It truly was quite the coincidence. Before they met at the small town in the Fallen Moon Gorge, and now here, making Ling Han feel as if he were still in the Imperial City in the Rain Country—why’d he see these people everywhere?
“…Unfortunately, Ling Han didn’t attend, or else with his strength, not only would he firmly enter top hundred, but also would he have a chance of taking first in the second round’s exam,” Qi Yong Ye said, feeling deeply moved.
“Yeah, that guy is too freakish. He was obviously at the first layer of the Gushing Spring Tier, but his strength was heaven-defying, killing even a warrior in the Spiritual Ocean Tier.” Zhao Huan nodded. He originally thought extremely highly of himself, even the Third Prince wasn’t in his eyes—he thought that the Third Prince’s cultivation was only slightly higher than his, and that was why the Third Prince was ranked above him.
However, seeing Ling Han attack, he was completely convinced.
Not to mention Ling Han, he absolutely couldn’t compare with Feng Yan, Yan Tian Zhao, and even Hu Niu would completely overrun him.
He already completely abandoned his haughty airs, and after possessing a normal heart, he instead had great gains, already feeling the great door to the Spiritual Ocean Tier.
Qian Wu Yong shook his head as he said, “It can’t be helped. Ling Han and the Winter Moon Sect have hatred solved only by death, so how could he possibly come here to find a teacher? Moreover, he’s an Earth Grade alchemist, would he need to walk through these procedures? As his status can even parallel a sect master’s, which large sect wouldn’t want to clasp him in their palms?”
“Sigh, that’s Thunder Battle Armor, and it’s said to be passed down from the ancient times. There’s even a strong art inside that can operate the power of lightning. Unfortunately, if Ling Han doesn’t come, none of us here will get it.” Qi Yong Ye shook his head repeatedly.
“Yeah!” Everyone nodded. They already developed some sort of blind faith regarding Ling Han’s battle prowess.
Ling Han couldn’t help but secretly laugh. If he were to take first, and if these people found out later on that it was he, what sort of expressions would they have then?
“Hahahaha, truly laughable.” A sudden mocking laugh resounded as a youngster wearing a long gray sleeve robe walked over, picking his nose as he said, “Is it my ears that have problems, or is it that you frogs at the bottom of the well have a leak in your mouths, actually saying that someone in the first layer of the Gushing Spring Tier can take first place in this time’s exam?”
“What does our conversation have to do with you?” Zhao Huan stood forward.
He was now the strongest one that walked out of the Rain Country’s doors. Thus, encountering this situation, he naturally was unwilling to leave such responsibility to others, standing out first.
“If you guys spoke the truth, then there naturally wouldn’t be a problem. The key is that you guys talk too big, so I just couldn’t hold back!” The gray robed youngster shook his head repeatedly. “How ’bout you guys call out the guy called Ling Han and let me have a look? I, Zhao Hong Cheng can suppress him with one hand.”
“You want to battle, I’ll keep you company!” Zhao Huan said without any fear.
“A mere ninth layer of the Gushing Spring Tier.” Zhao Hong Cheng sneered and said in disdain, “I’m at the first layer of the Spiritual Ocean Tier! You guys do know just how large the difference is between the Spiritual Ocean Tier and the Gushing Spring Tier? Even for a ninth layer of the Gushing Spring Tier, the distance to first layer of the Spiritual Ocean Tier is separated by a great chasm. I wouldn’t want to bully you.”
Qi Yong Ye and the others’ expressions stiffened. The higher the martial arts tier, the harder it was to cross tiers to battle, especially a large tier. They weren’t so freakish like Ling Han, being able to dominate a Spiritual Ocean Tier warrior while at the “first” layer of the Gushing Spring.
“Oh, so you guys come from the Desolate North!” Zhao Hong Cheng clapped his hands abruptly, and laughed out loud. “No wonder the lack of experience, turns out you’re a bunch of country bumpkins! Sigh, I’m truly bored to have lowered myself to the level of country bumpkins. If anyone were to know, they’d definitely mock me.”
“Whatever, whatever, you guys continue to look at the sky from the bottom of the well. Wait till you encounter me tomorrow, hehe, I’ll kill you guys one by one!”
As he spoke the last few words, his expression was already full of threat.
Qi Yong Ye and the others’ expressions turned blue with anger, but the contrast in strength was clear—so what if they got more infuriated than ever? Besides, brawling wasn’t tolerated at the bottom of the mountain gate of the Winter Moon Sect, and if they dared to attack, they’d only invite humiliation and suffer the Winter Moon Sect’s expulsion, having no chance in tomorrow’s exam; that would be an even worse loss.
“Sadly, Ling Han isn’t here, or else would this guy dare to be so arrogant?” Everyone was deeply resentful.
Not to mention Ling Han, Feng Yan or Yan Tian Zhao could easily suppress Zhao Hong Cheng, even Hu Niu could do it!
How unfortunate, how unfortunate…
Ling Han heard it all, and couldn’t help but smile slightly, picking up a few random stones off the ground and curling his fingers to flick them.
“Ai Ya!” Zhao Hong Cheng stumbled abruptly as his right left leg went soft and he couldn’t help but half-kneel on the ground. He immediately stood up again and shouted furiously, “Who, who dares to blindside me?”
Qi Yong Ye and the others were momentarily started, but after they heard Zhao Hong Cheng’s words, they couldn’t help but crack into laughter.
“Great expert Zhao, aren’t you a great expert, so how come you don’t know who surprise attacked you?
“As I see it, this guy just naturally loves to kneel and has weak legs, so he found an excuse.”
“Hehe, Great expert Zhao, your master’s here, come kneel down again!”
Zhao Hong Cheng was so angry that his eyes burned with rage; he turned around fiercely, looking towards Qi Yong Ye and the others; even he didn’t believe that amongst those people were an expert that could surprise attack him.
He looked toward his surroundings, and felt that most of the presences were at the Element Gathering Tier, and only a few practitioners were in the Gushing Spring Tier, much less the Spiritual Ocean Tier—he was the only one.
Could he really just have had a cramp?
He turned to try to walk, but as his right leg raised up, he felt a fierce pain in his left leg. He staggered and knelt down again.
“Pwhahahaha!” Qi Yong Ye and the others guffawed again, but also revealed surprised expressions.
Once might have been by chance, but would a Spiritual Ocean Tier have such an accident twice? Then, someone definitely did sneak-attack Zhao Hong Cheng, and that person had to possess incredible strength to be able to do it while hidden so well.
“Subject Zhao, you may rise.” Everyone naturally wouldn’t let go of such a good chance to ridicule him.
Zhao Hong Cheng stood up, and this time he really was hurt somewhat seriously. Once he stood up, he stumbled once again, kneeling straight back down. He lowered his head, and revealed an horrified expression.
Shockingly, on his knee was a bloody hole, which must’ve penetrated right through his kneecap.
‘Hiss!’
If the person wanted to kill him in secret, wouldn’t that person’s attack be able to easily penetrate through his skull? There were several hundred thousand people here, and even the Winter Moon Sect couldn’t possibly control everything, right? One hit to kill without witnesses, how would they find the murderer?
Besides, he would be dead, so what if he could get revenge?
Zhao Hong cheng wasn’t stupid, hurriedly stood up on one leg, paid respect towards his surroundings, and said, “This Senior, this junior doesn’t know where he has offended you, please forgive me. No matter what this jun
ior has done or said, he was simply sharp-tongued but without malice!”
He paused momentarily, and when he saw that there were no movements in the surrounding, he attempted to leave with a crippled leg. And this time, he no longer suffered another attack, finally resting assured. He felt cold sweat all over his body; his clothes were soaked thoroughly, sticking close to his body.
Ling Han smiled slightly. He intentionally beat Zhao Hong Yong into a cripple, so that, at least tomorrow, Zhao Hong Yong wouldn’t be able to attend the exam. Thus, Zhao Hong Yong naturally wouldn’t encounter Qi Yong Ye and the others, and neither would he be able to enforce his threat and kill them.
Chapter 321
Chapter 321: The Examination Begins
Translator: Reverie_ Editor: Kurisu
One day’s time quickly passed, and the Winter Moon Sect’s once-every-five-years disciple recruitment event finally began.
Hong long long , the enormous mountain gate, which hasn’t been opened for an unknown amount of time, slowly opened. It was so heavy that when it opened, it was as if an earthquake had happened. Se se se , small rocks kept falling down from the nearby mountain walls, and the mud on the ground was trembling like a carpet.
Everyone’s scalps numbed. This was truly too stunning. Just opening the mountain gates could cause such a large commotion…
An indescribably dazzling flash of light shot out from within the mountain gates and made everyone close their eyes instinctively, not daring to look. Only after this light gradually went from strong to weak then gentle did people look over again.
At this time, an old man walked through the mountain gates, stepping through the air. With each step a flower blossomed, and formed extremely bright lines of fabric one after another, not disappearing for a long time.
Flying through the air with one’s physical body—the Flower Blossom Tier!
Everyone instinctively felt deep veneration. This was an existence beyond mortals, and in normal people’s eyes, one just like god; otherwise, even if mortals could fly, could they have a long lifespan that reached two to three hundred years?
“This sect opens its gates, for disciple recruitment has officially begun,” the old man said indifferently. His voice was very soft, but traveled to everyone’s ears extremely clearly. At the same time, it suppressed the voices of the hundred thousands of people here.
It was very hard to imagine so many people shutting their mouths all together. The scene was so quiet that the drop of a needle could be heard, and the truth was so; if a Flower Blossom Tier warrior’s presence couldn’t suppress a hundred thousand normal people, then they wouldn’t be worthy of being called those who surpassed mortals.
“The rules you all know, so this old man will speak briefly. Enter the mount gates in sequence and pick up a token, then go into the mountain forest from the side. There is where you will fight.
This sect’s disciples that are under thirty years old can also attend, but they can only join on the third day.
Battle and seize the tokens—this is your priority. You have to get to the northwestern part of Yu Long Mountains in three days, there is a ravine called Fallen Goose Valley there. When the moon rises to the zenith on the third day, those who haven’t reached the Fallen Goose Valley will be disqualified.
So, if you think you’ve gotten enough tokens, then you can head to the Fallen Goose Valley early on. You don’t have to wait until the three days are over.
Depart from here; a total of twenty-six routes that lead to the Fallen Goose Gorge. You guys can decide on your own which path to take.
Since you attend the exam, life and death is your own responsibility. Start.”
Thee old man sat cross-legged, suspended in the sky, but his large presence pressed down and made everyone feel as if a stone pressured their hearts, not daring to breath loudly.
Everyone walked forward one by one to receive their tokens. Those all alone immediately ran towards the depths of the forest, and those seeking to form a party began to wait here. Very soon, small teams were formed one by one.
Ling Han’s gaze swept by. He saw several people who stood out: a red clothed youngster carrying a six-meter long spear, emitting an iron-blooded and bloodthirsty aura—his cultivation was of the seventh layer of the Spiritual Ocean Tier, quite beyond the norm.
Ling Han judged he was Little Overlord Spear Yang Chong, who reached the seventh layer of the Spiritual Ocean Tier at twenty-four years old—he was out of the ordinary as expected. Guang Yuan used to be at the fifth layer of the Spiritual Ocean Tier and now crossed into the eighth layer, but the two were twenty years old apart.
Yang Chong immediately felt Ling Han’s gaze and looked back contemptously. He resumed to take large strides forward, seemingly not to care about Ling Han at all.
‘Yes, this guy needs a good beating,’ Ling Han thought to himself. He then looked towards a youngster with a sword fastened by the waist. Hearing the discussions of the surrounding people, that was Sword of Justice Bai Ming, also at the seventh layer of the Spiritual Ocean Tier, his battle prowess was unfathomable. It was rumored that he’d once slain a bandit at the ninth layer of the Spiritual Ocean Tier with one strike, and his reputation was very widespread.
There was also a red-coated girl whose face was like peach blossom, breathtakingly beautiful. A large red flower was fixed on her head, contrasting with her delicate white face such that it was alluringly beautiful. A black whip was tied around her—it outlined her thin waist as if it could be grasped with one hand. It made her lofty bosom appear even grander, and her perky buttocks formed a stunning arc.
In the martial arts world, the number of females was evidently less than that of males, and beautiful women were even rarer. Much less, this girl was also at the Spiritual Ocean Tier! Thus, she was like a magnet that attracted countless gazes of people in the surroundings; men were fervent, and women envious.
From the discussions of the surrounding people, Ling Han found out this girl was called Si Qi Meng; as for whether she was strong or not, no one knew as no one has seen her attack.
Ling Han temporarily only saw three slightly stronger people—there were too many people here, and he had no way of seeing them all; he could only see the few near him.
The tide of people was too congested, so after one hour, Ling Han finally entered the mountain gates and received a token. He walked slowly into the mountain forest and immediately saw a group a people set their gazes on him.
However, the more calm and collected he behaved, the more these people dared not to move rashly. Who knew if he was disguising as a pig to prey on the tiger? Also, the Winter Moon Sect never said one couldn’t use Spirit Tools; on top of that, battle prowess could be completely inestimable.
However, even if they didn’t attack, that didn’t mean that others wouldn’t.
“Hand over the token and get lost!” Yang Chong took large strides over and yelled at a small team that guarded here. The other party was waiting for their people and hadn’t left.
“Yang Chong, the exam just started, why must you have such great temper? Give I, Miao Tai Ning, face, and let everyone mind their own business. How about it?” The team’s leader walked out and saluted towards Yang Chong with folded hands.
“Courting death!” Yang Chong sneered, charging out and throwing out two palms together.
“How brazen!” Miao Tai Ning yelled furiously and hurriedly called his underlings to meet the fight.
However, no matter how many dregs added together, they were still dregs. These people weren’t even qualified to force Yang Chong to draw his spear, and instantly, three people were smashed into bloody rain by iron fists. Miao Tai Ning was one of them and this instantly scared the others, who completely lost their fighting spirit, turning to run.
“All of you stay!” Yang Chong leapt out; one punch took care of one, and instantly, this small team was annihilated. He looked towards a passing youngster and said, “You, search out the tokens on their bodies for me.”<
br />
The youngster was scared pale and didn’t dare to resist at all, hurriedly finding the tokens on the corpses that were all over the ground and carrying them quiveringly before Yang Chong.
Yang Chong took out a bag and put away the tokens then waved his hands as he said, “Get lost, if I see you again within a day, I won’t make things difficult for you!”
“T-thank you very much, Young Master Yang!” The youngster exulted, hurriedly bowing his head to say thanks.
Yang Chong paid no heed, shifting his gaze to another small team; his murderous spirit could be felt slightly.
“Run!” The few small teams immediately fled helter-skelter, running into the forest as if they were already dead.
Yang Chong revealed an expression of disdain, but as his gaze swept by, he revealed an intense desire for battle and said, “You two, want to battle me?”
Bai Ming and Si Qi Meng had already received their tokens and walked towards the mountain gates.
Chapter 322
Chapter 322: People with the Same Pursuit
Translator: Reverie_ Editor: Kurisu
These three strong prodigies all had the cultivation of the seventh layer of the Spiritual Ocean Tier, it was quite surprising.
Bai Ming showed no sign of weakness and looked towards Yang Chong, and Yang Chong did the same. One reached towards the sword hilt, and the other reached towards the spear, burning with desire for battle almost as if they were going up in flames.
But at last, they didn’t make a move, only looking at each other deeply before they entered the forest on their own.
The exam just started, it was too early to fight. Even if they won, they wouldn’t obtain many tokens, and instead they would just reveal their own trump cards; they weren’t the only prodigies here.
“That tanned brother.” Within the shouting, a fat and round youngster ran over almost as if he was rolling, stopping in front of Ling Han, panting. “You’re too unfriendly, not even waiting for Treasure Master.”
Alchemy Emperor of the Divine Dao c1-1294 Page 176