However, even though the fifth person to fight was Tang Piaomiao, the crowd had no complaints.
After all, Su Four Sabers had lost to Tang Piaomiao before, so it was perfectly fine for Tang Piaomiao to take his place.
Once both sides had selected their combatants, Wang Zongyao stepped onto the high platform.
The qualification exam had been abruptly halted by the arrival of an unfamiliar group. None of the spectators from Fengyue City knew what was going on, so Wang Zongyao had to come out and explain.
Once on the high platform, Wang Zongyao projected his voice with the power of a Battle King. "Scions of the Noble Families and citizens of Fengyue City," he announced, "I am sure you are all curious as to why the qualification exam has been paused. I would like to make an announcement and offer an explanation."
"Before we resume the qualification exam, we’ve decided to add another duel for your entertainment. This duel promises to be even more spectacular than the qualification exam itself."
"That is... our own outstanding candidates from this year’s qualification exam will engage in a friendly sparring match against the top candidates from another city!"
An uproar swept through the crowd.
Upon hearing Wang Zongyao’s words, the spectators from Fengyue City began to exclaim and speculate among themselves.
"A friendly sparring match? Are they really going to fight candidates from another city?"
"So that group from earlier was from another city? No wonder a group of unfamiliar young people showed up."
"Huh? If they’re candidates from another city, why aren’t they taking their own exam? Why did they come here instead?"
"You must not have heard. Apparently, the qualification exam in Fengyue City started two days later than in other cities. So, they’ve all finished theirs already. The ones who came here must be the candidates who’ve already secured their spots."
"I counted them. There are exactly twenty of those young people, and there are twenty qualification spots. That has to be it!"
"The man standing in front of that group must be the Chief Examiner from the other city, right? He has the same dignified air as our own Chief Examiner."
"Hey, what do you guys think? How strong are our candidates this year? Are they going to get completely dominated by the geniuses from another city?"
"I doubt it. This year’s batch is full of powerhouses. Not only have the Fan, Yuan, Mu, and Su Families produced several talented geniuses, but even the Tang Family has a few extraordinary figures."
"That’s right, we have Tang Yi and Fan Wei!"
"I’m so excited! I really hope the scions of our Fengyue City’s Noble Families can defeat the candidates from that other city."
"I wonder which city they’re from."
"Quiet! Settle down." Wang Zongyao held up his hands to gesture for silence. After the crowd quieted down, he pointed to the candidates from Wind Rain City on his right and said, "To my right are the elites who have come to compete with our Fengyue City. They hail from Wind Rain City! Let’s give them a warm welcome."
Upon hearing that the candidates were from Wind Rain City, the crowd paused for several seconds. No one responded.
A few seconds later, a smattering of applause broke out, sounding rather perfunctory.
Moreover, the expressions on the faces of the crowd slowly soured. It was clear they were not at all welcoming to the candidates from Wind Rain City; hostile murmurs even began to spread through the stands.
"For fuck’s sake. I was wondering which city’s candidates would have time to come here. Of course it’s Wind Rain City! They’re right next door! Dammit, I hate people from Wind Rain City the most! ’Welcome them?’ Welcome my ass! Fuck those bastards."
"I hate them too. I remember going there on business once and getting beaten up by their local thugs!"
"They came all the way here to challenge us. This has to be deliberate, right? Are they just trying to crash our event?"
"That’s very possible! They’re definitely up to no good!"
"Crash our event? I’d say they have a death wish! Our Fengyue City candidates will beat them so badly their own mothers won’t recognize them."
"To hell with Wind Rain City! We support our Fengyue City candidates!"
"Go Fengyue City! Beat those shameless bastards!"
The crowd was in an uproar, growing more agitated the more they spoke. The two cities had a long history of grievances, which had fostered a culture of animosity among the common people. To put it simply, neither side cared for the other.
Meanwhile, the candidates from Wind Rain City who had followed Xiao Bai to crash the event simply stood there quietly, their heads held high with arrogance. Upon hearing the taunts from the people of Fengyue City, they didn’t speak, merely sneering as they watched them. Their eyes were filled with disdain and contempt, as if they looked down on the people of Fengyue City so much they weren’t even worth a response. This only made the crowd in Fengyue City curse them more furiously.
"This..."
Wang Zongyao was incredibly awkward. He hadn’t expected such a result, nor had he imagined the people of Fengyue City would curse Wind Rain City so viciously.
Just then, Zhu Yan, the Sub-Branch Master of the West Mansion Branch, explained from the side, "Senior Brother Wang, Fengyue City and Wind Rain City have a long-standing feud, so the people here have no fondness for them. This reaction is only natural. I hope you understand, Senior Brother."
"I see." Wang Zongyao nodded. ’It’s my fault for not looking into the history between the two cities. If I’d known about the feud, I wouldn’t have announced which city they were from.’
However, Wang Zongyao glanced over at Xiao Bai and saw that he didn’t seem to mind the crowd’s insults. Deciding to ignore it, he announced loudly, "For this sparring competition, each city will send out five people for a series of one-on-one matches. The competition will continue until one side’s combatants are all defeated."
"Now, will Tang Yi, Tang Piaomiao, Mu Xianling, Fan Wei, and Yuan Qiong of Fengyue City please step forward. You will represent Fengyue City in this battle."
At these words, Tang Yi and the other four stepped forward.
Wang Zongyao continued, "Will Liu Yu, Hua Xiang, Fang Tian, Bai Ye, and Qiann Du of Wind Rain City also please step forward. You will represent Wind Rain City in this battle."
The candidates from Wind Rain City also stepped forward upon hearing their names.
The combatants for both sides had been chosen in advance, so no one raised any objections.
Once all the combatants were present, Wang Zongyao addressed them, his expression stern and serious. "This is only a sparring match. You are to stop once a victor is clear. You must not take a life. Otherwise, regardless of which city you are from, I will not spare you!"
Everyone voiced their agreement.
With that, Wang Zongyao descended from the high platform and walked over to Xiao Bai. "Senior Brother," he asked, "who will you be sending out first?"
"It makes no difference to me. We’ll just send out the weakest first," Xiao Bai said nonchalantly. Then, turning to a large young man among the five from Wind Rain City, he said, "Fang Tian, you’re up."
Upon hearing this, Fang Tian leaped onto the stage without a word. He looked down on Tang Yi and the others, his gaze sweeping over the five of them with utter disdain.
’Fuck. How arrogant!’ Tang Piaomiao was instantly enraged by the look in Fang Tian’s eyes. He was an incredibly proud person; when had anyone ever dared to look at him with such contempt?
"Just wait until I get on stage. I’ll knock him to the ground," Yuan Qiong said, also annoyed.
"Just a piece of trash," Fan Wei added.

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