Chapter 235: Unexpected Withdrawal
The first round of the group stage was six into three, and with the end of two days of battles, basically half of the participants were eliminated.
Among the remaining three, the winner needed to win two consecutive matches to enter the next round of grouping. In other words, those who won their first match would generally face two situations.
One situation was a bye in the next match, waiting for the other two to determine the winner, and then having the final match within the group to complete the six-into-one elimination.
The other situation was needing to first determine the winner with one of them, and then facing the challenge from the person who had the bye.
As for which situation it would be, it was decided by drawing lots.
He Lingxiu's match today was the last one in their group, and she had successfully secured a spot in the second round of the Heavenly Dao Conference. On their way back with everyone, they happened to meet Ji You and others returning from the Cangwu Dojo.
Ji You's first match was today, which was no secret, so they asked about the result and learned that Ji You had won his first match.
Everyone was not surprised by this result.
Especially He Lingxiu, who even showed an expression that seemed to say, 'It's all within my expectations.'
Ji You's combat power had always been unknown to outsiders, but they all had some vague idea, feeling that his victory was perfectly normal.
After all, this was only the first round, and many of the opponents were Worldly Family Disciples there just to make up the numbers. Opponents of equal strength would only appear later.
Therefore, such a victory was not surprising or worthy of applause.
Just like the previous few matches they had won, they felt it was nothing special.
After some casual conversation, Ji You, Cao Jinsong, and others left, leaving only He Lingxiu and the others to analyze today's battles.
However, at this moment, they saw Yu Shiliu also walk in from outside, but she seemed somewhat distracted and didn't greet them much, just walking along the forest path towards her residence.
Wang Gaocen called out to her twice, but she didn't seem to hear him and walked straight into her room.
The sky was not yet late. Ji You, Cao Jinsong, Ban Yangshu, Wen Zhengxin, and others were drinking tea in their residences when they heard a knock on the door.
Opening the door, it was Wen Siyuan, a Master's Courtyard Disciple, standing outside.
They had returned together from the Cangwu Dojo earlier, but Wen Siyuan had parted ways with them midway to go to Taiping Garden to draw lots for Ji You. Now back here, he placed the drawn lot on Ji You's table.
“Ji *Shidi* (Junior Brother Ji), the drawing result for the second round of the group stage.”
“Thank you for the trouble.”
Ji You took the envelope, then opened it and glanced at it. Inside were two large characters: Xiang Hui. “Is this my opponent for the next round?”
Wen Siyuan nodded: “*Shidi* (Junior Brother) will battle him tomorrow, and then compete with Lou Wanpeng, a Lou Family Disciple from Liang Province who had a bye, for the six-into-one spot.”
“I thought I would be the one with the bye.”
“This is decided by drawing lots. The match time is probably tomorrow morning, and the location is still the Cangwu Dojo. I will come to invite you then.”
After delivering the letter, Wen Siyuan turned and returned to the easternmost side of Rusheng Garden's East Garden, which was where the Master's Courtyard stayed, and lay on his bed in a daze.
Not long after, other Master's Courtyard Disciples also returned to their residences.
They had also gone to Taiping Garden to draw lots like Wen Siyuan, but after drawing, they didn't rush back. Instead, they diligently went around to inquire about the potential opponents for the next round of the participants they were responsible for.
After all, knowing yourself and your enemy ensures victory in every battle.
Perhaps, if they won, the Worldly Family behind them might even give them some Spirit Pills as a token of gratitude.
The group chatted as they walked, and upon entering the room, they saw Wen Siyuan lying on the bed. They couldn't help but exchange glances, thinking that *Shidi* (Junior Brother) Wen had returned quite early.
“Did Ji *Shidi* (Junior Brother Ji) win his first match?”
“Yes, he won.”
Hearing this news, the Disciples of the Master's Courtyard actually didn't show much surprise.
Some of them hadn't paid attention to who Ji You was fighting, only feeling that with Ji You's strength of defeating two fellow Cultivators with four swords and forcing the Elder Council to yield, this victory was simply expected.
Another part of the Master's Courtyard Disciples came from Zhongzhou and had heard of Tang Jingming, knowing that he was different from ordinary Worldly Family Disciples, but they all still felt that Ji You would be superior.
However, for some reason, they felt that Wen Siyuan's expression seemed a bit dazed.
The three Masters-in-charge of the Master's Courtyard had also returned to Rusheng Garden by this time, because they were not only responsible for the students' competitions but also for the Tianshu Academy Elders' Dao debates.
After resting and drinking tea, the Disciples of each Master's Courtyard successively received opponent information collected by the Disciples.
This information would be compiled and verified by them, and then conveyed to the Disciples who were about to enter the next round.
The three Masters-in-charge held these letters, constantly flipping through them, checking them, and exchanging ideas for a long time, removing some information that was not too relevant, and finally compiling them into various documents.
At this point, they turned to Yu Shiliu's opponent information.
The Disciple responsible for Yu Shiliu was Wei Han of the Master's Courtyard. The report he submitted was different from others; it was two copies, one for Zexia, a Zexia Family Disciple from Qing Province, and the other for Xi Jinyu, the daughter of the Xi Family from Ling Province.
This indicated that Yu Shiliu had a bye during the afternoon draw.
Both Zexia and Xi Jinyu could potentially be Yu Shiliu's next opponent.
“This Zexia's combat power is actually average; his victory was due to encountering a too weak opponent.”
“Then, in Brother Qin's opinion, is this Xi Jinyu the most noteworthy?”
“That's right. In my opinion, Yu Shiliu will most likely face Xi Jinyu, so this person needs to be looked at carefully.”
The three immediately opened Xi Jinyu's report, which was densely written, including her strengths and weaknesses. After reading this report, they then opened the report about Zexia.
Unlike Xi Jinyu's report, Zexia's report only had a few sparse strokes.
This indicated that even Wei Han, who had been observing Yu Shiliu's matches, felt that this Zexia and Xi Jinyu posed no threat to Yu Shiliu. Since they posed no threat, there was naturally no need to pay too much attention, otherwise, it would hinder her attacking rhythm.
Lang Hetong put down the report in his hand at this time, picked up his teacup and said, “Who is Ji You's next opponent?”
“Xiang Hui.”
“No bye, he has to fight one more match.”
Qin Ang nodded: “It seems Ji You's luck isn't as good as before.”
Ji Jingyao looked up upon hearing this: “What do you mean by that?”
“Even if he didn't get a bye, the opponents in his group are not simple. Tang Jingming, Xiang Hui, and Lou Wanpeng are not ordinary Worldly Family Disciples. Their strength is quite commendable; it's just that their background and Foundation are a bit weaker, so they haven't received as much attention, but they are definitely not opponents that can be easily defeated.”
The talent for Cultivation is not necessarily better for those with stronger backgrounds and Foundations.
Part of the strength gap between Immortal Sects and Worldly Families is also due to the Legacy of cultivation methods and techniques.
Therefore, although the probability of Prodigies appearing in some small Worldly Families is not high, looking at the entire Nine Provinces, their number is not small.
Just like Puyang Xing, who entered the academy this year, his Puyang Family is also a declining Worldly Family, but his Cultivation talent is excellent.
Ji You's group has no Disciples from top Worldly Families, but in terms of individual strength, they are indeed extremely strong.
The three muttered, then opened the report about Xiang Hui submitted by Wen Siyuan.
Their gazes swept across it, but they didn't see a single word, it was completely blank.
Seeing this, the three Masters-in-charge paused slightly, then couldn't help but exchange glances.
Wen Siyuan had always been diligent and hardworking in the Master's Courtyard, never perfunctorily carrying out orders from the Courtyard, nor was he the kind of person who would be perfunctory. The blankness in this report could only be explained by the fact that after watching Ji You's previous match, he felt there was no need to investigate Ji You's opponent. The next morning, the summer breeze was gentle, and the sun was warm and pleasant.
As in the past few days, people living in the county city flocked to Xianxian Garden, while those living in the Eight Great Gardens flocked to the nine Dojos.
He Lingxiu and others woke up early again and went to Jingyang Dojo to watch the matches, because today, Chai Ze and Xiao Hanyan would have their last group stage matches.
However, before the battles even began, He Lingxiu saw Wang Gaocen pushing his way through the crowd.
“Senior Sister He, have you seen Junior Sister Yu?”
“Is she not at Yuyu Dojo?”
Wang Gaocen shook his head: “I just came from Yuyu Dojo, she's not there.”
He Lingxiu felt a bit strange upon hearing this, because Yu Shiliu had left early this morning, and she thought she had gone to Yuyu Dojo to watch the match between Zexia and Xi Jinyu to understand her next opponents, only to find out that this was not the case.
This was indeed strange, because Yu Shiliu had always been meticulous.
In previous matches, even against opponents clearly inferior to her, she would watch carefully. There was no reason for her not to go when encountering a strong one. A hint of doubt appeared in He Lingxiu's eyes, feeling somewhat puzzled.
At this moment, Yu Shiliu was sitting in the audience seats of the Cangwu Dojo, facing the brilliant sunlight rising in the morning, meticulously staring at the stage.
She had not slept all night yesterday, and indeed left very early this morning, but she did not go to Yuyu Dojo, but here.
And like her, a group of people had also arrived early.
One of them was Huang Rou, the daughter of the Huang Family from Zhongzhou, still sitting in the same spot as yesterday, looking towards the arena.
She had come here yesterday to watch Tang Jingming. After Tang Jingming lost, she had no one else to pay attention to, and originally didn't need to come again today.
But for some reason, she still came here involuntarily this morning, even refusing Qiu Hanyue's invitation to stroll in the city.
Besides her, there were also three ladies from Yunzhou, sitting in roughly the same positions as yesterday.
They had come here yesterday to talk to Ji You after his match, but they never went to find him, and instead returned to their own courtyards in a daze.
This time, they came again with a completely different mindset, with only silence in their eyes.
Additionally, the Tang Family Head and other members of the Tang Family were also gathered there, their hands tightly clenched as they gazed at the two figures on the stage.
At the same time, there were three beautiful figures on the spectator stand.
Among them, Ding Yao leaned silently against the railing of the high platform.
"So many people."
"Yes, quite a lot. When I had my matches here before, there weren't this many people, only a few scattered ones."
On the east side of the high platform sat two young men, both from the Liang Province Lou Family. One was Lou Wanpeng, who had a bye, and the other was his younger brother, Lou Wanli.
Tianshu Academy observed and analyzed opponents daily, and they naturally did the same.
No matter who won between the two currently on stage, they would become Lou Wanpeng's next opponent, so they naturally came to watch the match.
Lou Wanpeng's younger brother, Lou Wanli, had competed here previously and knew that this Dojo was extremely desolate, but the number of people today
greatly exceeded their expectations.
At this moment, Lou Wanpeng, seeing the gazes from all around, began to feel a vague sense of unease in his heart.
In fact, this unease had been present since yesterday.
He knew Tang Jingming well, and after Tang Jingming lost, Lou Wanpeng knew that Ji You must be very strong.
Otherwise, there wouldn't be so many rumors about this person in the Nine Provinces.
Now, the entire audience seemed to be here for Ji You, further confirming the rumors in his heart.
Lou Wanpeng couldn't help but sit up straight, then slightly puffed out his chest, a faint golden light appearing in his eyes, preparing to carefully observe Ji You's moves with his Divine Thought.
At this moment, as the light blue barrier glow rose from both sides, it began to converge towards the center.
Xiang Hui, a Disciple of the Xiang Family from Liang Province, drew the long saber from his hand.
Unlike Tang Jingming's slender figure, Xiang Hui was quite burly and muscular, and the long saber in his hand was wide and heavy.
As the Master-in-charge struck the gong, Lou Wanpeng's gaze suddenly sharpened, and he saw Spiritual Qi suddenly roar, and the saber light surged fiercely,
extremely powerful. Then, he saw Ji You, who had drawn his sword, step forward to meet it, holding his long sword high.
Lou Wanpeng's position was on the southwest side of the circular platform, consistent with the direction of Ji You's sword strike.
In his opinion, compared to Xiang Hui, who had gathered Spiritual Qi throughout his body, Ji You's sword-drawing posture seemed very ordinary.
However, when the highly raised Dao sword suddenly slashed downwards, Lou Wanpeng, for some unknown reason, immediately felt the hairs on his arms stand on end, and his scalp tightened.
Clang!
Ji You fiercely brought his sword down, directly colliding with the incoming long saber.
Xiang Hui seemed to feel ten thousand jin of force instantly pouring in. His hands, gripping the saber, shattered in an instant, overflowing with blood, and his entire body was forced backward, constantly struggling to control the rapidly trembling iron saber in his hand, a trace of disbelief in his eyes.
Those who had witnessed a similar scene yesterday clenched their fists, their hearts trembling slightly,
It's happening again.—
What happened yesterday, is happening again.
And at this moment, Ji You stepped forward, his figure approaching like a gust of wind, and the Dao sword in his hand slashed forward fiercely.
With a boom, it was as if the air currents throughout the arena had been compressed and exploded, and rolling torrents of power continuously dispersed in all directions, causing the entire barrier to surge with wind and clouds.
In countless pairs of light yellow eyes, the wind roar caused by that seemingly ordinary downward slash almost instantaneously tore apart the Spiritual Qi condensed on Xiang Hui's long saber, and then it violently struck down, causing everyone's minds to buzz with a ringing sound.
With a clang, like a sudden peal of thunder.
The long saber in Xiang Hui's hand was directly broken, and then his entire body flew backward.
After a cloud of dust scattered, the tall and muscular Xiang Hui fell to the ground with a thud, just like Tang Jingming yesterday, his entire being becoming quiet, not at all as noisy as before.
Lou Wanli's eyes widened at this moment as he looked at his Elder brother, Lou Wanpeng, thinking, 'Elder Brother, is he your next opponent? Your luck is truly explosive.'
Lou Wanpeng, meanwhile, opened his mouth in disbelief, his jaw trembling continuously.
At the same time, Yu Shiliu, Ding Yao, and Huang Rou all couldn't help but bite their lips, staring at this scene in silence.
Indeed, some things that are too extraordinary are difficult to accept in a short time when seen for the first time.
Most people's thought is to watch again, always feeling as if watching again might help them understand.
But when Xiang Hui fell heavily to the ground, his long saber bent into a bizarre arc, their minds were still blank, just like yesterday.
Tang Jingming and Xiang Hui were not weak; although they couldn't compare to Holy Land Disciples, and were far inferior to those direct Disciples, they were at least pillars of their respective Worldly Families.
In everyone's hearts, they wouldn't make it to the end, and it wasn't easy for them to secure a spot. Losing wasn't too surprising.
But no one expected them to lose like this.
This can't be Tong Xuan Realm? How can there be such a Tong Xuan Realm?
"Go back and tell Yan Shuyi that I will handle this matter."
"If Yan Hao loses badly, it will likely shake a large number of Tianjian Peak Disciples."
Ding Yao was standing on the high platform at this moment, the conversation from the Xianxian Garden echoing in her mind. As she gazed at Ji You's figure again, her eyes were in a trance.
Even Zhuo Wanqiu, who had always believed Ji You had a high chance of winning and would definitely enter the top ten, couldn't help but fall silent at this moment.
Then, the two of them came back to their senses and couldn't help but glance at their Master Jian, finding that Master Jian was sitting upright, but her eyes clearly held a hint of astonishment.
In fact, she had already tested the unfamiliar man with the pressure of the Wujiang Realm, but he had resisted it, and at that time, she had an incredible feeling.
And after watching his two matches, she realized that her estimation of him was still too low.
After the battle ended, Ji You left Cangwu Dojo,
while the others remained seated in place. Only after they came back to their senses did they walk outside, their faces bearing a dazed expression, which made those leaving other Dojos feel puzzled, wondering why everyone seemed to have lost their souls.
Around the same time, Lu Xiong, the Yunzhou Lu Family Head, was leading his Family's Disciples along the white marble path, returning to the garden where he resided.
The Disciples sent by the Yunzhou Lu Family had matches at Qiyun Dojo, but the results were not satisfactory.
The five combatant Disciples they had painstakingly gathered had now lost three consecutive matches.
The Lu Family was a newly established Worldly Family of a hundred years, with a not-so-deep Foundation, and the Family's Cultivation talent was average. Therefore, Lu Xiong, the Lu Family Head, had not held great expectations, but seeing his Disciples lose with his own eyes, he still felt some regret.
In this Qingyun World, strength is actually the basis that determines everything, but apart from his two daughters, it was truly difficult to find anyone else who could bring honor to the Family.
Lu Xiong walked into the house in the garden at this moment, and as he looked up, he saw his wife.
She was still wearing her outer coat, and her feet were stained with mud, indicating that she had just returned from outside.
He knew that his wife had no great interest in the competitions between cultivators. These past few days, as she came and went, she had talked to him about many young talents.
Every day, his wife would return and chat with him about one of them, saying how well-suited they were for their two daughters, and so on.
Her words, both spoken and implied, weren't truly about being eager to marry off their daughters, but rather subtly indicating her disagreement with her daughters' affection for Ji You. She repeatedly mentioned the phrase 'rural private cultivator,' with a hint of mockery in her tone, hoping deep down that he would change his mind and choose a better husband for their daughters.
However, for some reason, since yesterday evening, his wife had not mentioned this matter again, and instead seemed somewhat dispirited.
Shi Junhao and Xiao Hanyan's matches both concluded before noon. Upon returning, they saw that Wang Gaocen had already returned to the courtyard first, staring at the East Courtyard with a perplexed expression.
"Did you find Junior Sister Yu?"
Wang Gaocen snapped back to attention upon hearing the voice: "Ah, yes, I found her. She returned around the same time as me, but she seemed a bit distracted."
He Lingxiu glanced at him: "Distracted?"
"Yes, it was as if she didn't hear me when I spoke to her."
"Where did she go?"
Wang Gaocen opened his mouth: "I think she came out of Cangwu Dojo."
Shi Junhao looked at He Lingxiu at this moment and couldn't help but say:
"Ji You has been competing at Cangwu Dojo these past two days. Could it be that Junior Sister Yu went to watch Ji You's match?"
"She just watched a match, how could it make her so dispirited?"
He Lingxiu couldn't help but recall seeing Yu Shiliu last night, realizing she had already been a bit distracted then.
Could it be that Ji You, like in his previous match with Chu River, had his clothes torn by his opponent, revealing something that caused panic?
Something Junior Sister Yu saw.—
While pondering, Gu Zetao came from outside the door and, upon seeing them, couldn't help but say, "Have you heard? Someone named Lou Wanpeng withdrew from the competition."
He Lingxiu didn't know Lou Wanpeng, but hearing the words 'withdrew from the competition,' she couldn't help but show a hint of surprise: "Since they've already reached the Heavenly Dao Conference,
they should at least try. How could someone withdraw?"
Shi Junhao looked up at Gu Zetao at this moment, also finding it somewhat incredible.
"The Xianxian Holy Land has always had immense appeal; some are even willing to suppress their Realm for a year just to wait. Now that they've reached the Heavenly Dao Conference, they should at least give it a shot, no matter the odds. How could someone give up at this critical juncture?"
After Shi Junhao finished speaking, he couldn't help but press, "Who is Lou Wanpeng?"
Gu Zetao pursed his lips: "A Disciple from the Liang Province Lou Family. He had a bye in the second round of his group. If he hadn't withdrawn, he would have been Ji You's next opponent."
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