Song Changxi apologized, not just to that cultivator, but to everyone.
People pinned high hopes on him and many people had hoped for him to become the champion of the martial exam, to completely overshadow Chen Chao. But no one had thought that he would fail to be the winner, but rather be defeated by Chen Chao in a fair and square manner.
This was a major matter for the foreign cultivators.
Liang Zhao pondered for a moment and said, "Should I have stayed back then?"
Song Changxi shook his head and replied, "If we had joined forces to defeat him, it would have been even more embarrassing."
Ad
Liang Zhao murmured softly, "But if you couldn't beat him, then I wouldn't have been his match either."
Song Changxi thought for a bit and did not say anything.
"Senior Brother Song, you've really let me down!"
Ye Qing looked at Song Changxi from a short distance away, the disappointment on her face genuine.
Song Changxi did not speak and just smiled.
If she was disappointed, so be it. What more could be said?
Ye Qing frowned and said, "He's merely in the Divine Trove. Furthermore, he's also a martial artist. Senior Brother, you're a cultivator in the Bitter Sea Realm. How could you lose to him?"
Song Changxi shook his head, unwilling to say anything more. He glanced at a distance, then turned and left the place.
Liang Zhao watched Song Changxi's back view and lamented, "His Dao heart is probably not as stable anymore."
After saying those words, he also left.
Everyone by the lakeside looked at each other. No one could say anything.
It was very quiet.
Truly quiet.
"Maybe we still stand a chance."
Someone spoke softly, with a hint of hope, "Maybe there's still some hope."
Some listened to these words and looked up at the ranking list. Chen Chao still held the top position, with Song Changxi and Liang Zhao in second and third place. But now, these two had been eliminated, and the person in fourth place was far behind.
"It's impossible, let go of that hope."
A cultivator had a straightforward understanding of the situation. He looked at everyone present and sneered, "We, who usually hold ourselves in high regard, have now been surpassed by a young martial artist from the Great Liang Dynasty."
They could accept losing to someone else, but losing to a martial artist from the Great Liang Dynasty was truly unacceptable to them.
However, whether they accepted it or not, this was the reality at the moment.
"I don't believe it. There must be some reason. Otherwise, how can he emerge as the champion?"
There was still some time left until the end of the martial exam, but it was evident that Chen Chao had already secured the victory.
Unless he died inside the microcosm.
But even Song Changxi had been defeated, who could defeat him?
Ad
This was the question they all had to face.
"He's already heavily injured, that's for sure. We surely still have a chance!"
……
……
The prominent figures stood on the pavilion, listening to those words in silence.
Someone stepped forward, bowed to Wei Xu whose complexion was a little pale, and said softly, "Thank you, Mr. Wei."
They actually knew a little about what had happened inside the microcosm.
Wei Xu looked at him, nodded, and said softly, "No need for such formalities. I hope you all don't blame this Wei for breaking the rules."
His words seemed nonchalant, but the expressions of the prominent figures turned a little ugly.
They all understood what the current situation was.
But at this moment, they needed to owe a debt of gratitude, so it was not appropriate to say anything.
Wei Xu looked at another person and said, "Will there be any more accidents when it's over?"
Though it seemed like a statement, it was actually a question.
The person was silent, then shook their head and whispered, "Now that there's an outcome, there's no need to say anything. We all understand."
No one refuted his words, indicating that everyone had tacitly accepted the situation.
The Heavenly Longevity Temple's temple master said, "The Great Liang Dynasty is going to be the champion in both the literary and martial exams this time."
Wei Xu looked at him and did not speak.
Had Teacher anticipated such a result?
……
……
As the end of the martial exam drew near, there were actually very few cultivators left by the lakeside. These cultivators could never have anticipated the current result.
But now that the result was as it was, they naturally could not say anything. In previous years, they would have eagerly awaited the emergence of the champion. But this year, there was no expectation for something like this to occur again.
So the cultivators did not come to the lakeside to wait for the result. However, some cultivators still held a faint glimmer of hope, so they were still waiting.
They kept waiting, waiting for that glimmer of hope.
However, after Liang Zhao and Song Changxi were eliminated, the original fourth-place contestant had now become second place. Although his tally of demon kills had been steadily increasing these past few days, it seemed that the distance between him and Chen Chao was still very far. At the very least, it appeared that there was little hope left.
Ad
The people were all sighing, feeling a deep sense of discomfort with this outcome.
Zhu Xia and Xie Nandu arrived with some food. After glancing at the ranking list, they turned to leave.
"Big Sister Xie, it looks like he really is going to be the champion. It wasn't just talk."
"It's difficult too. He's probably hiding somewhere right now."
"Why is he hiding?"
Zhu Xia shook her head and whispered, "Oh, is it because of Song Changxi?"
Xie Nandu nodded, "In a battle like that, it must have been very challenging for him."
A clash between a Divine Trove Realm and Bitter Sea Realm was undoubtedly a difficult feat. That Chen Chao was able to accomplish it was already remarkable. He must be severely injured now. Since he was severely wounded, he must have found a place to hide because only then, would he have a chance of surviving until the end.
After all, he no longer had his bamboo token at this time. If he were to be found, he would surely die.
But without the bamboo token, it was also difficult for people to find Chen Chao.
Having spent many years killing demons in the mountains, he was naturally adept at hiding.
In this microcosm, there was no one better at hiding than Chen Chao.
He could guarantee this.
Xie Nandu smiled and said, "But he will come back alive."
Zhu Xia tossed a honey date into her mouth and said with a smile, "Big Sister Xie, this time your Great Liang Dynasty will take the top spot in both the literary and martial exams. This is something that has never happened before."
Xie Nandu nodded, "I imagine it will be quite troublesome."
Zhu Xia was not foolish either. After thinking about it, she understood the reason and said with a nod, "It really isn't fair."
Xie Nandu did not say anything more and turned to leave.
Zhu Xia hurriedly followed.
These two young girls had been going back and forth these days, and many people had noticed. However, many people knew about their relationship with Chen Chao, so no one would say anything.
But in reality, Xie Nandu had always been the focus of many people's attention.
He Yi was one of them.
During these days, He Yi often came to this place and silently watched the changes in the rankings on the list. He never said anything.
Ad
It seemed like he did not care about anything. But in reality, after Song Changxi and Liang Zhao were eliminated, He Yi knew that nothing would change. That young man would definitely take first place. Then just as he had said, he would slap their faces ruthlessly at the Myriad Willow Convention.
He was going to accomplish it.
He Yi heaved a sigh.
"If your Dao heart collapses so easily, then you will never achieve anything in the future. It would be better for me to kill you now."
A cold voice sounded out. A middle-aged daoist appeared behind He Yi. This person was none other than the Verdant Cloud Temple's temple lord.
"Temple Lord."
He Yi lowered his head silent and was silent for a moment before asking, "Actually, this disciple doesn't understand, why can a measly Divine Trove martial artist like him become champion? It's one thing if he defeats me, but why can he also defeat those true geniuses from the foreign lands?"
The temple lord glanced at He Yi and said softly, "There are things that you all only see the surface of, which leads to your confusion. But in reality, if you all could see the essence of it, you wouldn't be so puzzled."
"Please enlighten me, Temple Lord."
He Yi spoke respectfully and looked at this temple lord, At this moment, his demeanor was humble, without a trace of the arrogance of a genius on the Latent Dragon List.
"In your eyes, the martial exam is merely a trial. You believe that achieving success is simply a matter of having a higher cultivation realm. But in reality, how can the reform this time be something so simple? The martial exam currently tests true life-and-death battles and how to kill enough people with the least amount of effort. In this aspect, no cultivator can compare to that young man. Yes, no one. He has been killing demons in Tianqing County for many years, entangled with demons in the mountains. The demons don't care which sect you belong to or what your master's name is. If they want to kill you, they will kill you."
The temple lord said in a cold voice, "You so-called geniuses, all you do is focus on cultivating, using cultivation realm and magic artifacts to fight. When facing fellow immortal cultivators, you'll think that since you're both immortal cultivators, you naturally won't confront each other in life-and-death battles. When you consider that the other party has a famous master, you naturally won't dare to deal a killing blow too, because you're afraid of revenge. But what's the point of all this?"
Ad
"It only makes you think that it's very easy to live in this world."
He Yi remained silent for a long time and said, "Every time he hunts demons in the mountains, if he doesn't kill them, they will kill him. So he lives a difficult life every day, struggling constantly. Therefore, he knows how best to choose when at the edge of life and death, and how to kill demons... even people."
The temple lord nodded and said, "That's why even though Song Changxi had a higher cultivation realm, he couldn't sentence him to death in that battle. He's just a martial artist, without any other means. He only has the means of a martial artist. Faced with all of you who have cultivated so many daoist techniques, the only thing he can do is fight desperately and protect his own life."
He Yi nodded and said, "This disciple has learned well."
"In the battle at the imperial banquet, I didn't think it was a big deal. Although you lost, you didn't fall into despair. Although you didn't achieve a good result in the martial exam, it doesn't mean you gained nothing. Go back to the temple and cultivate well for a few years, you'll gain something."
The temple lord looked at He Yi and waved his hand in the end.
He Yi nodded, bowed, and then left.
The temple lord did not look at him but walked somewhere nearby, and lamented, "Great Liang will prosper!"
Even further away, a scholar smiled when he heard this.
The dean, who never came to this place, was hiding in the darkness at the moment. Looking at the bright moon, he smiled slightly and said, "Beautiful moonlight."
Song Changxi apologized, not just to that cultivator, but to everyone.
People pinned high hopes on him and many people had hoped for him to become the champion of the martial exam, to completely overshadow Chen Chao. But no one had thought that he would fail to be the winner, but rather be defeated by Chen Chao in a fair and square manner.
This was a major matter for the foreign cultivators.
Liang Zhao pondered for a moment and said, "Should I have stayed back then?"
Song Changxi shook his head and replied, "If we had joined forces to defeat him, it would have been even more embarrassing."
Ad
Liang Zhao murmured softly, "But if you couldn't beat him, then I wouldn't have been his match either."
Song Changxi thought for a bit and did not say anything.
"Senior Brother Song, you've really let me down!"
Ye Qing looked at Song Changxi from a short distance away, the disappointment on her face genuine.
Song Changxi did not speak and just smiled.
If she was disappointed, so be it. What more could be said?
Ye Qing frowned and said, "He's merely in the Divine Trove. Furthermore, he's also a martial artist. Senior Brother, you're a cultivator in the Bitter Sea Realm. How could you lose to him?"
Song Changxi shook his head, unwilling to say anything more. He glanced at a distance, then turned and left the place.
Liang Zhao watched Song Changxi's back view and lamented, "His Dao heart is probably not as stable anymore."
After saying those words, he also left.
Everyone by the lakeside looked at each other. No one could say anything.
It was very quiet.
Truly quiet.
"Maybe we still stand a chance."
Someone spoke softly, with a hint of hope, "Maybe there's still some hope."
Some listened to these words and looked up at the ranking list. Chen Chao still held the top position, with Song Changxi and Liang Zhao in second and third place. But now, these two had been eliminated, and the person in fourth place was far behind.
"It's impossible, let go of that hope."
A cultivator had a straightforward understanding of the situation. He looked at everyone present and sneered, "We, who usually hold ourselves in high regard, have now been surpassed by a young martial artist from the Great Liang Dynasty."
They could accept losing to someone else, but losing to a martial artist from the Great Liang Dynasty was truly unacceptable to them.
However, whether they accepted it or not, this was the reality at the moment.
"I don't believe it. There must be some reason. Otherwise, how can he emerge as the champion?"
There was still some time left until the end of the martial exam, but it was evident that Chen Chao had already secured the victory.
Unless he died inside the microcosm.
But even Song Changxi had been defeated, who could defeat him?
Ad
This was the question they all had to face.
"He's already heavily injured, that's for sure. We surely still have a chance!"
……
……
The prominent figures stood on the pavilion, listening to those words in silence.
Someone stepped forward, bowed to Wei Xu whose complexion was a little pale, and said softly, "Thank you, Mr. Wei."
They actually knew a little about what had happened inside the microcosm.
Wei Xu looked at him, nodded, and said softly, "No need for such formalities. I hope you all don't blame this Wei for breaking the rules."
His words seemed nonchalant, but the expressions of the prominent figures turned a little ugly.
They all understood what the current situation was.
But at this moment, they needed to owe a debt of gratitude, so it was not appropriate to say anything.
Wei Xu looked at another person and said, "Will there be any more accidents when it's over?"
Though it seemed like a statement, it was actually a question.
The person was silent, then shook their head and whispered, "Now that there's an outcome, there's no need to say anything. We all understand."
No one refuted his words, indicating that everyone had tacitly accepted the situation.
The Heavenly Longevity Temple's temple master said, "The Great Liang Dynasty is going to be the champion in both the literary and martial exams this time."
Wei Xu looked at him and did not speak.
Had Teacher anticipated such a result?
……
……
As the end of the martial exam drew near, there were actually very few cultivators left by the lakeside. These cultivators could never have anticipated the current result.
But now that the result was as it was, they naturally could not say anything. In previous years, they would have eagerly awaited the emergence of the champion. But this year, there was no expectation for something like this to occur again.
So the cultivators did not come to the lakeside to wait for the result. However, some cultivators still held a faint glimmer of hope, so they were still waiting.
They kept waiting, waiting for that glimmer of hope.
However, after Liang Zhao and Song Changxi were eliminated, the original fourth-place contestant had now become second place. Although his tally of demon kills had been steadily increasing these past few days, it seemed that the distance between him and Chen Chao was still very far. At the very least, it appeared that there was little hope left.
Ad
The people were all sighing, feeling a deep sense of discomfort with this outcome.
Zhu Xia and Xie Nandu arrived with some food. After glancing at the ranking list, they turned to leave.
"Big Sister Xie, it looks like he really is going to be the champion. It wasn't just talk."
"It's difficult too. He's probably hiding somewhere right now."
"Why is he hiding?"
Zhu Xia shook her head and whispered, "Oh, is it because of Song Changxi?"
Xie Nandu nodded, "In a battle like that, it must have been very challenging for him."
A clash between a Divine Trove Realm and Bitter Sea Realm was undoubtedly a difficult feat. That Chen Chao was able to accomplish it was already remarkable. He must be severely injured now. Since he was severely wounded, he must have found a place to hide because only then, would he have a chance of surviving until the end.
After all, he no longer had his bamboo token at this time. If he were to be found, he would surely die.
But without the bamboo token, it was also difficult for people to find Chen Chao.
Having spent many years killing demons in the mountains, he was naturally adept at hiding.
In this microcosm, there was no one better at hiding than Chen Chao.
He could guarantee this.
Xie Nandu smiled and said, "But he will come back alive."
Zhu Xia tossed a honey date into her mouth and said with a smile, "Big Sister Xie, this time your Great Liang Dynasty will take the top spot in both the literary and martial exams. This is something that has never happened before."
Xie Nandu nodded, "I imagine it will be quite troublesome."
Zhu Xia was not foolish either. After thinking about it, she understood the reason and said with a nod, "It really isn't fair."
Xie Nandu did not say anything more and turned to leave.
Zhu Xia hurriedly followed.
These two young girls had been going back and forth these days, and many people had noticed. However, many people knew about their relationship with Chen Chao, so no one would say anything.
But in reality, Xie Nandu had always been the focus of many people's attention.
He Yi was one of them.
During these days, He Yi often came to this place and silently watched the changes in the rankings on the list. He never said anything.
Ad
It seemed like he did not care about anything. But in reality, after Song Changxi and Liang Zhao were eliminated, He Yi knew that nothing would change. That young man would definitely take first place. Then just as he had said, he would slap their faces ruthlessly at the Myriad Willow Convention.
He was going to accomplish it.
He Yi heaved a sigh.
"If your Dao heart collapses so easily, then you will never achieve anything in the future. It would be better for me to kill you now."
A cold voice sounded out. A middle-aged daoist appeared behind He Yi. This person was none other than the Verdant Cloud Temple's temple lord.
"Temple Lord."
He Yi lowered his head silent and was silent for a moment before asking, "Actually, this disciple doesn't understand, why can a measly Divine Trove martial artist like him become champion? It's one thing if he defeats me, but why can he also defeat those true geniuses from the foreign lands?"
The temple lord glanced at He Yi and said softly, "There are things that you all only see the surface of, which leads to your confusion. But in reality, if you all could see the essence of it, you wouldn't be so puzzled."
"Please enlighten me, Temple Lord."
He Yi spoke respectfully and looked at this temple lord, At this moment, his demeanor was humble, without a trace of the arrogance of a genius on the Latent Dragon List.
"In your eyes, the martial exam is merely a trial. You believe that achieving success is simply a matter of having a higher cultivation realm. But in reality, how can the reform this time be something so simple? The martial exam currently tests true life-and-death battles and how to kill enough people with the least amount of effort. In this aspect, no cultivator can compare to that young man. Yes, no one. He has been killing demons in Tianqing County for many years, entangled with demons in the mountains. The demons don't care which sect you belong to or what your master's name is. If they want to kill you, they will kill you."
The temple lord said in a cold voice, "You so-called geniuses, all you do is focus on cultivating, using cultivation realm and magic artifacts to fight. When facing fellow immortal cultivators, you'll think that since you're both immortal cultivators, you naturally won't confront each other in life-and-death battles. When you consider that the other party has a famous master, you naturally won't dare to deal a killing blow too, because you're afraid of revenge. But what's the point of all this?"
Ad
"It only makes you think that it's very easy to live in this world."
He Yi remained silent for a long time and said, "Every time he hunts demons in the mountains, if he doesn't kill them, they will kill him. So he lives a difficult life every day, struggling constantly. Therefore, he knows how best to choose when at the edge of life and death, and how to kill demons... even people."
The temple lord nodded and said, "That's why even though Song Changxi had a higher cultivation realm, he couldn't sentence him to death in that battle. He's just a martial artist, without any other means. He only has the means of a martial artist. Faced with all of you who have cultivated so many daoist techniques, the only thing he can do is fight desperately and protect his own life."
He Yi nodded and said, "This disciple has learned well."
"In the battle at the imperial banquet, I didn't think it was a big deal. Although you lost, you didn't fall into despair. Although you didn't achieve a good result in the martial exam, it doesn't mean you gained nothing. Go back to the temple and cultivate well for a few years, you'll gain something."
The temple lord looked at He Yi and waved his hand in the end.
He Yi nodded, bowed, and then left.
The temple lord did not look at him but walked somewhere nearby, and lamented, "Great Liang will prosper!"
Even further away, a scholar smiled when he heard this.
The dean, who never came to this place, was hiding in the darkness at the moment. Looking at the bright moon, he smiled slightly and said, "Beautiful moonlight."
