Chapter 144: The Advancing Fist
That examinee suddenly turned around, looked at the priest from the Li Palace who was in charge of the examination, pointed at the four examinees behind him, and asked, "Can I challenge them?"
Those four examinees were the last four among the first sixty-four who had crossed Qujiang River. Hearing that someone wanted to challenge them, instead of getting angry, they showed delighted expressions and repeatedly said they were willing.
The Li Palace priest's expression was indifferent as he said, "Do you think the Grand Examination is a child's play? I made it very clear earlier: the first forty-nine examinees can freely choose their opponents from the last forty-nine. The winner advances to the next round of the duel test. Didn't you understand?"
Silence fell. That examinee was quiet for a long time, then suddenly said, "This isn't fair!"
He looked at those examinees who had originally been at the back but had won in the duels, and shouted angrily, "My martial test results are better than theirs. I crossed the river before them. Why should I now have to challenge a stronger opponent? The Grand Examination is certainly not child's play, but don't you think this rule is unreasonable?"
The Li Palace priest's face still showed no expression as he calmly said, "This only means your luck is bad. Who told you to cross the river right between the sixtieth and sixty-fourth places?"
Hearing this, the crowd erupted in murmurs. They thought, since when did luck become part of the Grand Examination's assessment? The priest's words were utterly unreasonable.
The priest knew what these young cultivators were thinking. Looking at them with a slightly cold expression, he said, "Where in this world is there absolute fairness? On the battlefield, if you're ordered to hold the rear and intercept the strongest demon experts, do you think you can refuse the order just because it's unfair? If you want to survive, luck is always the most important factor."
The examinees fell silent. They still didn't agree with this reasoning, but they didn't know how to oppose it.
That examinee had no choice but to accept this sad fact. The only consolation was that he had more options than the last four remaining examinees.
He turned again to look at Lin Pan, his gaze moving across Chen Changsheng and the others' faces, unable to decide who to choose.
In front of the Dust-Washing Pavilion, it was deathly quiet. The very air seemed to turn cold. Dozens of examinees nervously waited for his final decision.
On the contrary, those who should have been the most nervous—the ones at Lin Pan who could only passively wait to be chosen—appeared remarkably calm and composed.
For some reason, the Li Palace priest didn't urge him on as he had done several times before. Perhaps he and the other examiners were also curious about this examinee's choice.
Finally, the examinee made up his mind. Pointing at Xuanyuan Po, he said, "It's you."
The silence was broken, and buzzing discussions arose. If it had been any other examinee, they wouldn't have known who to choose as their opponent either.
Xuanyuan Po was stunned for a moment before coming to his senses. He said to Luoluo, "Teacher, I'm going then."
Tang Thirty-Six raised an eyebrow from the side and said, "Saying 'going' is unlucky. Change it."
Xuanyuan Po ignored him, bowed to Chen Changsheng, and said, "I'm off."
Strictly speaking, he should have addressed Chen Changsheng as Grandmaster, but although he now greatly admired and even respected Chen Changsheng, he still couldn't bring himself to use that title.
Tang Thirty-Six, having been ignored, wasn't angry. He reached up high and patted the broad shoulder of the Yao youth, lowering his voice to say, "You still remember what we discussed last night, right?"
Xuanyuan Po grunted in acknowledgment and said, "Don't give the opponent any chance to think. Close the distance as fast as possible, then knock them down directly."
After saying this, he suddenly noticed Tang Thirty-Six's expression was off. Then he saw that Luoluo and Chen Changsheng's expressions had also changed. Even Su Moyu had her mouth open, looking extremely surprised.
"What's wrong?" He rubbed the back of his head in confusion and asked, "Did I say something wrong?"
Tang Thirty-Six sighed and patted his shoulder again, saying, "Nothing wrong. It's just that your voice was a bit too loud."
Only then did Xuanyuan Po notice that in front of the Dust-Washing Pavilion, it was dead silent. Everyone was staring at him, their expressions extremely interesting.
His voice was very loud, and when he answered Tang Thirty-Six's question, it came naturally. He hadn't thought to control his volume at all.
So, he had told everyone—including his opponent—the battle strategy that the National Academy had prepared for him.
Would this battle strategy still be effective now?
Chen Changsheng shook his head, put two crystal stones into Xuanyuan Po's pocket, and brought the water pouch to his lips, letting him take two sips.
Tang Thirty-Six leaned close to Xuanyuan Po's side, lowering his voice to say something.
The Li Palace priest looked at the few people from the National Academy, almost smiled but didn't, and said, "Hurry up."
Urged on, Xuanyuan Po got a bit nervous and nearly choked on the water. Chen Changsheng quickly patted his back, while Tang Thirty-Six sped up his speech, reminding him of things to watch out for during the duel. The scene was a flurry of activity. Su Moyu watched this scene and couldn't help shaking her head, saying, "You had all that time earlier and just wasted it being bored. Isn't it a bit late to be rushing now?"
"You don't understand. If I told him too early, I was afraid he'd forget. Besides, we didn't know who he'd be fighting back then, so how could I teach him?" Tang Thirty-Six said without turning his head.
Luoluo walked up to Xuanyuan Po and said, "Since you're sure to win, why are you still nervous?"
Xuanyuan Po stammered, "I... I... can't help it."
Chen Changsheng stared into his eyes and said, "Remember what Thirty-Six said. You'll definitely win."
Xuanyuan Po nodded firmly.
Tang Thirty-Six finally finished his pre-battle coaching. He punched Xuanyuan Po on the chest and said, "Make a good start."
...
...
Xuanyuan Po stood on the ground covered in yellow sand. He looked up at the circle of black eaves and the patch of blue sky cut into a circle, suddenly reminded of the porcelain plates used for serving dishes in the Herb Garden.
A creaking sound came from behind him. The doors of the Dust-Washing Pavilion closed again.
He came to his senses and realized he had just been daydreaming. Instead of panicking, he remembered what Tang Thirty-Six had said a few nights ago and thought to himself, I guess this counts as not being nervous, right?
He looked at his opponent across from him and clasped his hands in greeting.
At this moment, on the ground floor of the Dust-Washing Pavilion, there were only the two of them—him and that examinee. No examiners could be seen, and no sounds from outside could be heard. It seemed some kind of sound-isolating formation was in effect.
Just then, a voice devoid of any emotional fluctuation came from upstairs.
"If you're ready, begin directly."
Xuanyuan Po looked up toward the upper floor but saw no one, nor any windows. He was a bit curious about where the examiners were hiding. Suddenly remembering something Chen Changsheng had reminded him about, he quickly asked, "What... what if someone gets killed?"
Inside the Dust-Washing Pavilion, it was completely silent. The examiner, wherever he was, was quiet for a long time.
His opponent's expression turned extremely ugly.
The examiner's voice sounded again: "You can't kill anyone."
Xuanyuan Po said, "Oh," then looked at his opponent and asked, "Are you ready?"
His opponent was an examinee from Yellow Mountain Valley.
Yellow Mountain Valley was in the south.
Not all disciples of southern sects could participate in the Grand Examination. Just as the capital held preparatory exams for the Grand Examination, the south also held similar exams. This examinee from Yellow Mountain Valley had already proven his ability by passing the preparatory exam, not to mention that his time in crossing the river during the martial test was shorter than most people's. This indicated that both his spiritual sense intensity and true essence quantity were quite good.
Earlier, when he was choosing his opponent, he had seemed very hesitant. That was because the National Academy's recent reputation was too great. It didn't mean he had no confidence in himself. And the fact that he ultimately chose Xuanyuan Po showed that, at least relatively speaking, he had some certainty—or at least some strategy—for defeating him.
From entering the Dust-Washing Pavilion until now, Xuanyuan Po had first stared blankly at the sky, then asked that kind of question. How could this disciple from Yellow Mountain Valley know that Xuanyuan Po was just naturally simple and honest? He only felt that Xuanyuan Po was deliberately humiliating him. Already in a terrible mood, he was instantly filled with rage, wishing he could cut this guy down with one sword strike.
"I heard you're already crippled. Are you ready to lose?"
The Yellow Mountain Valley disciple looked at Xuanyuan Po with a cold sneer.
Even as he said this, he didn't strike first with his sword.
Because outside the Dust-Washing Pavilion, all the examinees had heard it clearly: this burly Yao youth had said in a thunderous voice that he would attack first and close the distance with his opponent.
—He didn't know if Xuanyuan Po had said that deliberately to confuse him or if he really planned to do it that way. But out of caution and prudence, he naturally wanted to first retreat and defend, create distance, and then use his exquisite swordsmanship to engage in a good tangle with this Yao youth.
This Yellow Mountain Valley disciple didn't hesitate. He floated backward, leaping five zhang in one go.
At the same time, his sword left its sheath, carrying a clear wind that swirled in front of him, instantly forming a defensive stance.
Seeing this scene, Xuanyuan Po was stunned. He thought, how did Tang Thirty-Six predict all this?
Earlier outside the pavilion, Tang Thirty-Six had told him that at the start of the duel, his opponent would definitely retreat and adopt a defensive posture. So he shouldn't think about anything. From the very beginning, he should just advance. Burn all his true essence and advance. No matter how his opponent's sword danced, how his true essence spread, or how impenetrable it looked—he just had to advance!
And that's exactly what Xuanyuan Po did.
When he asked if his opponent was ready, and the moment his opponent began to retreat, he started advancing.
While he was somewhat surprised, thinking that Tang Thirty-Six could actually predict everything and beginning to admire that guy, he had already advanced more than ten zhang.
Tang Thirty-Six's prediction was really accurate. What he said was almost the truth: retreating is never faster than advancing.
No one could have imagined that a big guy like Xuanyuan Po could move so fast.
Because no one knew that Xuanyuan Po had grown up moving through steep, treacherous mountain cliffs, hunting those lightning-fast red minks.
Retreat and defend? Tangle and fight? With Tang Thirty-Six's guidance, Xuanyuan Po wouldn't give his opponent that chance.
The Yellow Mountain Valley disciple had retreated five zhang, but Xuanyuan Po had already advanced more than ten zhang, arriving right in front of him.
He could clearly see that his opponent's face had turned pale. He could even see his own reflection in the opponent's pupils.
The Yellow Mountain Valley disciple let out a sharp cry. His sword rose like the wind and slashed down toward him, a beautiful light trailing ahead of the sword's edge!
Xuanyuan Po remembered Tang Thirty-Six's words. He didn't think about anything. He only thought about advancing.
He burned all his true essence and advanced.
His opponent's sword wove into a curtain.
He didn't look at it or pay it any mind. He just kept advancing.
His fist moved forward even faster than his body.
With a hum.
The wind from his fist carried countless twinkling starlight, tearing through the sword wind and brushing against the Yellow Mountain Valley disciple's face.
In his eyes were reflected countless stars, along with immense shock and disbelief.
Wasn't Xuanyuan Po just a new student at Star Picking Academy? Hadn't he only been at the National Academy for a few days? Wasn't he at the bottom of the Azure Cloud List? Hadn't his right arm been crippled?
Then how could he throw such a punch? And those stars—weren't they signs that only appeared at the upper level of Sitting Meditation?
The Yellow Mountain Valley disciple couldn't continue thinking.
Because Xuanyuan Po's fist directly smashed through his sword and landed on his body.
Boom!
That Yellow Mountain Valley disciple crashed like a stone into the wall of the Dust-Washing Pavilion, dozens of zhang away.
A fierce wind kicked up, and dust flew everywhere.
The Yellow Mountain Valley disciple seemed embedded in the wall. His clothes were torn, and he was covered in blood.
Xuanyuan Po stopped, looked at his own fist, and his expression was somewhat dazed. He thought, why didn't he block?
Hasty footsteps sounded inside the Dust-Washing Pavilion.
More than ten examiners rushed to the scene and began treating the Yellow Mountain Valley disciple as fast as they could.
"You..."
An examiner walked up to Xuanyuan Po, pointed at him as if to say something, but didn't know what to say.
Xuanyuan Po recognized this examiner as the one who had spoken earlier. He looked at the Yellow Mountain Valley disciple being rescued, feeling a bit uneasy, and stammered, "I didn't do anything wrong, did I? You said earlier that no one can get killed. If... if something happens to him, it has nothing to do with me."
...
...
(Finally finished writing. Exhausted to death. Next chapter, Chen Changsheng makes his appearance. What will his first fight in his life be like?)