Chapter 31 Graduation 3: The competition rules do not prohibit deathmatches.
"Congratulations, Fellow Daoist Shen, on your completion of seclusion!"
"Fellow Daoist Shen, having survived the Heavenly Tribulation of the Nine Heavens, your path to immortality will surely be smooth sailing in the future!"
Sensing that the remaining spiritual energy had been activated, the Thousand Machines Academy immediately dispatched people to Ruxu Peak to guide them.
The guiding cultivator was very polite, smiling warmly as he said, "A newly promoted Golden Core cultivator should, as is customary, pay his respects at the main peak. Fellow Daoist Shen, please—"
Looking towards the testing platform, Chen Du asked, "A friend of mine is taking the graduation exam for the Immortal Dao Academy. May I observe first and then proceed to the main peak?"
The guide's smile faltered slightly, and he said with difficulty, "The Thousand Machines Academy has already reported Fellow Daoist Shen's emergence from seclusion. Now, a group of elders on the main peak are waiting for him, so we can't afford to delay him."
The smile on his lips remained unchanged, but he was somewhat displeased. This Shen Du had only just formed his core, yet he was already putting on airs.
After a slight hesitation, thinking that he could still make it to Xu Xing's graduation assessment by paying his respects at the trial platform, Shen Du decided not to delay any longer and followed the guiding cultivator to the main peak.
On the trial platform, the disciples of the Immortal Dao Academy stood in neat rows, waiting for the instructors to announce the assessment rules.
"Xu Xu, remember not to just defend later, you have to show some skill, understand?"
Wen Yao stood next to Xu Xing and, before all the seniors had arrived, quietly leaned to the side and whispered some instructions.
Just as Xu Xing was about to speak, he heard Jia Xinhong cough lightly from above and glance over.
With the grand ceremony approaching, what kind of decorum is this, whispering and huddling together?
The two wisely kept quiet.
Jie Qianyan stood at the head of the table. Seeing that most of the cultivators from both the inner and outer sects who were interested in taking on disciples had arrived, but Dean Zhai Yuzhi had not yet arrived, he couldn't help but feel puzzled.
Given Dean Zhai's typically cautious nature, he shouldn't be late for such an important occasion.
"Sorry I'm late."
Just as he was pondering this, he saw Zhai Yuzhi arrive gracefully, riding on her magical artifact.
"Dean Zhai—"
The instructors and monks greeted each other.
Seeing that Zhai Yuzhi's face seemed a little pale, Xie Qianyan moved closer and whispered, "Is the Dean feeling unwell?"
Zhai Yuzhi shook her head slightly, her gaze sweeping over the youthful faces of the disciples, and asked with a smile, "Are you all ready?"
Excluding a few disciples who failed to draw Qi into their bodies within the time limit, the Immortal Academy currently has exactly three hundred disciples remaining.
Over the past five years, the Five Spirits Trials have been adjusted annually under Zhai Yuzhi's initiative, and everyone was already prepared for the new format of this year's graduation assessment.
As expected, Zhai Yuzhi required the disciples from the three academies to be completely mixed before randomly assigning opponents for the competition, which was different from the previous years when the competitions were separated according to the different academies.
This trial platform is divided into nine smaller arenas. Within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, whoever falls off the arena first loses. The person remaining on the arena must continue to compete against the two disciples in the second round, and the winner is determined by falling off the arena as well.
And so on, no matter how many people remain on the stage, the competition continues until the very last match, until only one person remains on each stage, at which point the competition ends.
This is very unfair to the disciples who draw the first match, because as long as their opponents don't leave the arena or admit defeat, they will have to keep fighting.
"Disorder the academies? If we're matched with disciples from the Heavenly Pivot Academy, wouldn't we just be out of luck?"
"The difference in cultivation level is so great that I can't even use many of the techniques. How can I expect to gain the favor of the seniors?"
Why was it changed like this?
"Please don't let me be drawn in the first round..."
After the instructors announced the rules, the disciples of the Immortal Dao Academy began to whisper among themselves. Only the twenty-four disciples of the Heavenly Pivot Academy remained calm. They were not going to lose anyway. If their opponents were disciples of the Jade Balance Academy or the Yao Guang Academy, it would just be an easier victory for them.
"Dean Zhai..."
Suddenly another person flew in from a distance. He was dressed in black, with long hair hanging loosely, and a nonchalant smile in his eyes.
"I can't miss such a lively event."
As soon as the man in black appeared, all the outer sect cultivators on the high platform stood up and greeted him respectfully; while the inner sect elders, apart from a few elders whose cultivation was also at the Nascent Soul stage, all cast admiring yet somewhat fearful glances at him.
Jin Chu, the head of the Punishment Hall, wields the power of life and death, and no one dares to offend him.
"I didn't expect that Master Jin would also come to the graduation ceremony of the Immortal Dao Academy. I am sorry for not welcoming you properly."
Zhai Yuzhi's smile faded slightly, and her voice became respectful.
"I'm just here to join in the fun, you guys continue."
Jin Chu casually sat down at the head of the table.
Since the sect leader wouldn't participate in something as high-level as the Immortal Academy's graduation assessment, Jin Chu, being the person of the highest status today, naturally deserved to sit in the first seat.
Soon, the three hundred disciples of the Immortal Academy were assigned to the arena order. Xu Xing drew the seventh arena, eleventh match, which was later in the order. This way, she would also have time to observe the other disciples' matches.
Wen Yao drew the fourth match of the third arena. Her cultivation level was not low even among the disciples of Tian Shu Academy, so she was not worried.
It seems that the Immortal Academy is determined to make this assessment completely "random." They won't even know who their opponents are until they go on stage.
"Dean Zhai, what is the point of this group competition?"
When the first group of disciples came up on stage, Jin Chu spoke, his tone lazy, as if he were just asking a casual question.
Before Zhai Yuzhi could answer, Yuan Chengzhou, the vice dean of Qianji Academy, spoke up first, "Hall Master Jin, the Immortal Dao Academy has never been subject to any jurisdiction. Dean Zhai has the right to make her own decisions."
The nearby cultivators all quietly pricked up their ears. The Thousand Machine Academy had always been at odds with the Punishment Hall, or rather, the Punishment Hall was not favored by any branch of the Jade Cloud Sect.
Zhai Yuzhi said gently, "Master Jin, one will not always encounter equally matched opponents on the path of cultivation. I believe that helping them adapt as soon as possible is also a form of assistance."
Did the people from Jin and Chu discover something here?
However, looking at the arena where the competition had already begun, Zhai Yuzhi curled her lips and a hint of smugness flashed in her eyes. By the time these disciples stepped onto the arena, it would be too late...
Xu Xing below dared not use his divine sense to investigate, but only glanced at the stage out of the corner of his eye.
Cultivators have sharp ears and eyes; although she couldn't hear the voices from this distance, she could still recognize the faces of the people on the stage.
Seniors Wen Lu and Feng Ling have both arrived; I wonder if they've found out the truth.
A few days ago, Xu Xing inquired about this matter, and Wen Lu only told her to keep it to herself and pretend to participate in the assessment as if nothing had happened, without revealing anything else.
"ah!"
Suddenly, a scream was heard. Xu Xing looked over and saw that the outcome of one of the arena battles had been decided. A young man wearing the robes of a disciple of Yuheng Academy fell off the stage and was caught by the waiting instructors and sent back to where the disciples were.
Xu Xing glanced at the defeated disciple and saw that there was blood at the corner of his mouth, his eyes were lifeless, and his lips were pale. He seemed to be seriously injured. He couldn't help but click his tongue in surprise. Shouldn't a competition between fellow disciples end when the score is reached?
For some reason, she became somewhat concerned about the defeated disciple and stared at him for a long time.
Seeing that Xu Xing's eyes were blank, Wen Yao thought she was a little nervous, so she whispered to comfort her, "Xu Xu, don't be afraid, nothing will happen."
Xu Xing came to his senses, "I..."
"Don't lay a hand on me! I admit it—"
Before the disciple could finish his terrified pleas for mercy, he was stabbed through the heart by his opponent on the first arena.
"Nonsense! Contests are always stopped when the point is reached, how can you fight to the death?"
Just as Jia Xinhong was about to jump onto the stage to stop him, he heard Zhai Yuzhi say lightly, "Swords have no eyes. It's just that the disciple opposite him attacked a bit too hard. There's no need to make a fuss."
Although Xie Qianyan also felt it was inappropriate, she could only suppress her feelings since the dean had spoken. She even advised Jia Xinhong, "It must have been an accident. We shouldn't interfere with the competition."
Jia Xinhong's face darkened, and he said coldly, "The ones who were injured were disciples of my Yaoguang Academy, so of course you think it's nothing!"
For many years, the Immortal Academy has emphasized that disciples are forbidden from fighting each other and has never allowed them to attack each other. This year's disciples have been well-behaved and there have been no incidents of injury. Why did they resort to such violence during the graduation assessment? Was this really just an accident?
The other instructors also brought the wounded disciple back. Jia Xinhong took out a life-saving pill and was about to give it to him when the disciple breathed his last and died on the spot.
He closed his eyes, his chest heaving, his lips pressed tightly together, and gritted his teeth as he said, "Dean Zhai! This competition is inappropriate! It should be stopped! I reiterate that a fight to the death is not allowed!"
Di Nian, the usually silent instructor of Tian Shu Academy, glanced at him. "Reiterate? The rules announced earlier did not prohibit deathmatch. It would be inappropriate to add it now."
There's no rule prohibiting deathmatch? How is that possible?!
Jia Xinhong tried hard to recall and finally realized that it was indeed not mentioned when the rules were announced, but the rules for this assessment were personally formulated by the dean!
“Instructor Jia, these disciples have enjoyed five years of benefits and are in their prime, eager to prove themselves. They may have been a little reckless in their actions. The seniors who are interested in taking them on as disciples are watching, so you mustn't affect their performance.”
"Dean Zhai! But..."
Jia Xinhong still wanted to argue, but Zhai Yuzhi said coldly, "That's enough. If you don't want to watch the competition, go back to the Immortal Academy and don't cause trouble here."
This commotion also attracted the attention of the people on stage.
What's going on down there?
"It seems that one of the disciples went too far during the competition and accidentally killed another disciple."
Accidental killing?
Jin Chu's casual gaze froze slightly, and he sat up straight.
Watching the injured Yaoguang Academy disciple die, Xu Xing felt uneasy for some reason. She grabbed Wen Yao's hand and said, "A Yao, be careful when you go on stage. I have a feeling something is wrong."
She quietly handed him a nail plate, saying, "Take this with you."
Wen Yao grasped her hand in return and reassured her, "I know you mean well, but don't worry, Mother gave me many protective artifacts. I'll be fine. Keep them for yourself."
Xu Xing thought for a moment and realized that Wen Lu was, after all, a Golden Core cultivator, so he would naturally prepare all the necessary magical artifacts for his daughter.
Wen Yao refused, so Xu Xing gave both pieces of armor to Wang Lianhua. These were newly crafted defensive magical artifacts that could automatically form a barrier to protect the body when it was struck by a heavy blow.
However, it was inappropriate for Zhao Linglan, who was sitting among the disciples of Yuheng Academy, to hand over something at this time. Considering that Zhao Linglan was close to the ninth level of Qi Refining, Xu Xing was not too worried.
"Remember! Don't act out of spite. Your life is more important. If you really can't win, it's okay to admit defeat." Xu Xing earnestly advised. She knew that people who face a fight head-on are easily carried away, and she didn't want her friend to be seriously injured.
"Xu Xu, what about you?"
"Aunt Lian, I have plenty of things, don't worry about me."
"Junior Brother Yongchang! Hang in there!"
Suddenly, a commotion broke out in the Jade Balance Courtyard. It turned out that the disciple who had just been injured had suffered aggravated injuries and had fallen unconscious.
Jie Qianyan's expression was not good, but she had just advised Jia Xinhong not to take it too seriously. Now that her own disciple was injured, she couldn't say anything. She could only have someone take the disciple back to the Immortal Academy to heal.
Perhaps because the disciples of this year are generally more skilled than those of previous years, each competition ends very quickly, and more and more disciples are injured and fall off the stage, most of them from Yaoguang Academy.
Infected by this atmosphere, the disciples who had not yet gone on stage were unusually silent and tense, especially among the disciples of Yaoguang Academy. Some timid disciples had already begun to ask Jia Xinhong if they could voluntarily withdraw.
The arenas have all been assigned. Losing without a fight would be very disadvantageous for these disciples, and Jia Xinhong was worried that it would affect their future. However, if they went on stage, they would be seriously injured. It was a difficult situation to have both.
After a moment's thought, he advised his disciples to go up on stage and try, and to admit defeat as soon as possible if they couldn't win.
The disciples of Yaoguang Academy are generally not as skilled as those of the other two academies, so how can they possibly defeat them?
Soon, Wen Yao also went up, and Xu Xing kept his eyes fixed on the third arena.
On the third arena, there were two male disciples from Yuheng Academy, and together with Wen Yao, the three of them competed.
As soon as Wen Yao stepped onto the stage, she sensed something was wrong. The atmosphere on the stage was unusually tense, filled with a murderous aura. Seeing the blood of the other disciples on the stage, she couldn't help but frown, feeling uneasy.
The two male disciples had icy eyes. After the competition started, they didn't even greet each other and took the initiative to strike, wanting to knock the female disciple off the stage first.
Wen Yao's expression darkened, and her fiery red whip pierced through the air as she fought against the two men, holding her own against them.
But as the fight went on, she saw that the two male disciples were becoming increasingly ruthless, seemingly determined to fight to the death. Unwilling to take lives, she was constantly restrained, and for a time it was difficult to determine a winner.
"We have no grudge against you! Why did you have to use such force?!" Wen Yao dodged a knife, then used her whip to disarm the man and throw him off the stage. "Just admit defeat. I don't want to hurt you."
The disciple gritted his teeth, his eyes bloodshot, and charged forward with his bare hands!
Xu Xing looked at the arena and saw that Wen Yao had the upper hand, which eased his mind a little. But then he suddenly heard a crying voice in his ear, "Brother, don't scare me!"
Xu Xing turned his head and saw that the crying female disciple was Xi Yun, who had been in the same team as him in the Xuan Shuo Trial. The male disciple she was holding was her twin brother, named Xi Feng.
After Xi Feng was injured and went offstage, he fainted. When Xi Yun noticed that her brother's breathing was gradually weakening while he was unconscious, she panicked. She choked up and fed Xi Feng some medicine, but his breathing was getting weaker and weaker.
Jie Qianyan frowned and asked the others to take Xi Feng down to heal his injuries, but Xi Yun clung to her brother's arm and wouldn't let go. She felt that if they went back now, her brother would probably die before they even reached the Immortal Academy!
"Senior Xie! Please, I beg you, save my brother! He probably won't last much longer!"
Xie Qianyan naturally possessed life-saving pills, and upon hearing this, she hesitated whether to take them out.
Zhai Yuzhi, who was at the head of the table, looked over with a cold expression, completely unlike her former gentle and warm demeanor. "You can save one disciple, but what about ten or twenty? Will you save them all? What's the point of this assessment then?"
Xie Qianyan felt that something was off about Zhai Yuzhi's words, but she always trusted the dean, so she immediately apologized, "Dean Zhai is absolutely right, I misunderstood."
She turned to look at Xi Yun, frowning, and said, "Don't cry and make a scene here. Taking your brother back for treatment is the most important thing."
"senior……"
Hearing this, Xi Yun felt a wave of despair, and tears streamed down her face. But when the dean and the instructors cast cold glances at her, she didn't even dare to cry out loud.
Xu Xing only knew that Xi Feng was a disciple of Yuheng Academy, and they didn't usually have any contact. However, Xi Yun was shy and friendly, and had even shared food with her before. Seeing her so heartbroken and desperate, Xu Xing hesitated for a moment, then leaned closer and whispered, "I have some medical knowledge, may I take a look?"
Xi Yun was completely bewildered and could only nod blankly.
Seeing that Xi Feng was barely breathing, Xu Xing didn't care about anything else and fed him a second-tier Soul-Sustaining Pill. She didn't have many of these, and saving lives was the priority, so she couldn't worry about anything else.
Seeing her brother's breathing calm down, Xi Yun cried out as if she had found a lifeline, "Xu Xing! Please, please save my brother!"
Xu Xing put her arm around Xi Feng's wrist. She wasn't exactly a doctor, but she could "see".
Upon touching Xi Feng, Xu Xing could clearly see that, in addition to the blood loss caused by his injuries, Xi Feng also had two lines of conspicuous black debuffs.
"Boiling Blood: Bloodthirsty and easily angered"
"During Demonic Transformation: The process of transforming into a half-demon after consuming the essence of a demonic beast lasts for 3 days; failure results in death."
Demonic transformation?
Xu Xing was horrified. The disciples of the Immortal Academy hadn't even left the Jade Cloud Sect in the past five years, so how could they have become demonized?
Thinking of Zhai Yuzhi's unknown identity, Xu Xing suddenly looked up and saw her watching the increasingly intense competition on the stage with an interesting smile.
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