ASER - Chapter 156
Chapter 156: Showing Off
Pale-faced and handsome, he had the look of a pretty boy who couldn't handle tonics.
A'Diao remembered this person was Mo Yuwo. He had found his way here?
For some reason, A'Diao felt his gaze was rather deep.
This was a pretty boy who could hide stories in his eyes.
A'Diao smiled. "Here for the test?"
Mo Yuwo nodded.
A'Diao was about to leave, but she glanced at the exam rankings noted on her wristwatch.
Damn it!
Not a single score!
No one was submitting. This was an internal competition, a rat race.
A'Diao felt a little awkward, then suddenly had an idea. "I know where the device is. I'll tell you directly, but you have to promise me you'll submit your score as soon as you're done with the test, okay?"
Her tone was exceptionally gentle, as if coaxing an innocent young man.
"Why don't you submit your own?"
The young man was quite sharp.
"They hate me. If I score better than them, they suffer. If I score worse than them, I suffer. Why bother with that?"
Seemed to make sense.
"Five thousand relic bones," the young man said.
A'Diao: "???"
Couldn't tell he was so shrewd.
A'Diao glanced at her wristwatch and suddenly said, "Forget it then. I'm leaving."
She headed towards him because the entrance to the second floor of the pagoda was in his direction.
As they brushed past each other, the stone knife fragment A'Diao clutched in her palm revealed its sharp edge.
She raised her hand... He narrowed his eyes.
Suddenly, A'Diao loosened her grip, and the stone knife fragment fell to the ground, but he had already instinctively taken a step back.
She said with a grin, "This stone of mine isn't worth much, but your jade hairpin is much more valuable. Don't hide it to use as a weapon next time."
"Of course, and next time, don't hide behind others watching them. It's easy to cause misunderstandings."
"I almost thought... you wanted to kill me."
After saying this, she breezed past.
Anyone who hid while concealing a sharp weapon, no matter who they were, would be considered an enemy by someone with her personality.
Moreover, this Mo Yuwo had found this place without even needing to buy coordinates; he was clearly no simple character.
Mo Yuwo lowered his gaze. After a moment, he looked down at the jade hairpin in his palm, frowning slightly. He seemed to want to say something but ultimately didn't.
After watching her leave, he observed his surroundings, quickly found the tree, and jumped up to take the test. But he also glanced at his wristwatch.
Someone had submitted their score.
The first to submit.
Song Ling: A, B, and C were 220, 200, and 190 respectively.
All had improved. The margin of improvement was double her previous aptitude, and most terrifyingly, her growth potential improvement had also doubled.
Jiang Zhou was stunned for a moment when he saw the scores, then became thoughtful.
That's not right. Even if A and B aptitudes could be enhanced through various secret methods to forcibly refine aptitude later on, growth potential wasn't easily altered. How did hers also improve by an equal double?
Unless... unless her innate talent had fundamentally changed, such as her bloodline or spiritual body.
How was this score? Anyway, it couldn't compare to A'Diao's, but it had already jumped to a mid-tier position in the second echelon of the Kyoto region.
One had to know that initially, Song Ling's innate talent didn't even rank within the Kyoto circle.
Of course, if Jiang Zhou knew that Song Ling's strongest aspect was actually her spiritual body aptitude, and that the current A, B, and C improvements were merely incidental, he would probably be even more shocked.
In the audience, Xie Jingyu's expression remained calm, as if this wasn't her disciple. However, she was indeed surprised.
This child, Song Ling, appeared calm and unassuming, not one for ostentation, so she wouldn't care about such gimmicks.
Either she didn't take these prodigies' competitive, prideful internal struggles seriously, or she was scouting the path for Chen Adiao.
Sure enough, seeing that Song Ling had submitted her ranking, the others gradually couldn't hold back.
Anyway, the people from the ten northern and southern prefectures knew their disadvantages. Being behind was being behind; it didn't matter. Could hiding their scores and releasing them at the end really have any damaging effect?
Thus, it was the most remote ten prefectures that were the first to reveal their names.
Suddenly, the leaderboard was dominated by many.
Now, the people from Kyoto and other places were not happy.
Although they were the ones hiding their scores, seeing the leaderboard dominated by others definitely made them feel frustrated.
Moreover, the first-place Han Zhuo's score was not low.
A, B, C: 320, 299, 250.
Whoa, the people from the ten prefectures were somewhat surprised, even Xiao Du was astonished. But after careful calculation, they understood.
"Among all the candidates, I don't know about those from places like Kyoto, but Han Zhuo is the youngest, only 15 years old."
When the Qingzhou Academy Principal said this, everyone looked at Zhao Ritian.
At this moment, A'Diao's mind was focused on her Zhao Ritian persona. Hearing this, she felt a slight jolt inwardly: So young? No wonder that old Han always looked at me like I was an animal.
"The younger you are, the faster you improve."
The golden growth curve was probably very evident in Han Zhuo. The younger one started cultivating, the more solid the foundation, and the more terrifying the subsequent rate of improvement. Look, from the southern seas until now, no one knew what his cultivation level was.
But he should be at the Glimmer Realm.
A 15-year-old at the Glimmer Realm.
No wonder it sent a shock through the geniuses from Kyoto and other places.
But surprisingly, this time, people from other regions still held back.
"Those below Han Zhuo didn't want to submit, feeling it was shameful and would weaken their region's reputation. Those above Han Zhuo saw the upper limit in others and naturally weren't willing to submit either."
"It's actually a meaningless affair, but these young people..."
"That's why they're young people, full of youthful vigor."
Many people laughed, sighed, and joked.
And indeed, as they said, these people, with an average age of 20, were full of youthful spirit.
None of them wanted to be outdone.
Especially the people from Kyoto Academy, who mostly acted based on the movements of those ahead of them.
There were also some who arrived late, climbing up the four staircases.
Shen Huajing studied art. From the beginning, she wasn't strong physically and didn't like to train in it, so it was certain she would be at a disadvantage. When she climbed up, she saw a "corpse" lying on the ground ahead.
To be precise, it was a chubby figure like a bear, lying on the ground panting, looking as if he was about to die.
He was still trying to convince himself, much like every overweight person trying to lose weight.
"No, no, no, I'm not getting up. I, I'll never take this exam again."
"I have a barbecue shop. I'll go home and make barbecue. Why bother with Lushan? It's too tiring, really too tiring, so hard."
Xiong Chumo lay there like a salted fish, but as Shen Huajing walked past, she said softly, "When the demon spirits attack the city, everything will be destroyed. Where would there be any barbecue shop then?"
Her tone was very gentle. Xiong Chumo struggled to lift his head but only saw a graceful figure.
Soon, these two also entered the forest one after the other to find the device and get tested. But compared to others' anxious rush, they looked like they had poor physique, but in reality, they were genuinely not in a hurry.
It just gave off a certain vibe—anyway, the audience felt that these two had a style quite different from ordinary people, and they clearly knew each other.
However, the scene changed. On the screen, Song Ling entered the lake. Relying on her understanding of A'Diao and her judgment of the Seventh Prince... she finally found the device in the mud at the bottom of the lake.
After completing the assessment and submitting, she swam to the surface. Just as she emerged, she happened to see someone by the lake.
He Sijian. He saw her.
Song Ling frowned.
There was malice in the other person's eyes.
At this time, A'Diao had already entered the second floor.
She saw the space ahead at a glance.
The second floor of the pagoda had only one environmental element.
That was a huge blood pool, and 12 pillars beside it.
Someone was already standing in the blood pool.
The Seventh Prince.
He sensed her arrival, opened his eyes, his indigo pupils staring at her, his brow faintly frosted with coldness.
In such a large space, it was just the two of them.
The audience focused their attention, curious about what kind of confrontation the two would have.
Ah, strange. When did they start to feel that these two, who were vastly different in every aspect, also had a tendency to clash?
But before the Seventh Prince could speak, A'Diao interjected, "Your Highness, I just discovered a secret about Dantai Yu."
The Seventh Prince frowned.
A'Diao: "He's at the Star Realm. Did you know?"
The Seventh Prince narrowed his eyes, his pupils trembling slightly. He said faintly, "Of course, I know. He is a disciple of the Imperial Kinsmen, connected to my Imperial Clan. What are your intentions in handling this matter this way? Are you trying to frame me for injustice?"
Someone who could rank first in the literary exam naturally had a formidable mind. He saw through A'Diao's trick in minutes and introduced an even more terrifying proposition.
He had killing intent towards Chen Adiao, so he openly set a trap for her.
At this moment, even Xu Zhaoyin frowned.
However, Chen Adiao said, "Eh? It is natural for disciples of the Imperial Kinsmen to submit to the Imperial Clan. Since he disguised himself and concealed it from Your Highness, firstly, he has violated Article 315 of the Imperial Clan Law regarding deceiving superiors. However, if no serious consequences arose, it wouldn't be a big deal, after all, Your Highness is magnanimous. But I remember when climbing the stairs earlier, he dodged the stone statue monster but let it chase after you. This would be a violation of Article 168 of the Imperial Clan Law, the protection protocol."
She was doing it deliberately, trying to sow discord between His Highness and the Imperial Kinsmen.
It was known that the influence of the Imperial Kinsmen was significant in the path a prince sought. The advisors under the Seventh Prince all thought so.
When she acted against Dantai Yu, had she already thought of dealing with the Seventh Prince?
This person was so audacious. Who did she represent?
The Seventh Prince was cold and sharp. "Are you showing off your knowledge? Consistently using your abilities to justify your treacherous actions. Too many successes can indeed make one arrogant. This is just the Lushan exam. If we were to be strict, would you, a commoner, be considered insubordinate to me? You..."
Suddenly, he realized, pursing his lips and staring at A'Diao.
A'Diao feigned sudden understanding, raised her hand in a salute, "Thank you, Your Highness, for your magnanimity in not holding this commoner accountable for offenses during the exam."
The Seventh Prince: "..."
Damn Chen Adiao! She deliberately led him to say those words. Now, no matter how she used the rules to compete with him in the competition, he couldn't easily use his princely power against her. Otherwise, if word got out... other princes would use it against him.
For example, if he used his princely power to pressure Lushan, even if he entered Lushan, it would be difficult for Lushan to harbor no resentment towards him. He might be sidelined and not receive priority cultivation.
Lushan itself wasn't fond of the Imperial Family and wouldn't yield. What was a mere prince?
In the era of the first generation, even the Emperor had to dismount his dragon palanquin at the foot of Lushan.
Anyway, all she wanted was superficial safety.
After weighing the pros and cons, the Seventh Prince quickly shed his cold expression and said calmly, "It's good that you know. As long as you act uprightly, no one will condemn you. However, seeing you act like this, you seem quite confident. Could it be that you are certain to win against me in this exam?"
A'Diao smiled. "If we're competing in shamelessness, I should have won."
"..."
The Seventh Prince was thoroughly irked. For a moment, he didn't know whether to call her honest or truly shameless.
The audience was also amused.
For a time, the tense atmosphere between the two dissipated.
This Chen Adiao possessed a peculiar charm. If a person's cunning reached a certain level of mastery, adept at manipulating people's hearts, then what you saw was not just her cunning, but also her uniqueness.
Among the countless people in the world, some stand in brightly lit halls, bathed in light, yet you may not find them dazzling. But some, dwelling in darkness, if they merely lift their eyes for you, you feel you can glimpse the daylight in their gaze.
However, ordinary people were easily fooled. Xiao Jin, though, knew this was because the Seventh Prince realized the situation was spiraling out of control—he didn't know Dantai Yu was at the Star Realm, and this person had also sneakily gotten involved in the Black Mountain Auction House affair. Could it be that he killed everyone?
A'Diao was full of ingratiating words, appearing smooth and low-key, but only the Imperial Clan and Imperial Kinsmen knew what was true and what was false.
Even the lower classes were wary and suppressed. The Imperial Kinsmen, who already possessed the most convenient status to replace imperial power, suddenly had such a hidden figure. Were they planning to let things settle only after the final martial exam, enter Lushan Academy, and force the Imperial Family to swallow this silent loss?
"Actually, the aptitude exam should have revealed some clues, but this Dantai Yu endured and lay low, clearly intending to wait until after the final fifth stage. At least he stabilized his scores in the first two rounds, planning for the final martial exam to decide everything."
"Now, after being sniped by Chen Adiao, his score in the second round is at least ruined, possibly even zero. His Star Realm cultivation has also been exposed. Next, the Imperial Family will definitely take some action. Withdrawing him is impossible, as it would tarnish their reputation, but they can use some methods—such as strengthening their control over him."
When Xiao Jin thought of the Imperial Family's methods for controlling people, she felt that Dantai Yu's loss this time was no small matter. Once the second exam ended and he left the examination grounds, he would be in trouble.
Because the Imperial Clan could legitimately take him away, saving face and achieving their objective—for example, using the Black Mountain Auction House incident.
"Chen Adiao, she's trying to use the Imperial Clan's hand to cripple him. It seems that in the Black Mountain incident, she almost died at his hands. This is revenge."
Xiao Mieluo: "Isn't she afraid he'll bite back?"
Xiao Jin: "He'd be biting Zhao Ritian. What does that have to do with Chen Adiao?"
True.
Xiao Jin: "Moreover, she should be confident of soaring in the second round, making Lushan protect her."
While the two were chatting, A'Diao had already finished examining the instructions on the pillar.
The handwriting was still fresh. It seemed those teachers, after being dealt with by her, had come up again? But because they didn't need to bother with the equipment, they came directly to the second floor.
They had written the instructions for the bloodline assessment for them in advance and had probably gone to other checkpoints now.
Because of the power sealing, other methods couldn't be used. Moreover, this kind of formation should be very pure, making it impossible to leave programmed instructions on it. So, they directly revealed it through handwriting, which didn't affect the function of the blood pool.
There should be a pen in the backpack.
A'Diao had casually rummaged through it before, only looking for food and consumables, and hadn't noticed the side compartment. Now, upon careful feeling, she indeed found a black pen. It was quite something that she had previously used a branch to write on leaves.
"Bloodline Assessment: Enter the Blood Awakening Pool in one's true form for a certain period. The medicinal properties in the blood pool will stimulate the bloodline to manifest, after which it will be reviewed and graded."
"Awakening time is variable, generally between 1 hour and 24 hours."
When A'Diao finished reading, the Seventh Prince spoke.
"Chen Adiao, I think you are a talent that can be used. If you restrain yourself and act more properly in the future, you won't be without prospects." The Seventh Prince still said such words.
Sincere?
Anyway, she was worth using, and he and A'Diao had no real conflict, did they?
Moreover, he knew that A'Diao was, in any case, opposed to the Third Prince's side, indirectly—this was the reason he didn't have a persistent killing intent towards Chen Adiao.
"Your Highness is right. I will definitely be more proper and restrained in the future."
"Then what are you doing?"
The Seventh Prince saw this person take out a pen from the teacher's backpack and scribble and alter things on the pillar.
From the Seventh Prince's angle, he couldn't see, but he maintained his composure and didn't look. He only saw this person take off her shoes and enter the water, but not fully. She only touched the bloody water with her toes, then sat by the pool and took out dry rations to eat.
So she was in a hurry to eat first.
Heh! Rotten wood cannot be carved. Repeatedly showing off her intelligence and toying with others, she would sooner or later be played to death by herself.
The Seventh Prince had not yet escaped his own mindset: toying with others had always been the prerogative of the Imperial Clan. Others, especially someone of Chen Adiao's background, a mischievous rogue not even cultivated through orthodox official ranks, were inherently challenging this privilege.
So... he glanced at her briefly, lowered his eyes, and said nothing.
Now was not the time to kill her. He had to first see what her aptitude truly was.
Other candidates finally began to enter in batches. Actually, the fastest to complete the test were Duanmu Qingyang and a dozen others, but only a few of them came up. Instead, Baili Xianyun and others behind them finally found some devices and completed the test, but they didn't understand the map, so it took them some time to find the entrance.
Now, upon entering, they saw A'Diao sitting by the pool chatting with the Seventh Prince, looking like the atmosphere was quite good.
They were a bit stunned. No, what happened? These two could chat?
Hadn't the Seventh Prince strangled her?
The atmosphere was strange, but because the Seventh Prince was there, the others didn't dare to say much. Then they looked at the instructions on the pillar and saw A'Diao and the Prince soaking in the pool.
"It says above: You must submit your scores to enter the formation for review and enter the Blood Awakening Pool. During the review stage, names and scores will be hidden."
"No wonder their scores disappeared. So they were hidden."
Everyone was suddenly embarrassed. They had thought Chen Adiao and the Seventh Prince were leading the internal competition, but it turned out they were the petty ones, acting like dogs in a rat race.
Amidst the embarrassment, Nangong Zhuolie, Baili Xianyun, and others submitted their scores one after another. Even Hu Zhegu, Che Jingyan, Nangong Liehe, and others also submitted.
And then...
Beep, beep, beep. The wristwatch alerted them. The leaderboard refreshed with a large number of entries.
Baili Huayue's expression faltered slightly as he looked at Chen Adiao.
The latter was engrossed in eating a biscuit, seemingly not looking at the scores, but rather staring blankly at the blood pool with a melancholic expression.
Only when she noticed everyone's gaze did she snap back to reality. "Ah, what are you looking at me for? Thought I did it?"
Nangong Zhuolie: "If not you, who else could it be?"
A'Diao: "Alright, yes, that's right. It was me."
Everyone: "..."
Weren't you all following my lead in this rat race? I refuse. If we all roll up, we become cabbages, but I want leeks! My mental power is far from enough; you all need to straighten back out!
After "exploding" out these people's scores by changing a few words, A'Diao ignored the dark-faced crowd and began to look through their scores.
Baili Huayue looked at A'Diao and suddenly thought: Actually, thinking about it, they shouldn't be swayed by this person.
Baili Huayue suddenly realized he had entered a strange circle. It seemed that since the assessment began, his emotions had often fluctuated due to this person's actions and behavior.
Repeatedly unsettling his mind.
This wasn't right, and it was also very bad.
She was strong, but her strength lay in her mind. However, in a world of spiritual energy resurgence, aptitude was ultimately king.
Baili Huayue suppressed his feelings and shot Baili Xianyun a look. The latter had repeatedly suffered setbacks at A'Diao's hands and knew how formidable she was, so she didn't dare to act rashly again. Thus, she calmed down and, like everyone else, focused on the scores of others.
Currently, Baili Huayue ranked first, with A, B, C scores of 390, 330, and 300.
Hu Zhegu was second, with A, B, C scores of 370, 355, and 290.
Third was Guang Yunlou, with A, B, C scores of 350, 300, and 255.
Fourth was Han Zhuo, with scores: 320, 299, 250.
Many people were ranked consecutively after them, and Song Ling was pushed down to the seventieth or eightieth place.
Upon receiving this score, Guang Yunlou was actually satisfied at the time, glancing over everyone he had surpassed. But he had been uneasy then, not knowing his actual rank.
It turned out he could also be third, even a bit higher than people like Baili Xianyun.
He was inwardly joyful, subtly glancing at those powerful nobles and prominent families, his heart surging... then it suddenly paused, because Duanmu Qingyang, He Sijian, and others hadn't come up yet, and scores were suddenly submitted in droves.
It was as if they had encountered something down below.
A'Diao was thoughtful. Had they met and fought? That's why they were delayed and hadn't come up.
That could be the only reason. And Mo Yuwo, he should have been able to come up soon, but he hadn't.
These people definitely had something going on.
After these people's scores were submitted, the page refreshed. 1, 2, 3?
In these three seconds, some people's composure was not very stable, especially those ranked at the top.
Guang Yunlou was very nervous, but on the surface, he looked calm.
Baili Huayue stared at them thoughtfully, his fingers rubbing slightly.
Composure stable?
No, it was hard to stay stable.
Three seconds later, the leaderboard appeared.
Everyone saw it, and their breaths hitched in unison. The top four names had all changed.
Not a single one remained.
First place: Xie San
Second place: Duanmu Qingyang
Third place: He Sijian.
Fourth place: Mu Hunya.
Among them, Xie San dominated first place with scores of 410, 400, and 330.
Everyone was silent for a moment. Baili Huayue narrowed his eyes, while Guang Yunlou, seeing his rank suddenly drop to eighth, felt upset. He happened to see A'Diao seemingly smiling at the leaderboard and thought she was laughing at him, feeling a slight aversion.
Just then, a group of people came in, all covered in blood.
Xie San on the left, He Sijian on the right, each leading their own group.
They had truly fought. It started as a verbal dispute, not a major issue, but it escalated into a fight.
It should have been He Sijian and Xie San who started fighting, then drew a group of people into a brawl.
The scale was not small; it involved over a hundred people.
It wasn't extremely serious, as they weren't particularly harmonious to begin with. Now, entering the second floor of the pagoda with a heavy atmosphere, He Sijian, displeased after seeing the text on the pillar, asked A'Diao, "Are you sick? Messing around all day? Do you really think no one dares to deal with you?"
He could tell at a glance whose trickery it was.
Ever since she swindled relic bones from him while getting the device, He Sijian had been holding in his anger. It shouldn't be like this. The Lushan Academy exam was a world for top geniuses; how could one person sway people's hearts with various cunning tricks?
Was she worthy?
When the Seventh Prince heard this, he glanced at He Sijian. Chen Adiao's mental manipulation was so strong and her methods so bizarre that even he had temporarily stepped back. Had this person's brain gone soft?
However, the Chen Commandery Xie Clan was formidable, and this Xie San was indeed impressive, pushing the future head of the He Clan to this extent.
A'Diao wasn't angry; instead, she was curious: There was nothing worth fighting over regarding the equipment. To save time, they wouldn't fight without reason. He Sijian also seemed capable of making choices, otherwise he wouldn't have endured buying the device coordinates from her earlier. So...
Women?
"For a young lady? How many? Don't tell me none of them sided with you, and they all sided with Xie San? Then you got ganged up on, called for help, but still lost, dragging a bunch of people down with you to get beaten. No wonder your people look like their prostates exploded."
She asked with a grin, but her choice of words was vicious beyond compare.
Who could humiliate her?
Anyone could humiliate her, but she would humiliate them back, even more so.
He Sijian's group was furious, but A'Diao could even smooth things over with the Seventh Prince. Would she care about this rabble?
Ranked in the hundreds, or thousands, she wouldn't even bother to flip the page back.
He Sijian's lips twitched, then he slowly smiled. "Someone who doesn't even dare to reveal their own aptitude, let's see how far you can go. By the way, if one's bloodline is severed, the aptitude ceiling is very low, right? No matter how cunning or smart you are, actually... your ceiling is right here."
He drew a finger across his neck, a chilling intent evident.
Many people were displeased with Chen Adiao repeatedly using tricks to seize advantages, as if they were fools.
But few expressed it as openly as He Sijian.
The audience watched, feeling that A'Diao had played a bizarre hand in the first layer, managing to resolve the conflict over the devices and unite these people against an external target (A'Diao). But this second layer, which should have been the most harmonious place for soaking in the pool to reveal bloodlines, seemed like it was about to erupt into a fight.
That was right. In fact, there were already conflicts among these candidates, suppressed for a long time, just waiting to explode.
They just didn't know what happened behind the scenes. It seemed the screen hadn't tracked it before. How did they suddenly end up fighting like this?
Sure enough, the very next second, two people came up.
Duanmu Qingyang and Xu Ye.
The two women had clearly fought. There was blood on them, especially Xu Ye, whose robes were heavily stained with blood, though she herself had no injuries. But her coldness was even more intense than before. She glanced at the group of people ahead, especially Chen Adiao and He Sijian.
She had just heard them. Her face grew colder, but she didn't speak, only lowered her head and tapped her wristwatch.
Beep. The ranking changed.
The third-place name was replaced.
It was replaced by Xu Ye.
A, B, C: 410, 400, 310.
Just barely surpassing He Sijian. Then Xu Ye's voice, like pale snow, said, "I am her floor. When you break through it, then you can go see her ceiling."
He Sijian's voice caught in his throat. The others were also incredulous.
It had to be said, at this moment, even the Chen family members themselves were very surprised. But Xu Zhaoyin should have known, and she showed no major ripples of emotion, one hand supporting a book, the other propping up her cheek.
The Xu family, with their merchant background, did not lack money, not at all. Back then, the marriage alliance with the Chen family also involved considerations of certain difficulties. But later, they developed very well and naturally did not lack resources, and her daughter did not lack aptitude.
So... if she were to be the floor, she would be the ceiling for many people.
A'Diao looked at Xu Ye, but the latter didn't look at her.
Hmph! A'Diao habitually curled her lip slightly, just like when she was a child.
Inside the Bloodline Pagoda, He Sijian's face was as dark as ink.
Xie San, however, suddenly said slowly, "Beating up a little girl, forcing her to jump into a chasm, and she still hasn't come out. But in an exam, to eliminate others, all are means. It's nothing; I, Xie San, would use them too. But I'm sorry, that little girl has some friendship with me. Since I, Xie San, found out, beating you is also a means. If you're not convinced, come at me again... I'll take on however many people you call... It's an exam, after all. You hit me, I hit you. It's good to have a go before the martial combat, gets the blood flowing and tendons limber..."
He hadn't finished speaking.
A'Diao suddenly asked curiously, "Little girl?"
Xie San glanced at her and said meaningfully, "Yes, little girl."
The others who heard this were all somewhat moved.
Could it be... this time the screen didn't pop up, it probably wasn't captured.
In the audience, Xie Jingyu lowered her eyes: The soul fluctuations of a spiritual mutant were different. The images captured by this super-intelligent screen were mostly of those superficially prominent figures. For those candidates who were currently ranked high but unknown, the less footage shown, the more bizarre the person.
It was understandable that Song Ling evaded capture. So, this Chen Adiao being captured every time she did something bad, did it mean she was mediocre?
How could such a person be mediocre?
It could only mean that the super-intelligence was curious about her, paying attention to her.
Conversely, it proved she was terrifying.
He Sijian placed one hand on his waist, on guard.
A'Diao nodded, got up from the pool, without even putting on her shoes.
Her movements were unhurried, completely different from her usual erratic, perverse, and abrupt actions.
Only then did some people notice her slender calves. Her skin wasn't as fair as an ordinary person's. How to put it? Could such a rough person also give the impression of skin like ice and bones like jade?
Looking at her feet, you suddenly found them beautiful.
The next second.
She disappeared.
He Sijian drew his sword.
He had always practiced martial arts. One of his advantages in this aptitude assessment was that he carried his sword with him, rather than keeping his weapon in a storage ring.
But he never knew that one day, just as his sword was about to be unsheathed, it couldn't be fully drawn because someone had forcefully caught it with a single palm. The sword couldn't be pulled out; the strength was too great.
Then, bang!! A swift kick to the abdomen came. He retreated in horror, but his sword had already been snatched away.
He retreated and quickly borrowed a sword from a disciple of his own Daoist sect behind him.
Clang!!
Draw sword, Moon Slaying Art!
The sword whistled through the air, splitting with a cold gleam.
This was He Sijian's sword.
Martial artists had a great advantage in this assessment, so ordinary people were generally unwilling to confront He Sijian's group.
Being one of the four great Daoist sects and having strong martial arts connections, they had many acquaintances among the 13,000 people. They could gather a crowd just by calling out.
Running into Xie San was his misfortune because the Xie family, after all, were kings of a different surname, the Chen Commandery Royal Department, a vital border region, commanding a million troops, their military power more than ten times greater than the Xiao family's.
In terms of connections, Xie San naturally had the advantage. That's why Duanmu Qingyang knew him, and Xu Ye... it was purely because she knew who was forced into the chasm by He Sijian.
So, in a place unknown to A'Diao and the others, they had fought a fierce battle.
And now, in a place where almost everyone was present, she had snatched his sword.
Her sword wasn't faster than his, nor was it more skillful.
It had been said long ago, she was not good at combat, lacking talent points in this area.
He Sijian knew. He was wary of her perceptive five senses, but a sword fight was different. However, the current distance was different.
She was finished.
He Sijian deliberately took a step back to lure her forward, drew his sword, and then...
The sword grazed her left side.
She took a side step, sword out, slash!
Clang!!!
Everyone felt that no matter how fierce and magnificent He Sijian's sword moves were, her actions were just a simple and smooth sword snatch, side step, and draw.
With a clang, she severed the blade of He Sijian's sweeping sword.
A backhand sword lift, an upward arcing blade.
Swish! The sword edge sliced diagonally from below the arm, piercing under the forearm at a 30-degree angle, exiting through the shoulder bone. Then she pulled the sword out, took a step back, avoiding the sharpness of He Sijian's pained attempt to stab her abdomen with the broken sword. Her left hand flung out, the scabbard flew and struck He Sijian hard in the face, breaking his nasal bone.
How much strength was that?
No one knew. Anyway, as the scabbard fell, she closed in, her right hand grabbing the falling scabbard, wrist turning... Bang!!!
One end of the scabbard stabbed downwards.
The rounded end of the scabbard pierced the instep of his shoe. With a crack, it forcefully tore through both the shoe and the sole of his foot.
Then... her other hand gripped his wrist, the one holding the broken sword, and the blade swished past.
The five fingers of his severed hand were lopped off, scattering to the ground like a celestial maiden scattering flowers.
Like plum blossoms dotted with dripping blood, her afterimage sidestepped, moving with the hooked sword.
Clang!!!
The sword was not sheathed, merely carried on her shoulder, the scabbard resting against her waist.
The atmosphere in the entire space was somewhat silent.
Someone wanted to speak but hesitated.
But A'Diao proceeded to beat up all the others.
She didn't hit them hard, just enough to keep them from getting up for a while, to make space for the brothers and sisters currently soaking in the blood pool.
Wait for the next wave.
Just lie there for now.
It had nothing to do with right or wrong, or seeking revenge. She fought because she wanted to.
Towards the end of the fight, Xie San didn't even go into the pool; he came over and joined the fight!
Later, it became a continued brawl involving over a hundred people.
The people in the pool: "..."
The Seventh Prince was expressionless.
Duanmu Qingyang had no intention of getting involved again. Anyway, it was clear that Chen Adiao and her group were overwhelming their opponents. Look, even her own sister Xu Ye wasn't interfering. So she skirted around them, then turned her head and glimpsed the girl in the crowd, barefoot, fiercely flying-kicking a burly man.
The sight was too terrifying, as if she was using cheats, taking on ten opponents at once was no problem.
She was just missing a brick to make her look even more formidable.
She suddenly felt a bit envious.
Youthful spirit, untamed and wild.
The commotion was too big, startling the people who were successively catching up from below.
Xiong Chumo was shocked. "Murder?! Huajing, let's run!"
Shen Huajing was relatively calm. She sidestepped to avoid the blood and said gently, "It's fine, just a warm-up exercise before the bath. Watch your shoes."
These two were also oddballs.
But they weren't on the leaderboard this time.
Xu Ye glanced at them.
After finishing the fight, A'Diao brushed the blood off her clothes, didn't look at the people lying on the ground behind her, and walked to the edge of the pool. Just as Shen Huajing was holding onto a pillar taking off her shoes, A'Diao, under the somewhat awed gazes of the crowd, said, "I'm not soaking. I don't have a bloodline anyway, so it's zero points either way. If I say this, will you all be much happier?"
Mental power ++++.
A small wave of mental power, huh.
Not enough.
"Brothers and sisters, do you know why I, despite having no bloodline, insisted on soaking here for so long?"
It was strange, but it was also human nature.
Was there a secret?
It couldn't possibly be that she loved us, right?
Everyone was puzzled. The Seventh Prince's brow twitched, and he immediately said coldly, "No need."
A few people knew how terrifying she was and subconsciously wanted to stop her.
For example, Baili Xianyun wished she could cover her mouth.
A'Diao: "I have athlete's foot. Terminal stage."
The Seventh Prince: "..."
Xu Ye, also in the pool: "..."
Shen Huajing, who had just taken off her shoes and was about to go down: "..."
Everyone currently soaking in the pool: "!!!"
The audience: "..."
Witness the peerless prodigies having their expressions manipulated by a single sentence.
Woodenly, their gazes on her could condense ink.
You're a devil!! Chen Adiao, dog A'Diao! Fuck!
All the prodigies, princes, imperial kinsmen, powerful nobles from prominent families, and geniuses from humble backgrounds, all had their emotions explode at this moment.
Peerless beauties like Chu Daise now only felt that she was an anomaly who transcended the limits of womanhood.
Hmm... was it because she was shameless?
But it had to be said, she had once again stirred everyone's emotions.
When their joys, angers, sorrows, and happiness were all within her grasp.
Overturning clouds and summoning rain.
Mental power was raging, oh, saved up to sixty billion. But she didn't know if it would be enough for the next upgrade. Anyway, the things Toilet gave would definitely get better and better.
Had she achieved mental power freedom?
All thanks to the contributions of these geniuses.
Looking at their expressions, A'Diao laughed, roared with laughter, then didn't even put on her shoes. Carrying her shoes, she walked away barefoot, but tossed the sword back in front of He Sijian, who was clutching his severed hand in pain.
"Big fish eat small fish, small fish eat shrimp. Among these 13,000 people, the real...
...big fish haven't surfaced yet. Whether they excel in bloodlines, A, B, C aptitudes, or spiritual body aptitude, none have made their grand entrance. But they're all soaking in the pool, and who knows when they'll be exposed. Therefore, if there wasn't a clown like me livening things up, the audience outside would be very bored. Why are you still criticizing me? I didn't even charge money... However, the big fish should be loosening the soil soon, right?"
"See you in the third round."
Hearing this, some people present had strange expressions, while others remained unfazed.
On the leaderboard, how many hadn't submitted?
Also, with the impending bloodline scores about to be revealed, how many people would make a comeback?
Who knew?
Anyway, A'Diao didn't mention Song Ling's matter, as if it were commonplace. She didn't hold it against them because an exam was an exam, and the means were limitless. As for Song Ling's safety, she wasn't worried either. As long as she wasn't dead or crippled, Song Ling would handle the situation.
She also didn't mention that she beat him up because she guessed Song Ling was targeted because she, Chen Adiao, had offended people.
She especially didn't utter any harsh words about the future.
She just casually tapped her wristwatch.
Then she nonchalantly departed, walking into the entrance of the third floor.
But a single "beep" was worth more than a thousand words.
Everyone lowered their heads to look at their wristwatches.
Current first place.
Chen Adiao: 555, 555, 555.
First place by a landslide.
Everyone was shocked.
Actually, her original score wasn't this high, only about the same as Duanmu Qingyang and the others. But later, it was recorded but not submitted. She hesitated for a moment, then went back and tested again. Sure enough, when she guided out more than half of the meridians hidden in her Dark Cloud system, allowing those spiritual pattern lines to connect, her aptitude soared.
She almost forgot about this. She had hidden too many things, sometimes even forgetting them herself.
She was forcing these hidden big fish to emerge.
In this world, she wouldn't allow anyone to be more of a "dog" (cunning/shameless) than her, Chen Adiao.
Look at that Seventh Prince. Usually so noble and aloof, isn't he now reining in his sharpness because of the chaotic and murky situation?
He must have also realized that his first place might not be entirely deserved.
But now that she had emerged, the others probably wouldn't hide anymore. She had raised the baseline. If there were any stronger than her, they probably wouldn't be content to be beneath her. If they weren't as good as her, hiding would be pointless.
However, after the big fish came out, it would be good if her A, B, C scores could remain in the top ten. There were so many at the Glimmer Realm, and who knew if there were still Star Realm cultivators. Aptitudes would surely explode.
And bloodline... After the second round's bloodline assessment, where would her current ranking drop to?
But there was still the third round, spiritual body aptitude.
She estimated she would have to rely on this to turn the tables a bit. The fifth round was still unknown.
The world was too big, with too many geniuses. Perhaps the truly terrifying ones this time were those few who appeared mediocre and unknown.
She couldn't figure out their methods, but she had analyzed some of the medicinal ingredients in the blood pool and the totems and runes on those pillars. For those she couldn't analyze, she would take back things like her shoes, stained with the liquid, for testing.
This was her real purpose for spending time here. As for these people's bloodline talents, she was interested, but had no time to delay.
However, she had just reached the third floor when the A, B, C leaderboard refreshed, the bloodline leaderboard came out, and the comprehensive leaderboard was also generated.
The true strengths and weaknesses of the Tang Song prodigies were only now beginning to take shape.
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