"Ah!"
Yu Longcheng seemed to freeze for a moment, then realized what had happened and let out a heart-wrenching scream.
He struggled in Qin Zi's grasp like a duck caught and flailing wildly.
"With such limited strength, you still want to compete for the position of Divine Son? Truly overestimating yourself."
Qin Zi sneered with disdain, then casually tossed him off the battle platform as if throwing out trash.
Ignoring the hateful glares from the members of the Yu family, he turned to the Sun-Devouring Emperor Palace Lord and said, "Please announce the result."
The Palace Lord glanced deeply at Qin Zi before showing a satisfied smile.
"Very well!"
He scanned the crowd and spoke in a dignified tone: "Everyone, the results of today's Divine Son competition are clear. The new Divine Son of the Sun-Devouring Emperor Palace is… hmm, what is your name?"
The Palace Lord didn't know Qin Zi's name because the Grand Elder liked to be mysterious and had never mentioned it.
"Qin Zi."
Qin Zi answered calmly.
The Palace Lord nodded and, with a smile, continued, "The new Divine Son is Qin…"
"Hold it!!"
At that moment, a booming voice rang out, and a streak of light shot across the sky.
"Boom!!"
A powerful Martial Emperor-level pressure spread out, sweeping over the crowd like a gale, causing many to stumble.
"Is that…"
"The Grand Elder?!"
Someone exclaimed as the approaching figure was revealed to be a stern, white-haired, black-robed old man—the Grand Elder of the Sun-Devouring Emperor Palace.
Beside the Grand Elder was a young man clad in a golden robe, tall and dignified, with an extraordinary aura.
The young man in the golden robe exuded a godlike presence.
He carried himself like a supreme king, his gaze indifferent as he swept his eyes across the crowd, as if proclaiming his dominance among his peers.
"Grand Elder, who is this?"
The Sun-Devouring Emperor Palace Lord glanced at the golden-robed youth, then at Qin Zi on the battle platform, momentarily bewildered.
Even a Martial Emperor could be caught off guard in such a strange situation.
The rest of the audience fell into stunned silence.
"Apologies for being late. We encountered some trouble on the road and were delayed… we didn't miss anything important, did we?"
The Grand Elder smiled wryly.
The Sun-Devouring Emperor Palace Lord, his expression tense, pointed at the golden-robed youth and asked, "And this young man is…?"
"Oh, this is the disciple I mentioned before, Jin Zhan, the peerless Divine Physique."
The Grand Elder smiled.
Boom!
The expressions of the crowd grew more dramatic as everyone turned to look at Qin Zi, exchanging glances.
The Sun-Devouring Emperor Palace Lord, realizing the gravity of the situation, took a deep breath and slowly pointed at Qin Zi. "Then who is he?"
The Grand Elder blinked, confused:
"I don't know. Why are you asking me? Shouldn't I be asking you? Who is this? Does the palace have such a person?"
The Palace Lord's face twitched, a surge of anger and embarrassment flooding through him.
Whoosh!
He suddenly spun around, glaring fiercely at Qin Zi, his voice sharp: "Who exactly are you?!"
Huh??
Qin Zi was completely dumbfounded.
What was going on? Weren't they the ones who invited him to compete for the Divine Son? Why were they suddenly denying it?
He took a deep breath, looked straight at the Palace Lord, and responded, neither humble nor arrogant: "I already told you, my name is Qin Zi, and I'm here to compete for the position of Divine Son."
"Who told you to come?!"
The Palace Lord's fury simmered beneath the surface as he coldly asked.
"Didn't you invite me here? I explained this earlier—there was an elder who evaluated me and said I was qualified to compete for the Divine Son."
Qin Zi answered confidently.
He wasn't lying!
He had said it before, and he was saying it now. An honest man, with nothing to hide.
The Palace Lord's face twitched again. Indeed, that's what Qin Zi had claimed before, but the Palace Lord had assumed he was the Grand Elder's disciple, which led to this farcical misunderstanding.
Now, however, his anger only deepened.
Because this situation reeked of deceit. Clearly, this youth had deliberately created a misunderstanding, coming prepared with an agenda!
"Nonsense!!"
The Palace Lord roared angrily:
"When has the Sun-Devouring Emperor Palace ever evaluated you? Name the elder, and I'll bring him out to confront you!"
"This…"
Qin Zi was speechless.
His mind went blank.
He realized that he had been played by the Sun-Devouring Emperor Palace. These scoundrels were clearly banking on the fact that he didn't know which elder had evaluated him. After all, that elder had never even given his name!
"You… you clearly invited me to compete for the Divine Son position. Now that I've won, you're trying to deny it?!"
Qin Zi shouted angrily:
"I stated clearly that an elder told me to come and compete for Divine Son. You didn't question it before, but now that I've won, you claim no one evaluated me. Are you slapping your own face, or do you think the world is full of fools?!"
The crowd exchanged bewildered glances.
This situation was strange, and it was difficult to discern who was telling the truth.
After all, this could very well be part of an internal power struggle within the sect, with both sides potentially lying.
"Hmph, earlier, I mistakenly thought you were the Grand Elder's disciple, and you conveniently went along with it. You may have made it seem like you explained things, but in reality, you tacitly accepted the assumption. Did you think such tricks would escape my notice?"
The Palace Lord said coldly.
"You people… are beyond reason! The great Sun-Devouring Emperor Palace, unable to accept defeat? You made promises before, but now that I've fought hard and won, you're going back on your word. How is this different from freeloading?"
Qin Zi sneered:
"For shame. You call yourselves the Sun-Devouring Emperor Palace? You might as well change your name to the Freeloader Sect!"
"Impudent!"
The Palace Lord bellowed, unleashing a wave of pressure that slammed Qin Zi into the ground, his voice thunderous:
"I don't care who sent you or what your motives are, but causing trouble in my Sun-Devouring Emperor Palace means you're on a path to death!"
Qin Zi, pressed into the ground, his face flattened like a pancake, still refused to back down.
Even while being suppressed, he continued to mutter defiantly, "Sun-Devouring Emperor Palace… you just can't accept defeat!"
"You're simply jealous."
"You saw me, a rogue cultivator who accidentally learned the Sun-Devouring Emperor Scripture, crush your carefully nurtured disciples, and now, because you've lost face, you're unfairly suppressing me!"
"Every disciple of the Sun-Devouring Emperor Palace is trash. No matter who becomes Divine Son, they'll just be a weakling, because I'll have handed the position to them!"
"Sun-Devouring Emperor Palace, so pathetic! Hahaha!"
The crowd was taken aback.
They couldn't help but recall Qin Zi's earlier display of invincible strength—he was truly a force to be reckoned with, able to dominate opponents of the same realm effortlessly!
They were baffled.
What was this young man's deal? From the current situation, it seemed like he was here to cause trouble.
But…
What was his motive?!
In front of everyone, he had come alone to the Sun-Devouring Emperor Palace, clearly courting death!
If he were some nobody, it might be understandable if he had a death wish. But this guy was exceptionally talented, with the potential to become a Martial Emperor and perhaps even reach the legendary extreme realm!
Why would someone like that seek death?
It made no sense, none at all!!
At that moment, a cold voice cut through the air: "A worm squirming beneath my feet dares to boast?"
The golden-robed youth stepped forward.
His golden eyes gazed down at Qin Zi as if he were a god looking down from the heavens. He spoke in a dismissive tone, "If I wanted the position of Divine Son, I'd take it with ease. Why would I need anything from you? You… are nothing."