The younger disciples standing around them were thrilled as well. They did make sure to lower their voices though when they talked about it for fear of antagonizing either of the two. After all, they were aware that they wouldn't be able to win against either Niu Hai or Qiu Ling. They couldn't hold back from making some remarks among themselves though.
"This is great! I can't wait for senior martial brother Niu Hai to beat that guy up. He certainly deserves to be taught a lesson."
"Mn, I'm with you on that. I certainly didn't like the way he looked at us before. Just because we're younger doesn't mean just anybody can treat us like that, does it?"
"Yeah! Who does he think he is?"
One of them gave the others a worried look. "Guys … You do realize that even if senior martial brother Niu Hai wins, neither of you will get that cutie, right?"
The others paused for a moment, obviously not having thought of that before, and then cursed under their breaths.
One of them crossed his arms in front of his chest and raised his chin with a huff. "Who cares? Anyway, it's alright as long as the person who gets him is somebody of our division. Who knows where that guy crawled out from?"
"Right, right! It's just like that. It's not that we had any designs on him or something. We would never have impure thoughts about the person that senior martial brother Niu likes."
The other disciple sighed and shook his head. There was nothing he could do. These guys were just doing whatever they wanted. Well, he wasn't the one who would get into trouble for running his mouth. That was their own problem.
Meanwhile, Qiu Ling and Niu Hai were still facing off.
Qiu Ling had put on a happy expression, not in the least bit worried about the upcoming fight. "So, since you're the one who needs a rematch, I guess I should give you some advantages. You can decide on the time and place. I don't mind if you need another month or a year to prepare either. I'm a very open-minded person."
Niu Hai clenched his teeth, wondering just how Jing Yi was able to stay with this person. "There's no need to wait for that long! Let's just have it tomorrow."
"Tomorrow? So I guess you don't want to have a public fight then, do you?"
Niu Hai already wanted to reject that idea but the disciples behind him were immediately fired up when they heard that. "Yes! You should go for it, senior martial brother Niu. Wouldn't it be much better to beat this bastard in front of everyone else?!"
The disciple that had reminded the others of the harsh reality before took some steps away from the disciples next to him and pretended he had nothing to do with them.
Meanwhile, Niu Hai turned around and gave them an exasperated look. Were these guys trying to make trouble for him? It would be alright if he was indeed able to win against Qiu Ling this time around but it would be another matter altogether if he lost again. After all, while these few were too young to know about it, there were other disciples who had seen the fight between him and Qiu Ling back then. He definitely didn't want everybody to see him lose that badly once again. That would just be inviting humiliation onto himself.
Qiu Ling could see what was going through his head but since he had already been given the chance, there was no way he would let it run through his fingers. "Great! Then we should have a public fight. I don't know if it'd be possible to have one tomorrow though. Maybe let's say we'll have the fight in three days? That should be enough time to inform everybody but still not too much so it'd get dragged out unnecessarily. If you feel like you can prepare until then, that would work for me."
Niu Hai wanted to backpedal but the disciple from just now spoke up once again. "Ha! See that? I bet he's scared now so he is trying to push it back to get in some emergency training!"
Both Niu Hai and Qiu Ling looked at the disciple as if he was an idiot.
The disciple shut up, and slunk behind one of the others, trying to minimize his presence. Had he said something wrong?
At that time, Jing Yi really couldn't take it anymore. He tugged at Qiu Ling's sleeve and gave a wry smile. "Say … How about not making it a fight in front of the whole sect again? If you want to have an audience, let's just make it the blade division or something, alright?"
Qiu Ling pouted but since it was something that his beloved wanted, he naturally nodded his head. "Well, if you would prefer that, then we'll do that." He glanced at Niu Hai and his eyes glittered with evilness. Then he looked back at Jing Yi, trying to seem completely innocent. "Well, how about having his division and our division there? That should be a good compromise, don't you think so?"
Jing Yi looked at Qiu Ling and slowly raised his brows. "Our division? Last time I checked I was the only one in a division here. Or did you join one since the last time?"
Qiu Ling tensed up and then looked in the direction of the alchemy division. Indeed … His name hadn't been written down there. "Well, I could still join it …"
"Last time I checked you weren't interested in learning alchemy either."
Qiu Ling deflated but didn't argue anymore. "Then just this division?"
Jing Yi looked at Niu Hai and gave him a small smile. "Senior martial brother Niu, will this be alright with you?"
Niu Hai looked from Jing Yi to Qiu Ling and then back again. He had an increasingly bad feeling about this. Even if he was able to win, the chances might only be slim. At the very least, Jing Yi didn't believe in him at all. Well, it was no wonder after what had happened the last time. But he had learned a lot since that time. Maybe he would be able to do it. Then he would be able to convince him thoroughly of his newfound strength. But it might still be better to do that in front of not too many people just in case.
Thus, Niu Hai nodded in the end. "That's a very sensible suggestion, Jing He. I'm glad that you are here." He gave him a smile, making Qiu Ling clench his hands into fists.
The two of them were definitely stoked for that fight.