After He Yunxiao and Du Yinyun left, the martial arts competition continued.

Under Jiang Wuyou's guidance, the atmosphere at Chunfeng Tower quickly became lively again.

Most people were used to He Yunxiao's arrogance and domineering attitude. Although they were somewhat surprised by his martial arts achievements, they didn't find it strange that he was more skilled in martial arts, considering that he was the son of a marquis and had access to a lot of resources.

After He Chu's attack, Du Hua Kui's embrace of He Yunxiao sparked considerable speculation.

Some speculate that He Yunxiao was dying, and Du Huakui only helped him because she was anxious. Others speculate that He Yunxiao took advantage of his injury to force himself on Du Huakui. Still others speculate that Du Huakui is actually He Yunxiao's lost younger sister, and it would be normal for siblings to hug each other upon reunion.

In short, no one dared to guess that He Yunxiao was faking it while lying on the ground, because it was too shocking. To fight against a ninth-rank opponent and still have the energy to act, could He Yunxiao be a grandmaster? Of course, that was absolutely impossible.

Strangely, more people believed the last rumor than the first two.

Several cases of people losing family members and then suddenly finding them have occurred in Yinjingcheng recently.

Some belonged to generals' mansions, some to high-ranking officials' homes, and some to merchants' residences. The stories were varied and unreliable, passed around without any discernible truth.

After Chu Fan defeated He Yunxiao, he was naturally warmly welcomed by Yang Qi and the others.

"Brother Chu!" Tie Weiqi said enthusiastically, "After this battle, Brother Chu will soon be listed on the Azure Cloud Ranking."

Liu Feiyun also laughed and said, "I estimate that Brother Chu will rank higher than Brother Tie on his first appearance on the Qingyun Ranking."

Tie Weiqi didn't mind at all; being outdone by a ninth-rank martial artist younger than himself was nothing to be ashamed of.

He said heartily, "Haha, when Brother Chu reaches my age, he might already be a Grandmaster."

Even though they were mentally prepared, everyone was still terrified.

Tie Weiqi is twenty-four years old, while Chu Fan is twenty years old. If Chu Fan becomes a Grandmaster at the age of twenty-four, what does that mean?

It should be noted that Yang Zhe, who was a genius in both literature and martial arts two years ago, is now only stuck at the peak of the ninth rank at the age of twenty-three.

The transition from Rank 9 to Grandmaster is completely different from that from Rank 8 to Rank 9; they are not even on the same level anymore.

It can be said that the time required to go from rank nine to grandmaster may be longer than the time required to go from rank one to rank nine.

If Chu Fan can truly reach the Grandmaster level early on, does that mean that Chu Fan has the potential to surpass the Grandmaster level and become a Great Grandmaster in his lifetime?

Zhang Xian, the founding general of the Qi Kingdom, who single-handedly broke through the armor of 6,000, was at the Grandmaster level.

In the present world, there is still a small country between the two great powers of Qi and Yan. This country has survived to this day not because of its powerful army, but because it has a guardian deity at the Grandmaster level.

Once you reach the Grandmaster level, you can go anywhere in the world.

Even if you have a thousand troops, I can still take your emperor's head if I say so.

Therefore, although this small country is small, no one dares to touch it.

No ruler dared to risk being beheaded to attack it.

Seeing the eager looks in their eyes, Chu Xiaoxiao quickly changed the subject, preventing them from trying to curry favor with her.

As the person who knows Chu Fan best, she naturally understands that Chu Fan's strength is far more than just his current ninth-grade level. Chu Fan's current limit should be from the peak of the ninth grade to the half-step grandmaster.

But she was unwilling to talk about these things.

If Chu Fan had the strength of a half-step Grandmaster by the age of twenty, then he would be almost certain to become a Grandmaster.

This means that even Princess Meng Qingqian had to curry favor with Chu Fan by finding a husband for her.

Other women or powerful forces—they would stop at nothing to achieve their goals.

Chu Xiaoxiao's biggest fear was that a bad woman would seduce her brother, so she said with a smile, "A few days ago, my brother accidentally obtained a highly nourishing Ganoderma lucidum and was fortunate enough to enter the ninth rank. Actually, he's still far from being a true ninth rank. Look, it took him dozens of moves to beat He Yunxiao, a seventh-rank martial artist."

After hearing Chu Xiaoxiao's explanation, everyone's fiery expressions finally subsided.

Improving martial arts skills through medication is something true martial artists despise. Power gained by chance is far inferior to the strength acquired through arduous training.

Moreover, once he starts taking the medication, it will be difficult for him to make any further progress. It's a pity that Chu Fan, with his exceptional talent, couldn't think straight.

Tie Weiqi was the most skilled martial artist among them, and he was also the first to realize that He Yunxiao possessed the strength of an eighth-rank cultivator. He observed that Chu Fan's internal energy was solid, not like he had taken medicine, but instead of refuting Chu Xiaoxiao, he was the first to jump out and smooth things over for Chu Fan.

"Haha, let's not talk about that anymore. Brother Chu, you're sure to advance to the next round of 'Falling Flowers' this time."

Chu Fan didn't know why Chu Xiaoxiao said that, but he was used to listening to his sister, so he didn't refute her. He took the opportunity to talk to Tie Weiqi about the "fallen flowers".

"Brother Tie, what kind of flowers are 'fallen flowers'?"

Tie Weiqi laughed and said, "Brother Chu, it seems this is your first time playing here. Brother Chen, you're a regular, why don't you tell Brother Chu about it?"

Shen Kuan had just heard that Chu Fan's cultivation level was achieved through taking medicine, and he felt even more regretful for offending He Yunxiao.

He forced a smile and said, "Our Great Qi values ​​both literary and martial prowess. The martial arts competition has already taken place; now it's time to compete in literary talent. The ten winners from the previous round will be arranged in a circle according to the number of gold flowers they received, from most to least. Then, the courtesan Du will say a word or image. The others will then use that image to come up with related idioms, poems, articles, or famous quotes. The person with the most gold flowers will speak first, and the person with the fewest will speak last. No repetition is allowed. If you can't say anything, you're eliminated."

Chu Fan nodded and said, "What if someone composes a poem on the spot?"

Shen Kuan said, “Of course. But the courtesans of Chunfeng Tower are all skilled in poetry. If they make up stories and it’s obvious at a glance, then it won’t count.”

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