Chapter 593: How Did I Become Second Place?

It was not the first time Qilin Immortal had knelt upon the sword formation; Lu Yang had personally heard of it happening more than a dozen times, and the actual number was undoubtedly higher, leaving him quite uncertain as to what the offense was on this particular occasion.

As for Qilin Immortal swearing an oath to the heavens... with Ying Tian Immortal present, let alone being struck by five-layered bolts of heavenly thunder, one could have thunder crashing down every single day without a care in the world.

"What?!"

Jiang Shishi stared blankly at Lu Yang, then shifted her gaze onto Luo Hong’s face.

After this back-and-forth repeated three times, she finally confirmed that what Lu Yang had given was indeed the correct answer.

This was not at all how the clan chief had explained it to her, was it?

How did these two understand the history of the Phoenix Clan even better than their own clan chief did?

"Wait, what do you mean by 'paramours'? What exactly was the relationship between my ancient ancestor and the Demon Immortal?"

Jiang Shishi seemed to perceive something utterly astonishing from the answer.

History recorded that the ancient ancestor and the Demon Immortal were bitter rivals who fought a grand war to contest the immortal throne, a conflict in which the ancient ancestor ultimately failed, allowing the Demon Immortal to ascend to immortality.

How could the ancient ancestor possibly speak to the Demon Immortal in such a tone?

This did not square with the history she knew at all.

Jiang Shishi’s mind was reduced to a complete muddle, a single question having overturned her lifelong perceptions and shattered everything she once knew.

Meng Jingzhou cast a glance at the dazed Jiang Shishi, then resumed pondering what he ought to eat once they returned.

Su Lian'er also looked at Lu Yang with disbelief and suspicion; how could anyone know more than Jiang Shishi when it came to testing the history of the Phoenix Clan?

Just what was the background of this man named Lu Yang?

Luo Hong paid no heed to the reactions of the crowd; whatever they thought would not affect her presentation of the questions, for this was simply the procedure.

"Please listen to the third question. The ancient ancestor of the Dragon Clan was matchlessly tyrannical, a formidable obstacle on the path to immortality for all the demon races. During the ancient era, there was a prodigy among the demon race who, despite possessing a worrying talent for cultivation, was exceptionally gifted in researching divine abilities."

"This prodigy forgot both food and sleep to study and devise a supreme divine ability called the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms. In theory, if one could master these eighteen palms, even the ancient ancestor of the Dragon Clan would be defeated by this very technique."

"However, this prodigy never managed to perfect this supreme divine ability. May I ask what happened?"

The Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms was an ancient divine ability widely rumored throughout the Demon Domain, its power beyond all doubt, and every demon clan had sought its whereabouts to no avail.

There were many theories regarding why the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms had never been perfected.

Su Lian'er was the first to answer: "According to the ancient records of my clan, this prodigy spent his entire life without ever completing this divine ability. It is presumed that his natural talent was simply limited."

Luo Hong offered no comment; Su Lian'er’s answer could not be considered entirely wrong.

Seeing that Luo Hong remained silent, Jiang Shishi offered another answer: "Our ancient records possess a similar account, stating that this divine ability defied the heavens too greatly. The prodigy encountered a great tribulation of life and death, and despite exhausting his utmost strength, he failed to cross it, resulting in his death and the dissolution of his Dao before the divine ability could be perfected."

Luo Hong shifted her gaze to Meng Jingzhou, indicating that he could provide an answer.

Meng Jingzhou looked back at Luo Hong, gesturing for her to find someone else.

Luo Hong then turned her gaze upon Lu Yang.

Lu Yang was thin-skinned, and being stared at by Luo Hong made him rather uncomfortable, so after a moment of hesitation, he divulged a piece of ancient secret lore.

"Regarding this matter, I have heard a rumor that the ancient ancestor of the Dragon Clan possessed the prototype of the Natural Selection Dao Fruit, the effect of which allowed her to endure attacks without dying and grow progressively stronger because of them."

"Therefore, if she were to endure the complete Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms—which were specifically designed to counter the Dragon Clan—and survive, she would become even more powerful."

"Upon hearing tales of this prodigy, she paid him a visit, hoping he would perfect the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms to help her grow stronger. When the prodigy learned of this, he expressed great joy and requested that the ancient ancestor of the Dragon Clan display her full strength to give him a reference."

"The ancient ancestor of the Dragon Clan unleashed her full power; the clouds and winds surged, great stars shattered to dust, and the scene resembled the end of days. Witnessing this spectacle, the prodigy was quite literally scared to death."

"At that time, people referred to this prodigy as Lord Ye, and this is the origin of the famous idiom: Lord Ye’s Love of Dragons."

Luo Hong nodded, thoroughly satisfied with Lu Yang's response: "Correct. One point awarded."

"As for the two of you, your answers were not entirely accurate. No points awarded, and no points deducted."

It was the fully formed Dao Fruit that possessed the attribute of erasing memories; its prototype lacked this trait, so everyone was able to remember what Lu Yang said about it.

"Next, please listen to the fourth question. The ancient ancestor of the Dragon Clan and the ancient ancestor of the Phoenix Clan engaged in a fierce battle when they were both half-immortals. The ancient ancestor of the Phoenix Clan died and returned to life during that great conflict. Please describe the detailed process of this battle."

Hearing that this was once again about the ancient ancestor of her own Phoenix Clan, Jiang Shishi showed a look of excitement.

She knew this battle intimately; every gesture of the two ancient ancestors radiated magnificent power, turning even the star-filled sky to fine powder and causing the sun itself to be extinguished, leaving a deathly silence across the universe. It was a battle that shook the ages, during which the ancient ancestor of the Phoenix Clan was reborn through bathing in flames, awakening amidst the fire.

Both the Dragon and Phoenix Clans felt immense pride for the strength their ancestors displayed in that battle.

Just as she was about to answer, she recalled Lu Yang's brilliant performance from before and turned her head to look at him.

"You answer first."

The corners of Lu Yang’s eyes twitched; he did not particularly wish to answer this question, lest he destroy the image of the Phoenix Clan's ancient ancestor in Jiang Shishi's heart.

Yet, since the opportunity had been yielded to him, he could hardly refuse to speak.

Fortunately, nothing that transpired within the Ancient Realm could be spoken of outside; otherwise, if the few answers he had just given were to spread, the entire Demon Domain would surely be thrown into an uproar.

In the words of the Immortal, the battle between those two had amounted to lighting fires, burning paper, pulling hair, and drawing circles to cast curses.

To recount it directly would seem somewhat disrespectful.

Maintaining a stiff, solemn expression, he spoke in a deep, heavy voice, appearing to hold the ancient ancestors of both the Dragon and Phoenix Clans in the highest reverence.

"That battle caused the heavens and earth to collapse and space to shatter. Both ancient ancestors deployed their supreme methods, fighting for several hundred rounds without a victor emerging. They used the true flames of their respective clans as their primary means of assault, and half-immortal grade talismans burned fiercely within the true flames, sending light soaring into the heavens with a power that shook both the past and the present. They also used a portion of each other's bodies as a medium to cast peerless curses, filling the entire universe with an ominous aura."

"The ancient ancestor of the Phoenix Clan was slightly inferior, dying under the curse, only to revive within the flames."

In truth, the ancient ancestor of the Phoenix Clan had used a feign-death technique to play dead, but upon being scorched too painfully by the ancient ancestor of the Dragon Clan, she had leapt up howling.

Best leave that part unsaid.

"Correct answer. One point awarded."

Jiang Shishi felt a pang of regret; she could have answered that question too!

"Sixth question: the ancient ancestor of the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan enchanted the world..."

"Seventh question..."

Jiang Shishi and Su Lian'er scrambled to answer, a pattern that persisted all the way until the tenth question.

"All ten questions have concluded. Lu Yang finishes with ten points, passing the third floor."

Among the ten questions, Su Lian'er answered five incorrectly, finishing with negative five points in fourth place.

Jiang Shishi answered four incorrectly, finishing with negative four points in third place.

Meng Jingzhou did not answer a single question, finishing with zero points in second place.

"It's decided. I'll eat mung bean cakes after we get out."

Meng Jingzhou had finally settled on what he wanted to eat, only to snap out of his reverie and realize the competition was already over.

"How did I end up in second place?"