Chapter 362 Qi Chen
Whoosh!
Hundreds of people in the vast square set off a tidal wave of spiritual power, which touched the barrier of the tactical matrix with a slight sound and then drowned in the chaos of fighting.
“Go to hell!!”
Killing intention flashed over the ordinary face of the black-clothed young man, who was carrying a long sword on his back. He attacked several practitioners around him simultaneously, but he had no intention of taking out the long sword on his back. He viciously blasted out in all directions with only his fists, and the physical body of a casual practitioner was crumbled immediately. His blood spilled on the ground!
“He is in the late phase of Zhuji Realm! How strong he is! He’s getting stronger! We’re no match, run!!”
Being terrified, the others scattered and fled out of the field. If they passed through the barrier of the tactical matrix, they would be deemed to forfeit their tournament automatically, and no one else was allowed to attack them at the same time, otherwise, they would be punished by the order-keeping elders of the three sects.
Crisis averted. A strange flush flashed across the black-clothed young man’s face as his gaze swept down to the last practitioner whose body had been crumbled. With a cold grin on his lips, he instantly approached and threw a punch!
“Help me!!”
The practitioner looked back to see a fist approaching in front of his eyes and screamed, but it didn’t help. His physical body was blown to pieces with a single punch, and his head fell off the field.
“Why… me…”
The light in his eyes quickly dimmed, and the vitality vanished. The viewers around immediately flashed away, and their gaze looking at the black-clothed young man was full of fear. When the black-clothed young man returned to the field to continue fighting, someone began to whisper.
“Who is he? He looks very young, but his cultivation is at the late phase of Zhuji Realm! He could even be a core disciple in an ordinary sect, but he’s just a casual practitioner!”
As soon as this was said, someone immediately scoffed, “You don’t even know him; he’s Qi Chen!”
“What? He’s Qi Chen! The casual practitioner who got the secret treasure, an ancient sword?”
Everyone immediately became excited. Some had heard of Qi Chen’s name but had never seen him. They never expected to see him today.
“Lucky guy, after getting the secret treasure, he practiced to the late stage of Zhuji Realm and became so successful. As long as he can come out from the Secret Realm of Shattered Spirits, he will be chosen by the twenty-five sects and will have a meteoric rise!”
“The mortality rate in the Secret Realm of Shattered Spirits is not low; let’s talk it over after he comes out of the Secret Realm of Shattered Spirits alive.”
Some people envied, while others disdained. But after the tryout today, the name “Qi Chen” would spread throughout Wuyang Town.
“Qi Chen is… really a talent, though.”
Wang Yu looked at the indifferent young man fighting in the arena, and then at Fan Zisang, who was sitting silently beside her. Her eyebrows frowned slightly.
From petting to loathing, the transition sometimes didn’t take long, and an opportunity was enough.
The dignity of Danxia Mount had to rely on an outsider, Yue Lin. Thinking of this, she was so disgusted like eating flies. So, she was getting more and more disgusted with Fan Zisang.
At that moment, Immortal Bingshu suddenly laughed, “This young man is interesting.”
Elder Qing immediately echoed and laughed, “Since you appreciate his abilities, why won’t you take him as a disciple? In the future…”
Before he could finish speaking, the smile on Immortal Bingshu’s face suddenly disappeared, and he stared at Elder Qing coldly, “It’s none of your concern whether I take a disciple or not.”
“I…”
Elder Qing immediately broke out in cold sweat, slapped himself twice, and bowed his head, “Forgive me, please! I was too rude!”
The inherited disciples of Meng Sect turned pale at sight, and one of them even tried to stand up but was firmly pinned down on his chair by Elder Qing. He was unable to stand up for his elder.
Seeing this scene, Immortal Bingshu regained a smile on his face, as if nothing had happened, and continued saying, “When he comes out from the Secret Realm of Shattered Spirits and meets the standard in my mind, it is not impossible to take him as a disciple.”
Elder Qing nodded with an embarrassed face but no longer dared to echo.
“Immortal Bingshu is just as moody as the rumors spread…”
Wang Yu sat aside uncomfortably like a cat on a hot tin roof. She was glad and lucky that she was later than Elder Qing to speak out. Otherwise, she would also be humiliated now.
The battle continued in the arena, but it came to the final stage. The ground was clean, and the bodies of the dead practitioners had been collected and cleaned up. Only bloodstain was left on the ground, while the other practitioners, who escaped from the battle, blended in with the spectators, waiting for the result unwillingly.
The entire arena was divided into seven parts distinctly, each of which was occupied by a casual practitioner of the late phase of Zhuji Realm. They didn’t attack each other. In the remaining small space, those who didn’t reach the late stage of Zhuji Realm were still scuffling.
Right after the last weak practitioner was blown out of the arena, and only twenty practitioners on the square were left, the tactical matrix immediately gave a buzz to remind everyone to stop fighting.
“Finished?!”
Shortly after, an extremely tall elder walked onto the arena and said loudly, “The first round of the tryout is over. The twenty remaining in the arena are the final winners of the first round. Now, report your names! So, I can arrange for tomorrow’s selection!”
As soon as this was said, all watching practitioners immediately became noisy.
“It’s over. Over four hundred practitioners were participating in the match, but only twenty are chosen!”
“One out of twenty; it’s scary!”
Looking at the increasingly noisy scene, the tall elder frowned, and he used his vital energy, shouting, “Quiet, all of you!”
Boom!
The sound thundered, and some weaker practitioners were injured internally by the shock immediately, bleeding from their ears and retreating in horror.
“What profound cultivation! The elder is at least at the pinnacle of Zhuji Realm, and he has used the secret skill of sound power!”
“From which sect is the elder? The foundation is profound…”
Many people secretly transmitted the voices but did not dare to discuss it aloud. While a burly young man from those in the arena finally stepped forward and said, “My name is Su Yuan.”
Following Su Yuan, the next one immediately spoke out his name, which was recorded in the roster by the tall elder.
Soon, it was the turn of the black-clothed young man, who was expressionless and said in a cold voice, “Qi Chen.”
He was Qi Chen!
The crowd stirred again, but it quickly diminished under the elder’s overawing.
The tall elder’s gaze lingered on the exposed sword hilt behind Qi Chen for an instant before he wrote down the name in the roster and announced, “Today’s tryout to the Shattered Spirits is over. Tomorrow between 7 AM and 9 AM, come to the lottery on time for the second round, remember?”
The twenty, who would participate in the battle, echoed, and left. The watching practitioners gradually dispersed either, being more and more looking-forward to the battle on the next day.
Those who had ever watched the tryout to the Shattered Spirits before knew that the first round was just an appetizer, and the second round would be the real deal!
Lv You looked in the direction where the black-clothed young man had left, with a slight smile appeared on his face. The token directly to the second round he gave to Su Li was exchanged right from this lad, and he never expected this guy still had a token for the first round.
“Qi Chen, an interesting person, I have to tell Master when I’m back…”
Thinking of this, Lv You was about to leave, but he suddenly stalled. He looked in the direction the people of the three sects had left, frowning.
“Strange… something goes wrong, but what exactly is wrong… I can’t tell.”
Seeing that everyone had left, Lv You had to put aside his doubts for the time being and returned to the inn to hand the recording stone to Su Li. He had got it ready long ago.
“Although the recording stone is not a particularly precious item, it’s difficult to find in Jiuzhou Region. It seems you have some more assets besides those in your treasury.”
Su Li weighed the small white stone in her hand and smiled slightly.
Lv You scratched his head with his face flushing crimson. He had planned to take the opportunity to show off and expected the praise from his master, but Su Li immediately recognized the recording stone.
“So, Master, I will leave.”
Said Lv You. Then he hurriedly closed the door and left, like fleeing in defeat.
Su Li shook her head. Although she saw through Lv You’s intention, she didn’t point it out bluntly. As Lv You was so old, she had to save his face.
“The elemental spells I mastered back then are almost sorted out. So, let me see if anything is worthy of my attention in the first round of the tryout…”
Thinking of this, she put her psychic awareness into the recording stone.
The so-called recording stone was like video recording, and it could record everything a practitioner saw. The recording stone Lv You possessed was low-grade in quality, but it was enough to keep track of what happened in a whole day.
“Bingshu… Qi Chen… Inheritance of the ancient sword…”
As the images of that day swirled before her eyes, Su Li gradually frowned. Her gaze did not fall on any of the casual practitioners participating in the tryout but on Immortal Bingshu’s face.
“It’s odd; why am I feeling familiar to this man?”
Su Li was thinking as her knuckles subconsciously tapped the edge of the recording stone. Unfortunately, the recording stone could only record images, not pneumas. Otherwise, she would have found more connections.
“It doesn’t matter, though; I’ll see this man tomorrow.”
Leaving the thoughts aside, Su Li put away the recording stone and summoned Lv You in. Lv You was a ghost practitioner in Jindan Realm anyway. He must have his understanding when he was watching the scene on site. It never hurt to hear his opinion.
After Lv You came in, he immediately mentioned Qi Chen. He said seriously after a short hesitation, “Master, when I watched the competition, I felt something was wrong all the time, but I couldn’t tell what it was. After coming back, I figured it was probably someone spying on me and I couldn’t find out who. That’s why I had an uncomfortable feeling.”
“So?!”
Su Li’s eyebrows raised, “Even you can’t find out…”
“It might be my delusion. Master, is it possible that your identity…”
Asked Lv You, and a hint of concern appeared on his face. As an evildoer that even nature would not tolerate, she shouldn’t have appeared on such a messy occasion, but he was destined for obeying Su Li’s orders.
“Never mind!”
Su Li’s gaze flickered, and she said softly, “I think… I should know what it is.”