Chapter 155: Daily Routine
The Dust-Washing Pavilion opened, and Liang Banhu and Seven walked out. The Palace priest announced Seven as the victor, drawing a clamor of surprise from the gathered crowd. They themselves showed no reaction, speaking in low tones as if utterly unconcerned that their robes were covered in tears and bloodstains, with traces of holy light treatment still lingering on their sleeves.
They descended the stone steps and walked toward the stream, continuing their hushed conversation.
Some examinees who were closer could hear that these two senior and junior brothers were actually critiquing each other's performance in the previous battle—this move you used incorrectly, that move you, Senior Brother, executed too slowly...
Over the years, the Seven Laws of the Divine Kingdom had been idols or goals for many among the younger generation of cultivators. The battle records of these seven disciples of Lishan Sword Sect were widely circulated and endlessly discussed. For instance, when Seven lost to Zhuang Huanyu by one move in that trial match, it was studied and debated repeatedly because it was one of the rare defeats of the Seven Laws.
But few had ever witnessed battles between these senior and junior brothers.
Only today did people understand why the younger generation of Lishan Sword Sect was so formidable, and why the radiance of the Seven Laws of the Divine Kingdom was so dazzling.
When fellow disciples fought, they held nothing back, yet bore no grudges or resentment. To them, this was merely routine.
To practice such routine daily was to be extraordinary. How could Lishan not be strong?
Tang Thirty-Six watched the four Lishan Sword Sect disciples by the stream and said with some disappointment, "So it was only natural that I lost to Liang Banhu. Seven is far stronger than me too."
Here, "lost" and "stronger" didn't refer to realm or power, but to something else entirely.
Chen Changsheng said, "We can learn from them."
Tang Thirty-Six glanced at him and asked, "Learn how? Haven't you noticed that Liang Banhu was happy even after losing—truly happy?"
"Hmm?"
"During the Grand Examination, they can unleash their swords to their heart's content without fear of crippling or death. That makes them happy."
"So?"
"I'm not that kind of monster. I can't learn it. I concede."
From entering the Palace in the morning to entering the Academy within the Green Leaf World, from the Zhaowen Hall to the Dust-Washing Pavilion, the Palace priests visible to the examinees were few. But in truth, the entire Palace—more accurately, the entire national religious system—was serving the Grand Examination. Countless priests unseen by the examinees performed various tasks. Dying during the Grand Examination was an extremely difficult thing.
When he entered the Dust-Washing Pavilion again, Chen Changsheng deliberately glanced upstairs but saw no one. Then he saw his opponent.
In the third round of combat, his opponent was a young girl—the very one who had mocked and insulted him on the Divine Path that day, only to be scolded into tears by Tang Thirty-Six: Ye Xiaolian, the little junior sister from Holy Maiden Peak.
Holy Maiden Peak and Everlasting Sect were the two major branches of the southern national religious system, governing many mountain gates. Ye Xiaolian came from Cijian Temple. In the materials provided by the Religious Council to the National Academy, it was clearly noted that this young girl had decent cultivation talent. Once she reached the appropriate age, she might directly enter Nanxi Zhai. Of course, she could only train in the outer sect.
No matter how good her cultivation talent, Ye Xiaolian was too young. As one of the youngest participants in the Grand Examination, her realm was very unstable. Logically, it should have been difficult for her to reach the third round of combat. But her luck with the draw was excellent—she won the first round very smoothly, and in the second round, her opponent was a civilian scholar who could only participate after passing the preparatory exam. Her realm was similar to his, but her true essence was shallower. She only won that match by relying on a mountain gate artifact she carried with her. After leaving the Dust-Washing Pavilion, she threw herself into her senior sister's arms and cried, overwhelmed with joy.
In the third round draw, she heard Chen Changsheng's name. She knew her good luck had finally ended.
Ye Xiaolian looked at Chen Changsheng, her young face full of nervousness and unease, slightly pale.
That day on the Divine Path, she had called Chen Changsheng a toad lusting after phoenix meat. She had always thought he was a useless waste. But who could have imagined that Chen Changsheng would pass two rounds in a row, and in the last round even defeat Huo Guang of Huaiyuan? Unlike her luck with the draw, his victories naturally relied on his own strength.
Ye Xiaolian knew she was no match for Chen Changsheng. Remembering how she had offended him, her anxiety grew.
Just then, the examiner's voice came from the second floor: "When you're ready, begin."
Chen Changsheng looked at Ye Xiaolian and nodded in acknowledgment.
At his glance, Ye Xiaolian couldn't help but feel terrified. Her eyes reddened, and her robes trembled slightly.
Chen Changsheng was momentarily stunned, thinking, what's wrong with her?
Ye Xiaolian was truly frightened. Her body trembled incessantly, and the bell on her wrist shook along with it, producing a crisp clattering sound.
The clear bell sound sobered her a little. Gathering her courage, she threw the bell at Chen Changsheng.
She and Chen Changsheng were separated by more than ten zhang, yet the bell arrived before him in an instant.
This bell was the Brahma Sound Bell, a mountain gate artifact of Cijian Temple. It couldn't compare to legendary artifacts like the Thousand-Mile Button, but it still possessed considerable power—not much weaker than the umbrella from the Heavenly Dao Academy that Luoluo had encountered in her first round. Otherwise, she couldn't have relied on it to directly defeat her opponent in the second round.
The bell seemed to be made of some unknown metal. The string that held it carried a faint, sharp sword intent, and the crisp sound concealed a certain aura that could disrupt a cultivator's true essence flow. But it seemed Ye Xiaolian's luck had truly run out in the earlier rounds. Her current opponent, Chen Changsheng, had the weakest true essence reserves and also needed true essence the least for combat.
He formed his right hand into a fist and punched forward, then spread his fingers in the air like a blooming flower, catching the Brahma Sound Bell with perfect precision.
The bell trembled violently in his palm, as if struggling, transmitting immense force outward while the disruptive aura grew sharper.
The flow of true essence within Chen Changsheng was indeed greatly affected. The problem was, even if the Brahma Sound Bell did nothing, his true essence flow was already difficult to smooth—his meridians were already severed.
Without using true essence, relying solely on physical strength, he gripped the Brahma Sound Bell tightly.
Clang, clang, clang.
The bell trembled and struggled fiercely, trying to escape his grasp, but it couldn't.
After a few breaths, the bell finally quieted down, resting in his palm.
Ye Xiaolian stared at this scene, completely forgetting she was in combat. She covered her mouth with her hand, utterly astonished.
The Brahma Sound Bell had been given to her by the elders of Cijian Temple. She knew well how much force it carried when flying and how hard it was to control. She had imagined Chen Changsheng might use many methods to easily neutralize the bell, but she never expected him to simply catch it with his bare hand.
The crisp bell sound faded, and the Dust-Washing Pavilion fell silent.
Ye Xiaolian was stunned speechless, making no further move.
Chen Changsheng didn't continue either. Holding the bell, he looked up at the second floor.
The room on the second floor remained quiet. Whether stunned by Chen Changsheng's inhuman strength or for some other reason, no one spoke.
Mo Yu said coldly, "Did you really think he would humiliate a little girl? He's not Tang Tang."
This remark exposed certain hidden intentions and also delivered a verdict.
A Palace priest appeared at the railing on the second floor, looking down at Ye Xiaolian and asking, "Do you concede?"
Ye Xiaolian nodded, her eyes reddening.
Chen Changsheng placed the Brahma Sound Bell on the yellow sand at his feet, turned, and walked out of the Dust-Washing Pavilion.
He didn't speak harshly to the young girl who had once insulted him, nor did he pay her any attention.
Ye Xiaolian stared blankly at his retreating footsteps, suddenly feeling helpless.
Earlier, she had prepared herself to be defeated and humiliated by Chen Changsheng, but she never expected he wouldn't do so.
Leaving the Dust-Washing Pavilion, Chen Changsheng walked back to the edge of the forest.
Ye Xiaolian returned to her senior sister's side, lifted her sleeve, and wiped away her tears.
"Showing mercy to the fairer sex, huh?"
Tang Thirty-Six sneered at Chen Changsheng. "Then what does that make me?"
Chen Changsheng asked, "If it were you, what would you do?"
Tang Thirty-Six thought it over and realized he couldn't do much either. He didn't like that little girl Ye Xiaolian—he could be sharp-tongued with her, because arguments relied on wordplay, lung capacity, and shamelessness—but he couldn't actually beat her up, could he? Wouldn't that be bullying the weak?
Next to step up was Luoluo.
Of the four Huaiyuan scholars participating in the Grand Examination, only two remained. Her opponent in this round was the other one besides Zhong Hui.
She and that Huaiyuan scholar entered the Dust-Washing Pavilion.
Footsteps sounded from the second floor.
Some important figures moved to the windows to watch this match. They were genuinely curious about how far Princess Luoluo had progressed, enough to make the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion specifically revise the Azure Cloud Ranking. In the first round, Luoluo's opponent was too weak; in the second round, Tianhai Shengsheng directly forfeited. So this round, she would finally have to fight, right?
Luoluo untied the Falling Rain Whip from her side and looked at the Huaiyuan scholar, saying, "Draw your sword first."
In the National Academy, she was respectful and obedient toward Chen Changsheng, occasionally acting spoiled. But her demeanor toward others was completely different. Back at the Green Vine Banquet, she had dismissed both the instructor of the Heavenly Dao Academy and Elder Xiaosong of Lishan without a second thought, let alone this Huaiyuan scholar.
She didn't deliberately look down on him or act arrogantly. She was simply poised and calm, her words indifferent, yet they carried a natural nobility and authority.
The Huaiyuan scholar's expression shifted slightly as he slowly drew his long sword from its sheath.
His movements were slow, but the sound of the blade leaving the sheath was extremely crisp.
With a sharp ring,
A bright sword light flashed across more than ten zhang in an instant, arriving before Luoluo's eyes.
Luoluo didn't even blink, not a single eyelash trembling.
The World Turns Yellow.
The Falling Rain Whip in her hand lashed out wildly.
The Zhongshan Wind and Rain Sword, carrying immense true essence, effortlessly obliterated the sword light and surged toward the Huaiyuan scholar opposite her.
The Academy was a small world, more sensitive to the resonance of heaven and earth. As she executed the Zhongshan Wind and Rain Sword, a strange phenomenon appeared in the azure sky.
From somewhere, a dark cloud drifted over, shrouding the entire Dust-Washing Pavilion.
Then it began to rain.
Just as before the match began, the black eaves of the Dust-Washing Pavilion were washed clean again.
She used the Falling Rain Whip, and each raindrop was a whip tip.
The raindrops fell on the eaves and the yellow sand, producing a pattering sound.
Like the sound of a whip striking a person's body.
The rain grew heavier, turning into a downpour. Inside the Dust-Washing Pavilion, the rain curtain was so dense that nothing could be seen.
Occasionally, a flash of sword light would appear, only to be instantly swallowed by the torrential rain.
After a moment, an extremely crisp sound rang out inside the pavilion—crack!
The downpour abruptly stopped.
The Huaiyuan scholar collapsed weakly against the corner wall, covered in wounds, blood and rainwater mingling together.
His face was pale, his slightly blue lips trembling faintly, his eyes filled with despair.
It was the despair of being crushed by absolute power.
(One: A few days ago, I mistakenly wrote Cijian Temple as Hujian Temple. I'll find time to correct it. Two: When the Brahma Sound Bell went clang, clang, clang, you all know what song I was thinking of. Three: Ye Xiaolian stared blankly at Chen Changsheng's footsteps, so helpless—she's just a child, so of course, that's the song. See you tomorrow.)