Phoenix Destiny
chapter-172

Lu Mingshu stood on the stage, sweating profusely, breathing heavily, and trembling.

Wei Chunqiu was obviously in a better condition than her, but he wasn't exactly relaxed.

After the match Lu Mingshu had with Kou Wei, he sat up and took notice of her. He felt that she had great fighting potential, but he never expected that she would be able to follow his tempo.

Ever since he got into martial arts, Wei Chunqiu had mainly focused on a fast sword. He had passed three realms, and with his fast sword, he was always the best in each realm. There weren't many who could fight against his fast sword.

His sword was too fast. Anyone who didn't have basics as strong as his would be unable to discover his tempo. In fact, they wouldn't even be able to see what was happening. Even Yu Kuang, a Seventh Truth Platform disciple whose ability was out of the ordinary, couldn't find it.

However, Lu Mingshu, a disciple only just entered the Harmonization Realm, was able to follow his speed and nearly found a gap in his skill.

Wei Chunqiu had no choice but to increase his speed to something that she would definitely be unable to follow and forcefully break her tempo.

He heaved a sigh of relief and kept his sword.

His hands were slightly shaking from the extremely fast pace that he had utilized.

It had been a long time since anyone had forced him to this extent. It was almost his limit.

To put it simply, he only won because of his greater basics and experience.

Wei Chunqiu smiled bitterly in his heart. He never expected that he would need to overpower somebody with his higher cultivation.

The younger generation will indeed surpass the older one in time! He did not know whether it was a blessing to be in a different generation or whether it was a shame that he had never met such a valiant opponent.

"Lu Mingshu." Lin Zixin smiled widely at her. "You may keep your sword."

Lu Mingshu was called back to earth. She took a deep breath.

After she felt better and had stopped trembling, she went to get her sword and put it back to where it belonged.

"Thank you for guiding me true." Lu Mingshu bowed.

Even though she had lost this round, she gained many things that were incomparable to winning. Wei Chunqiu's skills and tempo had given her a lot of inspiration that numerical values couldn't.

After this match, any other fast sword in the Harmonization Realm was nothing scary to her.

"Miss has potential. Your future is limitless," Wei Chunqiu said sincerely.

Lu Mingshu gave him a smile. "I hope that, when we meet again, I can call you Senior."

She then turned around and went back to her tent.

Wei Chunqiu walked back to his tent to take a rest too. He still had one more round left, then he could be truly considered to be the number one Harmonization Realm disciple.

The name list changed again.

Wei Chunqiu; a hundred and nineteen points. Lu Mingshu; ninety-nine points. Kou Wei; seventy-three points.

For the last round, if Wei Chunqiu won, he would gain fourteen points and accumulate a hundred and thirty-three points in total and take first place. Kou Wei would lose fourteen and end with fifty-nine points. Even though he would still be in the top ten, his ranking wouldn't be nice.

If Kou Wei won, Wei Chunqiu would lose twenty-three points and end with ninety-six points, while Kou Wei would gain twenty-three and end with ninety-six too. Lu Mingshu would then be in first with ninety-nine points, Kou Wei would take second on tiebreaks because of his win against Wei Chunqiu, and Wei Chunqiu would be third.

In the tent, the spectators had already analyzed the different outcomes.

Somebody sighed. "It's such a pity. A powerful Heavenly Sea Pavilion disciple is forced to challenge Wei Chunqiu, but he won't get first even if he wins."

"It's all because that witch girly has such luck. She lost, and yet she could still take first, while Kou Wei fought so hard and will be behind her!"

"Can you stop being vulgar?" Someone shut him up. "What 'witch girly,' she put in effort into her fights too. Even though she defeated Kou Wei because of luck, spiritual tools are allowed in the competition. She also fought Wei Chunqiu fairly too. Even Yue Lingyin may not be as good as her."

"Then just give her third." The guy huffed. "How is it considered fair if you get first with luck and not ability?"

Somebody sneered. "Unfair? There isn't any rule that says luck isn't a factor for getting first, right?"

"Well, it's just unfair when others who actually have the ability fail because of luck!"

"Then suggest a better way to calculate it!"

"Can you both shut the hell up?" A third party jumped out. "Luck is something that you can't remove. If one's lucky, then it's just their fate, and you can't do anything to it. Anyway, it's not the first time that a weak person has defeated the strong. If the Qilin Festival was measured purely by ability, then why would they even need to fight?"

"Yeah!"

Being unable to retort, the guy who was unhappy with Lu Mingshu winning by luck finally shut up.

At the Nine Jade Palace tent, the atmosphere was relaxed. Now that Lu Mingshu finished the round, she would be either first or second. Before they came, the Elders never expected such a result; the most they wanted was a top ten. However, they actually got a top three! How proud they would be when this spread!

From afar, a woman in a purple gown slowly walked toward their tent.

Kang Tian and the other chaperones stood up to greet her immediately once she stepped into their tent. "Emissary Ding."

It was Ding Qingqing, the queen's trusted aide.

She gave them a thin smile and nodded before walking toward Lu Mingshu.

"Miss Lu, you have worked hard."

Lu Mingshu stood up and bowed, but she remained silent.

Ding Qingqing did not seem to care about her reaction at all. She only focused on asking the servant girls to come forward and reveal what was on the tray that was covered with a red cloth.

Rays of light reflected across the tent.

The disciples shrieked, and they were unable to take their eyes off the tray.

A string of pearls was placed on the tray. The pearls were indigo in colour, and they were so glossy that they could reflect one's image. They were as big as lotus seed, and they emitted a gentle glow.

Ding Qingqing took up a pearl. "This is called Mystic Dewdrop. It's extracted from the seabed, and it only forms after a thousand years. A gift from the queen for the interesting match just now."

Mystic Dewdrop! Not only were the disciples of Nine Jade Palace drooling, but even the disciples in the tent near them were also green with envy!

As soon as the cover was removed, it lit up the whole tent. That meant that it was a rare treasure! Even a Spirit Realm Elder might not have such a thing! The queen was so generous!

However, not a single sign of happiness could be seen on Lu Mingshu's face. "Thank you so much for Her Highness's affection for me, but why would I be rewarded if I haven't done any meritorious deed for her?"

"Her Highness is happy, so here's a gift for you. If Miss won't accept it, aren't you rejecting Her Highness's goodwill?"

"Emissary Ding is right," Yin Hong hurriedly cut into the conversation. "One shouldn't reject a gift from an elder. Lu Mingshu, accept it."

Since Her Highness has given her such precious gift in front of everyone, the marriage should be almost confirmed. My job is done.

Yin Hong's expression fell into An Tongchen's eyes.

He sneered at her from the side.