"Bang—"
With a muffled thud, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth flowed into his body, gathering into a faint halo around him. Then, under the circulation of true energy, the halo was slowly absorbed into his body.
Lu Zhaozhao slowly opened her eyes and exhaled a breath of stale air.
These past two days she has been busy cultivating, breathing in her inner energy day and night.
Before the competition began, she had forcibly broken through to the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm to increase her chances of winning. The resulting unstable true energy within her body prevented her from truly unleashing the full potential of this stage.
Fortunately, she survived several life-or-death ordeals in the following competitions.
First, in the first round of the competition, she fought against the eight clans, and in the end, she fought against several of them separately. She also fought Cheng Sangji to a draw. Then, in the second round, she fought against many demonic beasts and forged the second level of body tempering in the heavenly fire of the Nine Phoenixes.
Through these trials, her fragile true energy was gradually solidified, and now her mid-stage Nascent Soul strength is vastly different from before, and there are even faint signs of further advancement.
"It really worked out just as Wei Zhanjie suggested." Lu Zhaozhao chuckled softly, and for some reason, that lonely figure came to mind.
I wonder if he'll be alarmed by his unconscious body? Lu Zhaozhao wondered, but then shook her head in denial.
After all, Wei Zhanjie had seen it all; to write a book like Zhili Yi, he must be no ordinary person.
She was increasingly looking forward to seeing Wei Zhanjie here.
However, the most urgent task is to pass the competition.
Today, all those who have advanced will gather in the Ming Palace.
Ming Palace City, named after Ming Palace, the residence of the Demon Lord, filled Lu Zhaozhao with increasing excitement. She wondered if she would be able to meet the legendary Demon Lord today.
Filled with anticipation, Lu Zhaozhao embarked on her journey to the Ming Palace.
Perhaps due to border disputes, there were many more city defense patrols along the road today. In just one short distance, Lu Zhaozhao had already seen three teams.
Upon arriving at the Ming Palace, the guards were even more stringent.
However, its deployment seemed quite familiar to Lu Zhaozhao.
One soldier for every step, five more for every ten steps. There is a squad leader for every five steps, a platoon leader for every ten steps, and a general for every fifty and one hundred steps. They are both civil and military, and are appointed according to their abilities to lead the elite troops.
This is clearly the defensive deployment method of the human race's city defense army. However, before this conflict, the human and demon territories were always clearly separated. How could the demon realm adopt the defensive deployment ideas of ordinary people?
Lu Zhaozhao was completely baffled. She stared at the black bird patterns on the soldiers' armor and fell into deep thought.
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck her. She remembered what the tiger demon had said when she first entered the Demon Realm: the current Demon Lord had come from the outside world. After killing the dragon demon, he intimidated all the heroes with his powerful strength and thus ascended to the position of Demon Lord.
Therefore, it's not surprising that he knows and uses human knowledge. However, Lu Zhaozhao couldn't help but have another question.
Why would the demons willingly submit to a mere human?
This problem remained unresolved until she arrived inside the Ming Palace.
Many people have come today, and many of them are well-known.
The contestants stood below the palace, and three steps leading up to it were set up with eight seats, each corresponding to one of the eight major clans, whose representatives participated. These representatives, who held the power of speech, were the eight commanders.
Further up, two seats were set up side by side, but no one sat down until the bell rang, and the place remained empty.
"Who has such great influence that they dare to keep these eight commanders waiting for so long?"
"Shh, keep your voice down. You really are stupid. Aren't there only two people whose positions are above the eight commanders?"
"You mean the Demon Lord and the Demon King?"
"I told you to keep your voice down. I heard their relationship with the eight major clans is delicate. Don't let the higher-ups hear you."
...
Whispers occasionally drifted from the contestants. Although they tried to keep their voices down, they were right next to Lu Zhaozhao, and every word reached her ears.
Lu Zhaozhao stared blankly at the two seats at the head of the table.
On such an important occasion, all eight commanders-in-chief have arrived; they have no reason not to come.
Is the border situation really that dire?
Lu Zhaozhao was lost in her own thoughts, while Cheng Sangji was observing her discreetly from three steps away.
Cheng Sangji put the mask that covered his entire face back on, revealing only a pair of expressionless eyes, making it impossible to guess what he was thinking.
The eight clans formed their own faction and stood together after entering, though they had varying degrees of closeness or distance among themselves.
Following Cheng Sangji's gaze, Tudan Xixiang surveyed the figures in the room for a while, then turned and asked in a low voice, "What are you thinking about?"
Cheng Sangjie lowered his eyes and did not answer.
Tu Danxi didn't ask any further questions, but went straight to find Nan Rongrui.
After the second round of the competition that day, Cheng Sangji remained absent-minded. The letter from the Nan Rong family arrived that same day, and after receiving it from Nan Rongrui, he locked himself in his room.
It reappeared this morning.
Today is the day the third trial begins. Tudan Xixiang knocked on Cheng Sangjie's door, wanting to wake him up to prepare, but the room was empty.
Cheng Sangji went alone to a mountain outside the Ming Palace. He sat there, facing the direction of Luwu Mountain, watching the sunrise.
Tudan Xixiang stood not far behind him. He had a feeling that he had been discovered, but Cheng Sangji did not turn around, so he wisely went down the mountain.
Then they met inside the Ming Palace.
Tu Danxi didn't understand what had happened, but the only thing he was sure of was that it must be related to the letter sent by the Nanrong family.
So, he found Nan Rongrui.
"Huh? You're asking me what the letter said? Weren't you there too? It was just about the Nüba tribe."
Nan Rongrui looked at Tu Danxi with the eyes of someone looking at a mentally challenged child.
Tu Danxi blushed and stammered, "I... I didn't ask that. I wanted to ask if there were any other factors involved?"
"Hmm? Why would you ask that?" Nan Rongrui looked at him. "Is it because of your strange behavior today, brother?"
"You, you know that!" Tu Danxi was greatly surprised.
"Is it strange? It would be strange if I couldn't find something that you could discover!" Nan Rongrui said nonchalantly, then seemed to think of something, her eyes flashing with a strange light.
She stared at Lu Zhaozhao with great interest and said, "Although I don't know what brother has found out, it must be related to her. Ha! Being targeted by brother is not a good thing; her 'good days' are yet to come!"
Unlike Nan Rongrui's excitement, Tu Danxi looked rather sullen.
But regardless of their individual thoughts, the Demon Lord and the Demon King ultimately did not show up.
An unfamiliar face took the seat of honor.
"I am the guardian of the Ming Palace. The Demon Lord was unable to attend due to other matters, so I am in charge of the summons."
"I hereby declare the third round of the competition officially open!"
"The competition will consist of gladiatorial combat."
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