"Ask Tang Yi?"
Yane Bohou’s eyes widened as he stared at Lu Qiming in disbelief. "You’re the Zone Master of the North District, for crying out loud. Tang Yi is one of your candidates. This is just a small matter of testing his strength, yet you can’t even make the decision for him? How useless can you be as a Zone Master? To think you actually have to ask for a candidate’s opinion!"
"Hah, make the decision for him? On what grounds? ’Some people don’t believe in your strength, so I’m ordering you to fight someone?’ If I did that, would I still be human? Would I still be worthy of being the North District’s Zone Master? You, Yane Bohou, might be capable of such a disgusting thing, but I, Lu Qiming, would never stoop so low!" Elder Lu Qiming said contemptuously.
"You!"
Elder Yane Bohou pointed at Elder Lu Qiming, so furious he was rendered speechless. Finally, he gritted his teeth and said, "Fine, fine, fine! Since you insist on asking for Tang Yi’s opinion, I’ll ask him for you!"
As he spoke, Yane Bohou shot a furtive glance in Gong Liansheng’s direction. He saw that not only was Gong Liansheng not stopping him, but he actually wore an intrigued expression, as if he, too, wanted to see a fight between Yuh Jili and Tang Yi. This emboldened Yane Bohou, making him even more daring.
Taking a step forward, Yane Bohou projected his voice across the plaza. "Where is the North District’s candidate, Tang Yi?"
"Hm?"
’Aren’t I right here?’ Tang Yi thought. ’Standing right in the middle, the center of everyone’s attention. Why the hell is he shouting ’where is Tang Yi’? Is he blind?’
He turned his head and saw a portly, large-faced old man on the high platform shouting at him.
Despite his internal complaints, Tang Yi’s expression was perfectly serious as he replied, "Tang Yi of the North District is here."
"Very good, Tang Yi. We are all currently questioning your strength. We find it hard to believe a candidate could hunt so many Level 5 Demon Beasts," Yane Bohou said, getting straight to the point. "Therefore, to prove yourself, I am asking you: are you willing to spar with our East District candidate, Yuh Jili, and demonstrate your power?"
"Spar with a candidate from the East District?" Tang Yi asked, momentarily stunned.
"Yes!" Yane Bohou’s voice boomed again.
"Not interested!"
Tang Yi immediately shook his head.
’I don’t get it,’ he thought. ’My results are second to none here. How is that not enough to prove my strength? Who else could possibly produce forty-three Level 5 Demon Beast Crystals?’
’And they still have doubts? On what grounds?’
Besides, a candidate from the East District who hadn’t even reached the Battle King level wanted to spar with him. ’Isn’t that just asking for a beating?’
’Even if the guy is a glutton for punishment, I have no interest in beating up kids like him.’
Having fought many Martial Artists at the Battle King and even Battle Emperor Level, Tang Yi’s standards had naturally risen. He simply looked down on any Martial Artist below the rank of Battle King.
’Besides, sparring with a West Mansion candidate means I can fight but not kill. There’s no Experience Value to be gained, and no reward of any kind. Why should I waste my time sparring with some candidate from the East District?’
’Not happening. No time, no point, no prize!’
’Unless I could kill him and get some Experience, then I might be interested in toying with him a bit.’
"Hah, not interested? Or is it that you have a guilty conscience and don’t dare to accept the challenge?"
However, Yane Bohou had no idea what was going through Tang Yi’s mind. He was momentarily stunned by the refusal, but his face quickly twisted into a sneer. He assumed Tang Yi had no real power, that he had achieved his results through some dirty techniques, and that he was too afraid of being exposed to accept the challenge.
"What are you talking about? What guilty conscience?"
Tang Yi was unaware of the slanderous rumors circulating on the high platform, so he had no idea what Yane Bohou was implying.
"You know perfectly well what I mean! Let’s be honest. I don’t know what kind of techniques you used, but you certainly didn’t get those Level 5 Demon Beast Crystals with your own strength!" Yane Bohou retorted, his face a mask of ’I’ve already seen through your little act.’
"Oh? If not with strength, then with what? How do you kill a Demon Beast without strength? Do they just run up to you and offer their necks? Do you think I got these Demon Beast Crystals by just sitting on my ass waiting for a windfall? Hah!"
Tang Yi retorted with a cold laugh.
’I can see it now,’ he realized. ’This guy from the West Mansion is clearly targeting me!’
’But I don’t remember ever crossing him. I don’t get why he’s coming after me.’
"Cease your spouting of nonsense!"
Yane Bohou shouted, "What kind of place do you think the West Mansion is? A place where you can commit fraud? I suggest you confess everything now. Otherwise, once we investigate and uncover the truth, it will be too late for regrets!"
Before Tang Yi could respond to Yane Bohou’s continuous slander, Lu Qiming, the Zone Master of the North District, stood up and said with displeasure, "Elder Yane, we agreed you would simply ask for Tang Yi’s opinion on the spar. Since he is unwilling, that should be the end of it. For you to keep pressing him, and even resort to slander... you’re going too far!"
"Exactly, Elder Yane. What is your motive for questioning and slandering a candidate from our North District? Are you just bitter that the North District took first place in both the zone and individual rankings?"
"Hah. Some people can’t stand seeing others succeed. Elder Yane really is that petty."
"A bet is a bet; you have to accept the outcome. The way Elder Yane is acting, he just looks like a sore loser!"
"How dare he accuse our North District’s Tang Yi of using underhanded techniques? If even he needs to resort to such techniques, then there are no true geniuses left in this world!"
"Putting aside whether our candidate did anything wrong, even if he had, it’s not Elder Yane’s place to discipline him! Berating a candidate from our North District to his face... Hah, what a display of authority!"
"..."
The other Chief Examiners from the North District also stood up to speak on Tang Yi’s behalf, all of them furious that Yane Bohou was using the spar as a pretext to slander him.
In addition to Lu Qiming and the North District’s Chief Examiners, murmurs of discontent began to rise from the section where the North District candidates were gathered.
Tang Yi was an idol to the North District’s candidates; it would have been a miracle if they had remained calm in the face of Yane Bohou’s accusations.
If this weren’t the West Mansion, and if Yane Bohou wasn’t the East District’s Zone Master, the candidates would have likely started cursing him out loud by now.
"Going too far? How so? Have I said anything untrue?" Yane Bohou shot back. "Tang Yi clearly has a guilty conscience! If he didn’t, why wouldn’t he dare to spar with our East District candidate, Yuh Jili? If he’s so powerful that he could kill forty-three Level 5 Demon Beasts, why is he afraid to demonstrate that power now?"
At that moment, a Hall Master also stood up to speak. "Frankly, I’m not taking sides between the North District and the East District. However, I find that what Elder Yane says makes a great deal of sense. It’s just a spar; it won’t take more than a few minutes. Since so many people here are skeptical of Tang Yi’s achievement, what’s the harm in him sparring a bit with Yuh Jili? It would prove Tang Yi’s innocence and allow him to demonstrate his strength, which would convince everyone once and for all. Otherwise, I’m afraid it won’t just be the East District’s candidates who find his results hard to swallow. Everyone here will remain unconvinced. After all, a score like that is simply unbelievable."

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