CHAPTER 259: CHAPTER 254: PRELIMINARY ROUND (PART 1)

The preliminary selection for the Young Daoist School Exchange Competition is scheduled for tomorrow morning at eight o’clock.

After everyone finalized all the details, they returned to their respective rooms to rest and prepare for the exchange competition the next day.

Chu Chen practiced until midnight before finally falling into a deep sleep.

Early the next morning, Chu Chen got up at six o’clock, washed up, and went downstairs to join the others. Then they all had breakfast together.

At this moment, a knock on the door suddenly sounded. When Chu Chen opened the door, he found that the visitor was Wang Lingfeng.

"It’s getting late, we should head out." Wang Lingfeng said with a smile.

Upon hearing this, everyone quickly got up and followed him towards the Trial Tower.

As everyone stepped out of the villa, they discovered that most of the participants had already set out.

The group hurried to catch up with the main crowd.

Soon, a hearty voice called out from behind them: "Brother Lu, wait for us."

Lu Hongfei instinctively stopped upon hearing this and looked back, realizing it was Chen Jianghe from the White Tiger Daoist School who had spoken.

"Good morning, Brother Chen."

"Oh, it’s not early." After saying this, he quickly caught up.

"You are in such a rush to find me—is there something going on?" Lu Hongfei asked with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Chen Jianghe patted Lu Hongfei on the shoulder and said, "You old rascal, you weren’t fair. Such a big event happened yesterday, yet you didn’t invite me to join. I’ve never seen such a grand gamble in my whole life; it truly is a pity."

Lu Hongfei listened with a puzzled look, clearly having no idea what Chen Jianghe was talking about.

Seeing this, Chen Jianghe spoke with some dissatisfaction, "Stop pretending to be confused; don’t tell me you’re unaware."

Lu Hongfei, hearing this, became even more perplexed and said to Chen Jianghe irritably, "What are you babbling about? If you’re sick, you should go back and get treated."

Instead of getting annoyed, Chen Jianghe laughed heartily.

"Old Lu, I don’t even know what to say about you. Such a major thing happened, yet you didn’t know. How are you managing as the head of the school?"

"Humph, if you have something to say, say it quickly; stop speaking in riddles."

Chen Jianghe didn’t answer but instead pointed to the surrounding people and said, "Listen to what they’re talking about, and you’ll understand."

Hearing this, Lu Hongfei couldn’t help but frown, but he still listened to the chatter around him.

Listening didn’t help at all, and as he listened, his confusion deepened: What Celestial Star City? What Black Snake City? There’s talk of a billion-dollar gamble, defying fortune, and talk of six billion.

He was completely confused until someone mentioned Chu Chen’s name, and then he started piecing things together.

Lu Hongfei stayed silent for a moment, not wanting to waste any more time. He directly said, "Chu Chen, come here for a moment."

Chu Chen and the others were hurriedly making their way, hoping not to be recognized, when unexpectedly, Lu Hongfei’s shout directed everyone’s attention towards them.

Seeing this, Lu Hongfei’s expression changed, but he forced himself to remain calm and didn’t show fear.

Until Chu Chen came to his side, everyone’s attention shifted instantly to him.

Only when seeing this did Lu Hongfei let out a sigh of relief. He gave Chu Chen an unhappy look and said, "Tell me, what did you get up to yesterday?"

Chu Chen knew he couldn’t keep this matter hidden and recounted everything straightforwardly.

After hearing Chu Chen’s retelling, Lu Hongfei was in complete shock.

He stared at Chu Chen for a long time, unable to speak.

After a long silence, Lu Hongfei took a deep breath, composed himself, and then said solemnly, "You did well; we can’t let others bully us when we’re out. As for the gambling incident, I’ll definitely reward you. I’ll give you the reward after the preliminaries."

Chu Chen, upon hearing about the reward, didn’t show any happiness; instead, he wore a sorrowful expression.

This was because Lu Hongfei’s tone was heavy, indicating that the reward wasn’t literal.

He hadn’t directly reprimanded him, likely worried about affecting Chu Chen’s performance, and thus was suppressing his anger.

Thinking of this, Chu Chen couldn’t help but frown. It seemed necessary to perform well in the preliminaries to avoid punishment from Lu Hongfei.

Under everyone’s discussion, Chu Chen and the others arrived at the Trial Tower.

It covered an area of thousands of square meters, with a tower body appearing cyan, and had an ancient shape similar to Leifeng Pagoda.

This tower had ten floors, each being ten feet high, meaning the Trial Tower was over a hundred feet tall.

Chu Chen looked up towards the top of the tower, vaguely able to see a black Crystal Stone at the tip.

Due to the distance, Chu Chen couldn’t see clearly, but he already had an answer in his heart: this stone should be the Celestial Tier Mirror Image Stone.

At this moment, five people emerged from the Trial Tower, including two elders, two middle-aged men, and a graceful woman.

Upon seeing this, everyone turned their attention to the five people.

At this time, a blue-robed elder stepped forward, lifted his wrist to check the time, and loudly announced, "The time has come. I now declare the official start of the Young Daoist School Exchange Competition’s preliminary selection."

Upon hearing this, everyone applauded, and for a moment, applause thundered.

The blue-robed elder, seeing this, gestured to the crowd to quiet down and said, "My name is Zhao Qianshan, from the Cyan Dragon Daoist School Headquarters. This preliminary selection will be hosted by the five of us."

Half an hour later, Zhao Qianshan finished his speech.

During this half-hour, twenty minutes were spent lecturing, praising the Daoist School’s contributions to the Alliance and humanity.

The remaining ten minutes covered the rules of the preliminary selection, matters related to the tower trial, and the rewards for the exchange competition.

The rules were not complicated, summarized into two points.

First, during the tower trial, no recovery items are allowed, including food, elixir pills, and Heavenly and Earthly Treasures, etc.