Chapter 33 Chapter 33 "Why, you still dare to block my mouth? ...

Jiu Zhao asked all the immortals to stand up.

Everyone obeyed the order and lowered their hands, but no one dared to move rashly. They still stood in two rows and stood still.

When Jiu Zhao turned around and left the hall, they relaxed as if relieved, and stepped forward one after another to complete the task of activating the names on the Heavenly List.

…

Activating the Heavenly Ranking is only the first step in preparing for the exam.

In fact, after entering the Qichen Palace, candidates were no longer allowed to enter and leave freely.

In another moment, at noon, the barrier connecting to the outside world will be completely closed.

Those who are late or fail to arrive will be deemed to have lost the qualification for the immortal examination.

After counting and admitting defeat, the chief examiner appeared and informed the precautions during the preparation period, and then assigned accommodation to each candidate. For safety reasons, until the exam at 1:30 am tomorrow, everyone could only practice in their own courtyards and make final preparations.

Grasping at the last bit of freedom, Jiu Zhao stopped at the veranda and admired the spirit birds flying through the clouds in the distance through the fence.

The birds are singing melodiously and crisply, so it's not too boring to use them to pass the time.

Jiu Zhao was tapping the beat with his fingers and humming some discordant tune when an unpleasant voice sounded from a few feet away.

"Your Highness, Meng Chu, pays respects to Her Highness the Divine Princess."

The young man leading the way put away his folding fan, bowed deeply and gave Jiu Zhao a standard greeting. Several noble men and women from the northern region who were surrounding him also leaned forward and saluted. This time their manners were perfectly polite, but Jiu Zhao didn't know why he dared to provoke him.

"What is it?"

Jiu Zhao turned his head to look at Meng Chu with a cold expression.

Outside the corridor, near the main hall, candidates who had pressed their fingerprints walked out in groups of three or five.

They were attracted by Jiu Zhao, and having heard about the conflict between Jiu Zhao and Meng Chu, they all showed hidden looks that showed they wanted to find out some gossip.

As more people approached the corridor seemingly unintentionally, Meng Chu finally raised his bowed face.

After three months of recovery, he no longer had the embarrassing look of falling in the hall and being slapped by the Northern God King, making him scream in pain.

He moved with agility and ease, the unrestrained demeanor of a dainty prince, as if all the trauma he had sustained, both physically and mentally, had healed completely. Only the pale pink whiplash scar over his left eye was noticeable, running vertically across his upper and lower eyelids, marring his seemingly easygoing and refined demeanor.

Jiu Zhao knew that over the past few months, the Divine Emperor had sent numerous high-quality elixirs to Meng Chu. The elixirs refined by the Southern Divine King could bring back even a dying person, let alone heal a mere scar.

Meng Chu deliberately left this scar, obviously for other purposes.

Jiu Zhao secretly became alert, while Meng Chu observed her expression and bowed amiably once more: "That day in the Divine King's residence, I was wrong to offend His Highness. Now that His Highness has been released and returned, I apologize again and hope that Your Highness will forgive my mistake."

What's going on?

Want to use her humility in front of everyone to highlight the unreasonableness of this goddess?

Jiu Zhao couldn't figure out what was going on, but he heard him add meaningfully, "Your Highness intends to take the Immortal Examination, but why would you do this? Send the Immortal Official to inform me. I'm an idler and used to being undisciplined. I can take the examination or not, so I'll just withdraw early."

Why did it come to this? Why did you inform me in advance?

What does this have to do with what’s happening in the God King’s residence?

Meng Chu's voice was neither too loud nor too soft, just enough for the onlookers around to hear.

Seeing most people pricked up their ears, their curiosity evident, he spoke to Jiu Zhao with an increasingly humble tone, "The beating Your Highness gave me left me bedridden for two months, barely able to walk again, and I haven't recovered yet. Your Highness, rest assured, I absolutely wouldn't dare to compete with you for anything. However, the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan's ancestral precepts prohibit 'subduing the enemy without fighting.'"

After the words "I dare not compete with you" were uttered, Jiu Zhao finally understood Meng Chu's sinister intentions.

Sure enough, he still refused to admit his mistake of offending her behind her back with Lan Qi and the Queen of Gods, and insisted on distorting the facts until she became jealous when she learned that he was also going to take the Immortal Examination. In order to eliminate her competitors, she deliberately whipped him to the point where he was severely injured and could hardly get up.

The anger was like sparks flying across rocks, ready to burst out in an instant.

Jiu Zhao clenched his fist and without thinking, he was about to use the divine whip to beat him again.

But in the blink of an eye, Fuxu's face full of expectation appeared before his eyes.

They agreed that after completing the Immortal Level Examination, they would resolve the last knot between them.

If she caused a big fuss in Qichen Palace today, not to mention how serious the consequences would be, her qualification to take the exam would be the first to be affected and would definitely be revoked - Meng Chu said all this nonsense, he must have realized that there was no hope for his own promotion and was planning to drag her down with him.

She won't be fooled!

Jiu Zhao calmed down and replied with a half-smile, "It seems not only my whipping wasn't enough to teach you, Prince. Even the Northern Divine King kneeling in the palace, apologizing, and personally punishing you couldn't make you realize your mistakes. However, Meng Chu, I still have a word of advice for you. Before you fight for your life, you must test your heart. They say that the heavier a person's inner demons are, the harder it is to escape the illusionary test. You must take good care of yourself."

She had set a perfect trap, but she didn't fall for it.

Meng Chu couldn't help but grit his teeth.

As Jiu Zhao's plan shifted the focus, others became curious about what mistake he had made to be punished in public by the Northern God King.

"you--"

Unable to save face, and unable to step down, Meng Chu's smile vanished, his expression twisted for a moment. He was about to fight back, but someone stepped out from the crowd at the end of the corridor and called out his name, "Brother, you're here! It was so hard to find you."

After not seeing each other for several months, Zhu Yan still had the same beautiful face and simple clothes.

The extreme contrast between the two makes him look even more elegant and unforgettable.

His arrival made the unconvinced Meng Chu stop talking abruptly, and his eyes looked as if he had accidentally swallowed a fly while yawning.

"Your Highness, I greet you."

Although he had come for Meng Chu, Zhu Yan still remembered etiquette. He bowed, but Jiu Zhao raised her hand to excuse him. As they passed each other, Jiu Zhao noticed that he had a large bag strapped to his back, emblazoned with Meng Chu's crown prince emblem.

"It's almost midnight, and those of us who are not taking the Immortal Examination must leave early.

"Let's go, brother. When we set out this morning, my father told me to tell you something."

All right.

When he heard "Father", the fly he swallowed turned into two.

Meng Chu glared at him viciously, then his gaze returned to Jiu Zhao. After a few moments of hesitation, he finally reluctantly turned away.

…

The show ended halfway through, and the candidates, unable to hear the gossip, lost interest in gathering around the corridor.

For the first time, he controlled his temper and tried to convince someone with reason rather than force. This experience was truly novel. Coupled with the lingering memory of Meng Chu's sullen face, Jiu Zhao was almost about to burst out laughing.

She pursed her lips and smiled secretly for a while, and gradually realized that when encountering things, it is certainly satisfying to fight back in a reckless manner, but it seems more satisfying to calm down, think carefully about countermeasures, and try to make the enemy so angry that they vomit blood without having to pay any price.

She was lost in thought, silently reviewing her conversation with Meng Chu when someone suddenly patted her shoulder.

"Your Highness."

Jiu Zhao shuddered, and seeing that it was Zhu Yan who had returned, he rolled his eyes in anger: "You scared me so much without making any noise!"

"I didn't mean to do that. Please forgive me, Your Highness."

Zhu Yan gave an apologetic smile, and her foul beauty eliminated Jiu Zhao's last bit of dissatisfaction.

She said, "Your words are quite effective. Meng Chu actually followed you obediently."

Zhu Yan was helpless: "My words are not effective at all. My father was worried that my brother would cause trouble again, so he asked me to look after him."

Jiu Zhao tutted his words. "It's always been the elder brothers who look after their younger siblings, but in your northern border, it's the oldest who's the most likely to cause trouble. Sometimes I wonder what the Northern Divine King is thinking. Besides being the eldest son, what else does Meng Chu have that qualifies him for the role of Crown Prince?"

Zhu Yan remained calm and composed: "Brother, you are still young. With father's careful guidance for a few years, you will eventually get better."

"Haven't you heard the saying, 'It's easy to change a country, but difficult to change one's nature?' Meng Chu has such a mediocre and intolerant personality. Unless you brothers and sisters serve him like servants, and your talents are far inferior to his, your life will only be more difficult than it is now."

Jiu Zhao was quite disapproving. He walked around and looked behind him. Seeing that the huge bag was gone, he said thoughtfully, "As far as I know, you passed the Immortal Examination at the age of 30,000 and advanced to the Golden Immortal rank. However, you have never taken the Heavenly Immortal Examination since then.

"I guess it's because Meng Chu hasn't yet reached the Celestial Immortal stage, so he can't stand seeing you perform better than him?"

Jiu Zhao's speculation was well-founded. Even if Zhu Yan behaved respectfully, it would be difficult for him to cover up for Meng Chu completely.

His silence drew Jiu Zhao's firm conclusion: "In my opinion, you are much more suitable to be the Crown Prince than Meng Chu."

Zhu Yan, however, became serious: "Your Highness, please be careful with your words. It would be bad if outsiders heard it."

"?"

He was clearly able to withstand the pressure last time and stand up to tell the truth in public, so why did he suddenly become so boring this time?

The mean person in Jiu Zhao's heart curled his lips and looked at him with a colder look: "Why, you still dare to shut me up?"

"I dare not."

The emerald-like pupils looked back, allowing Jiu Zhao to look at them sharply.

Zhu Yan's face was calm and upright, and his tone was sincere. "I am not a person to be pitied, but Your Highness is in the high position of Crown Prince, and there are always people watching and observing you. I am worried that your words of defending me will put Your Highness in danger again."

His words left Jiu Zhao speechless for a moment.

Call him stupid, but he has been able to survive under the cruel hands of the Northern Goddess Princess.

He is not stupid, but in order to help her, or for some useless things like justice and fairness, he offended Meng Chu, who held power.

He is different from everyone Jiu Zhao has ever met, and no words can adequately describe him.

Suddenly, she felt an interest in peeling him off layer by layer to expose his hidden inner self.

However, the thought only flashed through his mind before being quickly suppressed by Jiu Zhao.

She has reconciled with Fuxu, and now her heart and eyes are full of Fuxu. How could she do such an ambiguous act as to uncover another man's heart?

Putting aside his thoughts that had crossed the border, Jiu Zhao refocused his gaze between admiration and inquiry. "Since you are so considerate of me, I am willing to accept your kindness. I have already said that if the Northern Territory is no longer able to fulfill your ambitions, you will be welcome at my Lihentian anytime."