Chapter 413: Don't Count on Merciful Treatment!
ral scene resembled this place so much!Unfortunately, later on, urban expansion led to this suburb rural area being replaced by concrete jungles, factories, warehouses, ports..."Hahaha..." Zhao Yanzhu...Chapter 413: Don't Rely on Them to Go Easy on You!
"Since Zhao Kuo is also at the Dragon God Temple, you can discuss with him when the afternoon match starts," Zhao Hongyu said.
"That's all we can do. We still have half a year..." Zhao Guang shook his head slightly.
If Zhao Kuo had reached the Heavenly Dragon Realm back then, the Dragon God Temple would only occupy that item of the East Sea Dragon Palace for another six months. If the East Sea Dragon Palace were far weaker than the Dragon God Temple, the latter would continue to feign ignorance.
This item is crucial both to the Dragon God Temple and to the East Sea Dragon Palace. It originally belonged to the East Sea Dragon Palace, but it has been used by the Dragon God Temple for two hundred years!
What郝仁realized more clearly was that... The old dragon king of the East Sea Dragon Palace, Zhao Haoran, had already exhausted his lifespan! This meant that the person who personally lent out the item in question two hundred years ago is no longer around. It would be even harder for the East Sea Dragon Palace to reclaim its own property!
What could this thing possibly be, to have made the strength of the East Sea Dragon Palace decline so much over a period of 200 years...
Zhao Yanzi was full of curiosity about "this item", and郝仁was also very interested in knowing more details.
However, Zhao Guang and Zhao Hongyu had spoken rather vaguely. 郝仁could not press them for answers. There were many people around, and this was within the core territory of the Dragon God Temple; Zhao Hongyu would only mention it again once they returned to Donghai City.
"Prepare for the afternoon match," said Zhao Guang as he regained his composure and led them out of the arena area.
In comparison to other uniform elder support teams, 郝仁's support team seemed young and vibrant. Overall, their ages were not high, and there were several pretty girls among them too.
And the assistant inspector badge worn by 郝仁 stood out amidst the common dark brown robes of his supporters.
"They are a delegation from the East Sea Dragon Palace."
"The East Sea Dragon Palace has never participated in the exams at the Dragon God Temple, right"
"This one is said to be the son-in-law."
"The son-in-law No wonder. He's not purely from Donghai."
"The princess is still young and unmarried..."
"Ren Yin number 246! Still carrying an identity card, meaning he came out of the Ren Yin group."
"Geng rank... only Geng rank. The Dragon God Temple must have deliberately assigned it like this; they say that the Ren Yin group has the weakest overall strength in this exam."
Various speculations and comments spread as 郝仁's team passed by.
Indeed, the overall strength of the Ren Yin group was somewhat lower than what 郝仁 had expected. However, he didn't think that this was a favor from the Dragon God Temple; rather, he believed it was Qin Shaoyang deliberately arranging things!
By dispersing some of the highest-level cultivators to other groups, they were creating opportunities for 郝仁to emerge from his group. In such a case, 郝仁would have to battle against true experts on the grand competition field, and the outcome would be witnessed by tens of thousands of spectators!
Qin Shaoyang was going to expose 郝仁's miserable defeat in front of everyone!
Hao Ren and his group arrived at the outer city and went directly back to their room numbered Ren Yin 246, picking up the bag they had left there.
Zhao Yanzi was visiting the Dragon God Temple for the first time. She found the examination rooms in the written test area rather peculiar.
Since the written tests were over, all the protective barriers around the examination rooms had been removed. Some cultivators didn’t want to go back outside and just rested inside their rooms.
All the examination rooms surrounding Ren Yin 246 were empty. Everyone entered the rooms at will, eating snacks and resting.
Everything seemed peaceful on the surface, but in reality there was a lot going on beneath the surface. Zhao Hongyu and Zhao Guang’s expressions weren’t as relaxed as before.
Zhao Yanzi ran to Chancellor Xia’s room to ask about “that thing,” but couldn’t get any information. She pouted and returned to her own examination room.
Xie Yujia, Lu L琳琳 (Note: The original text has an error here as it mentions "陸琳琳" again instead of a different character's name), and Lu Lili were sharing zongzi outside the examination room entrance, looking very amicable.
Qi-supplementing pills...
Hao Ren poured out one pill from the small porcelain bottle and swallowed it.
A rich spiritual energy instantly spread throughout his body.
The Five Great Mountains Bracelet greatly increased the output of spiritual energy, but two hours of continuous duels had also depleted Hao Ren’s spiritual energy quite significantly.
And the afternoon matches would surely be more intense and closer-knit, consuming even more spiritual energy. Xie Yujia delivering a bottle of qi-supplementing pills at this time was undoubtedly like sending coal to Newcastle.
Hao Ren took out an empty porcelain bottle from his bag, separated thirty pills out of the remaining fifty-nine, put them in the new bottle, and then threw it into his芥子空間 (jìzǐ kōngjiān - literally "mustard-seed space," a type of magic item that can contain a large volume within a small exterior).
The sword energy from Splitting Light Sword Art moved quickly through Hao Ren’s body. One hour was enough time for Hao Ren to fully recover...
Ding...ding...ding...
The clock in the Dragon God Temple rang.
It’s four o’clock! (Note: "未時" is traditionally translated as "fourth watch," which typically corresponds to 13-15 PM. However, since this seems to be a time before an afternoon event starts, it's likely referring to the start of the fourth hour or "未時", which can also mean "the period around noon and early afternoon." Here we translate it as "It’s four o’clock" for simplicity.)
Hao Ren slowly withdrew his spiritual energy and walked out of the examination room.
Senior Elder Lu and the others also came out of their surrounding examination rooms, heading towards the inner city.
A large number of cultivators rushed in, quickly filling up the eastern testing area.
In the past hour, news had spread that the Imperial Son-in-Law from the East Sea Dragon Palace was participating in the exams at the Dragon God Temple. Everyone wanted to see how the cultivator representing the East Sea Dragon Palace would perform!
Thus, there were far more cultivators in the eastern testing area than in any of the other three directions. The arena and its surrounding areas were packed with people.
"It’s four o’clock; those who won should go on stage!" A level-three referee stood on the large arena surrounded by twenty-four small dueling fields, gathered his spiritual energy, and shouted loudly.
Hao Ren's identification card at his waist suddenly emitted a bright yellow light.
At the same time, in other parts of the crowd, another 23 yellow lights lit up.
"Come on!" Zhao Hongyu looked at Hao Ren with an encouraging gaze and said.
She hoped that Hao Ren could perform better but didn’t expect him to make it into the top three. In her view, Hao Ren's combat style in the Awakening of Insects arena was impressive, yet it seemed to be his limit. Hao Ren merely transformed the Sword Image Technique into boxing techniques; he might surprise everyone just one more time when using sword formations.
"Mm!" Hao Ren exerted force with his legs and floated lightly, being the first to jump into the center of the large arena.
Subsequently, another 23 cultivators flew from different positions onto the arena.
Hao Ren widened his eyes and indeed saw Zhao Kuo among the 23 cultivators!
Zhao Kuo, with a black face and beard, was as robust as before. His brown robe seemed to be stretched taut by his muscular body, almost ready to burst at any moment from his powerful exertions.
Yin, Yi, Bing, Ding...
Mao, Yi, Bing, Ding...
The exact 24 cultivators! They were divided into two rows according to "Yin" and "Mao". Wang Xi, wearing the identification tag marked "Ren Mao 197", stood facing Hao Ren with his ID "Ren Yin 246"!
Wang Xi looked at Hao Ren disdainfully. He was slightly surprised that Hao Ren managed to emerge from group Ren Yin but believed, based on rumors, that the Dragon God Temple had favored the East Sea Dragon Palace.
Zhao Kuo stood diagonally opposite Hao Ren, with several cultivators in between them.
Seizing the opportunity, Hao Ren sized up Zhao Kuo and discovered that his cultivation level was merely Gui Rank! Relying on his iron fists alone, Zhao Kuo had broken through group Yi Mao without using the Sword Image Technique!
When he noticed Hao Ren looking at him, Zhao Kuo glared fiercely at Hao Ren, forcing him to quickly avert his gaze.
This uncle of mine has a fiery temper even after restarting his cultivation journey. Hao Ren thought.
Hao Ren scanned the other 23 cultivators while they too observed their opponents on the arena.
Thirteen Gui Rank, eight Xun Rank, and two Kun Rank! The weakest among them was Hao Ren at just Gen Rank!
Two Kun Rank individuals! Hao Ren recalled that Su Han had also been Kun Rank when she participated in the Dragon God Temple's examination.
This was merely one of the eastern test zones; there might be Kun or even Geng Rank cultivators in other three directions' test zones!
The Dragon God Temple’s examination truly concealed numerous hidden talents and formidable experts!
Among these 24 cultivators, including Hao Ren, a total of four assistant inspectors were present. Two Xun Rank, one Gui Rank—Hao Ren was the weakest among them.
And within those thirteen Gui Rank individuals, Hao Ren also recognized Lu Qi!
The pale face of Lu Qi, the "Go genius," was now covered in bruises. He wore a sign that read “Jia Mao 166,” indicating that he had emerged from Group Jia Mao.
If the Donghai University girls saw him like this, those who admired Lu Qi would probably feel heartbroken.
However, Lu Qi was not only a rising star in the Go world but also a practitioner of Wudeling Fire Dragon lineage. Unable to secure the position of Assistant Examiner from Hao Ren, he too had to participate in the Divine Dragon Temple's exam!
"Tiger group and Rabbit group, choose your opponents!" The examiner officiating the match stood between two lines of practitioners and announced.
Upon hearing this, Hao Ren was slightly surprised. He thought his opponent would be Wang Xi; he had already been contemplating strategies against her. But it turned out that choosing one's own opponent was possible
"Jia Mao!" The examiner called out.
Lu Qi, bruised and battered, stepped forward hurriedly and said, "Ren Yin!"
Among the 24 practitioners, Hao Ren had the weakest strength. Lu Qi breaking through Group Jia Mao naturally wanted to win more matches; he didn't hesitate and chose Hao Ren.
Hao Ren looked at Lu Qi and nodded in acceptance.
The look on his face was very calm. In truth, Hao Ren was quite anxious… Su Han, it's such an important time! Where are you
Rank Ding would be manageable; even Rank Xun could勉強應對，but Rank Kun was no joke!
Wearing the Five Great Mountains Bracelet and facing a Rank Kun practitioner meant instant death upon contact.
Luckily, Lu Qi choosing Hao Ren gave Hao Ren some relief.
"Jia Yin!" The examiner called out again.
The practitioner with the "Jia Yin" identity badge chose a Rank Xun practitioner as his opponent from the opposite line.
The examiner continued calling out names, and the Rank Kun practitioner in Hao Ren's row chose Zhao Kuo as his opponent.
Zhao Kuo snorted in response.
When Wang Xi was called, he chose a Rank Xun practitioner with the number "Geng Yin," but his eyes remained fixed on Hao Ren. It seemed that Wang Xi believed he could make it to the next round and regretted not having the chance to defeat Hao Ren publicly in front of everyone.
Soon, all 24 practitioners were paired up. The 12 pairs would be assigned to 12 small combat arenas for simultaneous matches. The six remaining practitioners would then proceed to the central large arena for the final round.
The 24 practitioners headed toward the edges of the combat stage; Hao Ren quickened his pace and called out, "Uncle Three!"
Zhao Kuo turned around with eyes like copper bells and asked in a deep voice, "What Do you want to beg for mercy Even if you pass the first round, don't expect me to hold back!"
"This…" Hao Ren rummaged through his Spatial Pocket and pulled out a small porcelain bottle. "Here."
"What kind of nonsense is this" Zhao Kuo yelled as he opened the bottle; suddenly, thick spiritual energy enveloped him!situation amusing.Smack! She firmly swatted away Huo Ren's hand from her body, reacting strongly to his uninvited touch."What Are you feeling jealous" Huo Ren rubbed his reddened right hand with his l...