nChapter 5 Great Excitement

nThe name of the little young lady was Shui Qingyan, and she came from the Wei River Tribe of the three thousand human tribes of the Great Wilderness. There were a lot of shore around Wei River, which was why the Wei River tribe was often called the Shui Tu Clan and the tribesmen used ‘Shui’ as their surname.

nZhong Yue was a long-time friend of Shui Qingyan. When Zhong Yue was coming back from his tribe last year, he traveled across the Great Wilderness alone to the holy land of Swords Gate. And that was when he met Shui Qingyan.

nShui Qingyan’s parents held a position of high prestige within the Shuitu Clan. There were more than ten hunters escorting her to the Swords Gate. However, they were ambushed by a wave of beasts in the middle of the trip—the only survivor was Shui Qingyan. Zhong Yue had stepped forward and saved her, just as she was about to become the final victim that would die under the claws of the beasts.

nThe scar on his left arm was the price he had paid to save Shui Qingyan from the beasts.

nZhong Yue then escorted her back to Swords Gate. Due to this experience, Shui Qingyan acknowledged Zhong Yue as her Elder Brother Yue, forming a close relationship.

n“Qingyan, you’ve reached the level of Soul Liberty already?” Zhong Yue was shocked and he said in disbelief, “You’ve only cultivated for a year….”

nHe stopped his sentence midway as he suddenly thought of himself. Her cultivation speed could be considered swift as it had only been a year since she became part of the Swords Gate. Despite this, she was already at the level of Soul Liberty, and was about to participate in the examination test in Cloudless Hall. Compared to the other outer disciples, she had progressed very fast!

nIn contrast, under the teachings of Xin Huo, Zhong Yue had practiced the【Sui Sovereign Flame Order Palace Visualization Art】. Within hours, he could free his soul from the body and achieve the level of Soul Liberty. Such a cultivation speed would be unbelievable to the others!

nOf course, given that he had cultivated for so many years and finally had a breakthrough now to the level of Soul Liberty, he was only common within the tens of thousands of outer disciples. As such, he would not attract much attention to himself.

nThe two youngsters walked into Cloudless Hall: the hall was indeed worthy of its name of Cloudless.

nBelow them was an invisible barrier, and underneath the barrier was a view from a lofty altitude. Magnificent mountains and hills stood like stationary sea waves, and nearly the entirety of the hundred thousand miles of Great Wilderness could be seen clearly!

nWaves of white clouds curled and floated with the wind beneath them. When the two looked around, they could see all sorts of unique sights within the Great Wilderness. There was a frosted ice mountain covered in snow, giant trees that shadowed a thousand miles with their canopy, and a huge lotus that grew exceptionally big. These were all breathtaking scenes.

nAbove them, the hot sun dangled high and the moon hung to the side. The sun, moon, and stars were all so close to him now; much nearer than they used to be.

nIn Cloudless Hall, there were already more than ten people gathered in front of a high stage. The stage had a radius of a thousand feet, and in the middle stood a little Sword Gate that was shaped like a sword.

nThere was a young fifteen-year-old teenager fighting against a dark black peculiar demon.

nThe front claws of the peculiar demon were like a mantis, its legs were bent inward and its movements were swift. It came and went like waves of wind. The mantis demon moved around the youngster; waving and slashing him with its scythe-like arms!

nThe youngster moved left and right, blocking and countering. Blood flowed from his body and from time to time, he would be wounded by the demon. He was in a bad position!

nThe high stage was enclosed by invisible seals, completely shutting it off. The demon was unable to escape. Since it was a demon, it was bloodthirsty by nature. Hence, it crazily attacked and assaulted the youngster.

nOn the other side of the high stage, a few examiners dressed in white clothes sat quietly as they waited for the examination results.

n“This mantis demon is a minion-class demon raised by the Swords Gate as a subject for examination use. Fast speed, strong strength, and arms like scythes, it will be impossible to win against it through close combat.”

nBelow the stage, there were a number of outer disciples wearing exquisite clothes that clearly suggested that they were all descendants of big clans. They were chatting and discussing, “But the weakness of the mantis demon is very obvious, its frail soul! We only need to liberate our souls from our body, enter its psyche ocean, and imagine the Swords Gate. With a slash of Sword Qi, it will be exterminated and victory will then be in our hands!”

n“Easier said than done.” Another one of them shook his head, “The attack rate of the mantis demon is too fast and with its great strength, engaging in close combat will only lead to a fiasco! But if the soul is liberated and slashed by its arm, you will die immediately! Just now, the disciple liberated his soul and he was slashed by the mantis demon. His soul was destroyed and scattered into pieces on the spot, not even the examiner could save him! Only by precisely capturing the fleeting opportunity can the soul enter its psyche ocean and kill its soul!”

n“That’s right, the mantis demon is too quick and its strength is also much stronger than ordinary people. We can’t fight it face to face, we can only defeat it with our knowledge!”

nThe purpose of the examination of Cloudless Hall was to test the candidate’s liberation of soul and combat consciousness, both of these elements were equally indispensable!

nZhong Yue frowned and made a puzzled face, The mantis demon doesn’t seem to be that quick and its strength is not as great as mine. Why did they all say that it can’t be defeated face to face in close combat?

nIn his eyes, the mantis demon could not be considered very fast. The powers from its arm-scythe slashes were also somehow lacking. Zhong Yue could clearly capture every movement of the mantis demon. His body seemed to be eager to fight on the stage, it was all so weird.

nLittle did he know that because his psyche had become a few times stronger than before, the mantis demon that was quick and swift in the eyes of the others was nothing unusual in his eyes. It could only be called normal.

nThis was the beauty of a strong psyche!

nShui Qingyan took a small totem pillar out from behind her, her eyes glimmering as she said in a low voice, “There are elders of Shui Tu Clan in the Swords Gate and I was given this totem pillar, it helped me a lot while cultivating. Brother Yue, this examination is very dangerous. Later, you can bring in my totem pillar and return it to me after the examination. That way, both of us can pass the exam!”

nZhong Yue was moved by her suggestion. However, he raised his head and looked at the mantis demon on the stage, then shook his head and said, “It’s fine, I want to it try myself.”

nOn the stage, wounds opened all over the body of the youngster, but he grit his teeth and held on.

nSuddenly, one of the examiners dressed in white clothes lifted his finger. The head of the mantis demon burst in midstep and it died on the spot. The examiner’s face was emotionless and he said to the youngster, “You are too exhausted to continue, leave. Next, Jun Shan tribe, Jun Shaofei of the Jun Shan Clan.”

nAnother young man climbed onto the stage. It was obvious that the youngster was from one of the big clans as he placed a totem pillar on the ground as soon as he reached the stage. The carvings on the totem pillar gradually grew brighter and emitted waves of energy.

nThe Sword Gate that was on the stage opened wide and a black silhouette came rushing out, charging right at Jun Shaofei. In the blink of an eye, its arms that were like scythes were three feet away from the youngster. The next moment, his head would be chopped off. He was left with no time to react!

nSuddenly, the mantis demon slowed down. Its speed was delayed by half a beat. Even though it was still quick, it was not quick to the point that its movements could not be captured like before.

nThe totem god pillar is indeed wonderful. Zhong Yue was astonished, his eyes brightened and he was very curious about the totem god pillar. Qi Practitioners use their spirit to make the totem god pillar, I wonder how do they make it?

nAlthough the speed of the mantis demon was slowed, it was still fairly quick to Jun Shaofei. The battle lasted for another fifteen minutes before Jun Shaofei seized a chance to enter its psyche ocean and destroy its soul. He had won the match and passed the examination!

nTime continued ticking by. One by one, teenagers stepped on the stage and continuous mantis demons rushed out from the Sword Gate. Some of the teenagers could not even last a second and their limbs were permanently taken away by the demon’s slash. However, their lives were saved by the examiners. The others fought a hard battle, but were still unable to defeat the mantis demons.

nThere were only two teenagers who could defeat the demons and win the battle. They used the help of the magical totem pillars. But none of the outer disciples that came from the poor families could pass the test.

nIt was not long until it was Zhong Yue’s turn. Shui Qingyan was worried so she took out the totem god pillar behind her back and said in a low voice, “Brother Yue, you should use my totem pillar….”

nZhong Yue’s eyes were brighter than ever. He shook his head and said, “No need!”

nOn the high stage, the battle was over. One of the examiners looked at the name list and without the slightest change in emotion, he said, “Zhong Shan tribe, Zhong Shan Clan, Zhong Yue!”

n“Here!” Zhong Yue answered.

nHe ran up to the stage and inhaled a deep breath; his eyes stared right at the Sword Gate.

nBelow the stage, the outer disciples were looking at him. This youngster was skinny and shriveled, the clothes he wore were rugged and worn-out, and he even carried a medicine basket on his back. He did not even look like a candidate that came to participate in the examination, but more like a disciple that came to harvest spirit herbs.

nRight away, there were peals of laughter coming below from the crowd. One of them quietly laughed, “Child of the poor peasants, it’s best that you don’t come and make yourself a joke….”

nBefore he finished his sentence, the crowd could hear a loud bang. The Sword Gate was opened by one of the examiners. The horrible groans of the mantis demon could be heard and a black silhouette rushed out like a sword toward Zhong Yue. The two scythe-like arms swung around swiftly in the air like two sharp blades!

nThe two sharp blades were directed toward Zhong Yue in series!

n“Jiao Dragon Winding Body!” Zhong Yue released a roaring shout, much like the spring thunder’s loud boom. At this moment, the crowd in Cloudless Hall could hear deep dragon-like roars. Some of them even seemed to see a ferocious Jiao Dragon winding around Zhong Yue’s body!

nThe two blades from the mantis demon slashed down. At the same time, sounds of a body cracking and tearing could be heard. Blood was shed and splattered. The black silhouette flew across the stage and rammed the invisible barrier. It then fell down onto the floor, not moving a single inch!

nOn the high stage, stood only a young man.

nThe crowd below the stage fell dead silent.

nThe white dressed examiners raised their heads one after another. Their eyes were filled with disbelief as they saw the mantis demon lying lifelessly on the floor. Its ribs had been crushed into dust by a fist and the broken bones had pierced its heart. It had suffered a tragic death!

n“Without using his soul, rather, he ended the demon with his fist….”

nOne of the examiners was dumbstruck, and mumbled, “Senior martial brothers, should this be counted as a pass?”

nThe others looked blankly at each other. In all these years of taking charge of Cloudless Hall, this was the first time they had encountered such a situation!

nKilling the swift and strong mantis demon with bare fists was a piece of cake to Qi Practitioners, but it was an impossible task to outer disciples!

nNow, a mantis demon was dead, killed by the bare fists of Zhong Yue. This situation nearly drove the examiners crazy!

nThe indifferent examiners were now stimulated, and fully attentive. However, they still had no clue about how should they evaluate this examinee.

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