Princess Bailing

Jiang Ping'an was startled and immediately turned to look, only to see an old black dog standing at the corner of a wall two or three zhang away.

The old black dog glared at him viciously with its dog eyes, its mouth half-open to reveal a mouthful of gleaming white, sharp teeth, brimming with intimidation.

It was precisely that old black dog that was extraordinarily skilled at looting corpses and destroying all traces.

"Senior Old Black, how did you end up in Yujing?" he asked in delighted surprise as he walked toward the old black dog, using Secret Sound Transmission.

The old black dog haughtily turned its head away, lifting it at a forty-five-degree angle toward the sky. With Secret Sound Transmission, it snorted lightly. "You were penned up like a pig for twelve years and still made it to Yujing. Could it be that this Old Dog is inferior to you?"

"Senior Old Black, how could you expose someone's shortcomings the moment we meet?" Jiang Ping'an said in grief and indignation. "And here I was, thinking of you all the time."

The old black dog snorted dismissively. "Weren't you slandering me behind my back too?"

Originally, it had only intended to take one look at Jiang Ping'an before leaving. It had never expected this brat to be so dishonorable, actually arranging such tales about it behind its back.

It had not been near female dogs for who knew how many years!

What could be endured, and what could not?

Jiang Ping'an smiled awkwardly and changed the subject. "Senior Old Black, I'll treat you to a grand feast, a real grand feast."

"Will there be dragon liver and phoenix wings?"

"Well... I can't afford that for now."

"What kind of grand feast has no dragon liver or phoenix wings? I'm not going. No interest!" The old black dog spoke disdainfully, then turned and left.

Jiang Ping'an hurriedly called after it, "Senior Old Black, why are you leaving already? Old friends meeting after so many years should at least sit down and have a chat."

The old black dog turned a deaf ear and showed no intention of stopping.

Jiang Ping'an could only call out, "I'm at Taiwu Academy. Come find me when you have time. Oh, right, I changed my surname. I'm Jiang Ping'an now—"

Before he could finish, the old black dog had already gone far away and disappeared.

Jiang Ping'an felt somewhat regretful. His charm was still not enough—he could not even fool an old black dog into becoming his battle pet.

Ah, no, no. I only wanted to kindly care for Senior Old Black in its old age and see it through to the end.

Before nightfall, Jiang Ping'an dragged the reluctant Jiang Yiyi back to Taiwu Academy.

Naturally, they had purchased the ingredients for Essence Pills. He had specifically bought high-quality spirit herbs and medicinal ingredients, hoping to refine a few more Perfect Quality Essence Pills.

He only consumed Perfect Quality Spirit Pills. Spirit Pills of poor quality could only be sold off.

After the two returned to Taiwu Academy, they had not gone far past the entrance when they saw a crowd gathered before a notice wall, pointing and discussing animatedly.

Jiang Ping'an had sharp hearing and vaguely caught the three words "Zhao Zhenming." He immediately guessed that the notice wall contained information about the punishment of Zhao Zhenming's servant.

Thus, he squeezed into the crowd to take a look.

Sure enough, just as he had expected, the notice wall displayed the punishment decision for Zhao Qingshi.

Its general contents were: Zhao Zhenming was fined one hundred taels of silver, while Zhao Qingshi was sentenced to fifty strokes of the paddle and barred from entering Taiwu Academy.

One hundred taels of silver was nothing to Zhao Zhenming, but it had made him lose face throughout Taiwu Academy.

As for Zhao Qingshi, leaving aside whether those fifty strokes had been severe, his fate would likely be miserable from now on. He had brought this upon himself and could not live with the consequences.

Jiang Ping'an pushed his way out of the crowd, and Jiang Yiyi immediately came up to him, asking expectantly, "What happened? Was Zhao Zhenming fined silver?"

Though she had stood at the outer edge of the crowd, she had gleaned the general situation from the discussions.

Jiang Ping'an recounted the contents of the notice, and Jiang Yiyi happily clapped her hands and cheered.

After returning to Jia Chen Dorm of the Upper Kun Courtyard, Jiang Ping'an saw that the door had already been repaired. When he entered the front courtyard, Chen Donglai immediately came forward.

"Young Master, the Hall of Law Enforcement has already dealt with Zhao Zhenming and his servant." As Chen Donglai spoke, he respectfully presented a receipt from the Hall of Law Enforcement to Jiang Ping'an.

Jiang Ping'an took the receipt and casually scanned it. Its contents were more or less the same as those on the notice wall.

Chen Donglai continued to report, "Young Master, an Instructor came by just now to notify us: tomorrow morning at the hour of the Snake, everyone is to gather at the Grand Martial Plaza. The academy will make specific arrangements for the Genius Ranking Tournament the day after tomorrow. No one is permitted to be absent."

"Mm, understood." Jiang Ping'an nodded.

Gengshen Dorm of the Upper Kun Courtyard, Zhao Zhenming's residence.

Zhao Jinglian complained to Zhao Zhenming, "Brother, on Taiwu Academy's very first day of opening, you became a 'celebrity' of Taiwu Academy. I nearly became 'famous' along with you."

"I truly failed to think this matter through." Zhao Zhenming said calmly.

Zhao Jinglian continued complaining, "That trash may not have any real skills, but he is extremely sinister and cunning, vile and shameless. He showed his true colors aboard the flying ship. You should have dealt with him seriously instead of sending some useless little servant."

Zhao Zhenming calmly and earnestly accepted Zhao Jinglian's advice. "Little sister is right. I was careless."

After a pause, he said with confident composure, "Though the opening move was unfavorable, it is not a major problem. The Great Barrens is a world where strength is revered above all. As long as we display our strength in the upcoming Genius Ranking Tournament, everyone will soon forget today's little episode."

"Mm!" Zhao Jinglian replied. Her phoenix eyes shone with blazing anticipation as she rubbed her hands together eagerly.

She was very confident in her own strength and could no longer stop herself from imagining how she would shine brilliantly in the Genius Ranking Tournament, becoming a heaven-favored maiden admired by all, with countless princes, young lords, holy sons, and the like falling at her feet.

All of a sudden, an irritating figure appeared in the scene she imagined.

"Ah, this is bad!" she suddenly cried out.

Zhao Zhenming was so startled that he hurriedly asked with concern, "What is it, little sister?"

"The Genius Ranking Tournament the day after tomorrow requires everyone to participate. That trash will definitely take part too. When the time comes, he will surely suffer a crushing defeat. He might even come in last—perhaps dead last." Zhao Jinglian said anxiously. "He'll drag us into disgrace and smear our name. Brother, what should we do?"

As she spoke, she was nearly crying from anxiety.

Even Zhao Zhenming's calm, confident face could not help showing a trace of worry.

After all, Zhao Ping'an was still their elder half-brother by the same father. Once they performed too outstandingly, someone would surely deliberately use Zhao Ping'an to make an issue of it and smear them.

When that happened, even a flawless white jade would bear a slight blemish.

On the flying ship, he had thought up quite a few strategies to prevent Zhao Ping'an from disgracing and smearing their name, but time was now too tight for him to carry them out.

After thinking for a moment, he comforted Zhao Jinglian, "Though he has a Mortal Body, he is not foolish. I heard his comprehension is rather good, so his martial skills should not be poor. He should not end up in last place. If it truly comes to that, I will bribe his opponent. I definitely will not let him come in last."

"This is the only way." Zhao Jinglian was reluctantly somewhat reassured.

At the end, she complained, "Why did we have to be saddled with him? Brother, he bullied me on the flying ship. He deserves to die. Can we not..."

"Let's discuss it later. This is Yujing after all, and many circumstances lie beyond our control." Zhao Zhenming shook his head calmly.

The next morning, all the students gathered at the Grand Martial Plaza in the central area. Li Wenzheng, Taiwu Academy's fourth-ranking figure and Director of Studies, appeared and presided over the assembly.

Li Wenzheng was a half-step Great Power at the seventh level of the Dragon Transformation Realm. Born into the Holy Confucian Sect, he was a stern and imposing middle-aged man with a black beard. He wore a broad blue Confucian robe and a tall black square Confucian cap.

Li Wenzheng did not waste words. After briefly explaining the reason for holding the Genius Ranking Tournament, he announced its rules.

In the early stage of the tournament, lots would be drawn to form five-person teams. The teams would undergo four elimination rounds, with nineteen teams ultimately emerging victorious—a total of ninety-five people.

Among the nineteen teams, the two strongest students in each team would earn eligibility for the primary rankings. The primary rankings would consist of individual matches to determine the final Chief Student, Second Seat Student, Third Seat Student, and so on.

The remaining three students from each of the nineteen teams would compete in the secondary rankings, also through individual matches. The top ten would gain entry into the primary rankings to contend for Chief Student, while the remaining students would be ranked from forty-ninth to ninety-fifth place.

As for those students defeated in the team elimination rounds, their rankings would be determined by their teams' rankings.

During the matches, the use of Spirit Talismans and pills was prohibited, and only ordinary weapons and equipment were allowed.

After Li Wenzheng announced the tournament rules, the students immediately began drawing lots.

Li Wenzheng swept his broad sleeve toward a large basket beside him, and fifteen hundred small balls immediately flew out of it, scattering toward the fifteen hundred students.

The students all made their moves, each snatching a small ball.

A string of numbers was written on the surface of every ball.

"The number on your ball is your team number in the tournament," Li Wenzheng ordered. "Students, go to the Instructors according to your ball numbers to register."

"Begin."

The next moment, the fifteen hundred students turned into a pot of boiling porridge, all rushing to find the Instructor responsible for their registration.

Thirty Instructors sat behind thirty desks, with pens and ink prepared for registration. Each Instructor was responsible for registering ten teams.

Half an hour later, all the students had completed their team registrations. They also took the opportunity to find all their teammates before leaving the martial plaza to get acquainted with one another, discuss tactics, and so on.

Jiang Ping'an's team consisted of four men and one woman.

"My name is Ji Bailing. I come from the imperial palace, and you may call me Princess Bailing." The sole female student was the first to introduce herself directly. Her voice was crisp and pleasant, her tone lilting and melodious, like a lark singing.

Her brows were like distant painted hills, slender and lightly curved, seeming to hold endless liveliness and playfulness. Her almond eyes shone like bright stars, and whenever her gaze shifted, it seemed capable of stealing one's very soul. Her delicate nose stood straight, while her cherry lips were naturally crimson without any touch of rouge.

She wore a flowing white palace dress, its fluttering skirts embroidered with exquisite flowers and birds in golden thread. A golden silk sash cinched her waist, making her graceful figure all the more alluring. Splendid gold ornaments and Essence Stones adorned her hair, while her dangling hairpins swayed gently, producing clear, tinkling sounds with her movements and further accentuating her beauty that could topple kingdoms and cities, her lively and captivating charm.