Before Lu Mingshu could settle down when she got back, somebody came to her door again.
It was Shao Zhengyang.
"Junior Sister Lu, Brother Kou Wei wants to see us. Shall we go together?"
Since it was Kou Wei, it should be something important.
Lu Mingshu quickly kept her stuff and followed behind Shao Zhengyang.
Lanterns lit up the courtyard brightly. When they arrived, everyone else had already arrived, and they were all bustling with noise and excitement.
"Ah, Miss Lu, you guys are finally here!" Yue Lingyin, being the most observant, noticed them first and signaled for them to come in.
Silence took over the courtyard, and everyone's eyes were on them.
"We're late." Shao Zhengyang smiled and bowed to the rest. "Sorry."
Lu Mingshu followed and bowed too.
"Nah," Kou Wei smiled. "We haven't even gotten to the main point yet."
On the other hand, Qi Sheng had already grabbed seats for them. "Brother Shao, Miss Lu, here."
"Come here, sit with me." Yue Lingyin pulled Lu Mingshu over affectionately.
Both of them got into their seats, and Kou Wei started, "Junior Brother Shao, have you recovered? You're okay, right?"
Saying that, Kou Wei created a better image of himself in Lu Mingshu's heart. Even though Shao Zhengyang wasn't badly injured, but just the act of asking made her feel warm.
"I'm okay." Shao Zhengyang smiled. "My master is a medical expert. He gave me quite a number of medicines before we came. I will heal soon."
"That's good." Kou Wei smiled and diverted the attention to Lu Mingshu. "I believe I don't need to introduce her, right?"
Laughter and lively discussion filled the courtyard; "Of course there's no need to, she's so well known."
"Yeah, Miss Lu doesn't know us, but we know her."
"I've been wanting to meet you for a long time!"
"Miss Lu, I'm…"
This was the first time in her life that people were fighting just to get to know her so enthusiastically, not treating her like a pest and avoiding her as soon as they saw her.
"Hey, slow down, people!" Qi Sheng shouted. "How is she even supposed to catch up with you guys when you are so noisy? Don't have a cow!"
"'Yeah, yeah, yeah, you're very considerate, okay?"
After the long introduction, Kou Wei cut to the chase; "Okay, it's getting late, and there's still a competition tomorrow. Let's get to the point."
With his prestige, as soon as he spoke, silence took over the courtyard.
"The Qilin Festival is only held once every decade, and to the Spirit Realms, that's just right for them. But for us, we only have two chances, and I doubt anyone wants a third chance, am I right?"
Everyone burst out laughing.
Everyone present was a well-known figure from their respective sects. The optimal age to enter the Spirit Realm was around thirty. If one was above thirty-five and still couldn't break through to the Spirit Realm, they would not even have enough face to go out. That's why this group would only participate in Qilin Festival twice at most, and for some, only once.
"Among us, there aren't many who have participated in the Qilin Festival. It's the first time for most of you." Kou Wei then pointed to himself. "I am older than you guys and have obviously participated in the last Qilin Festival, so let me be thick-skinned and share my thoughts."
"Senior Brother Kou, save the humility; you got into the top five after being in the Harmonization Realm for only three years. I would have begged you to tell me even if you hadn't said anything!"
"That's right! Just say something if you want our compliments!" Qi Sheng jeered.
Qi Sheng was immediately hit hard on his head.
"Don't joke. Be serious."
"Okay, I'll shut up…."
Kou Wei started again, "I'm sure every one of you is clear on the rules for the Qilin Festival. There are three things to take note of if you want to win: Firstly, you must have enough fights. Secondly, pick the correct opponent. Thirdly, never lose. According to the points deducted when you lose, you shouldn't fight if there isn't at least a fifty percent chance of winning."
"He's right," Yue Lingyin added on. "It's okay to lose when one has fewer points, but as your points get higher, a single loss can be equivalent to waving goodbye to the top ten."
Everybody nodded. That was an important point.
"The next thing would be choosing an opponent." Kou Wei wet a chopstick with some tea and started scribbling on the table. "Two things to take note of while choosing an opponent – First, their marks. Second, their ability. Overlooking either will get you caught up in trouble. Ability-wise, I believe everyone here knows how to determine that. As for points, the earlier you fight, the more you lose out."
Everyone turned to look at Kou Wei's scribble. Fighting a ten-mark opponent only got you two marks, while fighting a twenty-mark opponent got you four marks. With simple math, it was easy to tell that, the earlier you started, the less efficient it was.
"But Senior Brother Kou, if we start too late, won't we not have enough points?"
Kou Wei smiled widely. "Indeed. So, we must get the hang of the timing." He placed his chopstick down and turned to the group. "Everyone here is the best from your respective sect, so I'm just going to be frank; there's no doubt that we will meet each other during the competition, and then… we are all opponents."
Everyone nodded. Personal relationships were one thing, but things were different on the battlefield. Who would be willing to be someone else's stepping stone? Everyone wanted to get on the New Ranking.
"However," Kou Wei paused for a moment. "If we go against each other too early, it would only benefit others."
This was easy to understand.
"Senior Brother Kou, are you saying we should wait to fight?"
Kou Wei smiled. "When the competition just starts, the disciples who know they have no chance for the top ten and just want to get famous will take the first step. When they have finished competing, that's when we will come in, and they are the key to us winning."
"Senior Brother Kou!" He was being so mild and indirect that Yue Lingyin couldn't take it anymore. "I'll do it, okay?"
"Sure thing." Kou Wei burst into laughter. "You can take over."
Yue Lingyin cleared her throat before she started; "Let's split this into three stages. First stage – let them compete with each other. When they become fat lambs, that will be the second stage, where we go up and eat the lambs. After eating the lambs is the third stage – cannibalism!"
The way she said it sent Kou Wei into laughter. "What 'fat lambs'? Where is your respect?"
"Oh my god, don't act like you aren't thinking the same thing, you hypocrite." Yue Lingyin rolled her eyes before turning to the rest. "Clear?"
"Yes!" the rest answered.
Compared to Kou Wei's decent explanation, Yue Lingyin's was much more understandable.
"Good." Yue Lingyin clapped. "So, that is the summary of the challenger fight. We will lose if we go against each other before stage three."
The rest nodded.
"Yay!" Yue Lingyin clapped. "Then that's it."
She looked at Kou Wei proudly. "Senior Brother Kou, anything to add?"
Kou Wei touched his nose. "You took my lines, what's left for me to say? Anyway, even if we don't fight each other tomorrow, we cannot ensure that no one else will challenge us. Let's go back and rest."
Everyone nodded.
"Also," Kou Wei added on, "Not all of the best fighters are here to join this plan, so everyone should still have your guards up."
For example, the Seventh Truth Platform and the Ancient Jade Summit weren't here. Kou Wei may have been prestigious, but not everyone gave him face.
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