Chapter 20 020 Drawing Lots But I, undeterred by public opinion…
All thirty-two celestial beings had displayed their divine power, and a day had passed. The Boundless Secret Realm did not normally distinguish between day and night, but in order to accommodate the pilgrims' schedules, they used magic to simulate sunrise and sunset.
As the sun sets, the white jade bricks of the stone steps plaza light up one by one, guiding the gods and pilgrims to their respective lodgings.
During the Ascension Ceremony, neither pilgrims nor gods are allowed to leave the Boundless Secret Realm, and therefore they are unaware of the changes in their ranking and reputation on the God Ranking.
"Zhiwei, what you have done today will likely earn you a reputation for flattery and debauchery in the future."
Yun Tianjiao pushed open the wooden lattice window of his room and saw Zhiwei looking out the window below.
Their dwellings were designed in the shape of flowers and leaves, with pilgrims residing in flower houses and deities in leaf houses, flowers on top and leaves below, flowers as the main element and leaves as secondary, much like the relationship between pilgrims and deities today.
Therefore, at this moment, the two looked at each other through the window, their eyes meeting. Yun Tianjiao was looking down at Zhiwei from a superior position.
They are born with a sense of oppression and a master-servant relationship.
Zhiwei stood by the window, gazing up at the moon, her eyes reflecting both herself and the moon.
He smiled warmly and asked only, "Is Your Highness pleased?"
Yun Tianjiao was slightly taken aback.
She had to admit that she craved the exhilarating feeling of soaring through the air, and the sight of a shower of peach blossoms would likely leave an indelible mark on her heart.
But she couldn't bring herself to express her "joy," as the curse from her nightmares echoed in her mind once more, as if trying to remind her of something.
"I curse you! I curse you to never live past nineteen, to suffer the pain of national ruin and family destruction in your prime, and to die at the hands of your beloved in every reincarnation!!!"
Yun Tianjiao once thought that if she never loved anyone in her life and had no true love, would the curse fall apart? So she indulged in male beauty but never touched a single woman, thus strengthening her defenses.
But at that moment, as she looked at the man leaning against the railing across from her, she suddenly felt a sense of panic.
"Is Your Highness pleased?" Zhiwei asked again when she didn't speak.
Yun Tianjiao closed his eyes briefly, and when he opened them again, he had already suppressed the trembling in his eyes.
"Zhiwei, do you know how terrifying gossip can be?" she said sternly, reprimanding him with an air of superiority.
A breeze swept by, causing the flowers outside to sway and lifting the black ribbon binding the man's hair.
"Your Highness." Zhiwei met her gaze, her beautiful lips curving upwards, her peach blossom eyes gentle as water, "But I, on the contrary, am not afraid of what others say."
...
The Boundless Secret Realm was quiet, but the restaurants and gambling dens in the mortal capital were bustling with noise and brightly lit.
At this moment, everyone was discussing the same topic: the rankings on today's God List.
"They're all women with long hair and short brains, praising that pretty boy to such a high ranking. It's truly a sign of the world going to the dogs!"
"Oh my, what are you saying? If you think any god is good, then burn some more incense. What are you talking about if you don't have any money!"
"It's because of you that the gods we're worshipping now are all just pretty faces with no substance!"
"What's wrong? We only see ugly, deformed people like you all the time, so we can't even offer some nicer things to our gods?"
Of all the gods, the most controversial is naturally Zhiwei, not only because his face, which is said to bring ruin to the country, is so hateful, but also because the divine power he displayed today has indeed aroused controversy.
"Alright, alright, stop arguing! This is only the first round. That Zhiwei Heavenly God is only ranked eleventh. The real test will be in the second round starting tomorrow!"
"That's right, come on, let's place our bets and see if Zhiwei's ranking goes up or down after tomorrow."
"Who did you bet on the most today?"
"Is that even a question? Of course it's Immortal Lord Zhu Jing!"
"Immortal Lord Zhu Jing was already ranked highest in terms of incense offerings, and now with the support of Miss Shen from the Prime Minister's Mansion, he is naturally even more powerful and will surely win the championship!"
Some newcomers to the capital were puzzled: "Why is having the Prime Minister's daughter's blessing considered like adding wings to a tiger? By that logic, wouldn't the Heavenly God Zhiwei, with the blessing of the Eldest Princess, have an even greater chance of winning?"
The gambling den employee explained, "Oh, you're probably new to the capital and haven't heard of the deeds of this Miss Shen!"
"I would like to hear the details..."
Before the waiter could speak, someone else chimed in, "This young lady from the Prime Minister's family is famously lucky! You could say she wins every bet and always turns bad luck into good!"
"Yes, yes, not only was she born into a wealthy and noble family like the Prime Minister's mansion, but she will also become the Empress, ruling the world! Don't you think this person has a good life?"
"On the other hand, our eldest princess, although she is powerful and influential, has never had a smooth life. She lost her father at a young age, and when the emperor first ascended the throne, she and her brother were almost assassinated. After coming of age, she had difficulty finding a husband, and now she has a bad reputation for being promiscuous and dissolute, making it difficult for her to marry into a high-ranking family. Her luck is truly terrible..."
"Sigh, there's no use in saying all this. The number of incense offerings for the Heavenly God Zhiwei is still a hundred thousand miles less than that of Immortal Venerable Zhujing. It's not even up to the Princess and Miss Shen's luck!"
Yun Tianjiao couldn't hear these discussions, but they reached Yun Tianqi's ears in the palace.
Yun Tianqi was furious. "Who said my elder sister is unlucky? I'm going to bet on her to win!"
So he sent Lai Shun out of the palace secretly, using an alias to place a large bet on Zhiwei to win the championship.
...
The next day, as soon as it was light, the early-rising mortal pilgrims headed to the temple of the Three Gods in order to grab a good spot in the front row.
Meanwhile, within the Boundless Secret Realm, all the gods and pilgrims reunited at the stone steps plaza.
At the exact moment of the hour of Mao (5-7 AM), a celestial attendant descended gracefully from the clouds and began to announce the rules for the second round of the competition that day.
"Today's competition is called the Demon Extermination. Each deity will draw lots according to their ranking on the Heavenly Ranking, and will be teleported to different city fragments to exterminate demons based on the task they draw. The task levels range from one star to four stars, with higher star levels indicating greater difficulty and higher scores upon completion. After this round, the ranking on the God Ranking will be determined by adding up each person's score and incense offerings. I wish you all the best."
After the celestial attendant finished announcing the results, the three-legged bronze cauldron that had previously flown out of the ranking jade slip reappeared.
However, what everyone was most concerned about at this moment was not what kind of task they would draw, but the order in which they would draw lots.
Because the order of the draw, which is the current order of the God Ranking, is the only way for them, who are isolated from the world, to know their current ranking.
The first person to draw a lot was naturally Zhu Jing, which surprised everyone. He drew a blue scroll, which represented a two-star mission.
Two-star missions are the most popular, with the highest completion rate and the best score-to-performance ratio.
Shen Qiongzhi clapped her hands happily beside Zhu Jing, but Zhu Jing still had that indifferent expression, revealing no emotion.
Following closely behind are Immortal Lord Yuanshan, Immortal Lord Luocheng, and others... all of whom have high incense counts on the God Ranking. They drew either blue or purple scrolls, representing two-star and three-star missions respectively, indicating that these two star levels account for the highest proportion of missions.
It wasn't until the fairy attendant called on Zhiwei to draw lots that everyone's expressions showed surprise.
The... eleventh?!
This Zhiwei Heavenly God was originally at the bottom of the rankings, but yesterday's farcical display of divine power caused his ranking to rise so much!
As expected... looks really do matter in this world...
Zhiwei remained unperturbed by praise or criticism, calmly stepping forward amidst a variety of complex gazes, and retrieving the mission scroll from the bronze cauldron—
Golden.
Many people couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
Four stars!
The most difficult task!
Soon, all the gods stepped forward and drew their own mission scrolls, and no more gold ones were drawn. In other words, Zhiwei was the only one in the entire event to draw a four-star mission.
The gazes that fell upon him gradually shifted from initial jealousy, resentment, and envy to pity.
Yun Tianjiao frowned slightly: "None of the gods who drew this four-star mission in the last Ascension Tournament were able to complete it... I'm the one who dragged you down. I've always had bad luck."
Zhiwei replied, "It was clearly I who dragged Your Highness down."
Yun Tianjiao was taken aback. "What do you mean by that?"
Zhiwei looked at her and smiled gently: "It was because I met Your Highness that I used up all my good luck, which is why Your Highness has to take on this most difficult mission with me."
Yun Tianjiao: "..."
If you can speak, then speak more; I love to hear it.
"Is Your Highness afraid?" Zhiwei asked.
"Huh?" She didn't have time to react.
She felt him lean closer, the faint scent of peach blossoms wafting through the air, his low voice like a lover's whisper, making her ears tingle.
"Don't be afraid, I will protect Your Highness."
Yun Tianjiao turned her head and met those smiling peach blossom eyes, giving her a sly wink.
"Are you a peach blossom spirit in disguise?" she thought to herself, and then blurted it out unconsciously.
Zhiwei was clearly stunned for a moment, then her smile widened, and she whispered, "No, it's a fox spirit in disguise."
Yun Tianjiao: "..."
As everyone knows, comparing oneself to a vixen is tantamount to saying that one is beautiful, seductive, and capable of alluring men.
How shameless...
Yun Tianjiao turned his head away, unable to bear looking directly at her, but he couldn't suppress the smile on his lips.
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