"It's getting late. The competition ends here. The final will be held tomorrow!"
The Minister of Rites announced.
The people who crowded the entire long street like a tide couldn't help but let out a "hush" sound.
The Minister of Rites put aside his serious expression and returned to his playful old man's appearance. He said with a smile, "Don't think I am deliberately teasing you. The rules of the competition have been set long before it even starts. The final will indeed be held tomorrow because tomorrow is an auspicious day. The winner will directly marry Her Royal Highness the Princess."
People had no choice but to disperse.
Xu Lian secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
He originally thought that the elimination rounds would proceed slowly day by day, but he did not expect to reach the semi-finals in one go. According to his original plan, he needed to play and advance at the same time to ensure victory.
With his current Grandmaster level 4 cultivation, he has no chance of winning against this unfathomable mysterious genius. He urgently needs time to further improve his level.
This night of rest is crucial for him.
He must obtain advancement points tonight and be promoted to Grandmaster Five, so that he can be sure of winning against this mysterious genius tomorrow.
Fortunately, he specially asked Huo Xin'er to come and watch the knockout round this morning. With the Grandmaster IV strength and heroic performance he displayed in the ring, Huo Xin'er's admiration for him must have reached a new height at this time. It is a good time to cultivate a large degree of favorability.
"Are you tired after watching a whole day of games?"
Xu Lian walked towards Huo Xin'er with a smile and took her hand.
Huo Xin'er looked at him with ardent admiration in her eyes, "Not tired, I didn't expect that the master has already reached the fourth level of Grandmaster. He has been hiding his cultivation level before."
Xu Lian was also very excited. He liked the way she admired him, so he immediately pulled her back to the inn.
This wasn't just a night of silence... it was a night of a lot of conversation.
The next day.
When Xu Lian saw the favorability prompt, he was struck by huge surprise.
Name: Xu Lian
Rank: Grandmaster Fourth Level
Skills: Holy Spirit Atlas (complete edition of Immortal Techniques), Wind-Breaking Sword Technique (volumes 123), Seven Styles of Xian Gang (complete edition), Short Fight - Chasing Shadow...
Props: Sword of Destruction (not worn)
Note: Huo Xin'er's favorability towards you has increased from 85/100 to 92/100. You have gained three advancement points. You can choose one of the following: Rank, Skill, or Item to increase the points.
Three advancement points!
Obtaining three advancement points in one night is an unprecedented phenomenon. Previously, the maximum number of advancement points obtained at one time was two.
It can be seen to what extent Huo Xin'er admires him now.
"Rank, give me some points!"
Xu Lian muttered silently.
After the rank points are added, add 16 spirit enhancement pills to advance to the fifth level of Grandmaster
He glanced at Huo Xin'er who was still sleeping beside the pillow, took out the Sixteenth Lesson Spirit Enhancement Pill and held it in his hand. These were the ingredients that had been prepared long ago, and he said silently in his heart: Add ingredients.
The raw materials were added successfully, and the master advanced to the fifth level.
As the sixteen spirit-enhancing pills turned to ashes, his rank was raised.
Keep adding more.
Continue adding ingredients.
Advance to the sixth level of Grandmaster!
Add some more.
Add more ingredients.
Advance to the seventh level of Grandmaster!
"No matter how good that mysterious genius is, he will be defeated by a hacker like me..."
Xu Lian closed his eyes and deeply felt the powerful feeling at this moment.
Get up and wash up.
After having breakfast with Huo Xin'er, Jiang Yunyan and Miao Yueyue, he took Huo Xin'er to the finals and asked Huo Xin'er to continue watching his game. He felt that 92/100 favorability was not Huo Xin'er's limit. He wanted Huo Xin'er to admire him even more and become his loyal believer. In this way, Huo Xin'er's favorability would definitely increase further and reach a new height.
The finals arena was set up on the 3764th floor, which was the floor closest to the imperial palace. It was the highest floor that most people in the imperial capital could reach, because the palace was not accessible to ordinary people.
Just like yesterday, the whole street was packed with people, and the crowds looked like a black river.
It was also different from yesterday. This time, not only the noble ladies and young ladies but also a few idle princes and nobles came to watch the game. The emperor, wearing a five-clawed golden dragon robe, royal relatives, and all the civil and military officials in the court were present, and there were also guests from many forces who came to watch the ceremony.
Perhaps because the emperor was present, the whole place was silent and no one dared to make a loud noise.
Xu Lian looked at the women around the emperor, but unfortunately, he didn't see Li Xiya and Yang Chaner. He felt a little disappointed and a little worried. He wondered how Sister Xiya and Chaner were doing now.
Suddenly, a man beside the emperor caught his attention. This man had a white face and no beard, a gloomy expression, and a tall and thin figure. He was the man who sneaked into his house in Green Bamboo Town.
It turned out to be a eunuch... Xu Lian identified his position from the eunuch's official uniform he was wearing. It seemed that he was the chief eunuch of the emperor.
The eunuch chief obviously recognized Xu Lian, his face changed, and then he leaned over and whispered something in the emperor's ear. Xu Lian knew without thinking that this person must be up to no good...
Sure enough, the emperor looked a little embarrassed, his brows were furrowed, and his eyes were staring at Xu Lian like sharp swords.
Xu Lian felt a tingling sensation all over his body, as if his flesh and blood were torn apart. This frightened him. With his cultivation level of a seventh-level Grandmaster, he was in danger of being torn apart if someone looked at him. What level of cultivation was this? It was beyond his comprehension.
Fortunately, the emperor slowly withdrew his gaze from him and did not kill him.
Xu Lian finally breathed a sigh of relief. It was really uncomfortable to have his life in the hands of others at any time.
The emperor said something to the chief eunuch.
The chief eunuch immediately stepped forward and said in a high and rhythmic voice, "Announce Xu Lian to come forward and see the emperor."
Everyone was a little confused, making sure they had heard correctly that only Xu Lian was announced to come for an audience, rather than the two people participating in the finals. This seemed a little unusual.
However, the emperor's mind is unpredictable, and no one dares to question his actions.
Xu Lian really didn't want to get close to this emperor with unfathomable cultivation, but he couldn't disobey the emperor's order, so he had to bite the bullet and walk up to the platform step by step, passing by the noble ladies, nobles, and civil and military officials, and went straight to the steps in front of the emperor's dragon throne.
"I, Xu Lian, pay my respects to His Majesty the Emperor."
Xu Lian bent over and kowtowed. In the dynasties of that time, there was no etiquette of kneeling, so this was already the highest etiquette.
"Boom!"...
Thunder roared in a clear sky.
Xu Lian suddenly felt a blur in front of his eyes and the world was spinning.
The platform is gone.
The street is gone.
The entire imperial capital disappeared, and appeared in a house on Xin Street in Luzhu Town!
Oh my god... Xu Lian knew that this was a profound secret method. He was no longer a nobody now and had mastered the Holy Spirit Atlas. There was also a similar secret method in the Holy Spirit Atlas, but his cultivation was not high enough and he could not use it.
at this time.
The Green Bamboo Town house was quiet. There were only the emperor and him. Everyone else had disappeared.
"Grandmaster Seven, who is seventeen years old, is truly gifted. If nothing unexpected happens in the future, he will surely become a top-notch figure, and will be worthy of my daughter Xiya."
There was no emotion in the emperor's voice.
Xu Lian was afraid to be careless, fearing that he might lose his life if he said something wrong, so he bowed again and said, "Thank you for your praise, Your Majesty. I, Xu Lian, have been childhood sweethearts with Sister Xiya, and we have a deep affection for each other. I really can't let her go, so I went through so much trouble to come to the imperial capital to participate in the selection of a consort, hoping to continue our relationship. I beg Your Majesty to grant my wish."
The emperor asked, "Who told you that this is to select a consort for Xiya
Xiya is just an illegitimate daughter born to me accidentally when I favored a woman while I was away. Even if she perfectly inherited the royal bloodline, it cannot change the fact that she is an illegitimate daughter. How could a princess born out of wedlock have such a high standard in selecting a consort
You don't even want to think about it. The consort selected with such high standards must be my legitimate daughter, that is, the legitimate princess born to the queen."
"..." Xu Lian's mind went blank and his head felt buzzing.
You Chao selected a consort for the legitimate daughter born to the empress? Not Xiya
However, the White Fox Guardian clearly told him that he was selecting a son-in-law for Xiya. Given his powerful identity, how could he make a mistake
There are three possibilities.
First, the possibility that the White Fox Garrison Commander was careless and really made a mistake is extremely small. It is impossible for the White Fox Garrison Commander to not be able to distinguish the standards for selecting a consort for the legitimate princess and the concubine's princess, right
Secondly, the White Fox Guard knew that the Princess was selecting a consort, so he deliberately lied to her that it was Xiya, and asked her to participate in the selection, competing with other geniuses, so as to hone his...
That is very likely.
After all, the White Fox Guardian has a criminal record.
Before, he needed the raw materials for the Night-Blooming Flower. The White Fox Guardian clearly had the Night-Blooming Flower but refused to give it to him, and asked him to go to Yuanfu County to train on his own.
Thinking of this, Xu Lian's mouth twitched. The White Fox Guardian was sometimes quite sinister... This really screwed him over badly. If he angered the emperor, he would have more than a hundred heads to chop off.
There is a third possibility: the emperor is lying.
You don’t want him to be with Xiya, and you want to persuade him to leave
Or maybe, that mysterious genius has a powerful background, and the You Dynasty is interested in forming a marriage alliance with him, and doesn't want him, who has no background, to become a consort
However, as an emperor, there is no need to go through so much trouble. He can just find a reason to get rid of him. There is no need to go to such great lengths to lie to him.
Therefore, it is unlikely that the emperor lied.
"Your Majesty the Emperor wants me to withdraw from the finals?"
Xu Lian was in a dilemma.
Although it was unlikely that the emperor was lying, it could not be ruled out completely. What if he really wanted to select a consort for Xiya? If he withdrew from the finals, it would be equivalent to giving Xiya to someone else. How could he be willing to accept that
But if he insisted on not withdrawing from the finals and took Sister Xiya and the Crown Princess together... and angered the Emperor, he would probably lose his life.
What should I do
The emperor said calmly, "I didn't ask you to withdraw from the finals. You stood out among so many talented people and made it to the finals. This is your own ability. If you are capable of winning the championship, there is no harm in betrothing both the Princess and Xiya to you."
I just don't have to withdraw from the finals... Xu Lian now has a deep understanding of the world. People don't care how many princesses he marries. The only thing they care about is whether he has the ability to do so. His worries are completely unnecessary.
Xu Lian was curious, "What is the origin of the other genius who made it to the finals? Why is he so mysterious?"
The emperor said, "The finals are about to begin. If you have the ability to force him to reveal his true identity, you will naturally know. If you are easily defeated by him like the other geniuses, you will know when he marries the legitimate princess."
After saying that.
"Boom!"...
With a thunder, the scene of the Xinjie house in Luzhu Town disappeared.
Xu Lian found that he was still standing on the high platform, on the steps in front of the dragon throne. Everyone else was unaware and had no idea what was happening. This made him secretly shocked. The emperor had such a powerful cultivation level. It was easy to understand that to be able to stand out among so many princes and ascend the dragon throne of the You Dynasty, his cultivation level must be extraordinary.
The emperor said, "I have said everything I need to say. Please leave."
Everyone looked at him strangely, not knowing what the emperor had said to Xu Lian.
Xu Lian responded "yes", bent over, bowed, slowly stepped back, then turned around and left, walking down the platform.
Came to the waiting area for the finals.
The mysterious genius had also arrived a long time ago, shrouded in mist, and still no one knew where he came from.
However, the emperor and high-ranking officials of the You Dynasty were definitely able to see through the fog, but they just didn't make it public.
"Read out the rules for the finals."
The Minister of Rites was still responsible for presiding over and judging the meeting.
“The rules for the finals are different from the knockout rounds.
The elimination round tests the individual strength of the contestants.
The final will test the comprehensive strength of the contestants.
Therefore, there are no restrictions in the finals.
You can use any items such as weapons, magic tools, forbidden techniques, etc. that are beyond your own cultivation level.
You can also ask for help to play in the finals.
In short, no matter how you win the game, you can become a royal consort."
Holy shit... Xu Lian's heart sank. This so-called comprehensive strength was actually based on family background. How could he compete if they invited a great man to come out
Although he has a powerful protector from the Huo family sent to him by Jian Ge, the protector will not help him in the competition unless his life is threatened.
The people who had been silent along the entire long street couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"What do you mean by comprehensive strength? Isn't it just a competition of family background? Among the two finalists, whoever has the stronger power behind him will become the prince consort."
"This mysterious genius started out in the elimination rounds without having to participate in the preliminaries and preliminary rounds. It's obvious that he has a powerful background. This is too fair to Xu Lian. He's just a genius who rose from the bottom. What kind of background can he have?"
"Alas, we hoped that Xu Lian would become the prince consort, but it seems that we were too naive. The royal family had no intention of marrying the princess to a genius among the common people."...
The Minister of Rites turned serious again. He ignored all the gossip and announced in a methodical manner, "The finals are about to begin. Please invite the two geniuses to the stage."
The mysterious genius, shrouded in mist, strode onto the ring.
Xu Lian considered whether he should just admit defeat, but after thinking for a while, he decided to follow him onto the stage.
What if there is a miracle
If the powerful people of the Huo Family in Jiange helped him to resist the forces behind this mysterious genius and bought him enough time to fight this mysterious genius alone, he would not be completely without a chance.
A side note from the author: I will update a long chapter first, and there will be two more chapters in the evening.