66: Slap in the face

Upon hearing this, Wang Lan immediately understood what her husband wanted to say and hurriedly tried to pull his hand down, but it was too late; he had already raised his hand high, once again drawing the attention of everyone present.

"I know the only kid surnamed Zhang in their team. He has already been expelled from our Jinyun City Family. They have been struck from the ancestral records and have absolutely no qualifications to participate in this Secret Realm!"

This outburst immediately piqued the interest of even more onlookers, who stretched their necks to watch and whispered among themselves from time to time.

"They actually dare to stir up trouble; they really have some nerve. If that had happened to me just now, I would have been too embarrassed to even open my mouth."

"Hahahaha! The Jinyun City Family, I have indeed heard of their name. They seem to be the ones who raise Spirit Beasts."

"Anyone who can say something like that probably has their brain clogged from eating too much Spirit Beast feed. Just a moment ago, they were brazenly accusing others of cheating, and now they are jumping out to say others aren't qualified."

"Hahaha, it would be great if they were qualified. I really want to see them make a fool of themselves now!"

...

The crowd discussed it fervently, while Wang Lan, the only one who knew the truth, was pale as a sheet. Zhang Hai's parents had already re-established themselves in Tianxuan City. Her husband clearly knew about this, yet he had spoken without thinking, blurting out that the other party wasn't qualified.

Given how large their business had grown, it would definitely attract the attention of the Yizhang Dynasty, so obtaining a quota wouldn't be difficult at all.

Luo Hong looked at Zhang Linfeng behind him in disbelief, a look of anger suddenly appearing on his face. They had already embarrassed themselves enough; this guy actually dared to speak up and attract more attention.

Is this Family crazy or something?

He regretted it now, deeply regretted it!

Why was he so blinded by lust back then to get involved with an idiot like Zhang Lanlan? Only now did he realize that this entire Family was full of idiots.

Upon hearing this, the staff member in charge of verification frowned and turned their gaze toward the group.

"Please present your Wristband so I can check the registration information."

Zhang Hai nodded and handed over his Wristband. After checking it, the staff member wore a sneer of disdain on their face.

"It has been verified. They are not from the Jinyun City Family; they are from the Tianxuan City Zhang Family Farm."

The staff member's words once again triggered a burst of uproarious laughter.

"Hahahaha! I'm dying of laughter, folks. This is the funniest joke I've heard all year. They kept targeting them, but it turns out they were completely legal and compliant!"

"I have truly never seen anything so embarrassing. If I were their Family, I would have already snuck away in shame."

"Let me think about how many shameful things they've done today. First, they got the lowest score in the arena. Second, they accused others of cheating. Third, they claimed others weren't qualified to compete. Pfft..."

"How can people cause such a huge mess? Isn't embarrassing themselves once enough? I wanted to laugh when I heard their Family's score earlier, but now I absolutely can't hold it in!"

...

The clamor of the crowd made Zhang Lanlan's face flush red.

She looked just like a cooked pig's head right now.

Luo Hong was so angry that his vision went black. The other servants accompanying the Luo Family hurriedly caught their Young Master and carried him away to rest.

He really couldn't take it anymore. If he had known, no matter how much Zhang Lanlan begged, he wouldn't have come to muddy these waters.

Now, not only was a certain part of him throbbing with pain, but he had also completely lost face, and even the reputation of the Luo Family would suffer because of this.

"Holy shit!"

An exclamation from the verification staff echoed throughout the arena. The crowd immediately fell silent, fixing their eyes on him.

"This, this, this... holy shit! Am I seeing things?"

Seeing his expression, the other staff members crowded around, each of them also letting out exclamations of "Holy shit!"

The confused onlookers instantly became interested.

"Could it be that something else interesting is happening?"

"Maybe their Family refreshed the lowest score record."

"Hahahaha, you don't say—actually, you might be right! It's really possible, after all, they came from the Jinyun City Family, and were even expelled!"

...

The arena was in an uproar once again.

However, the voices of the crowd were filled with heavy sarcasm and mockery. Li Haotian and the others didn't care; they only hoped that when the results were announced in a moment, it wouldn't drop these people's jaws to the floor.

"Tianxuan City Zhang Family Farm: 230,000 First-Grade crystal cores! 150,000 Second-Grade crystal cores! 70,000 Third-Grade crystal cores!"

As the staff member shouted their results, the entire arena fell into a deathly silence. The onlookers who had just been mocking them now clamped their mouths shut.

They even suspected that something was wrong with their ears.

No wonder the staff member had let out such astonished exclamations earlier—and repeatedly at that.

Even Zhang Lanlan and her group, who were waiting to see them make a fool of themselves, froze in place. Once they reacted, they immediately covered their faces and slunk away.

They were terrified of staying here any longer and being ridiculed by the crowd.

Zhang Hai stood at the very front of the team, beaming with energy, puffing out his chest, and wearing a proud expression on his face.

"The pork from our Tianxuan City Zhang Family Farm is very fresh. The Jinyun City Family was merely our former homeland; after leaving there, we will only develop even better."

Although powerful Cultivators didn't eat much, they still had some Mortal attendants at home, and these people needed to eat.

Therefore, large Families generally had a massive demand for food.

Li Haotian looked at the kid with satisfaction. He had really grown up now; he knew how to advertise wherever he went.

Zhang Hai's Family had re-established a new Zhang Family with no reputation, but now, just this one Secret Realm trip had spread their name far and wide.

After the results were announced, a slender figure wearing a bamboo hat on the Imperial City wall was suddenly startled. She hurriedly lifted the veil of her hat and quietly glanced down.

She then slowly sat back in her seat, but her heart was surging with turbulent waves.

This score had crushed everyone else present. Even the second place was completely overwhelmed compared to them; in fact, the second and third places combined didn't even match their score.

"The top 1,000 in this competition will receive titles. The list is expected to be posted on the imperial notice board outside the Imperial City in two hours. Everyone is dismissed."

After the Examiner in charge finished announcing this, a flattering smile immediately appeared on his face. He rubbed his hands together and approached the group.

"Your results are truly astonishing. Please, come with me into the palace."

The Examiner bowed slightly, respectfully welcoming them as they entered the vermilion gate together.

None of them offered any resistance. Amidst the envious gazes of the others, they walked step by step toward the imperial palace—this was an honor that belonged solely to them.