Arrogant!
This was the first thing that flashed across Jiang Yuan’s mind when he heard Chu Liuyue’s reply.
Many did not even have the chance to take part in the Qing Jiao Competition. Even those who managed to take part in the competition would not necessarily attain good results.
But it was all rather easy for Chu Liuyue. She took part in both the warrior and Xuan Master competitions because she was bored.
Jiang Yuan knew that Chu Liuyue was after something else, but she did have the right to say something like that.
No matter whether it was warrior cultivation or Xuan Master cultivation, she had astonishing talent in both!
“I concede today!” Having thought through all of that, Jiang Yuan didn’t feel as bothered. His expression returned to his usual warm smile, and his tone was sincere.
Chu Liuyue’s view of him changed.
It was not a glorious thing to lose to someone of a lower cultivation stage. She tried to save him some dignity earlier, but he conceded of his own accord. Just from that, Jiang Yuan seemed like a sincere and open person.
Her smile deepened as she nodded before turning to leave.
As Jiang Yuan watched her leave, he sighed and left the arena.
…
Of course, Tian Lu Academy was celebrating. They were even more excited than when Chu Liuyue won the first match yesterday.
They had seen Jiang Yuan’s abilities. He was definitely stronger than Lei Mingwei, but Chu Liuyue managed to win too! How could they not be proud of this? Chu Liuyue had brought glory to their academy!
While they were cheering and celebrating, Nan Feng Academy sank into an awkward silence.
Jiang Yuan walked over to Fu Yunshan and bowed apologetically. “Director, I’ve disappointed you.”
Fu Yunshan looked at him deeply. “Did you do your best in the arena?”
Jiang Yuan laughed bitterly. “Director, I’m sure you can tell if I’ve tried my best.”
Fu Yunshan felt like there was a stone on his chest, and he felt terrible. Of course, he could tell that Jiang Yuan put his best foot forward. He had been rather careful right from the start. But that was also why Jiang Yuan’s loss to Chu Liuyue was so hard to accept.
Jiang Yuan immediately knew what Fu Yunshan was thinking when he saw the latter’s stiff expression. He paused for a while before saying, “Director, Chu Liuyue’s talents and abilities are much stronger than it seems. She’s going to be the biggest variable in this year’s competition.”
Fu Yunshan’s eyes were dark. “Oh?”
Jiang Yuan is wise, and he is always rather objective. Since he has such high praise of Chu Liuyue, then…
“It’s fine. Go down and rest first.”
“Yes.” Jiang Yuan quietly returned to his seat as if he did not notice all the gazes on him.
Someone could not help but ask him, “Jiang Yuan, you’re already a beginner stage-four warrior. How did you lose to Chu Liuyue?”
Jiang Yuan laughed softly. “Lei Mingwei was an intermediate stage-four warrior. Didn’t he lose as well?”
The crowd exchanged looks among themselves.
“But you’re stronger than Lei Mingwei! She’s just…”
“Since she was able to defeat Lei Mingwei, it proves that she has ability. Besides, she’s still a Xuan Master. It’s nothing strange for her to win.” As Jiang Yuan spoke, he glanced around with a playful expression. “If you all have doubts, you’re more than welcome to try.”
The people who had doubts were quietened. Some even looked away, afraid to meet Jiang Yuan’s eyes.
They were not dumb. Chu Liuyue managed to defeat two stage-four warriors, so she was definitely not easy to deal with! They could not even win against Jiang Yuan; hence, they would be in a worse state if they battled Chu Liuyue.
Jiang Yuan did not bother with them as he closed his eyes and tried to recover from his injuries. As he did so, he ran through every scene from his battle with Chu Liuyue. He would do this after every battle. Summarizing the experience from every battle would benefit his cultivation in the long run.
Seeing that Jiang Yuan did not intend to say anything else, everyone exchanged glances and kept their curiosity to themselves.
…
As the competition continued, people were continuously eliminated.
The weak contestants were gradually weeded out, leaving only the strong ones.
Liuyue looked around, taking note of the ones who were the strongest. She would not know who her opponent was until the last moment. Thus, it was not a bad idea to take the chance to understand the different people’s quirks in battle.
As Chu Liuyue watched the others, many were watching her.
After those two matches, Chu Liuyue was confirmed as the black horse of this year’s competition. Naturally, she attracted a lot of attention.
Tens of thousands of people were seated around the arena. Other than the people from Imperial City, many had come from other countries to watch the Qing Jiao Competition.
Not everyone knew much about Chu Liuyue, but from yesterday till now, many had begun to ask around about the circulating rumors concerning her.
Even her previous marriage agreement with the Crown Prince was dug up, becoming something that everyone talked about.
Having defeated Jiang Yuan, Chu Liuyue had become the talk of the town.
Chu Liuyue rubbed her glabella. She could clearly hear everyone around her mentioning her name and talking about those matters.
Some things were true, while others were not. She was caught between laughter and tears.
She treated all of the gossip as a joke, but some people got antsy.
“Really? She’s so pretty and talented? Why would anyone ask to annul the marriage agreement?”
“Of course, it’s true! And it’s not just anyone. It’s Country Yao Chen’s Crown Prince, Rong Jin! I heard that the marriage agreement existed since they were young, but the Crown Prince got together with a sister from Chu Liuyue’s family and abandoned her!”
“Tsk, tsk, I see! I wonder what kind of person Chu Liuyue’s sister is to get the Crown Prince to willingly abandon Chu Liuyue for her?”
“What? She’s just a manipulator who used some underhanded methods to get what she wants! There! The one with the veil over there! She didn’t look too bad before, but now she’s disfigured. She doesn’t even dare to show her face now!”
“What is the Crown Prince after? Isn’t he just taking trash for treasure then?”
“Hehe, we don’t know either? I only know that the number of people who will be bringing marriage proposals to her house will skyrocket! For all we know, not just people from Country Yao Chen, but even people from Country Xing Luo and Country Huai Cang will be doing the same!”
…
Rong Jin’s hands rested on his knees as he remained expressionless. Since Chu Liuyue had recovered and gotten into Tian Lu Academy, he had heard about this countless times.
Chu Liuyue was now like a once dusty pearl that was regaining its shine!
He was previously confused, so he pushed her away. But now that everything was clear to him, he wanted to take the pearl back!
