Chapter 376: Fair fight between Fang Zhengzhi and Nangong Hao
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
All of the candidates thought that Fang Zhengzhi was courting death. However, Fang Zhengzhi just wanted to give it a go.
Xing Qingsui was silent.
He also thought that Fang Zhengzhi and Nangong Hao were not on the same level. At the very least, they did not seem to be on the same level.
However, he was not too stunned by Fang Zhengzhi's actions.
This was the Fang Zhengzhi he knew. Someone who could understand the Xing Family's "Offence is the best defence" would never retreat!
Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi had created miracle after miracle.
In the World of the Sage, who would have expected Fang Zhengzhi to emerge victorious? When the demon Ying Shan revealed that he was in the Supernatural State, who would have expected that Fang Zhengzhi would defeat him?
Xing Qingsui nodded after a moment of silence.
He did not stop Fang Zhengzhi. After all, he could not prevent this battle from happening.
Yan Xiu looked to Fang Zhengzhi.
"If you really want to fight, let me fight him first!" Yan Xiu opened up his Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan.
"No, this time, I want to go first." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.
"I lost to you in the preliminaries, so... I think I should go first." Yan Xiu shook his head, his eyes filled with determination.
"What if you lose?" Fang Zhengzhi knew what Yan Xiu was trying to do. From the moment Chen Feiyu lost to Nangong Hao, Yan Xiu wanted to battle Nangong Hao first.
However...
Fang Zhengzhi did not want this to happen.
Lose?
Yan Xiu frowned. If someone else had said this, it would be taken as an insult. However, Yan Xiu was not angry that Fang Zhengzhi said it.
In fact, Yan Xiu never thought about the possibility of losing in previous battles.
But this time, he did.
After all, his opponent was Nangong Hao, the greatest talent of the Great Xia Dynasty, ranked number two on the Rising Dragon Roll. Furthermore, he just defeated Chen Feiyu in a single round.
"If I lose... I should still be able to come in third with my theory examination results!" Yan Xiu spoke after a moment of silence.
"Is that enough?" Fang Zhengzhi asked again.
Yan Xiu's eyes glimmered. He had no idea what Fang Zhengzhi actually meant, but he realized something else.
Third place?
Enough?!
Before Yan Xiu had left for the capital, his grandfather had only said one thing to him, "Take home the third place!"
Third place...
It was not the highest rank possible. However, it was incredibly respectable.
When he saw Nangong Hao's participation in the court examinations, when he lost to Fang Zhengzhi in the preliminaries, when he saw Fang Zhengzhi and Nangong Hao tie for first place in the theory examinations.
Who would have asked Yan Xiu this question?
Is third place enough?
Yan Xiu was not someone who expressed himself well. However, if someone really asked him that question, he would definitely answer...
No!
"This is why I must defeat Nangong Hao first. Then, we can have a fair fight. Then, regardless of what happens, you will definitely rank above Nangong Hao!" Fang Zhengzhi did not wait for Yan Xiu to reply. There was no reply required.
"Rank above Nangong Hao?!"
All of the candidates looked speechlessly at Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu. They all had the same expression of disbelief.
Fang Zhengzhi is mad!
This guy has a screw loose!
What Fang Zhengzhi said was correct. If Fang Zhengzhi defeated Nangong Hao and eliminated him, then Yan Xiu would rank above Nangong Hao despite the theory examination results.
However...
Was that even possible?
Could Fang Zhengzhi defeat Nangong Hao?!
Even if Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu teamed up, their chances of victory were virtually zero.
Hang on!
Why didn't Fang Zhengzhi team up with Yan Xiu?
All of the candidates were stunned by this revelation. If this was any other candidate, they would have disregarded that possibility.
However, this was Fang Zhengzhi.
Fang Zhengzhi was notorious for being shameless.
2v1?
In the first round of the imperial examinations, he had eliminated the favorite, Su Donglin, in a 4v1.
Fang Zhengzhi could guess what the other candidates were thinking.
Yan Xiu's lips began to twitch. If both of them eliminated Nangong Hao, that would guarantee that they would rank higher than him.
Team up against Nangong Hao?
Yan Xiu did not like the idea, but he wasn't against it.
"I would like to have a fair battle with Nangong Hao!" Fang Zhengzhi saw Yan Xiu's lips twitched and stopped him in his tracks.
"Fair battle?!"
All of the other candidates were stunned by what they just heard. There was nothing wrong with what was said, but, it had come from Fang Zhengzhi's mouth...
They could not believe what they just heard.
Fang Zhengzhi did not explain further. He dismounted and began walking towards Nangong Hao.
Nangong Hao did not have a stallion, so Fang Zhengzhi dismounted.
This was fairness.
The reason was simple. Fang Zhengzhi promised Nangong Mu that he would defeat Nangong Hao. He had to do so fairly.
Nangong Hao's expression had been calm all this while.
From the time he exited from the Icy Monkey Settlement and faced an army by himself, to the time he accepted Chen Feiyu's challenge...
All the way to the arrest of the messenger...
Nangong Hao's expression did not change. He still looked on politely, his eyes glimmering. However, when Fang Zhengzhi proposed a fair fight, his expression changed.
He was shocked, and slightly scornful.
Chi Guyan and Nangong Hao were quite similar. They were very smart, but they kept a low profile and were not arrogant.
However, this did not mean that they weren't confident.
On the contrary, they were very confident of themselves. They possessed far more confidence than the average person.
As such...
When something unexpected happened, their calm nature would be slightly disturbed.
Clearly, Fang Zhengzhi's actions were not predicted by Nangong Hao.
Nangong Hao had expected that Fang Zhengzhi would team up with Yan Xiu. At the very least, he would let Yan Xiu go first. However, not only did Fang Zhengzhi want to go first, he proposed a fair fight.
"Fair fight?" Nangong Hao murmured to himself, his eyes shining even brighter. It was almost as if there was a sun embedded in his eyes.
In that instant, Nangong Hao stepped forward.
He began walking towards Fang Zhengzhi. He was not fast, but he he was stable.
On the other hand, Fang Zhengzhi strolled leisurely, humming a tune as he walked.
Then, both of them stopped.
The distance between them...
10 steps!
"Fang Zhengzhi, I came to the court examinations to defeat you, but I wasn't looking forward to this battle. But now, I have changed my mind." Nangong Hao gripped the hilt of his sword lightly. His demeanor was different from when he battled Chen Feiyu.
"Ok. So what if you've changed your mind? Do you need to say it out loud?" Fang Zhengzhi twitched his lips in disdain.
There was no way he would be tricked into asking why.
"Indeed, I don't." Nangong Hao was not affected or angered by Fang Zhengzhi's reply. He simply nodded solemnly.
Then, Nangong Hao drew his blade.
He held the blade in his right hand as his left hand supported the crystal clear blade. He laid it flat for all to see.
"Since this is a fair competition, let me introduce myself. I am the eldest son of the Nangong Family. I broke through to the Supernatural State last month. I am probably at the pinnacle of the Supernatural State. My blade is named 'Standstill'. It gets name from its ability to do anything. My understanding of Dao is that it should be natural and one should always follow one's heart. My cultivation technique is similar. My character and heart for Dao will not be extinguished!"
Nangong Hao bowed lightly towards Fang Zhengzhi.
After Fang Zhengzhi heard the self introduction, his expression stiffened. He felt that something was amiss.
Standstill?
Because there is nothing it can't do?
Fang Zhnegzhi knew what this meant.
Of course, Nangong Hao's emphasis was not on his blade. He had emphasized the fact that he had broken through to the Supernatural State a month ago!
Hang on!
Supernatural state?
And...
His abilities are in the pinnacle of the Supernatural State?!
What the hell?
Isn't he a pinnacle Heavenly Reflection State cultivator? Was it all a lie? Why would people lie about that?
Fang Zhengzhi was stunned to hear it.
All of the other candidates were also equally stunned. In fact, they looked even more floored than Fang Zhengzhi.
"Nangong Hao broke through!"
"He managed to progress to the pinnacle of the Supernatural State in one month?!"
"Wha... what is going on? Why didn't anyone from the Nangong Family say anything about this? How did he manage to progress so much in one month?"
All of the candidates could not believe their ears.
They were arguably even more stunned than when Nangong Hao defeated Chen Feiyu in a single round.
Chen Feiyu's eyes widened. He knew he had lost, but he did not understand why he lost.
He had refused to accept the loss.
Why would he, as a Supernatural State cultivator, lose to Nangong Hao in a single round. Nangong Hao was supposed to be a pinnacle Heavenly Reflection State cultivator!
But now...
He finally understood.
Supernatural State!
He was only in the nascent stages of the Supernatural State. For him to challenge the pinnacle Supernatural State Nangong Hao was comical.
All Chen Feiyu wanted to do was dig a hole and hide.
Wu Feng's expression was a little calmer. All this while, he had known that Nangong Hao was not someone he should antagonize.
But now, he knew that Nangong Hao was absolutely unantagonizable.
He broke through one month ago.
One month to get to the pinnacle of the Supernatural State.
Is he even human?
Hang on, if Nangong Hao broke through and is now in the pinnacle Supernatural State...
Ranked first on the Rising Dragon Roll?!
This question flew into Wu Feng's mind. At the same time, all of the candidates pondered the implications. Everyone knew how important this was.
Yan Xiu always believed in Fang Zhengzhi.
He had believed in Fang Zhengzhi even when Fang Zhengzhi proposed a fair battle. He believed in Fang Zhengzhi even when the two combatants were 10 steps apart.
But now...
He gripped his reins tightly.
Nangong Hao broke through?!
This was a piece of news that would shock the entire Great Xia Dynasty. Yet, Nangong Hao had kept this a secret all this while.
He finally chose to reveal it here.
This could only mean one thing. Nangong Hao felt that Fang Zhengzhi was an opponent deserving of his respect. Even though this news will spread like wildfire in the capital...
All he wanted was...
Fairness!
Of course, that meant that Nangong Hao would not hold back.
He was in the pinnacle Supernatural State. If he did not show mercy, one could only imagine how scary he would be.
"I must stop this battle from happening!" Yan Xiu thought to himself. He had no idea how Fang Zhengzhi planned to fight this battle, but he knew he had to prevent the fight from happening.
It was possible to fight someone one state higher than you.
However, never in history did someone in the pinnacle Heavenly Reflection State defeat someone in the pinnacle Supernatural State.
Even Chi Guyan may not be able to do it.
Yan Xiu gripped the reins before dismounting. He straightened his back, his battle intent ignited.
However, just at that moment...
He saw a hand waving him off.
"I said that this would be a fair battle. It will be a fair battle!" Fang Zhengzhi's voice reverberated through the air.
His determination was clear for all to see.
It was a determination that had never been seen before from Fang Zhengzhi.