Chapter 156: Two Youths' Consecutive Victories
The sudden rainstorm ceased, clear light returned. The yellow sand beneath the Dust-Washing Tower was carved into gullies by the rainwater, resembling the famous highlands near the northwest coast.
That Huaiyuan Academy scholar lay collapsed against the wall, his long robe soaked through with rain and blood.
Luo Luo withdrew her whip and stood silently in place, as if she had never struck a blow. Her nobility was self-evident, her dominance unmatched.
"Your Highness... is only fourteen this year, right?"
The headmaster of the Star-Plucking Academy stood by the window, gazing at the scene below, and said with emotion, "This is too exaggerated."
It was indeed exaggerated—not because Luo Luo's techniques in this match were particularly exquisite. On the contrary, her attacks were anything but exquisite; they were a direct storm, crushing her opponent with sheer overwhelming power. Simple to the extreme. The so-called "hegemonic ambition amidst wind and rain" was exactly this.
If Luo Luo had faced an opponent of the highest realm, someone like Gou Hanshi who had already reached Tongyou, she naturally could not suppress them so tyrannically. But against cultivators of the same realm, whether in terms of true essence quantity, purity, or the absolute advantage in kuangbao output, she was nearly invincible.
The bloodline talent of the White Emperor's clan was indeed tyrannical to the extreme—the great figures watching from upstairs were stunned into silence, thinking that the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion's assessment was indeed correct. Among the younger generation, aside from Xu Yourong and Qiu Shanjun who could be compared to Her Highness Luo Luo, no one else's bloodline talent was worthy of comparison.
At this point, the Grand Examination battles were finally entering their climax, with one thrilling match after another.
After Luo Luo defeated that Huaiyuan Academy scholar, the next battle was between the wolf tribe youth Zhexiu and Guan Feibai. This fight drew everyone's attention, and Chen Changsheng was no exception. He was even more concerned than the other examinees—Tianhai Shengxue had withdrawn, leaving only Zhexiu as the one who made him wary and could potentially threaten or harm Luo Luo.
The door of the Dust-Washing Tower closed again, and the battle began.
From the very start, the fight between Zhexiu and Guan Feibai entered its most intense phase. The soundproofing formation of the Dust-Washing Tower was instantly breached. Before the examinees outside could mentally prepare, they heard sounds growing louder and louder. Some examinees with weaker spiritual senses turned pale, nearly having their sea of consciousness injured by those sounds.
Those loud sounds were not slaps or impacts; they carried a sharp, fierce quality, likely the sound of a sword edge cutting through air.
The southern delegation had stayed in the capital for some time, and the four from Lishan Sword Sect had attracted much attention. Now, many knew that Qijian used the legendary Lishan Precept Hall Dharma Sword, while Guan Feibai used a very ordinary sword worth only five taels of silver. Hearing those harsh sword sounds, the people outside were deeply shaken. To produce such a bright sword howl with an ordinary long sword worth only five taels of silver—how vast must Guan Feibai's true essence be? Even more shocking was the wolf tribe youth Zhexiu, who had no weapon. What method was he using to counter that terrifying sword?
The sword howl grew more piercing, and the world within the academy responded. The clouds in the clear sky began to move slowly, constantly shifting shapes—now like rugged cliffs, now like turbid waves crashing against the shore. Sword intent crisscrossed through them, utterly murderous. Yet the shapes of the clouds could never hold for long, as if there were wind howling across the plains, or wolves roaring.
Outside the Dust-Washing Tower, there was dead silence. Many examinees were pale with shock at the sights and sounds they witnessed. They couldn't imagine what they would do if they were inside the tower, facing either those towering sword forces or that terrifying, mournful wind howl—other than immediately conceding defeat.
Chen Changsheng's expression grew increasingly grave.
During the Green Vine Banquet, Guan Feibai had sparred with Luo Luo. Although they hadn't used true essence at the time, Chen Changsheng had seen clearly that this person had jigao de talent, worked extremely hard at cultivation, and was exceptionally skilled in the way of the sword. Rumors said that among the Seven Laws of the Divine Kingdom, his swordsmanship was second only to Qiu Shanjun, which seemed very plausible. Yet it was obvious that he could not suppress his current opponent.
Just how strong had that wolf tribe youth named Zhexiu become?
No one knew how much time had passed. The sword howl gradually faded, and the wind howl ceased as well. Then came a creak.
The door of the Dust-Washing Tower opened.
Zhexiu walked out, his face slightly pale, his expression still as indifferent as before. His cold eyes held no emotion, making him look utterly inhuman.
He descended the stone steps, his pace somewhat slow, each time he lifted his knee seeming to cause him trouble.
Only then did people notice a faint trace of blood at his left knee.
A moment later, a stream of blood flowed down his pant leg to his ankle.
He wore no shoes, always barefoot, so the blood was clearly visible.
Then Guan Feibai also walked out of the Dust-Washing Tower. His posture remained upright, his slightly faded robe had no tears, and no bloodstains were visible—he seemed uninjured.
People watched him walk toward the stream, somewhat surprised, thinking: Had Guan Feibai simply won like that?
Zhexiu walked to the grass at the edge of the crowd, sat down, and began to regulate his breathing. He closed his eyes, ignoring the murmurs around him.
His sitting posture was somewhat strange—not cross-legged, but sitting on his ankles, looking more like a crouch.
Meanwhile, Guan Feibai reached the stream bank. He looked at Gou Hanshi, about to say something.
Gou Hanshi shook his head, signaling him not to speak. He raised his right hand, his fingers moving like the wind, and struck three points on Guan Feibai's chest in a flash, sending in a stream of true qi.
Guan Feibai's face flushed slightly red, then turned white, repeating this three times. Then with a "puff," he spat out a mouthful of blood.
The blood splattered onto several wild grasses by the stream. With a sizzling sound, those grasses visibly withered and then broke off.
A wave of shock rippled through the crowd. Only then did the examinees realize how severely injured he had been—he had simply endured it until now, when the injury finally erupted.
The blood he spat contained no poison, only the lingering sharpness of Zhexiu's true essence intent. If Gou Hanshi hadn't acted in time, that intent would have hidden within Guan Feibai's body and could have severely affected his cultivation. Even so, he was now pale and utterly exhausted, as if he had suffered a serious illness.
Thinking of how venomously that wolf tribe youth had struck, Liang Banhu looked over, his gaze cold. Qijian was so angry his small face flushed red.
Guan Feibai wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and said, "I was outmatched. I can't blame anyone."
Gou Hanshi patted his shoulder, offering comfort and praise.
At that moment, the priest from the Li Palace appeared on the stone steps and announced, "Star-Plucking Academy, Zhang Tingtao wins."
Thus ended the third round of battles.
Outside the Dust-Washing Tower, it was quiet. No cheers, not even murmurs.
Because people could foresee that the battles would only grow fiercer, and naturally more bloody and brutal.
In this somewhat oppressive and uneasy atmosphere, the top sixteen of the Grand Examination were determined, and the fourth round of battles followed immediately.
To everyone's surprise, Zhexiu took the stage again right away, and his opponent was another young expert from Lishan Sword Sect—Qijian.
Facing two strong opponents consecutively, with almost no rest between battles—though it was the result of the draw, it was still somewhat unfair. If it had been an ordinary examinee, they might have asked the examiner for more time to regulate their breathing. But Zhexiu still said nothing, walking into the Dust-Washing Tower with an indifferent expression.
Inside the tower, it was quiet. The battle had ended. Zhexiu looked at the yellow sand before him, as if returning to his homeland in summer. After crossing Deer Song Slope, there was a river where soybeans and sorghum grew. He could fill his stomach without hunting, but no matter how fragrantly roasted the sorghum was, it could never match the taste of meat.
I am a wolf from the north.
A wolf travels a thousand miles to eat meat—that is only natural.
Although you are still a child, since you are an opponent, of course I show no mercy. Why are you so angry?
He looked at the opposite side, and for the first time, emotion appeared on his indifferent face. That emotion was hard to describe, very strange.
Qijian stood opposite him, his black hair loose from the battle, falling over his shoulders, making him look even more frail.
Ye Xiaolian of Cisi Temple, Xuan Yuan Po of the National Academy, and he were the three youngest participants in this year's Grand Examination.
His face was very young, now filled with anger.
Zhexiu couldn't understand Qijian's anger. He thought that although the moves he had used in close combat earlier were somewhat underhanded... battle was life and death. What did underhandedness matter? Hadn't the elders of Lishan Sword Sect taught you how to fight? Your senior brother handled himself much more gracefully than you did earlier.
After he had used those underhanded moves, Qijian inexplicably flew into a rage. No longer cautious as before, his true essence erupted, and he unleashed dozens of sword strikes in a frenzy, tangling with Zhexiu like a madman. If Zhexiu hadn't walked the line between life and death for many years, he might have been hacked to death by that sword.
If Gou Hanshi had known his junior brother had performed like this, he would have been very gratified.
Even a monster like Zhexiu, recalling Qijian's fiery sword frenzy earlier, still felt a lingering fear.
Anger is sometimes indeed a kind of power.
Unfortunately, the power of anger is hard to sustain. Qijian's frenzy of sword strikes didn't kill Zhexiu, and Zhexiu still achieved the final victory.
Walking out of the Dust-Washing Tower, Qijian went to Gou Hanshi. His lips were slightly pursed, the rims of his eyes red, looking extremely aggrieved.
"What happened?" Gou Hanshi raised an eyebrow slightly. It was clear that he was truly angry for the first time.
Qijian wiped away his tears and said, "Nothing, senior brother. You have to avenge me."
Gou Hanshi glanced at Zhexiu in the distance and said, "Alright."
The wolf tribe youth Zhexiu won two consecutive matches, eliminating two of the Seven Laws of the Divine Kingdom in a row. This shocked many.
But what truly stunned everyone was that Chen Changsheng had won again.
In the first three rounds, Chen Changsheng's opponents in the first and third rounds were too weak. In the second round, he faced Huo Guang of Huaiyuan Academy. Although Huo Guang was strong, he hadn't made it onto the Azure Cloud List, so many couldn't accurately gauge Chen Changsheng's level. In this round, his opponent was a young expert from Frost City.
This young expert from Frost City ranked in the twenties on the Azure Cloud List.
Just when everyone thought Chen Changsheng's story in the Grand Examination would end here, he shocked the entire venue again, defeating his opponent.
People couldn't understand how he had won.
(Too hungry, I'll eat something first before writing. The next chapter will be later.)