I Was Entangled by the Pathological Protagonists [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The first round of the elimination matches lasted for two days, leaving only a little over a hundred disciples to qualify for the second round, the Elite Match. Next, in this Elite Match, the top ten would be selected to enter the final duel between the “Chosen Sons of Heaven.”

The sect remained abuzz with excitement, but the topic most discussed undeniably—was a sudden dark horse.

Yan Li.

A mortal child brought back to the Yaoguang Sect by Sect Master Wuyan five years ago; after being tested and found to possess extraordinary natural talent, he was taken as a disciple by the Sect Master. To say he had soared to the heavens in a single bound would not be an exaggeration.

However, no one expected this boy to be of low character. Petty theft aside, he frequently damaged the Elders’ important belongings and actually refused to admit it when caught.

If not for Senior Brother Lin’er’s protection, it wouldn’t have been settled with just a few light punishments.

But the disciples’ hatred for him was undeniable. They felt it wasn’t worth Senior Brother Lin’er protecting him; it was only because Senior Brother Lin’er had a gentle temperament, and plus, this boy had become the Sect Master’s disciple… ah, even more hateful.

While most disciples didn’t dare do much to him, their loathing and disdain meant they never gave him a single good look. Ultimately, there were still those who found him an eyesore and cornered him; the disciples who knew of this usually turned a blind eye, feeling a sense of relief in their hearts.

And Yan Li’s silence only caused the disciples bullying him to become increasingly arrogant and push their luck; this continued for five years.

When word spread a month ago that he had suddenly resisted sending several disciples who usually bullied him to the Cliff of Repentance for five years of seclusion—the crowd expressed surprise for the first time. They hadn’t expected that after five years of silent endurance, he would finally be unable to take it anymore. Though it was a case of those disciples reaping what they sowed, the crowd’s dislike for Yan Li didn’t change one bit.

Then came the current Sect Grand Competition. They were surprised that Yan Li, who was like a “transparent person” in the sect, actually participated—but what was even more shocking was this boy’s strength.

Quiet as a grave until he spoke, but once he did, he startled the world.

If the crowd still held onto a sense of fluke regarding his victories in the initial matches, then by today’s Elite Match, the duel between Yan Li and Senior Brother Li Mu who had entered the peak of Foundation Building finally made everyone believe completely.

“Will you admit defeat yourself, or shall I knock you off the arena?”

Li Mu, who had recently entered the peak of Foundation Building, was naturally proud and conceited. He believed that aside from the few Senior Brothers and Sisters who had long been at the peak of Foundation Building, no one was his match.

At this moment, in his eyes, the obscure Yan Li was just like the opponents he had easily defeated in the previous two days; it would take no effort at all.

However, the black-clothed youth standing opposite him with an upright posture didn’t even flicker his dark, stagnant eyes. In fact, after the words fell, he coolly replied:

“Those words… should be said by me instead.”

So rampant.

As if he had heard a massive joke, Li Mu let out a “ha” and laughed, drawing his sword from its scabbard and pointing it at Yan Li.

“I hope your strength is enough to match your mouth!”

Having spoken, he attacked directly. He used his full strength from the start with no intention of holding back, clearly wanting to give the arrogant Yan Li a painful lesson.

At this time, Yan Li still had the mind to be distracted. He glanced at a beautiful figure sitting below the Elders on the spectator stands. Seeing that he was consistently watching this direction, Yan Li finally, unhurriedly, raised the sharp sword in his hand to meet the challenge.

A flash of blades and shadows followed; the coldness rushing toward them made even the onlookers below the stage unable to stop themselves from taking a step back.

And just fifteen minutes later, the victor was decided.

The crowd held their breath, gazing at the only black-clothed youth standing tall upon the arena. Accompanied by the referee announcing the result of the match, their pupils shook; they were stunned once again.

This dark horse was a true dark horse.

The crowd couldn’t help but fall into a daze, recalling when Yan Li was first taken in by Sect Master Wuyan. He was clearly just a mortal body with no cultivation, and yet, only five years had passed.

Starting two days ago, the disparaging remarks against this boy among the crowd had unconsciously decreased. By this moment, there was no longer any voice of contempt.

Even if this person’s character was low, his extraordinary natural talent acknowledged even by the Sect Master and his currently seemingly superior strength were indisputable facts.

Middle Foundation Building vs. Peak Foundation Building: A total victory.

The second duel began, ending even faster than the previous battle with Senior Brother Li Mu.

The third match…

The fourth match…

Until he qualified for the top ten.

The audience below, having witnessed all of this, couldn’t even manage to deceive themselves anymore.

Yan Lin felt as if he could hear the slap slap slap sound of face-slapping in the air; he felt especially gratified.

A protagonist should look like a protagonist leaking an overbearing aura and staging counterattacks are standard features. Thinking of the upcoming “Talents Match,” making it into the top five should be no problem.

Furthermore, surely after this incident, the protagonist would realize his own extraordinary nature and henceforth rise up with indomitable spirit.

Yan Lin, still working two jobs, couldn’t help but nod. He seemed to already be able to see the protagonist radiating ten thousand feet of light in the future.

…

The final “Talents Match” was held as scheduled. Regardless of the Golden Core matches, let’s turn the lens to the side where the protagonist was present.

Among the top ten, there were the six recognized individuals like Senior Brother Qin Peng and Senior Sister Yuan Yao, who had long been at the peak of Foundation Building, as well as the dark horse Yan Li, who had forced his way in contrary to everyone’s expectations.

One could say his luck was good; he had never run into the six like Qin Peng or Yuan Yao, luckily qualifying for the top ten.

Among the others was the well-known Senior Brother Li Mu; though defeated by Yan Li in the Elite Match, he had fought hard in the subsequent loser-bracket matches to reclaim his spot in the top ten.

He was currently glaring viciously at Yan Li, seemingly looking for a chance to reclaim his honor.

And among the top ten currently in the Talents Match, aside from the seven disciples at the peak of Foundation Building, Yan Li’s cultivation was the lowest of the remaining three; it was only the Middle Foundation Building stage.

However, no one would look down on him for this anymore. The moment this dark horse appeared abruptly and defeated Li Mu, he had captured everyone’s attention.

Including the other two Late Foundation Building disciples; they couldn’t guarantee they could win against Senior Brother Li Mu, yet Yan Li had done what was impossible for them.

And what followed would once again cause everyone’s jaws to drop.

At this moment, Elder Nanyang presided over this final Talents Match. He looked at Yan Li, the one with the lowest cultivation among the ten disciples, with a look of comfort in his eyes, and then announced:

“Disciple Yan Li, which opponent do you intend to challenge?”

The rule of the Talents Match was that starting from the one with the lowest cultivation, one could freely choose to challenge any of the other nine disciples.

Everyone, including Perfected Cultivator Nanyang, believed that Yan Li would choose one of the two Late Foundation Building disciples.

However, they saw his heavy gaze slowly turn, finally landing on Qin Peng. He then raised his hand and pointed.

In that instant, countless people below the stage gasped. One must know that among the seven peak Foundation Building disciples, the strongest was Senior Brother Qin Peng. The person in question also looked at Yan Li with quite a bit of surprise.

Nanyang paused for a moment. Intending to give this “overconfident” boy a chance to choose again, he spoke once more:

“Are you certain?”

Without hesitation or stalling, Yan Li nodded.

Nanyang sighed. Out of necessity, he could only announce the start of the match.

Undoubtedly, this was the most eye-catching match whether one was mocking Yan Li’s overconfidence or secretly harboring a faint expectation.

The crowd that had followed Yan Li’s matches from beginning to end had long ago silently changed their view of him.

In the cultivation world, the strong prey on the weak. When one sees someone breaking conventions to easily achieve what they themselves cannot, they have already more or less gained the admiration and worship of others.

The protagonist’s brilliance finally bloomed completely at this moment.

With a Middle Foundation Building cultivation, he defeated peak Foundation Building disciples one after another at the Sect Grand Competition, taking the championship.

He hadn’t just made it into the top five.

Although the top five selected would represent the Yaoguang Sect in the alliance competition later, the first-place spot held an extraordinary significance as it represented supreme glory.

Furthermore, the top three would receive rewards personally presented by the Sect Master.

Wuyan looked at Yan Li standing at the very front, his eyes inevitably becoming a bit more complex.

On one hand, he was struck by the boy’s strength as expected of a possessor of the Supreme Profound Spirit Bone. On the other hand, he couldn’t help but think: if this boy didn’t die halfway through, he would surely become a peerless powerhouse for both the Yaoguang Sect and the entire cultivation world in the near future.

But… there are no “ifs.”

The reward for first place was a high-grade magical treasure: the Glazed Pagoda.

Yan Li said his thanks after receiving it, but when Wuyan told him to refine it on the spot, he shook his head.

Afterward, he came before Yan Lin and offered the hard-won high-grade magical treasure with raised hands.

“Senior Brother…”

Yan Lin glanced at him, unable to look directly at the other’s submissive posture. He casually took the palm-sized Glazed Pagoda, flipped it around a few times, and then threw it back.

With Wuyan’s indulgence toward him, was there anything he lacked?

To be honest, even “top-grade” magical treasures, two or three of them, were sitting in his storage space gathering dust.