Not allowed to participate in the drawing of lots?
The senior members of Kunling Mountain present in the hall looked at each other, and many even frowned, clearly disagreeing with Xiang Lanxuan’s words.
Only a profoundly ignorant person could say such things. This was no child’s play. If the speaker were not Xiang Lanxuan, those present might have simply thrown her out.
Zhao Dengzi also had to solemnly remind her, “Grand Envoy, the reason the Chaoyang Assembly requires participants to draw lots is to demonstrate fairness. Not allowing an individual competitor to draw lots is not only unfair and against the rules, but the results of the competition will also easily invite criticism.”
The senior members in the hall all nodded slightly in agreement. They could not let the other party act recklessly. She could speak lightly, but they were the ones who would bear the responsibility. If something truly went wrong, the Daye Bureau would not take the blame. It would definitely be Kunling Mountain, the organiser of the assembly, that would be held responsible.
An elder also warned in a deep voice, “Unless his competition qualification is directly revoked, we must guarantee that the person fighting him will definitely win. Once they lose, the loser will certainly be unconvinced. Why should everyone else be decided by drawing lots, while only that person who loses is assigned an opponent?”
Another elder spoke up, “Zhang Zhichen’s competition qualification cannot be revoked just like that. There must be a reason for revoking it, right? Even if there is a good excuse to revoke his qualification, we will still face another problem. How do we account for the previous competition results?”
“Although he drew a blank lot previously, his participation did affect the order of the competition. What if those who had bad luck and faced strong opponents previously demand a redraw and a rematch? Can their demands be considered unreasonable?”
Xiang Lanxuan swept her gaze over the dissenting crowd and said, “I did not make myself clear. When I say he is not allowed to participate in the drawing of lots, I do not mean what you are thinking. He will still participate in the physical act of drawing lots, but he will not be given the right to choose.”
This statement confused everyone. Zhao Dengzi asked, “Could Grand Envoy Xiang clarify this further?”
“Of course it must be clarified,” Xiang Lanxuan replied with a smile, sweeping her eyes over the crowd again. “There are a total of twenty-three people in the Dingyin Zone qualified to participate in the third round of drawing lots. The drawing rules will remain basically unchanged. We will only adjust Zhang Zhichen, placing him at the very end.”
The crowd was stunned at first, but soon expressions of sudden realisation appeared on their faces one after another. They all understood her meaning. With twenty-three lots, if twenty-two people drew first, it was basically impossible for the blank lot to fall into Zhang Zhichen’s hands. This was to minimise the probability of Zhang Zhichen drawing consecutively.
An elder suddenly said, “Forcing such an adjustment still cannot avoid the suspicion of violating the rules.”
Xiang Lanxuan replied, “There will be no rule violation. The reason for doing this is readily available. Were there not people in the Dingyin Zone previously shouting suspicions of cheating? We can simply explain this clearly to the remaining participants. We are doing this because of their suspicions. If they agree, we will do it this way. If they disagree, then forget it.”
“People generally do not like it when others are better than themselves. That fellow won twice in a row, so there are probably quite a few people who dislike him. With appropriate guidance, there should not be much of a problem.”
Hearing this, the crowd either fell silent or nodded slightly, acknowledging her reasoning. If it were really done this way, that Zhang Zhichen would probably indeed be pushed to the back by the others.
After a brief silence, Zhao Dengzi said, “Grand Envoy, you should understand that the possibility of cheating in the drawing of lots is low. Furthermore, Elder Wan is personally there to oversee and manage things. It is basically unlikely that Zhang Zhichen will win three times in a row. Is it really necessary for us to make things this complicated?”
Xiang Lanxuan immediately turned her head to look at him, her voice becoming clear and resonant, speaking with cadence, “Of course it is necessary! What we are doing is taking precautions. In this way, even if that Zhang Zhichen has heaven-defying luck, and even if he wins consecutively again, that will be the consequence caused by the participating members who made the decision together. They can blame no one but themselves. At that time, we will also be able to explain ourselves to the outside world, and at the very least, no one will think it is cheating!”
She did not speak some words from her personal standpoint. She went to such lengths to do this because she did not want someone to misunderstand her. She actually did not care at all about the result of the drawing of lots. So what if he won ten times in a row?
Upon hearing this explanation, quite a few people nodded.
Zhao Dengzi could not help but glance at Xiang Lanxuan a few more times. He realised that this woman could indeed become the Grand Envoy of the Daye Bureau because she possessed extraordinary qualities. She could even speak of such rule-breaking matters so righteously, and she had managed to persuade the senior members of his own sect as well.
However, as the sect leader, he had to consider a few more things. He pondered and said, “What about Zhang Zhichen’s side? What if he disagrees? We, Kunling Mountain, are organising the Chaoyang Assembly and must act according to the rules. We cannot force him to violate the rules, can we? How would that look if it got out?”
Xiang Lanxuan said, “You can just arrange for someone to try and persuade him. If he is a smart person, he should know how to choose. If he really refuses to agree, inform me, and I will have my own ways to make him agree.”
With the conversation reaching this point, Zhao Dengzi hesitated repeatedly before finally sighing, “Very well. Since the Grand Envoy has considered everything thoroughly, we will proceed this way. However, I request the Grand Envoy to issue a formal document in the name of the Daye Bureau to our Kunling Mountain, to prevent doubts among other disciples in the sect.”
No matter how good the method of solving the problem was, it was still a rule-breaking act after all, and he had to be cautious.
Xiang Lanxuan gave him a cold glance, turned around and walked away, throwing a sentence over her shoulder, “Have someone deliver it immediately.”
Zhao Dengzi immediately took the lead in bowing to see her off. He actually wanted to ask the other party who exactly that Zhang Zhichen was, but he ultimately swallowed his words and did not speak. Because he did not know what Xiang Lanxuan was handling, he dared not rashly involve himself in the affairs of the Daye Bureau.
Kunling Mountain only appeared helpless when facing a terrifying existence like the Daye Bureau. In reality, within the cultivation world, it absolutely counted as a powerful and wealthy master. If it wanted to get something done, it still possessed considerable influence.
The people sent here to conduct an in-depth secret investigation at the Longguang Sect had already uncovered some clues. It could be confirmed that the identities of Zhang Zhichen, Zhu Yihai, and Dou Guan were all fake, because the real three Longguang Sect disciples were still within the Longguang Sect, although they had already hidden away. Looking at the letter from the Longguang Sect to Kunling Mountain now, it appeared somewhat eerie. It only stated that the disciples from their sect participating in the Chaoyang Assembly were to be expelled from the sect, and requested Kunling Mountain to expel them from the Chaoyang Assembly, without specifically naming any disciples.
The letter also only mentioned forwarding a letter to Baili Xin, and did not mention anyone else.
Looking back, one could assume that the only Longguang Sect disciple who came to the Chaoyang Assembly was Baili Xin, or one could assume there were four.
Looking back, that letter from the Longguang Sect clearly intended to shirk responsibility after the fact, unwilling to have any connection with those three impostors.
It was impossible to say that the Longguang Sect did not know about the three impostors, otherwise they would not have made the real Zhang, Zhu, and Dou disciples hide away.
But if one were to truly accuse them based on this, it could not serve as evidence at all. Who could prove they were hiding away? Could they not just be in secluded cultivation?
And this was exactly what made Kunling Mountain feel it was eerie. The Longguang Sect would actually involve itself in such matters.
Coupled with the current intervention of the Daye Bureau, represented by Xiang Lanxuan, Kunling Mountain really could not figure out how deep this pool of water was, making them even more reluctant to intervene lightly. Late at night, Zhan Yunqi, a disciple of Sect Leader Zhao Dengzi, arrived at the Dingyin Zone with a few others.
He had come precisely for the matter of Yu Qing drawing lots, but he did not rush to see Yu Qing. Instead, he first went to pay his respects to the Law Enforcement Elder, Wan Liqiu.
There was no other way. Wan Liqiu was stationed here specifically to prevent anyone from violating the rules or cheating. Making Yu Qing draw lots last was inherently a rule-breaking matter, and it would not do to fail to communicate with Wan Liqiu first.
Zhan Yunqi first explained the ins and outs of the matter clearly, and only then did he take out the letter from Zhao Dengzi.
The letter only mentioned the situation in general terms, primarily to prove that what Zhan Yunqi was saying was true. After all, some things were not easy to write down in their entirety. Furthermore, it emphasised that this was a collective decision made by the senior members of the sect, and the seniors had all agreed.
This meant Wan Liqiu had no choice but to agree. He alone could not oppose the overall decision of the sect. Moreover, the situation was right there, and the sect’s decision was understandable.
Therefore, he agreed to let Zhan Yunqi go and communicate this matter with Yu Qing, and he dispatched someone to supervise the execution. Coincidentally, Qin Fujun, who was listening in, volunteered to go, and Wan Liqiu approved.
Thus, the group headed straight for the mountain top of the Dingyin Zone, with Wu Tian personally leading the way as before.
This display naturally alarmed the neighbours on both sides.
Ke Ran and others peered out of the windows, not knowing what was going on.
Chan Shaoting and others also found it strange. Xiao Changdao and Wu Ronggui saw that Qin Fujun had also come, looked at each other, and were curious about what was happening. They even suspected whether Qin Fujun was going to make a move against Yu Qing, after all, the other party was clearly investigating Yu Qing.
People from the neighbouring residences came out one after another, all wanting to come over and see what was going on, but they were stopped at the door by Kunling Mountain disciples, who did not allow them to enter or even approach.
This action surprised them greatly.
Not to mention their surprise. After learning of Zhan Yunqi’s purpose, Yu Qing also wore a look of astonishment. He also felt very surprised and frowned, refusing to express his stance.
Zhan Yunqi could only stand by and earnestly explain the reasoning, saying it was also for his own good.
Nan Zhu and others, who were listening in, were also speechless.
Knowing that they were together, Zhan Yunqi did not ask them to step aside.
Not expecting such a thing to happen, Nan Zhu could not help but interject, “Is this not a violation of the rules?”
Zhan Yunqi replied, “Naturally, we must seek the consent of the other participating members. If everyone agrees, then that becomes a rule everyone can accept. If they disagree, then forget it.”
Yu Qing scratched his small moustache and asked in puzzlement, “You certainly know how to speak. The problem is, there is absolutely no need for this. I admit my luck was a bit good earlier, but it cannot possibly be that good. How could I win three times in a row? Is your sect not being a bit too meddlesome?”
Zhan Yunqi countered, “What if you do win? Have you considered the consequences? You will face a series of troubles. Although the truth cannot be faked, once there are too many voices of doubt, you will definitely have to undergo a series of investigations. Brother Zhang, you may not understand that proving a person’s innocence is often harder than proving a person is guilty.”
Yu Qing almost plucked out one of his own beard hairs. He almost wanted to give the other party an absolute guarantee that he definitely would not win, because he knew perfectly well that he would use cheating methods this time to ensure he did not win. However, how could you guarantee such a thing?
He never dreamed such a matter would arise. He still wanted to cheat in this round to draw Mu Aotie, wanting to personally force Mu Aotie to withdraw in order to protect him. Now that this situation had occurred, what was he supposed to do?
What if something happened to Mu Aotie in this very round? What was he supposed to do then?
Feeling very troubled, he could only smile bitterly and reiterate, “You are truly overthinking this. It is really impossible to have such good luck. I can even guarantee that I definitely will not draw it.”
Qin Fujun, who had been watching coldly from the side, could not help but speak up, “How can this be guaranteed? Unless you can cheat! The pros and cons of the matter have been explained to you very clearly. If you win by chance, it will make things difficult for everyone, and you will not be spared either. Since you cannot win either way, you will not lose anything by agreeing. Why evade it like this? Is it really necessary?”
Seeing this group of people pressing him so hard, Nan Zhu, standing to the side, could not help but scratch his forehead, because he was the only one who knew Yu Qing’s plan, knowing that the fifteenth wanted to use the drawing of lots to protect the ninth.
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