Chapter 140: The Invisible Battle
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The next moment, Chen Changsheng thought he might have misseen something, because clearly that wolf clan youth had not turned his head, walking alone at the very front of the crowd without looking back—how could he possibly be looking at Luoluo? No one noticed his change in mood, not even Tang Thirty-Six or Xuanyuan Po beside him; everyone's attention was entirely absorbed by this perfect world. Only Luoluo detected his unease and asked softly a few times.
"I feel like something's off today. Be careful in the battles later," Chen Changsheng said. He didn't mention what he thought he'd just seen, nor did he hide his anxiety. "If there's danger, leave immediately, or follow my arrangements."
Luoluo wasn't taking the Grand Examination for a score, and Gou Hanshi and the others had already vaguely guessed her purpose, though the person involved, Chen Changsheng himself, hadn't thought of it yet. Hearing his solemn warning now, Luoluo naturally wouldn't object. "I'll follow Teacher's arrangements," she said.
The examinees followed the palace clergy toward the distance, passing through a grove of trees until they came to a circular building. This circular structure covered several hundred zhang in area and stood over ten zhang high, extremely imposing. It was built of stone, with doors and windows tightly shut above the stone steps, revealing nothing of the interior—only the dark eaves above could be seen.
Suddenly, a cloud drifted across the azure sky, settling over the circular building. A clear rain fell, pattering down lightly. Though not heavy, it quickly washed away all the dust accumulated on the eaves, leaving the dark tiles gleaming brightly, as if they were jade shining with radiance.
"The Dust-Washing Pavilion—this year's Grand Examination battle venue."
The palace clergy turned to the examinees and began explaining the rules of combat.
Just like crossing the Forest Sea and the Green River, the final and most important battle phase of the Grand Examination had rules that were simple and clear, easy to understand.
Through the martial examination, a total of one hundred and thirteen examinees qualified to participate in the battles. The first fifteen to cross the Qujiang River received a bye in the first round. The remaining ninety-eight would fight in pairs, and the winners would join the top fifteen in the next round, then continue pairing off until the end. (Note)
As for determining victory or defeat, it was even simpler: two examinees would fight, and whoever was still standing at the end was the victor.
The loser was naturally eliminated. So in the battle phase, every round was crucial, with no chance for redemption. But since most examinees aimed to enter the top three and qualify for the Heavenly Book Mausoleum, they valued the first round most. Passing the first round meant their chances of making the top three exceeded half.
As for how to choose which examinee fought which, it was absurdly simple—so much so that it gave the impression that the Zhou Dynasty court and the National Church, as organizers of the Grand Examination, were quite irresponsible. According to the rules, they handed this choice to the examinees themselves. Except for the top fifteen who had byes, the first forty-nine examinees could freely pick opponents from the last forty-nine. The chosen examinee could not refuse, or they would be considered to have forfeited, and their opponent would advance to the next round automatically.
By now, no examinee still in the running was foolish. As soon as the palace clergy finished explaining the battle rules, everyone understood completely. Murmurs of discussion arose from the crowd, but before any examinee could object or raise questions, a clear, leisurely bell tolled from within the Dust-Washing Pavilion.
The Grand Examination battles had officially begun.
At the bell's signal, the sixteenth-ranked examinee in the crowd instantly became the focus of all eyes. He was a student from the Star-Picking Academy, tall and imposing, with a solemn expression and restrained aura that gave off a low-key but unflinching impression, very much like a soldier.
If it had been another examinee, they might have been uncomfortable with this situation, or at least caught off guard. But soldiers prized following orders without question, treating the sound of gongs as commands. So the young examinee stepped out of the crowd without hesitation and looked toward the examinees in the latter half.
His gaze moved slowly and calmly across the examinees.
Facing his eyes, the examinees waiting to be chosen in the latter half showed varied expressions and reactions. Some remained calm, as if oblivious; some deliberately sneered coldly, as if issuing a challenge; some lowered their heads or turned slightly to avoid his gaze; others forced stiff smiles that looked pitiful.
No one expected that this young examinee from the Star-Picking Academy would choose as his opponent the Purple Mist Cliff disciple who had once questioned the examinees across the Qujiang River. The examinees couldn't suppress their mixed feelings and began discussing it animatedly. After all, Purple Mist Cliff was an affiliate of the Longevity Sect, and this person was certainly not the weakest among the examinees present. Why was he chosen first?
That Purple Mist Cliff disciple was momentarily stunned before realizing he had been selected. He stepped out of the crowd calmly, showing no sense of humiliation. By logic, the first chosen should be the weakest, but he believed that spiritual perception intensity and true essence quantity were just cold numbers or levels. Battles tested far more, and he had confidence in defeating his opponent.
And indeed, that was the case. At this point, aside from the top fifteen with byes, whose cultivation levels clearly stood above the rest, the remaining nearly hundred examinees were quite close in strength. It was by no means certain that a higher-ranked examinee would definitely defeat a lower-ranked one.
The first battle pair was confirmed. The palace clergy gave neither side any time to adjust their breathing or prepare. He led the two toward the Dust-Washing Pavilion. A wooden door at the base of the circular building slowly opened, revealing pitch-black darkness beyond, as unsettling as an abyss. The clergy gestured for the two to enter, then immediately closed the door.
Staring at the tightly shut wooden door, the examinees were taken aback. Was this year's Grand Examination not allowing spectators?
The palace clergy looked at the crowd expressionlessly and said, "Due to special circumstances, this year's battles will be closed-door."
Hearing this, the examinees buzzed with discussion. Some directly looked toward the National Academy group, especially Chen Changsheng, suspecting that the church council's arrangement might be related to him. If it was a closed-door battle, no one could see the details. Even if no tricks were played, at least if Chen Changsheng lost, the church council would save face.
Chen Changsheng knew it had nothing to do with him. He looked at the wolf clan youth standing alone in the distance and thought silently that the closed-door format might have been that person's request.
The wooden door of the Dust-Washing Pavilion was tightly shut. Remnant raindrops fell from the edge of the dark eaves, dripping steadily.
Unable to see inside the pavilion, unaware of how the first battle was going, and unable to even hear any sounds, the atmosphere outside grew oppressive. Perhaps because they couldn't see or hear and could only imagine, the examinees became increasingly tense. Some simply sat cross-legged on the ground, closed their eyes, and calmed their minds, ignoring everything.
Not long passed before the door of the Dust-Washing Pavilion opened.
The examinees all looked over at once. Those who had been sitting cross-legged, seemingly undisturbed by anything, instantly opened their eyes.
The one who emerged was the examinee from the Star-Picking Academy. His face was slightly pale, and a large tear ran down the front of his academy uniform, with faint traces of blood visible. But his expression remained calm and composed.
A female examiner from the Azure Radiance Thirteen Bureaus stepped forward to treat his injuries. A faint glow appeared on the stone steps, and a peaceful, comforting aura enveloped the entire scene.
On any other day, seeing such exquisite healing holy light as this female teacher's, the examinees would have been full of admiration. But now, their minds were fixed on the outcome of this battle.
The Purple Mist Cliff disciple still hadn't come out.
Qi Jian walked up to the palace clergy and asked, "Teacher, may I ask where our junior brother is?"
The various cliffs of the Longevity Sect were closely connected, belonging to the same sect. As a disciple of the Li Mountain Sword Sect, Qi Jian asking on behalf of the Purple Mist Cliff disciple seemed natural to many. Only Chen Changsheng, watching this scene, felt puzzled. He didn't understand why it was Qi Jian—so young and clearly inexperienced in worldly matters—who stepped forward, rather than Gou Hanshi.
If the senior brothers hadn't spoken, why would the Li Mountain junior brother be the first to speak?
Chen Changsheng noticed that Gou Hanshi remained calm as usual, and Guan Feibai and Liang Banhu showed no reaction either, as if Qi Jian's stepping forward was perfectly normal.
The palace clergy said, "The loser cannot remain on the field. The person you asked about has already been sent out of the academy. He should be receiving treatment in the Yinghua Hall by now. No need to worry."
Qi Jian glanced back at Gou Hanshi. Seeing that his senior brother had no indication, he withdrew.
The palace clergy glanced at the roster in his hand, then looked at the examinees and asked, "Where is examinee number seventeen, Huo Guang?"
As soon as the words fell, a young scholar slowly stepped out from the crowd.
This scholar wore a ochre-colored long robe, and his brows and eyes seemed veiled with frost, his expression aloof and supremely proud.
He had every right to be proud.
Seeing this person appear, the examinees in the latter half changed expressions, even more tense than when the Star-Picking Academy student had made his choice.
Because this young scholar was from the Huaiyuan Academy.
This Huaiyuan Academy scholar was the same one who had contested the path with Tang Thirty-Six in the Boiling Forest earlier.
The atmosphere on the field grew even more strained. Few examinees dared to meet his gaze directly. Many silently prayed not to be chosen by him.
According to the palace clergy's arrangement, the latter-half examinees stood on the west side of the stone platform before the Dust-Washing Pavilion.
This Huaiyuan Academy scholar's gaze swept across the field and landed on a certain direction.
It was by the forest edge, where lush green trees provided shade. But because it was a bit far from the Dust-Washing Pavilion, no examinees stood there.
Luoluo didn't like the sun, not even the fake sun in the Pope's Green Leaf World.
So Chen Changsheng had brought everyone there.
The National Academy group all stood by the forest edge.
The Huaiyuan Academy scholar's gaze also fell on the forest edge, on the National Academy members.
Chen Changsheng's expression was calm.
Xuanyuan Po showed no reaction, staring blankly at an ant at his feet.
Luoluo held a handkerchief, fanning Chen Changsheng.
Only Tang Thirty-Six reacted.
He raised an eyebrow slightly, then tilted his head back, looking at the Huaiyuan Academy scholar with an indescribable pride, as if to say, "Pick me, pick me."
…
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(Note: One hundred and thirteen examinees—how to arrange the battles and make the numbers work? I calculated this many times, spending at least half an hour. My goodness… ahem, my elementary math really wasn't taught by a PE teacher; it was taught by my mom, who was an elementary math teacher. Also, I wrote slowly today. I'll try to get the next chapter out before 1:30.)