Chapter 958: The Same Twilight
"The opponent in his first match was a youth from the Xiang tribe. Both sides clashed purely with brute force, and the Xiang tribesman was defeated."
On the high Imperial City observation platform, the Li tribe steward responsible for judging the arena matches bowed slightly. The observation platform was empty; the members of the Elders' Council and the high officials of the Demon Court were all in the dim stone hall, holding the newly delivered scrolls, lost in thought.
Upon hearing the Li tribe steward's words, many gazes fell upon the towering figure at the highest point, as massive as a mountain.
The Great Elder was also the chieftain of the Xiang tribe.
Why would a Xiang tribesman go to a place like Song Town to participate in the selection? And end up losing?
The Great Elder still had his eyes closed, as if asleep, showing no reaction. The big shots in the hall shook their heads, their gazes returning to the scrolls. A high official of the Demon Court suddenly changed expression and said, "His opponent in the second match was actually Nie Chi?"
At these words, a murmur of discussion arose in the stone hall, clearly also filled with surprise. For these great figures of the demon race, Nie Chi was naturally nothing special, but he was still a renowned strongman. They wondered, if it was truly him, why had he also lost?
"Nie Chi was directly obliterated because his blade was not as fast as the other's fist."
The Li tribe steward did not listen to the exclamations coming from the stone hall ahead; he lowered his head and continued, "The third match was against Han Xiaodao."
A shocked voice came from the stone hall: "Wait, are you talking about the Han Xiaodao we all know?"
The Li tribe steward's voice trembled slightly as he said, "Yes, and he also lost."
Someone urgently asked, "What about next?"
The Li tribe steward was silent for a moment, as if the impact of what had happened on him had not yet fully dissipated.
"The fourth match was against Wu Yu, and he also lost."
"Wu Yu?" the person exclaimed in surprise. "Are you sure you're not mistaken? How could he have lost too?"
Just then, an official, looking at the string of resounding names that appeared later in the scroll, frowned slightly and asked, "Wait a moment, I don't understand. Why would so many experts appear in such a remote lower city arena?"
The Li tribe steward lowered his head even further and did not answer this question.
Neither any colleague in the stone hall nor any member of the Elders' Council answered his question.
The unanimous silence concealed a hint of awkwardness.
Many of the big shots in the stone hall were well aware of the answer to this question, because it was something they had arranged in advance.
Except for figures as domineering as Xiao De, the chieftains of the various tribes and the officials in the Demon Court did not harbor illusions that their own tribe's candidates could win the final victory of the Heavenly Selection Ceremony and marry the princess. They only hoped to take this opportunity to let their tribe's young experts advance to the front ranks and gain the qualification to enter the Heavenly Tree. As long as they received the baptism of the Wildfire and the blessing of the Ancestral Spirits, they could greatly enhance their strength, possibly even making a breakthrough in the short term.
For this reason, these big shots had unanimously arranged for their tribes' young experts—those with considerable potential but not particularly eye-catching—into the lower city districts, which received little attention, hoping to avoid more powerful enemies and strive for one of the three slots.
This line of thinking was quite reasonable. Even though many tribes shared this idea, and in a sense they had run into each other ahead of time, the competition in the lower city was still much easier than near the Imperial City and the Heavenly Pavilion.
Yet no one had expected the final outcome to be like this.
The young experts, on whom various tribes had pinned their hopes, had all lost.
They had lost to a seemingly ordinary bear tribe youth.
An elder suddenly asked sternly, "Even if this kid miraculously won six consecutive matches, represented Song Town in winning the election of the Three Toon District, and secured a slot, why is he the only one who came? Doesn't the lower city have three slots? What about the other two?"
He was the chieftain of the Deer tribe. Today, he had secretly placed his most beloved illegitimate son in Nanxiang, hoping to fish in troubled waters and secure an opportunity for his son to enter the Heavenly Tree tomorrow. Yet, despite receiving news earlier that his son had won, why hadn't he appeared now?
"That guy represented Song Town in the battle, took the slot from the Three Toon District, and then went to Star River Bay and Nanxiang."
The Li tribe steward, thinking of the scenes he had witnessed earlier, couldn't help but sigh and said, "He snatched those two slots as well."
The stone hall fell silent for a moment, clearly due to shock and incomprehension. A moment later, the Deer tribe chieftain's furious roar rang out.
"What the hell does this fool want to do! Isn't one slot enough! Doesn't he know slots can't be transferred!"
This was something many elders and officials couldn't understand. Since he had already secured the slot from the Three Toon District and could enter the Heavenly Tree tomorrow to receive the Wildfire baptism, why wouldn't this guy stop and go to Star River Bay and Nanxiang to fight two more matches?
Although the rules of the Heavenly Selection Ceremony didn't prohibit this, and although this guy's strength might indeed be formidable, the truly powerful opponents hadn't appeared yet. What meaning did this have besides consuming his true essence and wasting his energy?
"I don't know." The Li tribe steward, recalling the words that guy had spoken when he stepped onto the arena, hesitated and said, "It seems... because he doesn't like others participating in the Heavenly Selection Ceremony. Anyone who participates, he wants to knock down."
What kind of reason was that? It was simply incomprehensible.
Suddenly, a cold voice said, "I don't understand how he won."
It wasn't genuine incomprehension, but disbelief, a challenge.
Clearly, including that official, many of the great demon figures found this matter too suspicious and had developed many doubts.
But the Li tribe steward's thoughts had gone elsewhere, his mind slightly dazed as he said, "He used his fists."
"Fists?"
"Yes, whether against Nie Chi, Han Xiaodao, or any other expert, he only used one punch."
"One punch?"
"Yes, each time he took the stage, he threw only one punch, and then his opponent would fall."
The stone hall was silent for a long time, with no sound coming out.
The twilight was not thick, the slanting sun still present, but the wind had turned a bit chilly.
The Li tribe steward stood on the observation platform, his clothes fluttering in the wind, looking like a burning banner in the evening glow.
From dawn to dusk, who knew how many arena matches had taken place in the Heavenly Selection Ceremony.
But clearly, the most important ones today were the nine matches that had occurred in the lower city.
In those nine matches, that guy had thrown a total of nine punches.
One punch per match.
One punch to defeat the enemy.
What kind of concept was that?
And what kind of scene was it?
The big shots' expressions grew stern, and they remained silent.
Yes, no matter how impressive his demeanor, how astonishing his spirit, or how much commotion he caused, it wouldn't have been enough to make those impoverished lower city folk follow him in silent, orderly unison, their eyes filled with such fervor and reverence.
The problem was, that guy wasn't a tribal expert sent by some clan; he was a true lower city native. The scroll made it very clear: he had lived in the lower city for many years, worked as a laborer, painted, and now washed dishes at a small tavern.
The big shots in the hall were far removed from the lower rungs of society, but they understood very well what this meant and how dangerous it was.
"Who exactly is this guy? The name looks a bit familiar."
As these words broke the silence, countless gazes turned toward a certain spot in the hall.
In that corner was a very burly figure, but like the Xiang tribe chieftain, he had been silent from start to finish, as if asleep. But by now, neither the elders nor the high officials of the Demon Court would let him continue pretending to sleep.
Because he was the chieftain of the Bear tribe.
The Bear tribe chieftain said slowly, "Don't look at me. This wasn't my arrangement, and I'm not qualified to arrange him. As for who he is... you should know. If even his name has slipped your minds, what right do you have to sit here?"
...
...
In a very short time, what had happened in the lower city today had spread.
The richly dressed upper city residents now looked at that figure with much more awe and fear in their eyes.
The beautiful, pampered noble ladies now looked at that figure with much more heat in their gazes.
The other six candidates who had also gained the qualification to enter the Heavenly Tree each had different emotions as they looked at that figure.
Some eyes were filled with wariness, others with killing intent.
The Second Prince of the Great Western Continent narrowed his eyes, lost in thought.
The young man in the bamboo hat looked toward the Imperial City, wondering what he was seeing.
Xiao De stared quietly at that figure, thinking of the detailed battle reports he had just received.
He was certain he had never seen this bear tribe youth before, so why did this person give him a familiar feeling?
Thousands of lower city residents stopped before the Imperial City square, like a tidal wave.
A large empty space was left at the front of the crowd, making that figure, like a reef, stand out even more clearly.
The big shots on the observation platform said nothing more.
The Empress, even higher up, also said nothing.
This was tacit approval.
The high official in charge of the Heavenly Selection Ceremony looked at him and asked, "What tribe are you from? State your name."
The scrolls contained the names of all candidates; the naming was a traditional custom to verify the candidate's true identity, and stating the tribe was an honor.
The area before the Imperial City was very quiet. Countless gazes turned toward him, wanting to know the answer.
"Bear tribe. But today, I am not representing my tribe in battle."
The twilight shone on his face, much like light reflected off a lake's surface.
The great banyan tree was on the other side of the lake; the kitchen was on this side.
He squinted, whether because the light was stinging his eyes or because he was grinning foolishly.
"National Teaching Academy, Xuan Yuan Po."