Chapter 199
However, the possibility of this is extremely low!
Thinking of this, Yuan Ying Wang's expression grew even more unpleasant.
For this introductory trial, Sword Tomb spared no expense to ensure that their highly anticipated successor could win the championship.
Not only did they offer a Heaven-grade magic sword, a Heaven-grade sword technique, and a Heaven-grade pill as a reward for the champion, they also treated him, the supervising elder, fairly.
He has been fighting against evil spirits for many years. Even with the elixirs provided by the Holy Academy, he was still bound to get his shoes wet. His body had been infiltrated by evil energy, and in recent years he felt that his cultivation was becoming increasingly difficult.
This time, the Sword Tomb gifted him some pills to dispel evil energy, which would not only eliminate the evil energy in his body but also help him improve his cultivation to a higher level.
This kind of thing has long been an unspoken rule of the introductory trials. The Sacred Lands, Aristocratic Families, and Imperial Dynasties take turns hosting the rewards for the winners of the trials.
The winner of this prize is naturally the one who contributes the most blood and sweat.
But this trial has suddenly seen so many dark horses emerge.
Yuan Ying Wang knew in his heart that if Xiao Minghuang participated in the trial, Jian Chen from her.
Now that Xiao Minghuang is gone, there's still Ye Ruoshui and Lin Wanqiu.
"Sigh, how did these three suddenly appear? Just who are they?!"
Yuan Ying Wang was filled with remorse.
He had been entrusted with a task, and if he couldn't help Jian Chen win the championship, the rewards from Sword Tomb would fall into the hands of outsiders. Sword Tomb wouldn't accept this loss in silence, and he would have to bear the consequences.
Three Heavenly Treasures—even a King Realm Great Cultivator like him couldn't produce such precious items!
Seeing Yuan Ying Wang's ever-changing expression, the Seventeen Water Spirit King frowned and reminded him, "Fellow Daoist Yuan, I advise you not to get too involved with outsiders; it's not good for you."
Upon hearing this, Yuan Ying Wang turned his head and saw the Seventeen Water Spirit King's "I'm doing this for your own good" expression. He said with dissatisfaction, "How I act is none of your business... Besides, I am an outsider!"
The Seventeen Water Spirit King's expression changed drastically, his face turning ashen.
"Since you have made up your mind, I will not try to persuade you further. I only hope that you will remember the rules of the Holy Academy and not make a mistake for yourself!"
"Snort!"
Seeing Yuan Ying Wang's arrogant attitude, the Seventeen Water Spirit King sighed inwardly.
The Holy Academy was in charge of all affairs within the Eastern Pole. Originally, it only needed to coordinate the relationships between the Sacred Lands, Aristocratic Families, and Imperial Dynasties, and did not require many people.
However, as time went on, the dominance of the major powers in the Eastern Pole became increasingly unsightly. If left unchecked, the foundation of the Eastern Pole, the Rogue Cultivator who held an absolute numerical advantage, would inevitably be eroded by them.
It was from that time that the Holy Academy began to openly recruit monks for entry and training.
But now that this avenue has been opened, the interests of these sacred land families must be taken into account.
Thus, a system created to solve a problem becomes an even greater burden.
As the number of disciples the Holy Academy needed to train gradually increased, it required more elders, so it had to hire them from outside.
To become an elder or guest elder in the Holy Academy, one must at least possess the Rogue Cultivator, and because they are Rogue Cultivator growing, they generally prioritize personal gain and lack a broader perspective.
Over the years, the Holy Academy has hired more and more Rogue Cultivator elders, but the quality of teaching has not only failed to improve, but has actually declined.
The externally Rogue Cultivator elders mainly oversaw the teaching of the outer academy, but over the past thousand years, the proportion of outer academy disciples who advanced to the inner academy has gradually decreased.
Anyone with eyes can see that this is entirely due to the lack of teaching experience of the Rogue Cultivator elders.
After these Rogue Cultivator elders entered the Holy Academy, they focused solely on using their status as Holy Academy elders to collude with the noble families of the Holy Land outside and profit from it. The outer courtyard almost became the private domain of the noble families of the Holy Land.
The Seventeen Water Spirit King witnessed this situation and felt deeply pained.
Even under these circumstances, the Holy Academy did not hire any experienced Great Cultivator from the holy land families.
If we actually did that, it would truly be like inviting a wolf into the house.
Including him, most of the elders of the Holy Academy longed for a reform to drive out these Rogue Cultivators and then rebuild the system belonging to the Holy Academy.
The two had gone this far, reaching a point where they could no longer stand each other.
At this moment, the communication talisman in Yuan Ying Wang's sleeve suddenly reacted. With a thought, an unfamiliar voice rang in his mind.
"What's going on with this trial? Why are there so many dark horses? Why didn't Ye Ruoshui receive the Hidden Dragon's Den Token?"
The owner of this voice was a high-ranking figure in the Myriad Saints Tower, and also his contact.
The Myriad Saints Tower is an invisible force jointly established by the Sacred Lands, Aristocratic Families, and Imperial Dynasties, specializing in handling the dirty work that they cannot handle openly.
"I apologize for my slow reaction. Rest assured, Young Master Jian Chen possesses exceptional talent and will surely win the championship."
"Don't try to fool me. The Myriad Saints Tower also has informants in the Trial Grounds. Do you think I don't know anything? A Spirit Seed Realm with Innate Fire —the Holy Academy has truly struck gold this time!"
"Furthermore, you must return the one hundred Seven-patterned Evil-Slaying Pill I already gave you! The loss of the three Heavenly Treasures from the Sword Tomb will also be counted against you. Don't try to renege on your promise. I only need to say a few words, and countless people will accuse you of violating the rules of the Holy Academy and colluding with the Holy Land. Don't even think about running away. As long as you are still in the Eastern Pole, you will not escape the grasp of the Myriad Saints Tower!"
"Hehe... Think carefully about how to do it yourself. The position of guest elder of the Myriad Saints Tower has always been reserved for you..."
The call ended abruptly.
Hearing the busy tone coming from the communication talisman, Yuan Ying Wang's face turned extremely gloomy.
"Damn Ye Ruoshui!"
What was originally just a routine introductory training exercise has now turned into a huge problem!
All of this is to blame on Ye Ruoshui!
"Since that's the case, don't blame me for using any means necessary!"
A murderous glint flashed in Yuan Ying Wang's eyes.
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Yuan Ying Wang wouldn't be foolish enough to take action himself, but he had fought against demons for many years. Although he had never cultivated Outer Dao, he possessed quite a few demonic secret techniques. Killing a Spirit Seed Realm cultivator silently wouldn't be too difficult for him.
Moreover, he didn't need to be truly silent; as long as he could prevent Ye Ruoshui from going all out in her fight against Jian Chen, he would consider it a success.
Even if the Holy Academy had discovered him, he would have already fled and taken refuge in the Myriad Saints Tower, where the Holy Academy would have been powerless to stop him.
And the title of champion in the trial competition is now irrevocable, so that's considered fulfilling the obligation and successfully passing the test.
The only loss was the position of Elder of the Holy Academy.
"Oh well, I guess I'll just have to accept my bad luck!"
Yuan Ying Wang sighed softly, then secretly threw out a talisman, avoiding the Seventeen Water Spirit King's perception.
This is one of the Six Paths of Demonic Ways, the Soul-Scattering Talisman of the Red Dust Path. Its power is not particularly strong, but it can greatly weaken the Primordial Spirit of the person cursed for a short period of time.
The path of cultivation is nothing more than the three elements: essence, energy, and spirit.
If any one of the three is weaker, Ye Ruoshui will not be able to unleash her full combat power, which would allow Jian Chen to win.
He did possess more powerful talismans, but if he made them too obvious, he might easily be discovered.
Although he was mentally prepared for the leak, he still didn't want to leave if he could stay at the Holy Temple.
After all, the status of the Holy Academy Elder was too precious, bringing him countless benefits in an endless stream.
Without his status as an elder of the Holy Academy, what good would it do him to be a king?
Before behemoths like the Holy Land Families, they were nothing more than pawns.
"The final must begin as soon as possible, lest something unexpected happen!"
Yuan Ying Wang's gaze was cold.
He has a higher cultivation level and greater strength. Moreover, as the chief supervisor appointed by the Holy Academy, he can make decisions on details on his own. The Seventeen Water Spirit King can only offer suggestions, not objections.
Seeing that Yuan Ying Wang had suddenly decided to start the finals ahead of schedule, the Seventeen Water Spirit King thought to himself, "Alas! This trial is really not going well. I should report this to the Chief, lest something unexpected happens."
Thinking of this, he turned to Yuan Ying Wang, cupped his hands in greeting, and said, "Fellow Daoist Yuan, I have some urgent business to attend to and must leave for a moment. Please keep an eye on things here."
Upon hearing this, Yuan Ying Wang knew that the Seventeen Water Spirit King must be trying to get reinforcements. If he really did manage to bring back the Chief, his tricks would surely be discovered beforehand.
"This isn't good. The finals are about to begin, and the outcome will probably be decided soon. What's the matter, fellow Daoist? Why are you in such a hurry?"
The Seventeen Water Spirit King was rebuffed and became increasingly anxious, but since Yuan Ying Wang wouldn't let him leave, he couldn't force his way out. He could only be extra careful to avoid any accidents.
New text appeared on the Sky Patrol Mirror.
Finals: Ye Ruoshui vs. Jian Chen.
As is customary, the finals will be held seven days after the semifinals to allow the finalists ample rest.
But this time, the semi-finals had just ended, and the qualifiers didn't even have an hour to rest before the announcement of the finals was already out.
Just a moment later.
The two participants were then teleported to the arena.
What's going on?
"Isn't the final seven days away?"
"Why is it different from last time?"
Ye Ruoshui, who was suddenly teleported here, was also bewildered. She had just been notified that the finals would not be held for seven days, and the next moment she was teleported here.
Most importantly, Lin Wanqiu has not yet injected the Taiyin Power into her body!
Ye Ruoshui clenched her fists, trying to calm her slightly flustered emotions.
"You can do it, believe in yourself!"
On the other side, Jian Chen's expression remained calm and composed, seemingly unsurprised by the situation.
Before he participated in the trial, the elders of the Sword Tomb had already told him that he would definitely win the championship this time, no matter what happened!
Therefore, even though he saw that Xiao Minghuang was ranked first in the Trial Tower, he was not worried at all that he would miss the championship.
As expected, Xiao Minghuang did not participate in the trial at all and went straight into the inner courtyard.
Now, two dark horses have emerged: Ye Ruoshui and Lin Wanqiu.
Even if they hadn't fallen for the trap, and hadn't turned on each other, so what?
His elders will surely make thorough preparations for him, ensuring his victory.
No, nothing unexpected will happen!
Jian Chen silently recited in his heart.
Ye Ruoshui also looked at the gray-robed youth opposite her, a strange sense of crisis rising in her heart, as if something ominous was about to happen.
"The champion of the trial can only be me!"
Jian Chen's gaze was icy, and his aura suddenly erupted, sharp and fierce like a blade.
"Don't speak too definitively; the outcome is still uncertain!"
Ye Ruoshui composed herself, a blazing flame igniting in her pupils.
The dark gray longsword was drawn from its sheath and held in Jian Chen's hand. An aura of destruction arose spontaneously, filling all directions, and the tip of the sword was pointed directly at Ye Ruoshui.
"Enough talk, let's see who's the real deal!"
As soon as he finished speaking, an immense and unparalleled Sword Qi aura soared into the sky. Jian Chen's body grew taller, as if he had transformed into a peerless sword drawn from its sheath, exuding an aura of dominance over all living beings!
Ye Ruoshui instantly composed herself, her spiritual energy surging around her. A ball of flame swirled around her body, forming a fiery feather robe that protected her entire body. Her body, which had also grown taller, resembled a blazing sun, radiating a dazzling light.
One red, one gray; one fiery, the other desolate. The moment the two figures collided was like two skies colliding!
Rumble!
A deafening roar echoed in all directions, causing the entire arena to tremble as if an earthquake had struck, sending out visible ripples that spread outwards.
Ye Ruoshui and Jian Chen were both sent flying backward, their feet crushing the floorboards and leaving a deep mark.
"The two are evenly matched!"
"Ye Ruoshui is hiding her true feelings very well!"
"The sword in Jian Chen's hand is extraordinary... it seems to be a Heaven-rank magic weapon!"
Below the stage, a group of people stared intently at the two, whispering amongst themselves.
On the ring.
"Your strength is greater than Qi Mingdao's."
"That's what Jian Chen said."