"Nonsense! There's no way my disciple could have killed your disciple!"
Azure Cloud Sect's Master Gu Guanting jumped onto the stage and defended Hong Yu'er.
"Everybody here has witnessed the match — my disciple did not even touch your disciple!"
"I don't know how she did it, but I am certain that she killed my disciple!"
"Bulls.h.i.+t! Where's your proof?!" Gu Guanting shouted in anger.
Although 10 million Spirit Stones is an astronomical amount of wealth, the Azure Cloud Sect can survive without it. However, Hong Yu'er's reputation and safety is another story. If she takes the fault for Mao Yijun's death, the Million Snakes Sect will definitely go after her, especially after how she basically slapped their entire sect in the face in front of millions of people today.
"Proof?! What proof do I need other than how she's been cruelly beating my disciples today?! She clearly has a grudge against us for whatever reason, and she finally couldn't resist her urges and killed one of them!"
Fu Kuan then turned to look at Lord Xie and bowed to him, "Your Majesty, this subordinate seeks justice for his disciple! After watching their performance today, I am certain that the Azure Cloud Sect is harboring some kind of malicious intent towards the Million Snakes Sect! Not only did they smear dog s.h.i.+t on our faces in this friendly tournament but they also killed one of our most talented disciples! Our Million Snakes Sect has never done anything to offend them! We do not deserve any of this!"
Lord Xie narrowed his eyes at Fu Kuan and sighed inwardly, 'As expected of Fu Kuan, he's a sly man with a glib tongue.'
However, before he could even say anything, Gu Guanting also stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty! There are millions of people here that have watched my disciple's every movement! There's simply no way that she could have killed him without being noticed at all! Although I cannot explain her unnatural behavior today, I am willing to bet with my position of Sect Master on the line that she did not kill him! There must be another reason why Mao Yijun collapsed!"
After a few moments of silence, Lord Xie spoke, "Sect Master Fu, I understand your frustration and sorrow, as this is truly an unfortunate event. However, I have been watching the entire time, and I did not see anything that could blame Hong Yu'er for Mao Yijun's death. With that being said, until we fully investigate the cause of Mao Yijun's death, I shall postpone my judgment."
"T-Thank you, Your Majesty!" Gu Guanting immediately showed a relieved smile and clasped his hand to show his grat.i.tude.
However, Fu Kuan only stood there with an unpleasant expression.
"B-But Your Majesty—"
"Enough. I understand that you want to resolve this as soon as possible, but until we know what caused Mao Yijun's death, there is nothing we can do. Zi Dong, I will leave this matter to you."
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Zi Dong immediately responded.
"Since there will be no more matches after this one, I shall excuse myself for now."
After saying those words, Lord Xie, along with Xie Xingfang, left the arena.
Once the Xie Family was no longer present, Fu Kuan turned to look at Gu Guanting and Hong Yu'er and said, "Don't even think for a second that this is over! You killed my disciple, and the Million Snakes Sect has never failed to repay our debts!"
"We are leaving!" Fu Kuan quickly turned around and began walking out of the arena with his disciples.
During this entire time, the spectators were silent. But once the Million Snakes Sect exited from the colosseum, they grew rowdy.
"Good heavens! The Azure Cloud Sect actually defeated the Million Snakes Sect, kicking them out on the first day! This is something n.o.body here expected! It's unprecedented!"
"The Million Snakes Sect has always been arrogant and unbearable. I cannot imagine what they are feeling after today's embarra.s.sing defeat!"
"Not only that, but it was sheer dominance from the Azure Cloud Sect's side! And this was all made possible by Fairy Hong!"
"Brother, I am worried about Sister Yu'er. What if the Million Snakes Sect goes after her because of what happened today?" Su Yin asked him.
"Knowing the Million Snakes Sect and their vengeful nature, that's very likely." Liu Lanzhi sighed.
"If you are worried about your fiancee, why don't you ask the Azure Cloud Sect to join the Alliance?" Bai Lihua suddenly suggested. "This will make the Million Snakes Sect think twice before they actually decide to do anything."
"Don't worry. I have a feeling that she will be fine even without our help. With that being said, getting the Azure Cloud Sect to join us is not a bad idea. I will talk to them when I have the chance," said Su Yang.
A few moments later, Zi Dong spoke loudly, "Congratulations to all of the winners today! We will be conducting another lottery for your next match shortly after this. As for the spectators, thank you for coming today, and we shall see you again tomorrow for the second day of the Regional Tournament!"
"Well, let's see if we will get a chance to fight tomorrow." Su Yang said as he stood up.
Sometime later, all of the Sect Masters whose sect won today gathered at the same place.
After everyone picked their number, Zi Dong began writing down the matches for tomorrow.
"Who picked the blank this time?" Zi Dong suddenly asked.
A tall and bulky middle-aged man raised his hand a second later.
When the other Sect Master realized the ident.i.ty of this man, they all heaved a sigh of relief.
"Thank heavens n.o.body will have to fight the Burning Lotus Sect for tomorrow's match."
"Right? Getting matched with the Burning Lotus Sect is akin to having an automatic loss…"
Now with the Burning Lotus Sect out of these Sect Masters' minds, they all focused on their next opponents.
"Yellow River Sect… do you know about this place?" Su Yang asked Liu Lanzhi about their opponents for tomorrow.
"They are a pretty famous place that is only three hundred miles away from our own place. Although they cannot be compared to an Elite Sect or the Azure Cloud Sect, they will be a worthy opponent for us."
"I hope so, or it'll be too boring." Su Yang said with a smile.