Divine Emperor of Heavenly Destiny

Lu He heard this and turned around, stunned. "What are you talking about? What’s this about coming out alive and not insane? How could something like that happen?"

The scenario Lu Chao described was simply too strange.

At this, Lu Chao’s eyes narrowed. He looked toward the people from the Shengting Sect and Thunderbolt Sect opposite them. He also saw Shengting Sect’s Senior Brother Feng standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Chi Xingxun, seemingly discussing something.

As their conversation grew more animated, they shared a series of sinister smiles, occasionally glancing over toward the Qianjian Sect.

’That’s right...’

Lu Dingtian and the people from Chi Yuan were mixed in with the Thunderbolt Sect, but Chi Xingxun was still with the Shengting Sect.

Just then, the middle-aged woman from Biyue Hall spoke again. "Go down and begin tallying the points..."

As soon as she finished speaking, several people wearing the same attire as the middle-aged woman from Biyue Hall floated down from the city walls.

They quickly tallied the number and realms of the Maze Madmen found by each Sect.

They were done in just a moment. They returned to the city wall and delivered the tallied results into the middle-aged woman’s hands.

Then, the middle-aged woman, Lord Xiao, made the announcement...

"The results of Rising Moon City’s second grand competition will now be announced."

"The Shengting Sect found a total of one hundred thirty-two Maze Madmen, including three at the Peak Realm, some at the True Fate Realm..."

"For a total of 2322 points. First place."

Next, Lord Xiao announced the scores for each Sect, one by one.

As expected...

The Qianjian Sect ranked fourth in the second competition, and the Thunderbolt Sect ranked fifth.

Because the Maze Madmen found by the Thunderbolt Sect were of higher realms, they surpassed the other Three Moon Sects.

After all the scores were announced, Lord Xiao continued...

"Now, for the announcement of the combined point totals and rankings from the first and second competitions. The Shengting Sect has a total of 3822 points. First place. They have secured their position as a Four Moon Sect and do not need to participate in the third competition."

"Second place, the Zhenglian Sect with 3536 points. They have also secured their position as a Four Moon Sect."

"Third place, Wanxiong Manor with 3372 points. They too have secured their position as a Four Moon Sect."

With Lord Xiao’s announcement, it was clear that the top three sects had a significant point lead and would not need to participate in the third competition.

"Fourth place, the Qianjian Sect with 1968 points. Fifth place, the Thunderbolt Sect with 1952 points. Sixth place..."

After announcing the top eight, Lord Xiao paused on the city wall before continuing, "These five Sects will proceed directly to the third competition. The remaining Sects have too few points and are not qualified to participate."

The top three had so many points that they secured their Four Moon Level status, while the ones at the bottom had too few points to even be eligible to compete for it.

In other words...

The final competition would be a battle between five Sects for a single Four Moon position.

Lu He let out a small sigh and casually explained to Lu Chao, "The third competition is only worth 600 points in total. So even if the sects behind us got all the points, they still couldn’t surpass us. That’s why they don’t need to continue."

At this, Lu Chao nodded lightly and asked, "Why are you so far behind the top three?"

This question immediately made Lu He’s expression darken with fury and resentment...

"The first competition was a measure of the various strengths of a Sect’s experts. But on the night before the first competition began, several of our Qianjian Sect Elders just so happened to have a problem during their Cultivation. They all suffered from cultivation deviation."

"Afterward, no problem could be found. We thought it was just bad luck."

"But the appearance of those black-robed men in the Nether Spring Mountain Range clearly proves that the Elders’ cultivation deviation was definitely sabotage."

Lu He’s explanation made things clear for Lu Chao...

"Biyue Hall must be a power under the Green Bone Palace, right? Since they’re the Judges, won’t they investigate this thoroughly?" Lu Chao asked softly. Lu He hadn’t previously told Lu Chao what Biyue Hall was.

’But he could basically guess as much...’

Lu He didn’t overthink it this time. She took a deep breath and said, "That’s right. Biyue Hall is the entity that governs Biyue Continent. It’s the Biyue Lineage of the Green Bone Palace. But the Biyue Lineage is high and mighty; why would they bother with so much?"

"Unless there’s concrete evidence, they won’t bother."

"That woman, Xiao Ru, has been nothing but condescending ever since she was assigned to Rising Moon City. Aside from this promotion competition, she basically doesn’t care about the affairs of Rising Moon City."

After a pause, Lu He suddenly came to her senses and said blankly, "Damn, why am I telling you so much?"

She clearly felt that Lu Chao had tricked her into talking...

She huffed and said, "You just told us to be mentally prepared. What was there to be prepared for? Even though the gap was small, we still smoothly secured fourth place."

"In the third competition, the Thunderbolt Sect is sure to underestimate us. When the time comes, Eldest Senior Sister will completely crush them."

As she spoke, Lu He’s expression was filled with seething hatred...

However, just as Lu He finished speaking, and just as Xiao Ru of Biyue Hall on the city wall was about to announce the dismissal... THUD!

Senior Brother Feng of the Shengting Sect suddenly stepped forward with a heavy stomp.

Facing the city wall, he declared loudly, "Lord Xiao, this humble one has something to report. It is extremely important."

Xiao Ru paused and looked toward Senior Brother Feng, her voice cold as she said, "Speak."

Taking a slight breath, Senior Brother Feng replied, his eyes glittering, "It’s like this, Lord Xiao. On our trip to the Nether Spring Mountain Range, the Shengting Sect also found someone who came out of the Nether Spring Illusion Array without falling into madness."

When his voice fell, the entire area was plunged into silence. Everyone’s eyes went wide.

After a full three breaths, people both on and below the city wall began to exclaim, "Impossible."

As for Lu He, she couldn’t help but stare blankly for a moment before subconsciously looking toward Lu Chao.

Lu Chao had just said the very same thing...

Xiao Ru’s expression instantly turned frigid, and her voice came out like ice. "Shengting Sect disciple, do you have any idea what you’re saying?"

Senior Brother Feng was prepared for this.

He spoke again, "This humble one knows. At first, I didn’t believe it either. But the person who came out of the Nether Spring Illusion Array just gave me definitive proof that he did indeed walk out of the Nether Spring Illusion Array without going insane."

At this point...

Senior Brother Feng continued, "Brother Chi, please come out and explain clearly to Lord Xiao. If there is any deception, you should know the consequences."

As soon as he finished, Chi Xingxun immediately strode out from the Shengting Sect’s ranks.

Under the watchful eyes of the numerous Sect experts of Rising Moon City, Chi Xingxun came to a stop beneath the city wall.

Then, he slowly retrieved a sheet of paper glowing with a faint golden light from a Storage Ring—the same kind of Mysterious Paper used for the Azure Flame Treasure Manual and the Nine Palace Array Atlas, capable of recording information.

Chi Xingxun clutched the paper and looked up at Xiao Ru on the city wall...

He declared loudly, "Lord Xiao, I am Chi Xingxun, the Young City Lord of Red Sword City from the Cyan Sword Great Empire! I am the one who came out of the Nether Spring Illusion Array without going mad."

"While I was trapped in the Nether Spring Illusion Array, I happened to use a sheet of Crystal Profound Paper to record what it was like inside."

"The Crystal Profound Paper is sufficient proof that everything I have said is the absolute truth."

As he said these words, everyone present couldn’t help but stare with wide eyes...