Liu Changhe listened, feeling even more stifled in his chest!
Of course, he knew the elder made sense, but... but this method was just too... too embarrassing!
He could practically feel the gazes from the other sects around him—a mix of surprise, disdain, and... envy!
Yes, envy!
Many disciples and elders from other sects were turning red with jealousy as they watched Liu Qingyang. He had done absolutely nothing; simply by being a hostage, throwing a tantrum, and having a good cry, he had added twenty points to his sect for free!
"This... this young sect leader of the Water Moon Sect is just too... too lucky, isn't he?"
"Tsk, having a good father really makes a difference. The Five Elements Dao Sect is clearly doing this as a favor to the Water Moon Sect..."
"Hmph, just making a fool of himself by relying on his status. Where is the dignity!"
"Even so... that's twenty points..."
Though these discussions were held in low voices, how could they escape the ears of someone with Liu Changhe's cultivation level?
As he listened to those sour remarks, his face darkened even further.
Yet, he couldn't even vent his anger. Was he supposed to jump up and say, "My son didn't rely on his father; he relied on being shameless"?
That would only make it even more obvious!
Consequently, Liu Changhe could only keep a dark face and force himself to stay calm, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with the elder beside him. However, from his tight jawline, one could see that his heart was far from peaceful.
He cast his gaze toward the light screen again, looking at his son who had already scrambled up and was grinning from ear to ear. His teeth itched with the urge to bite something.
"You brat, just you wait! When the competition ends, see if I don't skin you alive!"
Meanwhile, within the secret realm, Liu Qingyang, who was happily stowing away the Water Moon Sect flag, suddenly sneezed several times loudly without warning!
"Achoo! Achoo! A—choo!"
He rubbed his nose and muttered softly, "Strange, who's talking about me?"
Then, as if he had thought of something, he shrunk his neck and showed a guilty expression, talking to himself, "It must be the old man! He must be cursing me! Sigh... I'm going to get beaten again when I go back..."
He completely attributed this sudden sneezing to his father's long-range mental attack. Little did he know that on the high platform, Liu Changhe was even more furious because of this precise shift of blame.
Liu Changhe, who had unknowingly become the scapegoat: ???
I haven't even started cursing yet!
The team continued to traverse the swamp.
After that incident, Liu Qingyang completely let himself go. He no longer tried to maintain the image of a wronged hostage and instead became quite active.
After all, the act was over, and the benefits had been obtained. Continuing the facade would just be pretentious and unnecessary.
Besides, he was already on good terms with these people from the Five Elements Dao Sect. They had only put on that show earlier to give the outside world a plausible explanation.
Now that the goal was achieved, he naturally returned to his true nature, interacting with them as he normally would.
He moved actively to Li Nanzhu's side, whispering with her about which move looked cooler when they killed the demonic beast earlier. Then he ran over to Duan Xianxing, complaining that the way he gnawed on spirit fruits was ungraceful while simultaneously snatching the largest one from his hand.
He even gathered the courage to approach Feng Weilan, curiously asking in a low voice how he had managed to hold out for so long against the people from the Wuji Sect.
Although Feng Weilan remained cold and indifferent, he didn't push him away. He briefly mentioned the effects of Feng Qingping's arrays, leaving Liu Qingyang in awe and deepening his respect for Feng Qingping.
However, this relaxation didn't last long.
Over the next three hours, led by Zhu Yinxi and Feng Qingping, the team explored several areas where flags might be located, but they found nothing.
Either the flags had already been taken, leaving only slight traces, or careful investigation confirmed that no flag existed there at all.
As the sky grew dark, the mist in the secret realm seemed to grow denser, further suppressing the range of their divine sense.
The continuous marching and constant vigilance had also left a trace of fatigue on everyone's faces.
"Let's stop and rest for a moment." Zhu Yinxi looked at the sky and the state of the group, giving the order in a heavy voice.
Hearing this, everyone let out a sigh of relief. They found a relatively hidden spot behind a massive boulder, set up a simple concealment array, and began taking turns to meditate and recover.
Li Nanzhu leaned against a rock, holding a small twig and drawing on the ground. Her brow was slightly furrowed, as if she were calculating something.
After a while, she looked up at Jiang Yifan and Zhu Yinxi, her tone carrying a hint of gravity. "The situation might not be good."
"What is it, Junior Sister?" Duan Xianxing asked.
Li Nanzhu pointed the twig at several numbers on the ground and analyzed, "According to our previous calculations, and adding the Water Moon Sect flag we just obtained, our team now has a total of ten flags. This number sounds like a lot."
She paused before continuing, "But don't forget, the base number of Foundation Establishment and Golden Core stage disciples from other sects is thirteen more than ours in the Five Elements Dao Sect."
"That also means..." Jiang Yifan's expression also became solemn.
"It means that during the early dispersed exploration phase, they could cover and explore far larger areas than we could by relying on their superior numbers. Naturally, their probability of discovering and obtaining flags is much higher than ours!" Feng Qingping added.
Li Nanzhu nodded slightly. "I suspect that most of the flags in the secret realm that are easy to find and guarded by weaker demonic beasts have likely been collected by the major sects by now."
Her words made everyone's expression turn serious.
This analysis was entirely logical. Numerical superiority was decisive during the early resource-gathering stage.
"What Junior Sister means is..." Zhu Yinxi's gaze swept across the thick fog nearby. "From now on, it will be difficult for us to obtain new flags through exploration as we did before?"
"Exactly!" Li Nanzhu nodded firmly, the twig drawing a line on the ground. "The remaining flags that haven't been taken are either in extremely hidden locations that are hard to find, or the guardian beasts are exceptionally powerful—tough nuts to crack that make people hesitate. Hoping to find another easily obtainable flag by luck is a faint hope."
Everyone felt even more weighed down after hearing this. It meant that their relatively peaceful stage of exploration and accumulation was essentially over.
Just then, Ling Suxin, who had been quietly meditating, slowly opened her eyes and brought even more startling news. "According to the latest message sent by my sect's eldest senior sister through a secret method, the Sword Heart Sect... likely has the highest points right now."
She paused, meeting everyone's gazes, and continued calmly, "Judging by various fragmented pieces of information, the Sword Heart Sect team currently possesses at least fifteen flags."
"Fifteen?!"
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