Chapter 165: Moving Forward

　　As the competition went on, the ranking didn’t stop changing.

　　Lu Mingshu, sixty-eight points; Wei Chunqiu, fifty-eight points; Kou Wei, fifty-eight points.

　　Lu Mingshu, seventy points; Kou Wei, sixty-one points; Wei Chunqiu, sixty points.

　　Lu Mingshu; seventy-three points; Wei Chunqiu, sixty-four points; Kou Wei, sixty-three points.

　　…

　　Day five ended, and the elites still in the top ten were drained of energy from the tiring day.

　　Shao Zhengyang took a look at his ranking on the name list and sighed – fourteen. Two wins and one loss today.

　　His ranking fluctuated throughout the day, and his flesh was becoming weaker than his willing spirit. Shao Zhengyang knew that his ability wasn’t there, and his chance of getting into the top ten was small.

　　Even though he was unwilling to give up, he knew he should if the same situation persisted tomorrow.

　　Lu Mingshu went into the Heavenly Wheel as soon as she got back to her room. The matches had drained almost all her energy, so she was dead-tired. All she wanted to do now was have a good sleep and recharge.

　　However, her desire wouldn’t be fulfilled; she received a message from Kou Wei to meet, so Lu Mingshu dragged her tired body and went along with Shao Zhengyang to the Heavenly Sea Pavilion’s courtyard.

　　There weren’t many present today; only Yue Lingyin, Lan Ruoyun, and a few more who were closer to Kou Wei.

　　All of them looked exhausted. Seeing each other’s dead-tired face, they burst out laughing. This made the atmosphere livelier.

　　“Everyone’s tired, so let’s just not care about manners.” Kou Wei laughed and pointed to the couch nearby. “Lie however you want there. Let’s talk in a comfortable position.”

　　Yue Lingyin was the first one to rush over. “Yay! Come along girls, this couch is now ours.” She then pulled Lu Mingshu and Lan Ruoyun over.

　　“Haish, I’m so tired.” Qi Sheng allowed himself to sink into a chair and rest.

　　Kou Wei looked at him ridiculously. “We are tired because we have been working hard for an entire day. How much have you fought today, huh?”

　　Qi Sheng was a pharmacologist, so he was only in the Qilin Festival to join the fun. He only fought three matches during the whole festival.

　　“I feel tired from watching you guys!” He huffed. “When each of you goes up, I’m super worried for you all! Worrying is more tiring than competing!”

　　“Whatever, Little Brother Qi. You’re the most tired, okay?” Yue Lingyin did not even have the energy to bicker with him. “Senior Brother Kou, make it fast okay? I’m gonna fall asleep soon.”

　　Kou Wei smiled and shook his head. He coughed and started being serious. “It’s the sixth day tomorrow, and if everything goes well, the top ten should be fixed by tomorrow.”

　　All of them nodded. If they had to fight one more day, they would be reaching their limit.

　　“Me and Wei Chunqiu is a must fight, and both of us know it well in our hearts. It should be the seventh day.” Kou Wei pointed out. “So, tomorrow is our warm up, and we must be able to get enough points by then.”

　　Yue Lingyin waved her hand lazily. “Senior Brother Kou, just challenge me if you need points. My points now are enough for me to remain in the top ten even if I lose a match.”

　　Kou Wei shook his head. “Everybody knows how close we are – we’re like blood siblings. How much gossip would I stir up if I challenged you?”

　　“What’s there to gossip about?” Yue Lingyin rolled her eyes. “We aren’t from the same sect anyway, it’s not against the rules.”

　　“Senior Brother Kou make sense,” Shao Zhengyang pointed out. “Senior Sister Yue, everyone will only be satisfied when Senior Brother Kou and Wei Chunqiu compete against each other to find out who’s better. It’s better to be discrete to avoid blemishing Senior Brother Kou’s name.”

　　“It’s not like I would just give up as soon as we started fighting!” Yue Lingyin was unwilling to give up on the idea.

　　“It’s not about that….”

　　“Lingyin!” Kou Wei halted her.

　　Yue Lingyin pouted and sat down. “Fine, you win. Then get to the main point now.”

　　Kou Wei looked at Lu Mingshu. “Miss Lu.”

　　Before he could continue, Lu Mingshu nodded. “Yeah, feel free to challenge me, Senior Brother Kou.”

　　Kou Wei looked at her apologetically. “I’m so sorry.”

　　“Please don’t feel sorry, it’s not your duty to let me win.”

　　“Senior Brother!” Qi Sheng jumped up in anger. “What do you mean by this? Senior Sister Yue is willing to let you challenge her, but you reject her and go for Miss Lu?”

　　“How can you be so obviously biased about the one you are closer to!”

　　“Senior Brother Qi!” Shao Zhengyang stepped out to smooth things over. “There’s indeed a difference in affinity, but you can’t blame Senior Brother Kou for that.”

　　“Oh my god, do you know what the hell you’re even talking about? Isn’t Miss Lu your junior sister?”

　　“Here’s the logic.” Shao Zhengyang coughed. “Right now, Junior Sister Lu is in first place. Even if Senior Brother Kou doesn’t challenge her, Wei Chunqiu will. Or do you wish to give first place to Wei Chunqiu?”

　　Qi Sheng stammered, being at a loss for words since he hadn’t thought of that point. “I didn’t say I wanted…”

　　“Besides, Senior Brother Kou has already taken great care of us, and it’s not right to ask him to give up on first place. Moreover, he didn’t challenge Junior Sister Lu during the previous days and let her remain in first. We already owe him a big favor.”

　　Having the gift of gab, Shao Zhengyang successfully made Qi Sheng speechless. Qi Sheng didn’t know what to do, so he looked toward Yue Lingyin with puppy-dog eyes.

　　Surprisingly, Yue Lingyin hesitated for a while before agreeing with Shao Zhengyang. “Hmm, makes sense. I still worry for Junior Sister Lu though. What will she do if she loses two rounds?”

　　“It’s okay.” Kou Wei shook his head. “Tomorrow, we will be fighting hand-to-hand. Me and Wei Chunqiu will choose other competitors from the top ten to gain points from, so their ranks will drop too.”

　　Yue Lingyin smiled and nodded. “Not bad, Junior Sister Lu has a lot of points. She’ll be fine as long as she doesn’t lose to the rest.”

　　All of them discussed their plans for tomorrow and gave each other advice.

　　Especially for Lu Mingshu, Kou Wei felt guilty, so he gave her a clear analysis of who to go up against to secure a spot in the top ten.

　　…

　　Darkness had taken over after the sun set. The moon hung up high in the sky, and the cool breeze made the trees sway.

　　Footsteps broke the silence as someone walked in a certain direction. “Junior Brother Xie, it’s late and yet you’re still enjoying the scenery. You must be in a great mood today!”

　　The shadow moved, and Xie Lianzhen turned to make eye contact with him. “Senior Brother Wei is the one in a good mood. The competition must be tough and draining and yet you’re still in the mood to come here.”

　　Wei Chunqiu hummed and stood beside him. “I can’t be at ease if I don’t see you before the match.”

　　Xie Lianzhen grinned, but his expression couldn’t be seen in the dark. “Interesting. I’m not your senior, neither are we in the same clan, so why would you need to find me? Or does Senior Brother Wei want me to help him win?”

　　“You can’t help me win, but you could prevent me from winning.” Wei Chunqiu looked down at Xie Lianzhen to see him grinning. “Am I right, Junior Brother Xie?”

　　However, Xie Lianzhen didn’t seem to be in the mood to joke since his tone seemed tired. “Why would I do that? Your win would be the glory of the Seventh Truth Platform.”

　　“Do you even care about that?” Wei Chunqiu snickered and look at him coldly. “You’re not exactly discreet about that little girl.”

　　Xie Lianzhen sighed and looked down. “I don’t plan on doing anything.”

　　“Oh?” Wei Chunqiu raised his eyebrows.

　　“She’s… unwilling.” Xie Lianzhen paused for a moment before continuing. “I don’t get it. Why does she try so hard when there are people who are willing to give her a helping hand? Even now, her aim is almost definitely achievable. Why…?” he murmured.

　　“Because there are too many geniuses like you,” Wei Chunqiu interrupted coldly. “You all think that you are oh-so mighty, and whenever someone wants to rebel against the world’s rules, you come up with your own ‘rebel rules’ that the rebels have to follow if they want to gain recognition from you geniuses in order to become a genius themselves. But what’s the point of that? The world just gains one more genius.”

　　Looking at the river below his feet, Wei Chunqiu lowered his volume and sighed. “Not everyone wants to be a genius. Some people just want to live a simple life and do whatever they want.”