Era of Mist

Shi Tiexin was stunned. His entire being was shaken by the small girl.

The petite girl’s eyes were bulging with rage, blood spraying from her wounds. She was at the end of her rope, yet she still charged bravely forward. Both her arms were shattered and her body was grievously wounded. Anyone else would have given up and waited for death, but the small girl accelerated, and accelerated again, reaching the highest speed she could possibly muster!

In that instant, her speed was like a flash of lightning!

Then she leaped abruptly. She jumped so high, so far, like a viper springing from the ground to strike right at Gao Shaoling’s face!

Even at this point, the small girl had not given up.

Her body coiled into a tight ball in mid-air, her legs like two vipers ready to strike. The moment she reached her enemy, her legs lashed out in a rapid chain of kicks, unleashing an incredible aerial coiled-snake combo.

She only had the strength for this one attack.

After this strike, whether it hit or not, she would be immediately forced out of the Secret Realm.

But Gao Shaoling did not dodge.

He chose to raise his hand and counterattack!

PFFT— They shot past each other, and a huge cloud of blood mist erupted in the air. Shi Tiexin’s eyes widened. In his vision, the world seemed to turn black and white. Against the stark white background, the small girl was like a sliced-open tomato, spewing a spray of black ink into the air.

THUD. The small girl fell to the ground like a sandbag, with no way to break her fall. A large pool of blood spread across the ground. She looked like a complete and utter loser, left in the dust.

The entire arena was in an uproar, praising Gao Shaoling’s power, idolizing his perfection. No one cared whether the small girl lived or died.

But Shi Tiexin’s pupils contracted sharply. From his angle, he could see it. He saw that on the small girl’s face, a face she could barely lift, there was a smile!

She was laughing wildly!

It was a silent but proud laugh, as if to say— ’Gao Shaoling, is that all you’ve got?!’

Turning to look at Gao Shaoling again, Shi Tiexin saw him still standing ramrod straight, not a speck of dust on him. But Shi Tiexin suddenly noticed something. Amid the shimmering light at Gao Shaoling’s throat, there seemed to be a small, finger-sized hole. There were no cracks around it, so it was hard to see clearly. Moreover, Gao Shaoling immediately raised his hand to cover it, as if in a gesture of acknowledgment, preventing Shi Tiexin from getting another look.

But he was sure he hadn’t seen wrong.

Shi Tiexin immediately looked back at the ground, searching for any traces of blood.

There was too much blood on the ground. It stretched from where the small girl had started her run to where she had fallen. It was impossible to tell whose was whose. But Shi Tiexin chose to believe that on this road paved with spattered blood, there had to be at least one drop that belonged to Gao Shaoling—a drop that represented the small girl’s pride.

CRACK. The Wenxin Secret Realm shattered completely and vanished.

The layer of light disappeared, the wounds disappeared, the bloodstains disappeared. Everything that had just happened seemed to vanish like a phantom bubble.

"A hundred years of mist. The Tumu Castle provincial examination. The victor has been decided. First place on the Golden Roll: Gao Shaoling!"

The Dragon Map Scholar made the announcement, and the whole arena cheered. Gao Shaoling bathed in the ocean of cheers, waving gently with a broad smile. In the void above, a golden light suddenly appeared from an immeasurable height and shone down on Gao Shaoling. This was his reward for being the champion of the provincial examination.

Only then did Shi Tiexin realize that although the students from Fengming First Middle School couldn’t see it, the Martial Artists of this timeline could see the Celestial Golden Light.

"Second place on the Golden Roll: Shi Yu Lei."

The small girl picked herself up off the ground. After leaving the Secret Realm, her grievous injuries had lightened considerably. However, compared to the incomparably glamorous young master of the Gao Family, she, the overreaching challenger, received very little applause. The scene was rather cold. Some sycophants, hoping to curry favor with the Gao Family, even sneered openly.

But just then, a lively voice suddenly rang out from the stands: "You were amazing, sis!"

Everyone turned their heads to see an even smaller girl jumping up and down in the stands. Some people began to laugh mockingly, but a much louder voice, like a clap of thunder, boomed out and drowned them out.

"Little shorty, that was a great fight!"

It was Shi Tiexin.

Shi Tiexin watched the silent small girl and clapped for her, completely lost in the moment. At that moment, he forgot about the system, forgot about the thirty points, forgot about everything. He was wholeheartedly cheering for this small girl who had fought to the very last second.

Led by Shi Tiexin, a smattering of applause began, then gradually grew louder. After all, there were still true Martial Artists and truly passionate men in the stands.

"Third place on the Golden Roll: Zhuang Zhiqiang."

The Dragon Map Scholar spoke. The third-place winner was none other than the thin young man who had fought the small girl in the semi-finals. There was supposed to have been another match to decide third place, but his opponent—the one who had fought Gao Shaoling in the other semi-final—was now completely unconscious and had been sent to the hospital, unable to fight. So, he naturally took third place.

As for whether the fourth-place finisher would be dissatisfied? No one cared. A win was a win, and a loss was a loss. There was nothing more to be said.

Zhuang Zhiqiang walked onto the stage, waved to the crowd, then gave a solemn nod to Shi Yu Lei before receiving his share of the Celestial Golden Light.

"The remaining rankings on the gold, silver, and bronze rolls will now be posted!"

Martial practitioners were decisive and rarely dallied. The rankings were posted immediately after the examination, with no delay. But posting the rankings here wasn’t like at Fengming First Middle School, where red paper was pasted onto some bulletin board. Instead, suddenly, the entire dome of the Space City changed.

Under the effect of the weather controller, any clouds or rain over Tumu Castle instantly vanished. Golden light glittered on the Space City’s dome, and a massive provincial examination ranking list appeared directly over the heads of everyone in the city.

This wasn’t as simple as using the dome as a screen; if that were the case, not many people would be able to see the full list clearly. This announcement used a type of optical imaging technology that Shi Tiexin couldn’t comprehend, allowing everyone in the city, no matter where they were, to see a giant list suspended in mid-air just by looking up at the sky.

Provincial Examination, First Place: Gao Shaoling.

Provincial Examination, Second Place: Shi Yu Lei.

These words would hang in the sky for three days, becoming a long-lasting topic of conversation throughout Tumu Castle.

Shi Tiexin stared at the sky through the opening above the circular stage, momentarily dazed, his heart surging with emotion. Having watched this provincial examination, Shi Tiexin felt that the Student Union’s official exams had a certain guarantee of fairness. The results were posted immediately after the live competition, leaving no room for under-the-table manipulation.

If not for this, the Saint Rules would not have recognized it as one of the world’s official examinations. Without fairness, it could not be widely acknowledged, and thus there would be no Celestial Golden Light.

’Since it’s fair, then I should be like that small girl and charge bravely forward.’

’One day, my name will also appear on that list. One day, I will also be seen by the entire city. One day, I will also have a shining moment like this, standing above my peers and looking down upon Qianshan.’

’One day...’

"What are you spacing out for? Get over here and help!"

The shout from the leader of the modeling team snapped Shi Tiexin back to his senses. ’Right, before I actually make a name for myself, I should probably focus on what’s in front of me. Oh, didn’t Deputy Director Tao Zhongming mention a calligraphy competition hosted by the city hall’s cultural department? I’m in the Upper City right now. I’ll go check it out after work!’