Two people from each of the four groups of Mei, Lan, Xing and Lian of the Xinglin Society can advance to the next round of competition. This can avoid the situation where some disciples who should have performed better are eliminated midway due to bad luck. Therefore, when everyone knew that both the master uncle and the junior uncle could advance, there was no emotion of regret in their discussions, but rather more excitement.
Junior Master Uncle has made rapid progress in recent years. He was already catching up with Master Uncle in the last term, and his cultivation in all aspects has been even closer in recent years. He is nearly 30 years younger than Master Uncle, and it is almost certain that he will catch up with Master Uncle one day.
Therefore, the competition between Junior Uncle and Master Uncle has always attracted attention, and the gap between the two in this competition seems to be small enough to make the crowd excited.
Xue Li heard several blue-clothed disciples nearby excitedly talking about the news they had heard from somewhere else.
"This time, Junior Uncle was really close to Grand Master! The referee Grand Master pondered for nearly a quarter of an hour before announcing the result!"
"Based on our level, we can't see the difference between the master uncle and the junior uncle."
"And Junior Master Uncle drew the herbal medicine, which is what he is least good at. If he had drawn any other lot, I'm afraid his ranking would have definitely surpassed that of Senior Master Uncle!"
"That referee master is from the Red Clothes Sect. Maybe he is a little biased towards the master uncle."
When Xue Li heard the news that Junior Master Uncle and Senior Master Uncle were assigned together, she couldn't help but worry for Xun Wang.
Fortunately, Junior Master's medical skills were very strong, and each group had two places, so it seemed that there was no danger. Also, because there was a direct comparison with the level of the Senior Master, everyone felt that the competition was very exciting.
Xueli breathed a sigh of relief.
At this moment, under the test stage of the Lotus Group, the audience was also discussing the competition of the Plum Group where Xue Li was.
"Have you found out? Have you found out?"
"How's the Mei Group doing?"
"I actually wanted to go to the Plum Group to watch the Snow Pear Fairy competition, but here are the Master and Junior Uncle! If it were previous years, this would basically be a preview of the finals! It's really hard to give up."
The master uncle and the junior uncle were still sitting on the stage. The junior uncle gave people the feeling that he was oblivious to what was happening outside and was still calmly tidying up the things on the table.
The master uncle seemed to be the same, unperturbed by fame or disgrace. Even though he had won another competition and maintained his undefeated record so far, there was no trace of pride or arrogance in his demeanor. He was calm and composed, with the air of maturity of a perennial winner.
However, when he heard the young disciples in the audience discussing the situation of the Mei Group, the movements of his hands seemed to pause.
"I just got the result from Mei Group!"
At this time, the words of several young disciples who ran back from the Mei Group immediately caused a huge response from others.
"how's it going?"
"Tell me now!"
The leading female disciple said, "Fairy Xueli from the Plum Group was probably the fastest to complete the test. I heard that it took her less than two quarters of an hour, which is faster than the master and junior uncle. And I heard from the people watching from the Plum Group that Fairy Xueli's acupuncture movements were like this - like this - like this! It was incredibly fast!"
The female disciple imitated the movements demonstrated to her by the people from the Mei Group, and waved her hands exaggeratedly in the air, which was dazzling to watch, and immediately caused the audience who had no chance to see the real scene to exclaim in surprise.
Everyone said with regret—
"I should have gone to see the Snow Pear Fairy earlier."
"But you may not be able to squeeze in at Fairy Xueli's place."
"Is there any way to reserve a seat in advance?"
The younger disciples were talking about this. At this moment, the female disciple who had been asking the most questions suddenly remembered something and said, "Oh, right! Fairy Xueli and Master Uncle seem to have drawn the same question."
Hearing this, the seemingly careless master on the stage paused for a moment.
The younger disciples were asking, "How is it?"
"Fairy Xueli and Master Uncle, who do you think is better at medicine?"
The female disciple glanced at the medicine left by the master on the table in the examination room and the peak master who was about to leave after taking the medicine. She hesitated for a while as if recalling the situation over at Xueli's place. Finally, she lowered her voice and whispered, "Just looking at the condition of the peak masters on both sides who are now patients... Why do I feel that Fairy Xueli's medical skills are more effective?"
After these words came out, there was silence among the young disciples for a while.
After a long while, someone said, "Young Master's uncle is catching up very closely this time. If Young Master's uncle's luck gets better next time, and Fairy Xueli is so outstanding, won't Master Uncle fall directly from first to third place?"
No one said the rest. Although the disciples of the Red and Green Schools preferred to support the medical practitioners of the same faction, winning or not was ultimately someone else's business. Master Bo had been the champion for too long, and everyone was too familiar with his face. There was no freshness in his face anymore. Many people were actually looking forward to some unexpected changes.
The young disciples were chatting here, and they obviously didn't expect that the master on the stage was not too close but could still hear them.
The master uncle indeed seemed to be completely unaware of it. He picked up the things around him with a flick of his sleeves and turned away.
On the other side, Xue Li and several other medical practitioners in her group had completed the competition. After the elders from Xinglin Peak announced the results, they also planned to return to the guest house.
As usual, Xue Li said goodbye to the medical practitioner who came to say hello even though he was defeated by her, and then flew towards the guest peak. Unexpectedly, when she was almost at the guest peak, she met an unexpected person.
"Fairy Snow Pear."
The master uncle of Xinglin Peak was standing not far from Kefeng. When he saw Xueli coming, he greeted her first.
Xueli was very surprised to see the master uncle of the Red Clothes Sect. She had heard of the master uncle's name many times, but had never met him before. Unlike the situation with the junior master uncle, Xueli really had no relationship with this master uncle. She didn't understand why he suddenly came to find her.
But despite being surprised, Xue Li still returned the greeting.
The Wolf Queen, who had come specially to see Xue Li, had formed a good impression of Xue Li after watching her Xinglin Club competition. However, she also knew that as Zi Lan's mother, it was too early for her to show up in front of this little girl. It would make her seem too impatient, and she was also afraid of delaying the two young people, Zi Lan and her, from getting to know each other. Therefore, she had originally planned to leave quietly. However, when she saw that mortal came specially to talk to Xue Li, the Wolf Queen suddenly stopped.
The Wolf Queen had heard about Xue Li from Zi Lan. She knew that the little girl had rarely been out of the fairyland and was probably quite naive in terms of how she behaved in the mortal world.
Furthermore, Xueli is the disciple of the Shaoyin Fairy. The Wolf Queen is well aware of the entanglement between the Shaoyin Fairy and Xinglin Peak when she was in the mortal world. Xueli must have complicated thoughts about Xinglin Peak. She came out of the fairyland for Zilan in the first place. Now that Zilan is fine, Xueli is still in Xinglin Peak. In addition to the Xuanriyan Fruit, she must have something she wants to do for her aunt.
The Wolf Queen was a little curious about what Xue Li would do next.
Xue Li asked suspiciously, "You are the master uncle of the previous generation of Xinglin Peak, right? Are you here to see me?"
Xue Li had already reached the vicinity of Kefeng. This place was sparsely populated, and there were hardly any disciples passing by. It was also dinner time, and probably all the disciples of Xinglin Peak were rushing to the dining hall, so it was very quiet all around.
They were two people talking alone.
But then the master said in a deep voice, his voice was a little low, and his eyes were like an eagle that had grown old.
He asked, "I want to know, Fairy Xueli already has a fairy body and divine bones, why does she still come down to the mortal world to compete with mortals like us? Is there anything that the fairy wants in Xinglin Peak?"
Xueli was stunned when she heard this, but there was nothing to hide, so she said, "I want the Xuanriyan Fruit."
"I see."
The master's eyes were still deep and calm, unfathomable.
Then, he said very bluntly: "If I give the Xuanri Yan Fruit to the fairy after I win the championship, will the fairy be willing to withdraw from the Xinglin Association?"
Xue Li was shocked. She never expected that Master Uncle would come all the way here to say this to her.
Xueli asked, "Why?"
The master explained calmly, "I know that Fairy Xueli has a good chance of winning the Xuanri Flame Fruit just by her medical skills. Junior Brother Xun Wang and I are not her match. But the fairy doesn't seek fame or reputation, so why not help her? These are important things for us, but they are useless to the fairy. After I win the championship, I will give the Flame Fruit to the fairy. The fairy can get the divine fruit without any effort, and I can also hold the title of the champion of Xinglin Club. Isn't it a win-win situation?"
The master paused for a moment and continued, "Besides, don't be afraid of being laughed at by the fairy. Although my medical skills are not as exquisite as the fairy's, I am still somewhat famous here in Xinglin Peak. In addition to the Xuanri Yan Fruit, if the fairy wants anything else, I can find a way to get it for you as a reward."
The master spoke calmly, but Xue Li was stunned.
Although she wanted the Xuanri Yan Fruit, she had never thought that there was such a way to influence the ranking to a certain extent through private agreements.
Frankly speaking, the conditions offered by Grand Master were attractive to Xue Li. In fact, Xue Li was not very sure that she could beat Grand Master. If she agreed, the winner would most likely be between Grand Master and Junior Grand Master. Xue Li was sure that Junior Grand Master would lend or sell the Yan Fruit to her first. In this way, no matter which side won, she would be able to get the Yan Fruit. Moreover, in addition to the Xuanri Yan Fruit, there were many herbs in Xinglin Peak that could help Xue Li.
But this approach had too much of an impact on Xue Li's thinking. She found it difficult to accept this kind of transaction. She did not trust the transaction itself, nor did she trust the master who suddenly came to her house to propose this kind of exchange.
Xueli shook her head and said, "No."
She said, "I'm sorry, I never thought of it that way..."
"That's a shame."
When Master Uncle saw Xue Li's decisive refusal, his expression was still a little shocked and flustered. His eyes darkened and his fist seemed to clench a little tighter.
But his expression was still very calm, and he only said: "However, Fairy, don't be so anxious to answer me. You can think about it more and propose any exchange conditions. If the fairy changes her mind, you can come to the East Peak to find me at any time."
After he finished speaking, he nodded to Xue Li, then turned around and walked away on the cloud.
After Master Uncle left, Xue Li was still shocked. She stood there in a daze for a long time before flying back towards the guest house.
However, when she walked outside the guesthouse, Xue Li saw another person standing in front of the guesthouse, as if he was also waiting for her.
Xue Li walked over, and the junior master noticed the movement, turned around and smiled at her faintly.
Xueli was already surprised to meet the master uncle, and now she saw the junior master uncle, she was surprised and asked: "Junior master uncle, what are you doing here?"
It seemed that the junior master didn't have any special purpose and just came to find her. Xue Li couldn't help but feel relieved.
The junior uncle smiled and said to her, "Didn't I say before that I wanted to invite you to the mountain where my master and I live to have tea? Today the competition is over, and you can take a short break, so I came to call you."