The moment Huchen Wanli tumbled out of the light shield, Xie Xiaoxiao, seated on the main dais, shot to her feet, her face filled with hope. At the same time, several other Divine Senses swept toward the light shield. For a moment, no one paid any mind to Huchen Wanli, who had collapsed unconscious on the ground. It was the family disciples at the edge of the plaza who rushed over to help him up and stuff a medicinal pill into his mouth, after which he slowly regained consciousness.
Huchen Wandong watched all of this, the muscles on his face twitching. Although he knew that the competition here would only result in a severe depletion of Divine Sense and not cause any fundamental injury, he still breathed a sigh of relief only after seeing Huchen Wanli awaken. Just as he was about to release his own Divine Sense to check the results, he felt a cryptic gaze sweep over him, causing his mid-stage Golden Core body to stiffen involuntarily.
The Huchen Ancestor retracted his gaze, a smile gracing his features. He even turned and nodded toward the Xie Family Ancestor, seemingly quite satisfied.
"It's Young Master Wanli! Three hundred and twelve complete herbs! Such a high number! This is the most among everyone who has come out so far..."
"Hiss, three hundred and twelve herbs! The highest before this was Huchen Ling, and he's surpassed her by more than a hundred. That's an enormous lead!"
"Judging by the color of Young Master Wanli's light shield just now, it was on par with the very deepest ones. The top few scores must be around three hundred."
"..."
Listening to the surrounding discussions, Xie Xiaoxiao, who had slowly sat back down, began to show a faint smile. Her Divine Sense swept over Huchen Wanli, who was cross-legged and recovering, and she felt a sense of relief. She wasn't worried that Huchen Wanli had emerged earlier than Huchen Huiqing and Huchen Qiukong, which might imply a less than ideal result. Based on the family disciples who had been ejected even earlier, aside from the rough estimation provided by the light shield's color, for those with similar colors, coming out later did not necessarily mean completing more. For instance, Huchen Ling, who had ranked high, had condensed more than Huchen Feishan. It only indicated that some people were slower. Moreover, there were still people like Huchen Wuding, whose light shield was an even weaker color, still inside.
As the crowd on the viewing platform discussed animatedly, more people were successively ejected from their light shields. Among them was one whose light shield color had been extremely deep—that was Huchen Gu. Judging by the color, he should have ranked in the top five. His final count was three hundred and one herbs.
After another half an incense stick's time, emerging along with a few others was, unexpectedly, Huchen Huiqing. She hadn't fainted, but her expression was one of extreme exhaustion. She had completed three hundred and eight herbs.
By this time, Huchen Wanli had recovered somewhat. Though still seated cross-legged by the light shield, he was no longer meditating but had begun to observe his surroundings. When he saw Huchen Huiqing stumble out of her shield, he immediately forced himself to raise his Divine Sense and sweep it over. Upon seeing her final result, his face instantly turned grim. With his temperament, he could never have imagined that Huchen Huiqing would have only four fewer herbs than him. It was a difficult pill for him to swallow, especially considering Huchen Gu had also nearly caught up to him. How could he possibly be at ease?
Fortunately, among the seventy-five people who had emerged so far, he still had the highest number of completed herbs, which slightly improved his mood.
The moment Huchen Huiqing was ejected from her light shield, the several ancestors on the main dais remained silent, merely giving a brief scan with their Divine Senses. Ye Luoyan of the Fourth Branch, however, suddenly let out a soft laugh. "A girl is, after all, a step behind. It's quite a pity."
"Fourth Sister is being too modest. Your Jianghai has not yet emerged. Looking at the color of his shield, it is also extremely strong. The final result will likely not be weak," Xie Xiaoxiao said with a smile, her mood good, her long, narrow eyes squinting.
"Big Sister is absolutely right. That child, Jianghai, has always been one of deep and hidden talents. Looking at the color of that light shield, it's really hard to say. Although Wanli is already extremely strong, Jianghai is still continuing under a similar shield color. The outcome is truly uncertain. As for Huiqing, she's just a girl, how could she compare with them? She's just participating as a member of the family," Chi Dongli said, her expression unchanging, her tone gentle and faint.
As soon as she finished speaking, Xie Xiaoxiao, who had been chuckling softly, felt her jade-like face stiffen. Her narrow eyes fixed on the plaza below, on the spot where Huchen Jianghai had yet to emerge. On the other side, Ye Luoyan could only shoot a sideways glance at Chi Dongli.
After Huchen Huiqing collapsed to the ground, her full, jade-like legs bent into an alluring curve. Without waiting for the family disciples to approach, she took out several medicinal pills herself, holding them in her mouth. With a curl of her fragrant tongue, she swallowed them. After a moment's rest, her expression finally recovered slightly, but just then, she felt a cold gaze lock onto her.
'Huchen Wanli?' She was startled. After seeing the situation inside his light shield, her lovely face couldn't help but change. She had used all her ability, yet she was still four herbs short of him.
"Second Sister, I have truly underestimated you all this time. You nearly surpassed your foolish older brother." A slightly sarcastic voice echoed in her mind. Huchen Huiqing glanced at that mocking face and snorted lightly, annoyed. She ignored Huchen Wanli.
She then looked elsewhere. When she saw the light shield of Huchen Gu, whose short, stout frame resembled an ancient tree, a hint of surprise colored her features. She recognized him, of course. He usually followed her father, was a man of few words, and was a disciple from a collateral branch. His cultivation had reached the Grand Perfection of the tenth level of Qi Condensation, and he was later taken in as her father's attendant. She never expected that he had also cultivated the Ghostly Poison Scroll to such a degree—three hundred and one herbs.
Her Divine Sense quickly swept the area, discovering that fewer than fifteen light shields still contained people. Among them, the two with the deepest color were so rich they were almost deep black. She and Huchen Wuding had entered when about half of all the disciples had already gone in. She remembered that one of those two deep black shields was where Huchen Qiukong had gone. When Huchen Wuding had flown over with her, it seemed he had not entered either of the two deep black shields.
"Second Sister, are you looking for my third brother? Hehe, he's in that gray light shield in the corner. But it looks like he's out of the running. Heh heh, an illegitimate son is an illegitimate son. With such lowly blood, how good can he be? Looking at him, he probably hasn't even completed ten herbs." Just as Huchen Huiqing was wondering, Huchen Wanli's cold voice came again. He had already received a voice transmission from his mother and knew roughly who was left in the remaining shields and who occupied the ones that posed the greatest threat to him. As for Huchen Wuding's location, Xie Xiaoxiao had specifically pointed it out.
Huchen Huiqing was startled by his words and couldn't help but lift her beautiful eyes to look to the side. There, in a less conspicuous spot, was a light shield. In terms of color, it was about average among the remaining fifteen. Although it was already deep gray, with less than half an incense stick of time left, it didn't inspire high expectations.
At that moment, her beautiful eyes suddenly focused. The voice of her mother, Chi Dongli, sounded in her mind. "Huiqing, you did well. Although you were four herbs short of Wanli, given the circumstances, getting into the top ten is absolutely no problem. The next round is the deciding match. For now, being in the top ten all yields the same result. Huchen Jianghai is still inside the light shield, he is..."
After just a few breaths, Huchen Huiqing retracted her gaze from the corner light shield. Though she felt a sense of disappointment, she raised an eyebrow in Huchen Wanli's direction, a smile playing on her lips. Her ruby lips parted, and she too sent a voice transmission. "Big Brother, Wuding isn't the only illegitimate son, you know. Fourth Brother is as well. But Fourth Brother hasn't come out yet. You should probably put away that pride of yours from supposedly topping the chart for now. You might just lose your footing in a moment."
Huchen Wanli had been watching his second sister with some amusement. Seeing her prolonged silence, he knew that this second sister had always been proud, and today he had managed to suppress her, feeling quite pleased with himself. Suddenly, a voice transmission sounded in his mind, but its words were the last thing he wanted to hear right now. Though he appeared calm on the surface, his heart was in turmoil. The other two black light shields remained stubbornly occupied, and his unease was stirred up once again.
At that, he fell silent, his gaze turning grim as he stared at those few light shields. Amidst the continuous murmurs on the plaza, they didn't have to wait long. With flickers of light, one figure after another stumbled out.
"It's Huchen Lou! Heavens, he actually has two hundred and seventy herbs..."
"That's Huchen Zhongyu, two hundred and eighty-one herbs..."
"As expected, the ones who come out later are stronger..."
As the voices rose and fell, one figure after another collapsed outside the light shields, only to be helped up and fed a medicinal pill.
With a soft pop, another person was ejected from a light shield.
"Hey, hey, it's one of the last light shields with the deepest color."
"Yes, it's Huchen Qiukong, as expected! How many herbs?"
"Three hundred and eleven herbs? So many! This... this..."
Huchen Qiukong hadn't fainted either. With a deathly pale face, he took out a medicinal pill and swallowed it. Without even the strength to survey his surroundings, he immediately sat down to meditate and recover.
Huchen Wandong gazed at Huchen Qiukong's light shield and couldn't help but sigh internally. 'Still one short, in the end. This round ultimately failed to blunt the edge of the First Branch and their people.'
Xie Xiaoxiao's expression was ugly. She now understood. 'Huchen Wandong, you are truly forbearing. All these years, I've watched you treat these two attendants, Huchen Qiukong and Huchen Gu, extremely well. As expected, it wasn't as simple as them just being trusted aides. You must have spent a considerable amount of resources training them in private. What a good husband you are to me.'
On the other side, both Ye Luoyan and Chi Dongli's beautiful eyes flashed. Just then, a voice rang out. "The Huchen family is truly full of talent. Not only is the Patriarch's main line outstanding, but the branch lineages also have their young geniuses. They are so much stronger than my own worthless descendants." It was the Xie Family Ancestor, his eyes half-closed, who turned to Patriarch Huchen Wandong with a chuckle, his words carrying a hidden meaning.
"If a family relies solely on the main branch, its legacy will not go far. I, on the other hand, think the strength of the branch lineages is still too weak. I hope for a few more children like Qiukong to emerge. Only then can the family flourish and our competitive strength increase. Otherwise, trying to gain a foothold in the cultivation world is simply self-deception, hehe." Before Huchen Wandong could speak, the Huchen Ancestor shook his head and said with a serious expression.
Once he spoke, everyone present fell silent. A few of them began to see Huchen Wandong in a new light. To be the head of a family, one's forbearance must be truly remarkable. Even after losing a wife and child from one branch, he never exposed the disciples he was secretly supporting.
At this point, only two light shields remained on the plaza: one a rich, deep black, and the other just approaching black.
As the number of light shields dwindled, many people had already focused their attention on the final two. Some of them gradually noticed something different.