Martial Arrogance Dragon Soul-Chapter 112 - 106: Stars Surround the Moon
The annual competition at year’s end, this was the grand event of the Great Qian Martial Institute that took place once every year.
At this grand event, the deans and vice deans of the Martial Institute, along with almost all the elders, would all be present.
Besides the internal personnel of the Martial Institute, there were also some specially invited guests.
These guests were often dignitaries from the royal palace and representatives from the noble families.
Everyone would attend to witness the grandeur of the Great Qian Martial Institute and likewise, to witness the growth and rise of one genius after another.
At this moment, the dean of the East Campus had already made an appearance.
The East Campus dean was named Qin Chang.
Qin Chang rarely made an appearance; in fact, he was not originally from the Great Qian Martial Institute.
Late on, due to some special reasons, he joined the Great Qian Martial Institute and became an elder of the Institute.
After the separation of the East and West Courtyards, Qin Chang swiftly entered the core structure, and after several conflicts, he directly assumed the coveted position of the East Campus dean.
Since Qin Chang became the East Campus dean, the last ten years had seen continuous changes at the Great Qian Martial Institute, which was gradually aligning closer with the Great Qian royal family. The internal mechanisms were increasingly infiltrated by the royals and the powerful noble families from the imperial city.
If this trend continued, within a few years, the Great Qian Martial Institute would become the royal family’s backyard, utterly utilized for royal power.
Over the years, lead by Xu Fang of the West Courtyard, many had been resisting the encroachment of royal power both openly and in secret.
Thus, the Great Qian Martial Institute gradually formed two factions: the noble faction led by the royal power and the influential, and the Academy Faction which prioritized the Martial Institute’s heritage.
The struggle between these two factions, after several extremely intense conflicts, had gradually led to the noble faction gaining the upper hand.
Now, the Academy Faction had been cornered into a tight spot, with even their last vestiges of power about to slip away.
In fact, the annual competition of the Great Qian Martial Institute, which had evolved into the current year-end competition between the East and West Courtyards, was a manifestation of the strife between these two factions.
And this year’s competition was teeming with undercurrents, with the West Courtyard seemingly standing no chance at all.
Rumors had already spread, suggesting that the East Campus’s Dean Qin Chang and several vice deans might leverage this competition to rally, aiming to completely crush the West Courtyard, eliminate the distinction between East and West Courtyards, and thus fully control the entire Great Qian Martial Institute.
Everything would depend on the outcome after this competition!
Following closely behind Qin Chang were the two vice deans of the East Campus, along with many elders.
At the same time, all the disciples of the East Campus had also come to the Martial Arts Ground.
About to commence was the year-end assessment competition for the newly initiated disciples of both East and West Campuses.
The newly selected disciples of the East Campus had already stepped forward.
Leading them was none other than Mu Yunlan, clad in a lilac robe, her demeanor cold and her expression proud.
"Mu Yunlan!"
"Elder Sister Mu!"
"Fairy Yun Lan!"
The moment Mu Yunlan stepped into the crowd’s view, various cheers flooded in like a tidal wave, converging from all directions towards Mu Yunlan.
Mu Yunlan had an indifferent gaze and a chilled beauty, as if all the surrounding cheers and fervent gazes were but fleeting clouds in her eyes.
And the more she was like this, the more people felt she was like a goddess, a celestial being untainted by the world’s dust.
And whenever Mu Yunlan was mentioned, the Shangguan Clan would also come into the conversation.
Shangguan Xuan!
This name was almost a household word in the imperial city.
The only son of Prime Minister Shangguan Yong.
The story between him and Mu Yunlan had quietly spread.
Of course, the name of Qin Qing had also spread along with it.
In this matter, the Shangguan Clan had completely lost face. Shangguan Jian had also talked to Mu Yunlan, but she had already decided to sever ties with the Shangguan Clan.
Mu Yunlan, who had once been overshadowed by the Shangguan Clan, quickly emerged from the shadows.
The talent she had revealed by now had made it clear that even the Shangguan Clan might not be able to limit Mu Yunlan’s future achievements.
At the Great Qian Martial Institute’s new disciples’ first month’s competition, Mu Yunlan had taken the title of the top new disciple with overwhelming superiority, being hailed as the New King.
Moreover, it was said that in the recent three months, her cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds, and her strength was no longer comparable to what it had been when she first entered the institute.
Mu Yunlan was like she was writing a legend.
Her looks, her talent, as well as her destiny and opportunities, were incomparable to others.
So, even the outstanding geniuses among the senior disciples couldn’t help but be impressed by Mu Yunlan.
For example, Gu Fengxian, who was known as the number one person in the Great Qian Martial Institute, was rumored to have developed feelings of admiration for Mu Yunlan.
Then there was Xie Jin’an, called the top swordsman of the Great Qian Martial Institute, who had invited Mu Yunlan to practice swordsmanship together, his intention obviously needing no elaboration.
Additionally, many other famous disciples had expressed their admiration for Mu Yunlan, but she had rejected them all.
Mu Yunlan’s ambition seemed to lie not just with the Great Qian Martial Institute or the Great Qian Dynasty. Her gaze reached beyond the institute, to even more distant places in the vast Heavenly Mind Continent...
"Sister Mu! You’ll bag the first place in the new disciples’ year-end assessment once again!"
Surrounded by others like the stars surround the moon, a disciple excitedly said to Mu Yunlan.
"Isn’t that obvious? If Sister Mu wants the title of New King, isn’t it just within her grasp?" 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦
A female disciple by Mu Yunlan’s side rolled her eyes, taking it as a matter of course.
"However... I heard that for this year’s new disciples’ year-end assessment, Qin Qing from the West Courtyard might participate..."
Another disciple suddenly said.
His words instantly caused a silent stir among the crowd.
Qin Qing is going to participate? Representing the West Courtyard?
Qin Qing’s reputation was at no point inferior to Mu Yunlan’s; in fact, for a long time, almost everyone in the Great Qian Martial Institute talked about him.
Defeated Guan Yun and Guan Changtian, overpowered the law enforcement disciples, returned from the banished secret realm, and even sparked the confrontation between Prime Minister and the Prince of Zhennan.
In the end, it even drew out a Nascent Soul Level expert to suppress the situation!
The power Qin Qing had shown, as well as the conflicts caused by him, were enough to shock all the disciples at the Great Qian Martial Institute!
Now that Qin Qing had returned, could Mu Yunlan still retain her title of New King?
"Pfft! Qin Qing? Him?" The girl next to Mu Yunlan said with contempt, "Qin Qing was good, but that was in the past. Now Sister Mu’s strength has already soared. If that Qin Qing really dares to participate in the year-end competition, Sister Mu will surely defeat him effortlessly!"
"Exactly, I also believe that for Sister Mu now, squashing that guy named Qin Qing is just a piece of cake."
Mu Yunlan gave the girl a faint glance, her expression unreadable, and in the next moment, her gaze suddenly turned toward a distant figure slowly approaching the Martial Arts Ground...
And within Mu Yunlan’s usually undisturbed eyes, a complex ripple finally appeared.
