Chapter 127: The Freshmen’s Competition
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
Zhang Ruochen never worried about the war between Yunwu Commandery and Square Commandery, as they had been fighting for years. Yunwu Commandery would have been annexed if it was too weak.
His only concern now was his mother, Concubine Lin.
The Queen would never let Concubine Lin get off easy.
“If I become the internal student of the School of the Martial Market, I can bring my family here and receive protection from the School. I have to accomplish it as soon as possible!” Zhang Ruochen was determined to become the internal disciple of the School as fast as he could.
Zi Qian was about to leave. When she opened the door, she saw Huang Yanchen and Duanmu Xingling walking inside.
It seemed that Huang Yanchen was in good mood and was smiling. On seeing Zi Qian, however, her smile disappeared immediately.
She took out her combat sword, made a loud and swift sound. In the splendid light of her sword, she shouted in a low voice, “Zhang Ruochen, you perverted thief! How dare you shame the reputation of Dragon Martial Temple again and again! I must kill you today!”
“Whew!”
Whirlwinds formed around Huang Yanchen’s body which allowed her to leave the ground with both feet. She slashed, and cleft a Sword Breath more than 10 meters long.
Zhang Ruochen was slightly astonished. He grabbed Zi Qian’s shoulder and, in a second, displayed the Flying Dragon’s Shadow on Wind. His body shifted transversely immediately and he avoided the sharp Sword Breath just in time.
“Boom!”
Four pillars were chopped off, turning the just-built penthouse into ruins again.
“Meow!”
Blackie climbed out of the ruins and his body was covered with ash and dust. It was squashed by the bricks and he went dizzy. It took him a long time to become sober.
When he found out it was Huang Yanchen, who caused all these, he gnashed his teeth in anger and was about to wage a life-and-death struggle with her. Fortunately, Zhang Ruochen stopped him.
“You are so good at hiding. Now, take this!”
With her face grim, Huang Yanchen took up her combat sword and was ready to slash again.
Zhang Ruochen hid Zi Qian behind him and said calmly, “Huang Yanchen, why can’t we talk about it peacefully?”
Huang Yanchen stared at Zi Qian for a while, and then looked at Zhang Ruochen again. She asked, “Who authorized you to bring other students into Dragon Martial Temple?”
“I have something to discuss with Senior Sister Apprentice Zi, so I brought her to Yellow No.1. I don’t see how it bothers you,” said Zhang Ruochen.
“Why did you close the door if you were simply discussing things? What are you hiding?” Huang Yanchen suddenly realized it was really none of her business when she was just about to say the above words.
“Yeah, why should I be angry if it has nothing to do with me?”
Duanmu Xingling walked up to her immediately. She stopped her and said, “Sister Chen, we have something more important to do now. We’ll settle this tiny matter with them later.”
Huang Yanchen was given an out, so she put away her sword immediately. She sneered, “I’ll let you go as the quarterly assessment is taking place tomorrow. Since Junior Sister Apprentice Zi is here as well, you two, come with me to Earth No.1. I have something to tell you both.”
Zhang Ruochen looked at the ruins, shook his head slightly, and followed behind her.
Arriving at Earth No.1, Huang Yanchen and Duanmu Xingling sat in the front, while Zhang Ruochen and Zi Qian sat on the left and right side separately.
Huang Yanchen sipped the just-brewed Saussurea iced tea and said, “As you may know, tomorrow’s quarterly assessment will be divided into two rounds. The first round is the competition among the freshmen from the four campuses, while the second round is about the quarterly ranking inside our Western Campus.”
“This year, it’s our campus’ turn to host the competition. Since you two are the top two among all the freshmen in our campus, your performances tomorrow will determine whether our campus can win or not.”
“Zhang Ruochen, I know that your cultivation is outstanding. But don’t let down your guard. There are also many top masters in the other three campuses. Perhaps, some of them are even stronger than you.”
Duanmu Xingling nodded and said, “The Eastern Campus is the strongest among all. They won almost every competition every year. There is also a top master in their campus this year, whose name is Dugu Lin. His cultivation has already reached the Final State of the Black Realm.”
“Not long ago, Dugu Lin defeated Hua Xueyi, the top 10 master in the Eastern Campus, which earned him fame.”
“All the presbyters believe that he is capable of making it into the top 50 on the Profound Board. Now, an ordinary warrior in the Completion of the Black Realm is no match for him.”
“This time, his main target will be you. He so badly wants to defeat you, the number one Spiritual Power genius in the history of the School of the Martial Market, in front of everyone.”
Huang Yanchen continued, “Both the Southern Campus and the Nothern Campus have a freshman in the Final State of the Black Realm. They might be a little weaker than Dugu Lin, but you can’t take a casual attitude.”
“Zhang Ruochen, your talent might be above theirs, but you have just broken into the Dawn State of the Black Realm, which is two realms away from theirs. Thus, it’s really hard to predict the result.”
Huang Yanchen and Duanmu Xingling did not know that Zhang Ruochen had already broken into the Medium State of the Black Realm yesterday. They thought he was still in the Dawn State of the Black Realm.
Zhang Ruochen did not tell them because they did not ask. Since it was just the Medium State, there was nothing to show off in the first place.
Huang Yanchen stared at Zi Qian and asked, “Junior Sister Apprentice Zi, you are in the Final State of the Black Realm, aren’t you?”
Zi Qian nodded slightly and replied, “I have just broken into it not long ago.”
Under normal circumstances, it would take Zi Qian another half a year to have the chance to break into the Final State of the Black Realm. Yet, in order to be well-prepared for the quarterly assessment, she bought a fourth-class pill from the black market with a huge amount of money. With the help of the pill, she broke into the realm earlier.
Of course, the reason why she could afford the pill was that she killed over 100 examinees at the first-round test three months ago. Hence, she received millions of silver coins.
She could have never afforded a fourth-class pill in the past.
Huang Yanchen nodded and said, “You are slightly inferior compared to Dugu Lin, but very close to other freshmen from the Nothern Campus and the Southern Campus. I assume that you can at least get into the top five.
“Even if Dugu Lin won first place, we are still very likely to get the overall number one with you two in the top five list.”
Huang Yanchen and Duanmu Xingling continued to explain some matters that needed paying attention to. They did not finish until dark.
After accompanying Zi Qian home, Zhang Ruochen went to find Zhang Shaochu and Liu Chengfeng.
They had already sold out the 340 Triple-purity Genuine Qi Pills. Zhang Ruochen did not ask them how much they had earned, but merely took away his share, which was 3,000 silver coins per pill.
It was 1,020,000 silver coins!
Before he left, he drew Zhang Shaochu aside and gave him five drops of Half-Saint’s Essence.
Zhang Shaochu was extremely touched and his eyes were full of tears, but he declined them.
“It’s not a big deal. I can get more if I want to. If I can win first place this time, I will get another 10 drops of Half-Saint’s Essence. It’s my pleasure to give them to you, my fourth brother,” said a smiling Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen knew that Zhang Shaochu had a quite good talent. However, he was not outstanding at all in the School of the Martial Market, where all the geniuses gathered.
Only by using the Half-Saint’s Essence could he improve his physical quality, make bigger progress in his practice, and become a stronger warrior.
“My ninth brother… Thank you.”
Holding the five bottles of Half-Saint’s Essence tightly, Zhang Shaochu was very happy and touched, as he clearly knew the value of each drop of the liquid.
These five bottles of Half-Saint’s Essence could be sold for up to 2,000,000 silver coins in the black market. No one would give him such valuable things for free except his ninth brother.
Then, Zhang Ruochen took out the Death Scythe and handed it to Zhang Shaochu. He said, “This is a fifth-class Genuine Martial Treasure. You can have it from now on!”
Zhang Ruochen slightly patted Zhang Shaochu’s shoulder and left. Then, he returned to Dragon Martial Temple.
The next day, when the sky had only just brightened, a loud sound of the bell could be heard in the Western Campus.
The bell rang nine times in a row.
All the students of Western Campus gathered in the drill ground. There were over 800 people and every one of them was wearing a white martial robe, standing there in high spirits.
The standing order was arranged according to their ranking. The number one student, Luo Shuihan, was standing in the first place of the first row. Huang Yanchen, Duanmu Xingling, Tuo Muzi, and others were standing successively.
After defeating Feng Zhilin, Zhang Ruochen, ranked 184th, was standing in the middle among all the students.
Shortly after, the array of Western Campus’ boundary was opened.
The freshmen from the other three campuses stepped into the drill ground of Western Campus following Deputy Headmaster.
There were also some senior students who came along, with no more than 10 from each campus. Each of them was a top superior and most of them were Warriors of Division Profound. They were full of heroic spirit.
Among the freshmen from the Eastern Campus, there was one in his twenties. He suddenly burst into laughter and said, “Rumor has it that women are outperforming men in the Western Campus. Now I find it very true. Western Campus’ men are too disappointing.”
Warriors’ hearing was all very sensitive, so many students of the Western Campus heard his ridicule.
It was okay for the female students, but not for the men. They felt a sense of humiliation, so everyone exposed an angry look.
There was a male student called Chi Ming sea, who ranked top 10 and was a warrior in the Medium State of the Black Realm. He said coldly, “You are standing in Western Campus’ territory. Watch your words!”
That student laughed again and said, “But what I said is the mere truth! Please take a look, everybody. The 100 students who are standing in the front are the top 100 of Western Campus. At least 70 of them are women while only 20 of them are men. Now let’s look at the last 300 students at the back. There are only about 10 women there. But over 200 of them are men!
“What does it indicate? It tells us that Western Campus doesn’t lack men at all, and yet, most of them are cowards. They make no attempt to make progress, so their rankings are low. It’s very funny!”