True Martial World

Chapter 272: Release of Results

Not only did the Tai Ah Divine City’s cultivators form associations, they also formed societies.

The biggest society was the Divine Wilderness Adventurers’ Alliance. The people in this society mainly formed groups to go into the Divine wilderness to obtain training experience and hunt desolate beasts.

And the second biggest society was the Desolate Heaven Master Society.

The Desolate Heaven Master Society was located in the central divine tower. Every month, the Desolate Heaven Master Society would organize various kinds of activities, and these activities received official support from the Tai Ah Divine City.

Today, there were no special Desolate Heaven Master Society activities, but the hall was still overcrowded!

There were 400-500 people gathered here. They were all Desolate Heaven Master apprentices. Nearly 80-90% of the Tai Ah Divine City’s Desolate Heaven Master apprentices had come.

It was because today was the day that Grandmaster Yuehua would release the test results.

Yuehua’s class actually only had about a hundred students enrolled. Many Desolate Heaven Master apprentices could not afford to pay the tuition fee to attend the classes, but even so, when they heard that Yuehua had tested her students during the lesson, many of them wanted to see the results of the geniuses.

This test resulted in scholarships and allowances and that was very critical. And many people believed that this test, from a certain perspective, would indicate the levels of the Desolate Heaven Master apprentices in the Tai Ah Divine City.

The scores could determine who was better!

There was no doubt who would be first. Luo Huo’er did not need to prove her Desolate Heaven technique talent. She had outshone everyone by breaking a record a few days ago!

Everyone wanted to know who would get second place.

Yang Yuefeng, Li Daohong and Zhou Shiguang were all contenders for second place!

The three of them were in the top ten of the Man roll of honor. However, the top ten in the Man roll of honor did not only consist of Desolate Heaven Master apprentices. For example, Qin Haotian, Li Xiao, etc earned a place in the top ten by earning dragon scale runes from hunting desolate beasts.

Yuehua’s test was a comprehensive way to judge all the Desolate Heaven Master apprentices in the Tai Ah Divine City. The meaning behind the judging was very significant. Not only were the Tai Ah Divine City’s Desolate Heaven Master apprentices concerned, even many large factions had dispatched their informants to obtain first-hand information of the results.

The people placed second to tenth would gain a lot of attention by all these large factions.

At this moment, in the training ground of the central divine tower’s 69th floor, Luo Huo’er was dressed in a white training suit. Her two long legs were split 180° apart. Her inner thighs were stuck to the ground while her body was bent backwards. Her body was bent into a perfect curve, with her silky long hair hanging down and spreading across the carpet.

Luo Huo’er was practicing her family’s heart sutra.

Suddenly, Dong’er pushed the door open and furtively ran in.

“Miss, today is the day the results will be released. There are many people gathered in the Desolate Heaven Master Society. Everyone is waiting to see the rankings. Why aren’t you going?”

Luo Huo’er did not answer as both of her hands pressed onto the ground while she lifted her entire body off the floor. Both her legs were still maintaining the 180° posture. She looked like a bird that was spreading its wings.

Because of Luo Huo’er’s motions, her training suit stuck tightly to her body, showing off her perfect buttocks and chest.

She focused on finishing the last few motions before she flung her hair and said, “Anyway, I’ll be first. There’s nothing much to see. Those people’s standards are so bad that I can use half a hand seal to beat them!”

Luo Huo’er’s mouth curled before she carried on practicing.

Dong’er chuckled, “Miss is right! There’s no other way besides Miss being first. But doesn’t Miss want to see what result you obtained?”

“The test was difficult. I have a vague idea what my score is, so I don’t really need to see it to know it. Besides, there’re so many there squeezing to look at the results. If I were to go squeeze with them, won’t I be degraded?”

Luo Huo’er curled her lips. Actually, this was the main reason why she was not going to look at the results. How could she squeeze in the crowd, tiptoeing just to see the rankings? Such a degradation did not match her status.

“Miss is right. I’ll go.” Dong’er volunteered and ran out of the training ground with her short legs.

When Dong’er reached the Society’s grounds, it was extremely crowded. Even some of the large factions’ ambassadors, who were not Tai Ah Divine City cultivators, were mixed in the crowd.

Firstly, they were here to look at the results, and secondly, build good relations with the up and coming rookies.

In the crowd, the three people who received the most attention were Yang Yuefeng, Li Daohong and Zhou Shiguang. Without Luo Huo’er present, they were the leaders amongst the Desolate Heaven Master apprentices.

“Brother Daohong, Brother Shiguang, it’s been a while!” Yang Yuefeng greeted Li Daohong and Zhou Shiguang.

“How have you been, Brother Yuefeng? I heard Brother Yuefeng did very well for this test and have already reserved a banquet in the Divine Moon Restaurant. It looks like second place is definitely Brother Yuefeng’s!” Li Daohong replied with a smile.

“Come on, come on. My results can only be considered satisfactory. It might not even be better than Brother Daohuo’s.” Yang Yuefeng replied “humbly”.

When young masters gathered together, they would often flatter each other, purposely causing the others to feel extremely flattered. In truth, only they knew what they were really thinking.

Not only were their reputations on the line, there was also a generous scholarship. If you get the appreciation of Grandmaster Yuehua, you might even have a slim chance of learning the ‘Thousand Hand Moon Buddha’!

Who did not want to be in second place for such an important test?

Although the three seemed to compliment each other openly, truthfully, all of them wanted to exceed the other!

“Hypocrites!” Dong’er saw the three of them wishing to be second, but yet pretended to flatter one another. Although she was young, she sometimes knew the ways of the world.

At this moment, the Desolate Heaven Master Society’s door was pushed opened. Two black-cloaked central divine tower law-enforcers walked out. They were holding a scroll as thick as a water bucket in their hands.

Everyone immediately turned silent. They sensed that the two law-enforcers were here to release the results. And the scroll was likely the result ranking!

Sure enough, when the two law-enforcers came to the center, one of them said, “Grandmaster Yuehua has told us to release the results. I will first paraphrase Grandmaster Yuehua’s words. She said that in this test, the students who are ranked first and second will be able to receive the teachings of the ‘Thousand Hand Moon Buddha’. If the two of them wished, Grandmaster Yuehua would guide them with all her heart.”

When the law-enforcers said these words, it was like a rock dropping into still water. The quiet scene turned into a tumultuous uproar!

The first two would receive the teachings of the ‘Thousand Hand Moon Buddha’!

If the two wished, Grandmaster Yuehua would guide them with all her heart. In fact, this was equivalent to taking them in as her personal disciples!

Everyone knew that Grandmaster Yuehua’s purpose in coming to the Tai Ah Divine City was to take in a disciple. She would only take in Luo Huo’er, but everyone else was hoping to catch the fancy of Grandmaster Yuehua. Even being a disciple in name was something they could be contented with.

And even if it was just being a disciple in name, one had to go through several tests and obtain outstanding results before it was possible.

They never expected that just after the first test, Grandmaster Yuehua had decided to take in another disciple other than Luo Huo’er!

This was the greatest opportunity!

Who was so lucky to obtain second place?

A few Desolate Heaven Master apprentices who were ranked at the top became excited.

“Brother Daohuo, Brother Shiguang, I never expected that the three of us would have a chance. Who knows, maybe either Brother Daohuo or Brother Shiguang has caught the fancy of Grandmaster Yuehua!” Yang Yuefeng said disingenuously. His voice was shaking. He was currently wishing that Li Daohong and Zhou Shiguang would suddenly die, leaving only him to be Grandmaster Yuehua’s disciple.

“Haha! Brother Yuefeng sure is humble. I think second place is most likely Brother Yuefeng’s. If that’s the case, Brother Yuefeng will be soaring into the sky. In the future, you must take good care of us.” Zhou Shiguang also lied. As he said, his heartbeat rate accelerated as he murmured in his mind, “It has to be me, it has to be me!”

At this moment, Li Daohong, Zhou Shiguang and Yang Yuefeng were the most nervous. It was the moment when their fate was decided. None of them had absolute confidence in beating the other two.

The two law-enforcers said, “I will now post the results. A perfect score is 700 points.”

One of the law-enforcers tore off the result list’s seal. No one else had seen the result list yet.

The list was very long. A law-enforcer would hold on to one end of the scroll, while the other law-enforcer would pull open the other end of the scroll. The two of them would open up the scroll horizontally like an art picture, displaying the results slowly.

Everyone held their breaths!

After some white space, name after name appeared.

These names appeared in the order from lowest to highest. The first name to appear was ranked at the bottom, with a score of just barely over 200 points.

“Such a low score!”

Some were secretly horrified. At the bottom of the list, with 700 points being the perfect score, obtaining 200 points was less than a third.

The list was slowly revealed. Name after name appeared. When the youths saw their own score, their expressions looked complicated. It was not exactly a glorious thing to be ranked near the bottom.

Slowly, more than ten names had appeared. Following that were those ranked in the middle, as the score slowly increased, exceeding 250 points.

Following that, 260 points, 270 points, 280 points…

The scores kept on increasing as they reached 300 points.

Now, those youths who saw their names lit up. Although their scores were unimpressive, being ranked in the upper range amongst a group of elites made them proud of themselves.

The list had opened up about three-quarters. It reached the top 20 names.

The remaining people tensed up.

Yang Yuefeng pretended to stay calm by fanning himself with his paper fan, but his palms were covered in sweat as his fan began to flap faster and faster, almost to the point of the fan tearing.

Li Daohong hung a smile on his face, but his smile looked forced, as if it was frozen on his face.

On the other hand, Zhou Shiguang did not conceal his feelings. Both of his hands were clenched into a fist as he stared without blinking at the names appearing on the list.

He was afraid to see his name appear.

After another ten names appeared on the list, it reached the top ten!

At this moment, everyone’s names that appeared were famous. They were the Desolate Heaven Master geniuses that came from big family clans!

Even so, these people’s scores were still approximately 320-330 points.

The perfect score was 700 points, and yet these geniuses from big family clans failed to obtain even 50%. It showed how difficult the test was!

Those who had not appeared on the list were extremely nervous. They wished they were the lucky one other than Luo Huo’er.

After a few more names appeared, there was only a tiny portion of the scroll left to be unveiled. A few people looked disappointed.

At this moment, the list’s names were now written in a larger font. Each word was three times bigger. Due to the large font, the speed of revealing the scroll slowed down. So every name that appeared seemed to take even longer.

Yang Yuefeng and company felt that each second was like a year!

All of them wished they would see the others’ names, hoping to see their name last.

“Zhou Shiguang, 345 points!”

When Zhou Shiguang’s name appeared, Zhou Shiguang who was standing beneath the stage felt like his brain had been slammed. His ears were ringing as he felt faint…

He had been eliminated…

His name had appeared before Li Daohong and Yang Yuefeng. This meant that he scored the lowest amongst the three of them.

“Brother Shiguang, such a pity…” Yang Yuefeng fanned his fan saying. He was rejoicing in his heart, yet he purposely gave a look of regret.

“It’s…It’s alright. Congratulations to Brother Yuefeng and Brother Daohuo. I’m inferior.” Zhou Shiguang cupped his hands and said it with an extremely reluctant smile. He looked uglier than crying.

At this moment, Yang Yuefeng and Li Daohong could no longer be bothered with speaking to Zhou Shiguang because the next name was about to appear. This was the most critical moment. Both of their hearts were beating like a drum as their pupils constricted. They unblinkingly stared at the result list that was being slowly revealed.

If a person’s gaze had any heat, the result list would probably have been burnt.

Next was, “Li Daohong, 347 points!”

Li Daohong’s body shook as his face turned white! His fingers trembled, unable to believe what he had seen.

He had lost… lost to Yang Yuefeng!

At this moment, Yang Yuefeng was rejoicing in his heart!

“Brother Daohuo, such a pity. Just by a bit!” Yang Yuefeng’s heart was beating fast as his blood flow sped up. He had wanted to look relaxed, but he could not fake it. His voice trembled slightly due to his excitement.

Everyone could tell that Yang Yuefeng was basically in an ecstatic happiness.

After Li Daohong, Yang Yuefeng’s name appeared.

“Yang Yuefeng, 360 points!”

Yang Yuefeng did not know if he had done especially well that day because a divine being had possessed him. He had scored 13 points higher than Li Daohong, breaking through to 360 points.

His score was really high! It was no wonder he had been selected together with Luo Huo’er.

Many people thought similarly. They had began to congratulate Yang Yuefeng.

“Congratulations Brother Yuefeng!”

“Brother Yuefeng must treat us! It has to be at the most luxurious room in the Divine Moon Restaurant! And it has to last for three days straight.”

Many people smiled and complimented him, but there was some sourness behind those smiles.

Only people related to Yang Yuefeng or people who had become a follower of the Chu royal residence were truly excited. If their boss was strong, they would also gain much from it. Many people were glad that they had joined the Chu royal residence earlier on.

Now, Yang Yuefeng’s face was flushed turned red with excitement. His body was like a boiling pot that was about to burst.

But he still had some sense. He did not get carried away till the end. There might be a dark horse appearing suddenly.

“Don’t congratulate me too early. There are all sorts of hidden dragons and crouching tigers in the Tai Ah Divine City. There might be someone even better than Brother Shiguang, Brother Daohuo and me.” Yang Yuefeng may sound humble and calm, but the vein on his forehead and already appeared. His eyes stared unblinkingly at the expanding result list. All he saw in his mind were the names that had already appeared.

While the result list was being revealed, Yang Yuefeng was already counting all the people that was a threat to him. All of their names had already appeared. Hence, there could not be any other person who could threaten his second place.

He was definitely selected as Grandmaster Yuehua’s disciple!

It was like a dream!

“Brother Yuefeng is so modest. How could it be? All those that should appear have appeared.”

As someone said that, a name that made Yang Yuefeng heave a sigh of relief appeared.

“Luo Huo’er, 494 points!”

When this name appeared, it was even bigger than the previous names. It was even written horizontally. It took up two feet on the scroll. Each word was not written in black ink, but condensed using energy runes. This reflected the difference.

494 points!?

So high!?

Seeing this terrifying score, everyone’s eyes widened.

Yang Yuefeng, who was in second place, had only earned 360 points.

Luo Huo’er had beaten him by more than 130 points. It was insane!

People knew how terrifying Luo Huo’er was, but only when the ridiculous result appeared did everyone realize the gap that was incredibly difficult to be bridged.

In the crowd, Dong’er saw Luo Huo’er’s score and punched her fists into the air. It was as if all the honor was hers.

“Hehe, Miss is so good. Not only did she obtain first place, she had led number two by so much. When I tell Miss the good news later, I doubt she will be very happy. She would definitely say that it was a matter of course.”

Dong’er had already anticipated Luo Huo’er’s reaction.

Luo Huo’er’s results were stunning, but Yang Yuefeng could no longer be bothered. He only had one thought in his mind.

With Luo Huo’er’s name appearing already, there was no mistake about it!

He was placed second. Because Luo Huo’er was first, and no one could score higher than Luo Huo’er!

“Congratulations Brother Yuefeng!”

“Brother Yuefeng is a dragon amongst people!”

A group of people came to congratulate him immediately. Regardless if it was truthful or not, all of them sang praises for Yang Yuefeng.

Yang Yuefeng had been chosen by Grandmaster Yuehua and he had limitless prospects in the future. Now that he was in high spirits, it was best to be enhance their relationship with him.

“Haha, everyone is too nice.” Yang Yuefeng turned his body to accept the congratulations from these people.

He cleared his throat and said to the people around him, “All these years, I have been practicing the Desolate Heaven technique arduously. Although I am lacking, I still worked hard and never relaxed. By receiving Grandmaster Yuehua’s appreciation and her taking me in as a disciple, I am extremely afraid. I’m afraid I will not live up to Grandmaster Yuehua’s expectations. In the future, I will work harder. With everyone’s encouragement, I will fight for the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom, protecting and fighting for all life under the heavens…”

Yang Yuefeng was riding on the crest of success and his voice was one octave higher. He wished he could fly up into the Heavens.

He had tried very hard to maintain his “not pleased by external gains, not saddened by personnel” image, but when he said these words, his mouth was almost from ear to ear.

But just after he finished his impassioned monologue, he suddenly froze.

“Oh…What’s wrong?”

He found something odd. All the people who had come to congratulate him had frozen. They were all looking at something behind him as if there was a ghost.

Only the result list was behind Yang Yuefeng’s body.

Yang Yuefeng heart thumped. What’s wrong?

Was there a problem with the list?

He did not dare to look back, but at this moment, an odd silence had befallen the entire hall. Everyone stood there dumbfounded. It was as if their expressions had been cursed, in a trance-like state.

Yang Yuefeng felt a cold breeze as his goosebumps raised on his back. He felt as if he was no longer in the Desolate Heaven Master Society, but in a silent graveyard.

“Luo Huo’er…Luo Huo’er, she…how could this be…”

After a long time in this tepid scene, a youth pointed at the ranking list and murmured with an incredulous look.

Seeing the youth’s reaction, Yang Yuefeng suddenly felt like his chest had been struck with a knife.

Everything around him had slowed down.

Yang Yuefeng’s body froze. It was as if he had turned into a zombie that crawled out of a grave. He turned his body with difficulty, as his head turned around bit by bit.

The ranking list which had brought him tremendous glory and anticipation now turned into a scroll that contained a devil’s curse. He did not dare to look at it.

Yang Yuefeng forced his eyes to land on the list. On the list, in a position ahead of Luo Huo’er, there were shiny golden runes that condensed into words. The words wrote, “Yi Yun, 515 points!”

Seeing these words, Yang Yuefeng suddenly felt as if his body’s blood had been sucked out of his body. His body seemed to lost all support as he almost fell to the ground.

515 points?

515 points?

This line of words circled in Yang Yuefeng’s mind like a curse. These golden words seemed to be dyed red, devouring him!

Yi Yun…It’s Yi Yun. How could it be Yi Yun!?

In over a hundred Desolate Heaven Master apprentices, there was only one person named Yi Yun, and it was the most unlikely person!

“Noooo! I cannot accept it!” Yang Yuefeng shouted.

His face was contorted. Veins appeared on his neck and face. It was as if there were squirming worms under his skin. It made Yang Yuefeng look hideous!

“There must be some mistake! Yi Yun does not know the Desolate Heaven technique, how can he be ranked ahead of Luo Huo’er!? How could he be ranked ahead of me!? There must be some mistake! There must be some mistake! I’m second! I’m second!!”

Yang Yuefeng was already incoherent.

He could not accept the reality in front of him. After his hopes were raised to an unprecedented peak that allowed him to look triumphantly in front of everyone, it had been snatched away from him! It was as if his heart had been sliced by a knife!