Chapter 235: An Unexpected Withdrawal

The first round of the group stage was a six-into-three format. With the conclusion of two days of battles, half of the participants had basically been eliminated.

Among the remaining three, the winner needed to defeat two consecutive opponents to enter the next group stage.

In other words, anyone who won their first battle would basically face one of two situations.

One situation was to have a bye in the next round, waiting for the other two to decide a winner, then playing the final battle within the group to complete the six-into-one progression.

The other situation was needing to face one of the others to decide a winner, then facing the challenge from the person who had the bye.

As for which situation it would be, that had to be decided by drawing lots.

He He Lingxiu fought the last person in her group today, and she could now be considered to have successfully secured a spot in the second round of the Heavenly Dao Assembly. On the way back with the others, they happened to run into Ji You and his group returning from the Cangwu Arena.

Ji You's first battle was today; this was no secret, so they asked about the result and learned that Ji You had won his first battle.

Regarding this result, the group did not feel surprised.

Especially He He Lingxiu, who even wore an expression that said it was all within her expectations.

Ji You's combat strength had always been unclear to outsiders, but they all had a vague concept of it and felt that him winning was the most normal thing in the world.

After all, this was only the first round, and among the opponents were many disciples of noble families used to fill the numbers; evenly matched opponents would only appear later on.

Therefore, such a victory was not worth surprise or cheers.

Just like the first few matches they had won previously, they felt in their hearts that it was just how things were.

After some idle chatter, Ji You and Cao Cao Jingsong and the others left, leaving only He He Lingxiu and the others behind to analyze the day's battles.

However, just at this moment, they saw Yu Yu Shiliu also walking in from outside, but she seemed somewhat distracted and didn't really greet them, just following the small path through the woods toward her own residence.

Wang Wang Gaocen called out to her twice upon seeing this, but she didn't seem to hear him, walking straight into her own room.

The sky was not yet late at this time. Ji You, Cao Cao Jingsong, Ban Ban Yangshu, Wen Zhengxin, and the others were drinking tea in their residence when they heard a knock on the door.

Opening the door, standing outside was Wen Wen Siyuan, a disciple of the Management Court.

They had returned from the Cangwu Arena together earlier, but Wen Wen Siyuan had separated from them halfway to go to Taiping Garden to draw lots for Ji You. Returning here now, he placed the note with the draw results on Ji You's table.

"Ji Shidi Ji, the draw results for the second round of the group stage."

"Sorry for the trouble."

Ji You took the envelope, then unfolded it to take a look. Inside were written the two large characters: Xiang Hui. "Is this my opponent for the next round?"

Wen Wen Siyuan nodded: "Ji Shidi will battle him tomorrow, and then compete with the Liangzhou Lou family disciple Lou Lou Wanpeng, who had a bye, for the six-into-one spot."

"I thought I would be the one with the bye."

"This was decided by drawing lots. The time for the duel is roughly tomorrow morning, and the location is still the Cangwu Arena. I will come to invite you when the time comes."

After delivering the note, Wen Wen Siyuan turned and returned to the far east side of the East Garden of Rusheng Garden, which was where the Management Court was staying, lying on his bed in a daze.

Not long after, the other Management Court disciples also returned to their lodgings one after another.

They had also gone to Taiping Garden to draw lots like Wen Wen Siyuan, but they hadn't rushed back after drawing; instead, they had dutifully gone to all directions to scout out the potential next-round opponents of the participants they were responsible for.

After all, only by knowing oneself and the enemy could one be invincible in a hundred battles.

Perhaps once they won, the noble families behind them might even give some spirit pills or something as a token of gratitude.

The group talked as they walked. Upon entering the room, they saw Wen Wen Siyuan lying on the bed, and they couldn't help but exchange glances, thinking to themselves that Ji Shidi Wen had returned early enough.

"Ji Shidi Ji's first battle, he won?"

"Mm, he won."

Hearing this news, the Management Court disciples didn't actually have any overly surprised emotions.

Some of them hadn't paid attention to who Ji You was fighting, only feeling that with his strength—defeating two fellow practitioners with four sword strikes and forcing the Elder Pavilion to bow their heads—this victory was simply a matter of expectation.

Another portion of the Management Court disciples came from Zhongzhou and had heard of Tang Tang Jingming, knowing he was different from ordinary noble family disciples, but they all felt Ji You was a cut above.

However, for some reason, they felt Wen Wen Siyuan's expression seemed somewhat dazed.

The three managers of the Management Court had also returned to Rusheng Garden by this time, because they were not only responsible for the students' duels but also for the Dao-discussion battles of the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan elders.

After resting and drinking tea, the various Management Court disciples received the opponent information collected by the disciples one after another.

These pieces of information would be summarized and verified by them, and then passed on to those disciples about to enter the next round.

The three managers held these letters, constantly opening, verifying, and exchanging ideas for a long time, weeding out information that didn't warrant too much attention, and finally compiling them into documents.

At this time, they turned to the opponent information for Yu Yu Shiliu.

The disciple responsible for Yu Yu Shiliu was Wei Han of the Management Court. The document he submitted was different from everyone else's; it was two copies: one for the Qingzhou Bu family disciple Bu Ze, and the other for the Lingzhou Xi family daughter Xi Fang Jinyu.

This meant that during the lot drawing in the afternoon, Yu Yu Shiliu had a bye.

Both this Bu Ze and Xi Fang Jinyu could potentially become Yu Yu Shiliu's next opponent.

"This Bu Ze's combat strength is actually average; he was only able to win because the opponent he encountered was too weak."

"Then in Brother Qin's opinion, this Xi Fang Jinyu is the one most worth noting?"

"Correct. In my view, the person Yu Yu Shiliu will encounter will most likely be Xi Fang Jinyu, so this person should be focused on."

The three immediately opened Xi Fang Jinyu's document, which was densely written, including this person's strengths and weaknesses. After finishing this document, they opened the one regarding Bu Ze.

Unlike Xi Fang Jinyu's document, Bu Ze's document had only a few sparse strokes.

This represented that even Wei Han, who had been watching the battles for Yu Yu Shiliu, felt that this Bu Ze and Xi Fang Jinyu could not pose a threat to Yu Yu Shiliu.

Since they couldn't pose a threat, there was naturally no need to pay too much attention; otherwise, it would instead hinder the rhythm of her attacks.

Lang Lang Hetong put down the document in his hand at this time, picked up his teacup, and said: "Who is Ji You's next round?"

"Xiang Hui."

"No bye, he has to fight one more battle."

Qin Ang nodded: "This Ji You's luck, it seems, isn't as good as before."

Ji Ji Jingyao looked up upon hearing this: "How so?"

"Not having a bye is one thing, but the opponents in his group are not simple. Tang Tang Jingming, Xiang Hui, and Lou Lou Wanpeng are not ordinary noble family disciples; their strength is quite commendable. It's just that because their background and foundation are a bit weaker, they haven't received as much attention, but they are definitely not people who can be easily defeated."

Cultivation talent is not something where whoever has a stronger background and foundation has better talent.

The strength gap between Immortal Sects and noble families is partly due to the inheritance of techniques and cultivation methods.

Therefore, although the probability of geniuses appearing in small noble families is not high, looking at the entire Nine Provinces, the number is not small.

Just like this year's entrant Puyang Xing; the Pu family he belongs to is also a fallen noble family, but his cultivation talent is extremely good.

The group Ji You is in doesn't have any top-tier noble family disciples, but speaking purely in terms of individuals, their strength is indeed extremely strong.

The three muttered, then opened the document regarding Xiang Hui submitted by Wen Wen Siyuan.

Their gazes swept across it, but they didn't see a single word; it was completely blank.

Seeing this scene, the three managers were slightly startled, then couldn't help but exchange glances.

Wen Wen Siyuan had always been diligent and hardworking at the Management Pavilion, never shirking the pavilion's orders, and was certainly not the type to be perfunctory.

The only explanation for the blankness in this document was that after watching Ji You's previous match, he felt that investigating Ji You's opponent was completely unnecessary...

The next morning, the summer breeze was melodious, the sun warm and the wind gentle.

Just like the previous few days, people living in the county city surged toward the Garden of Sages, while those living in the Eight Great Gardens surged toward the nine arenas.

He He Lingxiu and the others were up early again, heading to the Jingyang Arena to watch the battles, because today Chai Ze and Xiao Lu Hanyan both had to conduct the final battle of the group stage.

However, before the battle had even begun, He He Lingxiu saw Wang Wang Gaocen pushing his way through the crowd.

"Senior Sister He, have you seen Yan Shimei Yu?"

"Isn't she at the Yuyu Arena?"

Wang Wang Gaocen shook his head: "I just came from the Yuyu Arena; she isn't there."

He He Lingxiu felt somewhat surprised upon hearing this, because Yu Yu Shiliu had left very early this morning. She had thought she went to the Yuyu Arena to watch the duel between Bu Ze and Xi Fang Jinyu, to understand her next opponent, only to find out that wasn't the case at all.

This was strange, because Yu Yu Shiliu always had a rigorous personality.

During previous duels, even if the opponent was clearly inferior to her, she would carefully go to watch; it made no sense for her not to go when encountering a formidable one.

A trace of doubt surfaced in He He Lingxiu's eyes, feeling somewhat unable to fathom it.

And at this time, Yu Yu Shiliu was sitting in the spectator stands of the Cangwu Arena, facing the brilliant sunlight rising in the early morning, staring meticulously at the stage.

She hadn't slept all night yesterday, and she had indeed left very early this morning, but she hadn't gone to the Yuyu Arena; she had come here.

And there was a group of people who had come early just like her.

One of them was Huang Rou, the daughter of the Zhongzhou Huang family, who was still sitting in the same spot as yesterday, looking toward the direction of the arena.

She had come here yesterday to watch Tang Tang Jingming. After Tang Tang Jingming lost, she had no one else to pay attention to, and originally there was no need to come again today.

But for some reason, she had come here involuntarily this morning, even refusing Qiu Hanyue's invitation to go sightseeing in the city.

Besides her, there were three ladies from Yunzhou, sitting in the same positions as yesterday.

They had come here yesterday to wait for Ji You after his match to talk to him, but later they hadn't gone to find him at all, instead returning to their courtyard in a daze.

Coming here again this time, they had completely changed their mindset, their eyes filled only with silence.

Additionally, there was the Tang family head, as well as other members of the Tang family, all gathered here, looking toward the two figures on the stage, their hands clenched extremely tightly.

At the same time, there were also three beautiful figures on the spectator platform.

Among them, Ding Yao had her hands pressed against the railing of the high platform, silent.

"So many people."

"It is quite a lot. When I had a duel here earlier, there weren't this many people, only a scattered few."

On the east side of the high platform also sat two young men, both from the Yuzhou Lou family. One was Lou Lou Wanpeng, who had the bye, and the other was his younger brother Lou Lou Wanli.

The Heavenly Tian Shuyuan watched battles and analyzed opponents every day; they were naturally the same.

The two people currently on the stage, regardless of who won, would become Lou Lou Wanpeng's next opponent; they naturally had to come to watch the battle.

And Lou Lou Wanpeng's younger brother Lou Lou Wanli had dueled here earlier and knew that this arena was extremely desolate; the number of people today greatly exceeded their expectations.

At this time, Lou Lou Wanpeng looked at the gazes of the surrounding crowd, and a vague sense of unease began to stir in his heart.

In fact, this kind of unease had existed since yesterday.

He had some understanding of Tang Tang Jingming. After knowing he lost, Lou Lou Wanpeng knew Ji You must be very strong.

If not, there wouldn't be so many rumors about this person in the Nine Provinces.

And now, the whole arena full of people seemed to have come for Ji You, making him even more convinced of the rumors in his heart.

Lou Lou Wanpeng couldn't help but sit up straight, then slightly straightened his waist, a faint golden light appearing in his eyes, preparing to carefully observe Ji You's moves with his spiritual sense.

At this time, as the light of the pale blue barrier rose from both sides, it began to converge toward the center.

Xiang Hui, a disciple of the Xiang family of the state, drew the long saber in his hand.

Unlike Tang Tang Jingming's thin physique, this Xiang Hui was quite burly, and the long saber in his hand was wide and heavy.

As the battle supervisor struck the copper gong, Lou Lou Wanpeng suddenly fixed his gaze, seeing the spiritual energy suddenly roar, the saber light rising fiercely, extremely fierce, and then seeing Ji You, who had drawn his sword, step forward to meet him, the long sword in his hand held high.

Lou Lou Wanpeng's position was on the west side of the south side of the circular stage, consistent with the direction of Ji You's sword strike.

In his view, compared to Xiang Hui, who had gathered his full spiritual energy, Ji You's posture in striking with his sword seemed very ordinary.

However, when that held-high Dao sword suddenly slashed downward, Lou Lou Wanpeng didn't know why, but he suddenly felt the hair on his arms stand up, and his scalp tighten.

Clang!

Ji You slashed down fiercely, directly colliding with the long saber that had slashed over.

Xiang Hui seemed to feel a force of ten thousand jun pouring in all at once; the hands gripping the saber shattered in an instant, spilling blood all over, and his whole body staggered backward, constantly struggling to control the rapidly trembling iron saber in his hand, a trace of disbelief appearing in his eyes.

The crowd, having seen a similar scene yesterday, clenched their fists, their hearts trembling for a moment.

It's happening again...

The same thing as yesterday, it's happening again.

And just at this moment, Ji You stepped forward, his figure approaching like the wind, the Dao sword in his hand slashing down fiercely.

With a boom, it was as if the air waves in the entire arena had been crushed; the rolling wild waves constantly dissipated toward the surroundings, the impact causing the entire barrier to be filled with wind and clouds.

In the countless pale yellow eyes, the wind roar brought by that plain-looking sword strike almost instantly tore open the spiritual energy condensed on Xiang Hui's long saber, then slashed down fiercely, so that everyone's mind was buzzing.

With a bang, it was like thunder striking.

The long saber in Xiang Hui's hand was directly shattered, and then his whole body flew backward.

After a burst of powder mist scattered, the tall and burly Xiang Hui fell to the ground with a thud, just like Tang Tang Jingming yesterday, his whole body becoming quiet, not at all like the noisy state from just a moment ago.

Lou Lou Wanli widened his eyes at this time, looking at his elder brother Lou Lou Wanpeng, thinking to himself: Brother, your next opponent is him? Your luck is really explosive.

And Lou Lou Wanpeng opened his mouth in disbelief, his jaw constantly trembling.

At the same time, Yu Yu Shiliu, Ding Yao, and Huang Rou all couldn't help but bite their lips, staring at this scene in silence.

Actually, some things that are too transcendent are hard to accept in a short time when seen for the first time.

Most thoughts are to watch it one more time, always feeling that maybe one could understand it after watching it one more time.

But when Xiang Hui fell heavily to the ground, and the long saber in his hand bent into a strange arc, their minds were still blank, just like yesterday.

Tang Tang Jingming and Xiang Hui were not weak; although they couldn't compare to Immortal Sect disciples, and were even further behind those personal disciples, at the very least they were outstanding among noble families.

In everyone's hearts, they wouldn't make it to the end, and it wouldn't be easy to get a spot; losing wasn't too unexpected.

But no one had ever thought they would lose like this.

This couldn't be the Profound Understanding Realm? How could there be such a Profound Understanding Realm.

"Go back and tell Yan Yan Shuyi that this matter is left to me."

"If Yan Hao loses miserably, it is estimated that it will shake a large group of Heavenly Sword Peak disciples."

Ding Yao was standing on the high platform at this time, the conversation at the Feast of Sages echoing in her mind. Looking at Ji You's figure again, her eyes were filled with a daze.

Even Zhu Zhuo Wanqiu, who had always felt Ji You had a high winning rate and would definitely enter the top ten, couldn't help but fall into silence at this time.

Afterward, the two came back to their senses and couldn't help but glance at their own Pavilion Master, discovering that the Pavilion Master was sitting upright, but there was clearly a trace of surprise in her eyes.

In fact, she had long ago tried to test the strange man with the pressure of the Boundless Realm, but he had withstood it. At that time, she had a feeling of incredulity.

And after watching his two duels, she realized that her estimation of him was still a bit low.

After the battle ended, Ji You left the Cangwu Arena.

And the others were still sitting in place, only walking toward the outside after coming back to their senses, with expressions of astonishment on their faces, making those leaving from other arenas feel puzzled, thinking to themselves: why do they all look like they've lost their souls.

At roughly the same time, Lu Xiong, the head of the Lu family, was walking along the white marble road with his family's disciples, returning to the courtyard where they were staying.

The disciples sent by the Yunzhou Lu family had a duel at the Qiyun Arena, but the result was not satisfactory.

The five participating disciples they had managed to gather with great difficulty had now lost three in a row.

The Lu family was originally a newly promoted century-old noble family; their foundation was not very thick, and the family's cultivation talent was also average, so Lu Xiong, the head of the Lu family, hadn't held high expectations to begin with.

But seeing his own disciples lose with his own eyes, he still felt somewhat regretful.

In this Azure Cloud World, strength is actually the foundation that determines everything, but apart from his two daughters, it was really hard to find another one who could compete.

Lu Xiong walked into the residence in the courtyard at this time, and as soon as he looked up, he saw his wife.

She was still wearing her outer garment, with some mud on her feet; one look and it was clear she had just returned from outside.

He knew his wife didn't have much interest in the duels between cultivators, but she had been coming and going these past few days, and had talked to him about quite a few young talents.

Every day when she returned, his wife would chat with him about one of them, saying how they were extremely well-matched with their second daughter, and so on.

Her words were not really about being in a rush to marry off their daughter, but rather secretly indicating that she did not agree with her daughter liking Ji You, repeatedly mentioning the four words "rustic private cultivator," and her tone was not without sarcasm. Deep down, she hoped she could change her mind and choose another good husband for her daughter.

However, for some reason, since last night, his wife hadn't mentioned this matter again, instead appearing somewhat soul-lost.

Shi Shi Junhao and Xiao Lu Hanyan's duels both ended before noon. Upon returning, they saw that Wang Wang Gaocen had already returned to the courtyard a step ahead, staring at the East Courtyard with a puzzled expression.

"Did you find Yan Shimei Yu?"

Wang Wang Gaocen came back to his senses upon hearing this: "Ah, found her. She returned around the same time as me, just somewhat absent-minded."

He He Lingxiu looked at him: "Absent-minded?"

"Mm, when I spoke to her, she seemed not to have heard."

"Where did she go?"

Wang Wang Gaocen opened his mouth: "I saw her seemingly coming out of the Cangwu Arena."

Shi Shi Junhao looked at He He Lingxiu at this time and couldn't help but speak: "Ji You has been dueling at the Cangwu Arena these past two days. Could it be that Yan Shimei Yu went to watch Ji You's duel?"

"Just went to watch a duel, how could she be soul-lost from watching it?"

He He Lingxiu couldn't help but recall when she saw Yu Yu Shiliu last night, discovering that she was a bit absent-minded then too.

Could it be... Ji You was like in his duel with Chu He before, having his clothes slashed by his opponent, revealing something that made people panic? And Yan Shimei Yu saw it...

While pondering, Gu Gu Zetao came from outside the door. Upon seeing them, he couldn't help but speak: "Have you heard? A person named Lou Lou Wanpeng has withdrawn from the competition."

He He Lingxiu didn't know Lou Lou Wanpeng, but upon hearing the words "withdrawn from the competition," she couldn't help but reveal a trace of surprise: "Since he has already reached the Heavenly Dao Assembly, he should at least try; how could someone withdraw?"

Shi Shi Junhao looked up at Gu Gu Zetao at this time, also feeling it was somewhat incredible.

"The Sages' Holy Land has always had a huge attraction, and some are even willing to suppress their realm for a year just to wait. Now that they have reached the Heavenly Dao Assembly, they should at least try, so how could someone give up at such a juncture?"

After Shi Shi Junhao finished speaking, he couldn't help but ask: "Who is Lou Lou Wanpeng?"

Gu Gu Zetao pursed his lips: "A disciple of the Liangzhou Lou family. His second round of the group stage had a bye. If he hadn't withdrawn, he would have been Ji You's opponent in the next round."

"?"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 236 =====