Chapter 784: Dao Heart Clouded

"Young nephew… stop! Listen to this old man!"

The Phoenix Clan's demonic emperor looked at He Pingsheng and said: "If you swear a Heavenly Oath, then later Feng Wanxi will have to swear one too!"

"Our Phoenix Clan does not fear oaths because of deceit!"

"You may not know that a Heavenly Oath itself is a shackle!"

"Even an oath that benefits you can be spoken carelessly!"

"This thing might, at some future time or place, trap you within it!"

"Feng Wanxi is our Phoenix Clan's foremost prodigy. We will never let her be bound by an oath over this matter… do you understand?"

"Let this matter end here. Our Phoenix Clan and you may shake hands in peace—including the matter of your consort slaying our Phoenix Clan's demonic emperor—we shall not pursue it!"

"Agreed?"

The Phoenix Clan's demonic emperor spoke all this in one breath.

The Golden Body demonic emperor nodded and said: "He Pingsheng… listen to me—don't swear!"

Even the Great Lun Mingwang spoke directly this time, not through telepathy: "He Pingsheng, the Phoenix Clan's demonic emperor is right… even a Heavenly Oath that benefits you is still a shackle—don't speak it lightly!"

"Because at some unknown future moment, it may turn and bite you!"

He Pingsheng's hand remained raised. He glanced at the Great Lun Mingwang, then turned to look at Feng Wanxi.

At this moment, Feng Wanxi's face was as white as paper; her whole body trembled.

She was afraid—afraid He Pingsheng would swear.

If He Pingsheng swore, she was finished.

"He Pingsheng!" Feng Wanxi's voice trembled: "Before, I truly thought you cheated. But now that you produced that jade vial, the Nanke Immortal Spring remains, and you just refined a batch of top-grade pills, I've already accepted it—I know you didn't cheat!"

"Just now, I only held back out of pride as a prodigy!"

"Now, let's not destroy each other!"

He Pingsheng smiled and said: "Of course… actually, I didn't want to swear either!"

"Thank you, Phoenix Clan prodigy, for recognizing my achievement!"

"Then let it be settled!"

He Pingsheng lowered his outstretched hand.

Everyone exhaled in relief.

He Pingsheng really wanted to slap the Phoenix Clan's face, but he knew the effect wouldn't be good.

Because if he swore, Feng Wanxi would never swear.

After all, she'd die!

The consequence of Feng Wanxi not swearing would merely be everyone learning she cheated in the second trial.

But could they truly revoke her score?

Impossible!

At worst, the Phoenix Clan would lose face.

The key is, far more than just Feng Wanxi cheated in the second trial—who among the Nine Celestial Clans didn't?

Should I make Nan Qiqi step forward and swear too?

But now, He Pingsheng didn't swear.

The effect was the same—Feng Wanxi and the Phoenix Clan's demonic emperor's behavior had already revealed their guilt.

Those who understand, understand!

Everyone knew they cheated; the Phoenix Clan had already lost face.

The effect was identical.

If the effect is nearly the same, why tear the veil?

Unwise—and not worth it!

"Excellent!" came the Great Lun Mingwang's telepathic voice: "He Pingsheng… I admire a man who knows when to advance and retreat—not a stubborn fool. Just now, I was nearly disappointed!"

He Pingsheng glanced at the Great Lun Mingwang and ignored him.

My stepping back is my true will; my stepping forward is also my true will.

What's it to you?

…

"Enough! This round of trials is over. The scores for talisman-making and artifact-crafting are merged. The ranking for this round is now posted!"

"Look, everyone!"

The Golden Body demonic emperor waved his hand, and a beam of light appeared in the air.

On the screen were the names of the top one hundred.

First place: Zhu Xuanlun, score one hundred!

Second place: He Pingsheng, score ninety-nine!

Third place: …

He Pingsheng glanced at it—Wang Dun's name was absent.

It seemed this fellow truly had no talent for artifact-crafting, pill-refining, or talisman-making.

Besides ranking points, there were bonus points!

Zhu Xuanlun earned two hundred bonus points for refining two top-grade items.

He Pingsheng earned one hundred bonus points for refining one top-grade item.

Even so, in the overall ranking, He Pingsheng still trailed behind Feng Wanxi.

After all, this woman had already gained two hundred bonus points: one hundred from the stone, one hundred from her Dao insight ability.

Everyone gathered before the great stone stele beside the Stone Platform Stairway to view the overall ranking.

This time, the stele's rankings had changed.

First place: Zhu Xuanlun!

Second place: Feng Wanxi!

Third place: Bai Zhiting!

Fourth place: Mingyue!

…

Because he lost points in this round, Wang Dun's rank had plummeted from the top ten to forty-something.

At least he still remained in the top one hundred.

"Everyone!" said the Golden Body demonic emperor: "The fourth trial will be held ten days from now. Specific rules will be notified to each of you tomorrow!"

"Go!"

With a wave of his hand, the demonic emperors departed.

The other prodigies left in groups, returning to their own Dao halls.

Zhou Qingmei appeared beside He Pingsheng, delighted: "Congratulations, Young Master—you're now third! Keep going—next round, you'll be first… hehehe…"

In Zhou Qingmei's eyes, no one could possibly match the Young Master.

At the same realm, the Young Master was invincible.

"You're overestimating," He Pingsheng said. "If possible, I'd rather skip the fourth trial entirely."

For He Pingsheng, his original goal was simply to help the Zhuque Emperor Domain secure a top-thirty finish.

That's already secured.

And even if he took first—what good would it do?

No benefit.

Only more attention.

As for the Stone Platform Stairway, He Pingsheng felt he'd already climbed high enough.

Even without participating in the fourth trial, he believed he could still safely enter the top thirty.

"I'll discuss with Nan Qiqi whether we can skip the fourth trial."

"Let's go!"

…

In the Phoenix Clan's grand hall!

The Phoenix Emperor stood in the center of the hall.

Three other Phoenix Clan demonic emperors surrounded him.

"Seventh Elder, tell us—how should we handle this situation?" asked a demonic emperor clad in red Dao robes.

"Wanxi has fallen to second place!"

"Rank doesn't matter!" the lead Seventh Elder shook his head. "Points don't matter. What matters is climbing the Stone Platform Stairway—we must secure first place for our Phoenix Clan!"

"But right now, in every aspect, Wanxi falls short compared to Zhu Xuanlun and He Pingsheng."

"Climbing is never mere honor!"

"It truly increases the race's destiny energy!"

"Our Phoenix Clan has thrived for hundreds of millions of years—wasn't it because countless prodigies fought their way to the top of this Stone Platform Stairway?"

At that moment, a beautiful woman in black robes ran into the hall: "Bad news… Seventh Elder, bad news—Princess Wanxi's Dao heart is clouded!"

Lately, childbirth has been difficult—I'm sorry, everyone!