Chapter 45: Chapter 42: A Sword Brings the Snowfall
At the edge of the cliff, aside from Li Hao and their group, there were many others who lingered, glancing around from time to time.
Clearly, a fall from the cliff would mean certain death, such a peril made many people hesitate.
And on the iron chains, at this moment, there were seven or eight figures, each displaying their divine skills, cautiously moving forward.
Some were composed, walking on the iron chains. The swaying chains were like ocean waves, but they didn’t seem to affect them in the slightest, as their feet stuck firmly as if glued.
Others had their arms spread wide, struggling to maintain balance, slowly and tentatively walking.
There were also those who chose a less graceful but extremely stable method, which was to hug the chain and inch along…
If it were merely a matter of crawling over the chains, nearly everyone present could do it, but without a doubt, this challenge was a test of courage.
Who wouldn’t tremble with fear in the face of such a great height?
“If you lack even this much courage, how do you dare face demons?”
Among the seven who had just passed the test, a young man dressed in fancy clothes had a cold expression. He took the lead and leapt up, landing steadily on the chain.
Clearly, he chose an elegant approach, simply walking across, and moreover, he even had his hands clasped behind his back, exuding a calm and composed air.
This young man’s actions immediately caught the attention of many bystanders, all surprised, and soon some recognized his identity.
“Sleeves edged with cloud patterns, he’s from the Su Family of Yunzhou!”
“The Su Family? I’ve heard they are one of the three great noble families in Yunzhou, with profound heritage.”
“No wonder this lad is so bold; the borders of Yunzhou are rife with demon occurrences, he must have practiced his bravery long ago.”
Many people talked among themselves, and those who were hesitating showed struggle in their eyes.
“Hao, let’s go too.”
Seeing someone go ahead, Li Yuanzhao was slightly uncomfortable and spoke to Li Hao.
Li Hao was looking around at the edge of the cliff, but he didn’t see anyone from Tan Palace Academy, which made him feel a bit puzzled.
Logically, Tan Palace Academy should have sent someone to meet them here; otherwise, what was the point of sending the invitation?
“All right.”
Unable to wait for someone, Li Hao could only agree to Li Yuanzhao.
“Hmph, there’s no way to cheat in this challenge.”
Si Xiaolan sneered at Li Hao; clearly, she was quite infuriated that Li Hao had used his background to skate through the first challenge, feeling it was unfair.
“Is that so?”
Li Hao looked at the girl in surprise, wondering if she dared to mock him without knowing his family’s status. But he didn’t demean himself by quarreling with her.
“How does that saying go?”
Li Hao thought for a moment and responded to her: “Little sister, when you’re out in the world, it’s not just fists or having someone behind you that counts.”
“Hm?”
Si Xiaolan frowned, that sounded very similar to what she had said earlier?
“Because having someone behind you isn’t enough; you also need someone before you!”
Li Hao chuckled lightly at the young girl, then lifted his head, his eyes revealing a transcendent indifference, and spoke softly:
“Little brother, come!”
“Hao, you want me to carry you?”
Li Yuanzhao understood well. He had heard from the elders at home that Li Hao had poor aptitude and could only practice body refinement. He had also never seen Hao practice, so he had anticipated this method and would never let Hao face embarrassment.
Li Hao smiled faintly and patted his shoulder.
Li Yuanzhao got the hint and bent over obligingly.
Li Hao didn’t hesitate and jumped onto his back, then waved at the girl beside him, who was staring in astonishment:
“See you on the other side.”
No sooner had the words fallen than Li Yuanzhao, unable to wait any longer, dashed forward, leaping tens of meters and landing directly on the chain.
The chain shook violently, but Li Yuanzhao, with Li Hao on his back, moved with the swaying, his feet sticking to the chain as if glued.
Without waiting for the chain to stabilize completely, Li Yuanzhao then ran at full speed as if on solid ground.
With his Cycle Heaven Realm Perfection, and years of practice of cultivation techniques and stance foundations in the martial arts field, this challenge was a piece of cake for him.
Upon seeing the figure dashing swiftly on the chain, everyone on the bank, aside from Si Xiaolan, widened their eyes in disbelief. They had seen show-offs before, but nothing this fierce. It was as if he was on land, right?
Besides, they might not even run that fast on solid ground!
Moreover, he was carrying someone!
Once they recognized the clothes of the two men, someone with sharp eyes identified them as from Qingzhou’s premier family, and realization dawned. Still, they couldn’t help but feel a bit of shock, for they say seeing is believing, and today’s encounter exceeded all rumors.
Before long, the elegantly dressed young man who had gone onto the chains first was overtaken by the swiftly running Li Yuanzhao.
The latter, walking leisurely with his hands behind his back, was unperturbed until a gust of wind whooshed by his side, and only then did his face show a hint of surprise…
Soon, Li Yuanzhao reached the other side.
The chain a thousand zhang long, spanning the horizon, threading through the mist between the mountains.
The figure of Li Yuanzhao running had dispersed much of the mist, and upon reaching the other side, his landing immediately drew the attention of many nearby.
Li Hao patted his shoulder, jumped off his back, and looked around.
Clearly, they were not the earliest to arrive. There were quite a few people who had passed the earlier stages lingering here.
And in front of these “candidates” were the disciples of Tan Palace Academy, dressed in the academy’s uniform. They were all seventeen or eighteen years old, wearing black and white attire that gave off an elegant and ethereal feel.
Of course, this look was flattering on the attractive ones, whereas on those with sturdier builds or less remarkable features, it became a bit of an eyesore…
“Who is that person? He’s so impressive!”
“He ran here? With someone on his back?”
“One dares to carry, and one dares to be carried!”
“Shush, be careful, they seem to be from the Divine General Mansion of the Li Family…”
Dozens of bystanders discussed animatedly.
Li Yuanzhao stepped forward and approached a young man from Tan Palace Academy, asking, “Is there a challenge here?”
“Correct, this is the last one.”
The young man clearly recognized Li Yuanzhao’s identity, since after having studied in Qingzhou City for several years and being not far from the Divine General Mansion, it would be hard not to know him.
“To pass this challenge, you need to last a round against us.”
If the first challenge was to test one’s foundational skills, and the second was to test martial courage, then the third challenge seemed to be a bit of showing the newcomers who’s boss.
Upon hearing this, Li Yuanzhao’s eyes instantly sparked with a fighting spirit eager to try: “Please enlighten me!”
He said this, then gave a fist salute as a military courtesy, and then he backpedaled a few steps, assuming a fighting stance.
“You may select a weapon,” the young man reminded with a smile.
“It’s just one round, not necessary,” Li Yuanzhao said.
The young man’s eyes flashed slightly, feeling a bit slighted, but remembering that the people of the Li Family were said to be geniuses, he didn’t take it too seriously and was somewhat curious to test the waters.
Immediately, he too abandoned using a sword, raised his fist, and advanced with body-rolling punches.
The force of his punches created wind, ferocious like a tiger pouncing and a wolf biting.
Li Yuanzhao, however, moved with a twist of his footwork, as slick as an eel slipping into a hole, moving fluidly before suddenly whipping around to smash out with a punch in return.
With a loud thud, their fists collided, and the young man actually stumbled back three steps, while Li Yuanzhao merely rooted his stance and remained steady on the spot.
The young man’s face showed shock; although he hadn’t used his full strength, that punch had the power of ten thousand pounds!
Equivalent to a practitioner of around the third layer of the Zhou Tian Realm!
This was well beyond the standard for an entrance test, after all—the minimum requirement being the perfection of the Power Passage Realm.
Did he almost lose face by a misstep?
“At least it’s the strength of the fifth or even as high as the eighth layer of the Zhou Tian Realm, or maybe the Cultivation of a top-tier Qi Circulation Skill, or a Meridian Opening Skill!”
Seriousness appeared in the young man’s eyes. Indeed, the rumors were not false; the scions of the Li Family were like demons, stacked with countless resources, far surpassing their peers.
Other people, seeing the young man falling into a disadvantage with a single punch, were all astonished, looking at Li Yuanzhao as if he were a monster. Is this the prodigy from the Divine General Mansion?
At this moment, the chains rattled, and several figures leaped up and landed, notably the youths from the Su Family of Yunzhou and Si Xiaolan among others.
Other students from Tan Palace Academy immediately relayed the rules to the newcomers, and upon hearing the requirements, their expressions grew somewhat solemn.
After all, to have qualified for Tan Palace Academy, they must meet the threshold of genius, but their opponents had endured several years of hard training, making this move not easy to counter.
Si Xiaolan’s mind raced as she glanced at Li Hao next to her, and seeing that he was still present, a trace of annoyance inevitably shone in her eyes. She knew that he had an invitation, and he would most likely bypass this challenge.
Compared to those of them who struggled through various dangers to pass the challenges, his path was practically a walkover, such was the disparity of their origins.
“It’s your turn,” said a tall and burly young man beside Li Hao.
Li Hao smiled lightly, and under Si Xiaolan’s “as expected” expression, he took out his invitation: “I have an invitation.”
He had no intention of wasting energy here, like Li Yuanzhao, bullying others.
“An invitation?”
All eyes turned with a mix of surprise and envy.
The tall and burly young man was briefly stunned, having heard some rumors already. He frowned slightly, examined the invitation for a moment, and then returned it to Li Hao:
“Although you have an invitation, you still need to undergo basic testing; I can ease up a bit.”
Li Hao was taken aback.
The young man who had tested Li Yuanzhao, along with the other Tan Palace Academy students in charge of testing, all secretly facepalmed. Oh no, that stubborn streak had struck again.
“Come on.” The burly young man’s body surged with flowing Qi, ready to strike at any time.
Li Hao couldn’t help but ask, “Do you know what an invitation means?”
“I said I’d hold back. You at least need to show something, or others might think our Tan Palace Academy caters to the powerful and grants easy access through the back door,” the burly young man stated seriously, his earnest gaze fixed.
Li Hao fell silent.
It’s said that there are a thousand different types of people, and evidently, this burly young man belonged to the more straight-laced, stubborn sort.
“Pfft…” Si Xiaolan couldn’t help but laugh out loud, her bright eyes delighting in Schadenfreude as she watched Li Hao.
She had thought he was going to slip through easily, but now he met a unique individual. She even began to think that the burly young man’s rough exterior was looking rather dashing.
“You can use any weapon you like.”
The burly young man spoke earnestly, pointing to the nearby weapon rack.
Li Hao felt somewhat helpless, but he wasn’t angry with the earnest young man; after all, being thorough wasn’t a fault.
He approached the weapon rack, selected a sword, and came back to face the burly young man.
“Using a sword?” The burly young man’s gaze shifted slightly and he nodded, “Then you make the first move.”
He also drew the sword from his back, his eyes revealing the seriousness of a swordsman.
“You go first,” Li Hao said.
“If I strike first, you might not get a chance,” said the burly young man word by word.
“…Fine.”
Li Hao exhaled, and with a casual flick, he flourished his sword.
Swordsmanship… Falling Snow.
“Huh?” Si Xiaolan suddenly felt as if snowflakes were drifting in front of her eyes, sensing a chill frost attacking her body, prompting her to look up:
“It’s autumn, why is it snowing?”