Chapter 415: Certain to Lose?!
behind, Zhao Yanzǐ couldn't help but call out.Hao Ren feigned innocence and looked down at her from a few steps above, "What's wrong Can’t walk anymore""I... I just want some water!" Zhao Yanzǐ blush...Chapter 415: Certain Defeat!
The crowd around the autumn equinox arena was still in shock.
Hao Ren lightly tapped his left foot and returned to the center of the arena.
320 streaks of sword light whizzed back into Hao Ren’s body.
Lu Qi, who was unconscious, was disheveled while Hao Ren remained unscathed.
"Oh..."
The crowd erupted in amazement.
This duel lasted half an hour as the sword light and chess pieces battled continuously. However, the conclusion came in a flash of lightning.
Lu Qi used a magic treasure to control all the chess pieces. In contrast, Hao Ren didn’t use any magic treasures; he controlled all the sword lights with his mind, using 160 streaks of sword light to counter 360 chess pieces. The superiority was obvious.
The referee overseeing the autumn equinox arena was slightly stunned as well.
After a moment’s hesitation, he finally raised the “Jinyin” sign high.
In the eastern exam zone of the Dragon God Hall, there were 24 arenas. Altogether, in all four directions, there were 96 arenas. Hao Ren defeating Lu Qi meant advancing to the top 48; even if he lost later on, he would still be among the top 50 and retain his assistant referee qualifications until next year’s Dragon God Hall exam.
As for the other two assistant referee spots outside of the top 48, they would be decided by the chief examiners from each direction after the martial trials concluded.
"Oh right, Uncle Three!"
Zhao Yanzi suddenly realized and hurriedly pushed through the crowd to run towards the summer solstice arena.
Hao Ren also thought of Zhao Kuo’s situation. He flew out from the arena and landed on a cultivator's shoulder before leaping forward.
Just as Zhao Yanzi was desperately trying to clear a path through the crowd, she felt herself being lifted up in panic. She then realized that Hao Ren had picked her up.
"Don’t move!" Hao Ren looked down at the Zhao Yanzi in his arms, holding her waist in the classic "princess carry" pose. He released gray-white sword qi from his feet and flew toward the summer solstice arena.
Urging herself to calm down, Zhao Yanzi nestled against Hao Ren’s arm while looking at his chiseled face. She could feel the warmth of Hao Ren's body under her waist and smelled the heat radiating off him after his battle. Her heart began pounding wildly.
Bang!
The descending Hao Ren landed in a clearing around the summer solstice arena.
The cultivators surrounding Hao Ren all looked at him sideways, but they didn’t say anything when they saw the silver dragon emblem representing an assistant referee on his brown robe.
Even if these cultivators were elders in their own dragon palaces, they wouldn't dare offend an assistant referee here in the Dragon God Hall’s territory.
Hao Ren didn’t care about the opinions of those around him and gently set Zhao Yanzi on the ground.
Zhao Yanzi's face was flushed red, and she was so embarrassed that she could hardly lift her eyes.
But when she suddenly remembered that her uncle Zhao Kuo was in the middle of a duel, she quickly looked up to watch the situation on the arena.
In the Lixia Arena, Zhao Kuo, who was panting heavily and covered in blood, stood there.
"Uncle..." Zhao Yanzi, who had just been lost in girlish thoughts, screamed when she saw Zhao Kuo's condition.
The earth-element cultivator of the Kun rank was standing at the center of the arena. Several tears appeared on his brown robe but no injuries were exposed. Around him, two flaming balls were rolling back and forth.
Zhao Kuo held a defensive stance with his right hand slightly trembling while his left hung by his side, seemingly broken.
Boom... The heroic figure suddenly fell to the ground.
Zhao Yanzi was about to rush over but then she saw that it wasn't Zhao Kuo who had fallen; instead, it was the Kun rank cultivator!
"Hmph!"
Zhao Kuo disdainfully snorted and stood firm at the edge of the arena. He took out the medicinal pills given to him by Hao Ren from his chest pocket and swallowed three white Qi-Replenishment Pills.
Although it was just a moment, many sharp-eyed cultivators noticed that Zhao Kuo had taken Fourth-Rank medicinal pills!
In one breath, he swallowed three Fourth-Rank Pills!!!
And it seemed like he still had an entire bottle left!
This extravagant gesture made even the second-level referees on the arena's edge envious. These Fourth-Rank medicinal pills were rarely seen even in the Dragon God Temple!
Zhao Kuo, whose dark face gradually regained some color after swallowing three Qi-Replenishment Pills, kicked the Kun rank cultivator out of the arena and fiercely glared at all the spectators before jumping off the platform.
When Zhao Kuo's gaze swept over them, every single cultivator felt a chill run down their spines.
Zhao Kuo returned to his seat without greeting Zhao Guang or others. He found an empty spot and started cultivating to heal himself, gradually absorbing the effects of the medicinal pills.
"Uncle..." Zhao Yanzi wanted to go over but Hao Ren held her back.
"Let Uncle rest properly," said Hao Ren.
Clearly, Hao Ren and Zhao Yanzi had missed the most exciting moment; they arrived at Lixia Arena just as Zhao Kuo finished his final showdown with the Kun rank cultivator.
Zhao Kuo's victory over a Kun rank cultivator in his Exchange Rank was something that Hao Ren found hard to imagine how it happened.
With her arm held by Hao Ren, Zhao Yanzi's heart pounded wildly. She softly said "oh" and pulled Hao Ren toward Zhao Hongyu and Zhao Guang.
"Did Ah Ren also win" asked Zhao Hongyu with a slight smile as she looked at Hao Ren.
"Yes!" Hao Ren nodded decisively.
At the other two arenas, there were still two pairs of cultivators continuing their competition. Since Wang Xi wasn't among them, it was clear that she had already finished her match.
Xie Yujia led Lu Linlin, Lu Lili, and Zhen Cunming through the crowd to join Zhao Hongyu.
"Let's take a quick rest," Xie Yujia urged Hao Ren when she saw that he was still standing beside Zhao Hongyu.
Those who finished their matches early would naturally get more rest time, which was very precious for the even more intense battles ahead.
"Sir, we will help you unblock your meridians," Lu Linlin and Lu Lili stepped up to Hao Ren without hesitation and grabbed his arms.
As soon as their spiritual energy entered Hao Ren's palms, they encountered a strong resistance, causing all four of them to abruptly pull back.
"Sir has a barrier set up inside him that seals off spiritual energy!" Lu Linlin and Lu Lili exchanged looks in surprise before staring at Hao Ren.
"Hehe…" Hao Ren laughed ambiguously, took out a porcelain bottle from his Jiezi Space, swallowed a Qi-replenishing Pill, then found a shady spot to sit cross-legged for cultivation.
Lu Linlin and Lu Lili were about to follow him when Zhao Hongyu stretched her arm out to hold them back.
"This is Hao Ren's chance to improve; let him work hard on his own," Zhao Hongyu said softly, using a gentle gaze to comfort Lu Linlin and Lu Lili.
… Ding … Ding … Ding …
The dragon god temple bell sounded.
It was time for the next round!
The identity badges on Hao Ren's and Zhao Kuo's waists lit up with yellow light.
Yellow lights also rose from other ten directions.
Silver-robed Qin Shaoyang, adorned with four-clawed golden dragons, walked out of the dragon god temple with six fourth-level examiners to take their seats in the examiner's stands.
The main examiner, Qin Shaoyang, sat at a nanmu armchair in the center while the other six assistant examiners sat on either side.
When Qin Shaoyang raised his right hand, twelve identity badges from the eastern examination area instantly flew into his palm and quickly dimmed.
This meant that another dozen cultivators had been eliminated after the last round of competition and were no longer eligible to continue in the martial trials.
With just a wave of his hand, Qin Shaoyang's authority was evident.
The twelve cultivators, including Hao Ren, gathered once again at the large arena.
After Zhao Kuo eliminated one Kun-grade cultivator, there were now still one Geng-grade (Hao Ren), four Dui-grade, six Xun-grade, and one Kun-grade among the remaining twelve.
All twelve were male cultivators. Among them, of the original four assistant examiners, a Dui-grade had been defeated by an Xun-grade, leaving only two Xun-grade assistants and Hao Ren as the sole Geng-grade assistant examiner.
That meant that the Dui-grade assistant examiner who lost in the match was unable to pass the dragon god temple examination and thus forfeited his position as an assistant examiner.
Hao Ren narrowly won his way through and advanced to the top 48, securing his position as an assistant examiner. However, his goal wasn’t just this; he at least wanted to enter the top ten to become a formal examiner and kick Qin Shaoyang out of Donghai City!
The subsequent martial trials were all held in large arena venues, and selecting the formal examiners was considered one of the most significant parts of the Dragon God Temple examination. It warranted Qin Shaoyang's personal supervision as the chief examiner.
"The first match…" Qin Shaoyang looked at the twelve cultivators on the battlefield, his gaze sweeping across each face in turn. When he reached Hao Ren, he paused for half a second before announcing loudly, "Renmao versus Rinyi!"
Wang Xi, wearing the "Renmao" identity badge, stepped forward.
Hao Ren, who was called out by Qin Shaoyang, did not want to but could only step forward half a pace.
Wang Xi had already broken through to the middle level of Xun rank, making her the strongest among the six Xun-rank cultivators. The significance of Qin Shaoyang's arrangement was clear.
"The second match, Bingmao versus Gengyi... Third match, Dingshao versus Yiyi..." Qin Shaoyang continued to arrange the matches in sequence.
Each cultivator called out by Qin Shaoyang stepped forward half a pace.
"The sixth match…" Before Qin Shaoyang announced it, everyone could see where this was heading.
Among the twelve cultivators remaining on the battlefield, only Zhao Kuo and another Kun-rank cultivator had yet to step forward.
Qin Shaoyang deliberately wanted Zhao Kuo to fight two Kun-rank cultivators consecutively! The reason he didn’t pair Hao Ren against Zhao Kuo was that he did not want either of them to advance!
"Damn…" Zhao Yanzi, looking up at Qin Shaoyang from below the arena, gritted her teeth.
Just now, Uncle Zhaoguang nearly lost half his life battling a Kun-rank cultivator. Qin Shaoyang was using his authority as chief examiner to deliberately make this happen!
And he placed it at the very end as the climax of the event!
Hearing this arrangement, Zhao Guang clenched his fists tightly, and his eyes burned with fury. Qin Shaoyang knew Zhao Kuo’s identity; such actions were a direct provocation to Donghai Dragon Palace!
"Persuade Zhao Kuo to withdraw," Zhao Hongyu sighed slightly.
"Begin!"
Qin Shaoyang waved his hand and sat back in his chair.
The ten cultivators shot out of the arena at lightning speed.
Hao Ren, wearing a brown robe, stood alongside Wang Xi on the large battle arena that was 300 meters wide and long, looking like two tiny chess pieces.
Hao Ren looked around.
The cultivators were densely packed together.
But Su Han, who could unlock the Five Great Mountains Bracelet for Hao Ren, still hadn’t appeared.
"Let’s begin!"
Wang Xi raised her right hand and made a gesture to start.ussed this among themselves.Xie Yujia thought for a moment and then looked at the few female students in class. "What do you girls think""I have something on that weekend, so I won't be going," said W...