CHAPTER 266: CHAPTER 257: PRELIMINARY SELECTION (CONCLUSION) (PART 2)

"When you’re weak, everyone around you is an enemy; when you’re strong enough, everyone around you is a friend."

The preliminary selection was still ongoing, and it wasn’t until two hours later that the last group emerged from the Trial Tower.

At this time, Zhao Qianshan stood up from his seat. He walked to the front of the Trial Tower and addressed the crowd: "Everyone, please quiet down."

Upon hearing this, the crowd stopped talking and focused all their attention on Zhao Qianshan.

"The results for the contestants will be tallied shortly. Please wait here patiently," he said before returning to his seat.

The crowd couldn’t help but marvel at the Daoist School’s efficiency.

In fact, there was a reason for such quick result compilation.

Very few could pass the fifth level; the focus was mainly on the fourth level, where staff needed to tally the number of Star Beasts killed, and in cases of the same number, the time used and battle performance were also considered.

About half an hour later, Zhao Qianshan came to the front of the Trial Tower again.

This time, even before he reminded them, the crowd fell silent instantly, clearly eager to learn the results.

Zhao Qianshan saw this and nodded with satisfaction: "The list of those who passed the preliminary selection is out."

The crowd’s faces immediately showed excitement upon hearing this.

Seeing this, Zhao Qianshan spoke again: "Before announcing the list, let me state clearly that this time, the results and rankings were jointly determined by the Five Great Daoist Schools. If there are any objections, you can come to me after the list is made public." With that, he handed the list to the staff next to him.

That person took the list and immediately started announcing.

"The top rank in this preliminary selection is Chu Chen from the Cyan Dragon Daoist School. Second is Leng Ningshuang from the Qilin Daoist School. Third is Fu Tiancheng from the White Tiger Daoist School. Fourth is Su Lingyan from the Vermilion Bird Daoist School. Fifth is Long Yunxiao from the Cyan Dragon Daoist School. Sixth is Zhou Lixing from the Black Tortoise Daoist School... 677th is Wang Lu from the Cyan Dragon Daoist School..."

When the list was fully announced, everyone erupted. The Cyan Dragon Daoist School emerged as the biggest winner, with two out of the top five coming from there.

Of course, what stunned everyone most was Chu Chen’s ranking. A previously unknown figure surpassed the meticulously nurtured Double S-level talents from the Five Great Daoist Schools, which seemed rather perplexing.

Even Chu Chen himself was bewildered. While he performed well and passed the fifth level, placing him first seemed a bit excessive.

Coming ahead of those S-level talents might be understandable, but being ranked above the Double S-levels was indeed inexplicable.

At this moment, the expressions of Long Yunxiao and the others turned extremely sour. They could grudgingly accept any one of them getting first, as they were on the same level and losing to each other wasn’t shameful.

However, the fact that the first place went to Chu Chen made it hard to accept, like being slapped in the face.

At this time, Zhao Qianshan and others sitting nearby exchanged glances, revealing a cryptic smile when they looked at the five talents.

"Old Zhao, aren’t we going a bit too far with this?" Han Yunshan said softly.

Zhao Qianshan shook his head at the remark and replied: "Letting them experience failure is a good thing; it’ll benefit their future cultivation, and they’ve been hiding too well. They should pay some price too."

Han Yunshan burst into laughter at the words.

"It’s getting late, you should announce the follow-up schedule," he added.

Zhao Qianshan nodded and once again stood up and walked to the front of the Trial Tower.

"Those who passed the preliminary selection should go to the Dueling Arena by eight in the morning the day after tomorrow for the martial competition. It’s late; everyone should go back and rest."

As Zhao Qianshan’s words fell, the crowd erupted once more.

"Teacher, did you hear? I passed the preliminaries," Wang Lu said, extremely excited.

Lu Hongfei responded with a smile: "Not bad, but don’t get cocky; your current ranking is at the bottom. It might be tough to pass the first round of the competition."

Upon hearing this, Wang Lu’s excitement faded, and the smile disappeared from his face.

Seeing this, Lu Hongfei chuckled and said, "But you’re better than me. I was ranked 735th back in the day."

Wang Lu brightened up again upon hearing this.

The reason Lu Hongfei initially discouraged Wang Lu was to prevent him from becoming complacent, as his cultivation journey had just begun and pride could only harm him.

Of course, joys and sorrows were both present; among the group of friends, only Gangzi failed to pass the preliminaries, leaving him understandably upset.

Chu Chen, seeing the dejected Gangzi, solemnly comforted, "Don’t be discouraged; temporary setbacks mean nothing. With perseverance, your future achievements will be limitless."

The crowd chimed in, offering words of comfort to each other.

After a moment of silence, Gangzi’s mood finally eased a bit.

"Don’t worry, everyone, I won’t give up. I will catch up to you all," he declared.

The crowd was relieved to hear this.

Lu Hongfei smiled and said, "It’s late; we should head back."

Just as everyone was getting ready to leave, a staff member hurriedly approached.

"Are you Director Lu Hongfei?"

Lu Hongfei nodded and said, "I am. What do you need from me?"

The staff member quickly replied, "Elder Zhao Qianshan invites you and Chu Chen to come over."

Lu Hongfei was taken aback upon hearing this. Becoming a Daoist School Elder was possible through two routes.

The first was making outstanding contributions to the Daoist School.

The second was becoming an Emperor-level powerhouse.

To his knowledge, Elder Zhao Qianshan belonged to the first category, having once captured a Fifth-Level Secret Realm’s Key, enabling the Cyan Dragon Daoist School to obtain many high-rank resources. His current strength was at least at the King-level Peak.

Though Lu Hongfei didn’t know why such a prominent figure wanted to see him and Chu Chen, he dared not hesitate and promptly agreed.

However, before leaving, he instructed Wang Lu and the others to go back.

Under the staff member’s guidance, Chu Chen and Lu Hongfei arrived at an office building.

The staff member opened an office door and said, "Elder Zhao is inside. Please go in." With that, he gestured for them to enter.

Lu Hongfei nodded to the staff member and quickly stepped inside.

Chu Chen also hurriedly followed.

Inside, the office looked no different from an average one, with desks, chairs, sofas for guests, and a tea table.

An elder with grizzled hair sat at the desk. Judging by his appearance, he seemed to be in his twilight years, but in truth, he was over a hundred years old.

Despite his age, the elder’s face was barely wrinkled, exuding vigor and vitality without showing any signs of aging.

Zhao Qianshan waved them over: "Come on over."

Lu Hongfei quickly went over and respectfully greeted, "Greetings, Elder Zhao."

"No need for formalities, let’s sit and chat," said Zhao.

Lu Hongfei obediently took a seat in front of a chair.

He resembled an obedient student meeting a teacher.

After they were seated, Zhao Qianshan smiled and said, "Chu Chen, your performance in the tower was quite impressive, though I noticed you withheld a lot of your strength."

Chu Chen respectfully replied, "Your senior eyes are truly sharp. I did hold back a bit."

Zhao Qianshan nodded in satisfaction: "You don’t have to be too tense; we’re just having a casual chat. Hongfei, working in a small city is tough. The quality and quantity of talents are much lower compared to medium cities, and advancement is quite difficult. You’ve worked hard."

Lu Hongfei quickly replied, "It’s not hard. Gaining experience in a small city allows me to better serve the Daoist School in the future."

Zhao Qianshan suddenly changed his tone: "Oh, really? Then why do I feel you’re eager for promotion?"

Lu Hongfei’s face suddenly changed, and he stood up, saying gravely, "I’ve never thought about promotion. Did the elder perhaps hear some slander?"

Zhao Qianshan coldly laughed and said, "Is that so? Then how do you explain this?" With that, he tossed a document onto the desk.

Lu Hongfei quickly picked up the document to examine it.