Chapter 222: I Am Calling You an Old Scoundrel
The crowd soon sensed Mu Heng’s cultivation realm. “What’s going on? This person is only an Inferior Grade Martial Grand Master,” someone exclaimed.
The most basic requirement of taking part in the core disciple exam was to be a Superior Grade Martial Grand Master by the age of nineteen.
This barrier had already stopped numerous inner disciples. When they saw that Mu Heng was only an Inferior Grade Martial Grand Master, they started to question this one after another.
The chief examiner was expressionless as he looked at the restless crowd. Despite the blazing sun, they instantly felt a chill down their backs when they met this gaze. It was a chill that penetrated their bones and froze their hearts.
“If you have any questions, please go ask the Elders’ Assembly to explain it to you after the exam. For now, anyone who makes any noise can scram immediately!”
Mu Heng’s ordinary face did not change at all because of the words of the others. He simply walked forward to a rack and took a deep breath.
“Xiu!”
He raised his right hand and used his palm as a saber. He tilted his body slightly and hacked down. The air parted like water, sliced apart by Mu Heng’s palm. The black rock was slowly cut in half with a ‘shua’ sound.
Mu Heng’s movements were very slow. It was in sharp contrast to Zhang Lie’s ferocious saber intent. Everyone could see it very clearly, their eyes wide open and their mouths agape.
When a Superior Grade Martial Grand Master used a saber blade and struck it with all his strength, it was still difficult for them to split the mysterious black rock. To think that an Inferior Grade Martial Grand Master sliced it apart easily, it was out of everyone’s expectations.
The crowd that initially objected to Mu Heng’s participation were now thoroughly speechless. Only shock was left in their hearts.
Mu Heng withdrew his hand. There was a fine crack in the middle of the black rock. If one did not look carefully, they would not realize that this rock was already split in half.
“Bang!” The chief examiner struck out a palm strike again and shattered the rock. He said, “Number 220, Beicheng Peak, Mu Heng… passed.”
Mu Heng met the gaze Zhang Lie cast on him. He smiled calmly and left.
Xiao Chen looked at Mu Heng, he was deep in thought. This was the first time he had seen someone trained his body to such a strong level.
Mu Heng’s strength might not be able to compare against Xiao Chen’s but his usage of his physical strength was much more exquisite.
For Xiao Chen, it would not be a problem for him to shatter one of these black rocks with a fully-powered attack of 6,000 kilograms of force.
However, if he wished to do it like Mu Heng, to control and focus his strength to a point like a saber blade, it would be impossible.
“Does not matter, the cultivation of the physical body has many methods, just like Martial Techniques. I am simply making a mountain out of a molehill.” Xiao Chen smiled faintly after he thought things through.
“Number 240, Qingyun Peak, Ye Chen!” After the first stage was conducted for so long, it was finally Xiao Chen’s turn.
Liu Suifeng’s number was 280. He was even further behind than Xiao Chen. When he heard Xiao Chen’s name, he encouraged him. “Ye Chen! Good luck!”
Xiao Chen smiled slightly and nodded. He walked out in great strides to the front of the rocks. He could feel countless gazes focused on him from all directions.
On the high platform above the drill grounds, Song Que’s eyes burned with hatred when Xiao Chen walked out. He could no longer hold his hatred back. He stared at Xiao Chen, he loathed that he could not immediately jump down and smash him to death with one palm.
Before Song Que met Xiao Chen, he had been blessed with a life flushed with success. After they met, his life started to turn tragic. He was originally a peak Martial King, one step away from becoming the youngest Martial Monarch in the Heavenly Saber Pavilion’s history.
However, he had now lost his arm and because of his heart demon he lost his hopes of advancing to Martial Monarch. His strength had decreased significantly, becoming a joke to others.
If several big-shots of the Heavenly Saber Pavilion were not protecting Ye Chen, he would have already looked for an opportunity to kill Xiao Chen.
How hateful! He is an insignificant person yet he has so many contacts. Song Que clenched his remaining hand as he thought to himself hatefully.
Song Que turned his head to look at the silent Liu Ruyue. He said sinisterly, “Peak Master Liu, your little disciple has come out. I wonder if his performance will exceed Zhang Lie? There should be a pleasant surprise coming.”
Liu Ruyue took it light-heartedly and smiled. She turned her head and said, “No matter how big the pleasant surprise is, it would not be greater than you losing an arm.”
Song Que’s complexion changed. He suppressed the anger in his heart as he said, “That little brat better not let me catch hold of his weak point. Otherwise, I will make sure he lives a life worse than death.”
Liu Ruyue smiled indifferently. “Whether my disciple will live a life worse than death, I do not know. However, what I do know is that you are definitely currently living a life worse than death. Isn’t that right? You old scoundrel!”
At the end of her words, Liu Ruyue’s smile suddenly vanished as she cursed out viciously. She could no longer endure Song Que’s never-ending mockery.
“Bang!”
“You silly girl, who are you calling an old scoundrel!” Song Que smashed his palm on the table, his eyes burning with anger.
Liu Ruyue was not afraid, a cold look covered her pretty face. “I am calling you an old scoundrel. What’s wrong with that? Do you want to fight? I don’t mind teaching you a lesson on how to be a human.”
Liu Ruyue’s talent had originally been shocking. After she completely absorbed the vitality essence of heaven and earth and consumed the Flowing Light Flower, her strength was now very close to that of a Martial King. She was not afraid of the one-armed Song Que.
“The two of you, stop bickering. Fighting in front of the Elders’ Assembly will not be good for you.” When the other Peak Masters saw the atmosphere becoming more tensed, they quickly advised them to stop.
Leng Tianzheng eyed Song Que as he said, “Junior Brother Song, you are so old already, don’t bicker with the younger generation. Be more understanding.”
If you had a broken arm, let’s see if you would say the same thing. Song Que was so angry he trembled. However, he did not dare to lose his temper in front of Leng Tianzheng as he did not have the guts to do so yet.
The disputes slowly calmed down after the advice of everyone.
Within and outside the drill grounds, the ordinary inner disciples in the spectator stands and the inner sect examinees on the drill grounds were all staring at Xiao Chen.
In terms of reputation, the one that was the most spoken about was Xiao Chen.
Not long after he arrived at the Heavenly Saber Pavilion, he played Biyun Peak’s peak Martial King, Song Que, for a fool. Then, he injured so many Wanren Peak’s inner disciples in front of so many people. He even defeated the core disciple Yang Qi.
After that, he was quiet for a period of time. However, after he came out, he became even more prominent. He miraculously completed a high leveled sect mission and obtained an exceptional evaluation, resulting in his rank advancing by 500 in one go.
When the second strongest core disciple of Wanren Peak, Lin Feng, wanted to reclaim their honor, he was defeated by Ye Chen with one punch, turning him into a joke.
All these things sounded outrageous. No one could believe he was only a Martial Grand Master.
There was also another rumor. Every time he made a move, he played some tricks; going against the morals of a cultivator. This rumor was more believable to the crowd compared to the previous hearsay.
Now, there was a good opportunity to see Xiao Chen make a move personally in front of everyone. This moment would prove the authenticity of these rumors.
Zhang Lie and Mu Heng had already passed the first stage, also looked at Xiao Chen, filled with curiosity. Even though they were training in the mountain, they had also heard some of the rumors about Xiao Chen.
However, the two of them were very prideful people. They would not believe in the rumors, especially Zhang Lie; he even found it foolish.
I will let you know that when I snatched your place, it was the logical thing. Only a truly strong person can receive the best treatment. This is a principle that has not changed since the ancient times.
Zhang Lie grasped his saber tightly as a gleam flashed in his eyes. He stared closely at Xiao Chen.
Xiao Chen’s eyes were like a mirror, his heart was as calm as still water and his mind was clear. The gazes and sounds of discussions did not affect him at all.
There was only one opportunity and he could not use Martial Techniques. Xiao Chen did not dare to be careless. He swept the black rock with his Spiritual Sense and discovered that the surface of this rock was extremely smooth; it was also much more resilient than regular iron.
However, it should not be a problem. He should be able to deal with it with 50 percent of his strength. Xiao Chen drew his saber decisively and created a saber light.
“Xiu!”
The sharp saber light flashed by in the air and Xiao Chen sheathed his saber in the scabbard with a ‘huang dang’ sound. There were no changes on the black rock at all, causing people to feel surprised.
“Hahahaha! I wondered how powerful he was. Looks like he is only so. What a pleasant surprise for me!” Song Que’s gaze had always been fixed on the black rock.
He originally thought this would not be a problem for Xiao Chen. However, when he observed it carefully, he discovered that the surface of the rock had no activity at all.
Seems like horses all stumble, this fellow was too arrogant. What a great chance to mock him. Song Que started to laugh out loud.
[TL note: Horses all stumble: This means men all make mistakes.]
“Hua!”
Just as Song Que spoke, a sound came from the black rock, as though it was in reply to Song Que; it had split into two halves with a ‘ka ca’ sound.
An intense energy tossed the two halves of the rock into the air like a hurricane. After it flew for a long time, it landed heavily on the ground.
“Number 240, Qingyun Peak, Ye Chen… passed!” When the rock landed, the chief examiner casually called out.
Song Qu’s complexion seemed to alternate between red and green. He had no idea where to hide his face. He felt like him laughing was slowly turning into a joke.
Liu Ruyue did not even bother to hit him when he was down, she simply ignored him.
Actually, Xiao Chen had used the intricacies of Drawing the Saber in this saber strike. Without his Martial Spirit, the speed of his Essence gathering was faster by at least half.
With a thought from Xiao Chen, the spinning whirlpool in his Dantian immediately released a large amount of Essence, gathering them on the saber blade. With the fast speed of Essence gathering on the saber and the intricacies of Drawing the Saber, this saber strike was extremely fast.
After all, Song Que was quite a distance away from the drill grounds and he was in a disturbed state of mind. Even if he was a Martial King, it would not be surprising for him to see wrongly under such conditions.
Xiao Chen raised his head slightly. He felt a concerned gaze coming from the high platform. He smiled at Liu Ruyue in the distance and walked over to the group of inner disciples who had cleared the stage.
The exam on the drill grounds continued to proceed. Following that, there would be some people passing occasionally. Of course, most people failed. Soon, it was Liu Suifeng’s turn.
When Liu Ruyue saw Liu Suifeng walk out slowly, she started to get nervous again. Liu Suifeng was already nineteen. If he did not pass this exam, he would not have any more opportunities.
This was her only brother, she did not want to see him fail.