Chapter 158: Immediate Aftermath

’With this, the twenty-five percent discount is mine for the taking!’ Yi Chen thought with ecstasy, clearly written on his face as his eyes fell on the hundreds of spectators who were cheering for him wholeheartedly.

Even though attaining the first position was something he had done solely with himself in his mind, the response from the audience clearly portrayed that the ones being benefited weren’t limited to him.

His attention was soon caught by Qin Yao, who was continuously jumping and waving his hand up from his spot, which finally prompted Yi Chen to notice him in the crowd and wave back at him with a smile.

’Well...it does feel good when my desires end up benefiting others as well,’ Yi Chen thought with a grin and waved his hand towards the other Feng Clan members who were next to Qin Yao.

Seeing him respond to Qin Yao, they too had all started waving more intensely.

A few seconds later, he finally put down his arms, which had started aching by now. However, the crowd’s response had not dimmed even a little, and they kept waving...some even more energetically than before.

’This...’

Making an uncomfortable expression, Yi Chen was once again about to respond to those cheers when he suddenly noticed a figure rushing towards him from his peripheral vision.

Turning towards his right, he immediately realised who this figure was.

"Brother Chennn!" Feng Duli exclaimed passionately while hurtling towards him a face covered in tears and snot, his open arms clearly implying that he was rushing for a congratulatory hug.

’...yeah no,’

BURST!

The very next instant, Yi Chen narrowly dodged Feng Duli’s figure, which rushed past him only to slam and roll on the already destroyed stage.

Slam!

"Ugh!" Feng Duli groaned in pain as he soon pushed himself off the ground with dirt and pieces of jade stones closely sticking onto his skin and robes.

"Why did you dodge? I only wanted to give you a congratulatory hug," Feng Duli complained bitterly while dusting off his robes.

"Well...I was just a little taken aback and reacted unknowingly," Yi Chen lied.

’Like hell I want to be hugged by a grown ass man covered in tears and snot!’ he said inwardly.

"Oh..." realising that it was just an accident, Feng Duli didn’t think about it much, and the next second, his focus instantly returned to the reason why he had rushed towards Yi Chen.

An excited expression immediately replaced the current one, and his figure immediately arrived next to Yi Chen.

"T-that was just so amazing, Brother Chen!" Grabbing Yi Chen’s hands, he continued with sparkling eyes, "You really did exactly what you had just stated earlier! By the end of today’s matches, you really made us achieve the first rank."

"Ah, yes...Thanks for that," Yi Chen nodded in an uncomfortable manner and said, "...so can you leave my hands now?"

Having his hands held by another man in front of hundreds of spectators, Yi Chen couldn’t help but feel a lot more self-aware.

"Ah, my bad!" Feng Duli immediately let go when he realised the underlying meaning behind those words. While scratching his head in embarrassment, he said the next moment, "I was just a little too excited and didn’t realise..."

Yi Chen nodded in understanding. Just then, his eyes fell on Feng Ning’s figure. She, too, had left the stands to meet him here.

When their eyes met, Feng Ning said with a smile which was mixed with both awe and disbelief, "You really ended up creating a precedent."

"Hehe," Yi Chen chuckled at her words and said, "Now the next generation can’t complain anymore about there being no precedents, can they?"

Hearing this, Feng Ning started chuckling, seeing which an amused smile formed on both Yi Chen and Feng Duli’s faces as well.

Meanwhile, the cheers from the spectators had finally started to reduce little by little. They seemed to have finally expended most of their energy.

Finding that the moment was suitable, the Imperial Envoy cleared his throat a couple of times before finally addressing everyone.

"I also have another announcement to make,"

As the Imperial Envoy’s voice spread in every nook and cranny of the arena, the still boisterous spectators finally calmed as the arena soon turned quiet.

With a nod, the Imperial Envoy continued.

"Today’s matches had been a series of continuous surprises for everyone present, and it would not be wrong to say that at the beginning of the initial fights, none of us would have guessed that it would be the Feng Clan who would claim the first rank by rising all the way from the twentieth rank to the First.

Therefore, as the Imperial Envoy, First, I’ll be congratulating the candidates from the Feng Clan’s side for the great display of fighting spirit!"

With these words, the Imperial Envoy turned towards Yi Chen in particular and started clapping. With this, the crowd was also roused, and they too continued clapping.

Although the Imperial Envoy had mentioned ’candidates’, everyone’s attention, including his own, was clearly focused on Yi Chen, who had made today’s miracle possible.

However, Feng Ning and Feng Duli didn’t mind this at all and, in fact, felt that it was only right for Yi Chen to get all the congratulations. Turning their heads towards Yi Chen, the two of them also started clapping for him while standing to his sides.

The imperial envoy soon raised his hand, and seeing this, the crowd soon stopped clapping. When the noise had sufficiently died down, he continued.

"This feat is so unprecedented that in the entire history of the Major Clans, something like this has never happened before. Particularly because of how impossible it seems.

That a clan with the help of only a Fifth Meridian Refinement Stage cultivator would be able to rise to the first rank was something no one could have accounted for."

As the Imperial Envoy finished those words, he glanced meaningfully towards Yi Chen before continuing.

"And since something like this was never anticipated, provisions for such results have not been made in the rules. Therefore, despite achieving the first rank, the Feng Clan doesn’t meet the requirements to participate in the Noble Ascension Trials."

According to the tournament’s rules, only the First Ranked Major Clan reserves the right to challenge the last ranked Noble Clan in the Noble Ascension Trial.

Along with that, there is another section which clearly states that the challenging clan should have at least eight Seventh Meridian Refinement Stage cultivators below the 30-year age bracket.

"Therefore, the Noble Ascension Trials, which were scheduled for tomorrow, will no longer be taking place. So, with tomorrow as a break, the Inter Clan Tournament will start again the day after tomorrow to conduct the final phase among the ten Noble Clans."

When the Imperial Envoy finished his words, the sounds of murmurs and whispering spread all around the arena and intensified as everyone began discussing this result.

"So there’s no event tomorrow?... sigh, I wanted to watch Brother Chen’s fight more"

"It’s frustrating, but the decision makes sense."

"Well...a pity we won’t be able to see more matches from Yi Chen"

"Indeed, but still, this is the most realistic decision once we take the Feng Clan’s situation into account..."

Overall, everyone felt that the decision was correct, as with the Feng Clan’s forces conducting the trials would only mean wasting everyone’s time.

Meanwhile, Yi Chen leaned towards Feng Ning to ask about the Noble Ascension Trials and how they are conducted.

"Oh, it’s the same as the Major Ascension Trials. However, the levels of the participating cultivators are different.

The first row of defence consists of eight Seventh Meridian Refinement Stage cultivators, unlike the Major Ascension Trials, which had eight First Level cultivators instead.

The levels increase subsequently till the eighth row, which has a lineup of the Fifth Qi Absorption Stage."

"Ah, so they have Qi Absorption Stage cultivators in there," Yi Chen nodded in understanding.

There was a massive difference between a Meridian Refinement Stage cultivator and a Qi Absorption Stage one. So, he carried no fantastical ideas about being able to defeat one with his current abilities and thus easily let go of it.

’There might be more benefits and discounts, but well...even twenty five percent is not bad,’ he thought to himself.

It was at that moment that the Imperial Envoy, who had his attention focused towards the spectators, turned towards the three of them and carried on.

"However, since this opportunity is taken away from you, it’s only right that you should be compensated in another way." With a meaningful smile on his face, the Imperial Envoy continued.

"All the resources which the Feng Clan will be receiving as the first-ranked Major Clan are going to be increased by an additional five percent...and the same applies to the other sponsorship benefits for the members nominated specifically by clans to the various sects, including but not limited to the Heavenly Azure Dragon Sect."

"!!!"

Everyone’s eyes widened at this revelation, as this was something which had never happened before.

’...With this many resources...won’t we be able to raise the standards of our new generation to a much higher level!’ Feng Ning’s eyes glimmered in anticipation as a future where all the talented cultivators would get the nurturing they deserve flashed in her eyes.

At the same time, another thought surfaced in her mind.

Meanwhile, something else entirely was going on in Yi Chen’s mind.

’...a massive thirty percent discount?! Sweet!’ his eyes shone with great joy as he glanced towards the Imperial Envoy.

"Hmph," The Imperial Envoy just snorted in amusement when he met Yi Chen’s gaze before turning around and formally declaring the end of today’s events.