Chapter 219: Core Disciple Exam
Ever since Liu Suifeng came down from the summit, he had been training harder than normal; he had not left Qingyun Peak for the past half a month.
Liu Ruyue felt that this sudden change was somewhat strange. She asked Xiao Chen what was going on, but Xiao Chen believed that Liu Suifeng would not want his sister to know about this, so he could only say he knew nothing.
Xiao Chen nodded his head helplessly. Then he remembered something. He took out a petal of the Flowing Light Flower from the Universe Ring and handed it to Liu Suifeng. “This is for you. It should be able to help you before the core disciple exam.”
Liu Suifeng looked at the glowing Flowing Light Flower. He was filled with doubt as he asked, “What flower is this? Its fragrance is very strong.”
When the fragrance of the Flowing Light Flower spread out, it immediately attracted Liu Ruyue’s attention. When she saw the Flowing Light Flower in Liu Suifeng’s hand she revealed a surprised expression. She quickly walked over and asked in an astonished tone, “Flowing Light Flower? Ye Chen, where did you get this? Ah! This is not an ordinary Flowing Light Flower, it is close to being an Immortal Grade Treasure.”
Liu Ruyue stopped after she said that, her expression turned from amazement to shock. She quickly snatched the Flowing Light Flower from Liu Suifeng’s hands and handed it back to Xiao Chen, “Ye Chen, this Flowing Light Flower is too precious. Suifeng can’t accept this from you.”
“Flowing Light Flower?” Liu Suifeng’s expression changed. “The legendary Flowing Light Flower that could increase comprehension ability and help one’s body to be reborn?!”
Xiao Chen waved his hand casually and took out another petal, “This was a miraculous encounter I had in the Spirit Mines. I have already used one, there is no use consuming another one. I have also prepared another one for Elder Sister Ruyue for when she makes a breakthrough to Martial King. I’ll just give it to you now.”
Liu Ruyue had never been an ungenuine person.When she heard the full story, she received it and said gratefully to Xiao Chen, “The two of us owe you a great favor.”
Liu Suifeng’s expression also turned serious. He slapped Xiao Chen’s back repeatedly and said, “Brother, I will remember this favor. With this Flowing Light Flower, I should have no problems breaking through to Martial Saint at the end of the year.
“Who knows, with three days, I might be able to comprehend the Mountain Splitting Saber Technique and practice it to Great Perfection. I will pass the exam successfully and become a core disciple.”
Three Days Later, in the Back Mountains of Qingyun Peak:
“Twisting Road Around Peak!”
Xiao Chen stood in the forest and turned around. He shot out very quickly to his front The saber in his hand moved in an arc. A strong air current was created in the surroundings, heading to the snow-white blade of the Lunar Shadow Saber.
His aura was condensing continuously. After a moment, a small mountain peak condensed behind Xiao Chen. His aura was instantly raised to the peak, as though he was standing on the mountain’s summit.
No, that’s wrong. The intent of the Twisting Road Around Peak should not be like that. Xiao Chen suddenly shook his head and thought to himself. The meaning of Twisting Road Around Peak was an unexpected result that was discovered when things reached the end.
However, the intent I am exhibiting now is that of reaching desperate straits, but the aura is ferocious and triumphant. There is no leeway for any twist.
Doubts appeared in Xiao Chen’s heart. The aura he condensed also leaked away. The small mountain peak behind him instantly vanished into nothing.
Xiao Chen withdrew his saber, his face somewhat pale. This was the backlash from failing this move.
“Never mind, seems like it is not time yet. It is simply only a core disciple exam. With my strength, even without comprehending this, the sixteenth move of Lingyun Saber Technique is more than enough to clear it,” Xiao Chen said after he regulated the chaotic Essence in his body.
The next morning, the sky just lit up. Liu Ruyue and Liu Suifeng had already arrived at Xiao Chen’s courtyard. There was a green bird standing quietly beside the two of them.
“Time to go. I will not be accompanying you two to the core disciple exam. Suifeng knows the place. I wish you two good luck.” Liu Ruyue smiled faintly at Xiao Chen, who had just come out.
Xiao Chen nodded and leaped onto the green bird Liu Suifeng was also mounting. The green bird flapped its wings very hard, causing a strong wind as it soared into the sky. It welcomed the rising sun and flew toward the east.
The wind blew by their ears. Xiao Chen stood behind Liu Suifeng. He could feel that Liu Suifeng’s aura was stronger than it was three days ago. He said, “Congratulations. Your strength should have risen significantly within these three days.”
Liu Suifeng revealed a satisfied smile, “En! It is all thanks to the Flowing Light Flower you gave me. I have practiced the Mountain Splitting Saber Technique to Small Perfection in three days. Using this Earth Ranked Saber Technique, I have faith that I can become a core disciple this year.”
“Is the core disciple exam very hard? Why do I feel that those core disciple’s strength was not very high?” Xiao Chen asked as he stood behind Liu Suifeng.
Liu Suifeng’s expression sank. He nodded and said, “Very difficult. Out of the 5,000 spots of inner disciples in the entire Heavenly Saber Pavilion, there are at most 500 spots for core disciples.
“With your strength, this core disciple exam should not be a problem. The reason why you have not run into any strong core disciples yet is because they are all training outside. They will not return to the Heavenly Saber Pavilion until the end of the year.”
Heavenly Saber Pavilion, Heaven Viewing Platform, on the Drill Grounds:
The spectator stands at the drill grounds were densely packed with inner disciples. They were here to watch the once-a-year core disciple exam, and participate in the noise and excitement.
This event was second only to the end-of-year Ranking War. Many people would put down what they were doing and watch the excitement, even if they were not participating in it.
There were several elders seated on a tall platform. These were the people from the Hall Hall’s Elders’ Assembly; they were also the true rulers of the Heavenly Saber Pavilion.
The seven Peak Masters were seated at the side with calm expressions. However, no one knew how they were feeling in their hearts.
Due to the limited resources of the Heavenly Saber Pavilion, even the Peak Masters did not have the authority to appoint and nominate core disciples. In order to become a core disciple, one must go through the exam set by the Main Hall.
There was a very objective way to see which peak was the strongest: the more core disciples a peak had, the stronger the peak.
At the moment, the strongest peak was naturally Tianyue Peak. They occupied about half of the slots for core disciples, more than 200 of them.
Aside from the weakened Qingyun Peak and the all-female Jade Maiden Peak, the other peaks had very similar strength, there was not much of a difference between them.
Song Que, who was only left with one arm, did not have much light in his eyes. He had lost an arm, resulting in his losing his ambition to compete for the Pavilion Master position.
Suddenly, Song Que looked away and looked at the incredibly calm Tianyue Peak’s Peak Master—Leng Tianzheng. He smiled and said, “Seems like Senior Brother Leng will be dominating his core disciple exam again. I wonder how many disciples Tianyue Peak sent this time.”
Leng Tianzheng looked at Song Que and laughed coldly in his heart. He revealed a gentle smile as he said indifferently, “Probably about a hundred, I can’t recall very clearly.”
When the other Peak Master’s heard this, their expressions changed. There were only 50 core disciple spots in each core disciple exam every year. Unless there was someone with exceptional talent, the number of places would not increase.
The inner disciples who wished to take part in the exam were required to advance to Superior Grade Martial Grand Master before the age of nineteen. The other peaks only managed to have twenty-odd disciples who could meet the requirements, at best.
When compared to Tianyue Peak, they were not worth mentioning. If they wanted to compete, they would not be able to win. It seemed like Tianyue Peak will take away at least half the spots in the core disciple exam this time.
The remunerations and treatment core disciples received were at least triple of what ordinary inner disciples got. The speed of their cultivation was much faster.
If the spots were all taken by Tianyue Peak, then they could forget about surpassing Tianyue Peak for a long period of time; they could only be suppressed by them.
When they thought of this, the other Peak Masters glanced at each other. There was a trace of helplessness in their eyes.
A cold and gloomy look appeared in Song Que’s gaze. He casually gave a glance at Liu Ruyue and said, “However, I’m afraid that no one from Senior Brother Leng’s Tianyue Peak will be able to obtain first place.”
Wanren Peak’s Peak Master—Wan Feng—who was sitting beside him did not understand, and asked, “Why? The first place has always belonged to Tianyue Peak for the past few years.”
Song Que looked coldly at Liu Ruyue as he said, “It seems like there are some things Junior Brother Wan is not aware of. Your core disciple—Yang Qi—was defeated by Peak Master Liu’s new disciple in the Hall of Contributions. Furthermore, he did not even need a hundred blows.
“Then there is that Quick Saber Lin Feng. He is even more of a joke; he was defeated in one punch.”
Wan Feng revealed an expression of doubt. He was frequently in isolated training. If it were not for the core disciple exam being so important, he would not have come out. Hence, he was not aware of events that took place in the mountains.
Wan Feng tilted his head slightly, facing an elder from Wanren Peak behind him, and asked, “Elder Su, is there such a thing?”
Elder Su had an unsightly expression on his face, but he still told Wan Feng everything he knew in a detailed manner.
After Wan Feng listened to Elder Su’s explanation, he had a gloomy expression. He looked at Liu Ruyue and said, “After not coming out for a period of time, Qingyun Peak now unexpectedly has a qualified successor.”
Liu Ruyue was expressionless; she knew that Song Que was trying to sow dissension. She looked at Song Que coldly and said indifferently, “You are only left with one arm and yet your thoughts are so vicious. Be careful, you might bite your tongue.”
Just as Song Que was about to speak, Leng Tianzheng looked at him in disgust. “Junior Brother Song. Just take care of your own matters. It is best to speak less about other people’s matters.”
Jade Maiden Peak’s Peak Master, who had been silent all the while, said, “Senior Brother Song, actually there is no need to be so fast to decide this. Yang Qi’s strength amongst the core disciples is not considered outstanding. It is not too surprising for an inner disciple to defeat him. Such matters happen every year in the Heavenly Saber Pavilion.
“Furthermore, while the process of the punch that defeated Lin Feng is worth discussing, there is no need to be too astonished at that. More importantly, I heard that Tianyue Peak recently has a new disciple. He managed to practice the Lingyun Saber Technique to Great Perfection. No one had managed to practice the Lingyun Saber Technique to Great Perfection in the past hundred years.”
He actually managed to practice the Lingyun Saber Technique to Great Perfection! When the rest heard it, they revealed an expression of shock. That was equivalent to a peak Superior Grade Earth Ranked Saber Technique. If he managed to practice it to Great Perfection, there would be no one in the same cultivation realm who would be a match for him.