Chapter 154: Victory by Default
Tianhai Shengxue and Luoluo stood amid the yellow sand below the Dust-Washing Pavilion. The combined weight of their family backgrounds was enough to directly intimidate everyone on the second floor. Of course, the people on the second floor were also major figures, but his warning was very clear. Moreover, those major figures belonged to different factions and were all in one room, watching each other, so even if they wanted to listen, they had no choice but to pretend not to.
The room was very quiet, very serene. The daylight filtering through the window was not bright. Mo Yu, seated on the chair in the center, was silent for a moment, then her expression turned cold as she slowly closed her eyes, as if preparing to take a short rest. In reality, this gesture expressed her attitude: she was not going to listen to whatever Tianhai Shengxue said next.
Xue Xingchuan frowned slightly. The two Holy Church bishops also slowly closed their eyes. With a few faint sounds, the wooden shutters outside the window flipped shut, the sky suddenly dimmed, and the soundproofing formation activated, making it impossible to hear any sound from below. As for the other palace priests elsewhere, they surely lacked the courage to eavesdrop and would find ways to make themselves deaf.
After a while, Tianhai Shengxue did not bother to confirm whether anyone was eavesdropping, nor did he pay attention to these matters. He turned to Luoluo and continued, "Using the Grand Examination rankings to prove my strength has no meaning for my survival or for gaining greater power. So I can give it up."
Luoluo said, "The rankings are a rare honor. They can strengthen your position in Her Majesty's eyes."
"And then?" Tianhai Shengxue said expressionlessly. "Among the younger generation of the Tianhai family, I am already the most outstanding. What benefit is there in becoming even more outstanding? The person who decides the final fate of this family is still my father and his brothers."
Luoluo looked at him and asked, "So you plan to use the rankings to trade for what you need?"
Tianhai Shengxue said, "Exactly. That's why I said earlier that, for me, the most important meaning of the Grand Examination lies in meeting Your Highness. Your Highness needs my defeat."
Luoluo thought for a moment and asked, "What do you want?"
Tianhai Shengxue looked at her quietly and said, "I hope to trade for Your Highness's friendship."
Without even thinking, Luoluo directly replied, "No."
Tianhai Shengxue said with a self-deprecating smile, "It seems the surname Tianhai really has earned the world's resentment."
Luoluo said, "No. I just think that friendship is not something that can be traded. It can only be cultivated."
"That makes sense." Tianhai Shengxue's expression turned serious. "Then do I have a chance to cultivate friendship with Your Highness?"
Luoluo said, "I can't decide that. I have to listen to my teacher."
Tianhai Shengxue thought for a moment. Chen Changsheng probably wouldn't have a good impression of him. He then asked, "Or, does Your Highness have any older cousins on your mother's or father's side?"
Luoluo was exceptionally intelligent and immediately understood his meaning. She said with confusion, "My cousins are all in Daxi Province, but... if I remember correctly, aren't you supposed to marry Pingguo next year?"
Tianhai Shengxue said, "You should know very well that Pingguo likes Qiushan. What's the point of me marrying her? Besides, marrying her would only make me die faster."
Luoluo understood his meaning. After thinking it over, she said, "I can't decide that. I have to listen to my parents."
"Then what can I get from Your Highness?" Tianhai Shengxue asked, raising an eyebrow slightly.
Luoluo was also a bit troubled. "I really don't know."
Tianhai Shengxue looked toward the closed windows on the second floor and suddenly said, "A promise?"
Luoluo's expression turned serious. "By then, I might not have the ability to fulfill that promise."
Tianhai Shengxue said calmly, "I trust in Your Highness's character. As long as you truly try to fulfill the promise when the time comes, I will acknowledge it."
Luoluo said, "You're taking too much of a loss like this."
Tianhai Shengxue said, "Using what you don't have to trade for what is most worth pursuing—even if it's only a possibility that exists in the future—it's still worth it."
Luoluo suddenly felt some sympathy for him. "Why has it come to this?"
Tianhai Shengxue smiled, looking somewhat lonely. "Perhaps this is the price of maturity."
With that, he turned and walked out of the Dust-Washing Pavilion.
Luoluo watched his retreating figure, feeling a bit emotional.
Not everyone born into a royal family was as fortunate as she was.
Of course, she also had her own misfortunes or hardships, but they had not yet arrived.
Tianhai Shengxue was undoubtedly a clever man.
He used a single match in the Grand Examination to trade for some kind of future security.
Just as he had said to Luoluo at the end.
Why has it come to this?
It had to be this way.
The wooden shutters flipped open, daylight streamed back in, and sound returned to the quiet room—the sound of Tianhai Shengxue's departing footsteps.
A heavy silence fell.
No one knew what Tianhai Shengxue and Her Highness Luoluo had discussed. Even if they had heard the conversation, they couldn't determine what agreement had been reached between them. Everyone present was a major figure with sufficient wisdom, but aside from Prince Chenliu, none of them had the family background of Luoluo and Tianhai Shengxue, making it hard for them to understand their greatest fears.
People only saw Tianhai Shengxue leave directly, giving up this match.
Mo Yu glanced at the two solemn-faced Holy Church bishops and thought to herself, Tianhai Shengxue's surname is still Tianhai after all—how could he be used by you? Even his own father couldn't do that.
Tianhai Shengxue left the academy directly, not continuing in the Grand Examination. After all, his written exam results were at least in the top five, and no one dared to push him out of the top three.
A palace priest stood on the stone steps and announced, "National Teaching Academy, Her Highness Luoluo, victory by default."
Victory by default?
This highly anticipated match between strong contenders hadn't even taken place? Tianhai Shengxue had simply withdrawn? The examinees outside the Dust-Washing Pavilion were astonished, wondering what had happened inside the pavilion.
Luoluo walked back to the edge of the forest.
Chen Changsheng looked at her, puzzled. "What happened?"
Luoluo's small face wore a look of bewilderment—not the bewilderment of ignorance, but one born of deep feeling.
She looked at Chen Changsheng and said, "Teacher, I promised him I wouldn't tell anyone, including you and my father and mother. I'm sorry."
Chen Changsheng was taken aback for a moment, then said, "It's fine. Then don't say anything."
The second round of the Grand Examination matches officially ended, followed by the third round, which would determine the top sixteen. The third round still used a draw. But unlike the second round, the draw this time was less tense. Examinees who made it to the third round were essentially guaranteed a spot in the top three, with only the final ranking to be decided. Those content with just making the top three naturally didn't care who they drew next. The rest, with greater ambitions, knew they would eventually face strong opponents to enter the top tier, so who they drew didn't matter much either.
The examinees who lost in the second round—except for Su Moyu and Huo Guang, who were too injured to continue, and Tianhai Shengxue's strange concession—remained on the field, preparing for the supplementary matches. There were still sixty-one examinees outside the Dust-Washing Pavilion. Most of the time, their gazes fell on the few people from the National Teaching Academy by the forest.
The only thing everyone was curious about was whether the big shots in the National Teaching Academy would manipulate the draw again, arranging unbeatable opponents for Her Highness Luoluo and Chen Changsheng. After Tianhai Shengxue's departure, the only one on the field who was certain to defeat Her Highness Luoluo was Gou Hanshi.
Another thing that made the examinees nervous was who would draw the wolf tribe youth Zheshe. Although by the third round, drawing anyone was essentially the same, absolutely no one wanted to face Zheshe. Being embarrassingly defeated was one thing, but the real concern was that this youth was too cold-blooded and violent—getting seriously injured would be bad.
The palace priest quickly drew out the slip with the pseudonym Zhang Tingtao. Zheshe's opponent was Guan Feibai.
Zheshe's face still showed no expression, appearing exceptionally cold, but from his calm eyes, it was clear he was satisfied with this opponent.
Guan Feibai said nothing, remaining very silent, making it impossible to tell his current mood.
The battle between the third and fifth on the Azure Cloud List. The bloodthirsty wolf tribe youth from the snow plains versus the Divine Kingdom's Four Laws of the Lishan Sword Sect. Either title alone was enough to make this match exciting, so much so that the examinees, who thought they no longer cared about the draw, let out bursts of exclamations.
The exclamations didn't stop; the next moment, they grew even louder.
Because Liang Banhu drew Qijian.
What kind of rhythm was this?
Gou Hanshi's expression turned somewhat serious.
The next moment, he drew a young strong contender from the Star Picking Academy.
The examinees buzzed with discussion.
In the second round of the Grand Examination matches, the National Teaching Academy had been suppressed. In the third round, was it the Lishan Sword Sect's turn?
In this round, Chen Changsheng and Luoluo's opponents were relatively weak.
But among those aiming for the Grand Examination rankings, their luck wasn't the best.
Zhuang Huanyu of the Heavenly Dao Academy had drawn relatively weak opponents for three consecutive rounds.
Similarly, Zhong Hui of the Huai Academy had the same luck.
Gou Hanshi walked into the Dust-Washing Pavilion.
This was his first time entering the arena since the Grand Examination matches began.
After Tianhai Shengxue's departure, he was the strongest among the examinees.
This match naturally drew a lot of attention.
Yet the match proceeded very calmly, very ordinarily—one could even say it was too plain.
Not long after, the door of the Dust-Washing Pavilion opened.
Gou Hanshi and the young examinee from the Star Picking Academy walked out one after another. Neither his body nor the Star Picking youth's showed any bloodstains; they seemed uninjured, not even dusty, as if no battle had taken place between them.
The victor was naturally Gou Hanshi.
"I'm no match for him. The gap is too wide."
Luoluo looked at Gou Hanshi walking toward the stream, feeling both admiration and unease. "Even if I reach the Thoroughfare Realm now, my chances wouldn't be great."
"What are you thinking about?" Chen Changsheng said. "He's my opponent, not yours."
Gou Hanshi's first appearance was unexpectedly plain.
The match between Qijian and Liang Banhu—these two disciples of the Lishan Sword Sect fighting each other—was even more unexpected.
This match was unexpectedly fierce. The soundproofing formation of the Dust-Washing Pavilion couldn't block the piercing and terrifying sword cries. On the azure sky, countless crisscrossing sword intents appeared. Even standing outside the pavilion, one could feel the power and danger of those two swords.
The most unexpected thing was that the final victor was not Liang Banhu, but Qijian.