NOVEL WEB Chapter 168: The Semifinals
Chapter 168: The Semifinals
“The eight geniuses, please step into the arenas.”
The Minister of Rites urged them on, as if he was afraid to give them even a moment’s rest.
The eight geniuses entered their respective arenas.
Arena 4.
Xu Lian and the female genius stood in opposite corners, ready for battle.
The female genius suddenly spoke, “I’ve been watching your fights.”
Xu Lian smiled, “And?”
The female genius said, “Your strength is decent, but you’ll still lose. My cultivation has reached the fifth stage of Grandmaster, while you’re only at the fourth stage. I don’t think anyone can defeat me across ranks.”
Xu Lian replied, “Then you’ll witness it today.”
With the Minister of Rites’ declaration of “Begin,” Xu Lian left an afterimage and instantly appeared in front of the female genius. He raised his hand and summoned a golden Imperial Capital, launching it directly at her face.
The Female Genius’s expression changed drastically. She hadn’t expected Xu Lian to abandon his previous slow and steady fighting style and move so quickly. She barely had time to react.
She quickly sidestepped, trying to avoid the attack, but the golden Imperial Capital grazed her shoulder, sending her flying. She crashed into the barrier at the edge of the arena, coughing up blood.
Xu Lian didn’t give her a chance to recover. He left another afterimage and appeared in front of her again, summoning another Golden Imperial Capital!
Despite her injuries, the female genius, being a fifth level grandmaster, managed to unleash her own combat technique.
“Boom!”…
The golden Imperial Capital collided with her technique, creating a dazzling explosion of light like a miniature sun.
Suddenly, a crystalline finger pierced through the light and pressed against the forehead of the female genius.
She froze.
Had she lost?
Her expression was complex. She hadn’t expected Xu Lian to truly defeat her across ranks, and so quickly at that – in just three moves!
While there was an element of surprise, it also demonstrated Xu Lian’s formidable strength.
Xu Lian had an idea. Many of his romantic interests already had high favorability, making it difficult to increase it further. It was time to find new ones. This female genius was quite beautiful, so why not flirt a little?
With that thought, he gently flicked his finger across her forehead. “You lose.”
As expected, this ambiguous gesture made the female genius blush, her gaze turning somewhat peculiar.
In the stands.
A sweet-looking girl noticed Xu Lian’s subtle move and pouted. It was none other than Jing Se.
Ying Ming glanced at her and comforted her, “It’s normal for a top genius like Xu Lian to have many admirers.”
Jing Se muttered, “But he actively flicked her forehead, trying to get her attention.”
Ying Ming explained, “This is also normal. This female genius, who’s competing in place of her brother, is from the Closed Moon Valley. The Closed Moon Valley is a great power. She’s beautiful, strong, and has a powerful background. It’s only natural that Xu Lian would be interested in her.
Jing Se, you need to understand that for a top genius like Xu Lian, who rose from the commoners of Taizhou Prefecture, Pingyang County, and Green Bamboo Town, expanding his network is crucial. And one of the most important ways to do that is through relationships.
If you want to be with him, don’t stop him from expanding his network through such connections. In fact, you should encourage it.
Only then can he quickly build up his influence and become a powerful figure”.
Is that really how it is?
Jing Se looked at her other brother, Jing Que, with a mix of doubt and curiosity.
Jing Que nodded, “If you think of this world as a giant fishing net, then each power is like a knot in the net, independent yet interconnected, with tangled and complex relationships.
Take the family of the Duke of Jing and the family of the Duke of Ying, for example. Why have they stood firm for countless years without falling?
Because both families are closely related to the royal family. In every generation, a princess or noblewoman marries into the two families, and in every generation, women from the two families enter the palace as concubines.
In addition to their ties to the royal family, the two families also have marital relationships with many other powers.
The gathering held some time ago was also for the purpose of expanding these ties.”
Jing Que let out an “Oh” and calmly watched as Xu Lian and the female genius left the arena together. “I understand.”
In the other arenas, the battles were gradually coming to an end.
The results were set.
Arena 1: The Heir of the Prince of Zhennan narrowly lost to the Demonic Genius, who advanced to the final four.
Arena 2: The Heir of the Prince of Zhenbei narrowly defeated the Heir of the Dragon King of the Purple Flood. It was a pyrrhic victory, as the Prince of Zhenbei’s Heir was too injured to advance to the semi-finals.
Arena 3: The Twin Stars of the Falling Star Palace were easily defeated by the mysterious fog-shrouded genius. This was unexpected. Although the Mysterious Genius was strong, the Twin Stars were no weaklings. Both of them were fourth-level grandmasters, yet they were crushed in a two-on-one battle. This showed how powerful the Mysterious Genius was.
Arena 4: Xu Lian skillfully defeated the female genius from the Closed Moon Valley. Why “cleverly”? Because given her fifth-level grandmaster strength, she shouldn’t have lost so quickly. Xu Lian used a ghostly fast movement technique to catch her off guard, securing victory in just three moves.
The list of the top four was now clear: Demonic Genius, Prince Zhenbei’s Heir, Mysterious Genius, and Xu Lian.
“There will be a one-hour break before the semi-finals begin.”
The Minister of Rites was generous for once, giving them an hour to rest.
Perhaps he was considering the Prince of Zhenbei’s heir’s injuries, which needed time to heal…
The rules of the competition were set by the Yin Dynasty. They decided how things would proceed, and Xu Lian, the demonic genius, and the mysterious genius couldn’t say much about it. After all, there was no such thing as absolute fairness in this world.
The noblewomen in the stands couldn’t sit still. They signaled their daughters with their eyes.
Soon, one by one, the noble ladies descended from the stands and made their way to the resting place of the top four geniuses.
“Xu Lian, take this bottle of qi replenishing pills. Use them to quickly recover your energy.”
“Xu Lian, let me wipe your sweat for you.”
Surrounded by a group of noble ladies, Xu Lian felt a bit dizzy.
It wasn’t just him. The demonic genius and the mysterious genius were also surrounded by many noble ladies.
In contrast, the heir of Prince Zhenbei, who was busy healing his injuries, received no attention at all. Perhaps it was because he was inconvenient to disturb, or perhaps it was because he was already part of the Yin Dynasty – a piece of meat already in the pot. The priority now was to secure the three pieces of meat still outside the pot…
Not just the top four, but even the geniuses who had made it to the top eight, top sixteen, top thirty-two, and beyond-those who hadn’t left yet-were also approached by the noble ladies.
The scene of “catching a son-in-law” was in full swing at this moment.
The Yin Dynasty didn’t stop this behavior. In fact, they seemed to encourage it, as it helped strengthen ties between the nobility and various powers, which was beneficial for the dynasty.
An hour passed quickly.
The lottery began.
Xu Lian was lucky. He drew the heir of Prince Zhenbei as his opponent. Although the heir had spent an hour healing, he was still far from fully recovered. Xu Lian had basically been given an easy match.
The demon genius frowned. He had drawn the Mysterious Genius as his opponent. His eyes glowed as if he was trying to see through the fog, but the light was blocked at the edge of the fog, unable to penetrate. “Who are you really?”
The mysterious genius shrouded in mist remained silent. In fact, he hadn’t spoken a single word since the elimination rounds had begun.
The semi-finals began.
Xu Lian and the Heir of the Prince of Zhenbei were in Arena 1. Xu Lian wasn’t one to pass up an advantage. He immediately summoned a golden Imperial Capital!
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”…
One Golden Imperial Capital after another.
The heir of Prince Zhenbei lasted ten turns before coughing up blood and giving up. “Once I recover, I’ll definitely spar with you.”
Xu Lian smiled, “I’ll be waiting.”
In Arena 2, the match was also decided in only ten moves.
The Demon Genius was defeated by the Mysterious Genius.
This left the Demon Genius frustrated. “Can you at least tell me who you are? I can’t accept this loss.”
The Mysterious Genius still didn’t speak. He simply turned and walked out of the arena.
The demonic genius sighed, “Fine. I’ll wait for you to become the royal son-in-law. I refuse to believe that you’ll keep your identity hidden during the wedding ceremony.”