Chapter 1872: Top-Notch Backstabbers
Could it be that he had to take the initiative to admit defeat and step down, just like those Priests before? Other people could afford to lose face like that, but as a Main Priest, he absolutely could not.
He couldn’t fight, and he couldn’t concede. So what was he supposed to do? Fan Chengli was caught in a dilemma, anxiously tugging at his Beard.
Mu Hanyan watched Fan Chengli obliviously yank out a handful of his white Beard and secretly found it funny. Weren’t you the one who teamed up with Long Aoli earlier to make things hard for me? How come you don’t even dare say a word now? If I don’t let you see how tough I can be, you’ll really think I’m easy to bully.
“Looks like Main Priest Fan doesn’t wish to accept my challenge, so let’s switch to Chief Priest Ma then.” Mu Hanyan spoke as she shifted her gaze to Ma Jingtian, the Main Priest of Xiafeng Temple.
After all, she still had to gain a foothold on the Divine Continent and didn’t intend to offend all the Main Priests of the Twelve Divine Temples. They didn’t have any deep-seated blood feud; everything was for the benefit of their respective temples. Even if their methods were a bit dirty, it hadn’t yet reached the level of unforgivable evil. Mu Hanyan wasn’t the type to hound someone to death when she had the upper hand—giving them a lesson, scaring them a bit, was enough.
Hearing Mu Hanyan say this, Fan Chengli let out a long sigh of relief, his heart unexpectedly filled with a strange sense of gratitude.
If Mu Hanyan hadn’t given him a way out, he truly wouldn’t have known what decision to make; he had even been ready to use his Fainting Escape Technique. Even though collapsing in this situation would be just as humiliating, it was still better than dying on the spot or voluntarily conceding and ruining his reputation, right?
Ma Jingtian froze for a moment, then, just like Fan Chengli, he started tugging at his Beard, cold sweat dripping from his forehead one bead after another.
“Seems Chief Priest Ma isn’t willing to accept my challenge either, in that case…” Seeing Ma Jingtian’s face redden from inner turmoil to the point he looked like he might have a cerebral hemorrhage at any moment, Mu Hanyan finally let him off the hook and turned her eyes to the next Main Priest.
She challenged them one after another, and just like the first two, no one dared to accept. Each was caught in a dilemma, forced into a sweat-soaked panic.
Fortunately, Mu Hanyan knew how to read the situation. She always let them off at the very moment they were most distressed, when their minds were on the verge of collapse. Although being pushed into such a corner by a junior was shameful enough, when they thought of the even more terrifying consequences, without exception, they all felt deeply grateful to Mu Hanyan.
After all, Mu Hanyan was only doing this because they had pushed her into it. If they hadn’t initially been so aggressive toward her, joining forces to make things difficult, how would she have been forced to this point? In the end, it was all self-inflicted on their part.
Of course, as for Chu Yanghe and the other Main Priests who had intervened earlier to help, Mu Hanyan showed mercy and intentionally skipped over them. She had always been clear about gratitude and grudges: if others treat her a foot well, she repays them a yard. Since they had expressed goodwill at a crucial moment, she naturally had to spare them some dignity.
Noticing Mu Hanyan’s goodwill, the few of them were all deeply moved. It seemed Mu Hanyan wasn’t someone oblivious to worldly affairs. Even if that Heaven and Earth Treasures ended up in her hands, as long as everyone sat down and discussed it properly, it wasn’t impossible that others could gain some benefits alongside her. The reason Long Aoli and Ou Mingzhi had instigated everyone to become her enemies was purely because of their own selfish motives!
“Looks like none of you are willing to fight, so that leaves you, Priest Ou!” In the end, Mu Hanyan’s gaze landed on Ou Dechuan.
She understood very well that among so many Main Priests joining hands to make trouble for her, there had to be someone pulling the strings. As for who it was, did she even need to guess? Aside from Long Aoli and Ou Dechuan, who else had such a grudge with her? The rest had basically no contact with her at all. Right, Chu Yanghe had originally been suspicious too, but since he had given her a warning beforehand and clearly no longer held the Feng City Temple matter against her, Mu Hanyan had excluded him.
Ou Dechuan’s face was dark, and he likewise said nothing.
“What’s wrong, Priest Ou, don’t you dare?” Mu Hanyan pressed step by step.
She could spare the others, but she absolutely could not let the culprit off lightly. She was no soft persimmon to be squeezed at will; when the time called for toughness, she would never grow soft-hearted.
Cold sweat suddenly poured from Ou Dechuan. When Mu Hanyan had faced the other Main Priests earlier, she only made things difficult briefly before letting them go. Yet when it came to him, she clung on relentlessly. Of course he knew what that implied.
“Priest Mu, to be honest, your earlier challenge to Dragon Chief Priest already violated the rules. The Dragon Sacrificial Master insisted on doing as he pleased and we had no way to stop him, but I, Ou Dechuan, have always led by example and will not be the one to disrupt the rules of the sacrificial ceremony.
If you want to challenge me, that’s fine; just come to my Lingyu Divine Hall some other day when you have time. But this time, you cannot. We should wait until I and the other Master Priests have first agreed upon the competition rules, and then draw lots to decide the matches.” Ou Dechuan’s eyes rolled as he came up with an idea, speaking to Mu Hanyan with righteous confidence.
Mu Hanyan looked at Ou Dechuan with a cold smile. To think he used this trick to dodge her—this old man was truly sly.
“No need to draw lots, I abstain.”
“I abstain too.”
“Me too, I abstain.”
…
Before Mu Hanyan could respond, the other Main Priests spoke in unison.
They had finally escaped a calamity; how could they still have the mood to continue the competition? What’s more, they weren’t stupid—how could they not see Ou Dechuan’s intention? Dragging out the rules again, he clearly wanted to pull them into the water with him. They had already been dragged down once by him and Long Aoli earlier; how could they make the same stupid mistake again?
In just the time of a single breath, Chu Yanghe and the other ten Main Priests all announced their abstention and decisively stepped off the stage, clearly unwilling to stand alongside Ou Dechuan anymore.
Ou Dechuan stood there, mouth agape, unable to recover. He had thought that as long as they started drawing lots, he would immediately abstain, thus avoiding facing Mu Hanyan while still saving face. Who would have thought these old guys would react faster than him? Before the drawing even started, everyone else had already abstained. On the stage, only he and Mu Hanyan remained.
Watching those old men step down at lightning speed, Mu Hanyan almost burst out laughing. These elders really were wily old foxes—their reactions and movements were so quick even she was a bit caught off guard. Look at Ou Dechuan, they had pitted him so badly his eyes were bulging.
“Priest Ou, all the other Main Priests have abstained. Now it’s just you and me. Get ready—we’re about to start.” Mu Hanyan pointed her sword at Ou Dechuan, teasing him.
“You… you all…” Ou Dechuan pointed at that group of treacherous comrades, so angry he couldn’t even form words.
“Priest Ou, don’t worry about them. You should focus on preparing to receive my attack.” Mu Hanyan looked at Ou Dechuan, smiling sweetly.
Down below, everyone turned their eyes to Ou Dechuan, their gazes full of sympathy. By now they all understood: the other Main Priests had thoroughly seen the light and no longer wished to oppose Mu Hanyan, nor did they have the time to fool around with Ou Dechuan.
“I… concede.” Ou Dechuan shot Chu Yanghe a fierce glare, then finally ground out his words.
As soon as he spoke, he spat out a mouthful of old blood and fainted on the spot.
He fainted just like that? Mu Hanyan actually felt a bit of sympathy for Ou Dechuan. If he was going to faint anyway, why not do it earlier? At least he could have used the Fainting Escape Technique to preserve a bit of face. Instead he waited until after admitting defeat to pass out—wasn’t that losing both face and bottom? This old man seemed pretty crafty, so why was he suddenly acting so foolish now?
She didn’t realize that Ou Dechuan had been completely angered into it by that pack of treacherous friends. With his heart inflamed by rage, he hadn’t had the time to think so far ahead.
“She won, Master Priest has won!” Behind her, Shen Yuhe shouted in celebration for the first time.