Chapter 289: Advance In Rank
On the high platform, witnessing this bizarre turn of events, the Clan Leaders secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Mei Ruohua did not break through to the Earth Rank on the spot, otherwise the Mei Clan would have stolen all the glory…
With this thought, the Clan Leaders showed genuine smiles and cupped their hands in congratulation to Mei Yi. “Congratulations, congratulations. It is only a matter of time before your clan’s young lady shatters Zhang Xuanyi’s myth.”
“Hmph…” Mei Yi, who could see through the hypocrisy of these old fellows, couldn’t be bothered to waste words with them. She let out a cold laugh and descended the high platform, going to find Mei Ruohua.
“Alas, this old lady is too impatient.” Seeing Mei Yi leave without a word, Xie Xun couldn’t help but laugh, “Breaking through to the Earth Rank is not so easy, one cannot become a fat man in a single bite!”
“Since that young lady was able to break through once by chance, opening the Ren and Du Meridians is only a matter of time.” Xiahou Ba said calmly upon hearing this, “I fear the Mei Clan’s threshold will be trampled by you all later.”
“The Old Grand Tutor speaks wisely.” Xie Xun quickly replied with a smile, “Only the Kirin Child of the Xiahou Clan is worthy of such an outstanding young lady.”
Cui Yan and Pei Qiu’s gazes immediately turned hostile towards Xie Xun. This old scoundrel, not only admitting defeat himself, but also trying to cut off their hopes!
“What are you old geezers thinking about?” Emperor Qianming, however, laughed heartily, “That young lady might be inheriting the family business. Who among you is willing to have your own Kirin Child marry into their family?”
“Haha, this…” The several Clan Leaders suddenly became a bit awkward and fumbled for words.
At this moment, from below the high platform, an Investigative Bureau Official announced loudly:
“Reporting to Your Majesty, the first round of competitions has concluded. Four from the Xiahou Clan have advanced, three from the Cui Clan, Pei Clan, and Lu Clan each, two from the Xie Clan, and one from the Wei Clan…”
As the Investigative Bureau Official continued his report, on the platform, Xie Xun glanced at Lu Shang and said with a forced smile, “Your clan had good luck this time, winning a round just by standing there.”
“Heh heh…” Hearing Xie Xun’s extremely sour words, Lu Shang knew that the old man had lost his composure.
Below the platform, the Investigative Bureau Official continued his report, but his voice grew progressively lower: “Imperial Clan, Mei Clan… no one advanced…”
Although the Initial Emperor had already seen the results on the high platform, to have the results announced so publicly made him feel a burning sensation on his face. He then understood why Mei Yi had left in such a hurry; she was seizing an opportunity to escape, saving herself from being publicly humiliated like he was.
‘None of these old devils are easy to deal with.’ The Initial Emperor cursed inwardly and, not wanting to remain in awkwardness any longer, rose and said, “I am tired.”
“We escort Your Majesty.” The six Dukes rose together to see him off, accompanying the Emperor to the foot of the high platform and watching as the Initial Emperor boarded the Imperial Palanquin.
After the Emperor’s ceremonial guards left the West Garden, the Initial Emperor, who had been sitting with a darkened face on the Imperial Palanquin, let out a heavy sigh and said, “The sins of the predecessors bring suffering to the descendants…”
Du Hui, who was following closely, lowered his head deeply. Although the Initial Emperor’s words were cryptic, he understood clearly that the “predecessor” the Emperor spoke of was none other than the Initial Emperor himself. If he had not clashed with Emperor Qianming back then, and allowed others to take the opportunity to slaughter the Imperial Clan, the Huangfu Family would not have fallen so drastically and still be unable to recover their Vital Energy…
However, if it were to happen again, the Initial Emperor would likely do the same… There was no other reason than that one’s position dictates their perspective.
“That young man from the Lu Family performed quite poorly…” the Initial Emperor sighed again.
“He should possess more Strength than that,” Du Hui said softly, “but it does seem he is quite far behind the children from the three Xiahou Clan families.”
“It’s a shame I once had such high hopes for him…” The Initial Emperor listlessly closed his eyes. Today, he had come with high spirits but left disappointed, all his expectations dashed, only watching other people’s children steal the spotlight…
.
In the West Garden, the six Clan Leaders who had seen off the Initial Emperor did not leave immediately. They all had disciples advancing to the secondary round of competitions in the afternoon, so they naturally had to remain stationed there to prevent anyone from causing trouble for their own disciples.
At this moment, a Minister of the Court of Imperial Entertainments approached, bowed respectfully to the six Dukes, and cautiously asked Xiahou Ba, “Grand Tutor, lunch is prepared, but His Majesty’s carriage has already returned to the palace…”
“How can the people’s fat and the populace’s cream be wasted? His Majesty is not eating, so we shall,” Xiahou Ba laughed heartily and said to the other five, “It’s a fortunate treat for us old brothers. Let’s have a good drink at noon.”
“Yes, yes, it’s been a long time since we had a good drink.” Cui Yan readily agreed. Pei Qiu no longer contradicted him, let alone Xie Xun, who was an echo.
Wei Kang, however, stopped in his tracks and said slowly, “I have other matters and cannot accompany you. Please enjoy yourselves.” With that, he turned and left.
“This man is such a spoil sport…” Although he knew very well that Wei Kang and Xiahou Ba were not on the same page, Xie Xun still grumbled.
“Old Lu, you can’t spoil the mood again!” Xiahou Ba echoed Xie Xun, grabbing Lu Shang’s arm and heading towards Xingyun Pavilion, where the feast was held, without any further ado.
Lu Xiang had originally planned to leave with Wei Kang. These were all Xiahou Ba’s close friends, and he didn’t need to get involved with them.
But Xiahou Ba had already grabbed his arm, so he could only reluctantly follow…
.
While the clan leaders feasted in the hall, the Guanglu Temple also provided meals for the contestants of the Grand Competition from various clans. However, almost all contestants brought their own food. In this crucial moment that concerned the fate of their families and themselves, no one dared to overlook any detail…
In the room allocated for the Lu Clan contestants to rest, Lu Yun exerted force with his hands, lifting the heavy lid of the rosewood box, and immediately, steaming hot air rose.
Seeing Lu Yun take out exquisite dishes one by one from the wooden box, Lu Lin and Lu Bai were stunned. “My heavens, they’re still hot!”
“Of course,” Lu Yun said with a bit of pride. “My Elder Sister specially ordered these from a large restaurant in North City. Not only is the box highly insulated, but it also contains several copper kettles filled with hot water, constantly providing heat.”
“Amazing, amazing!” Lu Lin then realized. “No wonder they didn’t let us open it this morning, it was to prevent the heat from escaping.”
“Precisely,” Lu Yun took out the dishes from the upper layer of the food box, then removed the steamer basket, revealing the food on the second layer, which consisted of basins of carefully prepared, rich but not greasy pork hocks, beef, and lamb legs…
*Gulp…* Lu Lin swallowed hard and reached out to grab one.
“Ah, Miss Ling Xuan, you’re here.” Lu Bai suddenly looked towards the doorway. Hearing this, Lu Lin felt as if he’d been shocked and quickly withdrew his hand, haphazardly wiping the saliva from his mouth, and sat up straight.
After a while, he heard no movement, and only then did he slowly turn his head to look, but there wasn’t a trace of anyone. Angered, he turned back to hit Lu Bai!
“We can start eating now.” Lu Yun had finished arranging the food and distributed chopsticks to the three of them.
“I’ll settle the score with you after I’ve eaten my fill!” My reputation is secondary, but eating is important. Lu Lin glared fiercely at Lu Bai, took the chopsticks, and began to devour the food like a whirlwind.
Lu Yun and Lu Bai picked up their bowls and looked at Lu Song, who was staring blankly at his chopsticks. Seeing that the commotion hadn’t improved his mood at all, they exchanged a glance. The former said to the unusually quiet Lu Song, “If you don’t start eating soon, it’ll get cold.”
“Eat quickly, there’s another round this afternoon,” Lu Lin said vaguely with his mouth full of meat. “How can we have the energy if we don’t eat enough?”
“It would be a waste even if I ate,” Lu Song said with a self-deprecating smile. “I’ll leave it for you all to enjoy.”
