C487 The Top Ten Preliminaries

After several days of preliminaries, today was finally the day of the top ten preliminaries that everyone had been looking forward to for a long time.

The dense crowd occupied the entire smelting trial venue. Whether it was the senior students or the new students, they were all very curious as to who would be able to obtain a place in the top ten.

One must know that being able to get into the top ten of the disciple competition meant that one could participate in the Sandalwood Book Will, so some of the stronger ones were also eager to participate.

"The top ten. Heh, interesting." Lee Zhuohua, who was standing below the arena, thought that the top ten would be decided today, and his heart was somewhat moved.

Although the visit of the two prefecture masters had affected him, it was precisely because of this that he had to be even more careful. The contestants in the top ten preliminaries were not weak, and if he wanted to enter the top ten, he would have to use some of his strength. However, it would be better to conceal the essence of the phenomenon.

Lee Zhuohua's gaze was gloomy as he looked in the direction of the main audience. Originally, he only wanted to look at the two Prefecture Masters, but when his gaze swept across them, he found that there was actually an extraordinary young man standing beside the two Prefecture Masters.

Reasonably speaking, other than the two manor lords, there were only the hall elders in the main audience seating. Lee Zhuohua was also slightly familiar with the faces of those elders, but this young man seemed to be very unfamiliar. He had never seen this person before. Lee Zhuohua could not figure out where this young man came from, why would he be in the main audience seating?

"Hmm?" The young man standing next to the two Palace Masters was the core disciple of the Inner Palace, Yun Fan. Last night, he had left the Outer Palace of the Academy to go and relax for a while. As for what exactly he was going to do, no one knew, but he still came to the trial venue as promised.

He seemed to have sensed Lee Zhuohua's prying, and his eyes suddenly looked towards Lee Zhuohua.

Lee Zhuohua's and Yun Fan's eyes met across the crowd. Lee Zhuohua's eyes were filled with doubt, but Yun Fan's eyes seemed to be filled with interest, as if he had discovered something interesting.

"Who is he?" Lee Zhuohua asked in his heart. He did not know the background of this young man, but he felt a sense of transcendence when he looked at this person's bearing.

Even though they were both of the younger generation, the people around them, even the leading disciples like Xu Daolin seemed to pale in comparison to him.

Lee Zhuohua glanced at Yun Fan and then turned his gaze away. He did not want to cause any further troubles. After all, someone who could stand beside the two Prefecture Masters must have a special background. Lee Zhuohua did not want to cause any other trouble.

"Interesting." When Yun Fan saw that Lee Zhuohua had retracted his gaze, he whispered in his heart and revealed a smile on his face. However, he did not observe Lee Zhuohua anymore, but retracted his gaze.

Chu Angsheng, who was sitting at the very front of the main audience seating, seemed to have noticed Yun Fan's unusual behavior. He tilted his head slightly and glanced at Yun Fan who was sitting beside him.

"What's wrong? Did you find anything?" Chu Angsheng said slowly.

Yun Fan was slightly surprised to hear Chu Angsheng's question. He did not expect Chu Angsheng to be able to detect his subtle movements, but he did not think too much about it.

"It's nothing, I just saw an interesting person." Yun Fan replied casually, obviously not wanting to say anything more.

When Chu Angsheng heard the other party's perfunctory answer, he was not interested in asking anymore. He turned his head and no longer paid attention to Yun Fan. It was just that he did not know that the interesting person Yun Fan was talking about, otherwise, he would definitely continue asking.

When everyone was ready, the Disciplinary Elder appeared on the Trial Arena. He had taken over the task from the Hidden Elder, and now it was his turn to be the judge.

The Disciplinary Elder stood on the arena and glanced at the Outer Palace disciples below the stage. Then, he looked at Chu Angsheng and the others with a questioning gaze.

Chu Angsheng nodded to the Disciplinary Elder in the main audience, indicating that he could begin.

After receiving the order from the Lord Prefect, the Disciplinary Elder cleared his throat and prepared to read something on the stage. The disciples below the stage, seeing that the Disciplinary Elder had something to say, immediately quieted down.

"The disciple competition is a competition to motivate everyone in the academy to work hard..."

The Law Enforcing Elder began his speech on the ring, and all the disciples listened attentively, though some of them, knowing that what the Law Enforcing Elder said was a formal speech, did not listen to him.

For example, Lee Zhuohua was already Xu Daolin and the others. They did not care about the meaning behind the disciple competition. The reason why he participated in the disciple competition was not to show himself, but simply to obtain the Sandalwood Book Will's qualification to participate.

On the side of the main audience, when Yun Fan heard the Disciplinary Elder's speech, he used his hand to dig into his ears. He seemed to be very casual, and he had no respect for the Disciplinary Elder at all. His behavior was in sharp contrast to his bearing.

"What are you dawdling about? To put it bluntly, it's just a qualification contest. Why are you talking so much nonsense?" Yun Fan glanced sideways at the Disciplinary Elder on the arena and said such rude words.

When the palace elders sitting in the back heard Yun Fan's words, a trace of anger appeared on their faces. They looked at him, but Yun Fan, who was standing next to the manor lord, did not seem to notice the gazes behind him, and continued to talk to himself.

When Chu Angsheng and the others heard his words, they did not express any dissatisfaction. Because of this, the hall elders did not dare to say anything more.

These elders only knew that Yun Fan was the true disciple of the Inner Palace and the leader of the trip to the Sandalwood Book Will appointed by the Inner Palace. They did not know anything else, but Chu Angsheng and the others knew his true background. The person behind him was not someone they could afford to offend.

Therefore, as long as Yun Fan did not cause any trouble in the Outer Palace, he could do whatever he wanted.

After the Disciplinary Elder finished his speech, he announced the start of the top ten.

"I hereby announce that the selection for the top ten will officially begin." After the Disciplinary Elder announced the start of the competition, the disciples below the arena became lively once again.

When Lee Zhuohua heard that the competition had officially begun, his eyes flashed with a bright light.

"I wonder who my opponent will be. As long as I win, I will be able to obtain the qualification to participate in the Sandalwood Book Will." Lee Zhuohua thought to himself. His eyes were also searching the crowd, as if he wanted to see who his opponent would be today.

There were many people who did the same thing as him. These people were the contestants who would participate in the next round. When it came to the top ten selection tournament, they naturally cared a lot about what kind of opponent they would encounter.

But, their opponents weren't chosen by themselves in the end. It was still up to the arrangement of the lots.

"Number 15..."

The voice of the Disciplinary Elder sounded again. This time, it was announcing the number of the participants.