preparing to strike the ice sculpture."You dare!"Leng Qingqiu, He Shuangshuang, and Huang Xiaomei roared together, preparing to charge forward and save the person."It's nothing, I was just teasing him..."What's going on Didn't the prince just promise that we could use pills to increase our cultivation levels, and that's why I started refining them right away How come he's backtracking now..."

That's right, isn't it Just because someone's pills work well, doesn't mean they shouldn't be allowed to use them.

"My god, isn't this blatant hypocrisy"

"Before, Cang Feng Academy had no issues using pills. Now that someone has made better pills, they immediately changed the rules Is this fair"

Among the tens of thousands of spectators, each and every one was indignant and expressed their dissatisfaction.

Song Jian's face was gloomy, his expression unreadable. In fact, he was also feeling very frustrated inside.

As an ambitious prince, he was very concerned with cultivating a good image in order to one day ascend the throne.

To the outside world, he was a wise and valiant prince, approachable and possessing extraordinary military capabilities.

He strictly controls his subordinates and family members, and over the years, there have been very few cases of him oppressing the people.

As a result, the Tianfeng Empire was well-regarded among its people. However, today it has been destroyed, and years of hard work have come to naught.

Song Jian certainly didn't want this to happen, but he had no way out. Just now, he had quickly weighed the pros and cons.

If he lets the people of Lingxiao Academy use the pills refined by Ye Bufan, there will only be one result.

The Tianfeng Empire royal family and Cangfeng Academy were completely powerless to resist, they were utterly defeated by the opponent, having all six of their allotted spots taken.

Though commoners may not notice, those in the court see it clearly.

Knowing that he, Prince An Shun, had been utterly defeated in his power struggle with the Empress Dowager, this would greatly weaken his authority and prestige. Consequently, his influence and ability to command would be significantly diminished going forward.

>That's why he could only choose the lesser of two evils, sacrificing his reputation among the people for the power he held in court. That's why he resorted to such tactics, breaking promises and acting hypocritically, just to stay afloat.

This was his thought, and some others understood it too, for example, Hua Zi Yue on the viewing platform, whose face now blossomed with an irrepressible smile.

For so many years, she had been on the losing end of her struggle against this Prince An Shun, constantly being oppressed and held down.

But today was vastly different. Song Jian was beaten back repeatedly, and even abandoned his own reputation among the people, something that had never happened before.

And all of this is thanks to that young man. His appearance completely disrupted An Shun Prince's composure, it seems I played the right move.

Zheng Sanbao had always been by the Empress Dowager's side, and was intimately familiar with the power struggles within the imperial court. Naturally, he wouldn't miss this opportunity to stir up trouble.

"Your Highness An Shun, I'm a bit confused. Just now, I heard you say with my own ears that using pills is also a manifestation of one's strength, and there is no rule on this platform prohibiting the use of pills to enhance cultivation."

How could the rules change so quickly Did this old slave misunderstand, or did the prince speak incorrectly, or is there another reason

Ye Bufan also followed suit with a teasing tone: "Indeed, Your Highness, as you said, I have just finished refining a batch of pills. This took a lot of my energy."

How could the rules change so quickly Could it be that they can't stand to see the Lingxiao Academy win

"He had refined a whole batch of pills in just fifteen minutes, it was simpler than eating and drinking. It didn't take any effort at all!"

Song Jian cursed inwardly, his anger burning but having nowhere to vent. Instead, he had to lower himself.

"That... just now was also this king's momentary oversight."

Think about it, if everyone relied on pills to enhance their cultivation, wouldn't victories come easily That would be incredibly unfair to those cultivators who have spent years diligently practicing.

I, as entrusted by the current emperor, will do my utmost to ensure this qualifying round is fair, just, and flawless.

Just now, Cangfeng Academy and Lingxiao Academy each used a pill once, neither gaining an advantage over the other. The only ones who suffered were the royal family of my Tianfeng Empire.

But as members of the royal family, serving the country and the people, it is only right that we make some sacrifices. I believe His Majesty and Her Imperial Dowager would be pleased to see this outcome.

Therefore, I hereby declare that from this moment forward, no one is permitted to use any pills on the platform. Any contestant found doing so will be immediately disqualified.

Ye Bufan secretly admired, this is indeed a super old fox, easily brushed off his own fickleness, and even put a halo on himself, thinking of the country, the people, and the emperor.

Most importantly, the two people involved were Emperor Xiao and Hua Zi Yue. These two individuals wanted to oppose it but couldn't even open their mouths.

It's clear that Song Jian is a master of political maneuvering, while the young emperor just sits on the platform playing with his nails. With only Hua Ziyue to rely on, she simply can't match this old fox.

Fortunately, I was the one competing today. I had an ace up my sleeve. No matter how many schemes and tricks they played—spying or cheating—the outcome remained unchanged in the end.

No matter what, Song Jian was the host of the day, controlling the rules of the entire qualifying tournament. In this situation, once he made a final decision, others couldn't say anything and could only sigh and grumble in private.

"Since everyone agrees, let's continue the competition. Now, the fourth round begins."

Song Jian is truly a seasoned politician. His face was thick as ever, as if nothing had happened before. He acted as if he hadn't broken his word at all.

He announced once more, "The first match will now begin. Representing the Tianfeng Imperial Court, we have Song Yin. From Cangfeng Academy, Fang Huayue. And from Lingxiao Academy, Jiang Fangzhou."

After the release of this list, many people's expressions changed.

That Song Yin wasn't anything special, just a mediocre Heavenly Immortal peak cultivator. But Fang Hua Yu was the strongest in Cangfeng Academy, already at the late stage of the Void Refinement Realm.

And on the side of Lingxiao Academy, Jiang Fangzhou was undoubtedly the weakest one. He had previously reported being in the early stage of Nascent Soul.

Although he defeated Weiwei, in the eyes of everyone, he still hadn't changed his image as a weakling.

Now, pairing the strongest fighter from Cangfeng Academy, Fang Huayin, against the weakest from Lingxiao Academy, Jiang Fangzhou, seems like a joke. Yet, it also reveals the anxiety within Song Jian right now.

His purpose in doing this was nothing more than to make sure, no matter what, that the Lingxiao Academy wouldn't win the third match.

Otherwise, winning half of the six matches would basically put them in an unbeatable position and completely drive the Cangfeng Academy to the brink.

In other words, as long as the Cangfeng Academy wins three games, even if they tie with the Lingxiao Academy, they'll still have a way to make them win.

After the list was announced, Jiang Fangzhou did not disappoint the crowd. He still put on an extremely nervous look and walked to the stage tremblingly.

Ye Bufan chuckled inwardly, thinking to himself, "This young brother is truly addicted to acting. If he were sent to Earth, he would definitely be able to win a little golden man."

The draw ended soon, and Lingxiao Academy continued its previous bad luck. Jiang Fangzhou went up and drew a red ball again.

And on the side of Cangfeng Academy, things were much better. Fang Huayu managed to snag a basketball, leaving the rest of the red balls with Emperor Song Yin.

Soon, the two stood face to face on the platform.

Jiang Fangzhou put on a pitiful look and whispered, "Big brother, can you be gentle when you start I was just brought here to make up the numbers." originally had a very peaceful temperament, but at this moment her eyes were filled with boundless killing intent."Alright then, I'll wait a little longer. If there's still no news in another hour, I...