Chapter 556 - 338: Sowing Discord
Chapter 556: Chapter 338: Sowing Discord
"If I use my full strength, I should be able to leave a seven-inch-deep Fist Seal," Xu Yang said as he slowly retracted his fist.
He reached this conclusion based on the rebound force of the spirit stele. This was only using eighty percent of his strength; if he disregarded the risk of bodily injury, he could likely leave an even deeper mark.
Half an hour later, the testing concluded for everyone. Of the original seven hundred or so people, fewer than five hundred remained. Those who had spent spirit coins to hire helpers for the ascent saw very few among them pass; for most, their money had simply gone down the drain.
"Head down the mountain. Bring your jade tokens and return here tomorrow."
By now, the sky was growing dark, and Chu Nanguai did not proceed with the next trial. Everyone descended from the mountain peak.
Yue Zhong and Bai Shaoling strode over with Zhang Hanzhou and Jiang Yan in tow.
"Good, you’ve done our Purple Sun Sect proud," Bai Shaoling said with a hint of excitement.
Of the seven disciples from the Purple Sun Sect, only Zhang Hanzhou had been eliminated so far, causing quite a stir among the various sects. With a bit of luck, the Purple Sun Sect could have six disciples successfully enter the Celestial Strategy Academy this time.
Zhang Hanzhou’s eyes faintly flickered with unwillingness. If trash like Qi Xuancheng could pass the trial at the peak, he could have passed too, had he only been able to reach the top.
However, Xu Yang, a fellow disciple, had chosen to help outsiders rather than him, stripping him of any chance to enter the Celestial Strategy Academy.
"Xu Yang!" he fumed inwardly, carefully concealing his hatred so as not to let it show in the moment.
"I must find an opportunity to kill him," Xu Yang thought as his gaze casually swept past Zhang Hanzhou.
He didn’t catch any hatred radiating from Zhang Hanzhou, but from the moment he refused to bring him up the mountain, he knew Zhang Hanzhou would definitely hate him.
He understood human nature too well. Even if he refused because he had no friendship with Zhang Hanzhou, because Zhang Hanzhou had repeatedly made snide remarks at him, and because Zhang Hanzhou had once disdained him for provoking a formidable enemy like Huo Xiaochen—even with all these justifiable reasons, as long as he didn’t help, Zhang Hanzhou would view him as an enemy.
However, he couldn’t just help Zhang Hanzhou up the mountain simply because he feared the man’s resentment.
Although Zhang Hanzhou’s hatred meant nothing to him, Xu Qing was still at the Purple Sun Sect. He worried that after returning, Zhang Hanzhou would vent his anger on Xu Qing.
"This opportunity won’t be easy to find," Xu Yang thought.
Although he had the mind to ensure Zhang Hanzhou could never return to the Purple Sun Sect, an opportunity to strike wouldn’t just appear because he wanted one.
"I can only take it one step at a time. If worse comes to worst, I’ll just warn Xu Qing to be careful. Once I enter the Celestial Strategy Academy, even if Zhang Hanzhou wants to take his anger out on her, he won’t dare to do it blatantly," he mused.
Thinking of this, Xu Yang felt much more at ease.
The group returned to Dragon Ascending Street. Along the way, Zhang Hanzhou remained completely silent, no longer cynically mocking Xu Yang and Sun Tao as he used to. He looked as dejected as a frostbitten eggplant.
Qi Xuancheng, on the other hand, was much more active, brimming with high spirits as if he had already become a disciple of the Celestial Strategy Academy.
"Brother Zhang, it’s a pity you couldn’t reach the mountaintop. Otherwise, with your physical body, you would have easily passed the peak’s trial," he said, looking at Zhang Hanzhou with some regret.
As soon as these words were spoken, Zhang Hanzhou hated Xu Yang even more.
Xu Yang’s gaze indifferently swept over Qi Xuancheng. He knew the man wasn’t feeling pity for Zhang Hanzhou at all; he was deliberately stoking Zhang Hanzhou’s hatred.
"Junior Brother Xu should have helped Senior Brother Zhang today," Qi Xuancheng added. "Maybe our Purple Sun Sect could have had one more disciple in the Celestial Strategy Academy."
Ye Qiuling sighed, "Unfortunately, I was powerless to help."
She had abandoned Zhang Hanzhou and Wu Xiuyuan to reach the top, so she naturally understood that Zhang Hanzhou would also bear a grudge against her. Now, by playing along with Qi Xuancheng’s words, she was deflecting that hatred.
Yue Zhong and Bai Shaoling frowned slightly. Both were old foxes and naturally understood the intentions behind Qi Xuancheng and Ye Qiuling’s words.
From the perspective of fellow disciples, Xu Yang indeed should have helped Zhang Hanzhou. But from Xu Yang’s perspective, no one had the right to criticize him for not helping.
After all, when the Sect wanted to foster an alliance among them, it was Zhang Hanzhou who disliked Xu Yang for provoking Huo Xiaochen. He had refused to ally with Xu Yang and even asked him to voluntarily withdraw so as not to implicate everyone, which had ultimately led to them going their separate ways.
"Senior Sister Ye, stop shedding crocodile tears," Xu Yang said, refusing to indulge her as he ruthlessly tore off her hypocritical mask. "With so many geniuses on the Lingyun List pursuing you, if you really wanted to help Senior Brother Zhang, all you had to do was ask any of them, and someone would have aided him. Instead, you coldly stood by and watched him get eliminated. It’s a shame he partnered with you, only for you to betray him."
"You..." Ye Qiuling’s face instantly turned pale, rendered completely speechless by the retort.
If Zhang Hanzhou really wanted to hate someone, the person he should hate the most was her—the ally who had abandoned him.
In an instant, she felt like she had shot herself in the foot. If she had known Xu Yang possessed such a sharp tongue, she wouldn’t have spoken up at all.
"Who said I didn’t ask? I was just rejected," Ye Qiuling quickly retorted. "You, on the other hand, clearly had the ability but chose to help outsiders rather than your own fellow disciple."
"Enough. You can’t blame Xu Yang for what happened to Zhang Hanzhou. He was the one who refused to team up with Xu Yang in the first place."
Just as Xu Yang was about to speak, Bai Shaoling’s angry shout rang out.
Zhang Hanzhou had only himself to blame for ending up like this today.
When asked to team up with Jiang Fan, he had worried that siding with the Marquis Mansion would bring trouble. When asked to team up with Xu Yang, he had worried about being targeted by Huo Xiaochen. He hadn’t wanted to bear any risks at all, only wanting the benefits.
He hadn’t even entered the Celestial Strategy Academy yet, but he was already thinking about matters after becoming a disciple.
Now look at him: he hadn’t attracted trouble from the Marquis Mansion, nor had he been targeted by Huo Xiaochen, but at the same time, he wouldn’t be entering the Celestial Strategy Academy either.
Once Bai Shaoling spoke, the others fell silent.
Xu Yang’s gaze indifferently swept over Ye Qiuling and Qi Xuancheng. Given the chance, he would kill these two as well.
The group soon returned to Dragon Ascending Street. After eating, Xu Yang absorbed Spiritual Qi to cultivate.
The next day.
[Passed the second trial of the Secondary Dragon Ascension, Points +50]
[Passed the third trial of the Secondary Dragon Ascension, Points +50]
[Martial Arts Longevity Points: 1359]
"It would be nice if there were a few more trials to farm a bunch of points," Xu Yang said, casually closing the interface.
He knew the selection would likely end quickly, considering there were only a little over four hundred people left.
The reason Chu Nanguai had held a massive brawl on the first day was simply that there were too many people, and a normal selection would have taken too long. He had risked eliminating even top-tier geniuses just to halve the numbers right away.
If so many hadn’t been eliminated on the first day, let alone reaching the fourth trial today, even the first trial might not have finished.
After everyone rushed to the mountaintop, Chu Nanguai soon appeared.
"Today’s trial is the final one, which will select the three hundred and sixty disciples to enter the Celestial Strategy Academy."
Chu Nanguai’s words immediately sparked an uproar among the crowd.
In the past, the Secondary Dragon Ascension Selection sometimes lasted for over a month. This time, it hadn’t even been seven days—including a three-day rest period in between—and it was already coming to an end.
Many people’s expressions shifted slightly. The sooner it ended, the less chance they had to utilize certain advantages.
"Bring it out," Chu Nanguai shouted coldly, ignoring the crowd’s reaction.
Soon, several students of the Celestial Strategy Academy brought out a stone stele wrapped in a red cloth.
He pointed at the stele and said, "This is a Fist Technique created overnight by the teachers of the Celestial Strategy Academy specifically for this Dragon Ascension. It consists of nine stances and has never appeared in the outside world before.
"The objective of this trial is to comprehend the Fist Technique on the stele. Decipher and master all nine stances. The first three hundred and sixty people to succeed will become this year’s disciples of the Celestial Strategy Academy."
Many people’s faces changed; this trial was glaringly a test of Comprehension.
"Looks like we won’t get the chance to spar with the others," Gu Qingfeng said with some regret.
In previous Secondary Dragon Ascensions, the geniuses on the Lingyun List had to fight each other one by one to determine the final rankings. After all, the rankings on the Lingyun List dictated the resources one would receive upon entering the Celestial Strategy Academy. Without clashing in combat, none of these geniuses would submit to one another.
This year, that segment had clearly been canceled. The final rankings on the Lingyun List would probably be determined solely by their performance over these past few days.
Xu Yang didn’t react much. Given his goal of slaughtering Huo Xiaochen in half a year, he had absolutely no interest in crossing blows with others.
Sure enough, Chu Nanguai’s next words confirmed Gu Qingfeng’s suspicion.
"So, some of you better not keep holding back. Display your talents as much as possible, as this will affect the final rankings of the Lingyun List. I shouldn’t need to overexplain what the final rankings of the Lingyun List signify."
Chu Nanguai pointed to the palaces on the left, right, and straight ahead. "If you feel that you have comprehended and mastered the nine stances of the Fist Technique, go inside to demonstrate your Fist Technique. There will be teachers to evaluate you.
"There is no time limit for this trial; it will continue until three hundred and sixty people are selected.
"If there are no questions, let us begin now."
With that, he yanked the red cloth off the stone stele. Seeing this, those who did have questions felt speechless and could only swallow the words they wanted to ask.
The crowd didn’t dare to delay. They all sat down on the spot, their eyes fixed intently on the stele.
Baji Mountain-Shattering Fist!
The name of the Fist Technique was actually inscribed on the stele.
"It’s actually a Celestial Essence Martial Technique!" Xu Yang was somewhat surprised.
If Chu Nanguai wasn’t boasting and this Fist Technique was truly created overnight by the teachers of the Academy for the Dragon Ascension Selection, then the Celestial Strategy Academy housed some genuine experts. After all, creating a Celestial Essence Martial Technique overnight wasn’t something ordinary people could achieve.
He looked closely and found that this Fist Technique did not involve Martial Dao Imagery, only the application of the Power of Heaven and Earth.
"That makes sense. Even a genius with Perfect Comprehension couldn’t possibly comprehend a type of Martial Dao Imagery overnight. If they had brought out such a profound Fist Technique, this assessment wouldn’t be finished in months," he thought.
[Baji Mountain-Shattering Fist · Pre-Entry Level (0/500)]
Soon, the interface flashed, and the Baji Mountain-Shattering Fist appeared on it.
Xu Yang took a glance and then closed his eyes to continue comprehending. He didn’t plan to use the interface to cheat. Now that he had reached the Perfection of Comprehension, he could easily secure a spot in the Celestial Strategy Academy without relying on it, so there was no need to waste points.
He immersed himself in it and found that although the Baji Mountain-Shattering Fist didn’t involve Martial Dao Imagery, it was still a very exquisite Fist Technique. Moreover, the Fist Technique recorded on the stele was deliberately written in a profound and esoteric manner in many places, making it seem ambiguous and difficult to grasp. The nine stances seemed very difficult to link together; one had to deduce it word by word, sentence by sentence, from beginning to end.
Not only did it test Comprehension, but it also placed a high demand on one’s Heart Spirit.