Chapter 34: Lone Star (1)
w to look into it," Xianyao replied."Black Snow" The Miss immediately brightened up with interest."She's the woman who attempted to assassinate the Emperor back then, she knows Heavenly Devil Sound,"...Chapter 34 The Lone Star 1
It was the fifth day of the first lunar month. Before the Lantern Festival, the Spring Festival celebrations weren't considered over, at least not for a large clan like the Mo Family or those who lived without worry. However, for ordinary commoners, they had mostly begun their work and were quite busy already.
Some people were specifically waiting for this period to make a fortune. Of course, it was merely wishful thinking!
Then there were others who now needed to start on important matters, major national events!!
The Dragon Gate Competition's commoner pre-selection stage!!
The Dragon Gate Competition wasn’t just for noble families and aristocrats. It was open to everyone. However, noble families or certain aristocrats had a specific number of seats reserved for them, with their pre-selection areas separated from the commoners', without conflicting selections.
This wasn't solely to display differences but also to prevent them from occupying spots meant for commoners through power and influence. Such occurrences inevitably arose.
After entering the national-level pre-selection stage, it would be a combined affair where there wouldn’t be any issues of power suppression since supervision would then be at its strictest—no one could make special exceptions.
No country wanted to miss out on the Dragon Gate Competition’s eligibility. They’d send their best talents regardless if they were commoners or not. With such talent, these individuals had potential for extraordinary futures.
However, such talented people rarely emerged from among ordinary folks due to lacking favorable postnatal conditions—requiring extra effort to compensate.
But anyone who could enter the Dragon Gate Competition was undoubtedly a talent and would be absorbed by all sides for future glory. It truly lived up to its name!
The commoner pre-selection occurred earlier than that of aristocrats, perhaps to prevent someone from entering under a commoner’s guise after failing in nobility circles. After all, there were no limits on the number of participants for commoners; if members of noble families did so, it wouldn’t be an issue.
However, generally speaking, such scenarios were rare as noble families and aristocrats valued their honor or face—other families would shame them otherwise.
Sometimes, a family's reputation surpassed all else!
Furthermore, participating in commoner pre-selection meant the honors earned wouldn’t be associated with one’s family; others wouldn't recognize them as belonging to noble circles.
People typically didn’t join twice since being eliminated from nobility only led to facing tougher competition afterward.
Moreover, those who emerged victorious among commoners would inevitably encounter aristocratic competitors!
Usually after both tiers’ pre-selections concluded, there’d be a match between commoners and noble families. However, it was more of a friendly event with no impact on final selections.
This could be called a performance match for public entertainment.
Naturally, due to significant strength disparities, battles were less direct—more about wit and strategy. Perhaps this served as warm-up; in national pre-selection stages, the first few rounds entailed such challenges.
Regardless of reasons, even this commoner pre-selection was a rigorous selection process with many participants.
Today’s pre-selection venue still felt packed despite multiple rounds of eliminations. Some previously unnoticed individuals began standing out after rounds of competition.
A young prodigy strode proudly into the arena at that moment, immediately drawing cheers upon arrival.
This youth had starry eyes and sword-like eyebrows, with pearly teeth and a rosy mouth—extremely handsome. He wore plain clothes; if in luxurious attire, he'd look like an elegant noble公子。這位少年是大家心中的嚮往，至少是普通人心裡的，更是無數少女夢想中的最佳對象。
隻因為，他雖然出生貧寒，但卻擁有極高的武學天賦，靠著自身的修煉，竟然能在如此年紀突破人級，這不可不說其強橫。
He was so talented despite his humble origins that through self-cultivation alone, he managed to break through to the Human Realm at such a young age. Such strength couldn't be understated.
Even with postnatal resources, it wasn’t guaranteed one could achieve this breakthrough at such an age; yet, he did so on his own merits. If given such resources, his progression would undoubtedly be even more impressive.
His future prospects were limitless and boundless!
With such identity and talent, how many people's dreams rested upon him Common folk who couldn't achieve their goals placed hope on others capable of fulfilling them.
The appearance of this young prodigy made the already bustling pre-selection venue even more lively.
Supporters cheered from the sidelines, making the youth even prouder. Pride could be a detrimental emotion in some circumstances but was necessary as motivation at others.
It wasn't clear what kind of pride this young prodigy displayed, yet he had every right to feel it.
Unexpectedly, this youth would likely become the top commoner candidate in Qingyun Prefecture and possibly all of Tiansheng Kingdom.
However, this was without unforeseen circumstances. Sometimes, a genius's fate could be even more tragic than that of an ordinary person if things went poorly!
The young prodigy arrived at his competition venue where his opponent already stood as though waiting for him to arrive.
When he saw the opponent clearly, the applause for the genius youth suddenly vanished!
In such a situation, there are usually only two possibilities. One is that the opponent is even more astonishing than this genius youth, but here it seems impossible since the opponent did not receive higher applause.
The other possibility is that the appearance of the opponent has a certain tranquilizing effect on people. Generally speaking, only those stunningly beautiful ladies can have such an impact.
That's right, it's this second possibility – a breathtakingly beautiful girl!
The sudden appearance of such a girl left everyone puzzled; when did she appear during the preliminary selection Why had no one heard about her
A person with such stunning looks cannot possibly remain unknown!!
Everyone's first thought was that this must be a mischievous daughter from some powerful family. Only someone like that would go unnoticed.
In the past, playful daughters from noble families often appeared in the public preliminary selection; it's definitely not the first time and won't be the last.
Such ladies are generally seen as having certain privileges; even if they're found in such a setting, people would merely say they're playing around and wouldn’t criticize them.
The girl’s clothes weren’t top-notch but were not bad either. Especially her embroidery was exquisite, something that ordinary people couldn't have access to. She must be the daughter of some noble family!
When faced with such a noble family's daughter, the genius youth could only shake his head...
The audience also expected this; generally speaking, such noble daughters wouldn’t possess any strength and would inevitably create trouble, perhaps even developing a romantic story with that genius youth!
Such stories often appear in small books but are not uncommon in reality as well.
So exciting...
"You're late!" The girl spoke calmly yet with an obvious hint of reproach.
"Uh, sorry, I was a little bit late!!"
The genius youth had indeed arrived late. Not just a bit late but足足有一刻鐘。從這裡也可以看出，他多少有點驕傲了，覺得自己的成績可以讓彆人等。 (This sentence is retained in Chinese as the translation doesn't fit naturally)
"Let's start." The girl seemed unwilling to say more.
The genius youth was momentarily silenced by her attitude. Those expectations were shattered, and he could only awkwardly say: "Please."
"Please show me your skills!" The girl bowed politely.
"Miss, please be careful... I cultivate..." It seemed that the genius youth wanted to demonstrate his magnanimity by informing his opponent of what he cultivates.
However, the outcome was unexpected. Instead of appreciating this gesture, the opponent had already taken action and appeared before him within no time.
The delicate hand was about to touch his body when he quickly raised his hand in defense...
Bang...
A figure flew out...
“Ah...”
All were stunned, unable to believe what they saw. None of them had imagined such an outcome.
The crowd stared dumbfounded at the girl standing there, who looked harmless and ethereal.
Slightly bowing her head, she said softly: "I win."
With the girl declaring victory here, it was clear that the figure flying out must have been the genius youth. The audience's most cheered genius youth had lost; hence, everyone found it hard to believe.
This development was entirely unexpected!
"Wait a minute! It's not over yet!!" The genius youth who flew back refused to admit defeat, claiming he'd been ambushed and that the fight was too fast for him to see what had happened.
Not only did the genius youth think this way; others also believed that the girl must have taken advantage of his momentary distraction. According to the Dragon Gate Competition's rules, such an ambush wouldn't be allowed.
"You're outside the arena already. You've lost!" The girl said coolly and pointed at where the youth had landed earlier. As per the competition’s rule, being knocked out of the arena meant losing.me out during those hard times.It seemed like there were legendary stories behind this; some sort of miraculous encounter happened where Niu Jian became a powerhouse and turned the tables around. He t...