Chapter 2700: Mountains and Rivers Difficult to Cross

Old Quan set up a tent not far from Guan River Terrace. It didn't have any other purpose than to shield Ni'er from the cool night wind. The front was wide open, so it didn't obstruct the view of the competition.

Of course, even though the mountain wasn't far, given his mortal body, he could push his unicycle until it fell apart and still wouldn't reach the high platform.

The Spirit Mirror Sky Curtain showed the battles split into two parts. The upper left corner, circled off, featured "Zhuge Half Sky" and "Jing Country Fellow" ———— the Jing Country people weren't faring too well in public opinion, probably due to their superior attitude.

But Old Quan didn't mind; he was inherently lower.

The main screen was reserved for "Compass Ming" and "Peach Wood Xu," fighting with flashy tricks, unleashing all sorts of Dao techniques ———— Old Quan still thought the lightning and starlight in the upper left corner looked better.

He felt somewhat tired. He didn't know why, but since arriving at Guan River Terrace, his spirits hadn't been great.

During the day, he was always drowsy and wanted to sleep, and by evening, he was tired again but couldn't close his eyes. His heart felt heavy, like the feeling before an imminent but not yet arrived rainstorm ———— those water race guards said Zhen River True Monarch had issued an order that there would be no rain at Guan River Terrace in July.

Old Quan didn't have any human race or water race distinctions. In his view, people in this world were divided into only three kinds ———— those who sat on chairs, those who walked on roads, and those who knelt on the ground.

He was one who knelt on the ground, looking up at everyone.

As for the water race… they were all born extraordinary, weren't they all lords among lords?

The water race lords all had good temperaments. His diligent smiling face could always elicit some response.

He could understand that look ———— some guards were even willing to get closer.

Unlike the Jing Country heavenly soldiers, who often ignored him even after he spoke for a long time. If they did respond, it would first be a snort from their nostrils, "Southern person?"

"Half Central Domain person! My mother entertained Central Domain noble guests, and then I was born."

Old Quan always answered that way.

For a prostitute's son to become a turtle was already a way out.

Throwing himself into the yellow mud meant no one would step on him. This was his survival wisdom.

"Ni'er, I'll earn money, go to the Central Domain, and buy you new clothes…" Old Quan murmured, his voice gradually lowering amidst the noise in the square.

Ni'er's eyes were fixed on the Spirit Mirror Sky Curtain, not turning back.

The old yellow dog lay on the ground, seemingly asleep.

The dazzlingly complex Compass shattered before dawn.

The needle on it spun wildly after shattering, pointing east one moment, west the next.

Xu Zhi Yi stepped on this needle with the sole of her shoe, ending her opponent's last possibility of resistance. A strand of hair on her forehead and her ponytail both hung down, making her profound features appear somewhat ordinary.

If the quota for this Yellow River Meeting hadn't been expanded, this successor of a Heavenly Master family should have been the top candidate for the Central Empire to contend for the name.

The light on Guan River Terrace was as bright as day. After a fight, it didn't truly wait for dawn.

Dongfang Ji Ming lay on the ground, his scattered vision making the light even more chaotic. He thought of a summer many years ago when his master took him for a walk in the mountains.

"Ah ya ya, Nine Curves come to court, Five Horses return to the trough, this is the Son of Heaven's ford. The human lords reside separately, how can there be no king's aura!"

"What does that mean, Master? Can the Wei Emperor truly unify the six directions?"

"Just say the Wei Son of Heaven isn't the Son of Heaven!"

"Blind ———— deceiving people again with that set."

"Some things, it all depends on whether you're willing to believe them or not. We were born in Wei Country, weren't we? Millennium Wei Room, this is the first respectable dragon phase."

Dongguo Bao, Yan Shaofei…

Today, me, and Luo Yuan. Divination cannot exhaust the end of the long night; the generation ahead of heaven has already dawned.

Within that suspended corner space, Zhuge Zuo and Xie Yuan Chu's fight was still ongoing. Starlight and lightning intertwined, like a… huge lamp.

"Zhen River True Monarch indeed has wise eyes like torches. The person you greatly look forward to has defeated the general person you look forward to." The Wei Emperor sat there, smiling as he spoke.

Today, Wei Country no longer needed wins or losses in one or two arenas. He had also taken a long time to reach this point, finally able to stand shoulder to shoulder with Hong Jun Yan, and with the Son of Heaven of overlord countries… to "sit and discuss mutually."

"Winners are not arrogant, losers are not discouraged. I look forward to them all the same. The future of this world belongs to such young people."

Jiang Wang smiled and invited Fan Zheng to the stage to choose an opponent.

This thirteen-year-old youth, full of worries, walked onto the stage with red eyes.

"These past few days of losing, I've been crying and practicing." Fan Zheng's opening remarks were different from the crowd:

"Everyone can laugh at me because I'm relatively fragile."

"Little children can cry. I saw Sister An An crying too ———— I asked her why she was crying if she wasn't a little child. She said it hurt, wasn't that good?"

Jiang Wang laughed at the edge of the field.

The audience laughed.

Actually, Jiang An An wasn't the only one who shed tears on stage, but it seemed only Jiang An An's tears could cause a stir. She didn't have any heavy burdens; she just came to Guan River Terrace to verify her own cultivation.

Moreover, Fan Zheng and Jiang An An became friends after their fight.

As a world-famous child prodigy, Fan Zheng's speech today probably didn't require any preparation in advance. Standing there seriously, he was still quite humorous.

"I'm very afraid of receiving my grandfather's letter, but I'm even more afraid of him not writing to me. He probably calculated these things, so he let the leader pass on an oral message."

"His oral message said ———— Gan Chang An also lost. Qin Zhi Zhen also lost."

"Yes, my leader is Gan Chang An." At the edge of the field, Qin Ge Yuan was as quiet as a reef.

Another burst of laughter from the audience below the field.

Among the laughing crowd, Gan Chang An stood up and waved everywhere like a victor.

Fan Zheng said:

"Actually, I wanted to challenge Zhuge Zuo because Sister An An told me that my Emperor Majesty and the Chu Emperor had a quarrel because of me. The monarch worries and the minister toils; the monarch is humiliated and the minister dies. Although Fan Zheng is young, he should repay the country with victory. But as you all know ————"

He looked up at the fight in the sky that hadn't ended yet.

His small face had a very complex expression.

The audience laughed.

Zhen River True Monarch stood solemnly in place, vaguely feeling the gaze from some high place cutting across his body. For a moment, his face was expressionless.

He hadn't expected Jiang An An to be so good at getting along with people, and he certainly hadn't expected Fan Zheng to be so loose-lipped… He clearly remembered telling Qing Yu jokes, saying, "This is something only I'm telling you; you absolutely must not say it out."

How did they leak this sentence during their small talk?

This little Fan Zheng. Still on stage, opening his mouth and just speaking… he couldn't keep a secret at all!

Fan Zheng wore serious ceremonial robes and spoke in a deliberate manner:

"I fought against Fu Yan Ci once, and I lost. But I feel that if I fight him again, I can win."

"I didn't choose to fight against Chu Yao, but I studied all of his fight records. I feel he's about the same as Sister An An, and I feel I can win."

"I know the biggest illusion in life is 'I feel.' When Sister An An drew me in the lottery, she probably still felt she was bullying a little child."

Jiang An An was sitting in the spectator seats with Ye Qing Yu and Xiong Jing Yu. When she heard the youth on stage say this, she compared her fists with him and made an annoyed expression.

Fan Zheng bowed to the Qin people at the site:

"But these are my real 'feelings'."

"I don't want to challenge any of them. I need an uncontroversial victory."

"A match that will make my countrymen proud." "To flush away the lesson brought by failure."

"Or to give me a bigger lesson."

"This is a willful decision. My grandfather will certainly be unhappy about this. But I'm doing it to make him proud, so I'll choose this way."

He looked up at the high place:

"I want to challenge Gong Wei Zhang because I recognize your strength."

The laughter had already stopped.

Fan Zheng was only thirteen years old, and his decision wasn't very smart. But it was very serious.

"Good!" Gan Chang An clapped in the spectator seat: "A husband's war is also courage. If you don't make a decision in front of the world, what world stage will you come to! Since ancient times, crossing the mountains has been difficult; Qin people should be this way! I'll design the tactics for you!"

Everyone with clear eyes could see that he wasn't designing tactics for Fan Zheng to deal with Gong Wei Zhang. No leader would target Gong Wei Zhang in a challenge match. That would be minimizing the significance of winning or losing itself.

But he took on this responsibility.

As the main referee, Zhen River True Monarch still wanted to hear what the Qin Emperor would say this time, or if the Jing Emperor would have any teasing remarks, but he didn't hear any sound ———— were they shielding me and old Hong together?

His gaze felt slightly cold at this moment. Just in front of the referee's stand, a long knife descended from the sky, its tip pointing down, its cold edge like snow, yet restraining all dazzling light.

A cold-faced youth in armor walked onto the stage step by step.

"Your recognition, I recognize." His hand stopped on the knife handle:

"Now come and grant you a defeat."

These young people…

Zhen River True Monarch announced the start of the match with a serious face.

When Xie Yuan Chu's spirit was exhausted and he lay down, Zhuge Zuo put away the book he had been looking at for a long time.

The fight between Gong Wei Zhang and Fan Zheng had ended a long time ago. She, who had fought two people simultaneously with Jiang An An and gained double the experience of losing, had wonderful discourse with the Great Princess Yu Yun before the match ———

Fan Zheng was the kind of classmate who was smarter than you, worked harder than you, and was more diligent than you, and who would blame himself if he didn't get first place… and for that reason had good results.

Gong Wei Zhang was the kind of person… you could realize that the gap between you and him wasn't necessarily about effort.

The final outcome was just as Jiang An An judged.

Thirteen-year-old Fan Zheng was unable to defeat fifteen-year-old Gong Wei Zhang.

Fan Zheng was a child prodigy famous throughout Xianyang, while Gong Wei Zhang was born of a Dao pulse. In the era before pulse-opening pills, only such people were called "geniuses."

Those whose Qi and blood rushed through their pulses were considered to have the "destiny and talent" to fight for their lives.

Losing in age accumulation, losing in fighting talent, the gap in strength could not be crossed by will ———— especially since Gong Wei Zhang's will was also not inferior to anyone's.

Fan Zheng didn't create a miracle.

And Xie Yuan Chu…

Even his last desperate struggle was preemptively detonated by Zhuge Zuo, who controlled the situation. It was desperate, but not a "one fight." Lying down was very despairing.

Thus, the eight strong contenders in the inner mansion field of the Dao Calendar 3933 Yellow River Meeting were decided.

"What exactly are you looking at in that book you're always hugging?" Er Zhu He asked.

For a man who had defeated a Jing Country player, Er Zhu He showed considerable respect and curiosity ———— of course, the opponent was far from as straightforward as his own win.

"Looking at matches," Zhuge Zuo said.

"They're all finished fighting, why are you still looking?" Er Zhu He yawned:

"Your fight lasted about five hours, didn't it… six?"

"Next time I fight him again, it won't be that long," Zhuge Zuo said, his whole body enveloped in a wide sacrificial robe, his face serious.

Er Zhu He suddenly became interested:

"Then if you fight me, how long do you plan to fight?" Zhuge Zuo didn't even look up:

"Very long."

"What about me?" Bao Xuan Jing came over with a cold demeanor and asked.

By this time, everyone had fought some tough battles and revealed considerable information. The data on everyone was already full in Zhuge Zuo's pillow book.

Zhuge Zuo covered the book with his hand, looked up and said:

"That depends on whether you give me the opportunity or not."

"The draw results for the inner mansion field's top eight matches… Bao Xuan Jing versus Er Zhu He!" The main referee's voice gently fell into everyone's ears.

The two people who had gathered around Zhuge Zuo looked at each other.

Er Zhu He grinned:

"Boy, it's still not too late to apologize now."

The young Earl of Shuo Fang actually just stood there properly and bowed to Er Zhu He:

"Sorry!"

Er Zhu He had just said some trash talk out of routine, not expecting the other side to actually apologize. For a moment, he was a bit at a loss.

Bao Xuan Jing lifted his head, revealing a youthful but already quite handsome face:

"Life in the snow plains is too difficult. It's rare to enter the city once. I really don't want to let you go home so quickly, but since we've met… there's no other way."

Er Zhu He jumped up like thunder. A group of people rushed forward to restrain him, just preventing him from making a move prematurely.

The main referee drew continuously, no matter what this group of young people was doing, quickly finalizing the match list ———

"Zhuge Zuo versus Fu Yan Ci!"

Zhuge Zuo closed his book, thinking, a good sign.

Fu Yan Ci just blinked his eyes lightly.

"Gong Wei Zhang versus Xu Zhi Yi!"

Xu Zhi Yi subconsciously glanced at Gong Wei Zhang. Gong Wei Zhang was just looking at his own knife.

"Chen Yan Xun versus Chu Yao!"

Chu Yao turned his head, searched for Chen Yan Xun's figure, nodded to him, and greeted him friendly.

Chen Yan Xun was stunned for a moment and returned the courtesy.

In previous sessions, the top eight matches were held on four stages simultaneously, aiming for a quick completion.

This session, "to allow the audience to better appreciate the matches and not miss every highlight" (Huang Ge Yuan's original words)… was one by one, explained one by one.

To ensure fairness, Zhen River True Monarch used his right hand when drawing the list. When drawing the order… he switched to his left hand.

The first round of the inner mansion field's top eight matches ———

Chu Yao versus Chen Yan Xun.

As the saying goes, "don't tie shoes in a melon field, don't adjust your hat under a plum tree." To avoid suspicion, the main referee left the field early and was replaced by the mountain chief of Tai Xu Public School to oversee.

Although Tai Xu Public School had already started school for a long time, and the high-level officials from all sides knew about Mu Fu Yao's whereabouts early on, this was truly the first time Mu Fu Yao stood before the people of the entire world.

And it was on such a positive, solemn occasion, a grand meeting that happened only once every fourteen years, with unprecedented attention… its benefit to contemporary Yang God was hard to predict.

This also counted as an enrollment advertisement for Tai Xu Public School.

"The preliminary first match was against the main referee's sister. The top eight first match is against the main referee's true disciple." Chen Yan Xun's persona was that of a 'little gentleman,' but he wasn't the kind of fool who only read dead books. He walked onto the stage with a self-mocking smile:

"It seems I have a destiny with the main referee… it's a pity I heard the Dao Heaven Palace opened for the first time in previous years, but I was in closed-door reading and couldn't go."

Chu Yao carried his sword onto the stage, walking steadily step by step.

"That year, my master, at the same realm, defeated Wang Yi Wu twice. The general Ji Zhao Nan, a true disciple of the army god, only said that if he could defeat him again at the same realm and gain the reputation of being an army god's disciple's nemesis, it would be very interesting."

"I also greatly look forward to you establishing this reputation and becoming a Zhen River's true disciple's nemesis."

He lifted his slender eyes:

"Wouldn't that be an interesting matter?"