Nonsense! How could my adopted son be a villain?

Without Su Wen interfering, the last two days of the competition went very smoothly.

The top ten spots were all taken by Jiuzhuan Mountain Villa.

The only problem is who is second best between Chai Feng and Dong Yang.

As agreed beforehand, the two got into a fight.

Chai Feng possessed immense strength, wielding a large sword with sweeping, powerful strokes; while Dongyang Li was swift and agile, his long whip and soft sword being his signature skills, which he used with ease.

The two, one as steady as a mountain and the other as agile as a dragon, engaged in a real, intense sparring match, which was quite a sight to behold.

Xu Lingguang and the other disciples watched the battle from the sidelines, dazzled by the spectacle, and with a touch of envy.

From the fight between Chai Feng and Dongyang Li, he saw the kind of unrestrained and passionate spirit described in novels. Although this world is full of dangers, it seems quite interesting to be like Dongyang Li, honing one's own skills and having a few close friends to travel the world together.

While Xu Lingguang was lost in thought, the sparring match between Chai Feng and Dongyang Li had already ended.

Dongyang Li was not steady enough and fell into Chai Feng's trap, losing a crucial move and being subdued by Chai Feng.

He was able to accept defeat gracefully. He sheathed his soft sword, broke free from Chai Feng's grasp, and said with a sullen face, "I lost."

A smile flashed in Chai Feng's eyes as he said, "What will happen if you lose?"

Dongyang Li glared at him fiercely, her face turning red, her fingers clenched so tightly by her sides that they made a cracking sound.

Xu Lingguang recalled the bet Dongyang Li had mentioned earlier and asked the disciple beside him, "Should we excuse ourselves?"

Dongyang had previously said that if Chai Feng lost, he would have to kowtow to him and call him "Grandpa" three times.

Now that Dongyang Li has lost, others probably shouldn't watch this scene, as they might be silenced later.

The other disciples all watched the spectacle with smiles on their faces, seemingly unconcerned about being silenced. Xu Lingguang's decision to leave alone seemed too deliberate, so he had no choice but to stay and continue watching.

Chai Feng crossed his arms, his hawk-like eyes fixed on Dongyang Li, showing no sign of holding back, and urged, "Call him quickly."

Dongyang Li took a deep breath and quickly said, "Brother."

Chai Feng pretended to pick his ear: "I didn't hear it."

Dongyang Li was annoyed and, in a fit of desperation, shouted loudly, "Brother, brother, brother, brother!"

He was already fair-skinned, but now even the tips of his ears were red, and he looked like he was about to explode at any moment: "Is that enough?"

Chai Feng nodded and reached out to pat his head: "That's enough, be good."

Dongyang Li pulled out the whip hanging from his waist and was about to lash him, but Chai Feng nimbly dodged it, and the two chased each other into the distance.

Xu Lingguang: "..."

I was caught off guard and fed a mouthful of dog food (a Chinese slang term for witnessing public displays of affection), and now I regret it.

I should have left just now.

*

On the morning of the tenth day, the Hundred Refinements Competition concluded.

The first place winner was Xu Lingguang. In addition to the rewards that all the top ten received, he also received an extra talisman. With this talisman, he could choose any three refining materials from the treasure vault of the Hidden Edge Sect.

Dongyang Li, who is next to her, is in third place and can only choose one item.

But he seemed even happier than Xu Lingguang: "This time we're going to really fleece Cangfengmen."

This time, Nine Turns Manor won a great victory, and Hidden Edge Sect naturally lost face. At this moment, he wanted to stick his tail up in the air so that everyone could see it.

Xu Lingguang quietly asked, "When we went to the treasure vault to select items, was it mentioned that we had to go alone?"

Dongyang Li thought for a moment and said, "No, that's not the case. If you don't know how to choose, you can bring a friend to help you. Although Cangfeng Sect is stingy, they have a lot of good stuff in their treasure vault. According to people who have been there in previous years, you won't lose too much even if you choose blindly."

Xu Lingguang thought to himself that he would have to take Muyun to choose one.

Seeing him looking around, Dongyang Li quickly pulled him aside and said, "There's a victory celebration banquet tonight, are you coming too? We were able to win this time thanks to you. Many of my fellow disciples have heard of your great name and want to meet you."

Xu Lingguang naturally declined. He considered Dongyang Li a friend and was willing to spend time with him. But he wouldn't go for the others from Nine Turns Manor. He was afraid that if he interacted with too many people, he might accidentally reveal his weaknesses and cause trouble.

“My brother is still waiting for me, I have to go see them first.” Xu Lingguang handed the token representing the casting quota to Dongyang Li: “You know a lot of people, if you have the chance, please help me sell this.”

Dongyang Li agreed and added, "This time we achieved a great victory, and our Earth Fire Vein deserves the most credit. There will be a reward from the manor later. We agreed before that we would split the reward equally, and I will give it to you once the quota is transferred."

Xu Lingguang said "okay," and seeing that the disciples of Jiuzhuan Manor were looking this way, he said goodbye to Dongyang Li: "They are waiting for you, you should go quickly. I also need to go find my brother."

Dongyang Li was quite reluctant to part with him. Seeing that he was about to run away without looking back, she pulled him back and muttered a complaint, "You heartless bastard, you didn't even say we should leave a communication talisman. Where am I supposed to find you after you run away?"

Xu Lingguang belatedly realized what was happening and hurriedly tried to give him the communication talisman, but when he reached for the Sumeru Ring, he remembered that he had entrusted all his belongings to Youyu for safekeeping. He looked at Dongyang Li with embarrassment.

Seeing this, Dongyang Li sighed and shook his head, then handed him his communication talisman: "This is mine, take it. If you don't have a communication talisman, you should at least tell me where to find you, right?"

Xu Lingguang said, "Find Manager Zhao of Qianjinlou in Qingyu City, he will pass on my message."

Dongyang was satisfied and let him leave.

Xu Lingguang waved and walked through the bustling crowd to find Youyu and the others.

Knowing that the competition was over, Youyu drove his carriage early with the cubs to wait.

When Youyu learned that Xu Lingguang had actually won first place in the competition, he was quite surprised and felt that he had underestimated Xu Lingguang.

Xu Lingguang had no idea what he was surprised about. He pushed his way through the crowd and saw Youyu sitting on the carriage shaft, with Yu Rong and Yun Feng squatting in a row next to him, and Mu Yun and Zhao Ling each squatting on the heads of the two cubs.

The four cubs craned their necks, their round eyes darting around, searching for Xu Lingguang in the crowd.

Upon seeing Xu Lingguang, the cubs became excited. Yu Rong and Yun Feng pounced into his arms with a kick of their hind paws. Mu Yun and Zhao Ling, who were perched on their heads, were not able to react in time and fell onto the carriage shaft, rolled twice, and then got up and pounced on Xu Lingguang as well.

Xu Lingguang was instantly covered with four cubs, making him look very heavy.

He weighed the cubs in his hands and said, "Looks like they've been eating well these past few days; they've all gained a bit of weight."

Yu Rong rubbed her head against his face and said in a soft, sweet voice, "The food at the restaurant isn't as good as what you make."

He ate two bites less of his food!

Yun Feng snorted and said, "Yu Rong is lying, he ate the most."

Ignoring their argument, Mu Yun squatted down on Xu Lingguang's head and said excitedly, "You got first place!"

Zhaoling poked her head out from her bodice and chirped, "First! First!"

Xu Lingguang was actually a little proud of himself for managing to survive to first place. Although there was an element of luck involved, it was still first place!

After all, he had previously thought that making it into the top 30 would be quite good.

But now that the cubs are praising him, he feels embarrassed: "It's just good luck, but there are a lot of rewards for first place. We'll have money and can eat lots of delicious food."

The cubs were immediately delighted and chattered amongst themselves about what delicious food they wanted to eat.

Xu Lingguang then had a chance to look at Youyu and said, "You've worked hard these past few days."

Yu did not feel tired and returned the Sumeru Ring and Jade Unicorn Hoof to him: "Here you go."

Xu Lingguang quickly put on the jade pendant. Without it hanging around his neck, he always felt a sense of unease, as if his life was in danger at any moment.

He finally felt relieved when he could feel the familiar coolness on his chest.

"Tomorrow I will go to the treasure vault of Cangfeng Sect to select rewards. I will stay here for another day, and then we can set off back tomorrow."

It's been more than ten days since I left, so it's about time I went back to visit.

I wonder if the donkey and chickens at home have gotten thin from hunger.