Chapter 46: Chapter 43: ABCD
Is it snowing?
No.
But before the eyes of everyone, it seemed as if snowflakes had suddenly begun to float down.
These snowflakes were found within the area where Li Hao stood, within three feet of the sword’s edge.
Each flake carried the chill of piercing cold, a reflection of sword light, much like the name of the swordsmanship itself, Falling Snow.
The level was—true form…
In front of Li Hao, the burly youth’s pupils contracted rapidly, standing still in shock.
In his view, the countless snowflakes were like a storm sweeping through, tumultuous, yet that storm was grasped in the palm of the young man, as if holding the Power of Heaven and Earth!
The biting cold did not sweep over him, only… from within the storm, a flurry of snowflakes gently began to fly out, drifting across his own cheek.
Cool.
The burly youth subconsciously reached out to touch it, feeling a sense of pain, but saw no blood.
His gaze solidified, his body taut where he stood, gripping the sword like a brave swordsman, but his arm trembled without any further action.
Soon, as if in the blink of an eye, the snowflakes that filled the sky like an illusion disappeared.
Li Hao casually tossed the sword back onto the weapon rack, sliding diagonally into the sheath, and with the clang of the hilt closing, like ice breaking, the burly youth snapped out of his trance, his body jolting, and the rest of the people also woke up from their shock.
Just now, everyone seemed to have fallen into a dream.
But was it really a dream?
The scene became eerily quiet.
Not until Li Hao’s smiling voice broke the silence, asking, “Now, can I be said to have passed the test?”
The burly youth came back to his senses and stuttered, “You, you’ve won.”
There was no exchange of blows, as they were not evenly matched, and he didn’t even have the courage to draw his sword, losing thoroughly.
The other students of Tan Palace Academy were watching Li Hao in horror, having thought that Li Yuanzhao was already valiant and peerless, never expecting there to be someone even more exaggerated.
What sort of swordsmanship was that?
It was surely of a peerless level, even displayed at the pinnacle of perfection!
No wonder they thought so; although the Falling Snow Sword Skill was of high grade, under the might of its true form, even a peerless and perfect swordsmanship would seem a bit inferior…
“What exquisite swordsmanship!”
“My God, it was like seeing an illusion, I actually saw snowflakes!”
“Me too, that’s too exaggerated!”
“Swordsmanship from Divine General Mansion has to be top-notch, he couldn’t possibly have practiced it to perfection, right? How long would that take?!”
As the crowd came back to their senses, they all looked at Li Hao with shock.
Having long heard of the reputation of Divine General Mansion, today they truly had their eyes opened.
Si Xiaolan stared blankly at Li Hao, with such masterful swordsmanship, there was no doubt that Li Hao had qualified to pass the first two challenges on his own merits.
Was this the caliber of his peers in the Divine General family? Were they all truly such supernatural beings?!
“Hao brother!”
Li Yuanzhao next to him was even more excited, not expecting Li Hao’s swordsmanship to be so profound. His vision was naturally higher than those of the other noble family descendants, recognizing this as the Falling Snow Sword Skill performed by Sister Xue’er.
But the level at which Li Hao displayed it clearly surpassed that of Sister Xue’er from those days; he even felt it surpassed perfection.
Li Hao smiled at the excited Yuan Zhao, not saying much.
His heart held a trace of nostalgia, wondering what level that little girl in the Sword Cottage had reached with this sword skill.
Recalling the days of instructing her in the courtyard, his lips curved into a slight smile, but soon he gathered his wits and asked the burly youth in front of him:
“So… which way next?”
“Ah? Oh… just walk straight this way, there’s a teacher waiting for you all up ahead.”
The burly youth hurriedly replied, his eyes betraying involuntary admiration.
The starting point of royal and noble families truly was incomparable to ordinary people.
Li Hao nodded and led Li Yuanzhao past the burly youth, casually walking up the path’s steps.
Behind them, people watched their silhouettes disappear before snapping back to reality.
At that moment, someone suddenly thought of a question:
“Why do they have invitations? Could it be because their strength meant they didn’t need to be assessed at all?”
As this remark emerged, the others came to a realization, immediately falling silent.
They had assumed it was due to the illustrious background of the Divine General Mansion and felt somewhat resentful, but now they let it go.
Si Xiaolan’s pretty face changed slightly, biting her lip, realizing she had misunderstood the other party.
Tan Palace Academy had stood for hundreds of years; how could it be a place that sought cheap fame, stooping to curry favor with the powerful?
Inside the mountain of Tan Palace Academy, on a vast stone tablet plaza.
There were many young figures gathered here, all gazing intently at the tablets in the plaza, contemplating the Cultivation Techniques inscribed upon them.
On the edge of the plaza, however, sat two old men in a corner, with a chessboard set up between them, engaged in a game.
“Aiya!”
Suddenly, one of the old men, lost in thought and rotund in figure, seemed to have a sudden realization and slapped his thigh vigorously, “I almost forgot, there are still two invitations I haven’t gone to escort.”
“You mean from the Divine General Mansion?”
The gray-robed old man opposite him looked up, puzzled, “It shouldn’t be a big deal, right? The young ones from the Divine General Mansion can easily pass the test. Even if you don’t escort them, they’ll be able to make it here.”
“If it were anyone else, that’d be fine, but have you forgotten? That child of Marquis Xingwu is a cultivation dud, only capable of Body Refinement. It caused quite a stir about ten years ago, and now it has quieted down.”
The rotund old man hurriedly got up, saying, “If he falls during the second trial and dies, then we’d be in big trouble!”
“That…” The gray-robed old man was startled as well, after all, that was the only son of Marquis Xingwu. He quickly said, “Then you’d better hurry.”
The rotund old man nodded and immediately blew a whistle. A gust of wind sounded, and a large bird with a wingspan of seven or eight zhang rushed from afar, drawing the attention of many young figures in front of the stone tablets. The bird slowly descended in front of the old man.
“I’ll wait for you…” said the gray-robed old man.
As he watched his friend ride away on the bird, his mood for chess disrupted, he couldn’t help but grumble, “Had I known this would happen, wouldn’t it have been better to send out five invitations in the beginning instead of having an extra trinket?”
As he spoke, he looked down at the chessboard.
Suddenly, the more he looked, the more something seemed wrong, and he cursed out loud, “You son of a turtle, running away when you’re about to lose!”
The rotund old man was Shen Yunqing, indeed not light at all; he rode the demon bird, hurrying toward the second trial.
Apart from escaping the game of chess, he was genuinely worried about the situation at the second trial, hoping that the old man Tang there knew of the child’s circumstances and would help him across the cliff.
Suddenly, his gaze shifted, and he saw on the mountain path below, two figures walking side by side, clothed in brocade and emitting a distinguished aura.
And that dress and pattern, he was all too familiar with—it was from the Li Family of the Divine General Mansion!
“Hmm?”
Shen Yunqing was astonished and immediately commanded his mount to descend.
Bird cries and fierce winds descended from above; Li Hao and Li Yuanzhao both stopped in their tracks and looked up, only to see a massive demon bird with three eyes landing a few zhang off the ground, right in front of them.
Sitting behind the bird’s neck was a short old man, stretching his neck to look at them, seemingly finding something that confirmed their identities, and immediately, a smile appeared on his face. He jolted off the bird’s back with a leap.
He waved his hand, letting the demon bird fly off on its own, then cheerfully addressed the two, “You two must be the young masters from the Divine General Mansion, right? I’m not sure which branch’s young masters you are. What are your names?”
Seeing how polite the other party was, Li Hao and Li Yuanzhao were not overly surprised; after all, their lineage was too illustrious, and ordinary people would be very polite and considerate upon meeting them, even prominent figures.
“This is my brother, Li Hao, and my name is Li Yuanzhao.”
Li Yuanzhao spoke, with a touch of naive zest, but his small eyes revealed a hint of shrewdness.
Shen Yunqing instantly glanced at Li Hao, and a long-absent memory resurfaced in his mind—the child who had been named by Emperor Yu for the Li Family about ten or so years ago, seemingly Hao… Li Hao.
It was him.
Shen Yunqing’s face betrayed no change, and he nodded slightly to them both, smiling, “They haven’t made things difficult for you, have they? Come on, I will take you to the gathering spot ahead.”
He assumed they had come all this way unobstructed by showing their invitations.
Li Hao and Li Yuanzhao were unfamiliar with this old man, so they didn’t speak much along the way.
The three of them walked leisurely; Li Hao’s gaze swept around, admiring the scenery between the mountains, and thought to himself that the environment of Tan Palace Academy was indeed pleasing. If he were to stay here regularly in the future, at least the view would be comforting and refreshing.
Soon, the three reached the end of the plaza.
Here were gathered hundreds of people, surrounding three giant stone tablets.
“What is this…” Li Yuanzhao looked questioningly at Shen Yunqing. Among those gathered, he also saw Li Yun and his sister, who had arrived at the mountain earlier; both were among the group of people surrounding the least crowded stone tablet.
“Those who made it here qualify for entry to Tan Palace Academy and are considered official disciples.”
Shen Yunqing stroked his beard and explained with a smile, “But, while all are disciples, there are varying degrees of talent. Our Tan Palace Academy divides disciples into Grade A, B, C, and D, based on each individual’s talent, to prevent mixing of the mediocre with the exceptional, and to avoid the less talented dragging down the more talented, or the more talented bullying the less talented.”
“So, we have these three stone tablets here, inscribed with three different Cultivation Techniques, ranked as low-grade, mid-grade, and high-grade!”
“They each have different levels of difficulty.”
“Within three days, those who comprehend the high-grade Cultivation Technique will be classified as Grade A; those who comprehend the mid-grade Technique, Grade B.”
“Those who comprehend the low-grade Technique within three days will be Grade C, and those who don’t comprehend any Technique within three days will be sorted into Grade D.”
Shen Yunqing said with a smile, “If you end up in Grade D, there will be a reassessment for the last three ranking students each term. Should they fail the reassessment, they will be advised to leave and discontinue their studies.”
Li Yuanzhao listened with sudden understanding.
Li Hao asked, “And what if one doesn’t heed the advice?”
The smiling Shen Yunqing was taken aback at the question, “Advised to leave but refusing to quit?”