Gloom hung over the young people's faces. They had been eliminated in disgrace, and now someone they had once looked down on had taken their place as Xuanting's hope. Of course it stung.
But!
People soon came forward to congratulate Consort Daoyin.
"With Li Tianming's strength, he might really take first place now that he's reached the Top Four!"
"This humble official congratulates Consort Daoyin on gaining a divine son-in-law, and Princess Mo as well!"
"As everyone knows, Li Tianming doesn't belong only to the An Clan. He's a son-in-law of our Xuanting Cosmic Empire. He belongs to all of us!"
Consort Daoyin fell silent for a moment at the praise, but a smile soon appeared on her face. "Rest assured, everyone. If he truly accomplishes this historic feat, I won't go back on my word. Now let's watch his performance in the final two battles. We'll be waiting to see!"
The officials and soldiers of Xuanting didn't care what sort of opponents Li Tianming would face in those final two battles. They would offer their congratulations first.
"Congratulations again, Consort Daoyin! With you leading the delegation this time, two of Xuanting's geniuses have reached the Top Four of the Divine Emperor Rankings. Such a thing is rarely seen in history!"
"Even if they end up third and fourth, we have the Opening Banquet Betrothal Gifts and the Heavenly Street Poetry Gathering to our credit. We can't call this Divine Emperor Banquet a loss!"
"This generation of geniuses is simply unmatched from antiquity to the present."
"And of course, Prince Zang and Princess Mo performed exceptionally well too. They simply ran into powerful opponents early on. With better luck, reaching the Top Four wouldn't have been a problem..."
Every word of praise pained them, but they had no choice but