Chapter 330: The Choice of the Crowd

A piece of the Dao-Slaying Sacred Bamboo.

Shao Hengyang checked the time, then calmly sat cross-legged once more and closed his eyes.

"How long has it been since Chen Yan left?"

At the very front, Shang Yunwu spoke up.

"Twenty-one hours."

As Shao Hengyang spoke, the dozen or so Military Academy examinees beside him also spoke in an instant.

Everyone looked at one another, saying nothing more.

"What's the rush?" Shang Yunwu seemed to see the anxiety in everyone and said indifferently:

"Chen Yan said he needed a day and a half; it hasn't even been a full day yet."

Everyone nodded, saying nothing more.

But as they looked at one another, they all saw the anxiety in the people beside them.

That's right, anxiety.

They sat by the lakeside, and it was as if an invisible, stifling atmosphere was shrouding everyone.

In the center of the vast, mirror-like lake, the Dao-Slaying Sacred Bamboo stood abruptly, its momentum reaching the heavens and piercing the clouds.

High above the clouds on the giant bamboo, a massive ball of light containing immense Dao-Slaying points radiated a scorching brilliance under the reflection of the sun.

The Dao-Slaying Sacred Fruit was nearing maturity; just looking at it faintly made the blood of those around it surge.

For the majority of the college entrance examinees.

Not to mention the Azure Vault grade, even a single Earth Vein grade medicinal treasure was a heaven-sent opportunity.

And within this Dao-Slaying Sacred Fruit, there were billions of Dao-Slaying points!

With three sides competing, whichever side obtained it would see their overall strength elevated to a terrifying degree.

The life trajectories of thousands of people would be changed.

This was also why many Military Academy examinees would rather be treated with indifference by their companions than join the Martial Suppression Bureau or the Military Guard.

Because sometimes, the glory of a military career cannot change their lives, but opportunity can.

The thousands of prodigies on the Military Guard side felt heavy-hearted.

Of the three factions, their side had the fewest people and the lowest strength.

It was almost impossible to compete against the other two sides.

Jiang Yuan and Qiu Changji were both prodigies in the top five of the Prodigy Ranking, and they had large numbers of people behind them.

On their side, Chen Yan still hadn't arrived.

"What are you worried about?"

Suddenly someone spoke; the one speaking was a youth named Xu Di. He seemed to have heard the whispers of the person beside him and appeared dissatisfied:

"Without Chen Yan, we wouldn't even have the Dao-Slaying Lock; we wouldn't have the qualifications to compete at all.

Besides, you all intended to give up on the Dao-Slaying Sacred Fruit from the very beginning."

Xu Di looked around and said:

"Now, at least we have a chance; that's already quite good."

As his voice fell, everyone nodded.

Indeed, at least having a chance to compete now was already much better than at the start.

But Xu Di's words were also heard by people from the two factions on the opposite side of the lake.

On the Martial Suppression Bureau side, a crew-cut prodigy laughed out loud:

"The Military Guard's ability to comfort themselves is not bad, hahaha."

As his voice fell, bursts of laughter erupted from the group of Martial Suppression Bureau examinees.

Shang Yunwu narrowed his eyes.

The crew-cut prodigy then said indifferently:

"Is there a problem with what I said?

You indeed have a chance to compete, but anyone with a normal brain knows that this chance is a joke."

He narrowed his eyes and looked at Shang Yunwu indifferently, saying:

"Smart Military Academy examinees have all come over to help us, at least they can drink some soup; what is the point of you all just making up the numbers over there like a joke?"

He spoke very bluntly.

But everyone knew that what the crew-cut examinee said was not wrong.

The Military Guard side did have hope, but that hope could basically be judged as non-existent.

Because even if Chen Yan came, the Military Guard would still be the weakest side with no capital to compete.

During this time, nearly a few dozen Military Guard examinees had also hesitated and gone over to the Martial Suppression Bureau side.

Shang Yunwu was so angry he gritted his teeth; if it were any other day, he would have attacked.

But on the Martial Suppression Bureau side, there was Qiu Changji.

This was the third-ranked prodigy on the Prodigy Ranking, while Shang Yunwu was only ninth.

Among the Martial Suppression Bureau examinees, someone spoke:

"Shang Yunwu, you are a Fourth-Rank General Star, you should be sensible; at a time like this, don't be stubborn."

The person speaking was named Zhou Tian, a Military Academy examinee who chose to help the Martial Suppression Bureau; his expression was serious at this moment:

"At a time like this, when there is an opportunity, everyone should compete for it together. No matter the method, even if you bring people to join the Martial Suppression Bureau side, it doesn't mean you have insulted the Military Guard.

Even when the college entrance exam ends, the Chief Minister won't say anything to you!"

As Zhou Tian's voice fell, a trace of anger appeared in the eyes of the Military Guard prodigies.

It is this person who has been constantly instigating, causing dozens more Military Guard examinees to go over to the Martial Suppression Bureau side during this period.

Shang Yunwu let out a low shout:

"Zhou Tian, once we return, I will definitely speak well of you in front of Minister Zong Heng!"

Zhou Tian frowned, angry at his lack of resolve, and said:

"You are a Fourth-Rank General Star, you are powerful, but you are truly stupid!"

He was unwilling to say more.

Deep in his heart, he still felt that opportunities were more important; only when the geniuses of the Military Guard were all strong would they have better capital to contend with the other two factions.

Defecting for a moment was merely a means.

All of a sudden, the morale on the Military Guard side became even more stifled.

"Brother Shang, I... I want to..."

A female Military Guard examinee stood up, speaking in a very bashful, low voice, with tears floating in her eyes:

"I am only one Earth-Vein grade precious medicine away from advancing to the Origin realm, I... my family has sold everything that could be sold..."

The girl lowered her head, not daring to meet the gazes of the crowd.

She was, after all, an ordinary person; for Shang Yunwu and the others, losing this opportunity was just losing it.

But for her, this was the most important crossroads of her life.

Shang Yunwu sighed:

"Chen Yan is not weak; perhaps he really does have the strength to be in the top five."

The girl's eyes were teary:

"You also said 'perhaps'; even if Chen Yan is truly powerful, all of us added together..."

As the girl spoke, she looked as if she had done something wrong, her face deathly pale, and she burst into tears.

Shang Yunwu said nothing more.

Immediately after, that girl ran over to the Martial Suppression Bureau side.

And it was right at this moment.

On the side of the Aristocratic Family Alliance, Jiang Yuan, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly opened his eyes:

"Beauty, come to our side."

He smiled, his temperament as gentle as a refined young gentleman.

The girl paused and spoke:

"Chen Yan said that you Aristocratic Family Alliance members are all animals."

Saying this, she joined the Martial Suppression Bureau side.

Jiang Yuan was speechless to the extreme; if you aren't joining, then don't join, why are you cursing me as an animal?

If you worship Chen Yan so much, why don't you believe in him?

Many geniuses of the Aristocratic Family Alliance were angered.

Someone muttered:

"Some people are indeed animals, but I am definitely not an animal!"

Everyone looked at him speechlessly.

What the hell do you mean?

We are all animals, and only you are not?