Chapter 153: No Battle
Luo Luo could directly enter the Mausoleum of Books to view the steles, yet she still knelt before His Holiness the Pope and begged for one night, insisting on participating in the Grand Examination, even if she didn't care about her ranking. Why? Because she wanted to clear obstacles for her teacher, Chen Changsheng. In the battle rounds, every opponent she defeated meant one fewer opponent for Chen Changsheng.
From this perspective, the stronger the opponent she faced, the more it suited her wishes. Especially the two universally acknowledged strongest—Gou Hanshi and Tianhai Shengxue. Even if she couldn't defeat them, she would make them expend tremendous energy, at least inflict serious injuries, so that when Chen Changsheng faced them, he might retain a sliver of a chance.
Thus, when the second-round draw paired her with Tianhai Shengxue, the entire venue was stunned. Only she remained calm, even somewhat pleased.
Chen Changsheng hadn't considered why Luo Luo wanted to participate in the Grand Examination. When Tang Thirty-Six reminded him, he thought it over and understood the reason. He lowered his head, looking at the brand-new boots on his feet, and fell silent for a long time. Then he raised his head and said to Tang Thirty-Six, "I will definitely win."
Tang Thirty-Six looked at him and said, "You shouldn't say that to me; you should tell her."
Chen Changsheng replied, "I don't need to tell her. She already knows."
As they spoke, the doors of the Dust-Washing Pavilion closed once more.
Today's Grand Examination battles were held in the Dust-Washing Pavilion, meaning the doors would close many times. They would close many more times later, the creaking of the hinges growing increasingly harsh. But no closing had drawn more attention than this one; this creak was the clearest.
This was the strongest battle since the start of this year's Grand Examination. On one side was the princess of the White Emperor City, a being of immense bloodline talent, the one who could force the Azure Cloud Ranking to revise its list on the spot—Her Highness Luo Luo. On the other was the grandnephew most favored by Her Holiness the Empress, the one who had successfully reached the Ethereal Opening Realm amid the bloody battles against demonic elites at the Snow-Clasping Pass—Tianhai Shengxue.
Such a battle naturally drew the attention of tens of thousands.
The solitary youth who had been standing apart from the crowd, facing away from the entire world, turned to look at the Dust-Washing Pavilion.
Deep within Wo Fu Zhexiu's ice-like eyes, faint flames seemed to be rising.
Inside the Dust-Washing Pavilion, it was very quiet.
Tianhai Shengxue and Luo Luo stood facing each other, bowed calmly in greeting, then straightened up.
No one made a move.
The sunlight from the Green Leaf World fell upon Tianhai Shengxue's face, his skin as fair as snow.
Luo Luo stood quietly, her picturesque brows and eyes still beautiful as a painting in this picturesque world.
Tianhai Shengxue listened quietly to the sounds coming from within the pavilion, then suddenly smiled.
It had to be admitted, his smile was somewhat charming.
Luo Luo naturally wouldn't be charmed, but she was a bit puzzled. Why had Tianhai Shengxue never smiled outside the pavilion, yet chose to smile now?
"Many people want me to fight Your Highness, because in the Grand Examination battles, only Gou Hanshi and I can defeat you. And compared to Gou Hanshi, I seem more suited to fight you, since even if I truly injure you, the White Emperor and Empress, out of respect for Her Holiness, wouldn't be too angry with me."
Tianhai Shengxue looked at her and said with a smile, "Yes, many people want to use my hand to eliminate Your Highness, the strongest combat power of the National Academy. As for your intentions, I understand them very well—you just want to escort Chen Changsheng. But I'm a bit puzzled: even if you can defeat everyone, how can you guarantee that he will keep winning?"
Luo Luo said, "As a disciple, I must do everything I can. No matter how far my teacher can go."
"Interesting. No, very interesting."
The smile on Tianhai Shengxue's face gradually faded, and he said calmly, even somewhat indifferently, "Unfortunately, this battle is the will of the two Archbishops of the State Church, the will of my family, the will of certain people in the palace, and the will of many others. They just never considered my will."
In a quiet room on the second floor of the Dust-Washing Pavilion, over a dozen chairs were arranged.
Two venerable Archbishops of the State Church's Holy Hall sat at opposite ends, east and west. Mo Yu and Prince Chenliu sat in the center. Xue Xingchuan, Xu Shiji, the Archbishop of the Ancestral Sacrifice Institute, the Dean of the Star-Picking Academy, three representatives from southern sects, and other important figures each sat in their chairs.
This year's Grand Examination had brought too many shocks and surprises from the young cultivators. These big shots wanted to observe from a closer distance to ensure nothing went wrong, so they had moved from the Zhao Wen Hall to the Dust-Washing Pavilion. The first battle they would witness was the strongest one—which was also one of their goals.
The battle between Her Highness Luo Luo and Tianhai Shengxue could proceed, and a victor could be decided, but it absolutely could not end like Zhexiu against Su Moyu, or Chen Changsheng against Huo Guang—where the supervising examiners were caught off guard and unable to react in time, leaving the competing candidates severely injured. This was the promise they had respectively given to His Holiness the Pope and the Tianhai family.
Yet they hadn't expected that this battle, which had drawn countless eyes, would enter an unexpected rhythm from the start. Just as unexpected as Tianhai Shengxue's silence and low profile throughout today's Grand Examination. There was no lashing of wind and rain, no snow sealing the northern pass—only Tianhai Shengxue's calm voice echoing continuously through the pavilion.
Yes, no one had considered Tianhai Shengxue's will. This was the collective will of the Tianhai family.
Hearing Tianhai Shengxue's words, the expressions of the two Holy Hall Archbishops and the other big shots shifted slightly.
"What is 'will'? Will is pursuit. Of course, I have my own life's pursuit, or rather, my goal."
Tianhai Shengxue glanced toward the second floor, then withdrew his gaze, looked back at Luo Luo, and continued calmly, "For years, everyone in the capital has been saying I'm jealous of Prince Chenliu, because since childhood, he could stay in the palace and study with Mo Yu of the Peace Kingdom. Actually, people are wrong. The one I truly envy is Mo Yu."
"The world only sees Her Holiness's favor toward her, the power and glory bestowed upon her, but those glories blind their eyes. They fail to see that she is already at the Star-Gathering Realm at such a young age. The Star-Gathering Realm... For years, everyone has talked about Xu Yourong and Qiu Shanjun. In earlier years, everyone talked about Wang Po and Xiao Zhang. But few ever think about just how strong she really is."
In that dim room on the second floor, many gazes fell upon Mo Yu. Her expression was indifferent, as if Tianhai Shengxue wasn't even talking about her.
"Yes, I am the most promising person in the Tianhai family in terms of martial arts. Everyone thinks that I traveled ten thousand miles from the Snow-Clasping Pass back to the capital to participate in the Grand Examination just to claim the top ranking. But... if Qiu Shanjun doesn't come, what meaning does it have for me to take this ranking? Can it prove that I am stronger than Mo Yu?"
Tianhai Shengxue suddenly paused, fell silent for a long time, then spoke again: "Alright, even if I defeat Qiu Shanjun, I still can't prove I'm stronger than her. And if it were the old me, I probably would have been willing to strive for the top ranking in the Grand Examination, because that, after all, is glory."
Luo Luo looked at him, puzzled, and asked, "Don't you think so now?"
"What is the purpose of cultivation? Strength. What is the purpose of strength? To live, then to possess greater power and gain more."
Tianhai Shengxue looked at her calmly and said, "The old me would have thought the Grand Examination ranking was very important—at least it could help me gain some confidence when facing Mo Yu. But now, for me, the most important meaning of the Grand Examination is that I will meet Your Highness, and you need my defeat."
After saying this, he looked toward the second floor again, with a hint of pride, and said, "As for what I'm about to say next, I suggest you'd better not hear it. Otherwise, it will be trouble for you as well."
(End of this chapter)