ETR | Chapter 68

A few years ago, if someone said they didn’t know Xiao Xueman, it would have been normal.

But now, if someone claims not to recognize Xiao Xueman or his face, they must be living under a rock.

Even if someone truly doesn’t care about worldly matters, seeing Qin Lou and everyone in the front row stand up should make them realize that the person in front of them is no ordinary person.

Zong Manluo, the president of the Alchemist Association, always had her eyes set high. When Qin Lou entered, she merely nodded as a gesture of courtesy.

But when Xiao Xueman came in, she went up to greet him directly.

“Your Excellency Xiao Xueman, long time no see.”

An alchemist will only bow to a stronger alchemist.

“Long time no see,” Xiao Xueman politely smiled at her, nodded, and then ignored Qin Lou’s outstretched hand, taking his seat.

He recognized many people sitting in the front row. Shen Guan was there too, representing the demon clan, also seated in the front row.

Of course, this wasn’t the occasion for catching up, so Xiao Xueman greeted everyone and naturally took his seat.

Yu Zhengrong had to have a short meeting with the Blue Sea Competition organizers before the event. The arena had been providing venues for the preliminaries and semifinals for a long time, making them long-term partners, practically half of the Blue Sea Competition’s organizers.

Therefore, Yu Zhengrong had the authority and qualification to invite Xiao Xueman as a judge.

Once Xiao Xueman was seated, the organizers arrived one by one to discuss the judging standards for this Blue Sea Competition.

However, the discussions about Xiao Xueman never ceased.

“Is that… the Wang Tian Empress?”

“He’s not the empress anymore,” someone sneered. “Didn’t you hear from the Wangtian Immortal Gate? They separated long ago, now they’re just friends.”

The emotional entanglements of the top sect were as intriguing as the secrets of the Spirit Realm Continent’s wealthy families.

It wasn’t appropriate to discuss it in front of others, so those sitting in the back row stopped and began discussing other topics, like Xiao Xueman’s combat prowess.

The incident with Feng Yiyan at the Mercenary Guild wasn't much of a secret anymore.

The reason the Blue Sea Competition had been successful for so many years was mainly due to its fairness. Xiao Xueman could sit in that position not because of the Wangtian Immortal Gate's influence but because he had the strength to match it.

Many were genuinely curious about the depth of his abilities.

Xiao Xueman had been a judge before, and the rules and format of the Blue Sea Competition hadn’t changed much, so he listened casually.

Qin Lou, however, listened intently. Of course, with Xiao Xueman sitting next to him, he couldn’t focus entirely and kept sneaking glances at him.

There wasn’t much to say about the empty words at the meeting. Yu Zhengrong began to announce some practical information about this year’s Blue Sea Competition.

“…This is the 200th Blue Sea Competition, and the number of participants has been generously expanded. The main purpose is to allow more talented young people to participate, showcase, and hone their skills.

The individual preliminaries are divided into eight groups, with a total of 8,459 young spirit cultivators and demon clan members participating, averaging over a thousand per group.

After the preliminaries, each group will select 200 to advance to the semifinals, and then 50 to enter the finals. The top ten in each group of the finals will receive rewards.

There are 2,600 slots for the doubles competition and 800 for the five-person team competition, with the same advancement mechanism as the individual competition.

The slots for the individual, doubles, and five-person competitions do not overlap. This year, the Alchemist Competition and Artifact Refiner Competition are also part of the Blue Sea Competition. If participants meet the criteria and have the energy, they can participate in all five competitions.

The competitions are interspersed, and with the participants’ personal schedules, they can avoid overlap. This Blue Sea season will be very long, estimated to last over a hundred days, so we hope everyone is prepared.”

Because it involved Xiao Wan, and Yu Zhengrong mentioned the special aspects of this year’s competition, Xiao Xueman listened attentively.

The slots had expanded by about 30%, making this year’s competition particularly fierce. Xiao Wan chose this year, and as a parent, Xiao Xueman wished him to win first place.

However, rationally speaking, Xiao Xueman hadn’t explored the current situation of the young participants, so he couldn’t guarantee Xiao Wan would definitely win first place.

Xiao Wan also realized this, so he only signed up for the individual and doubles competitions, not the alchemist competition. Although alchemy and fighting aren’t the same output path, one’s energy is limited, and participating in three competitions at the same time was indeed too much for him.

After Yu Zhengrong finished this long segment, he began assigning groups to the judges and explaining their responsibilities.

Qin Lou was the chief judge for the individual competition, the most exciting and watched event of the Blue Sea Competition, overseen by the sect master of the Wangtian Immortal Gate, leaving no doubt about his strength and status.

“Xiao Xueman, chief judge for the five-person team competition,” Yu Zhengrong continued, “and the organizers received a request from the Alchemist Association. After consulting both parties and considering comprehensively, Xiao Xueman will also serve as a judge for the Alchemist Competition, sharing the chief judge seat with President Zong Manluo.”

Upon hearing this, Zong Manluo rarely showed a very satisfied smile.

Xiao Xueman was aware of this, as he had agreed to it. He thought that since he would be busy anyway, he didn’t mind taking on more. He also wanted to see if the young people’s alchemy skills had improved.

The five-person team competition had the fewest slots, but because of the number of people, it was the most challenging to judge and the most troublesome.

Xiao Xueman hadn’t been responsible for the five-person team competition before, but he wanted to give it a try.

Xiao Wan had been working hard to improve, and Xiao Xueman, having achieved his goals, had been lazy. But after lying around for too long, he felt restless.

Moreover, with the recent incident involving Nan An, Xiao Xueman’s mood had settled after the initial days, but he still wanted to find something to distract himself.

The five-person team competition was challenging to judge, so besides Xiao Xueman as the chief judge, there needed to be a representative for each of the common five elements.

Shen Guan for fire, Yu Zhengrong for metal, and for water and earth, there was a beautiful woman from the Mercenary Guild named Bai Lengleng.

Despite her name, she wasn’t cold at all, always smiling gently and politely. She was clearly aware of what Xiao Xueman had done at the Mercenary Guild before, so she didn’t dare be disrespectful.

The earth element representative was from the demon clan, and Xiao Xueman knew him. He was the Great Earth Black Bear who had visited the Wangtian Immortal Gate before.

The bear had great talent, having recently broken through to the spirit god level, making him qualified to be a judge. However, he seemed a bit intimidated by Xiao Xueman.

Originally, Xiao Xueman, being of the wood element, wouldn’t need another wood element representative.

But since he was an unusual aggressive wood element, which was rare, the organizers agreed to his request and provided a normal wood element representative.

Zeng Jing, from the Wangtian Immortal Gate, was someone Xiao Xueman knew.

Although not part of the original Yin Ying group, he was an elder in the sect, always low-key, quiet, and diligent, making him an excellent wood element representative.

With the team complete, Xiao Xueman and the others had a full day of meetings, starting with introductions and then a brief look at this year's popular contestants.

Everything went smoothly, but after the meeting, when everyone was leaving, the Great Earth Black Bear named Luo Yan stopped Xiao Xueman, looking hesitant.

"What's up?" Xiao Xueman asked, "Just say it."

"Are you..." Luo Yan stammered, "not angry anymore?"

Xiao Xueman smiled and said, "About that previous incident? It was just about the former clan leader of the Fox Clan. Now that Shen Guan is here, it's long past. I've done what I needed to do, no need to take it out on you now."

Luo Yan sighed in relief.

He visibly relaxed, and his simple-minded nature took over.

"You have such a good temper!"

He smiled at Xiao Xueman, forgetting all about the incident where Xiao Xueman had easily defeated a spirit god level four, and just remembered that he wasn't blamed. Plus, Xiao Xueman's smile was so charming, it left him a bit dazed.

"Is it true what they say about you and the Dijun being separated?" Luo Yan bravely asked for confirmation.

Xiao Xueman was taken aback. Since his last talk with Qin Lou, he didn't mind discussing it with others.

"We haven't been together for over a hundred years," Xiao Xueman said truthfully. "To be precise, we never got married. We're just ordinary friends now."

He emphasized the words "ordinary friends" to make his point clear.

"That's great!" Luo Yan was overjoyed.

"Can I pursue you then?" he asked, gathering his courage. "I'll treat you really well! Whatever you want, you can have! Although I'm not as strong as you now, I'll work hard! It's already decided that I'll be the next clan leader of the Bear Clan, and we're very wealthy!"

Xiao Xueman had received expressions of affection from people other than Qin Lou before, quite a lot actually. He handled such situations with ease.

"I'm not considering that right now, and I won't be with you," he said, blinking, speaking directly. "And right now, you're a judge. Work is more important, and our relationship is just that."

"I understand!" Luo Yan seemed undeterred, even more confident. "I'll go back and study now. Although it's my first time as a judge, I won't let you down!"

With that, he left excitedly, while Xiao Xueman rubbed his ears, not taking the matter to heart.

That silly bear, why shout so loudly?

After Luo Yan left, Xiao Xueman also prepared to leave. He still needed to talk to Shen Guan. After turning a corner, he unexpectedly ran into Qin Lou.

Qin Lou didn't look happy.

He probably overheard Luo Yan's words just now.

When Xiao Xueman and Qin Lou were together, Qin Lou's jealousy was understandable, and Xiao Xueman would comfort him. But now, as ordinary friends, Qin Lou had no right to be jealous, and Xiao Xueman had no obligation to explain.

"Is there something you need?" Xiao Xueman asked him. "If not, please let me pass."

Qin Lou stepped aside, and as Xiao Xueman was leaving, he suddenly reached out and grabbed his sleeve.

He initially wanted to hold Xiao Xueman's hand but didn't dare, so he only managed to grab his sleeve.

"What's wrong?"

Xiao Xueman turned to look at him.

Qin Lou felt a pang of sadness, but when he opened his mouth, he couldn't say anything.

He was just an ordinary friend, perhaps not even as important as Shen Guan in Xiao Xueman's heart now. He had no reason to interfere, and he should be content with their current friendship, but he couldn't help feeling upset.

"...I'm sorry, Xueman," he said. "I don't have anything to say. You can go."

Qin Lou recalled the recent events on the Thirteenth Heaven, now feeling like a distant dream.