Chapter 232 - 114: You’re Quite Good at Fanning the Flames, Aren’t You?

Chapter 232: Chapter 114: You’re Quite Good at Fanning the Flames, Aren’t You?

But unexpectedly, Ying Rui suddenly dodged to the side.

He actually managed to evade a head-on clash with sheer speed.

And his Long Sword came to a halt less than half an inch from Tan Yu’s throat.

Tan Yu: "..."

Ying Rui smiled faintly. "You lost. You lost because you underestimated me. Pathetic!"

Tan Yu: "!!!"

「On the arena floor.」

A wave of shocked and doubtful cries swept through the crowd.

Everyone was completely dumbfounded.

"Th-that speed... what was that?"

"That Magic is just absurd. I’ve spent years painstakingly practicing my Body Technique, and I can’t even hold a candle to him."

"What kind of Magic is it? Why did one word disable the Corpse Puppet?"

"By Great Yu’s Flourishing Era, I borrow this official’s form?"

"I’ve never heard of it!"

"This Ying Rui... where on earth did he come from?"

"If he’s this strong, why didn’t he show it earlier?"

Zhao Ci’s brow furrowed. He turned to look at Zhao Yong and Zhao Xie, and those two were clearly beside themselves with excitement.

As expected.

’So this Ying Rui is the so-called "grand gift of the Yun Dynasty."’

’By Great Yu’s Flourishing Era, I borrow this official’s form.’

’It must be a way to empower himself with Magic using the nation’s destiny.’

’The effect is ridiculously powerful, yet it seems to have minimal cost.’

’Damn!’

’This stuff is insanely powerful.’

’It can take a scrub who barely scraped by on the Prefecture Examination and turn him into an Ivy League-level talent.’

’If this could be widely used, Great Yu would become unstoppable!’

’But I just don’t get it!’

’The previous dynasty was an Immortal Martial Dynasty. They must have had plenty of people like this, so how could such a powerful dynasty have possibly collapsed?’

「On the Martial Arts Arena.」

Tan Yu was utterly stunned.

Zhao Yan’s expression didn’t change at all. He said flatly, "Tan Yu is defeated! Ying Rui, who do you challenge next?"

"Xiang Zeren!"

Ying Rui’s expression grew even more arrogant.

The crowd: "..."

"He’s really going for the hard targets, isn’t he?"

Xiang Zeren’s brow furrowed. She strode onto the platform, spear in hand, and patted Tan Yu’s shoulder in a consoling gesture. But this only made Tan Yu retreat further into his shell. He leaped off the platform and found a corner to go sulk in.

Ying Rui looked at Xiang Zeren with disdain. "You’re not weak, but Xiang’s Spear Technique is still more suited for men."

"Shut your damn mouth!"

A fierce glint flashed in Xiang Zeren’s eyes; she clearly couldn’t stand Ying Rui’s blatant arrogance.

Ying Rui shrugged, readying his sword. He seemed to feel no pressure at all, despite wielding a short weapon against a long one.

CLANG!

Another bell chimed.

Ying Rui didn’t waste a moment. While the effect of the Ji Character Proverbs was still active, he charged directly at Xiang Zeren.

Xiang Zeren didn’t dare to underestimate him. Although her speed was a notch lower, her spear technique was incredibly solid. She used the advantage of her long weapon to keep Ying Rui from getting close.

Ying Rui, however, was in no hurry. He circled her at high speed, waiting for an opening.

But to his surprise, he couldn’t find any.

Then, for just a moment, his speed suddenly dropped.

"An opening!"

Xiang Zeren’s face lit up. ’It seems the effect of that strange Magic has worn off!’

She twisted her body abruptly, channeling all her momentum into the shaft of her spear and smashing it down violently toward Ying Rui’s shoulder.

If that blow landed, Ying Rui’s right arm would be crippled.

But Ying Rui wasn’t flustered at all. Instead, he raised his sword to meet the blow.

The crowd gasped. Meeting a heavy spear with a sword? Was he insane?

But...

"Strength!"

Ying Rui shouted sharply.

The next moment, the spear shaft and the Long Sword clashed head-on.

The result was beyond everyone’s expectations.

Xiang Zeren... was actually sent flying backward.

She crashed heavily to the ground. It took her a full three breaths before she could struggle back to her feet, her arms hanging limply at her sides. Blood trickled slowly down her pale skin.

Just from the recoil.

It had actually done this to her.

"HISS..."

"HISS..."

"HISS..."

A series of sharp hisses echoed across the arena floor as the crowd drew in cold breaths.

Ying Rui smiled faintly. "I told you, Xiang’s Spear Technique needs a man to wield it. If your strength was on the level of the Tenth Prince, your fate wouldn’t be so miserable!"

Xiang Zeren: "!!!"

Zhao Ci: "..."

’This little punk really knows how to run his goddamn mouth!’

Ying Rui turned his head, not even sparing Xiang Zeren a glance. "Next! Your Highness, the Heir of King Lie! It’s your turn!"

"This son of a bitch is really getting cocky!"

Zhao Qian, furious, let out a stream of curses and charged onto the platform with his halberd.

But the result...

Was... unsurprising.

Empowered by boosts to both his strength and speed, Ying Rui was like a veritable War God.

And though Zhao Qian held out for a good while, he was ultimately defeated.

And with that, everyone’s head was spinning.

What... what kind of monstrous Magic was this?

Zhao Yan asked coolly, "Ying Rui, Prince Lie’s Mansion still has two people remaining. If you win two more matches, you can replace one of them and become a Mansion Official of Prince Lie’s Mansion. Who do you choose next?"

A smirk played on Ying Rui’s lips. "I see Prince Lie’s Mansion is nothing special after all. It’d be boring to join them. Next, I want to challenge Gongshu Qing from Prince Ying’s Mansion!"

"What?"

"What?"

"What?"

The arena was in an uproar.

The sheer audacity of this guy!

And Gongshu Qing was ranked among the top five of all the Mansion Officials this year.

So arrogant!

Unbelievably arrogant!

"You motherfucker!"

Zhao Qian hadn’t been enraged by his defeat, but after this wave of humiliation, he finally snapped. He clenched his fists, ready to throw down with Ying Rui again, but was forcibly restrained by officials from the Imperial Clan Court.

Zhao Ci glanced up and saw Old Deng, along with King Qin and his son, watching the drama unfold with amused smirks.

’It all made sense now. This final "comeback" segment of the Prefecture Examination was all just a good show arranged by those three.’

’No wonder Ying Rui didn’t use this Magic from the start.’

’He was trying *not* to get picked so he could go around and crush each mansion one by one.’

’Aren’t Zhao Yong and Zhao Xie going to be absolutely desperate to get him?’

He glanced over and saw that the two of them were practically drooling, their eyes red with avarice.

’Old Deng’s little maneuver... it’s damn effective.’

’I could guess with my eyes closed that Old Deng must have made them some incredible promises.’