"There are two Senior Kong Qings!"
"No, I remember that Senior Kong Qing already followed Third Elder and Fifth Elder to the Heaven Dao Pavilion. How can there possibly be a second Senior Kong Qing?"
"Could they be twins?"
Everyone participating in the test were astonished, but they quickly realized what was going on. After all, they remembered extremely clearly that Kong Qing had followed Third and Fifth Elder to the peak of the Heaven Dao Pavilion.
In that case ...
If one of them is an imposter, it should be the one who reached the peak later.
After realizing this, virtually all the candidates instinctively took a step backwards, distancing themselves from the Kong Qing dressed in tattered clothes.
"All of you … I'm the real Kong Qing. He's fake!" Kong Qing scanned the expressions of doubt and suspicion on all the candidates' faces in embarrassment and anger.
He had been poisoned, and was now dealt with another staggering blow. Even his clothes were ripped to an uncanny state, This was already extremely humiliating, but having none of the candidates being able to recognize him was even more humiliating.
And they acknowledged an imposter instead? How could he take this lying down?
"You're still not giving up? You tried to deceive me at the foot of the Heaven Dao Pavilion a few days ago, but I exposed you and let you off with a warning. But now, it seems like my kindness has fuelled your desire for mischief and evil. How can I possibly let you off today?" Fang Zhengzhi finally spoke.
"An imposter?"
"I see. Senior Kong Qing is a kind man. How can we turn a blind eye to this?"
"Senior Kong Qing is exhausted. Let us deal with the imposter!"
Upon hearing this, a few of the test participants understood what was going on and immediately lunged towards Kong Qing without waiting for any further remarks from Fang Zhengzhi.
"How dare you!" Kong Qing glared at the candidates charging towards him, finally furious. A magnificent aura radiated from his body.
"Dong!"
His frontmost attacker immediately stopped in his tracks, as though he had collided into a wall. Upon witnessing this sight, the other candidates exchanged glances and brandished the daggers in their hands, charging towards Kong Qing.
….
Kong Qing's strength was indeed at the peak of the Rebirth State.
However, the candidates standing before him were no weaklings. Each of them were prodigies hailing from the four kingdoms. A warrior in the Rebirth State definitely could not take on five or six of them at once. Although their strength levels could not match those of Qian Wu or Yan Qing … their combined abilities cannot be underestimated.
Especially with Kong Qing erasing the toxins so recently, his body was still numb and his senses were not as keen. This made Kong Qing seem even more pathetic and worn out, having no choice but to distance the Green Flame Beast at his feet from his assailants.
Despite his efforts, he still could not avoid their attacks completely.
In just an instant, a few more streaks of blood scarred his body. Although the wounds were not fatal, and seemed to be no more than superficial scratches, he unwillingly 'swallowed' all this humiliation.
With the actual person standing face to face with his imposter, both seemed to have switched their identities. Kong Qing's chest rose and fell as he feebly spurt out a mouthful of blood.
"He's really a liar. How dare you call yourself Senior Kong Qing when you're this weak? Quickly, this imposter is injured!"
"Come on everyone, let's attack him together and seal his fate right now!"
"How dare you pretend to be Senior Kong Qing and come to the Heaven Dao Pavilion? You really do wish to die!"
After realizing the dents in Kong Qing's defenses, they were further convinced that the person standing before them was an imposter.
And upon noticing that Kong Qing was wounded, those who were reluctant to join the attack previously now echoed the intentions of their peers. They were cautious at first, but seeing how weak Kong Qing had become, all their hesitations and worries were instantly erased.
Who wouldn't want to seize this golden opportunity to stab their sword into a weakened foe? After a split second of exchanging glances, the hesitant individuals also charged forward in a mad rush to the front, especially those ranked ninth and below …. They were not pulling any punches!
If they didn't take this chance to shine and seize their final sliver of opportunity, they would truly be idiots.
"Ahh!! This is infuriating. You bunch of fools!" Kong Qing was usually a mild-mannered gentleman, but after being successively humiliated repeatedly in the span of a single day, he would still have to vent his anger in some way or another.
"How dare you call us fools? Kill him!"
"How dare such a vulgar person pose as Senior Kong Qing!"
"Liar!"
Rays after rays of light shot towards Kong Qing like meteors, causing him to lose his balance. In a moment of folly, his thigh was pierced by one of these rays of light. Soon afterwards, he staggered and collapsed onto the Green Flame Beast.
Then, two monstrous roars reverberated through the air. Following that, two enormous beasts pounced forth. "It's Third Elder and Fifth Elder!"
"Third Elder, Fifth Elder, this man is the imposter posing as Senior Kong Qing!"
Seeing as Kong Qing collapsed to the ground, all the remaining candidates prepared to launch themselves forward. But after seeing Fifth Elder grab Kong Qing, they finally stopped their reckless assault.
"Imposter?" Fifth Elder gazed upon Kong Qing battered in wounds and seething with rage, then glanced across the participants brimming with righteousness and indignation. He finally realized what was going on.
Were they all deceived by a fake? And in his own Heaven Dao Pavilion?
Fifth Elder was rendered slightly speechless. And Third Elder shot a menacing glare at Kong Qing, letting out a long sigh. "Kong Qing, what have you been doing in these six years?"
"Third Elder, Fifth Elder, I ...:" Kong Qing's face flushed red. He wanted to say that his opponents were too sly, but he knew that blurting this reason out would undoubtedly make him seem even more helpless.
But could they blame him?
After holding everything in for so long, he rushed to the Heaven Dao Pavilion in a hurry without having time to even change his clothes. Was he in the wrong?
No!
In that case, when he arrived at the Heaven Dao Pavilion, could he retreat like a cowardly turtle after seeing his imposter standing right before his eyes? Could he only reveal the truth after waiting for Third Elder and Fifth Elder to arrive?
He could not do it.
He could only retrieve the dignity robbed from him with his own hands, only then could he truly realign the moral compass in his heart. Hence, he felt that he had to settle this feud himself.
But he would have never imagined that … his opponent would deal with this so calmly. Even in the Heaven Dao Pavilion, after being exposed on the spot, his opponent actually uttered without any trace of panic, "How can I possibly let you off today?"
Did he wish to continue concealing his identity? Did he not know that he was in the Heaven Dao Pavilion? Did he assume that he had another chance to flee?
Kong Qing completely did not expect Fang Zhengzhi to struggle so vigorously. And he did not expect everyone around him to believe Fang Zhengzhi and attack him together.
"Did I do anything wrong? But what did I do wrong?" Kong Qing was extremely indignant and furious, but he did not know where did he go wrong.
"You were all tricked. This is the real Kong Qing, that's the imposter!" Fifth Elder shook his head and exclaimed.
"What? Tricked?!"
"How is that possible? Wasn't Senior Kong Qing with you elders at the Heaven Dao Pavilion? We saw it with our own eyes!"
"That's right, what … what's going on?"
None of the participants knew what was happening. They all saw 'Kong Qing' ascend the Heaven Dao Pavilion with their own eyes, so how could the Kong Qing that emerged afterwards be real?
"I see. Then you're not totally at fault!" After hearing the candidates' explanation, Fifth Elder immediately grasped the situation.
After Third Elder and Fifth Elder testifying 'Kong Qing's' identity, the deceived candidates immediately chose to stand with the 'Kong Qing' on the elders' side. This was a given.
"We were really deceived?"
"Then … where's the imposter?"
"What kind of senior is this? He's the real deal but why is he so useless? I actually wanted to learn from this Senior Kong Qing!"
After hearing Fifth Elder's words, the candidates finally realized who the real Kong Qing was. But what they did not realize was, why did the imposter seem much stronger, and why was the real one so unforgivably 'weak'.
"Blurt!" Kong Qing expectorated another mouthful of blood.
After just purging the poison from his body, he was immediately dealt with several waves of devastating blows, and now, he was called 'useless' to his face. Only those who have experienced this humiliation for themselves could empathize with the burdening heartache he was overwhelmed with.
"I'm going to kill him! Third Elder, Fifth Elder, please allow me to slaughter that scoundrel who dared to wreak havoc in the Heaven Dao Pavilion myself!" Kong Qing's furious growl trembled through the air.
Yet, upon hearing this, everyone else scorned.
You?
But now that they identified the true Kong Qing, they finally turned their attention to Fang Zhengzhi.
However, Fang Zhengzhi, who was originally standing there with a smile plastered on his face, had vanished.
"He's gone?"
"He fled?!"
"Did he escape when we were all attacking Senior Kong Qing?"
All the candidates finally came to their senses. Fang Zhengzhi was instigating an internal conflict on purpose and using this chance to slip away.
But … where could he flee to after running into the Heaven Dao Pavilion?
The Heaven Dao Pavilion was flanked by mountains on three sides and a cliff on the fourth. To reach the mountains, he would had to traverse the entirety of the Heaven Dao Pavilion
How could he escape?
There's no way he can escape!