Meanwhile, the spectators around, those Jianghu Guests and commoners who were just angry at Hong Chenxing’s performance, believing he was unworthy of being called a prodigy, were at this moment all shocked by what Emperor Wei had spoken—one hundred thousand Third Grade Heavenly Union Realm demon generals? If it had been before today, they wouldn’t have had a clear understanding, but now a Third Grade Realm lower rank demon general was right on the arena, its might, demon energy, and ferocity were clearly presented before everyone’s eyes. Just one demon general had such momentum; if there were a hundred thousand... Should a hundred thousand demon generals charge into Wei Dynasty territory, the people within the seventeen states would surely suffer. Seeing the surrounding silence, Emperor Wei cast his gaze on Xie Jing and others, lightly issued his decree, and then waved his hand to the nearby spectators. "Heroic Marquis, continue." "However, when the prodigies battle with demons henceforth, I do not wish to see anyone retreat again. Otherwise... hmph!" After speaking, Emperor Wei returned and sat back on his throne, his expression still stern and cold. Just having heard his decree, Xie Jing smiled wryly in his heart but also with a hint of joy. "What the Holy Emperor just said, I will surely remember, and after the grand event ends, I will personally lead people to the seventeen states to gradually implement matters concerning teaching staff in each local academy and Taoist sect." Emperor Wei suddenly sighed, waved his hand, and said, "Do what you can and leave the rest to fate. If we can accomplish it during my reign, it would be an unprecedented achievement for my Da Wei Dynasty. If not..." "I will bring my head before you!" Xie Jing knelt to the ground. Behind him, the six chief officials knelt together, "We are willing to join Prime Minister Xie!" "Enough," Emperor Wei glanced at them and snorted, "You stay in Kyoto Prefecture. I have my arrangements." "We obey," they answered. Though the Emperor’s decree from the boathouse seemed spontaneous, the scenes occurring before him were not long past. He clearly understood that if the current false peace in the Wei Dynasty continued, they wouldn’t need the Demon Court to act; in a few years, the Wei Dynasty would surely collapse and fall apart. Therefore, he resolved, despite the challenges, to begin reforms from himself. If he couldn’t complete them, his successors must continue, to enlighten the people of the Wei Dynasty, make everyone aware of the Demon Court’s threat, and ensure the Martial Arts culture continues within the Wei Dynasty. Only then did the surrounding Jianghu Guests, commoners, and aristocracy slowly calm their minds; most of them were seeing Emperor Wei for the first time, as well as witnessing this emperor’s wrath for the first time. But no one feared Emperor Wei, nor worried about personal implications. They only felt that Emperor Wei was right, and Heroic Marquis Chen Yi was correct—without the courage to face a demon general directly, how could one be called a "prodigy"? "After this grand event, our sects in Da Wei Dynasty should truly enhance the bloodiness of their disciples." "Indeed, in the first round, those prodigies’ hearts were seemingly devoted to the Martial Arts, believing they were brave and bold, but unexpectedly, when truly facing demons, their performances were so disappointing." "Old friend, you shouldn’t generalize. This is just the first prodigy to appear; later, there will be the Grand Void Sect, Kyoto Academy, and descendants of some elders. Most of them have traveled far and wide, experienced battles, and cannot be compared to those academics inside the academy." "Yes, let’s wait and see..." Hearing the discussions around him, Xie Dongan and others looked at each other, unable to suppress a bitter smile on their faces. After Hong Chenxing’s debacle, the win or loss of this event’s competitions had become unimportant. As long as they didn’t show cowardice enough to provoke the Holy Emperor and others’ wrath, they could preserve their own reputations. Otherwise, the hard-earned name of "prodigy" they had gathered would probably be notorious throughout the land after today and laughed at by all. The person most relieved at this moment was Jiang Ye, who looked sympathetically at Hong Chenxing in the opposite boat, knowing that the ridicule he previously faced due to the Thousand Mechanism Tower had been resolved. The next person to be renowned throughout the Jianghu in Wei Dynasty would undoubtedly be Hong Chenxing from Qinghe Academy. "Brother An, you must uphold the academy’s prodigy prestige; we’re counting on you." Hearing Jiang Ye’s sound transmission, Xie Dongan wryly shook his head, looking directly at Chen Yi, and replied, "I will do my best." Now, just one Third Grade Realm lower rank demon general displayed such power, he couldn’t even imagine how the First Grade Realm upper rank Demon King would perform. If it were a creature like those Ape Demons within the Southern Barbarian Secret Realm with such bloodline, Xie Dongan was unsure he could win. It was known that among demons, there were many with strong bloodlines, and awakening Bloodline Divine Ability was just one aspect; more terrifying was that they could cultivate Human Race techniques. Such as Sword Dao, Blade Dao, Staff Dao, Fist Dao, and so forth. If a First Grade Realm Demon King awakened innate Bloodline Divine Abilities while also cultivating techniques... all these enhancements would make them comparable to ordinary Master Realm Human Race cultivators. Such beings, even Xie Dongan had no assurance against, let alone others? At this moment, Chen Yi scanned the area and waved, "Next, Loose Cultivator Liu Lang, step forward!" A man in the crowd wearing green clothes, a longsword at his waist, walked out—it was none other than the direct disciple of the Sword Saint, Liu Lang. His demeanor was not as panicked as Hong Chenxing, calmly cupping his hands to Chen Yi, "Liu Lang greets Lord Heroic." Chen Yi looked at him calmly, "Your choice?" "I will start with this Leopard Demon," Liu Lang thought for a moment, his eyes falling on the Leopard Demon pressed on the arena, and said.