Chapter 164: What Happened by the Lake Had Never Been Simple

In the final days of the martial exam, the number of eliminated cultivators became fewer and fewer.

But in terms of rankings, there were almost no more changes.

Everyone knew that the outcome was a foregone conclusion.

The name of that young martial artist was prominently displayed at the top of the list, which was extremely eye-piercing to the foreign cultivators.

But everyone knew that it could no longer be changed.

The Myriad Willow Convention was about to open a new chapter. This was the first Myriad Willow Convention after the reform, destined to leave a significant mark in the history of the Myriad Willow Convention. But who could have imagined that at such an important time node, it could not escape "Great Liang Dynasty" three words.

The first place in the literary exam was a cultivator from the Great Liang Dynasty, and it seemed like... it would be the same for the martial exam.

This was unprecedented for the Great Liang Dynasty.

The Great Liang Dynasty was also about to embark on a new chapter.

......

......

As the rising sun fell onto the lake's surface, everything was settled.

The cultivators by the lakeside stood up, gazed at the ranking list, and silently wanted to leave.

But more cultivators arrived from a distance.

The martial exam officially ended today. Logically speaking, they were supposed to return here to witness the birth of the martial exam champion. However, based on the current situation, they did not seem to be coming here for this matter.

Several figures appeared one after another by the lakeside.

They were the young cultivators who persevered until the end of this martial exam. They left the microcosm and returned to the real world.

The microcosm was very real too, but compared to the real human realm, there was always something lacking.

They felt a bit confused, but soon returned to their senses.

More and more cultivators appeared in the distance.

However, it was clear that some people would never appear here again.

Like Song Changxi, Liang Zhao, and He Yi...

The ranking list still hung high, but as the young cultivators left, the names began to dissipate. Soon, only the top name remained.

That young martial artist from the Great Liang Dynasty had still not shown up.

The cultivators by the lakeside were very quiet.

Wei Xu stood by the lake, gazing at the morning light.

The cultivators did not have much respect for this scholar from the academy, but they knew he was a Nepenthe cultivator and dared not say anything.

The prominent figures on the pavilion looked at the scholar standing by the lake, feeling different emotions.

Although Wei Xu had not done much in this martial trial, he had actually already done enough.

At least according to the original plan, the Great Liang Dynasty's right to speak should not have been so strong.

After an unknown amount of time, when the cultivators by the lake could no longer maintain their silence, the final figure finally appeared by the lakeside.

It was a topless young man.

People noticed that the young man's body was covered in numerous scars. But it was very clear that most of them seemed to be old wounds, although there were also many new ones.

"Those are traces of lightning spells."

People thought silently. That daoist genius was the most adept in lightning spells. Clearly, these traces were left from that great battle.

They recalled the words Song Changxi had said by the lakeside earlier.

Although not all cultivators had heard it that day, the news had already spread. How could they not know what had happened on that day?

Song Changxi, the genius of the Dao society, and the biggest favorite of this martial exam, had been lost to that young martial artist in the battle, in an open and above-board manner.

That was the most unexpected and astonishing aspect of this martial exam.

How could this be possible?!

That was the initial reaction when the cultivators learned this news.

It must be fake.

This was their second reaction.

As for what followed these two reactions, their hearts turned cold.

Bone-chilling, that sort of cold.

If it had not been for the battle with Song Changxi, they might have said that Chen Chao emerged victorious purely due to luck.

But with this battle, what more could anyone say?

To fight against a cultivator at the Bitter Sea Realm with Divine Trove Realm cultivation and emerge victorious—such occurrences were not unheard of. However, for it to happen in the martial exam, to happen to that young martial artist, this was something many people did not want to see.

In the end, they were still unable to accept it.

Soon, someone brought a black shirt for Chen Chao to wear.

Chen Chao walked over to Xie Nandu and Zhu Xia's side and said somewhat sheepishly, "I didn't anticipate all of this, so I didn't bring extra clothes."

Xie Nandu had expected him to say many things, but she did not expect him to say this.

She pondered for a moment and asked, "How was it inside?"

This question had multiple implications, but the meaning was very clear: Chen Chao could choose to say what he wanted and remain silent about what he did not want to talk about.

"It was very interesting, much more interesting than just killing demons."

Chen Chao only said this one sentence before adding, "Let's go back, I'm tired."

During these few days of the martial exam, after his battle with Song Changxi, he sustained severe injuries. Therefore, he could only choose to find a place to hide. Fortunately, he had a lot of experience in such matters, so he managed to hide for a long time without anyone finding him.

Otherwise, if he was really discovered, he might have died inside.

Xie Nandu knew that he had gone through a lot, so she just nodded and said, "We still have to wait a bit."

The martial exam had ended, but the champion had not been announced yet.

Although everyone knew that Chen Chao was in the first place and should claim victory, there was still a process to follow.

Wei Xu stood at the lakeside in the morning light. Seeing that the time was almost right, he was about to open his mouth and make the announcement..

"Wait!"

Someone suddenly spoke up by the lakeside.

Wei Xu frowned, feeling somewhat displeased.

This scholar was famous for being good-tempered, whether in the academy or in the Divine Capital.

But today, he seemed to be in a bad mood.

"Please wait a bit, Mr. Wei."

A young cultivator stepped out from the morning light at the lakeside and looked at Wei Xu, saying, "Mr. Wei, I have something to ask."

Wei Xu looked at him and did not speak.

That young man said, "According to the Myriad Willow Convention's rules, if someone raises a question, as the host, you must provide an answer."

Indeed, it was written in the regulations of the Myriad Willow Convention.

However, so many years had passed, such a situation had virtually never occurred before.

Wei Xu looked at him and was silent for a moment before saying, "Please go ahead."

The young man said, "I want to ask Mr. Wei, how did Jiang Shuchan and Xi Qiuchen die?!"

As soon as this was said, Chen Chao frowned.

Then, it was Wei Xu.

Wei Xu glanced over at the pavilion, but none of the prominent figures looked at him.

Wei Xu understood.

He felt a little angry, but it quickly vanished.

"I've heard that Mr. Wei never tells lies, that you're a true gentleman. I presume you won't cover up for anyone either."

Another young cultivator stepped forward, looking at Wei Xu, his voice rather cold.

Wei Xu looked at the pavilion.

The prominent figures were silent.

Wei Xu recalled the conversations he had overheard in the pavilion earlier and shook his head.

It turns out that the so-called no problem, meant that they could not find any fault with the rules, so they had to find other faults.

Wei Xu said, "Those two died under Chen Chao's saber."

This sentence was said very nonchalantly.

But the people became nervous.

Then, someone immediately asked, "Why did he kill them?!"

"How dare he murder people!"

"What audacity!"

It was not that no one died during this martial exam, but the majority of deaths were caused by demons.

And there were not many in total either.

Jiang Shuchan's identity was obviously different from theirs. She was not only a genius on the Latent Dragon List, but also had a conflict with Chen Chao.

This would naturally lead many people to think of many things.

The two had past grievances, and now, Jiang Shuchan had died at Chen Chao's hands. People could naturally and reasonably have many suspicions.

"I presume it's because of their old grudge."

Someone said, "Because of the old grudge at the academy, he intentionally killed Fellow Daoist Jiang!"

This was the conclusion.

The lakeside became noisy, and the cultivators were very agitated, raising their voices.

Wei Xu wanted to say something, but after giving it some thought, he decided against it.

This was a clash among young cultivators, whatever he said would be meaningless.

The big shots did not intervene and it would be meaningless for Wei Xu to intervene as well.

This was a simple situation.

Wei Xu understood.

The young cultivators began clamoring, their voices gradually growing louder.

They wanted to completely frame the situation as Chen Chao killing Jiang Shuchan out of a personal grudge.

This was also the outcome those young cultivators desired.

People turned to Chen Chao one after another.

They wanted to see this young man's reaction.

When they looked at Chen Chao, he was currently eating honey dates.

The ones that were free.

He seemed to have no reaction.