Creation of the Universe

The next morning, the annual palace refining trial was about to begin.

Those who are eligible to participate in the trial include princes and princesses of the royal palace, as well as children of powerful and noble families. They account for more than 80% of the participants.

Apart from these, there are only some talented young people in the society, but before they can participate in the formal refining test, they need to go through a round of selection before they can finally have a chance to qualify.

For the royal family, the trial is naturally a privilege of the upper nobility. It is open to a few ordinary people to participate only to demonstrate the fairness and magnanimity of the rulers.

Although only in name.

A total of twenty-three participants in the trial gathered in front of the Jinning Palace, and at this moment they were listening to the speech of the Jinning King.

Shen Zhan turned a deaf ear to all this nonsense. His eyes were fixed on the queen from the beginning. He needed to wait for a suitable opportunity to avenge Shen Yunli.

"...As the king has said, this opportunity is invaluable, and you are all young and promising pillars of society. You should give your all and strive to be the best, hoping to represent Jinning in the Trial Conference and compete with representatives from other vassal states..."

Although King Jinning's words sound so nice, in fact, the contestants present today know it very well in their hearts.

In the end, the Jinning Palace will still find ways to protect the prince Shen Jingming all the way and let him win the championship successfully, and they will just act as a foil.

In fact, this is not a secret. You can get a glimpse of the clue just by looking at the candidates chosen by the Jinning Palace to participate in the trial this time.

The participants from the palace, in addition to Shen Jingming, include his sister Shen Jingjuan, the sixth princess Shen Yujin, and Shen Zhan, who is generally regarded as a waste.

As for the other princes and princesses, none of them appeared here, which means that they all knew very well that no matter what happened, King Jinning would protect Crown Prince Shen Jingming. Since it was impossible for them to win the championship, they naturally chose not to participate.

At this time, King Jinning finally finished speaking, and everyone was about to set off for the Shenmu Cliff of Cangyun Mountain, where the trial would be held.

Prince Jinning clasped his hands behind his back and returned to his residence, muttering, "I had hoped that Princess Wuwei would excel in this trial and achieve a breakthrough in her cultivation. Who knew she would fall ill at this critical moment? What a disappointment!"

Prince Shen Jingming said at the side: "Ninth sister has been weak since she was young. Although she has obtained the ninth level of the Dao, it will not be possible to complete the breakthrough overnight. Please do not worry, father."

In front of the palace, the crowd gradually dispersed. The queen stood in place, her eyes passing through the intertwining figures and falling on Shen Zhan in the distance.

Shen Zhan also felt something and walked towards the malicious gaze.

The queen was unhappy with Shen Zhan's reaction. This boy actually dared to look at her so directly, as if he was deliberately provoking her.

At the same time, she thought about the rouge pastry that she tricked Shen Yunli into bringing back last night, but Shen Zhan didn't fall for it. It was a pity.

In her original plan, Shen Zhan and Shen Yunli would become paralyzed and temporarily lose their spiritual power after eating the tampered rouge pastry. If all this happened after arriving at Cangyun Mountain, then Shen Jingming could easily get rid of these two troublesome people without any effort.

Especially this Shen Yunli. Ever since the day she shockingly obtained the ninth-level Dao rules, the queen has been planning to kill her.

It was just that due to the influence of Prince Jinning, it was not convenient to take action in the palace, and this trial was a perfect opportunity. Unfortunately, the subsequent developments did not go completely according to the Queen's plan.

"Shen Zhan, your death is approaching. After leaving the palace this time, I don't want to see you again."

The corners of the queen's lips curled up slightly, and she turned around and prepared to leave.

At this moment, a small insect with blue sparks flew out from Shen Zhan's palm and suddenly flew towards the queen quickly.

The queen, who was completely unaware of this, felt like something had entered her nostrils, and then she couldn't help sneezing, but she didn't take any notice.

After Shen Zhan confirmed that the blood-winged insect had drilled into the queen's body, he smiled with satisfaction and soon disappeared into the crowd.

All those who participate in the trial must go to Cangyun Mountain on their own, and there is actually only one thing they have to do, which is to climb up the Shenmu Cliff before sunrise tomorrow, pick the wind spirit flowers growing there and bring them back to the Jinning Palace, so that they can become the final winner.

When Shen Zhan rode his horse through the city gate, the Prime Minister was sitting in a carriage, watching those who participated in the trial leave the city.

It seemed that the Prime Minister was there just by chance, but Shen Zhan knew that he was waiting for him intentionally.

He was about to step forward to speak when the Prime Minister spoke first, "Please be careful, Prince Hachiko. Don't force yourself. I can't be of much help, but I just wanted to give this to you."

As he spoke, the Prime Minister handed over a wooden box through the carriage curtain.

After Shen Zhan took it, he felt that the wooden box was lighter than he had imagined, but it was more than seven feet long. It was not difficult for him to imagine that there should be a sword stored in the box.

A sharp long sword.

"Your Excellency, this is a generous gift."

Shen Zhan was not sure whether he should accept it. Although the Prime Minister had helped him many times, he should not accept it without doing anything.

Unexpectedly, the Prime Minister said with a more profound tone, "Young Master, don't overthink it. I am simply returning the item to its original owner. I hope that taking it with me will be of assistance to you."

After saying this, the Prime Minister lowered the curtains of the carriage and ordered the driver to spur the horse forward and drive off into the distance.

He spoke a few words in a hurry, and it was obvious that there was still a lot to say, which made Shen Zhan confused.

Especially since the Prime Minister said that the sword was returned to its original owner, doesn't that imply that the sword in the box was originally his?

No, the original body was useless before, not even able to kill a chicken, so how could he have such a sword?

That is to say, the sword does not belong to Shen Zhan, but should belong to one of his closest relatives. Only this can explain the words of the Prime Minister.

"Shen Zhan, I didn't expect you to be so fearless that you would be stupid enough to participate in this trial."

"It seems I still don't understand enough about your stupidity."

At this time, a group of people came to Shen Zhan in a mighty manner, led by the prince Shen Jingming.

As expected, he was still surrounded by a large group of people. It was not difficult to imagine how much advantage he had in the fight for the Wind Spirit Flower.

"Shen Jingming, you've been the best for the past three years. Others may not know the truth, but I know it very well. Isn't it time for you to stop?"

"What did you say? Just a mere first-order Dao principle makes you so bold as to speak to me like that?"

Shen Jingming said angrily.