"You don't need to thank me. It is your real talent that has earned you this opportunity."
Ling Xian had a faint smile on his lips as he stared at the five extraordinary people. There were compliments and encouragement.
This made the five of them excited. It was as if to receive Ling Xian's praise and encouragement was a great honor.
The reality was that it was.
To all of them who were masters of the Dao of Talismans, wasn't the praise and encouragement of a grandmaster a blessing from the heavens?
This made Ling Xian exclaim. He didn't think one compliment from him would make the five of them so excited. This meant that his current achievements and status had already surpassed the vast majority of people.
"We were able to advance because of your fairness. Or else we would not have been able to defend against the corruption." A middle-aged man spoke.
The other four all chimed in as well. They were all targeting the judges who accepted bribes.
This made their faces white from anger. Ning Feng, in particular, wanted nothing more than to kill Ling Xian and the five of them. However, he couldn't move and couldn't argue.
No matter how angry he was and how much humiliation he felt, he had to endure it for now!
"Okay, you can go and prepare for the next competition."
Ling Xian flapped around his sleeve. Then, a stone pillar appeared beneath the five of them and lifted them up into the sky.
At this, the losers revealed jealousy in their eyes. However, they didn't feel the slightest bit unwilling.
These five people advanced because of their real talent. They were convinced. However, when they looked at the people who were obviously not as accomplished as they were, they all looked at them with disdain.
"A bunch of trash. I lost to the corruption, not to you."
"You sure are shameless. You got in through the back door and yet you dare to strut around. If it was me, I would've found a hole and crawled into it."
"Shameless! Pfft! Who do you think you are!"
Everyone chimed in. Their voices were full of disdain.
This made the faces of those who got in through the back door burn. For the first time, they felt remorseful. However, when they remembered that the higher they ranked, the better the rewards, their regret was thrown out the window.
How much is face worth?
Some people think it's priceless. Others are willing to sacrifice it for a small price.
It was obvious that these people chose to throw away their face for the rewards.
This made Ling Xian silently sigh. Then, he returned to his chair and closed his eyes to rest.
"Those who have been eliminated, please leave the stage."
Ning Feng suppressed the anger in his heart and said, "Those who advance, please prepare well. The second round will begin in an hour."
"The rules of the second round are also very simple. It's still refining talismans, and the judges will be divided into two groups. Each group will decide on five people."
"A group of free Talisman Masters and a group of Talisman Tower Talisman Masters. Now, wait patiently. "
Ning Feng said one after another. After that, he closed his eyes and stopped talking.
After hearing the rules, some people were happy, while others were worried.
There were a total of fifty people who advanced to the next round, but only ten were decided in this round. Among them, at least half were people who entered through the back door. In other words, only five people would be able to advance to the next round based on their own abilities.
Therefore, those who thought they had given the most gifts all laughed. Those who thought they weren't capable enough were full of worry.
Ling Xian, on the other hand, was neither happy nor worried. He merely sighed.
He knew that there must be some shady dealings in the competition, but he didn't expect it to be so serious. According to the rules of the second round, at least half of the participants had to enter through the back door. Was this not serious?
"They are rotting from the roots."
Ling Xian silently sighed. He originally didn't want to get involved in these things. But after seeing those who clearly had the ability to advance but ended up being victims of shady dealings, he couldn't bear it.
"If I can help, then I will. If I can't, then there's nothing I can do." Ling Xian softly sighed and stopped thinking about it.
After half an hour, the second round began as scheduled.
The fifty talisman masters used all of their abilities in order to craft the most perfect talisman they could.
At this, the judges began to whisper to each other and exchange opinions. Then, they decided on five people from each group.
Ling Xian didn't participate. He wanted to see if there was any shady dealings in the group of free talisman masters if he didn't fight for what was right.
The result made him very happy.
Originally, there were shady dealings in the group of free talisman masters as well. After all, everyone had relatives or descendants. But after Ling Xian stood out and gave the contestants absolute fairness, they all felt ashamed and regretted their actions.
Therefore, this time, they really examined the candidates according to their attainments in the Talisman Taoism and chose the five strongest people out of the 25.
The second strongest, Luo Xue, was in the list.
This surprised Ling Xian a little. But after seeing the talisman this woman made, he understood.
This talisman alone had the right to be crowned champion!
Of course, this was under the condition that there were no shady dealings. Based on the shady dealings before his eyes, it was unknown whether or not she could get into the top three.
After the five people from the group of free talisman masters were chosen, the result of Ning Feng's group came out as well. Then, a wave of hisses arose.
"I know that person. He is Ning Feng's grandson, Ning Zhe. He is not weak. I don't have anything against him, but what are the other four? "
"The talismans the four of them made together cannot compare to mine. They have gone too far!"
"It's a foul atmosphere. The Talisman Tower was ruined by them!"
Everyone was furious, but there was nothing they could do.
The leader of the Tower of Talismans was in isolation and the Left and Right Protectors were nowhere to be seen. Ning Feng, the leader of the Tower of Talismans, had the most power and could cover the sky with one hand.
The other four elders of the Tower of Talismans treated him as their leader and conspired with him. Naturally, there was nothing anyone could do.
"So this is the result."
Ling Xian squinted his eyes and grinned, "I am very curious. All five of you received benefits, but only five people were chosen. How did you settle things?"
At those words, Ning Feng and the others' faces darkened and cold killer's intent flickered in their eyes.
They hated Ling Xian to death because he didn't play by the rules. In the previous competitions, everyone knew this but nobody pointed it out. They opened the back door together and reaped the benefits together.
But this year, a strange person like Ling Xian appeared.
In the eyes of everyone, he was the only hope. But in Ning Feng's eyes, he was a troublemaker and deserved to be killed!
"Don't speak without thinking and slander us."
Ning Feng's expression was dark as he said, "No matter who our group chooses, we have our own reasons. You have no right to interfere."
"I have no right to interfere."
Ling Xian softly grinned, "I am merely reminding you. By choosing them, you are indirectly admitting that you are blind."
At those words, everyone was startled. Then, the entire hall erupted into laughter.
Ning Feng and the others were all grandmasters and there was no way they were blind. Yet, for the sake of benefits, they chose these talisman masters who weren't very skilled. From a certain angle, they were blind.
Therefore, everyone began to mock them. This made Ning Feng and the others go crazy from anger.
Yet, they had no words to argue.
To accept benefits, they had to admit that they were blind. Or else why wouldn't they choose so many excellent people?
"Dammit!"
Ning Feng was going crazy from anger. He stared deadly at Ling Xian with killer's intent.
Ling Xian didn't care at all.
He teasingly looked at Ning Feng, "Calm down. Or else you will die from anger."
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