Not surprisingly, Choushi defeated Zhao Siming. It was a glorious victory that he had secured with his mana and a wide variety of secret techniques. When he finally wore down Zhao Siming’s sword aura, Zhao Siming gave it his all and used his Thunderous Sword Aura. With that, he managed to injure Choushi. Little did he know that it was all part of Choushi’s plan – Choushi had prepared a clone for this situation. At that point, Zhao Siming had no hope of turning the situation around.

　　As he proceeded through the rounds of assessment, Zhao Siming had been a top hit. No one expected him to lose in his first battle after making his way into the top eight.

　　That was when everyone realized what an unfathomable character Choushi was.

　　Despite the fact that Zhao Siming had not attained Huandan, most weaker elders were no match for him. This showed how impressive his supernatural powers were.

　　Since he had come under the spotlight, Choushi decided not to conceal his abilities anymore. In the next round, he was faced with Daoist Yu’s disciple, Jia Yili, whom he had defeated in just ten breaths of time.

　　On the other hand, Ruoxi defeated her opponent without any hiccups as well.

　　The fight between Choushi and Ruoxi would determine who was the champion of the Dao assessment. In fact, some even thought that the result of the fight would influence the internal development within Qing Xuan in the next one hundred years.

　　Though, most were convinced that Choushi would be the champion. This was what it meant by, ‘for an obscure person to amaze the world with a single brilliant feat’.

　　Everyone noticed how Choushi had improved significantly after his return, and they even thought that his progress was comparable to that of the Headmaster back when the Headmaster inherited the orthodoxy.

　　Regardless, anyone who could be compared against the Headmaster was definitely a notable character.

　　Moreover, Ruoxi was too young after all. In spite of her mysterious secret techniques and striking swordcraft, she could not outshine Zhao Siming. This was why most did not think too highly of her.

　　Right before the battle between the two took place, the Headmaster announced that the battle was delayed till midnight. There would be a full moon tonight, and it would be delightful to watch the clash of Dao techniques under the full moon.

　　The Headmaster also said that the benevolent elder, Yan Bugui, had decided to supply celestial wine for everyone to indulge in.

　　Although, Yan Bugui found out about this along with the rest.

　　He could not possibly have objected to everyone watching. He directed his annoyance at Shen Lian who did not seem to be affected by his anger at all.

　　There was still some time before Ruoxi and Choushi fought.

　　Shoujing could not stay still and had started a betting pool amongst the disciples. They were betting to see who would emerge as the champion of the Dao assessment tonight.

　　It was human nature to gamble. Despite that everyone had been cultivating for quite some time, but their interest was piqued. Not only did the disciples joined, even the elders had chimed in.

　　When done in moderation, gambling was a good form of entertainment. Recently, Xuantong Demon King was getting more and more well-known. On top of that, the usage of Yiyuan Elixir as the medium of exchange promoted fairness in transactions. Hence, most people in Qing Xuan at least had some Yiyuan Elixir in their possession. The Yiyuan Elixir was used here for gambling purposes.

　　Shoujing did some calculations and realized that the amount involved was in the millions. He could not help but be in awe of his fellow disciples’ fortune. At the same time, he was worried that he would offend a lot of people if Choushi were to lose. In this one million elixir bet, at least nine hundred thousand Yiyuan Elixirs were bet in favor of Choushi’s victory.

　　Even though he was not particularly close with Choushi, but he was not distant from him either. Now that Choushi was heading towards the peak, it would be a real shame if he were to be defeated by Junior Apprentice-Sister Shen.

　　Shen Lian noticed everything, but he did not involve himself.

　　The moon rose from the east and moonlight as clear as water fell onto the clouds. The cloud platform was illuminated by the moonlight, and it resembled a giant piece of jade. Everyone was situated on top and all of them looked like celestials.

　　Gu Caiwei spoke to Shen Lian who was standing handsomely next to her, “Junior Apprentice-Brother, you are the most observant out of everyone here. Who do you think would win tonight?”

　　Shen Lian stared at the moon and seemed laid-back. He was pulled back to reality by Gu Caiwei’s question. “The outcome of a battle is never set in stone until the very last moment. How about we talk about Ruoxi and Choushi instead of the outcome of the battle?” Shen Lian replied.

　　Gu Caiwei blinked her beautiful eyes, she spoke, “You can talk about Ruoxi, while I form my judgment of Choushi.”

　　“Whatever you say.”

　　Gu Caiwei teased, “I will make sure the girl knows about everything that you have said.”

　　Shen Lian was thick-faced and was unmoved at all. He replied calmly, “Go ahead. Anyway, you can start first.”

　　Gu Caiwei nodded and spoke softly, “Despite Choushi having an unexpected encounter, his fundamental lies in the Spotted Laurel Technique of the one hundred and eight techniques of Qing Xuan. Upon the successful cultivation of this technique, his Qimai would be never-ending in a battle. This was exactly why he managed to wear Zhao Siming out. Of course, it was partially due to his comparatively more advanced level of cultivation. He is in a league of his own. Even though Ruoxi exhibits certain mysterious characteristics that even I myself cannot understand, but in terms of tenacity, she is definitely no match for Choushi.”

　　Shen Lian replied, “So Senior Apprentice-Sister, you opined that Choushi would recycle his old tricks, focusing on his defense and countering dynamic by being static?”

　　Gu Caiwei shook her head as she spoke, “I don’t think that is what Choushi would do. He might just be the one who attacks first.”

　　Shen Lian smiled gently, “Why is that so?”

　　Gu Caiwei replied, “Aren’t you supposed to be the one to elaborate on this?”

　　Shen Lian smiled and spoke, “Senior Apprentice-Sister, you are wise indeed. Aside from having learned the Dream Heart Sutra, Ruoxi’s swordcraft is well-balanced in terms of Yin and Yang. When performed by her, it would be never-ending. The beauty of it lies in how the Two Modes – Yin and Yang generate the Four Forms – Major and Minor Yin and Yang, the Four Forms generate the Eight Trigrams, and the Eight Trigrams would, in turn, generate the Sixty-Four Trigrams. If things were to turn out that way, regardless of how tight Choushi’s defense was, it would be meaningless when faced with Ruoxi’s sword force that has embodied Dao. At that point, he would not be able to turn the tides. Not only that he should attack, he should attack with all that he has. If he does so, Ruoxi would not be able to perform her sword technique that embodied the Dao of Yin and Yang.”

　　Gu Caiwei sighed, “Even if Choushi were to attack right from the beginning, he still would not stand a chance at winning. However, when you took Ruoxi’s Triumphant Malice Sword back, you gave Choushi hope of winning.”

　　She was right. In the clash of Dao techniques between two equals, being in possession of a good instrument would tip the scale of the battle and change the outlook completely.

　　Triumphant Malice Sword was a malicious sword, but at the same time, it was a magical sword too. It would help Ruoxi immensely if she were to use it.

　　Shen Lian spoke, “Senior Apprentice-Sister, so you think Ruoxi would lose?”

　　Gu Caiwei replied, “I can only say that Choushi has a higher chance of winning.”

　　Shen Lian did not comment on it. He stared at the moon and spoke, “The moon is so round tonight.”

　　It was getting close to midnight.

　　Choushi was sitting in isolation in his tower. He was calm. When it was time, he straightened his clothes and headed down.

　　He went into the battle venue.

　　It was getting closer to midnight, and yet Ruoxi still had not shown up. Ge Yuan frowned deeply. Despite Rouxi being related to the Headmaster, he decided that he would treat her absence as forfeiture if she did not come on time.

　　The young girl came from the moon in the sky in the nick of time. She donned a green dress and was not tainted by the dust. With a pine branch in her hand, she walked into the battle venue.

　　What actually happened was, upon finding out that the final battle had been postponed, Ruoxi returned to Taiyi Peak and took a shower. She went to the cliff where Huangting Scripture was engraved on. After reciting Huangting, she procured a portion of the pine branch from the green pine at the cliff. Then, she made her way to the cloud platform.