MTLNOVEL Chapter 808: One Hundred and Two s: Swindler (Asking for some monthly votes to enter top 500)
Chapter 808: One Hundred and Two Chapters: Swindler (Asking for some monthly votes to enter top 500)
Master Wei, standing on the cliffside, answered Cao Changqing, who had disbelief written all over his face, “Let the servant announce the rankings completely. As for the disclosure of the process you are asking for, if there are still objections after the event ends, Master Chen will naturally satisfy them. But if you continue to disrupt the order of the bamboo forest, I will strip you of your qualifications to compete and expel you from Martial Saint Mountain. Have I made myself clear?”
“Master Wei truly lives up to the reputation of being the impartial Big Arbitrator,” Cao Changqing stated as he stood with his sword, coldly addressing the servant, “Hurry and announce it. This young master can hardly wait to hear how many coins that transhuman has taken.”
If it’s only a little more than yours, the servant thought as he looked at the last two names on the scroll, announcing with a bitter smile, “In second place, Longxi’s Tang Luo, 9,246 coins.”
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At this, not only was Cao Changqing shocked, but Tang Luo himself was stunned, never having anticipated that the top spot for the second trial would be taken from him.
But with Master Wei’s earlier warning, no one dared to interrupt the servant’s words; thus, the contestants finally heard the score of the first place in the second trial, “In first place, Chaochang’s Xiang Loulan, 50,160 coins.”
As the last ranking was announced, the contestants finally couldn’t hold back their exclamations, their gazes incessantly scanning Xiang Loulan, who was gently fanning himself as if to see right through him.
Though possessing only unity of spirit and intent in cultivation, he alone had obtained a number of coins that was nearly the total sum of those ranked second to ninth. This mythical scene made one cannot but ask how exactly he had done it.
Cao Changqing, who had been wearing a cold expression since before, could hardly wait after the servant had announced the rankings, and urgently said to Master Chen on the cliffside, “Alright, now that the rankings have been announced, please, Master Chen, disclose Xiang Loulan’s trial process. It would also let Cao know how this gentleman of mere transhuman cultivation obtained such an extraordinary number of jade coins!”
Aside from a few young masters of the Xiang Family, all the other sect disciples, including the sons of prominent families, made the same request towards the cliffside. They were too eager to know the process of Xiang Loulan’s trial. Under the achievement of 50,000 coins, even Tang Luo’s frightening score of over 9,000 coins seemed less notable.
Master Wei, observing the fervent mood among the bamboo forest, said to Chen Menglu, “Could you trouble Master Chen to backtrack the illusion, to put these youngsters’ minds at ease?”
“You are too courteous, Master Wei,” Chen Menglu replied mildly as he activated the Illusion Dream Divine Array of Xumi Mountain. A white column of light shot out from the entrance of the trial, projecting above the bamboo forest into a grand Illusion Moon realm and displaying Xiang Loulan’s path throughout the trial.
This dreamlike spectacle astonished everyone. No one expected that the genteel middle-aged individual could transform a divine mountain into a formation and cast such a miracle. It secretly left them in awe.
All were captivated by the splendor of the Illusion Moon Realm, with only Tang Luo wearing an incredibly complex expression, because everything unfolding before him was much like the open-air cinemas of his previous life, playing out a silent film.
In the “film,” Xiang Loulan, just like everyone else, landed beside a certain sacred altar. Unfortunately, it seemed a sacrifice had just ended there. Not only were there guards at the level of spirit officers by the altar, but there were also captains of the guard of spirit king rank.
After an intense exchange of blows, Xiang Loulan was captured in defeat, yet the expression of the spirit king was extremely complex.
He, alone, took Xiang Loulan to a cloud palace atop a snowy mountain peak. Several elderly elders from the Yun Clan appeared in the scene, interrogating Xiang Loulan.
And after just a few words, Xiang Loulan was unbound, and the atmosphere in the Yun Hall changed abruptly.
Although Xiang Loulan was a prisoner, she suddenly became a distinguished guest of the Yun Clan and Lei Clan. Not only was she offered fine wines, sumptuous dishes, and exquisite delicacies, but also spiritual kings were seen chatting and drinking with her enthusiastically, as if they were old friends rather than just having met.
Following that, spiritual kings from the Flame Clan, Earth Clan, and Water Clan came to the Yun Hall; each left with excited expressions after their conversations with Xiang Loulan.
In the end, the Four Imperial Spirit Realms gathered hundreds of spirit handlers and more than a dozen spiritual kings, who, along with dozens of boxes of jade currency, activated a teleportation array with Xiang Loulan. If it weren’t for the fact half of the amount was deducted, Xiang Loulan’s final tally should have been over a hundred thousand jade coins.
Logically, after witnessing the Shuiyue Vision, the participants would have understood the process of obtaining jade coins, but the lack of sound only added to their confusion.
Despite being a condemned prisoner, Xiang Loulan managed to be treated as a respected guest by the Four Imperial Spirit Realms. What’s more ridiculous is that Xiang Loulan stayed in the Yun Hall as if she were a significant figure, and the Four Imperial Spirit Realms were duped from beginning to end, not only gathering their powerful members but also offering a vast sum of jade coins.
The Shuiyue Illusion ended, but the doubts in everyone’s minds did not diminish one bit, until a dismissive voice sounded from among the sect disciples.
Landing in fifth place, Lu Liangliang of Yulin Pavilion sneered at Xiang Loulan, “I thought you, Xiang Loulan, had some great skills, but it turns out you just flaunted the Yun Clan’s name as if it were your own banner.”
“The Yun Clan is already revered in Longzhou, commanding respect far and wide. Xiang Loulan, you must have quite the gall to make such claims. What’s even more astonishing is that the Four Imperial Spirit Realms within the illusion didn’t question it at all; didn’t they consider how someone of your cultivation could be revered as a Dao Child of a sacred land?”
“However, I must admit, I do have some respect for the Xiang Family; accustomed to subservience, you didn’t hesitate at all in changing your surname. I just wonder whether we should continue to call you Xiang Loulan or perhaps Yun Ji in the future?”
“You should feel lucky this trial realm is nothing but an illusion. If there really was such a Minor Spiritual Realm and the Four Imperial Spirit Realms found out about your lies upon exiting, the first thing those dozen spiritual kings would do is take your head. The top performer of the second trial? More like the top scam artist!”
Others might have seen the Shuiyue Illusion as a silent movie, but to Lu Liangliang, who was skilled in lip-reading, every word Xiang Loulan said was crystal clear. Such a person achieving first place thoroughly disgusted him, compelling him to reveal her dialogues in the realm to all the participants.
Xiang Loulan never expected that among the participants there would be a martial artist proficient in lip-reading, and after Lu Liangliang’s string of sneers, everyone’s gaze upon her changed.
Like a magic trick that retains its mystique until the secret is unveiled, but once exposed, it’s nothing more than a manipulation of information asymmetry.
The contempt and disdain nearly drove her mad, but she knew that she could only endure for now. Many of the words she used to deceive the Yun Clan in the Four Imperial Spirit Realms were not meant to be shared, yet Lu Liangliang had now laid them all bare.
Mockery and laughter aside, it did not change the ranking of the second trial. On the cliff, Master Wei announced indifferently, “Tomorrow morning, gather at the summit of Xumi Mountain to proceed to the final trial. Rest well today, you’re dismissed.”