Dawnless Sovereign-Chapter 21: Unlucky

Fang Che regarded Ding Jieran with a faint smile.

Of the three seeds, Ximen Xuri had been killed, leaving only two left.

He couldn't kill Ding Jieran after already killing Ximen Xuri, so he had decided to befriend him instead.

Clearly, Ding Jieran was a very introverted and reclusive person who lacked friends.

Furthermore, he was still very young, so there was a chance that Fang Che could turn him around before he went down the path of no return.

Of course, if that didn't work, then Fang Che was more than willing to change tact at any time, but for now, he would treat Ding Jieran as a friend.

With that, two of his three targets had been taken care of, and he was very pleased with himself.

***

At this point, Fang Che had emerged as the hot favorite to claim the championship title.

After all, no one would be able to withstand his Buddhist Pagoda Blade.

Countless students were kicking themselves for not recognizing his potential, but it was already too late.

Out of all of the remaining contestants, Fang Che had the lowest support rate, with only around seven thousand cumulative merit points bet on him, most of which had been contributed by female students enamored by his looks!

It seemed that there was some merit to judging a book by its cover after all!

Almost all of the male students had been decimated, but their anguished wails were drowned out by the more high-pitched celebratory cheers of their female counterparts.

"Fang Che! Fang Che!"

"Fang Che is mine!"

"I didn't even think I would win, but I should've known Fang Che would pull through!"

Those words drove an additional dagger into the hearts of many of the male students.

She didn't even want to win...

In contrast, the male students had been conducting extensive analysis, weighing up countless factors, only to fall flat on their faces.

"I don't wanna live anymore..."

"Me neither..."

"How am I going to pay for anything from now on? I don't even have any points for food!"

"You bet everything? Even food money?"

"I went all in! I bet everything on Ding Jieran! Hold on, the way you asked me that question made it sound like you still have some points left. Do you?"

"Piss off! I don't have anything for you!"

"Don't be like that, Brother! No, Father! You're my father from now on! Don't leave me, Father!"

The entire academy was enshrouded in a cloud of misery.

***

The next battle was between Huo Churan and Xie Gongping.

At this point, everyone was of the opinion that Fang Che was already the sure winner, and that the rest of the tournament was going to be nothing more than a formality to decide who came in second and third.

In their eyes, Fang Che's Buddhist Pagoda Blade was too powerful for anyone to withstand. Even if the remaining contestants were more well-rounded than Fang Che, they would be forced to concede in the face of that almighty attack.

Hence, what was the point? It was just a contest for second place from here onward.

However, this battle was far more spectacular and riveting than everyone had anticipated.

Huo Churan and Xie Gongping went all-out from the very beginning, pummeling each other with their fists and legs until they were both bruised and beaten.

They then drew their weapons in unison, and following a series of fierce clashes, both weapons were shattered, forcing them to resort to hand to hand-to-hand combat again.

The battle dragged on for over two hours without a decisive outcome!

In the end, both of them had already completely exhausted their spirit qi, yet they refused to fall and continued to exchange blows, much to the awe and astonishment of all of the spectators.

Just how much do these two resent each other?!

Mo Ganyun was standing beside Fang Che, and he explained, "Their clans are sworn enemies of one another, and these two have been bitter rivals since three years old..."

"Oh? What's going on there?"

A faint smile appeared on Mo Ganyun's face as he explained, "Huo Churan comes from the Huo Clan, while Xie Gongping comes from the Xie Clan, both of which are eighth-tier warrior clans of Resting Wave City. The two clans have been at each other's throats for over two thousand years.

“Both of them used to be seventh-tier clans, but they were demoted together after suffering too many losses from their constant battles, and that only deepened the feud. If these two were fighting outside the academy, it would be a fight to the death."

Mo Ganyun took a meaningful glance at Fang Che as he spoke.

"I see. Why are you looking at me like that?"

From what I've heard, you're the first one in close to three hundred years to kill someone during the new student tournament. You've certainly made a name for yourself," Mo Ganyun sighed. "On the surface, it doesn't seem like much, but you've definitely caused the academy a massive headache.

“Regardless of what he did, Ximen Xuri was still one of the top prospects of our cohort, yet he was killed in front of tens of thousands of people while under the supervision of academy staff, so this is a major incident. Sure, he had it coming, but that still doesn't change the fact that he was killed.

“All you have to worry about is potential retaliation from the Ximen Clan, but some other people won't be so lucky. Did you notice that they changed the referees after that battle? The two referees officiating that battle are most likely going to have to serve as scapegoats for what happened."

"Those two instructors can't be blamed for what happened," Fang Che protested. "No one could've reacted in time in that situation!"

"That's true, but it still doesn't change the fact that they failed in their duty to ensure the safety of the students. Everyone knows what happened, but the academy still has to answer to societal pressures. The fact of the matter is that Ximen Xuri died while under their supervision, and that's a case of severe negligence.

“The academy naturally doesn't have to worry about what an eighth-tier clan like the Ximen Clan thinks, but they have to answer to the world at large. The two referees are not at fault, but this is still going to be a permanent stain on their careers. Unless the academy's higher-ups shield them from the repercussions..."

Mo Ganyun's voice trailed off here as he heaved a faint sigh.

A loud thump rang out as Huo Churan and Xie Gongping exchanged a pair of punches, leaving both of them with black eyes.

After that, both of them fell onto their backs, completely unconscious.

It was a tie!

The entire crowd erupted into a frenzy.

No one could've anticipated this.

The peaceful outcome of the battle did no justice to how grueling and spectacular it had been. Both combatants had given everything they had, but they were simply completely evenly matched.

Fang Che paid no heed to the outcome of the battle. He was still mulling over what he had just heard from Mo Ganyun, and he was feeling a little guilty. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Huo Churan and Xie Gongping's battle had taken up the entire afternoon!

It was already quite late, so the battle between Qiu Yunshang and Jing Shuanggao, as well as the final round, were postponed to the next day.

Furthermore, the academy had to figure out how to whittle the field of seven down to four in the wake of this unexpected tie.

Would it have to be a round of five?

Fang Che tactfully turned down Fang Che's invitation and departed on his own.

***

The two referees officiating the battle between Fang Che and Ximen Xuri were named Gao Yunqi and Zhou Yi. At this moment, the two of them were sharing a drink together in a restaurant with grim looks on their faces.

They had only ordered two small dishes, yet there were four large jars of wine on the table.

The food was untouched, and not a word had been said, but an entire jar of wine had already been drunk.

Finally, Gao Yunqi broke the silence as he chuckled, "Man, fate really can be cruel sometimes..."

"Yep," Zhou Yi agreed with a grin. "After my injury, I was prepared to die on the front lines, but I was transferred to the academy. Initially, I didn't want to come, but I came in the end. Life's been really peaceful here, and there's no danger, so I married and had a kid.

“I thought the rest of my life would be spent nurturing some young blood for the academy so at least I wouldn't be completely useless, but it seems like fate had other plans... I don't really care, it's just a pity that my wife and kid have to suffer now.

“I cultivated and fought my entire life. I spent 150 years without a spouse, but I just had to drag my injured ass back here and find a wife, and now, my family will have to be weighed down by me. I should've just remained single."

"I'm in the same boat," Gao Yunqi sighed. "I have a wife and kid at home as well..."

"What do you think the academy is going to do about this incident?"

“They'll definitely try to protect us, especially Assistant Dean Huang. Honestly, if we had no sense of shame, then we would be fine. We'd receive some trivial punishment, and once everything blows over, barely anyone will even remember what happened."

Zhou Yi raised his bowl of wine, then downed it in one go as he chuckled, "It's too bad we do have a sense of shame."

"The academy's reputation would be tarnished if they tried to protect us, and we can't allow that."

"Indeed. Everyone will be talking about how the academy is corrupt and trying to sweep the incident under the rug."

The two instructors could easily envision the repercussions to come.

"Let's not make things difficult for the academy. I say we apply to be sent to the border. With some luck, we'll be able to squeeze in a few more battles against the Church of the Self-Righteous before we call it a day."

"Sounds good to me!"

The two of them exchanged a toast and a smile.

They were former comrades, now colleagues, and they were about to become comrades again.

"Cheers!"

"Cheers!"

"Make sure your family's taken care of before you leave."

"You too."