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Chapter 440: Chapter 440: Cheating

"How did it go?" Zhong Shan asked.

He didn\'t want to hear another "not bad" from Zhihuo!

"This time, there was a breakthrough!" Zhihuo said, a bit embarrassed.

"Oh?" Zhong Shan raised an eyebrow. A breakthrough? That was good news!

"More than just a breakthrough. Today, Zhihuo and Qinghong had two very intimate encounters," Lin Xiao suddenly laughed.

"Two intimate encounters?" Zhong Shan\'s eyes widened. So soon?

"Mm!" Zhihuo responded, still somewhat embarrassed.

Seeing Zhihuo\'s expression, and the smiles on Lin Xiao and Liu Wushuang\'s faces, Zhong Shan was puzzled.

"What happened? What\'s so funny about two intimate encounters?" Zhong Shan asked.

"Hahahaha!"

As Zhong Shan spoke, Lin Xiao and Liu Wushuang laughed even louder.

"Commander, here\'s what happened," Zhihuo began to explain, still embarrassed—

Earlier that day, while Zhong Shan and the others were catching fish by the sea, Qinghong stood at the entrance of a palace, watching with interest. Zhihuo, Lin Xiao, and Liu Wushuang, the three mischief-makers, walked over to the side. No one paid attention to anyone else. Qinghong ignored Zhihuo, and the four stood in silence.

Suddenly, Zhao Tiansha\'s sword cleaved the sea!

Zhihuo, pressured by the two behind him, exclaimed in surprise, "Ah!"

Hearing the exclamation, Qinghong frowned and turned around. At that moment, Liu Wushuang tripped, and Lin Xiao gave a strong push!

"Ah!" The innocent Zhihuo stumbled towards Qinghong, his hands outstretched, landing on Qinghong\'s chest as she turned.

As his hands made contact, both Zhihuo and Qinghong were stunned. They froze for a moment. (The first intimate encounter!) Lin Xiao and Liu Wushuang had already retreated to the side.

"Ah~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"

Realizing her chest had been grabbed, Qinghong screamed.

Zhihuo, startled, quickly withdrew his hands.

In her shock and anger, Qinghong raised her hand.

"Pervert!"

"Smack~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!"

Her palm landed hard on Zhihuo\'s face. (The second intimate encounter!) Turning, Qinghong stormed off in a rage.—

"Commander, that\'s what happened. Does that count?" Zhihuo asked, looking awkward.

"Well done! Lin Xiao, Liu Wushuang, you did a good job. Keep it up!" Zhong Shan said, very satisfied.

"Yes!" Lin Xiao and Liu Wushuang responded immediately.

Zhihuo, however, was left speechless.—

In the Lihuo Holy City, inside the Lihuo Holy Palace, Nie Fancheng sat on the main seat, with the old eunuch who had summoned Zhong Shan earlier standing before him.

"Your Majesty, I\'ve seen it. It\'s very strange; I couldn\'t understand it," the old eunuch reported.

"Oh?" Nie Fancheng said, puzzled.

"The cage protecting the \'Ming Yuan Pill\' in the Nam Ming Palace is very strange. I couldn\'t determine its origin, nor could I understand the workings of the land beneath it," the old eunuch reported.

"You couldn\'t figure it out? Who\'s guarding it?" Nie Fancheng asked.

"It should be Zhong Shan\'s subordinate, Mr. Corpse. Apart from seeing that his cultivation is at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, I couldn\'t discern anything else. It\'s very peculiar," the old eunuch said.

"Nascent Soul peak stage, and you can\'t see through him? Heh, Zhong Shan\'s secrets are numerous indeed!" Nie Fancheng frowned slightly.

"Your Majesty, do you think someone might..." The old eunuch hesitated.

"Who would dare!" Nie Fancheng glared.

"I mean the original owner of the Ming Yuan Pill. Will he come?" the old eunuch asked, clearly aware of some hidden matters.

"Him? He won\'t come!" Nie Fancheng took a deep breath.

"Yes!" The old eunuch nodded.

"Almost two months have passed. How is Ling\'er doing?" Nie Fancheng asked.

"Among the four men, aside from Shao Feihou\'s initial underwhelming performance with his daughter, the subsequent meetings have mostly been strong showdowns between Zhong Shan and Shao Feihou. Their methods are increasingly impressive, even astonishing this old servant. Some of their techniques are unheard of," the old eunuch marveled.

"Zhong Shan and Shao Feihou? What about the other two?" Nie Fancheng asked.

"The other two... Xiaoyao Hou seems to be the weakest among them. Despite having many advantages, he still falls short compared to Zhong Shan and Shao Feihou, who suppress him completely," the old eunuch said truthfully.

"Hmm! And Zhao Tiansha?" Nie Fancheng asked, nodding.

"Zhao Tiansha is slightly better than Xiaoyao Hou, but Princess Ling\'er\'s deep attachment to him before her memory loss complicates things. The final outcome remains uncertain," the old eunuch replied.

"So, except for Kuang\'er, the others are evenly matched?" Nie Fancheng asked.

"You could say that," the old eunuch bowed.

"Your Majesty, Xiaoyao Hou is here. This old servant will take his leave," the old eunuch said, frowning suddenly.

"Hmm," Nie Fancheng nodded.

The old eunuch then exited the hall.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty!" Xiaoyao Hou, also known as Nie Kuang, called out as he entered.

"Your Majesty! You must help Kuang\'er!" Nie Kuang said, looking aggrieved.

He had felt humiliated over the past days by the others.

"What\'s the matter, Kuang\'er?" Nie Fancheng asked.

"Your Majesty, the civil test you set is about to begin. I just reviewed their information. How can I compete in the test? That arrogant Zhong Shan is sure to win! The top scholar of the Great Luo Heavenly Dynasty, who wrote the earth-shaking \'Man Jiang Hong\' that brought down heavenly thunder! How can Kuang\'er compete with such a person?" Nie Kuang complained.

"You can\'t outwrite him?" Nie Fancheng frowned slightly.

"Yes, Your Majesty, you must help Kuang\'er!" Nie Kuang pleaded, almost childlike.

Perhaps Nie Kuang was the only one in the entire Great Li Dynasty who dared to act so spoiled in front of the emperor.

Nie Fancheng smiled bitterly and shook his head, "What do you want to do?"

"I want a similar piece of writing. I want to surpass Zhong Shan!" Nie Kuang said immediately.

"I can\'t write it for you!" Nie Fancheng said.

With a sudden thud, Xiaoyao Hou fell to his knees.

"Your Majesty, please! Just this once, I must surpass Zhong Shan. Write a piece for me that can invoke celestial phenomena. That\'s all I ask, just to invoke celestial phenomena!" Nie Kuang begged persistently.

Seeing Nie Kuang kneeling, Nie Fancheng was suddenly reminded of his deceased brother, who had humiliated himself by kneeling before the enemy to save his own life. Nie Fancheng\'s heart tightened painfully.

"Fine, I\'ll write a piece that will invoke celestial phenomena for you!" Nie Fancheng sighed lightly—

In the Nam Ming Palace, Zhong Shan was speaking with his subordinates.

"Commander, this... this... what kind of rule is this?" Shui Wuhen was red-faced with anger.

"Enough!" Zhong Shan took a deep breath, clearly worried about eavesdroppers who might report back to Nie Fancheng.

"But this is so unfair to you, Commander. There are only five days left until the civil test. With your ability, you could write another piece like \'Man Jiang Hong,\' and with heavenly thunder accompanying it, who could beat you then? You would certainly win. But now, what is this? Cheating! It\'s obvious cheating!" Shui Wuhen fumed.

"Yes, Commander, these rules are too advantageous for Xiaoyao Hou. They allow the four of you to start writing now and even submit pre-written pieces on the day of the civil test. This just opens the door for Xiaoyao Hou to have someone ghostwrite for him. It negates your advantage," Liu Wushuang said, shaking his head.

"The Great Li Emperor is clearly favoring Xiaoyao Hou. It\'s obvious that the ghostwriter for Xiaoyao Hou will be the Great Li Emperor himself. Can you guarantee that your piece will surpass the Great Li Emperor\'s?" Lin Xiao asked, frowning.

"Surpass the Great Li Emperor? In this Lihuo Holy City, no one\'s writing can surpass the Great Li Emperor\'s! The Emperor represents the highest literary authority!" Zhong Shan said, taking a deep breath.

"So, are we just going to lose this time? This isn\'t a competition, it\'s outright cheating!" Shui Wuhen said, looking unwilling to accept defeat.

"The civil test is only within the Princess Ling\'er\'s residence. Such favoritism will only let Xiaoyao Hou shine. We will have to wait until the martial test in the central square of Lihuo Holy City, under the watchful eyes of millions, for a fair contest," Liu Wushuang sighed.

"Not necessarily!" Zhong Shan suddenly said.

"Huh?"

"No one can surpass the Great Li Emperor in literary talent, but that doesn\'t mean Xiaoyao Hou will win!" Zhong Shan suddenly smiled.

"Right, it\'s Princess Ling\'er who judges the competition!" Lin Xiao suddenly smiled.

"But in this way, Xiaoyao Hou\'s writing won\'t be weaker than yours, and Zhao Tiansha will also be looking for any opportunity. Your advantage will be nullified," Shui Wuhen said, worried.

"Advantage? Do you know what my advantage is?" Zhong Shan smiled.

"Huh?"

"Back in the day, during the imperial examinations in the Great Luo Heavenly Dynasty, I was able to become the top scholar not just because I invoked \'heaven\'s wrath,\'" Zhong Shan said.

"It wasn\'t?" Shui Wuhen was taken aback.

"Of course not. That was just a side effect. The main reason was the Emperor\'s topic at that time, \'War.\' My \'Man Jiang Hong\' perfectly captured the essence of the theme, so I took first place," Zhong Shan explained.

"But this time, there\'s no set topic. It\'s up to each individual," Liu Wushuang pointed out.

"A topic? The topic is in each person\'s heart! If you grasp the topic, you will win!" Zhong Shan said with a mysterious smile.