What did Zhe Xiu want, this was what Chen Chang Sheng wanted to know the most – after careful thinking, he confirmed that he wasn't mistaken, upon entering the Education Palace, Zhe Xiu had indeed turned his head to look at Luo Luo. It was because of that glance, that he felt this wolf-tribe youth was extremely dangerous. Who would've thought, Tang Thirty Six, carrying a roasted chicken, had bribed him into becoming a helper for Orthodox Academy.
This indeed sounded ridiculous, but it really happened.
Luo Luo was also looking at Zhe Xiu, her emotions were a bit complicated.
For the vast majority of young cultivators, the Grand Examination could be said to be the most important event in their lives, but for some, the Grand Examination was only an opportunity, an opportunity to exchange for what they truly wanted. In other words, the seemingly sacred and solemn Grand Examination was actually an auction.
Tian Hai Sheng Xue's withdrawal and Zhe Xiu's agreement to Orthodox Academy's deal were all due to this reason. What about Chen Chang Sheng? She clearly knew that he didn't have any desire for fame, so why did he have to place first upon the First Banner? She had asked him before, Tang Thirty Six had also asked, but he had never given an answer.
… …
… …
The duelling matches proceeded smoothly, Tang Thirty Six easily defeated his opponent, Xuan Yuan Po's luck wasn't bad, he didn't encounter any experts on the Proclamation of Azure Clouds, he also smoothly won. Considering the results of the Academic Exam, Xuan Yuan Po's chances of entering the Three Grades were still uncertain, but Tang Thirty Six had no problems.
The following matches of the top 8 were also decided by drawing lots, but since there weren't many people left, they were split into two groups, one drawing of a sword would determine the order of the subsequent matches.
The result of the drawing was Luo Luo against the youth from Scholartree Manor, Zhong Hui, Gou Han Shi against the girl from Holy Maiden Peak, Zhe Xiu against the student from Star Seizer Academy, and Chen Chang Sheng against Zhuang Huan Yu – two of the four matches were internal battles, Li Shan Sword Sect and Holy Maiden Peak were from the same sect, Zhe Xiu was participating as a student from Star Seizer Academy.
This didn't fit with Tang Thirty Six's plan.
In his opinion, the best result would be Zhe Xiu against Gou Han Shi, Princess Luo Luo against Zhuang Huan Yu, and the second group would have Zhong Hui against the student from Star Seizer Academy, and Chen Chang Sheng against the girl from Holy Maiden Peak. This way, even if Gou Hanshi defeated Zhexiu, he would still have to contend with Princess Luoluo. After two consecutive battles, no matter how strong Gou Hanshi was, his legs would go soft. On the other hand, Chen Chang Sheng's skin was thick and his flesh thick. Comparatively speaking, his chances of winning against the young girl from Holy Maiden Peak was the highest. If he was able to surpass Zhong Hui, he might actually be able to obtain first place upon the First Banner.
And now, Gou Hanshi only needed to win that match against Zhexiu to advance to the final battle — it was very obvious that the girl from Holy Maiden Peak was no match for him. Of course, this method of drawing lots also had its benefits; Chen Chang Sheng only needed to defeat Zhuang Huan Yu to enter the finals, this was because Luo Luo should be able to defeat Zhong Hui, and when she faced Chen Chang Sheng in the next round, she would definitely forfeit.
The first match to begin was Chen Chang Sheng versus Zhuang Huan Yu.
In today's Grand Examination, Zhuang Huan Yu was as silent and low-key as Tian Hai Sheng Xue, but Tian Hai Sheng Xue's silence and low-key was because he had already made preparations to withdraw from the competition, while Zhuang Huan Yu's silence and low-key was in order to advance a little further, not to mention, he hadn't met an opponent in the previous rounds that required him to display his abilities.
Zhuang Huan Yu was extremely famous amongst the younger generation of experts on the continent, ranked 11th upon the Proclamation of Azure Clouds, he was the person with the highest ranking amongst the Ivy League academies in the Capital and the pride of Heavenly Academy — aside from the top three, the difference in strength between those in the first half of the proclamation was extremely small, he was definitely the strongest opponent that Chen Chang Sheng had ever faced in his matches.
The Tower of Purging Dust was very quiet.
Zhuang Huan Yu looked at Chen Chang Sheng with an expressionless face and said: "Your luck today isn't bad."
From the first round until now, the strongest opponents that Chen Chang Sheng had faced were Huo Guang and that youth from Shuang City who was ranked 20th upon the Proclamation of Azure Clouds. They sounded strong enough, but with the number of experts participating in today's Grand Examination, he hadn't met anyone from Li Shan Sword Sect, nor had he met Zhexiu's group, from a probability perspective, his luck was indeed not bad.
"Your luck is also very good," Chen Chang Sheng looked at him and said.
This was also the truth, from the start of the duelling until now, Zhuang Huan Yu had never met an opponent of his level. In terms of luck, neither Chen Chang Sheng nor anyone else could compare to him. This was no longer a matter of luck, it was definitely due to someone within the Orthodoxy tampering with the drawing of lots.
Heavenly Academy was the leader of the academies under the jurisdiction of the Orthodoxy, regardless of what Mao Qiu Yu or vice principal Zhuang thought, the Orthodoxy would definitely send out a representative student, especially with Orthodox Academy showing faint signs of revival in the recent half a year, the Orthodoxy naturally wouldn't allow Heavenly Academy's glory to be completely stolen away.
"For two people with great luck to meet, I think, we shouldn't be able to continue relying on luck," Zhuang Huan Yu looked at him and said.
They couldn't continue relying on luck, they could only rely on strength.
At this moment, the Li Palace clergyman hosting the duelling asked from upstairs: "Are you ready?"
Zhuang Huan Yu nodded his head.
But Chen Chang Sheng shook his head, and then he did something that no one expected him to do.
He walked back to the eaves of the tower, took off the new leather whips from his feet, then placed them below the stone steps, arranging them very neatly, as if he was visiting someone else's home.
Within the gloomy room on the second floor, a few soft gasps could be heard. Mo Yu's elegant eyebrows slightly raised, her face was expressionless, but deep within her eyes, there was an extremely faint hint of a smile. Prince Chen Liu had been secretly observing her expression, especially every time Chen Chang Sheng appeared. Seeing her current reaction, he couldn't help but feel even more puzzled.
Chen Chang Sheng once again returned to the arena barefooted, the edges of his feet bringing with it some yellow sand.
He raised his right hand, grasping the hilt of the short sword at his waist.
Following this action, the tower became even quieter, the personages within the second floor's room didn't say anything, but their gazes brightened and their expressions became slightly more solemn.
Previously, when he defeated the young expert from Shuang City, Chen Chang Sheng still hadn't drawn his sword, relying on the strange and unpredictable Discerning Steps, ultimately relying on speed and strength, but it seems that he had already made preparations to draw his sword for this match. It seems that, facing a strong opponent at Zhuang Huan Yu's level, he could no longer hold back.
There was still no one who believed that he could defeat Zhuang Huan Yu. Although he had displayed unimaginable power and speed in the previous few matches, and even had that strange Discerning Steps, the time he had successfully completed his Purification was too short. The amount of True Essence he had was too little when compared to a true expert, and he could not see any chance of victory.
The most fundamental problem was, Zhuang Huan Yu was truly very strong.
… …
… …
"Are those who wear shoes afraid of those who are barefooted?"
Zhuang Huan Yu's gaze fell upon Chen Chang Sheng's sand-stained bare feet, after a moment of silence, he said: "Perhaps you don't understand, back in the countryside, I rarely had the chance to wear shoes, let alone new ones."
Chen Chang Sheng didn't say anything, but he clearly knew what Zhuang Huan Yu wanted to say.
Zhuang Huan Yu was the son of Vice Principal Zhuang, but he stayed in the countryside to take care of his sick mother. After many years of hardship, he finally succeeded and became the pride of the Heavenly Academy.
Even now, his feet were still wearing a pair of normal cloth shoes.
Chen Chang Sheng just didn't understand why Zhuang Huan Yu's gaze was also so cold, with a hint of hostility. He couldn't understand when he had offended this person.
Zhuang Huan Yu was the future of the Tradition's new faction, so it was natural for him to be hostile to the Tradition Academy. As for the old grudge between him and Tang Thirty Six, it was actually the same as Guan Fei Bai's attitude towards Tang Thirty Six. It was probably the natural disgust of a poor kid towards a rich kid who didn't cherish his life, so why didn't he like him?
"Shall we begin?" Zhuang Huan Yu asked.
His tone was very normal, just like how he usually asked his classmates during his classes at the Heavenly Academy, "Shall we begin the class?"
Chen Chang Sheng's response was also very normal, nodding his head.
Zhuang Huan Yu raised his scabbard horizontally, his left hand holding the scabbard, his right hand holding the hilt, he looked at him quietly and said: "Please."
Chen Chang Sheng's right hand held the hilt of the short sword by his waist, his left hand extended horizontally in front of him and said: "Please."
Just like that, the battle began as usual.
But the beginning was extremely unusual.
With a clang, Zhuang Huan Yu drew his sword out of the scabbard, seemingly casually swinging it towards the air in front of him.
Although it seemed casual, in reality, this sword was extremely focused. The sword's edge cut through the air, leaving behind a straight line, absolutely parallel to the ground, without any deviation!
Not all swords could slash out such a straight line.
Zhuang Huan Yu's sword cut out a straight line.
A hundred feet away, there was an arc.
It was a slightly round arc of light, extremely bright.
This bright arc of light didn't appear in the air, nor did it appear on the sand, but it appeared in Chen Chang Sheng's eyes.
Chen Chang Sheng's eyes were very bright, his pupils were very black, not like the darkness of the night, but a cleaner kind of black.
A faint arc of sword light appeared in his black pupils. It was very clear.
This was because the sword in Zhuang Huan Yu's hand, in the air, had instantly cut through the air, ignoring the distance of over ten yards, and arrived in front of him.
This sword light was less than three feet away from his eyes.
That sword light had arrived too quickly, to the extent that its two ends were somewhat sluggish. The straight line when the sword was drawn, when it arrived in front of Chen Chang Sheng, had actually become an arc!
This was a perfect arc, no matter how Chen Chang Sheng responded, it would be very difficult to break through it, because arcs are the most sturdy, at the same time, it was also very difficult for him to defend against, because no matter which part of the sword arc he struck, the remaining parts of the sword arc would follow its high speed and become a circle, enveloping his body within.
This battle had a very ordinary beginning, but an extremely unusual beginning.
Zhuang Huan Yu's first move was Heavenly Academy's most powerful sword move, the Sword of Hithering Light.
A barely audible sound of praise came from the room on the second floor.
It was a very simple sword move, but it could be seen that Zhuang Huan Yu's cultivation was not simple.
Even in the entire Grand Examination, this sword move of his could be ranked in the top three.
How could Chen Chang Sheng break through this sword move?
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