first stage of Martial Disciple to his current state at the first stage of Martial Practitioner actually took place entirely within the past seven months!"

"What?!"

Rising from the first stage of Martial Disciple to the first stage of Martial Practitioner in just seven months!

Even Mo Tianji, the peerless prodigy of the soaring empire, fell far short of such terrifying speed!

The ten overseers instantly lost their composure, gazing at Qin Lang like a pack of ravenous wolves eyeing a tender little rabbit.

"Come to our Heavenly Sword Sect! I will make an exception and promote you directly to an inner disciple!"

"Join our Mountain and Sea Sect instead! We will provide you with the finest cultivation resources available; all you need to do is focus entirely on your training!"

"Come to our Blazing Heaven Sect! Name whatever conditions you desire!"

"Join the Scarlet Firmament Sect! Not only will you have endless cultivation resources, but you can also choose whichever celestial maiden-like senior and junior sisters you fancy!"

"... "

Where was even a shred of the dignified demeanor expected of experts among the ten overseers?

In order to entice Qin Lang to join their respective sects, each one dropped massive bombshells—boundless cultivation resources, unconditional terms, and beautiful fellow female disciples to choose from at will.

An uproar erupted across the plaza, every pair of eyes filled with burning envy.

Any single one of those conditions would have been enough to make them ecstatic!

Yet right now, treated as if they were worthless, all these offers were piled before Qin Lang for him to pick and choose as he pleased.

Qin Jian and Qin Yue felt their throats go dry as they dazedly watched the scene unfold before them.

The Ten Great Sects of the soaring empire were mighty factions that countless youths could only gaze at from afar in hopeless yearning. How difficult was it simply to join one? When had they ever witnessed the Ten Great Sects collectively lower their posture and plead with a mere teenager to join them?

"Ahem!" Tian Yuan assumed a solemn expression and interrupted the other nine overseers. "Since Qin Lang is the champion of this trial tournament, it is only natural that he joins the Wind and Cloud Sect." Seeing the other nine overseers glare at him with displeasure, Tian Yuan gave a dry cough before continuing, "Of course, if he has an affinity for another sect and wishes to join them instead, we cannot interfere! What does everyone think?"

"Agreed!"

"Let us defer to Brother Tian's suggestion!"

"Let him make his own choice!"

Only then did the ten overseers quiet down, turning their eager and expectant gazes back toward Qin Lang.

Qin Lang was left in a daze, utterly bewildered as to how he had suddenly become the prized target fought over by the Ten Great Sects of the soaring empire!

At this rate, choosing any single sect would surely offend the other nine!

Qin Lang felt as though his head was about to split into two!

Sigh! Sometimes, having too many choices could also be a truly agonizing headache.

"I think it would be best to follow the established rules of the trial."

After careful deliberation, Qin Lang gave a cautious and measured reply.

"Hahahaha, that sounds fine by me!"

Tian Yuan burst into delighted laughter.

"Congratulations, Brother Tian, on recruiting such a genius disciple for your Wind and Cloud Sect!"

The remaining nine overseers wore expressions of regret and loss, casting envious glances at Tian Yuan.

"Now, we will allocate the quotas for entering the Ten Great Sects!"

At a gesture from Tian Yuan, the emcee shouted in a booming voice, instantly drawing everyone's attention back to the stage.

"First place, Qin Lang, is accepted as an outer disciple of the Wind and Cloud Sect, and is additionally awarded a grade-three spirit pill—the Marrow-Cleansing Pill!"

The Marrow-Cleansing Pill!

Every pair of burning eyes locked instantly onto Qin Lang!

The Marrow-Cleansing Pill was exceptionally precious, a priceless treasure that could not be bought even with a fortune!

It could cleanse a martial practitioner's marrow, reshape their bones, grant them a complete rebirth, enhance their physical constitution, and accelerate their cultivation speed!

With this Marrow-Cleansing Pill, Qin Lang's innate talent would undoubtedly ascend to an even higher plane!

"Second place, Qin Jian, is accepted as an outer disciple of the Wind and Cloud Sect!"

"Third place, Qin Yue, is accepted as an outer disciple of the Wind and Cloud Sect!"

"Fourth place, Huang Bo, is accepted as an unregistered disciple of the Dragon and Tiger Sect!"

"Fifth place..."

"Sixth place..."

"... "

"Sixty-ninth place, Du Fei, is accepted as an unregistered disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect!"

"All disciples accepted into the sects are to report to their respective sects on their own accord one month from today!"

With the announcement of the final result, the once-every-five-years Tianfeng Mountain Trial Tournament came to a formal close!

In this trial tournament, Qin Lang's performance had been so extraordinarily brilliant that even Huang Bo, formerly renowned as the undisputed top youth of Qingfeng Town, fell far short of matching him.

Many young maidens cast amorous glances at Qin Lang, their lovely eyes brimming with affection as they secretly pledged their hearts to him.

"Settle your family affairs, and make your way to report early. I'll be waiting for you at the Wind and Cloud Sect!"

Tian Yuan handed an exquisite wooden box to Qin Lang. A look of anticipation and appreciation flashed across his eyes before he smiled faintly and turned to leave alongside the other nine overseers.

"Congratulations, Family Head Qin!"

"Felicitations, Family Head Qin!"

"The Qin family has birthed a peerless genius; truly remarkable!"

Once the representatives of the Ten Great Sects departed, virtually every faction in Qingfeng Town swarmed around Qin Zhanshan to offer endless congratulations, leaving Qin Zhanshan grinning so widely he could hardly close his mouth.

Without a doubt, the Qin family was the ultimate victor of this trial tournament!