"Me too. I bet on the West District, not the North. I ended up losing quite a few Holy Night bets for nothing. Besides, Old Fang, how did you know the North District was going to have a breakout year?" Guo Yangyun asked Fang Qingyang, sounding a little regretful himself.
"I didn’t know. It was just a feeling," Fang Qingyang said faintly.
"You dared to bet on just a feeling? And you even bet your entire nest egg on it. That’s incredible." Guo Yangyun pursed his lips and said irritably. He didn’t believe Fang Qingyang one bit, certain he must have received some inside information.
"I was just showing some support. And look, it paid off, didn’t it?" Fang Qingyang said, brushing it off.
"Easy for you to say," Pan Borong chimed in, equally irritated.
However, while the Dui Palace was buzzing with excitement over the North District’s great results, the man in charge of the East District, Yane Bohou, was fuming.
He had originally intended to infuriate the North District crowd, but in the end, he was the one who ended up losing his mind with anger.
Moreover, he was shocked by the North District’s performance.
Since he wanted to mock them, he had listened intently every time a North District candidate’s score was announced. He even diligently recorded and tallied their results.
While others only knew a rough estimate of the North District’s total score, Yane Bohou had calculated it down to the last detail.
The North District’s total score so far was 1,057 Level 4 Demon Beast Crystals. This not only set a new record for the past century but also completely surpassed the East District by over two hundred Demon Beast Crystals!
In other words, this year’s first place for overall district score wasn’t going to their East District, but to the North District!
Yane Bohou found this result impossible to accept, his face turning ashen.
’For our grand East District to actually lose to the North District, a barren wasteland... It’s an absolute disgrace!’
But even knowing the results, Yane Bohou refused to concede!
"Hmph. The North District must have gotten ridiculously lucky for every single one of their candidates to score so well. But even so, that’s all it is. First place in the individual rankings still belongs to our East District’s Yuh Jili," Yane Bohou said, refusing to back down.
"Elder Yane of the East District, we still have one person left to be tested," Elder Lu said with a wide grin. "You shouldn’t speak with such certainty. Be careful now, if the result isn’t what you expect, you might just get angry enough to damage your health."
This final, untested candidate from the North District was none other than Tang Yi, the one in whom Elder Lu had the most faith.
’First place in the individual rankings belongs to Yuh Jili?’
’The moment Tang Yi makes his move, he’ll surpass him in a flash.’
’Yuh Jili, some number-one genius? Compared to Tang Yi, he isn’t even worthy of carrying his shoes.’
"Heh, surely you don’t think you still have someone whose score could possibly compare to our Yuh Jili?"
Yane Bohou said scornfully. Then, as if recalling something, he added, "Oh, I see. For the individual scores, you bet on a candidate named Tang Yi, didn’t you? And there’s still one candidate left to be tested. That would be Tang Yi, right? Heh heh."
"How clever of you, Elder Yane. The only one who hasn’t been tested is, in fact, candidate Tang Yi," Lu Qiming praised, though it was impossible to tell if his compliment was sincere or sarcastic.
"So what? So what if Tang Yi hasn’t been tested yet? You’re betting on him? You actually expect his score to surpass Yuh Jili’s? You’re comparing this Tang Yi to Yuh Jili? Give me a break! Stop dreaming. I’ll admit your North District candidates have made a comeback this time—their overall scores are quite good. But when it comes to first place in the individual rankings, no one is taking that away from Yuh Jili!" Yane Bohou declared with absolute confidence.
"Is that so? Well then, let’s just keep watching!" Elder Lu’s eyes narrowed as a brilliant smile spread across his face.
"Fine, we’ll watch!" Yane Bohou retorted petulantly.
「On the other side.」
Gong Liansheng, having overheard the exchange between Yane Bohou and Lu Qiming, looked over at a distant candidate who appeared completely ordinary, with no discernible aura.
Gong Liansheng had seen this candidate before. At the very beginning of the House Entrance Examination, he had killed a Level 4 Demon Beast with a single punch, without using any Martial Technique. It had left a deep impression on him.
’So that’s Tang Yi? He’s the candidate who made it to second place on the Outer Mansion’s ranking list before even officially joining? Hmm, he really does seem different from the other candidates,’ Gong Liansheng muttered to himself after a second look.
He was now extremely curious to see what kind of score this candidate, Tang Yi, would actually achieve.
The people from the North District and Dui Palace had all placed heavy bets on Tang Yi. If his score turned out to be genuinely impressive, then Gong Liansheng stood to lose a huge amount of Holy Liquid.
At this moment, Gong Liansheng found himself in a conflicted state. Part of him wanted to see just how high Tang Yi could score, while the other part dreaded him doing too well. He was torn by a sense of hope and fear.
「In the West Mansion Disciples’ spectator stands.」
"That’s the last person from the North District. Their overall scores were good, but not a single one of them surpassed Yuh Jili. Mu Yuchen, are you still going to hold out?" Xiang Moyang sneered.
"Why wouldn’t I? Don’t you remember him?" Mu Yuchen said, pointing at Tang Yi.
"Him? Who’s he?"
Tang Yi had only shown a glimpse of his strength on the first day. Now, with seven days having passed, Xiang Moyang had already forgotten him.
"He’s the one who killed a Demon Beast with a single punch on the first day," Mu Yuchen explained.
"Oh, it’s him!"
The realization dawned on Xiang Moyang, but he remained stubborn. "So what if it’s him? You’re pinning your hopes on the very last candidate from the North District? Give it up. There won’t be any miracles. You’d better just get ready to be my lackey for the next three months."
Mu Yuchen just chuckled, offering no reply.
"Don’t tell me you think he’s that Candidate 59416? Impossible. Don’t get your hopes up. How about this: if you concede right now, I’ll knock a month off. How does being my lackey for just two months sound?" Xiang Moyang continued to coax him.
Mu Yuchen simply chuckled again without a word.
"You...! Still not giving up!"
Feeling that victory was in his grasp, Xiang Moyang pointed at Mu Yuchen, his heart swelling with smug satisfaction. He turned his head toward Chu Mingyue. "Chu Mingyue, look at Mu Yuchen. He still refuses to admit defeat."
"The results aren’t out yet. Why should I concede?" Mu Yuchen said calmly.
"See? Just look at him. The North District is down to its last candidate, and he’s still trying to struggle," Xiang Moyang said.
"Xiang Moyang, let’s just wait until the last one is tested," Chu Mingyue said. "Back when we first saw that candidate, didn’t we all feel like we couldn’t figure him out? Maybe he really will surprise us. Chu Nan, what do you think?"
"I’m looking forward to it," Chu Nan said succinctly. His gaze shifted to Tang Yi in the plaza, who was preparing for his turn, and a look of anticipation crossed his face.
"Since the Chu siblings have spoken, what’s the harm in waiting a little longer? It’s only the last one. The results will be revealed soon enough," Le Ling added.
Hearing the others agree, Xiang Moyang had no choice but to nod. "Fine, we’ll wait. We’ll wait until the last one is tested, and then we’ll see Mu Yuchen accept his loss without any excuses!"
In the plaza, under the focused and expectant gazes of the crowd, it was finally Tang Yi’s turn to be tested.

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