BXBX NOVEL Chapter 237: 236: The Scholar’s Tactics! (Please Subscribe!)
Chapter 237: 236: The Scholar’s Tactics! (Please Subscribe!)
The two groups of people met, all acting as if nothing had happened, their faces expressionless. But in their hearts, they all sneered secretly, waiting for the opportunity to stab the other in the back.
Xiang Xinjian wanted to laugh as he watched the two groups feigning innocence below.
Suddenly, he noticed that Du Gang’s eyes kept glancing over to Yu Shuiyao sitting next to him, and he asked:
“Du Gang, can you tell us about the situation regarding the first level of the Abyss with the Demon Clan?”
Du Gang immediately stood up, straightforwardly saying, “There are many abysses, established to defend against the invasion of the Demon Clan. Basically, every area has an abyss, this is to disperse the pressure each abyss has to bear…”
Xiang Xinjian snorted coldly, saying, “I asked about the situation on the first level…”
Du Gang quickly replied, “In the first level of the abyss, every place has common and unique points…”
“The common aspect is that every first level of the Abyss allows a maximum of three God Spirit Level entities…”
“In addition, each abyss has some defensive towers. These defensive towers can basically be divided into the red and blue sides. We are the red side, the Demon Clan is the blue side, and both sides can seize control of the level of the abyss by capturing the towers…”
“Once a level of any 18-layer abyss is completely occupied by the Demon Clan, it means that the demons originally on the first level can invade our homeland on the Primordial Continent…”
Xiang Xinjian nodded, then continued to ask, “What do we do in that situation?”
Without hesitation, Du Gang said: “We organize manpower to defend and set up a blockade, trying not to let these demons spread out. Additionally, we assemble another army composed of one to three tribulation gods to break through and begin to seize the defensive towers…”
“God Spirits in their first to third tribulations? What if the sixth layer of the abyss is broken?”
Du Gang was taken aback, then quickly replied, “If the sixth layer of the abyss is breached, we need to organize an army of nine-tribulation god spirits and charge in…”
Xiang Xinjian nodded as if he was teaching a lesson, then asked again, “How do you seize the defensive towers?”
Du Gang hurriedly replied, “If the first layer of the abyss is occupied by the enemy, we need to dispatch an army composed of first to third tribunal god spirits…”
Xiang Xinjian interrupted again, asking, “Why does the breach of the first layer of the abyss require the first to third tribulations, while the breach of the sixth layer of the abyss only requires nine-tribulation god spirits?”
Du Gang, not daring to harbor any superfluous thoughts, replied, “This is because each layer of the Abyss has a different ‘gravity.’ The first layer of the abyss can bear an unlimited amount of first-tribulation god spirits, as well as a few second-tribulation and third-tribulation powerful god spirits…while the sixth layer of the abyss can perfectly bear nine-tribulation god spirits, so there is no need for the seventh-tribulation and eighth-tribulation god spirits to participate…”
Xiang Xinjian nodded, then said, “Good, continue. Now you’ve assembled an army ready to counterattack the first layer of the Abyss…”
Once again, Du Gang started speaking, “We need people on the outside to provide cover, open up a route straight to the first layer of the abyss, then charge in, preferably in a spearhead formation to pierce through, heading straight for our camp…”
“After reaching our camp, we need to hold it for at least one day. This will give energy chargers enough time. After one day, our base will revive, and this means we can rejoin in the fight for this layer of the Abyss…”
“Next, we leave people to defend the main camp, revive the defense towers… The rest of the people need to go to the three crystal routes to revive the crystals… Then keep going from there…”
Xiang Xinjian nodded and asked, “If the Demon Clan can break our camp, can we break theirs?”
“Yes!”
Du Gang nodded, “We can also break their main camp. This means that our army can reach the Demon Clan’s territory…”
“Has anyone been there before?”
“Yes, in history, some powerful gods and forces have records of invading the Demon Clan’s territory. However, none of them lasted too long as there are too many strong individuals on the enemy side, and those who crossed over will be repelled before long…”
Xiang Xinjian nodded and said with a light smile, “Does it feel very childish?”
All the students immediately shook their heads.
Who would dare not to?
This man is a one-man-show.
Xiang Xinjian seemed pleased and said, “Even though it seems very childish, like a game of house, in reality, this is the opportunity that our human race’s great Supremes sacrificed to get!”
“They exchanged it with their lives, so we could have the chance to sit here and take classes at our leisure. Otherwise, the Primordial Continent would have perished long ago…”
He noticed that Little Hawk King muttered something under his breath, and sneered, “Little Hawk King, do you think that if you run back to the universe, you’ll be safe?”
“With the strength of the Demon Clan, even if you run back to the universe, they could still hunt you down. By then, the entire universe would have fallen!”
Upon hearing these words, Little Hawk King immediately stopped laughing and became serious.
Xiang Xinjian nodded, saying, “I hope you adjust your attitudes. It’s okay to play and joke around on normal days, but on these major matters, do not lose yourselves…”
“Regardless of how much hatred we have with other forces, the first thing we need to do is to unite to fight the Demon Clan, as well as the Celestials. Of course, the Celestials are powerful and dominating the realm above, we of the Ancient City don’t need to get involved, but this doesn’t mean these dangers don’t exist…”
“Do you understand?”
Hearing the last sentence from Xiang Xinjian, whether or not they had been paying attention, everyone reflexively shouted, “Understood!”
“Good!”
Xiang Xinjian nodded and smiled, “Okay, that’s it for today’s lesson on the Abyss. In the practical class later, you can engage in free activities. I need to attend a meeting. Also, I should let you know that tomorrow morning, teachers from the Holy Confucian Academy will bring their freshmen here to meet you. Be prepared, don’t embarrass us… Du Gang will be in charge of the reception, understood?!”
“Understood!”
After he left, the students present let out a sigh of relief.
“Finally he’s gone!”
“Every time we talk about the Demon Clan and the Celestials, it’s always politically correct…”
“Hahaha!”
“Hey, have you guys heard? In the Nine-Heavens celestial realm, all the male immortals are handsome and the female ones are beautiful. I even heard someone stole a female immortal and took her back…”
“Took her back for what?”
“Hehe!”
Upon hearing this, Du Gang couldn’t help but sneer, “Nonsense, celestial immortals and we mortals are unlike and incompatible, who dares to take one back?”
At this, Long Aotian became displeased, “Only you can, always….”
“You’re itching for a beatdown?”
Long Aotian quickly shut his mouth, secretly swore at Du Gang in his heart.
Just wait old man, I’ll have you wiped out tomorrow!
Thinking about Du Gang losing his ten thousand Divine Crystals the next day, he was elated and left the classroom with his followers sneering.
Early in the morning the next day, Du Gang was already waiting at the academy entrance.
His sign was as shiny as before, it looked extravagant.
Old Liu wasn’t around; according to him, since others were coming to recruit students, why should he be there? So, he went off to get some fresh air.
But Du Gang suspected that the old man might have gone to the Dream Building as he had once seen him returning from that direction.
“And not necessarily, with Old Liu being so stingy, he might have gone to a back alley near the southern gate, it’s cheaper there… ”
After a short wait, a middle-aged scholar with a square hat with sharp corners was walking briskly towards him from down the street.
Following him was a crowd of students dressed similarly, although their clothes weren’t uniform and seemed rather casual.
“Welcome to our esteemed teachers and students of Holy Confucian Academy…”
Du Gang’s face was exaggeratedly cheerful, his smile bright, giving an impression of sincerest blessings for their arrival.
Seeing this genuine smile, the leading scholar nodded and said with a smile, “I appreciate your efforts, student. Please lead the way…”
Only then did the scholar have the leisure to observe the state of Penglai Academy.
Although he had been told that the area here was small, it was even smaller than he had imagined. And those doodles on the wall…
The middle-aged scholar was taken aback, “Why does your graffiti resemble a kindergarten’s?”
Du Gang was taken aback, “Kindergarten?”
This old man…
The scholar laughed: “Don’t you know? This term ‘kindergarten’ was passed down from your universe. Our Holy Confucian Academy has always had a strong influence among the nobles, and we’ve learned a lot of advanced ideas from you…”
Du Gang’s mouth twitched, careful not to ponder on the implications. He asked, “Oh, then what does this ‘kindergarten’ mean?”
The scholar laughed: “Kindergarten, as the name suggests, is a place where young children are educated. I don’t know why your school is decorated like this.”
He knew why…
Du Gang laughed: “I don’t know about that. Our dean might have intended something else!”
The scholar nodded and said with a smile, “In that case, please lead the way. I’ll get to know the dean better later…”
Ahem!
Du Gang coughed and quickly led the guests towards the office area. However, when he looked back, he saw that there were only a little over thirty students following the scholar.
He dared not ponder this further, concerned that the scholar might read his thoughts so he led the way dutifully.
Soon, everyone entered the office area. According to Xiang Xinjian, Du Gang led the crowd straight to the office building at the farthest end.
In front of the office building, Xiang Xinjian was already standing there with a smug smile on his face.
“Oh my, welcome, welcome!”
With a falsely cheerful smile on his face, Xiang Xinjian went forward to shake hands with the scholar.
At this moment, Du Gang quickly said: “Teacher, how about I show them around the academy?”
If they wanted to act, their only chance was now when the Confucian scholar couldn’t get away because he had to see the dean.
If they delay any longer, the Confucian scholars and students would mix together and there would be no chance to act.
Xiang Xinjian knew what Du Gang was up to and said with a smile, “Sure thing, young people should be with other young people. You take them around the academy…”
The scholar had no objections and turned to the students, saying softly with a faint smile, “Follow this student and take a look around, and exchange thoughts and ideas with each other…”
“Yes!”
The thirty or so students seemed quite disinterested in chatting with the school leaders and wanted to split up.
Du Gang could see from the eager gleam in their eyes that they had come here with a mission. Their so-called “exchange” was more than likely a pretext for a challenge.
After all, if you don’t show off your skills to surprise others, how can you attract them to study at your institution?!
However, he knew that these scholars were not the type found on Earth that couldn’t employ their physical abilities to rule. The term “scholar” merely refers to those who are well-read, and the teachings of the Holy Confucian Academy are rooted in truth.
“Please follow me!”
Du Gang continued to lead the way, but he deliberately slowed his pace to stay aligned with the scholars at the front of the line.
“What is your name?”
“I am Yang Jun, a first-year student at the Inner Court of the Holy Confucian Academy. Pleased to meet you!”
Upon hearing this, Du Gang promptly responded: “I am Du Gang, a freshman from Penglai Academy…”
Is he a first-year?
It seems like Penglai Academy doesn’t follow this system.
“Does the Holy Confucian Academy have many students?”
With a curious tone, Du Gang casually asked.
Yang Jun smiled and responded, “Yes, our Holy Confucian Academy takes up nearly half the city…”
Half?
Du Gang’s eyes almost turned red. In such a valuable location, occupying half of the land meant that these guys were super wealthy!
He subtly wiped the drool from the corners of his mouth and asked, “From what I understood, your academy is divided into an Outer Court and Inner Court?”
“That’s correct!”
Without much thought, Yang Jun explained with a smile, “The Outer Court is where students beneath the God Spirit level study, while the Inner Court is where those above the God Spirit level study…”
“Our Inner Court is divided into nine grades, ranked by cultivation level, ranging from the First Tribulation God Spirit to the Ninth Tribulation God Spirit…”
Understanding this, Du Gang asked, “So, all of you are promoted from the Outer Court?”
Yang Jun smiled and confirmed, “Correct, We are considered the cream of the crop…”
Soon, the group returned to the courtyard from before. Du Gang explained: “Our academy is, after all, small in scale and has limited land, so we have made use of numerous spatial gates…”
“Brother Yang, it’s not like this at your place, right?!”
Yang Jun laughed heartily, saying: “Our place is indeed larger. At a minimum, all areas are connected…”
He came here with a purpose. The academy had given them a mission: to showcase the grandeur of the Holy Confucian Academy as much as possible and attract these freshmen.
Penglai Academy is, after all, a smaller academy, just a family-run one. In the past, many have left for further studies at the Holy Confucian Academy.
The higher-ups in the Eighteen Tribes were somehow okay with this situation and did not refuse it. Those studying at the Holy Confucian Academy were not required to serve in the chasm of the Ancient City.
Hearing Du Gang’s words, he instantly felt the potential to develop this accommodating youngster into a junior.
Suddenly, Du Gang opened the space gate to the competition area, “Brother Yang, esteemed seniors, please come in!”
The scholars burst into smiles, appreciating Du Gang’s attitude.
Soon, everyone walked in.
“Brother Du, could you tell me about your current cultivation level?”
Upon entering, Yang Jun immediately inquired about Du Gang’s cultivation state.
Du Gang instantly put on a proud smirk, “I do not mean to be modest, Brother Yang. I was the first person in our class to ignite the Divine Fire, and I am also the class leader of our grade!”
Yang Jun laughed lightly and asked, “Have you ignited the second Divine Fire yet?”
Du Gang shook his head, “No, the second Divine Fire is indeed quite difficult to attain…”
This revelation elicited disdainful looks from the scholars.
Among them, many had already reached the level of the second Divine Fire, and people like Yang Jun had even reached the third Divine Fire stage.
It seemed like they were in luck this time.
With a grin, Yang Jun reassured himself that choosing the Ancient City for this event was indeed a wise decision.
As first-year students, they all had the task of interacting with other academies. Depending on their performances, they would receive certain rewards.
There are quite a few family-run academies like Penglai Academy in the Southern Wilderness. The Holy Confucian Academy had also dispatched many exchange groups tasked with attracting students.
For them, each new recruit was a win. And every additional student added to the list of incentives for these groups.
Suddenly, Du Gang began leading everyone towards the depths of the competition area.
“Are all these the competition stages?”
Du Gang nodded, a look of embarrassment on his face, “This is the competition area. It’s quite vast. The teacher asked me to gather the students here to meet all of you…”
Upon understanding the situation, the-seminarians once again looked upon the situation with disdain.
It turned out that Penglai Academy didn’t even have a space capable of accommodating hundreds of people.
The group made their way to the depths of the dueling arena.
As expected, there were about seventy students waiting.
At that moment, Du Gang’s face turned stern, “Where are Long Aoshi and his team?”
“They already left, too lazy to wait here…”
“That’s absurd, how dare they…”
The thirty-odd students were somewhat dissatisfied. The hosts they were supposed to meet were not even present, reflecting their lack of discipline…
At this point, Du Gang expressed his apology, “Sorry, Brother Yang, the students in our class are all prodigies, and they tend to be a bit unruly…”
Yang Jun laughed heartily, “It’s alright, I understand…”
Suddenly, a discordant voice reached his ears.
“These Holy Confucian Academy guys don’t seem so great!”
He turned his head and spotted a young man at the front, sizing them up with a haughty expression.
Just as he was about to respond, he noticed two horns on this person’s forehead.
Could it be… a special bloodline?
Joy filled Yang Jun. The academy provided extra rewards for recruiting people with special bloodlines, he hadn’t expected to find any here…
Soon, he realized there were quite a few people with peculiar appearances in the crowd. Some had wings, others were carrying coffins.
Immediately, he was overjoyed and couldn’t help but convey this through Divine Thoughts to the thirty-odd scholars behind him, “Brothers, do you see? There are many special bloodline individuals among these people. If we recruit one, we can earn quite a few rewards!”
“We see, Brother. But what should we do? We need to find a way to display the charm of the Holy Confucian Academy…”
Hearing this, Yang Jun followed up on Long Aotian’s comment, “Who are you to look down upon the Holy Confucian Academy?”
It seemed Long Aotian had been waiting just for this.
“Ha!”
With a snort, he lifted his head proudly, “I am from the Dragon family, and I possess the bloodlines of the Pangu Tribe, the Nuwa Clan, and the Azure Flood Dragon Clan…”
The mention of these three clans that had once produced Supremes caused Yang Jun and the others to feel an upsurge of joy—they had, of course, studied these clans in their history books.
“Looking down upon you? It’s because you are so full of yourselves. We’ve been waiting here for an entire afternoon and you’ve only just arrived…”
Hearing this, Yang Jun laughed, “I see, we’ve offended you. In that case, let me apologize to Brother Long…”
Clearly, his attitude towards Long Aotian was much better than towards Du Gang.
After all, in his view, Du Gang was just an ordinary physique, not even worth as much as Long Aotian.
Long Aotian snorted, “Apologies? In my life, I only converse as equals with the strong. Whether you can apologize or not depends on your qualifications!”
“You’re too much, do you know who you’re talking to?”
Before Yang Jun could respond, someone behind him couldn’t help but shout out.
Yang Jun, however, raised his hand to stop the others from speaking.
What surprised Du Gang and the others was that the student behind Yang Jun immediately quieted down.
All the prideful talents actually obeyed?
Little did they know that Yang Jun was a celebrated genius in the Holy Confucian Academy and a strong leader. Those who were traveling with him were all handpicked, and naturally, they would follow his lead.
Yang Jun spoke up, “What qualifications does Brother Long consider worthy?”
Predicting that the students here were trying to assert dominance, he calmly posed this question.
Long Aotian smiled proudly, “It’s simple. You fight us. Only if you win, can you stand on equal footing with us…”
“Hmph!”
People on this side immediately scoffed.
However, the inner voices exchanged between them moved quickly.
“Brother, you guessed right. These guys really want to challenge us…”
“Of course, individuals with blood lineage are often like this. Their perspective is not broad, and they see things in a very narrow way. That’s why they speak such laughable words…”
Yang Jun nodded, “Alright, if Brother Long wants to see our strength, that’s okay. We can have a little spar…”
“We have thirty-three people here, how about you?”
Immediately, thirty-some people from their side stood at the front.
“How shall we fight?”
Long Aotian grinned, “You have 33 people, we also have 33 people. Let’s open 33 dueling arenas at the same time. The side with the most victories wins, how about that?!”
Yang Jun nodded, “Alright then, let’s…”
Before his words fell, Long Aotian suggested again, “Fighting like this is too dry, there’s no fun in it. Why not make a bet?”
Upon hearing this, Yang Jun and the others immediately brightened up.
They had learned from Du Gang that he was at the level of the first Divine Fire. Moreover, they dared to come here naturally with some methods, so they were very confident in their own strength.
“How much to bet?”
Yang Jun’s eyes sparkled, asking the question.
At this point, Du Gang furrowed his brows, “Long Aotian, you guys are the children of the powerful ones, rich in wealth, how can you do this?”
After saying that, he looked at Yang Jun and apologized, “Brother Yang, I’m sorry, they are just joking, they don’t mean anything else, let’s simply fight without adding any bets…”
Previously, Yang Jun was boasting about the wealth and resources of Holy Confucian Academy, occupying half of the city with pride, he surely couldn’t admit defeat regarding money now.
He smiled and said, “Don’t worry, although we generally come from ordinary backgrounds, we’ve also earned quite a lot of wealth along the way. We can afford to bet…”
“Since Brother Long is interested, let’s make it more interesting!”
Du Gang’s face was filled with urgency, and he quickly advised, “Brother Yang, it’s not wise. Although I am the class leader, many of our classmates have special blood vessels and they are extraordinary. What if…”
Yang Jun laughed and said, “Brother Du, your kindness is appreciated. However, we came here to represent the Holy Confucian Academy. The exchange cannot take place without a fight, so how can we proceed?!”
Long Aotian nodded and said, “Alright, in that case, let’s make a bet…”
Turning his head towards the students behind him, he grinned, “Would any of you like to earn some extra cash? Come on, let’s pool our resources…”
With that, he pulled out a divine artifact worth more than a thousand Divine Crystals.
Similarly, upon seeing this, the others also hurriedly pulled out their own.
In an instant, the crowd revealed artifacts worth nearly fifty thousand Divine Crystals.
So many?!
Yang Jun and the others were shocked. In their minds, to make a bet, they just needed thirty to fifty Divine Crystals. But who could have known, the other party had pulled out nearly fifty thousand Divine Crystals.
“Senior brother, they must have prepared long ago, planning to embarrass us!”
“What should we do? We are representing the Holy Confucian Academy. If we don’t even have enough to bet…”
Yang Jun quickly transmitted his voice, “Pull out the Rune Pages that the teacher allocated to us when we left. Each page is worth a thousand Divine Crystals. More than thirty of us, nearly thirty thousand…”
“But that’s still not enough, they have more than fifty thousand Divine Crystals!!”
Yang Jun gritted his teeth and said, “Then I’ll put up the Underworld Pen that the teacher gave me…”
“Senior brother, that’s the reward you got from the competition, worth ten thousand Divine Crystals…”
“That’s forty thousand in total… guys, our senior brother has put up his Underworld Pen, let’s not be stingy, let’s gather our valuable items…”
At this moment, Du Gang approached Yang Jun and coughed a little, “Brother Yang, let’s call it off. Let’s not bet…”
Before Yang Jun could respond, Long Aotian sneered, “Du Gang, are you thinking about going to the Holy Confucian Academy?”
“As a class leader, you are standing with them, speaking for them at every turn…”
“Right now, if you come and join us, we will still acknowledge you as the class leader. If you don’t, don’t stay, just go with them!”
Upon hearing this, Yang Jun also felt a little guilty. He had made Du Gang look down upon by his classmates, albeit unintentionally. This was because he had not yet become a member of their team, although it was a plausible prospect.
After thinking about it, he realized that this was another good opportunity to demonstrate their magnanimity. He lightly laughed, “Brother Du, I understand your intention, but for now you are still a student of the Penglai Academy, and moreover, their class leader. Go back and stand with them at this time!”
“Ah?”
Upon hearing this, Du Gang hesitated for a bit, but eventually followed his words, nodded, and said, “Alright, in that case, Brother Yang, I will stand with them!”
Watching Du Gang’s actions, Long Aotian was speechless.
Despite everything, this guy insisted on infiltrating as an undercover. This made him look like a good person.
If Yang Jun and the others knew that this action was planned by the “good person” in his eyes, they didn’t know what they would think.
However, neither Long Aotian nor the others exposed him, and they played along with Du Gang’s act.
“Hmph, Du Gang, you’re the class leader, you definitely need to contribute more than me!”
Long Aotian mocked, “As the only inheritor of the Ancient God, I remember you previously got a treasure worth seven hundred thousand Divine Crystals…”
Seven hundred thousand?!
Yang Jun and the others all opened their eyes wide, looking at Du Gang in disbelief.
Hesitant about whether it was true or not.
Du Gang frowned, “These seven hundred thousand Divine Crystals are the last of my Ancient God family’s inheritance, and I can’t spend them recklessly…”
“Hmph, I don’t care, you must at least contribute ten thousand Divine Crystals to participate, otherwise you are not worthy to be our class leader…”
Long Aotian, himself was feeling a bit odd for behaving in that way.
Nevertheless, Du Gang had stated that he had other tricks to deceive people, so he could only play along.
At this moment, Little Hawk King nodded and couldn’t help but sneer, “Ten thousand Divine Crystals represent your attitude. Take them out, and you’re on our side. If you can’t, just stand on the other side!”
Upon seeing this, Du Gang couldn’t bear it any longer and pulled out a golden Divine Artifact.
“Holy shit!”
One of the scholars standing behind Yang Jun couldn’t help but swear.
Yang Jun quickly turned around and gave him a stern look, scaring the scholar into quickly covering his mouth.
“Hurry up, it’s another ten thousand Divine Crystals. Whoever hasn’t given yet, hurry up!”
Yang Jun kept urging them telepathically, “What are you afraid of? Our strength is so strong, are we still afraid of not defeating them?”
“If we win, these sixty-seven thousand Divine Crystals will all be ours. At that time, they will be shared according to the amount invested…”
Hearing this, the others also didn’t hesitate and started declaring their own prices.
In a short while, everyone agreed and Yang Jun chuckled, “Since Brother Long is in a gambling mood, why don’t we all combine our resources and use a Libra spell charm?!”
If they were to go one by one, and someone loses, they would also lose some money.
But his ambition was large, he wanted to win it all and take all the Divine Crystals from Long Aotian and the others.
This proposal was exactly in line with Du Gang and others’ thoughts, so they naturally agreed.
Soon after their adjustments, the Libra spell charm on the stage floated and two huge Libras appeared.
People from both sides, one after another, put their Divine Artifacts and treasures on it.
When it was the turn of Du Gang and others, they deliberately put theirs last and had distanced theirs from the others’ Divine Artifacts.
It’s because it was too fake, it shattered on touch, so they dared not apply force.
Fortunately, they were not fools and they all used Divine Thought to control it, so none of the fake artifacts or treasures exploded.
However, this could only be used at this time. If it were a regular transaction, there would definitely be people who would verify the goods, and if they were to touch them, they would be exposed.
Fortunately, because everyone used Divine Thought to place them, to prevent others from taking them away in their inner world, no one found Du Gang and the others weird.
In a short while, all the Divine Artifacts on Libra’s scale had been placed.
Everyone from both sides breathed a sigh of relief.
Hehe, we’re going to earn a lot soon!
As for the ordinary students, if they are looking to earn more, naturally it’s because they are confident in their own strength, which is why they are thrilled.
“Then, let’s go on stage!”
Yang Jun was very confident and laughed, “We are people from the Holy Confucian Academy after all. We will go on stage first. You can freely choose your opponent!”
His gaze, however, was always on Long Aotian. He laughed, “Brother Long, you don’t think I’m qualified, right? Why don’t we fight one on one to see how it goes?!”
Upon hearing this, Long Aotian naturally didn’t back down and hopped onto the stage in one step.
The remaining people from the Holy Confucian Academy did the same. Thirty-two in total, they each jumped onto the stage.
Yang Jun actually had a point. Neither side knew anyone on the other side, and they didn’t know anything about the opponent’s strength. What difference did it make whether they got on first or later?
Seeing them go up, Du Gang didn’t intentionally drag his feet, he picked a stage for the second best combatant and jumped onto it.
Others, according to their positions, chose different opponents based on their strength.
In no time, all the contestants got onto the 33 stages.
[Today’s gambling rule: The side with 17 victories or more wins!]
The moment the match started, both sides quickly started fighting.
“Kill!”
The moment the match started, Du Gang immediately rushed toward his opponent.
“So fast!”
Li Rubo was taken aback, he didn’t expect Du Gang to be so quick.
However, he didn’t panic but rather pulled out a Divine Brush and a golden glow emitting gold foil.
“Your speed is very slow!”
The scholar said while letting the brush fly. In two strokes, he wrote what he said.
“Buzz!”
Suddenly, the words written by the Divine Brush emerged bright gold and produced a sound similar to the ‘Sound of the Dao’.
At the same time, the golden foil immediately rose into the air, hanging in mid-air releasing a strong aura down to the ground.
“Boom!”
The next change was Du Gang’s speed, it unexpectedly slowed down.
“What kind of method is this?”
Du Gang was taken aback, retreating continuously.
At this moment, not only him, the other scholars on the stage felt the same, each holding a brush and a golden foil, using writing to defeat the enemy.
“It’s just as effective as the True Words?!”
Du Gang was astounded, not expecting this scholar would resort to such a method.
However, compared to the True Words of a True God, their level wasn’t too strong, his speed was reduced by about a third.
Opposite him, Li Rubo didn’t retaliate, but he took out another golden foil, his expression solemn, and continued to say, “Your power is small!”
“Buzz!”
Suddenly, a condition resembling the effect of the True Words appeared.
Du Gang also felt an invisible force bestowed upon him, causing his power to start to decline.
“A BUFF bonus?!”
Du Gang was startled, these scholars, they resembled those who could bestow status buffs, in this short time, the opposite Li Rubo had not only cut down his speed, but also weakened his power.
“Gods!!”
Du Gang directly summoned his gods, trying to resist this invisible force.
His divine thoughts and cognitions surged out immediately, the gods directly turned into a golden light and rushed towards Li Rubo. Meanwhile, the divine power inside his body was also continuously surging at this moment, repeatedly washing his body, trying to eliminate this debuff.
But sadly, neither divine power, nor divine thoughts and cognitions could drive away this debuff, his strength and speed were still being weakened.
“Swipe!”
Li Rubo was also not weak, a god flew out from behind his head and started fighting Du Gang’s god in mid-air.
Then, he took out another golden foil.
Seeing this, Du Gang no longer hesitated, without uttering a single word, he immediately summoned the Ancient Divine Spear and charged forward.
“Kill!”
The opponent was not flustered, his speed was swift, dodged left and right as if on springs, constantly dodging.
At the same time, the third golden foil was ready.
“Your gods are weak!”
This time, he directly weakened the power of Du Gang’s gods.
What shocked Du Gang was that his god that was battling the enemy’s god in mid-air suddenly weakened its brilliance at this moment, and its power was also reduced.
“What on earth is this method?”
At this moment, the others on the stage almost encountered the same situation as Du Gang, everyone from their bodies to their gods were getting weakened in all aspects.
In the distance, Long Aoshi and others were hiding and peeping, also shocked by the scene.
“Later, if we start fighting, don’t get entangled with them, brother. The main thing is to grab the divine artifacts. The more you grab, the better. Once you have them, run away. You can put things into your inner world after you leave here!”
“Got it, Brother Long!”
The audience was not entirely Long Aoshi’s people, local students from the class were also pulled in, hence they referred to him as Brother Long.
In the center of the arena, Du Gang struck out with his spear twice in a row, but was easily dodged by the opponent.
Since this is the case…
He no longer held back, a slight sense of competition arose in his heart.
“Sky Breaking Stance!”
At this moment, he instantly executed the Sky Breaking Stance from the Saintly Technique.
“This!”
Li Rubo was taken aback and hurriedly pulled out the fourth golden foil.
“Your attack fails!”
“Boom!”
To Du Gang’s surprise, his attack narrowly missed the second player.
Du Gang’s brow furrowed as he looked at his opponent in surprise.
If it was the same level technique, it would be impossible for this situation to happen. However, he knew that the opponent was from the Holy Confucian Academy, and the technique they practiced was only the one passed down by the sages.
“Are you guys a new cultivation system?”
The opponent’s fighting style was very strange and very powerful, unlike the normal situation.
If it was a normal sage technique, in view of their level of cultivation, the power they could exert was not very strong.
Even though they currently operate at the level of God Spirits, capable of only giving out one percent of their power, their opponents were different.
The failed attack gave Du Gang the impression that at least two percent of the power of the Saintly Sage Technique was utilized.
What does this imply?
It implies that the cultivation methods these people use are well matched to their current level of cultivation. It’s also proof that they can exert greater force at various cultivation stages than people at the same level.
Upon this realization, Du Gang was taken aback.
“Indeed, we employ alternative methods of cultivation and combat. Using the same Saintly Sage Technique at the level of God Spirits, we could unleash up to five percent of its potency!”
Li Rubo laughed, “I’m currently cultivating up to a fifteenth of a percent, but it’s still easy for me to dodge your Saintly Sage Technique!”
Upon hearing this, Du Gang frowned deeply.
Should he transform?
He shook his head.
At this point, even if he transformed, it wouldn’t make much of a difference. The enemy wasn’t engaging in close combat; they wouldn’t grapple with him.
His power and speed had been crippled. Even if he transformed, he wouldn’t be able to even touch the enemy’s clothes.
These Confucian students clearly focused mainly on footwork and bodywork, relying on long-range combat.
However… it’s worth another shot!
In the sky, the gods under Du Gang’s name were being progressively beaten back, with their formations collapsing; if not for their divine strength, they’d have been defeated by now.
Du Gang launched another attack. This time, he was able to roughly predict where his opponent would be.
Just as he was about to strike, the enemy dodged.
“Now is the time!”
“Transform!”
Du Gang roared in a low voice, his muscles instantly bulging. His power and speed broke free from their restrictions as he thrust his spear forward.
“Your sneak attack is useless!”
Li Rubo tossed another piece of golden foil forward.
“Buzz!”
Accompanied by an ethereal divine melody, a bird suddenly flew past Du Gang’s eyes, aiming directly at him.
“Smack!”
Seeing this, Du Gang instinctively reached out and swatted it.
The bird was instantly killed, but his speed decreased, and he came to a standstill.
His sneak attack had failed!
“Incredible!”
Du Gang was deeply surprised, he found the opponent’s tactics to be incredibly strange which left him feeling helpless.
Li Rubo laughed, “So, how about joining our Holy Confucian Academy?”
If he could convince Du Gang to join ahead of time, the recruitment commission would naturally be substantial.
Du Gang was stunned and asked, “Can all students who join your academy learn these combat techniques?”
“Absolutely. As long as you’re one of our students and want to learn, there’s no problem at all,”
Du Gang was in awe and hastily asked, “Are all the other academies the same as yours? I mean, the Five Academies!”
Li Rubo laughed, “More or less. We don’t hide our Saintly Sage Technique like you. You don’t teach it to those who don’t have your bloodline…”
“You don’t even study the Saintly Sage Technique, or even the Supreme Techniques. You’ve made no progress for many years…”
“As you know, our Saintly Sage Technique can exert five percent of its power even at the God Spirits level. This is the result of years of research…”
“If you join us, you can also study these techniques. If you’re gifted enough, you might be able to research how to exert six or even seven percent of the power of the Saintly Sage Technique at the God Spirits level. If you can do this, you will become famous…”
Seeing Du Gang remaining silent, he continued to tempt him, “Not only that, if you master a Supreme Technique, you can also study it in the academy and gain insight into this technique…”
“Even if you decide not to turn in the technique, or even if you practice it alone, you might be able to figure out how to exert more power…”
“In our academy, everyone is focused on studying and learning. Any method that can enhance our strength is within our research scope…”
“Whether it’s techniques or secret manuscripts, everything can be studied. This includes elixirs, formations, talismans, mantras, etc.”
This was indeed tempting.
Du Gang sighed.
But, he couldn’t leave. The Demon Domain was watching him like a tiger on the prowl; even if he wanted to, he couldn’t go!