by Shian Jeen
“Institute Principal!” Seeing Feng Yang, all stood up to salute. Despite being wholeheartedly unwilling, Wang Na could only stand and salute like everyone else.
Feng Yang nodded, his gaze sweeping over them and then took his seat in the main host seat. After him, Wang Na, Su Haodong, Li Zhiqun, Grand Elders like Chan Yu, Bao Xinrui, as well as the Elders took their seats.
“Huwang Xiao, as the Institute Principal’s personal disciple, you must show a good performance on the Rising Dragon Arena later. You must absolutely not lose too uglily! Out Black Warrior Institute has always been impartial towards rewards and punishment, victorious disciples will be rewarded, and just the same, defeated disciples will be punished!” As she sat down, Wang Na directed at Huwang Xiao in a lofty tone.
“Punish?” Feng Yang issued a cold harrumph, “Old witch, since when does my, Feng Yang’s, personal disciple need you to lord over him? Watch over your lower part well first!”
Wang Na having illicit affair with the Jiang Family’s Patriarch Jiang WuHuwang was an open secret.
Hearing these words coming out from the Institute Principal’s mouth, everyone’s expression was a scene to behold.
Liu Yun failed to control his laughter and ended up laughing loudly together with Huwang Xiao. Their Master was indeed uniquely valiant, actually telling Wang Na to take care of her lower part in public!
Wang Na was furious: “You!” The murderous light in her eyes exploded, her face flushed a deep red from anger.
“What? Do you want to fight me?” Feng Yang totally ignored the other side’s fury, grinning complacently, “No problem, wait till the inner disciples' assessment is over, I’ll play with you for a while on the stage. But, you alone are not my opponent, remember to call your adulterous partner as well.”
Adulterous partner, of course, referred to Jiang WuHuwang.
Wang Na nearly vomited blood then and there due to anger, no longer concealing the killing intent in her eyes.
Ch.611
When Huwang Xiao thought that Wang Na would succumb to her anger and start killing people, the thick killing intent around her gradually converged and eventually disappeared.
A light flickered in Huwang Xiao’s eyes; this old witch Wang Na couldn't be underestimated.
“People from the Azure Dragon Institute!”
“Xiang Mingzhi!”
The surrounding crowd suddenly stirred. Looking over at the horizon, a group of people wearing the Azure Dragon Institute’s robes were flying over to the arena at rapid speed.
At the front of the group was a skinny white-haired old man looking like he could be blown away by a gust of wind. Behind the old man were Xiang Mingzhi and a group of Azure Dragon Institute’s inner disciples as well as Grand Elders.
‘That old man is the Azure Dragon Institute’s Principal?’
“That’s the Azure Dragon Institute’s Vice-Principal, Jia Xiangtian.” Feng Yang said as if he saw through Huwang Xiao’s doubt, but there was a minuscule frown on his face.
The Azure Dragon Institute’s Principal did not come, only sending an Institute Vice-Principal to lead the disciples over. It seems like the Azure Dragon Institute Principal felt that sending a Vice-Principal over was giving enough face to the Black Warrior Institute? This made Feng Yang’s heart uncomfortable.
After the Azure Dragon Institute’s Vice-Principal Jia Xiangtian arrived, he glanced past Feng Yang and nodded toward Wang Na instead. Then, together with his group, they descended toward the viewing stands dedicated to the Azure Dragon Institute.
This little exchange fell into many people’s eyes, causing a stir below the surface. The Black Warrior Institute masters that supported Feng Yang didn’t look too good. A cold glint flickered in Feng Yang’s eyes, but he quickly calmed down.
A short while later, Feng Yang checked the time and gestured to Grand Elder Bao Xinrui beside him, who nodded in understanding and stood up from his seat. Walking to the center of the stage, Grand Elder Bao Xinrui began to officiate the inner disciples’ assessment.
The disciple selection and outer disciples’ assessment were both supervised by Elder Zhang Tianchuan, however, the inner disciples’ assessment was different, the overseer was a Grand Elder. Moreover, during the disciple selection assessment and outer disciples’ assessment, the upper echelons of the institute such as the Institute Principal and Vice-Principals did not personally spectate, whereas for the inner disciples’ assessment, the Institute Principal, Vice-Principals, Grand Elders, and Elders were all present.
In the inner disciples’ assessment, the disciples who managed to get a spot in the top ten rankings and had broken through to Fourth Order God Realm would be promoted to elite disciples.
The elite disciples were the future of the Black Warrior Institute, which was why the inner disciples’ assessment received so much attention.
Bao Xinrui spoke briefly about the rules and rewards for the inner disciples’ assessment. This time, the rewards for the top ten spots had been increased by five times compared to the previous assessments.
The first place would be rewarded with five hundred million Xuanwu coins, ten thousand pieces of saint grade spirit stones, ten thousand Black Warrior Greater Strength Pellets, and more.
Hearing that the rewards had been increased by five times, all the inner disciples’ eyes turned red.
Five hundred million Xuanwu coins was a huge amount even for disciples with a super force background, not to mention there were ten thousand saint grade spirit stones among other rewards as well. Furthermore, the rules remained unchanged.
There were more than ten thousand inner disciples in the Black Warrior Institute, it was impossible for all of them to compete on the stage. Hence, the upper echelon would select ten candidates for the top ten places, and those dissatisfied could issue a challenge. If no one stepped up to challenge, then those ten inner disciples would be the final top ten placeholders.
“Jiang Bi, Liu Xiaoshi, He Can, Huwang Xiao… Li Dufeng.” Bao Xinrui announced the listed ten names, whether it was deliberate or otherwise, Huwang Xiao’s name was once again placed at the fourth place.
The fact that Li Dufeng was able to place among the top ten slightly surprised Huwang Xiao, but he didn't give the matter too much attention, whereas neither Wang Biaoyuan nor Gudu Leng was on the list this time.
Standing below the arena, Wang Biaoyuan and Gudu Leng’s expressions dimmed. Although they were aware that they indeed did not possess the qualifications to secure a spot amongst the top ten rankings at their current strength, seeing Huwang Xiao’s figure up on the stage was a source of discomfort for them.
With the names of the top ten having been announced, next was the open challenge round. Inner disciples went up the stage one after another to try their luck, but no one challenged four particular individuals━Jiang Bi, Liu Xiaoshi, He Can, and Huwang Xiao.
Jiang Bi was a late-Fourth Order God Realm, and from the general perspective, he was the uncontended first place, while Liu Xiaoshi and He Can had been securely standing on the second and third places since long ago. As for Huwang Xiao, five years ago he could already defeat Li Dufeng in one move, therefore, there wouldn’t be anyone overestimating themselves to challenge any of these four individuals.
On the other hand, Li Dufeng was the one being challenged the most. If ten challengers went up the stage, five of them would challenge him, lighting a scorching fire in his heart. He even believed that the reason why so many challengers picked him was mainly due to his one move defeat by Huwang Xiao that year, creating an impression among the inner disciples that he was the weakest link, the soft persimmon that could be easily squashed.
In the end, Li Dufeng was defeated by an inner disciple by the name of Nie Cheng, resulting in him being kicked out of the top ten list, fueling his hatred toward Huwang Xiao even more.
Roughly an hour later, the number of inner disciples going up to challenge gradually slowed down to none, and the results were announced. Other than Li D
ufeng, the rest remained unchanged, successfully entering the top ten.
was the battle for ranks within the top ten.
The rule for this round was that all ten inner disciples could go up the stage in an elimination round. The last person still standing on the stage at the end would be this inner disciples’ assessment first place winner!
As such, the second last person would be second place, so on and so forth, with the first person kicked off the stage being in the tenth place.
“The top ten disciples, please go onto the stage.” Bao Xinrui’s sonorous voice sounded.
Jiang Bi was the first to leap up the stage like a great Peng bird, somersaulting nine times in the air before landing stably on the Rising Dragon Arena.
“That’s an ancient movement skill, Nine Turns of the Great Peng!” A few in the crowd exclaimed.
As these exclamations entered Jiang Bi’s ears, his nose flared slightly skyward.
After Jiang Bi went up, Liu Xiaoshi, He Can, Huwang Xiao, and the rest also leaped onto the stage, separating immediately with each guarding a certain radius around themselves, forming a big circle.
“Good, competition start!” Once all ten were on the stage, Bao Xinrui shouted.
In that instant, everyone’s eyes fell on Huwang Xiao. From the viewing stand, Xiang Mingzhi’s eyes flashed with killing intent as he watched Huwang Xiao’s figure.
“Don’t fret, you’ll have a chance to kill him later.” The Azure Dragon Institute’s Vice-Principal seemed to have sensed Xiang Mingzhi’s killing intent and spoke.
“Yes, Vice-Principal.” Xiang Mingzhi nodded as a sign of respect.
On the stage, no one took the initiative to attack first after Bao Xinrui’s voice sounded.
Jiang Bi looked at Huwang Xiao and the other eight people, saying, “No need to be so troublesome; Huwang Xiao, I’ll give all of you a chance to defeat me, all nine of you attack together.”
The crowd was stunned, then broke into an uproar.
“This Jiang Bi actually wanted the other nine people to attack him together? Wasn't this a little too fierce?!”
“But this is no false arrogance, this Jiang Bi is a late-Fourth Order God Realm, he has the strength to take on the other nine people together!”
Jiang Bi fully released his aura and a golden light pierced the sky as golden spheres emerged behind him, with golden Buddha arhats sitting in a meditative pose inside the spheres. At the same time, streams of ghostly energy wound around his body, forming a sea of ghostly energy. His rising momentum was earth-shaking.
“What a powerful momentum! No doubt he’s a late-Fourth Order God Realm! On top of that, he’s a dual cultivator of Buddhism and Ghost techniques! His strength is comparable to a peak late-Fourth Order God Realm master!” Shocked gasps sounded from the crowd.
Ch.612
Watching Jiang Bi release his full strength on the Rising Dragon Arena, Feng Yang on the host viewing stand frowned slightly with worry. Jiang Bi’s strength rose higher than he had estimated after cultivating both the Buddhism and Ghost techniques.
Prior to this, on the way here, Huwang Xiao had said that he had a sixty percent chance of defeating Jiang Bi, but was it really sixty percent? Feng Yang’s confidence began to waver. Perhaps only if Huwang Xiao worked together with the other eight would the chances reach sixty percent?
“I’ve heard from somewhere that Huwang Xiao claims he has a sixty percent chance of defeating Jiang Bi.” At this time, Wang Na’s sarcastic laughter sounded, “Truly the biggest joke under the heavens! Feng Yang, the personal disciple you taught really knows how to overestimate his ability! People with such character are useless no matter how high their talent is, arrogant and ignorant without limit, really throwing our Black Warrior Institute’s reputation and face!”
Feng Yang didn’t lose out on momentum, “You are a Black Warrior Institute’s Vice-Principal, yet you couldn’t even control your lower part, going over the fence to seduce men. Not only have you thrown our institute’s face to the wind, you’ve even thrown the entire Black Tortoise Galaxy’s face!!”
Wang Na looked like she was about to be reduced to tears: “You...!” But no further words came out of her mouth, trying not to explode with great effort.
On the Rising Dragon Stage, Liu Xiaoshi and the other eight inner disciples fumed inwardly at Jiang Bi’s belittling words, but witnessing his fully released momentum, apprehension filled him, hence, no one dared to make the first move.
It was at this time that Huwang Xiao was seen walking casually toward Jiang Bi. Huwang Xiao’s action took everyone watching with surprise.
“Is this little punk trying to challenge Jiang Bi alone?” Watching this, Wang Na couldn’t resist mocking in a harsh tone: “Ignorant death-seeking fool!”
Masters belonging to other forces on the viewing stands whispered amongst themselves with odd expressions as they watched on.
Jiang Bi laughed happily watching Huwang Xialong coming at him, revealing his pearly white teeth, “Huwang Xiao, you want to challenge me by yourself? Since you asked for it, I shall let you enjoy my current strength!” At this point, he once again increased his momentum, pushing it close to a peak late-Fourth Order God Realm.
Before the large crowd’s bewildered gazes, Huwang Xiao suddenly raised his arm, slamming it down on Jiang Bi just like that.
Had this kid gone nuts? This was the first thought that shot through the everyone’s mind.
Huwang Xiao’s action made Jiang Bi curl his lips back in a feral sneer, but just as he was about to attack, his expression changed. His pupils dilated with fear as if he had run into something unbelievably terrifying. In the next second, he twisted around, wanting to retreat.
“No!” Jiang Bi suddenly let out a strained bellow, punching his fist out at the same time.
“Heavenly Ghost, Buddha King’s Punch!”
A sea of wailing ghosts engulfed Huwang Xiao while numerous golden Buddha statues sat above the dark ghost sea.
Space greatly shook, and at this point, a resounding slap suddenly reverberated in the air.
Pa! All surging sea of wailing ghosts vanished, the Buddha statues' golden luminance dimmed. The many golden spheres containing golden arhats behind Jiang Bi cracked and shattered into pieces like crispy skin, the ghostly aura around him burst like a bubble.
Jiang Bi let out a tragic scream as he was sent flying into the air, then he crashed heavily in a corner of the Rising Dragon Arena. His whole body was curled up into a lump like an overcooked shrimp.
The satirical smile on Wang Na’s face froze.
Feng Yang was astonished.
Eldest Senior Apprentice-brother Liu Yun was agape.
Xiang Mingzhi’s eyes nearly popped out.
Gudu Leng and Wang Biaoyuan quivered where they stood.
Everyone else looked blankly at the scene before them, their brains emptied of thoughts, unconsciously holding their breaths. Everyone in the crowd was stupefied by the scene in front of them, completely stupefied.
It felt like the world had gone silent, broken by a Jiang Family disciple stuttering: “The-they’re not putting on an act right?”
No one answered him.
It was clear to all whether it was an act or not. It was impossible to be an act! Even if they were putting on an act, the script was all wrong.
Since it wasn’t an act, then…?!
Their attention finally returned to Huwang Xiao, sucking in a breath of cold air in secret.
Huwang Xiao did not pay any attention to the gazes directed at him, striding leisurely as he approached Jiang Bi, who groaned weakly, struggling in vain trying to get back on his feet. However, to the crowd, it seemed like Jiang Bi didn’t even have the strength to stand, falling down again and again after several attempts.
Coming to a stop a few inches from Jiang Bi, Huwang Xiao peered down loftily at Jiang Bi, a faint cold smile spread on his face, “ Dual cultivator of Buddhism and Ghost techniques? Didn’t I say, in my eyes, you’re
not even a tethered horse.”
Huwang Xiao chilling voice reverberated on the Rising Dragon Arena, every single word was heard loud and clear by the crowd.
Below the stage, Li Dufeng and the group of inner disciples that followed behind Jiang Bi earlier felt a chill coiled tightly around their hearts, their faces deathly pale.
“I-I’m, I’m wrong, please, sp-spare me.” Jiang Bi’s feeble voice sounded, barely a whisper.
On the viewing stand, the Jiang Family masters’ expressions were as ugly as they could be.
Huwang Xiao’s face was cold and detached as he lifted a leg and stomped down hard.
A blood-curdling scream from Jiang Bi shook the stage, both of his legs were broke under Huwang Xiao’s foot.
“I have said this earlier, I will break your legs then throw you off the Rising Dragon Arena.” Huwang Xiao sneered, flinging Jiang Bi off the stage with a casual flick.
A loud muffled thud sounded below the stage. Jiang Bi’s unconscious figure sprawled below the stage like a dead dog.
“Good, truly my, Feng Yang’s, disciple! Domineering, manly!” While everyone was astounded to the core, a sudden exuberant laughter rang out from the host viewing stand. Feng Yang jumped to his feet, throwing his head back in laughter.
The Black Warrior Institute Grand Elders Chan Yu, Bao Xinrui, and the Elders supporting Feng Yang like Zhang Tianchuan also broke into smiles after recovering from their daze.
Sitting at the same host viewing stand, Wang Na’s expression was as ugly as it could be, just like she had swallowed a fly into her mouth.
At this point, Feng Yang looked over his shoulder at Wang Na, “Old Witch, how is it? My personal disciple is so much stronger than those soft eggs disciples of yours right?”
‘Soft eggs?’ The muscles on Wang Na’s face twitched. Forcing a cold smirk on her face in retort, “Feng Yang, don’t be happy too early. In a while, Jiang Bi’s ending will be Huwang Xiao’s ending! If you want to be happy, wait until your disciple has won over Xiang Mingzhi!”