"You could still withdraw from the competition now, though you'd only rank twentieth."
Gu Han's lips twitched imperceptibly as he offered the suggestion with a cool expression, though it was mostly meant as a joke.
Unexpectedly, Shi Lei's eyes lit up, and he clasped his hands respectfully toward Gu Han. "Brother Gu is truly wise. I actually didn't think of something so simple."
After saying this, he immediately called out to the referee, "Honored Elder, this disciple's Dou Qi is exhausted. I forfeit all remaining matches and will take my leave now."
Once the outer sect elder nodded expressionlessly, Shi Lei immediately channeled Dou Qi to his feet and swiftly departed, as if afraid that staying any longer would lead to greater losses.
"You call that exhausted Dou Qi?" Many spectators fell into stunned silence once again.
Gu Han thought to himself: How could the Cloud Mist Sect have such a pair of Sleeping Dragon and Young Phoenix? Absolutely unbelievable.
"Honored Elder, I shall take my leave now." With a light step, Gu Han's figure flashed through the air before landing beside Little Fairy Doctor once more.
"Young master, do you think the upcoming matches will be similar to what just happened?" Little Fairy Doctor's eyes sparkled as she looked at Gu Han with a faint smile.
"Hard to say." Gu Han thought to himself that having one pair of Sleeping Dragon and Young Phoenix in the Cloud Mist Sect was already something, but surely there couldn't be a whole bunch of them?
Guidance didn't necessarily have to happen on the arena—they could also seek his advice privately.
Of course, he wouldn't teach just anyone. It depended on the person's comprehension, character, and whether they were generous enough.
Moreover, this was also part of his exploration of the Black Tortoise Shell, hoping to see if it could unlock more opportunities through this method.
"Preliminary rounds concluded."
The three preliminary rounds didn't keep Gu Han waiting long, as the top ten new outer sect disciples were quickly determined.
Arena One: Yun Lange, Arena Two: Han Qing'er, Arena Three: Xia Chunqiu, Arena Four: Yun Duo, Arena Five: Yun Han, Arena Six: Hu Yue, Arena Seven: Liu Hao, Arena Eight: Gu Chi, Arena Nine: Nalan Yanran, Arena Ten: Gu Han.
The first six were the top six inner sect disciples before the outer sect tournament, while the three from Arenas Seven, Eight, and Nine, like Gu Han, were all newly promoted to the outer sect top ten.
"Next, we begin the outer sect disciple finals, which will also be challenge matches."
"Each person may issue one challenge to a disciple ranked higher than themselves. If victorious, they inherit that position and may continue issuing challenges."
"If defeated, they cannot make further adjustments. If no one challenges you, that becomes your final ranking for this tournament."
"We will first conduct the ranking matches for disciples placed eleventh to twentieth."
The ten outer sect elders withdrew, replaced by inner sect elders with strength at the Dou Spirit level, who would oversee the matches on the single main arena.
On a raised platform in front of the main arena stood ten chairs constructed of jade, reserved for the top ten ranked disciples.
Returning home in silken robes without showing off is like walking in the dark—flaunting one's success before others is human nature, and this could stimulate the youths' drive to strive upward.
Gu Han didn't take a seat, knowing that he wouldn't be able to keep it warm before having to move. He preferred to stand with Little Fairy Doctor and enjoy the mountain breeze.
"Honored Elder." Yun Ke, ranked eleventh among the outer sect disciples, suddenly bowed and inquired, "May this disciple challenge those ranked in the top ten?"
Yun Ke believed himself stronger than several of the top ten disciples. Had he not been unfortunately grouped with Yun Lange, he would certainly have made it into the top ten.
"After the final rankings are determined, those placed 11th to 13th are eligible to challenge the last five ranked disciples. Only upon success can they proceed to challenge those ranked higher," the steward explained.
"Thank you for the clarification, Steward." Yun Ke glanced at the eight disciples ranked below him and spoke indifferently, "If you wish to challenge, do so quickly. If not, withdraw from the competition immediately like Shi Lei did."
"Disciple wishes to challenge Senior Brother Ye, who is ranked 13th," declared the disciple ranked 19th.
The match commenced swiftly. The 19th-ranked disciple fought with great effort but ultimately narrowly lost to the 13th-ranked.
After leaving the arena, under the astonished gazes of countless onlookers, the disciple approached Gu Han, clasped his fists, and inquired, "Senior Brother Gu, I had intended to defeat the 13th-ranked and then challenge you—no, I mean, seek your guidance. Unfortunately, I failed. Having observed my moves earlier, do you see any areas for improvement?"
Gu Han: "..."
At that moment, he finally realized that completely overpowering Zhou Yuan and providing visibly effective guidance might have been excessively conspicuous.
"You could try this," Gu Han said, though he felt no regret, and instead offered some pointers.
"Disciple Cai Kun thanks Senior Brother for the guidance." Cai Kun's face lit up with delight. "I've been practicing this Mysterious Low-Rank Dou Skill for two and a half years, always reaching proficiency but never mastery. It turns out the issue lay in the coordination between my hands and footwork."
"Senior Brother, if there is ever anything you need from me in the future, please do not hesitate to ask."
Gu Han: "..."
"Focus on improving your strength and repaying the sect—that will be enough," Gu Han replied with a faint smile.
"Disciple will certainly do so. I shall take my leave for now." Cai Kun departed with a cheerful expression.
An observer might have mistaken him for the victor of the earlier ranking match.
Cai Kun's action seemed to trigger a signal or switch.
Starting from the 17th-ranked disciple, each one challenged the 13th-ranked.
The 17th-ranked failed, immediately sought Gu Han's advice, and left with a pleased expression.
The 16th-ranked failed, promptly consulted Gu Han, maintained a neutral expression, but departed with hurried steps.
The 15th-ranked still intended to challenge the 13th, but the latter, this time, acted even faster and declared a challenge against the 12th-ranked.
After an intense battle, the 13th-ranked disciple narrowly emerged victorious.
The original 12th-ranked then faced challenges from the 15th and 14th-ranked disciples.
The 15th-ranked succeeded in the challenge, while the 14th-ranked failed and ultimately dropped to 15th place, with the original 12th-ranked becoming 14th.
None of the defeated disciples showed discouragement; they all did the same thing: sought Gu Han's guidance.
Absurdly, Gu Han managed to pinpoint each disciple's issues with precision and provide targeted advice.
The scene was utterly peculiar!
"This reminds me of Brother Gu Han's days with the Xiao Family," Xiao Yan remarked with a sigh. "The younger generation in the clan all said Brother Gu taught better than the Dou Master elders and missed having him visit again."
"Nephew Gu Han is no ordinary genius," Nalan Su stroked his beard, his gaze repeatedly drifting toward Nalan Yanran nearby.
The surrounding high platforms buzzed with various discussions, all without exception centered on Gu Han.
This made the top-ranked Yun Lange feel as if he were sitting on pins and needles, as though pierced by thorns, convinced that all the spotlight had been stolen from him.
"A show-off trying to please the crowd. If you have the nerve, challenge me directly. I'll make sure you're stuck permanently in 11th place," Yun Lange glared at Gu Han with a hint of hostility.
"Disciple challenges the number one rank."
Gu Han stepped onto the high platform and made his choice.
At this moment, the 11th, 12th, and 13th places had been determined. The latter two both expressed no intention of challenging the top ten, but Yun Ke directly challenged the fifth place and succeeded.
As a result, Gu Han was pushed down to 11th place, becoming the first among the "top ten" who needed to issue a challenge.
Boom!
Was this the most anticipated match of the Outer Sect Disciple Competition finally arriving?
"I accept your challenge."
Yun Lange slapped the armrest of his chair and soared into the air, landing on the arena.
He cupped his hands in salute and spoke with a natural, elegant smile: "Junior Brother Gu, you are truly outstanding. You must have also cultivated a secret technique that allows you to detect opponents' weaknesses."
"If you had challenged Junior Sister Han in second place first, you likely would have won, and you would have taken second place."
"In a few more years, even I would not be your match."
"But by challenging me directly now, you will stop at eleventh place."
As his words fell, Dou Qi circulated within Yun Lange's body. Pale cyan Dou Qi gradually emerged, forming a thin cyan Dou Qi Gauze on his body surface. His tone was filled with confident pride.
"A few days ago, I already broke through to Dou Master."
Dou Master!?
All the spectators' expressions changed: Now there's going to be a good show.