Other than the disciples ranked at the first 20 positions, who were given special treatment, each of the remaining 2,000 teenagers received the clothes, waist tokens and a long sword of a disciple on the waiting list from the logistics department of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect. They were then temporarily assigned to the guest quarters for the night.

Perhaps the fate of Song Jiannan caused Zhao Xingcheng to feel sad, which was also one of the reasons for his becoming a good person.

“Little Chap Ding, he looked like a fool when he was in a garbage slum. He didn’t think that stupid people had good luck. He suddenly began to understand and became a genius worthy to enter the finals of the five academies,” Zhao Dahai said with sincerity.

“Brother Ding became a genius in three years. He worked hard in silence for three years, and now he has become a true sensation.” Zhao Xingcheng continued. “But, dad, don’t worry. One day, I will become a master like brother Ding, and then I’ll be able to get the reward from the clan, so that you and mother can get away from the garbage area and live a good life in the front mountain.”

“Good, good…” Zhao Dahai replied in a gratified manner.

This son used to run amuck and caused a lot of troubles. He couldn’t worry any less. Unexpectedly, he became better after being beaten by Ding Hao.

“By the way, you used to find trouble for Little Chap Ding. He has become a big star now. He won’t be looking to embarrass you in return, will he?” Zhao Dahai said, somewhat worried.

Zhao Xingcheng smiled easily and said, “Dad, you can rest assured that it is all a thing of the past. Brother Ding is generous and extremely modest. Now he is not only an official disciple of the Eastern Academy of green shirts and the five academies, but most people admire him. I asked him for advice in regards to some training problems not long ago, and he answered me one by one.”

“Boy, remember Little Chap Ding’s kindness. He is a dragon that will soar to the Ninth Heaven after all. As long as you don’t become a worm, I, your father will be much relieved.”

“Hey, dad, how can you say that to your son? Even if I don’t become a dragon in the sky, I’ll become a dragon in water! Eh!”

Similar dialogues were spread among these people who stood humbly in the garbage area on the periphery. Some recalled the interesting things about Ding Hao in the past, while others were envious. They were all in the same mood. That was, they hoped that Ding Hao could win the championship in one stroke in the upcoming finals.

…

“Wahaha, Zhang Fan, we did it! Let’s collect the earnings…”

Wang Xiaoqi took Zhang Fan and ran wildly toward the stall where they had placed bets. Ding Hao won. The high odds made Wang Xiaoqi’s investment of 12,000 taels of gold to instantly turn into 82,000. This was a sudden surge of wealth. Such a high return on investment was rare in the world.

Zhang Fan was too happy to close his mouth.

Under the gazes of envy, jealousy, and hatred, the two exchanged their gold notes quickly and swaggered away amid the plaintiveness of the banker who wanted to cry.

“Haha. Ten thousand to make eighty thousand; I take twenty thousand, you twenty thousand, brother Ding forty thousand. Hey hey, this time we really made it big, this money can buy a large number of spiritual herbs for us; we’ll get twice the result with half the effort when we practice, wow ha ha ha!”

The corners of Wang Xiaoqi’s mouth were almost near to his ears.

“Me? I don’t have any strength, how can I want that…” Zhang Fan hurriedly refused.

“Hey, didn’t we agree before? When the time comes to win money, everyone benefits. You being like this, don’t you take me, Wang Xiaoqi, as a brother? Or are you still holding a grudge against me from that time, when I said all that bullsh*t about you and your father?” Wang Xiaoqi deliberately mocked the young hunter.

“I didn’t, it’s all over… I… you…” Zhang Fan had never seen so much gold, at that time, he actually stuttered and could not say a word.

Wang Xiaoqi patted him on the shoulder hard, and firmly said, “It’s a deal. Respect me, Wang Xiaoqi and accept the 20,000 taels of gold. As for me, I have a cheap mouth and have offended many people, but I really am not bad. The gold will be my official apology to you for that day, brother. You can use it to purchase a large number of low-grade spiritual herbs and potions. It can help you break through quickly and gather the Qi Seeds. When you become stronger, you can return the favor and help me!”

“This…” Zhang Fan hesitated.

He thought about himself because of mediocre qualification practice, which produced a low-status quo. He also thought about the expectations of his parents and uncles in the family, knowing that if he had these gold notes, he would have enough money to break through in his strength. The youth finally nodded and accepted.

“I owe you a big favor. The Hunter of Baiman Mountain will repay you for your kindness. You will be my brother from now on,” Zhang Fan solemnly said.

Wang Xiaoqi poked at Zhang Fan with a fist, then said with a smile, “That’s right. we have been brothers for a while. Let’s go and cheer for brother Ding. The finals will begin.”

Of course, he would not say that he had also placed 30,000 taels of gold in favor Li Muyun winning. In fact, he lost 12,000 gold. However, Wang Xiaoqi valued the future of Ding Hao and Zhang Fan more than money. The former had shown its sharpness, and without a doubt, would become the focus of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect’s training. However, Wang Xiaoqi had to pay attention to the latter; although he had poor qualifications, his amazing perseverance and his relationship with Ding Hao were hard to ignore.

Of course, deep down, these short days of contact had made Wang Xiaoqi thoroughly accept Zhang Fan as an ordinary roommate.

This was the first true unbreakable friendship he established in the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect.

…

According to the rules of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect, after the competitions of the five academies and when all the disciples on the waiting list had been familiar with each other, each of the East, South, West, North, and Middle academies would choose the most talented and qualified disciple among the four hundred disciples to be the head of the academy.

This battle could be referred to as a grand competition that attracted much attention.

Even before the competition started, the balcony was severely crowded. Some senior disciples from the inner gate, who had no interest in the contest between disciples on the waiting list, came to see the final.

In particular, the stunning sword technique previously displayed by Ding Hao, attracted countless people to watch and learn.

The three master inscriptionists were finally rushing to repair the challenge arena damaged by the previous battle, checking various devices and carving various mysterious runes on the rocks to enhance the strength and hardness of the rocks, to ensure the smooth progress of the finals.

There was a huge crowd around the first challenge arena, all talking and predicting the final outcome.

“I think brother Ding will definitely win. Even Li Muyun has conceded. Liang Feixue is ranked second among the Honorable Alliance of Seven. Is he still better than Li Muyun?”

“This is not necessarily true. Li Muyun threw in the towel because in the beginning he made a bet. Without the agreement of the three swords, Li Muyun could throw Ding Hao off the ring.”

“Don’t forget the weird sword technique that senior brother Ding showed in the end.”

“Liang Feixue has a terrifying power lurking in his body. Once he taps on this power, the outcome is very unpredictable!”

The crowd was abuzz and the tournament had reached its final climax. Everyone was anxious to know who would finally defeat all rivals, collect all kinds of glory and stand high on the No.1 throne of the five academies, accepting everyone’s worship.

Ding Hao and Liang Feixue were both in the contestants’ rest and preparation area.

The representatives of the Eastern Academy of Green Shirts were surrounding Ding Hao, while the brothers of the Central Academy of White Shirts “Seven Righteousness Alliance” surrounded Liang Feixue, making final preparations for the competition after a wick of incense. The atmosphere had reached the level of intense fighting.