Today, I must not only win, but win spectacularly. First, I can bring honor to the Chu family, and second, I can make a name for myself in front of Principal Jiang, letting her know that I am worthy of being from the top class and that I have the talent. Perhaps she will take better care of me at school in the future. After I successfully obtain an official position, I will come back to marry the young lady!

"Who's this guy over there? I've never seen him before?" Qin Wanru frowned on stage and quietly leaned close to her husband to ask.

Chu Zhongtian shook his head: "I don't know either. It seems that the Yuan family doesn't have such a person. It should be the Wu family, but does the Wu family have such a person among their experts?"

"Do you think Xingying can win?" Qin Wanru had a good impression of Hong Xingying. He was handsome, capable, and, most importantly, both father and son had been loyal to the Chu family all these years. When she was choosing a husband for her daughter, she actually liked this boy quite a bit, but her daughter chose that guy Zu'an herself.

Thinking of this made her angry, and she couldn't help but glare at Zu An in the audience.

Qin Wanru's anger level increased by 111!

Zu An was immediately annoyed. He thought to himself, "Hong Xingying just insulted me, and I didn't even have time to refute him. Why are you so angry? Did your menopause come so early?"

Chu Zhongtian, unaware of his wife's thoughts, casually replied, "Xingying is a good child. He was delayed a bit by working for our family a few years ago, but even so, he still reached the peak of the third rank. Although he is not very strong, he is definitely not weak. The person opposite him looks to be no more than the same level. If Xingying is careful, there shouldn't be any major problems."

Hearing her husband say that, Qin Wanru finally felt relieved.

On the stage, Hong Xingying drew his longsword, twirled it beautifully, and said coldly, "Who goes there? I, Hong, do not kill nameless nobodies!"

"I didn't expect the Chu family to have someone like this; he's quite handsome too!"

"In short, she's much better than their son-in-law."

...

His appearance and physical attributes immediately caused a slight stir among some women, but Chu Zhongtian frowned slightly, thinking that the boy was showing off too much.

The person opposite chuckled: "Chen Lei of the Yuan family." (A minor character provided by reader Jiuyou Chenshao.)

After saying this, he fell silent. In terms of both appearance and temperament, he was indeed far inferior to Hong Xingying. Soon, most people's hearts began to lean towards Hong Xingying.

Hong Xingying frowned. He hadn't heard of this name before, but it wasn't among the key targets of the Chu family's previous research. It seemed that he was lucky enough, and this victory would be easy.

Okay, let's use this guy surnamed Chen as my stepping stone. I'll shine brightly today, not only to win, but to win beautifully, so that those big shots on stage can see!

Thinking of this, his fighting spirit instantly soared: "Forgive me!" He immediately swung his sword and charged towards the other party.

Chu Zhongtian nodded secretly. He had thought the man was a bit arrogant and complacent, but he was surprised to find that his move was quite steady and balanced, putting him in an invincible position.

Chen Lei, on the other side, shouted and drew his long sword, charging forward. The two clashed head-on, their weapons exchanging sparks.

Both of them staggered back five steps at the same time. Hong Xingying was shocked, not expecting this unknown person to have such strong Yuan power.

"Again!" He dared not be careless in the slightest, and abandoned his initial idea of ​​showing off, his swordsmanship becoming more steady.

The two quickly engaged in battle again, their weapons clashing repeatedly. Even those below the stage could faintly feel the chill emanating from their weapons.

"I've never even heard of these two before, yet they're both so powerful. Are the foundations of these powerful families really that deep?"

"That Hong Xingying seems to be from the top class of Mingyue Academy. As for this Chen Lei, I've never heard of him before."

...

The two were evenly matched, with Hong Xingying gaining the upper hand at one moment and Chen Lei gaining the upper hand at the next. Many people were thrilled and fantasized about how great it would be if they were on the stage in such a powerful manner.

No matter what kind of competition it is, the most exciting are those that are evenly matched. On the contrary, those that are one-sided are not very interesting. No one expected that the first match of the competition would be so intense, and many people couldn't help but stand up.

After their initial clash, the two separated again, both panting heavily as they tried to regulate their chaotic internal energy.

Hong Xingying felt his tiger's mouth was cracked, but he didn't care at all. He couldn't afford to lose after fighting to this point. He had to win this match to show the master and madam, to show all the officials present, and to show that good-for-nothing Zu'an!

Ugh, why did I think of that guy? What bad luck.

"Intermediate swordsmanship!" After entering the academy, Hong Xingying desperately learned everything the academy taught. Intermediate swordsmanship was a sword technique that was only taught in the academy's high-level classes. Although the name sounded a bit common, the sword technique was quite powerful and had very few flaws. It was even more powerful than his previous sword technique. So this time, in front of Principal Jiang, he simply used this sword technique.

The sword emitted a series of dragon roars, and the sword in his hand conjured several afterimages, stabbing towards Chen Lei's vital points.

Jiang Luofu on the stage nodded slightly. This student was quite talented. He had only been in school for a short time, yet he had already mastered this sword technique to such a high level.

With a soft thud, the sword pierced the opponent's shoulder and went straight through his body.

We won!

Hong Xingying finally breathed a sigh of relief, but suddenly he noticed that the other party had revealed a strange smile. He was startled and hurriedly tried to pull his sword back, but the other party directly stretched out his left hand to grasp the blade of his sword, and then slashed out with his right hand.

Chaotic Cloak and Sword Technique!

Chen Lei's aura suddenly surged, and a look of madness appeared between his brows. The long sword in his hand roared as it slashed at his opponent like a dragon emerging from the sea.

The armor formed from Yuan Qi on Hong Xingying's body shattered inch by inch in the face of this violent sword energy. He screamed and spat out blood, falling off the arena like a broken sandbag.

Chu Zhongtian hurriedly flew over and caught him. His fingers transformed into a blur as he sealed the acupoints on his body to stop the bleeding, while simultaneously dissolving the violent sword energy that was still raging within him.

"Yuan family's Chen Lei wins!" came the voice of the city lord's official from the stage announcing the verdict.

Hong Xingying was filled with shame and remorse: "Master and Madam, I...I..."

Just then, a mocking voice came from beside him: "Who was it that was so arrogant just now, saying he would bring glory to the family and others would only bring shame? It hasn't been long and he's already been beaten down like a dead dog. Doesn't your face hurt?"