Chapter 158 – Heavenly Termination; Star of Solitude (1/2)

The Education Palace is His Holiness’ Green Leaf World. Night and day should also exist within this world, but during the Grand Examination, night and day couldn’t be seen, the examinees could only rely upon their senses to estimate the real world’s current time.

They didn’t know that it was already late at night in the outside world, but weariness came as expected.

Before the fifth round, what came first was a second, supplementary tournament, from numbers 33 to 64, apart from Tian Hai Sheng Xue and a few other examinees who had been heavily injured, and thus, couldn’t continue competing, the remaining 20 odd examinees had to expend their last efforts towards their final ranking; but before this, came a period of resting.

The Li Palace clergy distributed food, water and medicine to the examinees, Orthodox Academy had Luo Luo’s preparation, and thus, unsurprisingly, had better amenities; the four of them sat by the woodlands, eating and quietly discussing the battles that were to come.

Tang Thirty-Six and Xuan Yuan Po’s supplementary tournament didn’t have anything worth discussing, the main aim was to help Chen Chang Sheng analyse opponents.

Gou Han Shi displayed serenity and calm, giving others the sense that he was powerful to the point of being undefeatable.

Apart from him, that wolf-tribe youth, Zhe Xiu, was unquestionably the most dangerous opponent. Even though he had suffered fairly heavy injuries and was exhausted from back-to-back, intense battles against Guan Fei Bai and Qi Jian, he still couldn’t be underestimated.

If Chen Chang Sheng wants to take first place upon the First Banner, the two of them were summits he had to transcend.

Thinking of this, Tang Thirty-Six suddenly lost interest, this was because no matter how he thought about it, Chen Chang Sheng couldn’t possible defeat the two of them.

He looked towards the streambank and suddenly said: “Don’t all of you think those four from Li Mountain are rather similar to us?”

The four people from Li Shan Sword Sect were at the streambank, eating and chatting, the atmosphere seeming rather pleasant.

At a location far away from the Li Mountain group, Zhe Xiu was also eating.

He was very quiet while eating, his actions were also very slow, making it seem especially serious, as if the ordinary provisions provided by Li Palace were the most exquisite delicacies in the world.

Tang Thirty-Six looked towards that direction, saying, in a slightly sardonic tone: “I’d had thought that wolf-child doesn’t eat.”

Xuan Yuan Po didn’t understand, asking: “How can he not eat?”

Tang Thirty-Six replied: “I thought he’d only do things like consume ice, chew dried meat or perhaps drink fresh blood.”

Chen Chang Sheng said: “That would be a monster.”

Tang Thirty-Six asked him in a very serious manner: “Don’t tell me none of you feel that he’s a monster?”

Xuan Yuan Po gave it a thought, shaking his head saying: “I think it’s fine.”

Tang Thirty-Six couldn’t be bothered paying him any attention, turned his head and asked: “Chen Chang Sheng, you can’t beat him?

Chen Chang Sheng thought for a little while, replying: “Maybe.”

Tang Thirty-Six looked at the far off Zhe Xiu and abruptly said: “I suddenly feel an impulse.”

Chen Chang Sheng asked: “What type of impulse?” with much curiosity.

Tang Thirty-Six said: “An impulse to become friends with that wolf-child.”

Chen Chang Sheng stared at him for a long time before confirming that he was being serious. Chen Chang Sheng couldn’t stop himself feeling rather alarmed, after giving it a thought, he said: “Looking at him, do you really think he looks like someone that needs friends?”

Before the start of the Grand Examination, outside of Li Palace, it was a sea of people, Zhe Xiu stood by himself and gazed at the dawn; after entering the Hall of Zhao Wen, he directly left the grounds of the academic phase and navigated that sea of trees alone.

He traversed across the emerald river and stood within the pavilion atop the mountain, his back facing the rest of the examinees, solitarily, akin to being motherless; would this type of person need friends?

“Don’t tell me none of you think he’s very solitary?” asked Tang Thirty-Six as he looked at the other three.

What he said was “solitary”, not “lonely” or “lonesome”, only a “solitary” word that made it distinctly lonelier.

Chen Chang Sheng was stumped, saying: “Anyone can tell, therefore I don’t think he needs friends.”

Tang Thirty-Six wiggled his finger, saying: “My thoughts on this are completely opposite to yours, I think for someone as solitary as him, what they need the most are friends.”

Xuan Yuan Po asked from the side, with much curiosity: “You want to become friends with Zhe Xiu?”

Tang Thirty-Six countered with his own question: “Can’t I?”

Chen Chang Sheng’s gaze fell upon the area beyond the crowd, looking at that wolf-tribe youth who was silently eating with his head held low, after a moment’s silence he said: “I thought you didn’t like people resembling him.”

Tang Thirty-Six’s gaze followed his, landing upon Zhe Xiu, he said: “That’s right, pretending to be lonely and acting despondent are things I used to always do… you all know this, I loathe that past-self, which means I will also dislike someone like him.”

Chen Chang Sheng retracted his gaze, turning it towards Tang Thirty-Six and asked: “Yet you still want to insist upon becoming friends with him?”

Tang Thirty-Six replied: “If he becomes our friend, he wouldn’t be able to be as malicious towards you and Her Highness.”

Xuan Yuan Po couldn’t stop himself from exclaiming: “The elders of my tribe were right, humans… really are bad people.”

“Not humans,” Chen Chang Sheng corrected him and said: “Only a particular human called Tang Tang.”

Tang Thirty-Six couldn’t be asked arguing with him, he stood up, patted away loose grass from his rear and said: “There’s nothing wrong with trying, he can’t possibly just kill me in front of so many people.”

Luo Luo hadn’t said anything until this moment, she said: “What my tutor said is correct, a solitary person doesn’t seem to need friends, at least… Wo Fu Zhe Xiu won’t be that type of person.”