The white robe laid in the ring like a blossoming flower, the blood spots on it looked alluring yet heart-wrenching.
The whole world was silent, only the sound of the flower blooming.
Cold droplets splattered on Li Yuanzhen's face, mixed with the warmth of his blood and tears.
The surroundings were still.
This highly anticipated battle was supposed to have both opponents engage in a ferocious battle, each struggling to get the upper hand. However, the events that unfolded before their eyes were totally unexpected.
The outcome of the first battle was opposite of the public's prediction.
They believed Fang Lang would never win against Li Yuanzhen, a ninth-grade spell master. How could the strongest, most talented spell master in this Imperial Examination lose?
When the blade storm appeared, everybody thought Fang Lang would be defeated—obliterated by the blade rain and lose all strength to fight. They pictured Fang Lang dragging himself across the ring, begging Li Yuanzhen to stop.
In reality, it was Li Yuanzhen who was thrown up into the air by Fang Lang and tossed back onto the ground.
Fang Lang was just being ostentatious.
However, it was an utter humiliation to Li Yuanzhen.
The crowd was still entranced by Fang Lang's fancy attack with the flight sword.
Who knew the flight sword could be utilized in such a way?
He totally flipped their worldview.
The gamblers were pulling their hair in desperation as they watched the powerful eunuch revive Li Yuanzhen. They gripped the betting slip tightly with bloodshot eyes. Guttural cries sounded from their throat.
The crowd's wailing attracted the attention of the officials.
Before the Taiji Palace, the atmosphere was rather unusual. The eldest prince had an ambiguous smile on his face while the other officers were rendered speechless.
Li Puyi seemed to have aged a lot in a split second. He stared blankly at his son who laid in a pool of blood—the son who carried all his hopes.
His son—who had the greatest potential to be the grand champion—had lost miserably in the first battle!
Like a wilted flower.
Lu Taixuan did not mock Li Puyi, he let out a sigh instead.
"He was truly gifted, a shame…" Even though Lu Taixuan said it very softly, his words could be heard clearly in the pin-drop silence that enveloped the Taiji Palace.
Li Puyi narrowed his eyes, his body shook violently.
Looks were exchanged but everyone was speechless.
…
The Jade Pavilion sect leader's eyes lit up!
Her pretty lashes fluttered as she stared at the battle ring. Her eyes fixated on the green-robed boy on the flight sword.
"Bravo! Well done, Fang Lang! Your moves were straightforward and clean. It was a genius idea to use the Meteor Flight Sword from the Jade Pavilion to boost your attack. The Jade Pavilion flight sword and you are truly a match made in heaven," Su Yunyu exclaimed as she rubbed her palms together.
Chao Xiaojian rolled his eyes beside her. She had exposed herself as an opportunistic woman by mentioning Jade Pavilion twice.
The eyes of the sect leaders of the Sky Cloud Sect and the Four Rings Tower were glistening.
"The reason why Fang Lang was able to win despite the huge disparity in strength between him and Li Yuanzhen was not because of his flight sword. Other than his unconventional strategy, the crucial component was the rune…"
"That rune was the key that enabled the flight sword to accelerate from stationary to the impressive velocity!"
"This rune seems to be an upgraded version of the Flight Sword Turbo Charge… I haven't seen anything like this before!"
The two sect leaders' eyes grew brighter as they continued to discuss. A great business opportunity loomed in the future.
Su Yunyu's expression changed into distress.
The two old foxes were probably eyeing Fang Lang's rune.
She gained two more competitors.
Su Yunyu was not worried about the Sword Guild who lacked financial resources.
Nevertheless, she was threatened by the Sky Cloud Sect and Four Rings Tower who also sold flight swords. The flight sword business was extremely profitable and thus, the sects were filthy rich.
…
In the preparation area, the atmosphere was tense. Other than the gaping crowd, there were two people experiencing emotional turmoil.
"F*ck! It's you, you're that genius!"
Liu Bubai's lips were trembling.
After seeing Fang Lang's blazing meteor and his flashy flying technique, Dragon Awakening, Liu Bubai clenched his thighs subconsciously as he recalled that day.
The person who flew with him was… Fang Lang!
On the other side, Luo Yang who was dressed in a silk robe widened his eyes. "It's him! Meteor 007!"
As a semi-professional flight sword rider, Luo Yang was schooled by the anonymous rider when he was helping his sister, Luo Qiuqiu, to tease the newbies. That day was something he would not easily forget.
He witnessed the flight sword rider and the Meteor Flight Sword he had been dreaming of in the first Royal Battle!
Amazing!
Luo Yang's body trembled slightly. The rune was the same one that was used in the Flight Rally. Incredible!
Both boys' weird emotions were drowned out by the astonishment that filled the entire preparation area.
Jiang Linglong's pretty eyes fluttered.
Fang Lang won! She was surprised by his overwhelming victory.
All the candidates in the preparation area were in awe and worried at the same time.
…
Li Yuanzhen was defeated in the first battle, losing his qualification to compete for the grand champion title.
In order to be a grand champion, the candidate's nameplate had to be flawless, which meant they could not afford to lose a battle.
Li Yuanzhen was no longer eligible because the moment he was defeated, Fang Lang's nameplate made a huge dent in his.
The sound of Li Yuanzhen's nameplate cracking echoed through every corner of the square.
Fang Lang kept his flight sword and shook off the blood on the Blooming Lotus Sword before keeping it into the sword box.
No one knew if flight swords were permitted in battle but there was no rule banning the use of it. The court eunuch who set the rules of the battle did not mention anything about it.
After all, no ordinary man would use a flight sword in a battle.
The time required for a flight sword to be activated was enough for an opponent to kill them multiple times.
Only a freak like Fang Lang would be able to incorporate his brilliant flying sword techniques with the special turbo-charged rune.
A normal person would never be able to pull that off.
In the ring, Fang Lang dusted his green robe as he watched Li Yuanzhen being carted away. He laughed and said, "I forgot to inform you that fighting spell masters is what I do best."
Fang Lang was a huge threat towards spell masters since he was equipped with the Spirit Awl Spell that specifically targeted spiritual sense.
The greatest pitfall in a battle against a spell master was to fall into their rhythm of attacking. One would be continuously assailed with highly destructive attack spells.
The best way to defeat them is to bring them down before they complete the rune formation.
Li Yuanzhen might have stronger spells in reserve but Fang Lang never gave him the chance to cast them.
Li Yuanzhen's countenance appeared even sicklier in his blood-stained robe. He closed his eyes slowly and ignored Fang Lang.
To him, these words were just mocking words from a winner.
"Battle of the grand champion?" Fang Lang chuckled.
From the beginning, he never thought he would be competing with Li Yuanzhen for the grand champion title.
He always thought the person who would be competing against him for the grand champion title was Old Jiang!
Fang Lang was looking forward to that battle. He had been preparing for it all along, gathering as many cards as he could.
Fang Lang's sword hand trembled in excitement when he thought of meeting Old Jiang in the final battle. He wondered if there would be any unique passive abilities or great rewards awaiting him.
The court eunuch entered the ring and glanced at Fang Lan. "The winner of the first battle, Fang Lang."
A warm smile spread across Fang Lang's face.
He stepped down from the ring and reentered the preparation area.
The nameplates hovering in front of the Taiji Palace started spinning rapidly, with the exception of Fang Lang and Li Yuanzhen.
After all of the nameplates were paired for the first round of battle, the winners would be drawn for a second round.
The subsequent pairings were either drawn by the Emperor or the court eunuch.
Perhaps the first battle between Fang Lang and Li Yuanzhen left such an impact that the crowd was not too focused on the battles that followed.
Even when Jiang Linglong entered the ring, there was only a faint cheer from the crowd.
The fight between Fang Lang and Li Yuanzhen had stolen the spotlight.
Liu Bubai also entered the ring and his opponent was none other than Lu Ze of Changan Academy.
The outcome was predictable. Liu Bubai, a first-grade sword master against Lu Ze, a ninth-grade sword master… there was no need to guess who lost.
The only weird thing was the joy on Liu Bubai's face.
'I almost thought that I'd win this too. I'll be worried if I did. It seems too good to be true, as though someone was plotting against me.'
Liu Bubai kept his sword and exited the ring with his chin held high. Those who did not know better would think that he won the battle. Lu Ze lost the mood to celebrate after seeing how Liu Bubai acted. How could a loser be happier than the winner?
The upcoming battles were rather dull.
The burning sun slowly migrated to the west, lowering the mid-autumn day temperature.
"Next battle, Ximen Xianxian from Changan Academy against Ni Wen from Luojiang Academy."
The two nameplates collided before Taiji Palace.
The crowd in the square jumped in excitement!
If Li Yuanzhen was known for having the most bets, Ximen Xianxian… was a name that was well-known by everybody.
The way he recited his poem and spent free nights with the Queen of Flowers impressed many. Some viewed him as their idol since he achieved something that none have ever done.
Therefore, the cheers from the crowd when they heard Ximen Xianxian's name was no less than the battle between Fang Lang and Li Yuanzhen.
In front of the Taiji Palace, the eldest prince was watching Ximen Xianxian from his seat with hope in his eyes.
Ximen Xianxian was chosen by the first prince personally. He found the boy amidst a bunch of beggars and taught him how to read and write. He was confident of Ximen Xianxian's talents.
Ximen Xianxian did not join any of the three main disciplines. He was a cultivator of Ruism. Even though there were many people cultivating Ruism in the Tang Dynasty, only a handful of them were true practitioners of Ruism.
Ximen Xianxian used his wandering encounters to gather righteous energy, hoping he could stand out in the Imperial Examination.
The first prince had high expectations of him.
The sunset was as red as blood.
In the ring, Ximen Xianxian held a folded fan in his hand, exuding a wild and unrestrained aura exclusively found in scholars. He raised his head and glanced at the first prince in the Taiji Palace with a brilliant smile. His end goal was to be the grand champion, thus he could not afford to lose.
Ni Wen was wrapped in a green robe. Her eyes reflected the sunset as though there were burning flames in them. She wanted to prove herself and make the man who abandoned their family regret his decision!
She too had a reason to win the battle!
The two people with compelling reasons to win stood at opposite ends of the ring.
They were like two blazing clouds that were on a collision course on the evening horizon.
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