Chapter 562: Chapter 432: Imperial Examination, First Place
Hong Mingyue’s Canghai Three-Life Flute in her hand emitted an extremely faint sound, and on the turquoise flute’s body, a slight crack appeared.
On Hong Mingyue’s face, as beautiful as ice and snow, a similar crack seemed to form.
But all of these were nothing compared to the wound to her self-esteem.
When the Little Infinite Finger struck, she felt a sense of unreality.
Golden Buddha’s single finger actually shattered her two layers of Power of Reincarnation.
Where would Hong Mingyue know that the Chaotic Power passed down through the ages, with its immense might, could hardly be opposed by someone like her who had just broken through to the Reincarnation Second Realm.
How could this be possible, the opponent wasn’t even in the Reincarnation Realm, and up to the moment she fell from the arena, Hong Mingyue still couldn’t believe it.
Wounds on her body, and damages to the Spiritual Artifact, could all be repaired, but once pride was trampled and ground into dust, it could never be restored.
Hong Mingyue tried to stand up.
Yet her legs, heavy as if weighing a thousand pounds, just couldn’t straighten up; every attempt to rise ended with her crashing back down, again and again.
And at the edge of the arena, it was deathly silent; not even one person thought to step forward to help her up.
Her family, her loving parents, at this moment, still stared wide-eyed, unable to believe as they watched her fall over and over.
Sharp stones scraped against her cheek, Hong Mingyue felt a sharp pain, but could not tell where this pain originated from.
She could only crawl amidst the rubble, looking up at the sky above, towards that Hong Shisan who towered over her.
Just one move, truly just a single move.
He truly defeated her with one move.
The same scenario, half a year ago, with roles reversed.
Back then, she had merely played the first tune of the Reincarnation Three-Life Song, which had left Hong Shisan in an utterly sorry state.
But half a year later, she lay on the ground, devoid of any strength to retaliate.
The training field of Xia Palace at this time was completely in disarray.
As the dust settled, the entire arena was bombed into ruins.
In the spectator stands, Emperor Xia, the Crown Prince, the Empress, and all the civil and military officials, even the people from Hong Residence, were all dumbfounded like wooden chickens.
Everything happened too quickly.
Hong Mingyue, once the third-ranked on the Qing Province Elixir Ranking, Hong Mingyue was defeated in one move.
Hong Fang looked at his daughter, who lay in the ruins covered in injuries, only disbelief and disappointment in his eyes.
Ming Yue lost? She was his most beloved daughter, his pride from her childhood.
Yet at this moment, she was like discarded trash, lying on the ground, utterly and thoroughly defeated.
Zhuge Rou’s face too was a picture of woe.
"Master, Ming Yue... our Ming Yue," Zhuge Rou started to cry.
Hong Fang clenched his teeth tightly, the storm in his eyes growing more intense.
The defeat of his daughter Hong Mingyue shocked him greatly, but defeat was defeat, and the outcome was fixed.
After his shock, Hong Fang quickly calmed down, his plans still had to proceed.
This Imperial Examination’s results were ultimately insignificant.
If Hong Mingyue could win, it would have been a bonus, but her loss wouldn’t impact the overall situation.
Hong Fang’s gaze drifted subtly towards the spectator stands.
There, hidden among them, were a hundred Alchemists from the Dan Palace, quietly arranged by him. With just one command from him...
"Hong Shisan! What audacity!" Luo Song couldn’t restrain himself any longer, slamming the table as he rose.
Before the results were announced, he never imagined that Hong Mingyue would lose, especially to an unknown youngster.
Now Hong Mingyue had become his fiancée, Luo Song. Hong Shisan defeating her in one move was a clear humiliation to Three-Life Valley.
This grievance, Luo Song simply could not swallow.
"What, Young Valley Master Luo can’t stand it and plans to take action himself? However, you are too old to participate in the Daxia Imperial Competition," Hong Shisan said with a faint smile, landing on the ground.
Luo Song’s face flushed with anger, he leapt up, ready to fight Hong Shisan to the death.
"Luo Song, this is Daxia, not Three-Life Valley."
Emperor Xia suddenly came to his senses and bellowed angrily.
Lan Yingwu, Nie Fengxing, and several other Daxia military generals abruptly stood up and blocked Luo Song.
It wasn’t only Lan and Nie, even Emperor Xia, who had initially treated Luo Song with courtesy, showed signs of great fury.
This was the Daxia Imperial Competition. Victory and defeat are common occurrences in the military family. Hong Mingyue’s loss was a great surprise to everyone, but it also highlighted the strength of this martial artist called Hong Shisan.
Emperor Xia and the Crown Prince, Xiahou Qi, both harbored thoughts of recruiting him.
Ye Huangyu had also just recovered from her shock. It had only been a few months since she’d seen her daughter, but how come she felt like she no longer recognized her own daughter?
The tone of Emperor Xia had already said it all.
Everyone from Hong Residence looked displeased.
"Brother, it is I who have lost," Hong Mingyue struggled to get up from the rubble.
Even in defeat, she still held her spine straight. A few fine cuts on that lovely face, dripping with a bit of blood, bestowed upon the usually cold Hong Mingyue an oddly alluring beauty.
She gripped the Canghai Three-Life Flute in her hand tightly and let out a miserable chuckle.
"Hong Shisan, you have won."
The crowd buzzed with commotion. Nobody had predicted that the Daxia Imperial Competition would bring forth such an unexpected dark horse.
After Hong Mingyue spoke, Luo Song quickly approached and embraced her in his arms. Hong Mingyue did not struggle this time; having conceded, she seemed as if all her bones had been removed, all her strength drained, she meekly leaned into Luo Song’s embrace.
Luo Song’s face wore an expression of pleasant surprise; he had never seen Hong Mingyue in such a state before.
This version of Hong Mingyue seemed more like a normal woman.
In an instant, Luo Song felt that maybe, Hong Mingyue’s defeat was a good thing.
In the future, she would behave like a real woman should, supporting her husband and raising children, obediently fulfilling her role as his Young Madam.
Luo Song felt as though his heart was about to float away. Supporting Hong Mingyue, he followed her step by step back to Hong Residence’s seats.
At the seats, Lan Cai’er and Little Wuya let out a cheer and rushed towards Hong Shisan.
Silence blanketed Hong Residence’s seating area.
The Princely Heir’s face was ashen, and Hong Fang and his wife sat there, stunned.
Emperor Xia cleared his throat.
"Is there anyone else who wishes to challenge Hong Shisan?"
Emperor Xia asked this question, but he did so casually.
Hong Shisan’s strike had blown up the arena into smithereens, leaving it quite a mess. How could the competition continue?
Furthermore, since even Hong Mingyue had lost, what chance would other competitors have against Hong Shisan?
After Emperor Xia finished speaking, four or five martial artists stepped forward.
"Your Majesty, we wish to have a match against Hong Shisan too."
Emperor Xia looked at these martial artists. They had performed quite well in the earlier matches, but in terms of strength, they probably could not compare to Hong Shisan.
"Hong Shisan has just finished a competition and has expended a considerable amount of Primordial Power. Let him rest for a moment. If anyone else wishes to compete, feel free to proceed," Emperor Xia intended to recruit Hong Shisan, yet he did not want to disregard these young talents, so he ordered the competition field to be reorganized.