Chapter 47

When Lu Ming and Feng Wu walked out, no one paid them any attention. All they got was a glance from the guidance elders and senior apprentices.

Three out of four number one geniuses were out from the Midnight Hills, and everyone else was mostly waiting for Duanmu Jue.

Only a small number of people kept their attention locked on Lu Ming, and they were those who participated in the 500-point metal piece fight.

Yin Kai’s eyes blazed.

“You survived, Lu Ming? How did you manage to evade Duanmu Jue?” Yin Kai’s eyes bore into Lu Ming as he asked.

Huh?

What Yin Kai said caught everyone by surprise. According to his tone, was Lu Ming actually somebody?

“Why? Are you disappointed that I’m still alive?” Lu Ming sneered.

From the side, Huang Yu asked with a stern voice, “Since you evaded Duanmu Jue, does it mean that the 500-point metal piece is still with you?”

“What?!”

Huang Yu’s words dropped like a bombshell.

All eyes were on Lu Ming and they were filled with questions and confusion, especially the four guidance elders.

‘Who’s this Lu Ming? I’ve never heard that name before. How did the 500-point metal piece end up with him? How’s this possible?’

Many of them were in disbelief.

“Of course, didn’t you see it the last time?” With a faint smile, Lu Ming waved his hand and a violet-gold metal piece appeared in his hand.

That was precisely the 500-point metal piece, and it was the only thing everyone was focused on at that instant.

‘Is that really the 500-point metal piece? Who exactly is this Lu Ming? He actually has the 500-point metal piece! Is he the new Apprentice Champion?’

Chaos erupted as shock set in.

“Hahaha, this is awesome! Good one, Lu Ming!” Xie Kuang howled in laughter as he recovered from the shock. He was ecstatic.

When Yin Kai came back with only 400 points, Xie Kuang thought that the Vermillion Bird Hall was about to wave the Apprentice Champion title goodbye yet again. Besides losing 30 spiritual crystals to Duanmu Jin, he would also have to endure the latter’s relentless taunting.

Now that Lu Ming had the 500-point metal piece, it reignited hope within Xie Kuang.

“Lu Ming! It’s Lu Ming again! Could none of our Duanmu experts kill this Lu Ming?” Duanmu Jin was shocked to the core as he stared incredulously at Lu Ming. When he finally came back to his senses, he scoffed, “What’re you so gleeful about, Xie Kuang? Maybe Lu Ming’s just lucky enough to get the 500-point metal piece by chance. That’s probably all he has. Do you think he could win with just the 500-point metal piece alone?”

“We’ll find out after we count his points,” Xie Kuang replied.

“Did you think you could beat me with a mere 500-point metal piece? Look carefully,” Huang Yu said coldly as a pile of point-worthy metal pieces appeared on the counter with a wave.

‘That much?!’

Everyone’s gazes froze when they realized that Huang Yu’s pile was a lot bigger than Xie Hong’s.

706 points.

Huang Yu had a whopping 706 points.

Gasp!

Sharp inhales spread across the area.

“Huang Yu’s gotten 706 points! That’s crazy!”

“He managed to get points like that even without the 500-point metal piece! Who’s to say he won’t be the Apprentice Champion?”

“Not bad! No one has heard of this Lu Ming previously, so I don’t think he’s from an aristocratic family. With no one to collect points for him, it’s impossible for him to get more than 200 points!”

Everyone was talking about it.

“Great!” The guidance elder of the Azure Dragon Hall laughed gleefully.

“Heh heh!” Duanmu Jin snickered and said, “Xie Kuang, so what if Lu Ming’s gotten the 500-point metal piece? I told you you celebrated too early. If a piece of trash was fortunate enough to get only the 500-point metal piece, he still can’t win anyway.”

“Huff, let’s see then.” Xie Kuang huffed coldly, but deep down, he was very uncertain.

Xie Kuang knew about most of Vermillion Bird Hall’s new apprentices, but he has never heard of Lu Ming’s name.

Lu Ming casually looked at all that was happening with a faint smile on his face. He was oddly calm as he made his way to the counter. Lu Ming looked at Huang Yu and said nonchalantly, “observe carefully then, if that’s what you wanna do.”

In a wave, a big pile of point-worthy metal pieces came tumbling down onto the counter.

From the looks of the pile, it seemed a lot bigger than Huang Yu’s pile.

‘S-so much?’

Eyes popped out of their sockets and some people nearly bit their tongues as they gawked at the pile of point-worthy metal pieces on the counter.

Feng Wu, who was with Lu Ming most of the time gaped soundlessly. She certainly did not expect Lu Ming to have that many point-worthy metal pieces.

When did that happen?

“Martial Uncle, could you help me out with the counting please?” Lu Ming prompted the person in charge of the point-counting since he was still in shock.

The person-in-charge came back to his senses and started to count.

With 724 points, in addition to the 500-point metal piece, Lu Ming had 1,224 points in total! Lu Ming had not scavenged for more point-worthy metal pieces in the last two days. Instead, he spent most of his time cultivating so that his cultivation had a firmer base.

His jaw-dropping 1,224 points stunned everyone with their mouths agape.

This was mindblowing. Even without the 500-point metal piece, Lu Ming still had more points than Huang Yu.

With points like this, Lu Ming was undoubtedly the Apprentice Champion.

‘How’s that possible? How can it be? I had the whole Azure Dragon Hall collecting points for me, and I spent quite a fortune getting points from some others as well. How did Lu Ming get so many points?’ Huang Yu roared in anguish in his head.

“Damn it!” Yin Kai clenched his fists tightly in frustration.

“Hahaha, I told you to wait for the official count, Duanmu Jin! It’s crystal clear now, isn’t it?” Xie Kuang was on cloud nine as he guffawed and his hand stroked his beard continuously. As he fixed his gaze on Lu Ming, he suddenly felt that the latter was such an adorable person.

“Xie Kuang, Lu Ming!” Duanmu Jin clenched his jaws so tightly that his teeth started grinding against each other noisily.

“Oh, also, 30 spiritual crystals please, Duanmu Jin!” Xie Kuang added.

“Hold your horses. Not everyone’s out yet. Our Duanmu Jue’s still making his way out. How sure are you that Lu Ming’s won?” Duanmu Jin selfishly hoped for Duanmu Jue to create a miracle.

“Elder…Elder Jin, something bad’s happened! A loud voice rang out from within the Midnight Woods as a dozen figures rushed out. They were the young experts of the Duanmu Family.

“What’s going on? What’s the rush? As a member of the Duanmu Family and the Mystical Sword Sect, you’ve gotta keep calm no matter what happened, understand?” Duanmu Jin’s face darkened as he reprimanded the young Duanmu experts.

“Where’s Duanmu Jue? Why didn’t he come out with you?”