Chapter 236

Among the nine major arenas of the Sages Garden, the Cangwu Arena receives the least attention.

So only a small portion of people saw that those leaving from there today all carried dejected expressions, and very few people saw the two who came out from there, after hesitating for a long time, walk toward Taiping Garden with complex expressions.

The affairs of the Heavenly Dao Assembly have always been the responsibility of the Si Xian Jian, and they live in Taiping Garden, so many competition affairs are also handled here.

Not long after, following the departure of those two young men, news began to flow out from within.

There is always some exchange after the Heavenly Dao Assembly ends every day: who won, who lost, whose displayed methods were unexpected, and who was not as good as their reputation; this kind of scene is not rare in the Sages Garden.

In fact, when some Xian Sects and noble families are collecting opponent information everywhere, one source of information is also from here.

However, the news discussed the most today appeared exceptionally different, making people feel surprised.

Many people, after hearing this news on the way back from the arena, would reveal puzzled expressions, unable to help but widen their eyes slightly.

"Lou Wanpeng withdrew? Why?"

"I only heard such a piece of news, but specifically why, I don't know yet."

"There's even this kind of thing... where did you hear it from?"

"Just now on the road, learned from the mouths of people living in the same garden as the Lou family."

The opponent Lou Wanpeng defeated in his first battle was a disciple from the Lingzhou Zeng family, named Zeng Hui; precisely because there had been a battle, the Zeng family was extremely concerned about Lou Wanpeng.

People say there is no first in literature and no second in martial arts; winning is winning, so despite the defeat, the Zeng family was actually quite convinced by Lou Wanpeng's victory.

This cannot be cheated; in the real sword-to-sword confrontation, being stronger by one point is actually being stronger.

But what they never thought was that, separated by only one day, they actually heard the news of Lou Wanpeng withdrawing.

The head of the Zeng family shook his head at this time, and after careful analysis, felt it was impossible.

The Sages Holy Land is a place every cultivator dreams of, so much so that it is worth suppressing one's realm for a year to seek it; even if one knows the winning rate is not high, definitely no one would be willing to give up easily.

In a place with dense personnel, it is not a strange thing for rumors to spread.

In fact, the first thought of many people hearing this news was the same as his, feeling it made no sense.

However, by the next morning, when the morning glow spread across the sky, everyone saw an official from the Si Xian Jian arrive at the south side of the island in the center of the lake.

A tall bulletin board stood here, with a bulletin posted on it with blank squares drawn; in the top few squares, there were already a few names.

This is the rule of the Heavenly Dao Assembly; whenever a group stage ends and a winner is produced, they will add a few names to the bulletin list.

This list is actually quite detailed, not only having the group, and the winner of each group, but also the battle order between the various groups, as well as the opponent's name.

At this time, this Si Xian Jian official held a cinnabar brush and wrote the two characters 'Ji You' on the bulletin list in front of him, and filled in the few blank spaces behind him.

Following the completion of the filling, the Si Xian Jian official put away the brush and then drifted away; following that were countless cultivators located in the courtyard swarming over, their gazes constantly browsing above it.

The battle order behind some names was not full, but had a blank space in the middle, which represented that it was a bye match, with no opponent, winning without a fight.

But the battle schedule behind that newly written name was exceptionally different.

There was also a blank space behind this name; the difference was that the middle was not empty, which is to say he did not have a bye, but his final battle of the group stage had no opponent.

"Won without a fight, because the opponent withdrew?"

"News came last night; it is said to be a disciple of the Liangzhou Lou family. I thought it was fake at first, but didn't expect it to be verified today."

"This Lou family, could it be they sent a disciple to make up the numbers? Such an important competition, actually so willful? You must know there are countless people in this world who, because of cultivation and background, cannot even find a single opportunity."

"I also don't know why, only knowing that before he withdrew, he went to watch the duel within their group, and after returning, he gave up."

There was much discussion in front of the bulletin board, and those expressing their own opinions were numerous.

At this time, someone looked again at that newly written name: "This is... that countryside private cultivator from the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan?"

"Brother Liu has been in seclusion for many years, seeking the supreme Dao with a clear Dao heart; how does he even know this Ji You?"

"After I came out of seclusion, I heard some things about him, knowing his fame has been quite big in the last two years, and some things, although unverified, sound very scary. But since this Lou Wanpeng has already come to the Heavenly Dao Assembly, why withdraw? No matter what, it's a duel of the same realm; he should at least try; that is the Sages Holy Land."

"I don't think Lou Wanpeng's approach is wrong. This year's duels have much more hostility than previous years, and there have already been several casualties. Even if he could win against this Ji You, it is estimated he wouldn't go very far."

"This... is indeed the truth."

"Hey, look at that fatty opposite."

"What's good to look at about a fatty?"

"That fatty's chest is really big; I don't know what kind of evil technique he cultivated."

Everyone participating in the Heavenly Dao Assembly lives in one garden, so some news naturally spreads very quickly, especially since the island in the center of the lake is the only way to the nine major arenas, and with the large flow of people, it can naturally be glimpsed at a glance.

At this time, Princess Changle Zhao Yunyue was also standing in front of the bulletin board, staring at the battle situation of Ji You's group for a long time, a trace of doubt flashing in her eyes.

She hadn't had time to watch Ji You's first two duels, but she had already decided to watch the final battle of the group stage.

It was just that after rushing to the Cangwu Arena today, she heard about this matter and felt somewhat lost.

And not far from her, Qiu Hanyue was also looking at this bulletin, her expression blank.

In fact, she doesn't pay much attention to duel matters, and cares even less about Ji You.

In her view, she had only met this man who entered the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan by exception once; after agreeing with Ji You previously, her father had gone to find He Xianzi once, and after obtaining the promise that 'this matter is dropped', she finally breathed a sigh of relief, originally thinking there would be no more opportunity to hear this name.

But for some reason, since this morning, she has heard this name from the mouths of many people.

It was not just the elders in the family discussing it, even her close friend Huang Rou had mentioned it several times, so she came to take a look.

Although she didn't have much understanding of the people on the list, she also knew that the Sages Proof Dao Land is a place all cultivators dream of; it is said that entering it to cultivate, one year can equal ten years of work, and she also didn't understand why this Lou Wanpeng wasn't even willing to try.

Also gathered in front of the bulletin board were He Lingxiu and the others from the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan.

Yesterday evening, they returned from the arena, and then heard the news brought by Gu Zetao, saying that Ji You's last opponent had withdrawn before the match.

Like the head of the Zeng family, they also didn't quite believe it; after all, for these participants, the temptation of the Sages Holy Land is self-evident.

But it wasn't until they saw this list that they were convinced of this matter, but what followed was even greater doubt.

Because they knew that besides this Lou Wanpeng who suddenly withdrew, Yan Shimei Yu Shiliu had also gone to watch the battle, and her state after returning was also very wrong.

Originally they hadn't paid much attention, especially He Lingxiu; she had thought someone had torn Ji You's clothes, revealing something ominous, so Yan Shimei Yu was somewhat briefly distracted because of fear.

But later hearing Lou Wanpeng withdrew, they vaguely felt something was wrong.

Because Lou Wanpeng couldn't have been scared into withdrawing just by seeing something ominous; this doesn't make logical sense...

Also unable to understand were the Lou family.

The Sages Garden has eight major immortal gardens; the Seven Great Xian Sects, excluding the Pill Sect, the remaining six are two-by-two, occupying three gardens.

And living in the remaining five gardens are noble families from within the Nine Provinces.

At this time, on the west side of the east side of the Lianxing Garden, in the pavilion where the Lou family lived, the head of the Lou family sat on a grand armchair with a gloomy expression, with broken teacup fragments on the ground, while sitting in front of him was the silent Lou Wanpeng, as well as several Lou family elders who were speechless.

Lou Wanpeng's withdrawal had not notified them; everything was decided privately.

The time the head of the Lou family knew this news was not even as early as others.

Like those who were unable to understand, the head of the Lou family felt that since there was an opportunity to get close to the Sages Holy Land, even if there was no certainty of victory, how could one not even try.

Lou Wanpeng did not speak after hearing this, only remaining silent.

He was not afraid of losing, nor was he afraid of getting hurt.

A cultivator's self-healing speed is quite good; no matter how serious the injury, as long as one is kept alive, one can still save their life.

He, Lou Wanpeng, has never been that kind of cowardly person, because a cowardly Dao heart could not support his cultivation to the Upper Realm of Profound Understanding.

But cultivators talk about a clear Dao heart, with no distracting thoughts, so there are some things he cannot think about again, because he knows that would let his Dao heart plant demons.

Ji You also only knew this news this morning.

Because after he returned last night, he entered meditation, body refinement until the second half of the night, and then fell into a deep sleep; when Wen Siyuan came to knock on the door in the morning, he had already finished washing and was preparing to welcome the final battle of the day, only then learning that the other party had withdrawn.

Regarding this news, Ji You was indeed somewhat surprised.

He actually didn't know Lou Wanpeng; after all, a countryside private cultivator doesn't have that much of a network.

So when dueling with Xiang Hui, even if he had glimpsed Lou Wanpeng, he wouldn't have known that was his next opponent, and thus wouldn't have known Lou Wanpeng had gone to watch his sword.

However, this is a good thing, because no matter what, it saved a bit of effort.

After all, this kind of battle that doesn't develop customers is not something Ji You actually likes that much in his heart; the fewer, the better.

And after these few days of duels, Ji You discovered that the sword he is currently using actually cannot withstand his force; after two matches, that iron sword of his has already deformed, and he doesn't know how much silver it will cost to fight until the end.

Ji You sent Wen Siyuan away, then stretched.

Since there was one less battle, he had time to go out for a walk.

He went out of the courtyard facing the faint morning light, went to the county city of Zhongxing County, went to Cao Jiaoxi and their residence to look around, bummed a breakfast, and then went to Taiping Garden to visit Xiang Kuangcheng.

As soon as he entered the courtyard, Ji You couldn't help but question him why he didn't go to watch his duel, and said he would only forgive him if he was busy making Wei Rui pregnant during this time.

As a result, Xiang Kuangcheng had been busy with matters regarding the first round of the group stage these past few days, having to transmit news every day, and handling miscellaneous affairs in the garden by the way.

According to Ji You's words, Xiang Kuangcheng was absolutely being pua'd; this is not a Reception Office Tisi, this is simply a Cattle and Horse Office Tisi.

However, the good thing is that the people from the Si Xian Jian and the Great Xia Imperial Court live in the same garden, and Wei Rui comes to accompany him quietly every day, making him suffer and be happy at the same time.

Although Xiang Kuangcheng didn't go to watch the battle, he also knew about Ji You's last opponent withdrawing.

After all, this matter itself was handled by the Si Xian Jian, and he was also present at the time.

At first, Xiang Kuangcheng was also somewhat surprised, because he had previously flipped through the archives of the Heavenly Dao Assembly in the past and had never seen a situation where someone withdrew halfway.

However, after knowing Lou Wanpeng was to duel with Ji You, Xiang Kuangcheng had no surprise at all, feeling this was a matter of course, and cast an admiring gaze at Lou Wanpeng for being a smart person.

Xiang Shusheng doesn't understand cultivation, but in his heart, Brother Ji is the best in the world.

After chatting for a long time, Ji You returned from Taiping Garden, and while passing through the island in the center of the lake, there were many gazes focusing on him coming and going, carrying scrutiny, sizing up, doubt, and curiosity.

In the whispers, it was full of his and Lou Wanpeng's names.

Some said, so this is that countryside private cultivator.

Some said his luck in encountering a withdrawing contestant was truly extremely good.

Among them, some came from Shengjing, looking at Ji You walking past the white marble road with his white clothes fluttering, the light in their eyes flickering.

What they paid attention to was not why Lou Wanpeng withdrew, but felt that Ji You seemed to be a congenital fame holy body.

Whether it's the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan or Shengjing City, he can always become the focus of everyone's attention; didn't expect that after coming to the Sages Garden, there would be such a trend again.

Ji You returned from Taiping Garden to Rusheng Garden, walked to his residence, and after pushing open the door, saw a touch of red skirt hem scattered on the tea mat.

Following the sound of the door opening, the owner of the skirt hem couldn't help but raise her eyes, without any sense of abruptness for being uninvited, her beautiful brows and eyes watching him, seeing him walk toward her step by step.

The Spirit Sword Mountain little Inspector has rarely looked for him recently, probably to let him participate in the competition with peace of mind.

However, this self-discipline only lasted for two days before she appeared again.

Ji You actually suspected that Yan Shuyi had secretly gone to watch his match, because he saw Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu from the window last night, finding their eyes were one more 'ying' than the other.

Then if Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu both went to watch, he didn't believe Yan Shuyi could endure it alone at home.

Ji You sat down and asked what the Inspector had been busy with, not appearing for these two days.

Yan Shuyi said with a cold and arrogant expression that she was cultivating, sightseeing, and meeting guests.

Ji You asked again if she had gone to watch the battle, and she immediately said no.

Then the two stared at each other with big eyes; not long after, Yan Shuyi gently opened her mouth and ate the pumpkin seeds peeled and handed over by the strange man.

"What did the Inspector go to do?"

"The Inspector said the son-in-law is dueling but doesn't use Spirit Sword Mountain sword Dao; don't know if it's looking down on it or what, so went over to teach him a lesson; if looking down on it, then just abolish him."

"I don't believe it."

"Me neither..."

Zhuo Wanqiu echoed, thinking to herself that the Inspector should have gone to 'ying' the son-in-law; after all, the combat power displayed by the Young Master truly exceeded their expectations.

After all, the Inspector has an 'ying' personality; the stronger the Young Master is by one point, the more naturally the Inspector can 'ying' him by one point.

After all, no matter why a woman fell in love with a man in the beginning, she always hopes he is stronger, even stronger than herself.

Following the group stage duels of the nine major arenas constantly starting and ending, the names on the bulletin list began to become more and more numerous.

Zhu Yao, Wei Bo, Zhuang Zixin, Yan Hao...

Countless familiar names appeared on the list one after another, entering the next round.

Among these people, no matter who, they are all geniuses with outstanding combat power who have never been defeated, each with extraordinary origins and deep backgrounds.

This result is not unexpected.

In fact, the results presented by the Heavenly Dao Assembly battles of the past few years are almost identical to the current one.

Some say that the Heavenly Dao Assembly has only truly begun at this moment.

Because among those people earlier, there were indeed noble families who got spots, but the foundation was insufficient, leading to the phenomenon of forcibly gathering people.

But after this large-scale screening, every one of those who appear on stage later is not an ordinary person.

Xian Sect direct disciples, descendants of great powers, only children of noble families... countryside private cultivators.

The eight people from the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan have not had a single defeat, all obtaining the qualification for the second round; the only one somewhat thrilling is Yu Shiliu.

She was still in a somewhat poor state, dragged to the final match by her opponent, but in the end, she took the victory.

Actually, this is not strange, because the Ask Dao Sect, Mountain Sea Pavilion, Spirit Sword Mountain, Chen Shixian Race, and Profound Origin Immortal Mansion also have not had a single defeat; this is the foundation of the Xian Sects.

Near evening, the people who went to participate in the battle returned to Rusheng Garden one after another; He Lingxiu was the first, and when entering the garden, she seemed to glimpse a figure flashing past the small building opposite, but was not sure if she had seen it wrong.

And before they could rest for too long, the people from the Si Xian Jian sent the duel list for the second round.

Different from the first round, the cultivators who received the list could clearly feel that the opponents in this round were much stronger.

Wang Gaocen and Yu Shiliu both encountered disciples from the Mountain Sea Pavilion and Ask Dao Sect respectively; only Gu Zetao encountered a noble family disciple, appearing somewhat luckier, but the millennium noble family represented by that surname still made him somewhat dare not underestimate.

Everyone looked at the opponents on their list, and after pondering for a long time, their gazes began to move downward, moving in unison to the name of Ji You among them.

In the second round of the Heavenly Dao Assembly, the opponent Ji You encountered was no longer a noble family disciple.

This person came from the Chen Shixian Race, named Chen Ruiyang.

(End of chapter)