At the exit of the Drill Grounds, Gu He called out to Mu Xuanzhou.
"Senior Brother Mu, your disciple will show his true colors tomorrow, won't he?" Gu He said with veiled mockery.
Mu Xuanzhou looked at him expressionlessly.
"Didn't your disciple pass this round because he carried some treasure? I saw that Fairy Su knew him. Perhaps she tipped you off, and you came prepared," Gu He said in a low voice.
"Gu He, aren't you afraid that slandering Fairy Su like this will anger the foremost Daoist sect under heaven?" Mu Xuanzhou said coldly.
"Haha, Senior Brother Mu, I was only joking. Surely you wouldn't take it seriously," Gu He said with a hollow laugh.
"Tomorrow's matches will be fought with real blades and spears. We'll see just how capable he is then."
Early the next morning, before the hour of the dragon had arrived, over a thousand people had gathered on the main Drill Grounds.
The candidates, their accompanying sect and family elders, and their fellow disciples had all assembled.
Everyone noticed that ten fighting platforms had been erected on the Drill Grounds overnight. They stood well apart from one another.
By then, Chief Examiner Yu Zhiyong, Deputy Examiner Hou Sen, Su Qingwan, and the other officials had all arrived on the raised stand to one side.
"Everyone, after combining the scores from mounted archery and pressure resistance last night, we have determined the top two hundred," Yu Zhiyong said.
"First place, Zhao Feng of the Ever-Peace Nine Yang Gate!" At his announcement, everyone turned toward the Nine Yang Gate's group. Though they had expected it, seeing an obscure disciple take first place in the Preliminary Trial still came as a shock.
"Second place, Qin Guanyue of the Clearglow Sect!"
"Third place, Xie Yungui of Carefree Valley."