Chapter 87: I Am Still Too Righteous

Under the gaze of thousands, a lifelike Great Sun Official stood at the center of the round platform, pointing toward the dim, vast heavens!

Because the appetizers had raised expectations too high, and seeing this ghostly contraption suddenly caught them off guard, over twenty of the thirty-plus competitors on site exploded right then and there.

The other spectators also erupted in a chorus of embarrassed scolding and clicking tongues.

The two young Taoist nuns from the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, upon suddenly seeing this object, had one whose face flushed red, her thunderous drumming beneath her buttocks roaring like a storm, while the other merely fluttered her eyelashes, suppressing the ripples in her heart-lake.

Wei Lu and Zhang Huaiyu, though not quite breaking their composure, did rein in their joking thoughts and straightened their postures a bit.

After all, if the appetizers were this outrageous, today's sparring match would likely see one person suffer public death right on the spot...

As for Xie Jinhuan, he remained as steady as an old dog, even shrugging slightly, as if to say:

Is that it?!

Do you know what a sixteen-foot ultimate luxury car is?

Do you know what a white-haired giant spider bigger than a bed is?

Of course, he also glanced at Seeing Mo Mo beside him.

Linghu Qingmo did indeed feel ripples in her heart-lake, but having been frightened daily by the mad Young Lady of Chongming River in the past, and knowing this group of prodigal sons had no bottom to their schemes, she had anticipated this beforehand; although the response drum beneath her still registered ripples, she forcibly kept her heart rate within the threshold, her face expressionless as she silently chanted the Heart-Calming Mantra.

Dong dong dong...

As the drumming gradually ceased and everyone else departed, the originally lively arena was left with only seven people, none of whom were lacking in composure.

Zhang Huaiyu swept his gaze around and spoke:

"If it's just this object, I'm afraid it will be hard for Brother Wei and me to determine a winner; Mr. Fan, if you have any other ruthless tricks, please reveal them all."

Fan Guangyuan, having staged the first two rounds to weed out the irrelevant crowd so he wouldn't have to pay out the prize money, gestured for his men to take away the national treasure and said amiably:

"Rest assured, Young Master Wei requested 'social and reputational ruin,' so I, Fan, will certainly fulfill that request; the first two rounds were merely appetizers. Now that the space is larger, everyone, please come up."

Seeing this, the remaining people all came onto the round platform.

Xie Jinhuan also rose and joined Linghu Qingmo on the stage, complimenting her along the way:

"Your composure is impressive; I thought you would cover your face and sweep your sleeves away in disgust."

Fearing Xie Jinhuan would stir ripples in her heart-lake, Linghu Qingmo sat cross-legged on the response drum, motionless as a mountain!

Once the Golden Tower's owner and everyone else were ready, he said nothing more, clapped his hands, and several strongmen once again carried a table covered in red cloth to the midst of the crowd:

"If everyone passes the second round, the Golden Tower must compensate each of you with one hundred taels of silver, so this round's difficulty is not small; I won't introduce what's inside, so everyone, feel free to guess big!"

The seven remaining competitors all perked up upon seeing this.

The surrounding spectators also began to discuss wildly:

"If the first round was this outrageous, what kind of ghostly thing could the second round be?"

"Yang against Yin, I reckon this time they'll bring out Great Joy..."

"Impossible; if they set questions like that, even I could do it..."

Gulp~ Gulp~...

Perhaps because the first round was so outrageous, many people's heartbeats accelerated slightly this time, obviously a bit nervous.

Xie Jinhuan was also secretly guessing what the object was; the next item couldn't possibly be more outrageous, so it was likely some heavy treasure.

For instance, the 'Sixty-Year Lotus'; he was extremely short on this item right now and would surely lose his composure upon seeing it, but by assuming it was the Sixty-Year Lotus, since he couldn't get it anyway, he could keep his emotions steady.

As for other things, none were currently enough to spark his interest...

Linghu Qingmo carefully regulated her breathing, waiting for the Golden Tower to make its next move.

The Golden Tower's owner, skilled at creating dramatic effects, dragged it out for a moment, waiting until everyone was nearly out of breath and the audience was straining their eyes in anticipation, before suddenly pulling back the red cloth.

Swish—

Everyone turned their gaze in unison toward the object in the dish!

But the very next instant was:

Whoosh whoosh whoosh—

As soon as the red cloth was pulled away, the honeycomb-shaped sphere inside shot out inch-long silver beams in all directions.

From a distance, it looked like a rain of pear blossoms, firing toward the seven contestants sitting on the response drums!

Facing an unexpected variable, those with deep foundations could enter an 'overload' state, their hearts racing, time seeming to slow, and their minds incredibly clear; this positive change would not trigger the response drum.

But those with shallow foundations would feel panicked, terrified, and stunned.

Seeing this, three of the seven on the platform leaped into the air to dodge or cover themselves in fear.

Wei Lu's right hand had already gripped the sword at his waist; Zhang Huaiyu rolled up his sleeves.

Linghu Qingmo intended to draw her sword, but before she could act, she suddenly felt a strong wind sweep across her side!

Glancing from the corner of her eye, she saw Xie Jinhuan beside her, whose sword at his waist had somehow been drawn, delivering a sword-draw slash forward!

Clang—

The three-foot green blade, wrapped in mighty qi energy, carried a gale like a wild dragon breaking the sea, whistling past the Golden Tower's owner's side.

The pear-blossom-like silver needles had flown only a few feet when the terrifying sword intent arrived, like a horizontal typhoon instantly sweeping away the silver needles firing at all the contestants!

Puff puff puff~

Though the silver needles looked sharp and menacing, once slightly torn apart by the qi energy, they exploded into white powder mist, dyeing the mighty sword intent white, like a white python passing straight between Wei Lu and Zhang Huaiyu.

Boom—

Wei Lu and Zhang Huaiyu were originally unafraid of the silver needle hidden weapons, but with Xie Jinhuan delivering a Wild Dragon Tail Sweep from the front, not dodging wouldn't be composure, but rather thinking one's life was too long; they both flashed to the side almost simultaneously.

Bang—

Rustling dust rushed out several zhang along the river surface before drifting down, and silence fell along both banks of the river.

The several people who had leaped backward to dodge landed on the pleasure boats, looking somewhat bewildered.

Wei Lu and Zhang Huaiyu, who had been sent flying, stared with eyes full of shock and doubt.

Lin Wanyi and Qin Wen were startled at first, but once they realized what happened, their eyes filled with little stars:

"Wow~ So handsome! Young Master Xie's movements are so fast..."

"That's true... wait, no, no! You fool, just protect yourself! Why block for others? That means you lose..."

"Eh? Oh right! We can't interfere with others..."

The Golden Pavilion's owner, whose shoulder had been grazed by the sword wind, felt as if a dump truck had roared past him, causing him to shrink his neck in fright.

Once he recovered, he noticed that only Xie Jinhuan and Linghu Qingmo remained seated, while everyone else had jumped out in shock, their eyes blank:

"Uh, this..."

Along both riverbanks, a clamor gradually rose:

"What's going on?"

"What does this mean..."

"Why are they using hidden weapons?"

Xie Jinhuan's reaction speed was already exaggerated; without the Ghost Wife's warning just now, upon suddenly discovering the Rain of Pearls firing wildly, his first instinct was to sweep them all away. To avoid accidental injury, he had aimed for the gap between the two opponents to prevent his Qi force from harming them.

Yet those two cowards on the other side still ran away in terror!

Now noticing the flying white mist, Xie Jinhuan realized he had broken the rules. Not only would he get no reward, but the five hundred taels of silver and the share of profits were gone too. Heartbroken, he turned to look at the Golden Pavilion's owner:

"This test question has no bottom line! Without knowing beforehand whether it was real or fake, anyone who could stop it would inevitably act. Is the 'steadfastness' the Golden Pavilion tests for actually 'letting the Daoist brother die so the poor Daoist lives'? If so, I, Xie Jinhuan, accept my loss!"

The common people watching on the riverbank, upon hearing these words, realized the truth and immediately began to denounce them with words:

"Exactly! How can you set up something like this?"

"How is this a test of steadfastness? Acting righteously means losing, while those who only care about self-protection win. Where in the world is there such logic?"

"Pah! You call yourselves Confucian disciples and Snow Eagle Ridge's high students? With all your skills, you only know how to hide when trouble arises. You aren't even worth a single hair of Young Master Xie. You're amazing, you won..."

"Damn it! Refund the money!"

(End of this chapter)