Chapter 162 Eastern Regions 25 Xie Jiaoyue found the angle. ...
Xie Jiaoyue found the right angle.
Between the end of the first event and the start of the second, Xie Jiaoyue left her companions and leisurely stood next to Chu Xingjin.
At this moment, Gong Shichuo was also beside the other disciples of the Heavenly-level aristocratic families, giving the two of them just the right amount of space.
"Brother Xingjin~" Xie Jiaoyue called out in a low voice, which startled Chu Xingjin so much that he broke out in a cold sweat.
"How did you recognize me!" Chu Xingjin's eyes widened in shock, his body trembled, and he involuntarily took a step away from Xie Jiaoyue.
This person is so persistent!
He wore a mask on purpose, partly to prevent Feng Qianqian from recognizing him, and partly to prevent Xie Jiaoyue from recognizing him.
Xie Jiaoyue took a step closer to Chu Xingjin and said sweetly, "Brother Xingjin is so tall and imposing, even if he were reduced to ashes, I would still recognize him."
She winked and materialized the storage ring for a second, showing it to Chu Xingjin.
Inside lay five bamboo stalks, their green tinged with purple, and faintly shimmering with golden light.
The first item to be examined was purple bamboo.
“I saw that Brother Xingjin was in the top five, and I thought that if I handed over all the purple bamboo, Brother Xingjin would fall out of the top five. How could I bear to do that? So I deliberately kept a few.”
Chu Xingjin's face fell immediately, and he stammered "you" for a long time, unable to utter the next word.
What a humiliation.
The top five ranking that he had been so eager to achieve was actually a gift from someone else.
Chu Xingjin was somewhat dazed. One moment he felt that he would eventually become the strongest immortal with his own strength, and the next he felt that he needed others to give him a place in the top five. What hope did he have in this life?
At this moment, Gongshi Feifei called to him through the Mirror of Spirits, asking him to come over.
Gongshi Feifei stood with the patriarchs of the three great celestial families.
He was ambitious and felt that since no fourth-level aristocratic family had appeared for so many years, they might as well give up their position to him.
He planned this meticulously, even sacrificing his own daughter as a bargaining chip, all in the hope of showcasing the power of the Gongshi clan to the entire cultivation world during this grand competition.
Gongshi Feifei introduced Chu Xingjin to the other clan leaders.
"Xiao Chu only got fifth place, not as good as the top four, he's far behind."
"Xiao Chu didn't have a good life before. He was an orphan from the border region and never learned any formal cultivation system from childhood to adulthood. He was pitiful."
He looked proud; in short, he was showing off.
Look, this guy is incredibly talented, and I was the first to discover him. Now he's my son-in-law. Although he only ranked fifth in the first category, all the people you've nurtured with the full power of your clan are only slightly better than him; they're all useless.
The future still depends on our Gongshi clan.
Chief Baili's face was gloomy. Her disciple ranked third, only slightly higher than Gong Shichuo and Chu Xingjin.
She said with a forced smile, "Hehe, it's quite a pity for this young master Chu. Only four special rewards were prepared for this regional competition, so he won't be able to get one."
"Sigh, if he had more time to cultivate, he might have been able to obtain it, but then Gong Shichuo probably wouldn't have been able to."
Gongshi Feifei's smile remained undiminished: "This is only the first item. Xiao Chu has been making progress. Perhaps Xiao Chu will create a miracle in the next two items and make it into the top four in the first round."
Moreover, today is only the first round; there will be a second and even a third round later.
He looked at Chu Xingjin with loving eyes and gently patted Chu Xingjin's back: "Little Chu, don't you think so?"
Chu Xingjin lowered his head, not daring to let others see his bitter expression.
Can he do it?
Will Xie Jiaoyue do something unexpected again?
Unbeknownst to him, he had become like a frightened bird when facing Xie Jiaoyue.
Only after realizing that there was no one else around did Chu Xingjin finally dare to raise his head.
Directly in front of him was the very center of the spectator area, where four chairs stood out from the surrounding area.
Three of the seated individuals were the three clan leaders he had just met—two men and one woman—while the remaining one was completely wrapped in black cloth, making it impossible to identify him.
Could this be the legendary fourth Heavenly-level family member?
Is it something you're ashamed to show off?
Surrounding the four people on both sides were patriarchs and elders from various aristocratic families, each of them prim and proper, making the entire spectator area very quiet.
But the situation is completely different in the teahouses and taverns outside the venue.
Aside from the taverns run by the Heaven and Earth Bureau, the most bustling taverns in the Buzhou Immortal Realm are those run by the Baili Clan.
The disciples of the Baili clan have always been skilled in business management. For example, Baili Sizhang of Daoqian City in the Southwest Region single-handedly made Daoqian City the most prosperous commercial city in the entire Southwest Region.
Within the Buzhou Immortal Realm, the Baili Clan were the leaders in the inn, tavern, teahouse, and other related industries. They had relinquished businesses such as the medicine shop and the forging workshop, and instead focused on doing businesses that certain aristocratic families "looked down upon."
Regardless of whether it's the most profitable, this kind of business has the highest profile and the best access to information.
For example, right now, a bunch of people are gathered in Baili's tavern, looking at the water curtain that surrounds the center in 360 degrees. When they see that the cultivator they support is performing well, they immediately start cheering.
The group that naturally attracted the most attention was the sword cultivators and magic cultivators. Their progress was fast and the effects were cool. Even if their cultivation level was not high enough and they didn't understand much, they could still enjoy the show. Unlike the alchemy cultivators, who could only understand that there were paths on the ground, they couldn't understand anything else.
What's being displayed on the water screen now is the ranking of the sword cultivators and magic cultivators after the first event.
Most of the names in the top ten are familiar to everyone. They are either from a Heavenly-level family, or a Earthly-level family like the Gongshi family, or a family like Chu Xingjin that has been incorporated into a major family.
The only unfamiliar name was number ten.
"Who is this Xie Jiaoyue? She's amazing, she's in the top ten!" A little girl from the Baili clan who looked no more than twelve or thirteen years old asked the older sister next to her.
The older sister hugged the little girl in her arms: "Remember, you just said there was a really pretty older sister you really liked, that's her."
Xie Lingliu, who was eating sunflower seeds on the side, looked at the cute little girl with a big, maternal smile on her face.
The little girl is sensible; her family's Jiaoyue is both beautiful and strong.
Qianqian, Gongshi Moyu, and Xiuying are all good choices.
She felt no jealousy whatsoever, but rather a sense of pride.
These are all her friends! With them around, her career as a relationship counselor will definitely go more and more smoothly, and no scumbag will dare to threaten her!
Some people poured cold water on the idea.
A male cultivator from the Gongshi clan couldn't wait to show off his superior understanding: "This young lady clearly doesn't know how to read. The first test is the simplest kind. If you have brute strength and are willing to use your spiritual energy, you can get a decent score. This person just kept using the simplest chopping to cut bamboo, so it's obviously this kind. But there are three tests in the first round, which are all about endurance. This person has already exhausted all her strength, so it's going to be difficult for her in the next round."
The male cultivator looked like a know-it-all: "I can achieve that kind of result too."
The little girl blinked her big eyes.
"Brother, you look very muscular and strong, you should be good at cutting bamboo, so why don't you participate in this? Don't you like it?"
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