Chapter 78: The Eastern Forest Wild County Also Has Seven Stars
Everyone listened to these words without any reaction, but Chen Changsheng was somewhat surprised. The "four" and "nine" in this sentence naturally referred to the rankings on the Azure Cloud List. Guan Feibai was ranked fourth on the list. Could it be that Luoluo was ranked ninth? He had only seen the Azure Cloud List once on the stone wall outside the Ancestral Sacrifice Hall, and he couldn't remember who was ranked ninth.
"At the inn outside the Heavenly Book Mausoleum, I told you that besides Xu Yourong, there were two people on the Azure Cloud List I didn't want to provoke."
Tang Thirty-Six said beside him, "One is that wolf cub from the north, and the other... a mysterious girl. Of course, she's never been mysterious to you, so... thinking about it is pretty tasteless. Say, when will you let me feel superior in front of you?"
Chen Changsheng then remembered that Tang Thirty-Six had once mentioned a mysterious girl from the demon race whose ranking on the Azure Cloud List was even higher than Zhuang Huanyu's. Many people had long guessed that this girl should be the demon princess. Then he recalled that on the first night of the Ivy Banquet, he had asked Luoluo why she knew Zhuang Huanyu. Luoluo had replied that it was because their positions were too close; it was hard not to know him.
What positions? Thinking about it now, she naturally wasn't talking about neighbors. The Hundred Herb Garden's neighbor was the National Academy, not the Heavenly Dao Academy.
The positions were on the Azure Cloud List.
Even if Luoluo didn't care about worldly affairs, she would always know the name of the person just below her on the list.
Chen Changsheng finally understood why someone as proud as Tang Thirty-Six would leave Guan Feibai to Luoluo.
Luoluo's expression remained unchanged. Her right hand gripped the handle of the Rain-Dropping Whip as she looked at Guan Feibai and said, "If we only look at rankings, why hold the Ivy Banquet? What meaning would the Grand Examination have? Who is strong and who is weak ultimately has to be decided through battle. Otherwise, why could Tang Thirty-Six defeat your junior brother earlier?"
Guan Feibai said coldly, "That's because someone helped guide him."
Tang Thirty-Six was furious upon hearing this and said, "As if your senior brother didn't open his mouth!"
Gou Hanshi reached out to stop Guan Feibai, looked at Luoluo calmly, and said, "Your Highness speaks reasonably."
Then he turned to Guan Feibai and said, "Junior brother, you must take this match seriously and do your utmost. Do not disgrace the prestige of our sect."
Guan Feibai said no more. After a moment of silent contemplation, he reached out and drew his sword, then looked at Luoluo and said, "Please instruct me, Your Highness."
Although the Great Zhou was powerful and the capital was vast, among the younger generation, besides Xu Yourong, there was simply no one who was a match for this man. If he were merely arrogant and constantly consumed by rage, how could he be qualified to become an inner disciple of the Li Mountain Sword Sect, let alone one of the Seven Laws of the Divine Kingdom?
When he held his sword in hand, his demeanor instantly became serene, and all his arrogance disappeared.
That arrogance was entirely transferred to the longsword in his hand.
It was a very ordinary sword.
The Li Mountain Sword Sect naturally valued a disciple with such astonishing talent as Guan Feibai. Even if they wouldn't bestow a disciplinary hall's dharma sword on him like they did with Qi Jian, they would certainly have given him a very sharp treasured sword. But he refused to accept it. He insisted on using this ordinary sword because he had once sworn that before he surpassed his senior brother, Qiu Shanjun, he would never change his sword.
Everyone in the world knew that Qiu Shanjun's sword was called Inverse Scale. Only those of them, his close junior brothers, knew that the sword their senior brother usually used was very ordinary. It was casually forged by a craftsman in a very common blacksmith shop in a town at the foot of Li Mountain and was worth only three taels of silver.
He regarded his senior brother, Qiu Shanjun, as his life's idol and the goal he must surpass, so he too was only willing to use an ordinary sword.
The sword was ordinary, but the man was not. The people on the stone steps before the hall watched Guan Feibai as he slowly walked toward the center of the square, their expressions slightly different.
As he walked, the proud and cold young master's aura gradually calmed and faded, but the sword in his hand became increasingly powerful.
He placed all his mind and spirit into the sword.
"Aren't you worried?"
Tang Thirty-Six looked at Chen Changsheng's profile and found his expression unchanged. He was somewhat surprised. Just by watching Guan Feibai walk into the square in front of the hall for those dozen or so steps, and seeing his ability to condense his aura into the sword, he knew he himself was no match for this man. Although Princess Luoluo's ranking on the Azure Cloud List was higher than his, how could she possibly defeat this person?
Chen Changsheng looked at the arena and said, "Luoluo will definitely win. What's there to worry about?"
Tang Thirty-Six was speechless, thinking, just because she calls you teacher? This guy looks dull and steady, but where does this narcissistic self-confidence come from?
Everyone, like Tang Thirty-Six, watched the powerful aura and unfathomable realm Guan Feibai displayed and believed that Princess Luoluo had no chance at all.
Only Chen Changsheng knew what Luoluo had learned during the months at the National Academy.
Ninth on the Azure Cloud List? That was in the past. Now, even he couldn't determine just how powerful Luoluo had become.
Watching Luoluo walk toward the center of the square, watching the little girl's dress gently stirred by the night wind, a strong desire suddenly arose within him.
During these days, only he and Luoluo had been at the National Academy. Everything Luoluo had learned and all the progress she had made originated from him. Even if he wanted to be modest and not take credit, he couldn't. In other words, Luoluo was truly a student he had taught with his own hands.
He very much wanted to know: if the current Luoluo and Xu Yourong were to fight, who would win?
He had not yet succeeded in marrow cleansing and could not cultivate. For now, it seemed he would never be qualified to speak directly to that girl.
But Luoluo was his student.
If Luoluo could defeat her, could that represent something?
This thought suddenly appeared and was then difficult to erase from his mind.
After all, he was still a youth, in the prime of his youth. How could he not have a desire to compete and win?
...
...
Just as everyone thought the second match between the National Academy and the Li Mountain Sword Sect was about to begin, a voice sounded in the night.
Miss Mo Yu looked at the arena and said, "Her Highness is of such status. Even the slightest danger cannot be accepted."
Everyone fell silent. This was the problem everyone had been worried about earlier. The Li Mountain Sword Sect had already raised it. Luoluo herself didn't mind, but that didn't mean the Great Zhou court could ignore it. So what was to be done about this match?
Gou Hanshi felt the gazes cast from the hall and understood the intentions of these important figures. After a moment of silence, he said, "Only techniques, no true essence."
Upon hearing this, Guan Feibai raised his eyebrows slightly but said nothing.
Everyone knew that the demon race excelled in comprehension. Princess Luoluo was the only daughter of the White Emperor, so her talent was naturally extraordinary. If it weren't for the fact that the demon race couldn't cultivate human techniques, her bloodline talent should have been comparable to Xu Yourong's and Qiu Shanjun's. How could she be ranked only ninth on the Azure Cloud List?
If she successfully cultivated the secret arts of the White Emperor's lineage after reaching adulthood, her strength and realm would naturally be a different matter. But for now, she was still underage and couldn't circulate true essence using human cultivation methods. Therefore, in terms of the quantity and purity of true essence, she was certainly no match for a Li Mountain Sword Sect disciple who cultivated orthodox techniques.
Gou Hanshi's proposal to only use techniques essentially abandoned Guan Feibai's greatest advantage.
Miss Mo Yu's words and the gazes of the important figures before the hall were, in a sense, unfair.
But Gou Hanshi had voluntarily said this, and Guan Feibai had expressed agreement through silence. The Li Mountain Sword Sect was indeed confident, and the Seven Laws of the Divine Kingdom were indeed proud.
Luoluo hadn't expected such a change. Out of habit, she turned to look at Chen Changsheng.
Chen Changsheng remained silent. He knew that Gou Hanshi's proposal was a choice made under pressure from those powerful human beings. This method of competition seemed to favor Luoluo, but only he knew that it was actually disadvantageous for her. Because the problem of Luoluo's inability to circulate true essence due to her unique demon race meridians had long been solved by him.
With the White Emperor's bloodline talent, even though only a few months had passed, the amount of true essence accumulated in Luoluo's body had already reached a terrifying level. In terms of overall strength, she now probably already surpassed Guan Feibai, or at least was not weaker than him. It was precisely because of this that he was very sure she would not lose tonight's match.
Now that the match only used techniques and no true essence, the person who truly lost their greatest advantage was not Guan Feibai, but her.
Luoluo looked at Chen Changsheng.
Everyone also looked at Chen Changsheng, somewhat puzzled. Why was he hesitating to agree to a proposal that clearly benefited the National Academy?
Gou Hanshi thought this youth was too proud to accept such an arrangement and said, "You know very well that this proposal has another meaning."
He wasn't talking about the balance of victory and defeat, or advantages and disadvantages, but about him and Chen Changsheng.
Only techniques, no true essence. If it followed the development of the previous match, both he and Chen Changsheng would inevitably have to speak.
The last two matches between the National Academy and the Li Mountain Sword Sect were thus combined into one.
Gou Hanshi was going to use this one match to knock the National Academy back to its original state.
Chen Changsheng looked at Luoluo and nodded.
Luoluo calmly bowed, then turned around.
Watching this scene, people were no longer as shocked as they had been earlier in the hall. That she would be so respectful and obedient to this ordinary youth—or rather, that emotion had weakened somewhat, because in the previous match between Tang Thirty-Six and Qi Jian, Chen Changsheng had already proven a lot.
Luoluo walked to the square.
Guan Feibai raised the longsword in his hand with a cold expression and held it horizontally before his chest.
His heart had calmed like ice. In his eyes, there was neither the delicate and lovely little girl nor the demon princess whose status affected the continent's situation. There was only an opponent.
Luoluo raised the Rain-Dropping Whip in her hand. The whip's head whistled as it cut through the air, then came to a stop in the night.
There were more than ten zhang between them. Unless they mobilized true essence to attack with sword energy, there would be no danger.
Watching this scene, Miss Mo Yu nodded with satisfaction. The other important figures before the hall also finally settled their minds.
As long as Princess Luoluo wasn't harmed, no one cared about the outcome between the National Academy and the Li Mountain Sword Sect.
No, the important figures looked at Gou Hanshi and Chen Changsheng, who stood at opposite ends of the square in the night, and very much wanted to know the outcome between them.
...
...
Luoluo raised the Rain-Dropping Whip, but the one who started the match was not herself, but Chen Changsheng, who stood far behind her.
If it were those proud youths, like Tang Thirty-Six or Guan Feibai, they might have been displeased, or at least felt some resistance. But Luoluo did not. The months of life at the National Academy had deeply rooted a belief in her heart: whatever the teacher did was right, and whatever he did was for her own good.
So when she heard Chen Changsheng's voice, she unhesitatingly used the whip as a sword and thrust it toward Guan Feibai, who was more than ten zhang away.
"Rise from the Vast Yellow."
This was the first form of the Zhongshan Wind and Rain Sword, and also its opening move.
Starting the match with this sword form surprised everyone, because it was too unsurprising.
Everyone had thought that the first move Chen Changsheng would have Luoluo use would be something very obscure, or some earth-shattering, wind-and-rain-weeping ultimate technique.
Who would have thought he would use such an ordinary move?
Zhongshan wind and rain rise from the vast yellow. The momentum of wind and rain was slight. Where was the shock? Where could the weeping be heard?
It was like playing chess. His first stone fell on the 3-3 point. Not surprising, surprisingly mediocre.
Some people were even a little disappointed.
...
...
The Rain-Dropping Whip cut through the air, whistling loudly. It seemed powerful, but in reality, Luoluo hadn't moved her true essence. This sword form had only its shape, not its spirit. With a distance of more than ten zhang, it naturally couldn't harm Guan Feibai. But since it was a match, he had to respond. So many senior experts before the hall were watching the arena. Victory and defeat lay in their eyes.
If he were facing such a common and mediocre sword move on an ordinary day, Guan Feibai would certainly have responded casually. But tonight's match was not an individual battle; it was a contest between the National Academy and the Li Mountain Sword Sect. The fact that the continent-dominating Li Mountain Sword Sect had to face the National Academy, which had been in decline for over a decade, was already humiliating enough for the Li Mountain disciples. Not to mention that in the first match, their most trusted junior brother had actually lost to a student of the National Academy, which put them under immense pressure. So he was very cautious, waiting for his senior brother's opinion.
Gou Hanshi's voice arrived on cue, sounding in the night.
"Eastern Forest Seven Stars Sword, third form."
...
...
A moment of silence.
People watched as Guan Feibai's longsword traced streaks of sword shadows in the night sky, but they didn't know what to say.
Chen Changsheng raised his eyebrows slightly. He was sure he had never seen this sword technique before.
The Daoist scriptures were vast as the sea. The sword techniques recorded or mentioned within them were also as vast as the ocean. Sword techniques with the character "star" or "stars" in their names were countless. There were also more than ten sword techniques with the words "seven stars."
But this Seven Stars Sword Technique, he had truly never seen or heard of it.
He said, "The last form."
Without mentioning the sword technique's name, directly saying the last form, it was naturally still the Zhongshan Wind and Rain Sword.
The last form was called: Embracing Rain into the Bosom.
It was a closing form and a defensive form, the most tightly defensive move in the entire Zhongshan Wind and Rain Sword.
Chen Changsheng had never seen the Eastern Forest Seven Stars Sword that Gou Hanshi mentioned, so he could only first seek to avoid mistakes.
...
...
"Extremely wonderful."
Mao Qiuyu, the dean of the Heavenly Dao Academy, gently stroked his long beard and praised as he watched the arena.
As a strongman of the capital, his commentary naturally attracted many people's attention.
Xu Shiji asked, "Dean, have you seen this sword technique before?"
"No."
Mao Qiuyu shook his head and said, "So it's extremely wonderful."
Suddenly, a voice arose from the crowd, saying, "That is the sword technique of the Qingjiang Sect of Eastern Forest County."
Everyone followed the sound and saw that the speaker was an inconspicuous young student from the southern delegation.
Someone asked, "Qingjiang Sect? Why haven't we heard of it?"
The young student, being stared at by so many people, was a bit nervous and stammered an explanation, "That is a small sect. I am from Qingjiang, so I know of it."
Mao Qiuyu sighed with emotion and said, "Indeed, extremely wonderful."