Chapter 485: Qualifiers (First Update)

“The eldest son of the Jiang family? The eldest son of Grand Tutor Jiang Lizuo? Wasn't he previously the Imperial Princess—”

“Shh! Do you have a death wish!? How dare you say such things?”

“What, what’s wrong? When I came to Xiling two years ago, didn't I say—”

“You said it yourself, it was two years ago! Times have changed! Many things have long since changed! Back then, she... had a mishap in her cultivation. Such matters are somewhat disgraceful, and nowadays, the entire Tianling Dynasty hardly mentions it! Besides, after she left, the Third Princess was consumed by grief. Fortunately, she had the eldest son of the Jiang family to accompany and comfort her, which is how she finally pulled through. Plus, with so many matters requiring them to handle things together, it's only natural they've been together for so long...”

“Ah? No matter how you look at it, it doesn't seem quite appropriate for the two of them to be together... Where will this lead the Empire? Back then, she and the eldest son of the Jiang family were almost about to be married...”

“Anyway, these are not matters we can discuss privately. Don't let your slip of the tongue cause trouble! That person will be here any moment!”

The group quickly fell silent.

Chu Liuyue found one of their faces somewhat familiar, but the rest were complete strangers.

She quickly withdrew her gaze, lowering her eyelids to hide the emotions in her eyes.

So, after her death, these were the rumors that circulated...

After a long pause, a cold sneer curled at the corner of her lips.

Shangguan Wan and Jiang Yucheng truly were capable, twisting black into white and muddling right from wrong.

Back then, it was clearly the two of them who had been involved in a secret affair and betrayed her, yet in the eyes of the public, she had become the one who could not be mentioned.

A little over a year ago, Jiang Yucheng was still her fiancé; now, he had become Shangguan Wan's.

And yet, the people were quite in agreement with this, hardly uttering a single word of criticism.

It truly was a hardship for those two to have put in such painstaking effort.

“Everyone, follow your assigned order and go to your positions!”

Elder Qiu Xi stood suspended in mid-air, his voice resonating from his dantian and spreading far and wide!

Chu Liuyue looked up.

It seemed everyone had already finished their ordering.

With a wave of Elder Duanmu Chun's sleeve, the massive black jade slab flew rapidly into the air above the western side of the plaza!

It hovered there silently, emitting a faint glow, allowing almost everyone in the plaza to see the rows of names inscribed upon it.

Elder Duanmu Chun followed immediately with a leap, coming to a halt beside the jade slab.

The vast plaza was suddenly divided into various square grids, with a number appearing on the ground of each, arranged in sequence.

The crowd walked toward their respective grids.

Chu Liuyue walked to "Fifty-three" and then looked around the area.

Xuanji Plaza was extremely vast; even though it was divided into a hundred grids, each square appeared quite large, even larger than the biggest arena in the Kingdom of Yaochen.

Most people were already in place. Out of the corner of her eye, Chu Liuyue saw Zhao Yunzhi walking toward this direction as well.

However, her expression was somewhat off; her brows and eyes were drooping, and her gaze looked somewhat lost, as if she had just suffered a heavy blow.

She was a completely different person from her proud and high-spirited self from moments ago.

Sensing Chu Liuyue's gaze, Zhao Yunzhi looked up.

Chu Liuyue clearly saw a flash of panic in her eyes.

Panic?

Interesting.

Chu Liuyue crossed her arms, lightly tapped her chin, and smiled.

It seemed Zhao Yunzhi had finally learned some things she should have known long ago.

“What are you laughing at!?” Zhao Yunzhi was extremely sensitive at this moment; seeing the smile on Chu Liuyue's face, she immediately exploded.

Chu Liuyue's smile remained unchanged

“If I want to laugh, I naturally laugh. If you want to give me orders, wait until after you've beaten me.”

If Zhao Yunzhi had heard this before, she would have thought Chu Liuyue was seeking death.

But after hearing those rumors, looking at Chu Liuyue now, a sense of unease rose from the bottom of her heart.

This Chu Liuyue... might actually have some hidden tricks!

“I will certainly win against you!” Zhao Yunzhi said stubbornly.

Chu Liuyue couldn't be bothered to deal with her. With a light chuckle, she turned her gaze toward Elder Qiu Xi.

Zhao Yunzhi walked into the same grid, her hands clenched into fists, her throat dry.

Elder Qiu Xi scanned the surroundings, and only after the noise had died down did he stroke his beard with satisfaction and say in a deep voice

“This Wan Zheng Assembly is intended to broadly recruit talent! Those able to participate in this competition are all practitioners of the Earth Meridian Original Pulse sought from all corners of the world! Everyone standing upon this plaza is a genius pursued by the world!”

As his voice fell, many people in the plaza showed expressions of pride.

“But—even with top-tier talent, if one wishes to become a peerless powerhouse, one must undergo many layers of testing and tempering! Without sufficient resources and a steadfast conviction, one will ultimately achieve nothing!”

The expressions of the crowd grew more serious.

“Among you, some come from the Tianling Dynasty, but even more come from beyond the Sky Curtain Realm! While the geniuses of the Tianling Dynasty have resources, their long-term ease may mean they lack sufficient vigilance! Meanwhile, the geniuses outside the Sky Curtain possess top-tier talent but often have their cultivation delayed due to a lack of resources! Therefore, the Third Princess and the Consort decided to hold this Wan Zheng Assembly!”

“I believe most of you already know that today's session is merely the preliminaries! There are three hundred and ninety-two participants, competing in pairs! Only the winners can advance to the next round!”

“As long as you successfully enter the next round, everyone will receive bountiful rewards! And for those without sects, you are specially permitted to choose one among the many sects within Xiling City to join!”

The crowd erupted in an uproar!

This meant that as long as they won today's match, they could unconditionally enter a sect in Xiling!

This was a massive temptation!

(End of Chapter)