Liu Bubai was in despair.
The entire world was gray. He felt as lost as a headless fly. His spiritual sense was not strong as he was a sword master—he would rather wield a sword than solve this winding puzzle of a maze!
When he recalled the beguiling female sect leader with gorgeous legs who set up the maize, he finally understood the true meaning of the words of Vice Leader Chao!
Women delayed a swordsman's drawing speed!
Liu Bubai was exhausted. Even though he was confident, he knew his own limits. This fifth test might just be the end of his journey.
All of a sudden, Liu Bubai stumbled upon a big hole while wandering around aimlessly!
The hole was gradually repairing itself, but it looked very tempting in the endless gray void.
Liu Bubai's expression changed. Could it be… a bug in the maze?
He was thrilled that he found this glitch all by himself without the need to depend on others!
After deliberating for less than a second, Liu Bubai clenched his jaws and entered the hole.
…
Fang Lang was gasping for air. He almost drained all the spiritual sense in his mind. If he did not reach the end of the maze soon, he would collapse.
He did not gain this newfound spiritual sense through cultivation. Even though its strength was immense, it was erratic and he had little control over it.
After this, not only should he work on sword mastery and martial arts mastery, he should also spend more effort on spell mastery.
'It seems like I have to work harder!'
He should find more opportunities to fight the third prince.
Fang Lang looked a little pale when he stood by the exit. He was stunned when he noticed Li Yuanzhen's gaze on him from afar.
'He's fast!'
He chose to dig his way out, but Li Yuanzhen went through the entire maze. Technically speaking, this boy was faster than him!
No wonder the right administrator's son, Li Yuanzhen, was the popular candidate for the Imperial Examination grand champion!
Fang Lang did not show any emotions even though he was impressed. He maintained a calm composure as he walked out of the door gracefully.
Li Yuanzhen was in a daze. How did he lose in spell mastery… the discipline that he took most pride in?
This hit him even harder than the previous defeat!
Impossible!
Blood drained from Li Yuanzhen's face, he was so shaken that his fingertips were trembling as well. Nonetheless, he had no choice but to face reality since it already happened.
Then, he started walking towards the exit, accepting his fate as the runner-up.
Suddenly, the hole that Fang Lang emerged from started expanding. Liu Bubai appeared squirming out.
Li Yuanzhen was completely dumbfounded and stopped in his tracks once again!
It was as though he had been struck by lightning. He burned from inside out!
'You again!'
He did not know Liu Bubai's name, but he remembered the boy's disgusting face!
Liu Bubai was already very anxious when he chose to take the shortcut. When he saw Li Yuanzhen, he quickly raised his chin and put on an unperturbed expression to conceal his guilt.
"You're not bad," Liu Bubai said nonchalantly.
Then, he walked out of the maze with his chin held high. The warm sun greeted him outside.
Li Yuanzhen felt as if he was about to explode.
…
When the sect leader of the Jade Pavilion saw Fang Lang emerge from the maze, a strange expression flashed across her beautiful face.
She was aware of everything happening inside the maze since it was constructed by her spiritual sense.
The cheering crowd fell silent once again. Those who betted their entire fortune on Li Yuanzhen were fuming!
'F*ck! Why is it him again?'
'Isn't Li Yuanzhen the best in spell mastery?'
'Why is Fang Lang first?'
Their hearts dropped. It was as if they could hear the sound of their heart shattering into pieces after losing their entire fortune.
Nothing good ever came from gambling.
Other than the civilians and gamblers, the sect leaders also were astonished and surprised.
On the elevated platform, the first prince raised his eyebrow. Administrator Li's face froze and the flattery from the other officials stopped instantly.
Lu Taixuan's laughter could be heard clearly, an oddity in the silence.
How did Fang Lang surpass Li Yuanzhen in the Jade Pavilion's test?
The entire square was silent.
The first segment of the final battle caught everyone by surprise.
The sect leader of the Jade Pavilion crossed her arms around her chest and stared at Fang Lang with her pretty eyes. This boy… dug his way through her space maze through brute force, tearing apart the spell.
She did not infuse much spiritual sense on the walls of the maze. Even so, an average spell master would not be able to tear it down easily. This boy seemed to have a spiritual sense attack spell that allowed continuous casting!
Furthermore, there was a hint of intimidation in his testy spiritual sense that allowed him to rip through the walls of the maze and win by unconventional means.
'Does this count as a valid attempt?'
The sect leader of the Jade Pavilion pursed her red lips.
Of course, it was valid. Even though she requested them to go through the maze, she also mentioned that as long as the candidates found the exit made from the space ring, they would pass the test.
Fang Lang's actions were within the stated rules.
The sect leader of the Jade Pavilion focused her mind and channeled more spiritual sense to strengthen the maze.
"This young lad's rather interesting. He's devious, demagogic, doesn't play by the books and prefers shortcuts!" The sect leader of Jade Pavilion's gentle voice gradually grew louder.
The other sect leaders shook their heads but they were smiling. It seemed Fang Lang had a trick up his sleeve and won by using shortcuts, irritating the Jade Pavilion's sect leader.
Chao Xiaojian enjoyed watching how Fang Lang got on Su Yunyu's nerves.
This crazy woman was all looks and no brains. She would not tolerate such trickery!
In the crowd beside the imperial pathway, Manager Yu turned pale and her heart sank when she heard her sect leader's criticism.
Fang Lang who had just emerged from the maze frowned and wanted to justify himself.
However, Su Yunyu's tone changed suddenly. She continued with a chuckle. "I believe the other sects will not tolerate such a disobedient student. However, the Jade Pavilion is willing to take up the responsibility of guiding him towards the righteous path.
"Fang Lang, will you join us in the Jade Pavilion after the examination? I guarantee you'll have abundant cultivation resources," Su Yunyu asked in all seriousness.
Fang Lang was stunned, and so were the other sect leaders who looked at him with an intense gaze.
Chao Xiaojian was also shocked by the sudden recruitment.
A minute passed and Chao Xiaojian's white eyebrows shot up. His expression changed.
This woman was trying to steal Fang Lang from him!
How could he let her snatch such a valuable asset from the Sword Guild!
"Fang Lang is the chosen student of the Sword Guild!" Chao Xiaojian claimed as he suppressed his anger.
Sect Leader Su looked at Chao Xiaojian with a gorgeous smile. "The Imperial Examination is a chance for the students to choose a sect they desire. What can the Sword Guild offer?"
Chao Xiaojian was stunned for a moment before he muttered something under his breath, "We have… swords."
With her hands around her chest, Sect Leader Su boasted, "The Jade Pavilion can offer ten times the cultivation resources that the Sword Guild is offering him."
Jade Pavilion had nothing else but money.
"Fang Lang, do consider the Jade Pavilion's offer," Su Yunyu said smilingly.
Everyone around them was quiet. The two sect leaders from the top ten sects were poaching Fang Lang in public!
Fang Lang did not give Su Yunyu a direct answer. He did not know how to reply to her.
Liu Bubai emerged from the maze shortly after with a lost expression on his face. Li Yuanzhen was right behind him. The elegant boy's face was pale and his eyes looked like he was doubting his entire existence.
Not long after, other candidates started to exit the maze.
The students who finished the maze had passed all five rounds successfully. They were qualified to enter the second segment of the final battle—the Royal Battle.
The remaining tests set by the other sect leaders were optional. The candidates had the choice to continue or they could stop here.
"I'll stop here. I'm exhausted."
"I'm done."
Liu Bubai shook his head. He knew he had reached his limits with the fifth test.
"Ni Wen's not out yet?" Fang Lang frowned.
Liu Bubai and Fang Lang turned around to look at the maze that held Ni Wen.
…
The longer a person stayed in the maze, the weaker their spiritual sense would be, making it harder to find the exit.
Ni Wen had been walking in the gray maze for a long time but she could not seem to find the light at the end of the tunnel.
Regardless, she refused to admit defeat.
Although she had given her best shot, got her name on the roll of honor and passed the first four tests, she was not ready to give up.
She still had hope. Not only did she want to follow in Fang Lang's footsteps, but she also wanted to do this for her mother. She wanted that bastard who abandoned them to realize he made a grave mistake!
She had never met the man but she believed he would see her one day if she climbed high enough!
Ni Wen kept grinding forward with extreme difficulty—her face was pale from the exertion of spiritual sense.
Her body was so frail she was on the verge of collapsing.
Her heart ached when she thought of her mother tearing up at sundown.
Ni Wen had always been a diligent kid since young because she knew how much suffering her mother went through to bring her up. Her mother's beauty was tarnished by winter frost, the delicate skin of her hands became rough like tree barks over the years.
Her mother would only smile when Ni Wen achieved excellent results.
Ni Wen had to persevere!
Blood started dripping from Ni Wen's nose when her spiritual sense was depleted. However, she could feel her blood boiling inside her body. Redness returned to her face and there was a golden tint deep within her pupils.
After that, a continuous wave of spiritual sense spread out like ripples.
Ni Wen stood up and continued to move forward.
…
A thin figure wobbled at the exit of the maze.
Liu Bubai called out in surprise, "Ni Wen!"
Fang Lang looked pleased as well. The three musketeers of Luojiang Academy were finally reunited.
However, while Fang Lang was still rejoicing over Ni Wen's success, the crisp notification sound rang in his head.
'Ding! Binding partner Ni Wen is undergoing core mutation. Unable to switch to binding partner mode within this period.'
'Ding! Binding partner Ni Wen is undergoing bloodline awakening, bloodline ability attained. Updating binding partner data…'
Fang Lang was startled by the multiple notifications from the System.
Bloodline ability awakening?
'Isn't Ni Wen a normal civilian?'
Bloodline awakening… Could it be that the man who broke her mother's heart was a person of significance?
Ni Wen was unaware of the changes that were happening to her right then. She walked towards Fang Lang gleefully.
She finally made it out!
She finally caught up with Fang Lang!
Fang Lang was mildly curious about the origin of the other half of Ni Wen's bloodline.
Dang!
The bell rang.
Out of the 500 candidates, only 80 passed the fifth test.
The remaining 420 candidates failed to do so.
The tests by the Sword Guild and the Jade Pavilion filtered out most of the students, especially the fifth test. Nearly seventy percent of students failed this test.
"For those who passed the fifth test, register your name on the scroll. You'll proceed to the second segment of the final section, the Royal Battle. All of you are also allowed to challenge one of the remaining five sect leaders. Any volunteers?" a eunuch asked loudly.
As expected, no one wished to continue.
Li Yuanzhen and Wei Sheng chose to give up.
Fang Lang glanced at Old Jiang and saw her shake her head.
Fang Lang thought about it but decided not to continue.
Liu Bubai and Ni Wen followed suit.
The other five sect leaders smiled casually when no one took up the challenge. They were accustomed to such a scenario as previous cohorts were similar. The test set by the top five sect leaders would not be easy to pass. It was not worth the risk of hurting oneself during the test and affecting their performance in battle.
The ten sect leaders left the imperial pathway.
A eunuch dressed in blue led the 80 candidates in the direction of the White Jade Court.
All of them walked solemnly in procession.
Finally, they reached the platform before the White Jade Courtoutside the Taiji Palace. The dragon carvings looked as if they were alive.
The candidates felt a strong presence emanating from the deepest end of the Taiji Palace, behind layers and layers of elaborate doors. There was a majestic figure on the throne, overlooking the 80 students who came from various academies of the Tang Dynasty.
"The Royal Battle is a one-on-one duel. This is a chance to showcase your cultivation and skills," the court eunuch walked out from the Taiji Palace and announced loudly.
Then, the eunuchs who were escorting the candidates stood before the White Jade Court and raised their nameplates in the air.
The court eunuch turned around and gave a deep bow towards the Taiji Palace.
"Your Majesty, please decide the first duel pair!"
Buzz…
Right after the eunuch's announcement, the nameplates of the eighty candidates were sucked into the air by a force.
The officials and sect leaders in the palace were watching the circling nameplates that looked like shooting stars.
Their eyes were fixated on the whirlwind.
The entire court was silent.
After some time, a faint voice sounded within the Taiji Palace.
"Stop."
The nameplates which were spinning at high speed halted abruptly.
Clank!
Two nameplates shot out from the cluster and collided with each other. The ricochet pulled them apart and they hovered in the air.
Everyone's attention was on the two nameplates.
They squinted their eyes to focus their vision.
The crowd on both sides of the imperial pathway gasped in shock!
The court eunuch briefly scanned the two nameplates before he announced, "The first battle: Li Yuanzhen of the Imperial Academy against Fang Lang of Luojiang Academy."
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