?Shi Lang took a deep breath when Azul Herman accepted defeat. He bowed and said, “Thank you for your guidance.”

Then he turned around and walked to his people. He sensed a certain tension in the void and found that Young Master Zhu was gazing at Yun Xue coldly. He frowned and said, “Young Master Zhu, I wonder who among you is the elder, and who is the younger?”

The young man staring at Yun Xue said, “I am Zhu Liang. Behind me is my big brother, Zhu Tian.”

Shi Lang smiled and said, “Greetings. I am Ace, the Young Master of the Heavenly Dragon Pavilion. It is nice to meet you both.”

Zhu Tian was surprised by this and gazed at Shi Lang for a prolonged moment before nodding. He knew in his heart that this young man was anything but easy. When Shi Lang gazed at them, it was like a beast was looking at them. Once they step on his tail, he would tear them to shreds. Given his battle capacity, they were sure that Shi Lang had the skills to do that.

Zhu Tian was not a fool to believe that Shi Lang displayed his trump cards in the battle just now. He said, “Good fight, Young Master Ace. I have heard about your spoils at the frontier. Please to meet you.”

Shi Lang smiled and then looked at Yun Xue as he said, “Go on, take the exam now.”

Yun Xue nodded and left the spot with a sword in her head. She said, “Senior Pie, I seek your guidance.”

The old city lord nodded and asked, “Who do you want to fight?”

Yun Xue said, “I practice swords, so I wish to learn a few things from the seniors.”

She politely told them she wanted to learn from the seniors and then selected the sword user to battle. She may not look like it, but this young snow maiden was a trained diplomat.

Old Man Pie looked at his friends since Azul Herman was injured, and this girl used the sword. He gazed at a middle-aged lady, who took the hint and nodded with a smile. She took a step forward and asked, “I am Milin.”

Yun Xue bowed and said, “Greetings, Senior Milin; I seek your guidance.”

Milin gestured for the lady to move up to the center, and the rest of the Immortal Emperors erected a barrier. Yun Xue turned to the side and found Shi Lang smiling at her as he said, “I will wait for you to pass the test.”

The young lady nodded and then turned her head to look at Milin before she brandished her sword. Yun Xue was not a pushover. She was strong, and the people doubting her on the sidelines were about to find out.

Old Pie gave the signal, and the battle began. Shi Lang locked his sensory ability on the battle as he used his spiritual communicator to contact Amelia and tell her that he was done with his assessment and that he had passed. He instantly received her message informing him of the same. The couple talked about things briefly, and it turned out that Amelia was tested against Demon Beast Kings and captured alive by the Martial Council.

When Shi Lang told her he had to take on an Immortal Emperor, the lady was surprised and asked what was happening. Shi Lang gave her a detailed account of the battle, and the lady replied, “Good, I know you are strong but do not need to flex.”

Shi Lang smiled as he raised his head to look at Yun Xue as Milin pushed her back. He narrowed his eyes and said, “What is the point in holding back when the enemy is overpowering?”

Everyone agreed with his idea. They all nodded; suddenly, the young lady from the Meng family said, “What if she is looking for a weakness?”

Her brother was surprised that the girl was taking the initiative to converse. Shi Lang replied, “Miss Meng, when your opponent is as strong as Senior Milin, it is advised that instead of looking for holes, you should attack proactively and create holes to exploit.”

The people were surprised, and Lady Meng chuckled and said, “Young Master Ace, only a battle maniac like you can take that path. People like us have to tread carefully.”

Shi Lang did not mind the name she used and chuckled as he said, “Young Lady Meng, we all have the potential to achieve greatness. What we all lack is a shred of commitment.”

Young Master Meng asked, “So, do you think we have not committed enough?”

His question spoke for all the people in the square. Everyone who came to this level of assessment was a genius in their own right. Now that Shi Lang had brought up the commitment issue, they wanted to ask the same.

The Terran smiled and said, “I never said that any of the people had not committed their utmost. All of you are strong, and I acknowledge your might. The commitment I speak of is a spark of madness that you will not take back your steps even in the face of death. This spark is exhausted by logic. Defy the logic, and you will see that what I do is not hard. Yes, it is dangerous, but fortune favors the bold, and the treasures are often accompanied by trouble.”

Zhu Liang smiled and said, “I don’t know if such madness will bring us greatness or give us a quick death.”

Shi Lang smiled and said, “The City Lord had this madness, which is why he is a Saint Forger. The demonic cultivators we face have this madness, and this is why they are so hard to handle. I am not saying we should look up to them, but I know only poison can work against poison.”

Suddenly, everyone turned to look at the battle and found Yun Xue standing on the ground with her hair turning white. Her body was covered in Dao Armor, and an Icy Blue Dao Crown rested on her head. She said, “Realm Of Ice, Snow Flake Sword.”

The entire ground inside the barrier froze instantly, and snowflakes began to materialize around them. Milin was surprised and said, “You juniors sure are not easy to deal with.”

She summoned her Dao Crown and said, “Sparkling summer.”

The next moment, her part of the ground began to steam, and sparks of fire began to shine inside the barrier. However, Yun Xue did not stop and began to dance with her sword. Milin also did not lag, and she countered. The essence of the two moves seemed to be similar. However, Yun Xue was losing elegance and fluency. After all, she was facing an old Immortal Empress.

Shi Lang said, “Prepare a healing pill.”

The people were perplexed about what he was saying when they suddenly sensed dangerous feelings erupting from the core of their hearts. A loud explosion shook the square. The impact was stronger than that of Shi Lang and Azul Herman. None of the Immortal Emperors predicted it. Inside the barrier, there was a big dust cloud.

No one could see anything, but Shi Lang was sure the two people inside the barrier were fine. He said, “Do not worry so much. They are just stunned because they did not expect the explosion.”

Young Lady Meng asked, “What do you mean, Young Master Ace? Is this explosion not caused by their attacks?”

Shi Lang replied, “In a way, it is, but it is not. How do I explain this? Well, see, ice and fire are natural counters. Senior Milin was stronger in her elemental proficiency, but Yun Xue was not, and there was a disbalance in the elemental energy dynamics. That caused this explosion, and the shock wave was so sudden that none of them were prepared and got knocked out.”

The people understood and nodded. They all had mastery of their elements. However, they had never thought something like this could happen. Shi Lang said, “This only happened because the barrier was like a bubble. If it were open, it would not have been a problem.”

This was the key point that these people had been missing. Old Man Pie removed the barrier. Shi Lang moved in to look for Yun Xue. He quickly found her and fed her a healing pill. Her organs were shaken from the unexpected shockwave, and she needed to rest.

The Terran removed her from the barrier and said, “Brother Yao, go and take your exam. She is fine.” .

Yao Jiming nodded and then walked forward. Old Man Pie looked at Milin and asked, “Sister Milin, are you okay?”

The lady nodded and said, “This Junior passed the exam. My realm aided me. Otherwise, the impact would have left me knocked out as well.”

Old Man Pie nodded and said, “Young Master Ace, your friend passes.”

Shi Lang nodded and said, “Thank you.”

They all knew that Yun Xue was a newly promoted Immortal Queen. Yet she managed to handle an Immortal Emperess. The people in the square realized that the contenders from Heavenly Dragon Pavilion were not weak.

𝘪𝑎.𝘤𝑜𝘮