The freshman competition concluded successfully. Everyone was still visibly upset, and only after Mu Hanyan and the others left did they slowly disperse.
"I never thought Jiang Qiling's innate magical power would be so powerful."
"Yeah, even I was so confused just now that I couldn't tell east from west."
"Twenty-one million, twenty-two million..."
"But he never dreamed that his master would be a woman, hahahaha."
"Jiang Qiling must be feeling so wronged, she must still be crying under the covers right now, haha."
"Twenty-seven million, twenty-eight million..."
On the way back, Tan Yu and the brothers Yu Shulinfeng were still excitedly recalling the shocking reversal of the last match. Amidst their discussions, there were occasional sounds of Ling Baobao's equally excited voice, but it was obviously not the same excitement.
Hua Yue and the others were much calmer. When they came to their senses from their brief absence and realized the power of Jiang Qiling's charming eyes, they knew that Mu Hanyan would definitely win the competition. Even if Jiang Qiling's charming eyes were ten or a hundred times more powerful, it would not change the final result.
Just recalling Jiang Qiling's last heartbreaking tears, the looks they gave Mu Hanyan became a little strange. They wanted to laugh, but were too embarrassed to do so.
"I say, aren't you feeling uncomfortable holding it in? If you want to laugh, just laugh it off." Mu Hanyan said. Thinking of Jiang Qiling's pitiful appearance when she left, Miss Mu felt both amused and depressed.
Why am I so attractive in male attire? My last victory over Yue Fanchen caused quite a stir, and now even that little witch Jiang Qiling has caught his eye. On the other hand, after revealing her identity as a daughter, no one paid her any attention. Just now, everyone in the audience looked at her with awe, not affection.
After all, I am a beautiful lady with a stunning appearance. How can I be so unattractive?
Seeing Mu Hanyan's depressed expression, Hua Yue and the others finally couldn't help but burst into laughter. The Yu Shu Lin Feng brothers also grinned foolishly. They were heartless anyway, so whether this master was a man or a woman didn't seem to have any effect on them.
"It's just a freshman competition, and you're so happy." As soon as they reached the gate of the yard, they heard Gong Hongru's lazy yawning voice.
"Master." Mu Hanyan, Hua Yue and others shouted in surprise.
Although Gong Hongru had never personally taught her how to practice, the books in the study and the dense annotations on them were all Gong Hongru's life's work, and were also the most precious gifts he left to Mu Hanyan and others.
What Mu Hanyan and the others gained from this was definitely much more than what other disciples gained from their master's teachings and actions, so they were still full of gratitude and respect for Gong Hongru.
"Disciple greets Master." Tan Yu and others also bowed respectfully to Gong Hongru.
"Come in." Gong Hongru said.
Everyone followed Gong Hongru into the yard.
"It's not beyond my expectation that you were able to defeat Jiang Qiling today and become the top freshman of Longyuan College, but it is indeed a cause for celebration. I'll give this to you." Gong Hongru sat down on a stone bench in the yard, took out a wooden box and handed it to Mu Hanyan.
"Thank you, Master." Mu Hanyan took the wooden box but did not open it. This was also the minimum courtesy towards the teacher.
"And you, you have made great progress in recent days. Take these." Gong Hongru then took out a few wooden boxes and gave them to Hua Yue and others. Tan Yu and the Gu brothers also had some.
After receiving the wooden box, everyone was curious, but too embarrassed to open it in front of others.
"Open them all and take a look." Gong Hongru said.
"What is this?" Yu Shulinfeng couldn't wait to open the wooden box and asked in confusion.
"Moon Shadow Clear Orchid!" Mu Hanyan exclaimed.
The exotic flower in the wooden box, with its pure green color and snow-like blossoms, is none other than the legendary Moon Shadow Orchid, which is so beautiful and so rare.
She had also seen records of the Moon Shadow Clear Orchid in Gong Hongru's collection of books. It was said that for hundreds of thousands of years, the Moon Shadow Clear Orchid was one of the continent's top treasures, but later it gradually disappeared and no one had ever found it again.
Mu Hanyan speculated that this was likely related to the incomplete power of the shattered heaven and earth. Although there was no clear record of the continent's shattering and separation in history books, and ordinary people and most practitioners were unaware of it, Mu Hanyan knew this secret.
She had been browsing ancient books these days and discovered that many of the natural treasures that once dotted the continent had mysteriously vanished, right after the continent's shattering. This conclusion wasn't hard to come by. Apparently, higher-grade natural treasures required more power from heaven and earth, so after the continent's shattering, these natural treasures gradually disappeared. Lower-grade ones, however, have survived to this day, though their production is much lower.
Because of the crack in the seal, Feilai Peak slowly released the power of heaven and earth from the Continent of Gods, and under the effect of the seal, it coexisted peacefully with the power of heaven and earth from the Continent of Holy Court and merged into one. The sudden growth of a large number of high-quality exotic flowers and plants also proved this point.
Thinking of this, Mu Hanyan suddenly felt a little confused. Since the Moon Shadow Orchid had disappeared from the Holy Court Continent, where did Gong Hongru get it? Could it be that he had seen it wrong?
"You have a good eye. It seems you've read almost all of my books," Gong Hongru said with satisfaction. He also confirmed Mu Hanyan's guess that this was indeed the legendary Moon Shadow Clear Orchid.
"Master, where did you find this?" Mu Hanyan expressed her doubts.
"A few days ago, I went out to visit a friend and went to Beiyuan Mist Plain. I picked a few plants and brought them back." Gong Hongru said casually.
Beiyuan Mist Plain! Mu Hanyan was shocked when she heard this.
Beiyuan Mist Plain is the most famous forbidden area in the entire Holy Court Continent, and a deadly place. It's said that even Saint-level masters would struggle to escape unscathed. Mu Hanyan had long heard of it, but hadn't known the true dangers within. Now, she realized it must be the border between the Holy Court Continent and the Divine Continent. Although sealed barriers guard each end, the intersection is bound to be a violent collision of the two forces of heaven and earth, and the terrifying dangers involved can be imagined.
Although Gong Hongru said it lightly, as if it was just a coincidence, Mu Hanyan knew that things were definitely not that simple. Who would seek death just because they were tired of living?
He had clearly made a special trip to collect the Moon Shadow Clear Orchid Grass for himself, Hua Yue, and the others. Even with Gong Hongru's strength, this trip was undoubtedly a huge risk.
After realizing this, Mu Hanyan looked at Gong Hongru again, tears welling up in her eyes.
It turns out that this master was not irresponsible, nor was he indifferent to them, he just expressed himself differently from others.
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