The Palace of Brilliance Resurgence's members and Bai Luochu might have let out a breath of relief, but the Phoenix King Valley wasn't having such a good time.

Guan Yue might have performed outstandingly, but the young man lying on the ground was the son of a great merchant. If they were to expel the young man, things might... The Phoenix King Valley might be a reasonable faction, but they weren't able to withstand the merchant's riches and wealth. If the affluent great merchant who was in control of half of Cloud Water Nation's economy was to cut off all supplies of cultivation resources to the Phoenix King Valley because of this incident, the Phoenix King Valley's gains would never make up for their losses.

In the end, the elder decided to push the blame onto the femenine man who persuaded him. Pulling him aside, the elder whispered into his ear, "You persuaded me to agree with him issuing the challenge. Not only did we violate the rules set by the ancestors, we have also caused dissatisfaction in the crowd. Look at this! There is no way we can salvage the situation. Why don't you suggest something now? If you can't think of an idea, you can prepare to be punished when we return to the valley." The elder glared at the femenine man with a profound look in his eyes.

The femenine man was complaining without end. He originally thought that since the merchant's son wanted to issue the challenge, he was confident in his abilities. If it went according to his plan, he would be able to claim credit for allowing the new disciples to issue the challenge. Who knew that the kid wasn't just an arrogant person, he was just an embroidered pillowcase filled with grass. All his spirit qi probably came from endless amounts of spirit medicine purchased by his father. He probably didn't possess any combat experience. Those who would spar with him were probably the underlings who were fearful of his father's influence and wealth. They wouldn't dare to harm him and it was also the reason why the kid became so arrogant and egoistic. He was a classic example of someone who had strong spirit qi but weak strength.

Putting aside the fact that the merchant's son was beaten up, even the feminine man had been implicated. He even had to think of an idea to mediate the situation. Otherwise, he would be punished after returning to the valley. The punishment was inconsequential. It was a problem if the Phoenix King Valley lost an avenue of gaining cultivation resources. Even if he died 10000 times over, it wouldn't be enough to atone for his sins. He reckoned that the Valley Master and the elder didn't even have to make a move as the other disciples in the valley would be enough to deal with him.

Furthermore, the Phoenix King Valley was unable to sit still because of the praises for Guan Yue. It wasn't anything much for them to praise Guan Yue, but it would mean that they were insulting the Phoenix King Valley in this case. However much they praised Guan Yue was however much they mocked the merchant's son.

"It's obvious who is the better cultivator. Just a simple contest is able to separate the strong from the weak."

"Isn't that right... From the looks of it, the Phoenix King Valley slapped themselves in the face today. The losing party is from the Phoenix King Valley and he is in such a sorry state right now. It seems like the standard of this disciple selection is rather poor." A disciple from an opposing faction spoke up. These people would deride the Phoenix King Valley whenever they found a chance. Now that the Phoenix King Valley was making a fool of themselves, they wouldn't miss their chance.

"Take a look at the young man. He's lying there like a dead fish. His cultivation probably came from all the spirit medicine he consumed. Tsk tsk tsk, all the wealth poured into him turned to waste. Wasn't he beaten up so badly that he couldn't even fight back?

This continent was a place where the strong preyed on the weak. Those who weren't capable enough could only blame themselves when they were beaten to death.

The crowd became rowdier and the Phoenix King Valley Elder's expression became increasingly grave. When he turned around to look at the feminine man, the latter's body immediately stiffened. He understood that if he couldn't think of a plan, the elder was going to punish him.

The feminine man stared blankly at the merchant's son while his mind spun rapidly to think of a solution.

All of a sudden, he felt as though a great idea struck him as he came up with a plan.

Leaning towards the ear of the elder, the feminine man spoke of his plan. "Elder, I thought of something. Now that the new disciple is unconscious and cannot hear a thing, let us invite that white-clothed young master into the Phoenix King Valley. If he doesn't agree, we will allow the merchant's son to remain in the valley."

The elder snorted after hearing the idea, "Hmph, who doesn't wish to join our Phoenix King Valley? You're messing with this old man."

"Aiyo, Elder, this disciple doesn't dare to do such a thing. My reputation will go down the drain as well... Listen to my explanation."

"If the white-clothed young master agrees, we will take him in. As for that young man... now that he is severely injured, our Phoenix King Valley will use the excuse of providing treatment to bring him back to the Phoenix King Valley with us. After the ruckus ends, one one will care about the merchant's son."

"We'll be getting the best of both worlds! In the end, our Phoenix King Valley will gain another talent. Most of our cultivation resources come from that young man's father. Now that his son is in the Phoenix King Valley, why will we be afraid of the lack of resources?"

"We'll arrange for the white-clothed young man to be an outer valley disciple and he can fend for himself. We won't even need to waste cultivation resources on him. We will then arrange for the merchant's son to enter the inner valley. Since no one will be able to look at the situation inside the valley, there will be no problem!"

The feminine man spoke a lot at one go and it seemed like he had thought it through.

The Phoenix King Valley Elder nodded and agreed. "You're a smart man. You're lucky for coming up with this method, otherwise, you'll be facing serious punishment when we get back. Let me deal with the crowd now."

That Phoenix King Valley Elder immediately stood up and spoke to everyone, "Everyone, my Phoenix King Valley will accept the result. Since our new disciple was defeated, the white-clothed young man will be accepted into our Phoenix King Valley."

"No! He must have used some forbidden medicine to defeat me. I am the disciple of the Phoenix King Valley! I am the one!" That young man who was originally unconscious sprang to his feet when he heard that he was going to be kicked out of the Phoenix King Valley.