Zuoqiu Youyu's provocation went unanswered by Chu Feng — but not because Chu Feng feared him.
On the contrary… the contemptuous smile on Chu Feng's face only irritated Zuoqiu Youyu further.
More and more people arrived as the crowd swelled. By the end, every elder and disciple of the Wolong Martial Sect who had shown up rose to their feet and offered deep bows.
Because not only had the Vice Sect Master arrived — the Sect Master herself had come as well.
This Sect Master of the Wolong Martial Sect rarely made public appearances. Her showing today spoke volumes about how seriously she took this matter.
Of course she took it seriously — after all, this was a spouse selection ceremony she was holding for Zi Ling.
What no one had expected was that the Vice Sect Master would be the one presiding over this selection tournament.
The level of importance could not have been made more apparent.
Following that, the Vice Sect Master publicly announced the rules of the competition.
This was a challenge tournament. Priority for challenges would be determined by strength.
Strength, naturally, was assessed based on the ranking among Wolong disciples.
The one with the first right of challenge was Zuoqiu Youyu.
Yet as the challenge time drew ever closer, that mysterious head of the Wolong still had not appeared. This left everyone perplexed.
Could it be that this head of the Wolong was so arrogant that even after the Sect Master herself had arrived, he still refused to show his face?
But if he never appeared, then what would become of today's challenge? Could he have forfeited?
The crowd buzzed with speculation.
But with the Sect Master present, even their guesses were exchanged only through silent voice transmission.
Though the martial arena was packed to the brim, ever since the Sect Master had appeared, it had fallen into an eerie silence. No one dared make a sound.
Hummmm— At last, the challenge time arrived.
And almost the very instant the time was up, a layer of power manifested over the martial stage — a barrier.
It seemed to have existed all along, because it first materialized in its entirety and then began to dissipate.
But once it faded away, a figure appeared within.
He was lying flat on the surface of the martial stage.
His appearance immediately drew the gaze of every single person present.
This had to be the mysterious head of the Wolong.
The crowd studied him ceaselessly, yet in the end they could glean nothing of note.
Although he wore the uniform of a Wolong disciple, he had a hood pulled over his head and a mask covering his face, wrapping himself up completely.
Moreover, both the hood and the mask were specially crafted.
Setting those aside, the head of the Wolong's build was remarkably short — on the smaller side compared to an average man.
Of course, no one cared about his height. People were simply curious about why he was so secretive — at this point, he still refused to reveal his true face.
And why was he lying on the ground?
Wait — something was off.
Listening closely, there seemed to be a snoring sound, and it was coming from the head of the Wolong himself.
With the mask on his face, no one could tell whether his eyes were open or shut.
But the snoring only grew louder and clearer.
Had he… actually fallen asleep?
It appeared he had arrived long ago. The barrier had been his doing — once the time came, it would open automatically to reveal him.
Had he truly fallen asleep?
In a setting like this, arriving early just to take a nap?
It overturned everything people thought they knew.
At that moment, Zuoqiu Youyu stepped forward and walked onto the martial stage.
"I am Zuoqiu Youyu. I challenge for the title of the number one Wolong disciple."
Zuoqiu Youyu clasped his fists in a cupped-hand salute after taking the stage.
But that head of the Wolong offered no response whatsoever beyond his snoring.
He… was still asleep.