There was nothing new about the new Proclamation of Azure Clouds. The most famous one was actually Xuan Yuan Po. In Elder Tianji's concise and comprehensive evaluation, he gave an extremely high evaluation of the compatibility between this bear tribe youth's cultivation technique and his body. As for the other new names, most of them were youths that were not even fifteen years of age, and not many people recognized them.
On that night last year, Chen Changsheng had caused the entire sky to be filled with starlight in the Mausoleum of Books. The first level of Ethereal Opening, which was the most difficult for cultivators to surpass, had been easily passed by many people. The tragic scene of three or four out of ten years in the past did not occur, and those familiar names on the Proclamation of Azure Sky were naturally removed from the proclamation and moved to the Proclamation of Golden Distinction.
Tang Thirty-Six had left the Proclamation of Azure Sky, but he had not been able to enter the Proclamation of Golden Distinction. With his current level of cultivation at the upper level of Ethereal Opening, this was something that would have been very difficult to imagine in previous years. Upon hearing this news, he remained quiet in the Orthodox Academy for a very long time. Only after confirming that Zhexiu and Su Moyu had not entered the proclamation did he become happy once more.
With Chen Changsheng's assistance, Zhexiu's Tide Rush of Blood had not been cured, but he had broken through in cultivation. Coupled with his innately powerful and terrifying battle prowess, the only reason he had not been able to enter the Proclamation of Golden Distinction was that the injuries he had received in Zhou Prison had been too severe, and it had been a very long time since he had shown himself.
The fact that Tang Thirty-Six and Su Mo Yu were unable to enter the Proclamation of Golden Distinction could only mean that the competition for this year's Proclamation of Golden Distinction was too fierce.
The demi-humans had an extremely small number of people on the Proclamation of Azure Sky, but on the Proclamation of Golden Distinction, they were able to fully display the demi-humans' characteristic of being able to exert power in the middle stages of cultivation, occupying a full quarter of the spots. Amongst them, the top three demi-human experts were even believed by the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets to be able to threaten the position of the demi-human expert Xiao De, who was ranked fifth on the Proclamation of Liberation.
The most surprising was Zhong Hui, this third upon the First Banner from last year's Grand Examination, had been greatly overshadowed by Chen Chang Sheng and Gou Han Shi, to the point where many couldn't even remember his name. Who could have guessed that in a short span of a year, he had broken through to the peak of Ethereal Opening, seizing the fourth place upon the Proclamation of Golden Distinction.
Unfortunately, no matter how outstanding the performance of this young scholar from Scholartree Manor was, he was still unable to completely suppress the dazzling brilliance of some people.
Gou Hanshi had spent half a year viewing the monoliths in the Mausoleum of Books. After returning to Mount Li, he had a duel with an initial level Star Condensation expert of Xiao Songgong's faction by a cold stream, and had easily won.
Just this battle was enough for the Elder of Heavenly Secrets to personally place him third on the Proclamation of Golden Distinction.
There was no second place, because the first place was tied with two people.
Upon seeing these two names, whether it was the common people of the capital or the female disciples of South Stream Temple's outer sect, they all silently shook their heads and sighed.
Chen Chang Sheng and Xu You Rong.
Regardless of whether the marriage contract was invalid or not, it seemed that these two names would always appear together.
In many people's eyes, this wasn't fate, but rather the entanglement of fate. It wasn't something good.
Then what about the name that had always been associated with Xu Yourong all these years?
Qiu Shan Jun had already succeeded in Star Condensation, so he naturally wouldn't remain within the Proclamation of Golden Distinction. He gave the first place to Chen Chang Sheng and Xu You Rong.
But what shocked the entire continent was that his name had not been seen on the Proclamation of Liberation.
Qiushan Jun was too young, so it was naturally impossible for him to be mentioned in the same breath as those experts at the top of the Proclamation of Liberation. No one would believe that the current him could challenge powerful figures like Wang Po and Xiao Zhang, but with his level of strength and cultivation, he should at least enter the bottom ranks of the Proclamation of Liberation.
If he really could enter the Proclamation of Liberation, even if he was in the last few ranks, he would still be the youngest expert to enter the Proclamation of Liberation in a hundred years.
The entire continent had been anticipating the arrival of this day, but it had come up empty.
The Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets' explanation for this matter was that because of the opening of the Garden of Zhou and the subsequent scheme of the demons, coupled with Mount Li's internal strife, Qiushan Jun had been heavily injured and had not fought for an entire year. As a result, it was impossible to judge his current level of strength and could only leave it for later.
This explanation was very clear, but it was very unconvincing. What sort of place was the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets? Even if Qiushan Jun had not fought, how could it not have determined his level? Moreover, when the Proclamation of Azure Sky was updated last year, Xuanyuan Po also had no battle achievements, so how could he have been ranked?
The Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets gave no further explanation. Very few people knew the true reason.
… …
… …
The world was very lively, but Mount Li was very quiet.
Before leaving, Su Li had instructed the disciples of the Mount Li Sword Sect not to be afraid of trouble, but also not to cause trouble.
The north and south converged, the winds and clouds surged. Those people of Zhou and the noble clans of the south were too treacherous and cunning. Since they were no match for them, they should just stay in the mountains and quietly live their lives.
These were his exact words.
After Su Li left, some dregs of desire arose once more.
The strongest second-generation experts of the Sword Hall of Mount Li, because of their injuries, were all quietly recuperating. Right now, Gou Hanshi and the other third-generation disciples were in charge of affairs. Many people believed that these young swordsmen would find it very difficult to stabilize the situation in Mount Li, but after that bloody battle in the mountain stream and Guan Feibai's enraged severing of sixteen hands, they proved to the entire south why the Divine Kingdom's Seven Laws were called the Divine Kingdom's Seven Laws. It was because they strictly abided by the commandments and their sword hearts were brightly lit. In the future, they would assuredly enter the Divine Kingdom above the sea of stars.
After eliminating the last effects of the internal strife, Mount Li finally regained its peace.
Gou Hanshi and the others focused on reading, cultivating, and growing vegetables. In these peaceful days, they comprehended the true meaning of the path of the sword.
On a certain night, Gou Hanshi awoke from his meditation and gazed at the distant mountains. He saw that the starlight was like silver, and the once familiar scenery suddenly had a different charm to it.
He thought of the difficult times he had spent with his weak mother as an orphan, and his eyes faintly glistened with tears.
His body faintly overflowed with starlight, also sparkling and translucent.
"Congratulations, Second Brother!"
Guan Feibai, Liang Banhu, Bai Cai, and the several dozen third-generation disciples of the Mount Li Sword Sect gazed at the beautiful scene by the cliff and happily shouted.
Gou Hanshi turned to his junior brothers and said, "The sea of swords is boundless, but you and I should bravely advance."
Guan Feibai said, "Back in the Grand Examination, if Chen Changsheng had not gone mad and wanted to put his life on the line, and if Senior Brother had not taken pity on his difficult cultivation, how could you have allowed him to seize first rank of the first banner? Now that Senior Brother has successfully broken into Star Condensation, I wonder if he will still have the face to bring this matter up when we meet at the Boiling Stone Summit. "
Gou Hanshi calmly replied, "Chen Changsheng has never brought this matter up. Besides, a defeat is a defeat. Is not daring to put his life on the line glorious? And let alone the fact that I am older than him, so what is there to be proud of in being a step ahead of him on the path of cultivation? Junior Brother, your words are extremely inappropriate. "
"He hasn't said it, but everyone is saying … the future Pope, tsk, tsk, truly a grand sight."
Guan Baifei's face was cold and arrogant as he said, "Senior Brother, you have a kind heart and don't want to lose face for him, but I don't care. When the time comes, we will definitely have to fight."
Gou Hanshi shook his head. "If you really want to win, there's no harm in waiting until after the war with the demons. You can compete with him to see who can kill more demons."
Hearing the word 'demon', Liang Banhu slightly lowered his head. Bai Cai somewhat worriedly glanced at the dwelling bathed in starlight behind him.
Liang Xiaoxiao was colluding with the demons, and he was Liang Banhu's twin brother.
As for that person in the dwelling … his mother was a demon.
Logically speaking, Gou Hanshi should have paid more attention to these details, but he deliberately did not avoid them. In his view, since they were all disciples of Mount Li, they were fated to live and die together, to live and die together. Only by explaining these matters so thoroughly that no one cared was it in accordance with Mount Li's path of the sword.
Seeing that the mood was rather gloomy, someone jokingly said, "If we're really talking about merit based on killing enemies, I think that neither Fourth Brother nor Chen Changsheng will be able to catch up to that wolf cub. This sort of thing can't be decided just by looking at whose swordsmanship is better."
He had originally intended to make fun of them, but the mood only became even gloomier.
In the current Mount Li, there were some names that could not be mentioned.
The door to the dwelling slowly opened and Qi Jian walked out.
She had already changed into women's clothes, but the childishness still remained on her face. Her figure was thin, and she was extremely pitiful.
Guan Feibai said, "Junior … Sister, it's late and chilly. You still haven't recovered from your illness, so why did you come out?"
Qi Jian softly said, "I heard you all mention him."
Guan Feibai advised, "Even though that wolf cub won several of our matches in the Grand Examination, I didn't feel any ill will towards him. On the contrary, he's a rare person that I somewhat admire, but Martial Granduncle did it for your own good. In the end, he's still a demon …"
"So what?" Qi Jian's pale face was brimming with stubbornness. "My mother is a Demon Princess. If he can marry her, then why can't I marry a demi-human?"
Guan Feibai was at a loss for words. He muttered, "But Martial Granduncle said that he doesn't have long to live."
Qi Jian's face paled even more. "Could it be that whatever he says is right?"
Ever since Su Li had placed the order of confinement, Qi Jian had never called him 'father' again.
Gou Hanshi sighed and prepared to say a few words of advice.
"There's no need."
Qi Jian sorrowfully said, "If Eldest Brother were here, he would definitely help me think of a way. He wouldn't be like you all, only knowing how to trap me in the mountain."
… …
… …
Mount Li's Martial Granduncle had left, and Mount Li's Eldest Brother had also left. No one knew where he had gone.
His name could not be seen on the Proclamation of Liberation, and it was like he could no longer be found in the world.
In the distant snowy plains of the north, there was a not very famous military stronghold called Seven Li Xi.
It was said that many years ago, this place was the territory of the Xi tribe. Later on, the Xi tribe was completely massacred by the demons heading south, and the human army won the northern expedition and occupied this place.
This place was closest to the demon army and farthest from the human world.
Today, the generals and deputies of the stronghold were holding a meeting that very night. Smoke lingered in the air, their worried faces could be seen everywhere.
It was not that the demon wolf cavalry had come to harass and kill again, nor was it that there was a problem with the supply of provisions in the rear. On the contrary, Seven Li Xi had been very peaceful in the last few days. Even the wine sold in the taverns in the city had been watered down, and those cold and indifferent cultivators were now smiling.
In their clashes with the demon wolf cavalry, the roaming cavalry of Seven Li Xi had obtained many inconceivable victories.
The generals and deputies were currently worrying about how to calculate the merits of this roaming cavalry unit, especially that young officer.
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