Chapter 90 Seven-Star Grand Alchemist
Zhong Cai smiled with satisfaction and put away the pills.
At this moment, a short pillar suddenly protruded from the ground next to them, with a crack at the top forming a concave "bowl".
Zhong Cai understood and threw the pills she had taken out into the "bowl".
The next instant, a shimmering light appeared in the "bowl".
[Five top-grade pills, four high-grade pills, the first type of level-two pill, the Golden Cauldron Pill is qualified.]
[The first star has been obtained.]
Zhong Cai raised her eyebrows, looking somewhat smug.
If Lao Wu were here, he would definitely brag about it—he even broke through the standard during the assessment, and he would ask, "Who else?!"
Then, Zhong Cai's smile faded.
After all, Lao Wu wasn't there.
Without hesitation, Zhong Cai began refining the second batch of pills.
·
Outside the Azure Dragon Pill Pavilion.
Several alchemists were talking to Wu Shaogan.
Suddenly, a purple light flashed on the second floor.
Wu Shaogan looked in that direction.
The handsome young man and the others were immediately taken aback.
The spirited young girl blurted out, "It's not a ranking assessment, it's a badge assessment?"
Both the handsome young man and the beautiful woman had their pupils constricted.
·
During the grading assessment, only those who complete and pass the assessment will be awarded a silver luster on the corresponding floor.
The purple light that appears like this indicates the badge assessment.
Each ray of purple light represents a star on the badge.
They ostentatiously displayed the superb alchemy skills of the alchemists who were taking the assessment.
·
None of the alchemists expected that the new disciples would be tested on badges directly after entering the inner academy.
This requires a great deal of self-confidence.
But remembering what Junior Brother Wu said, that Junior Brother Zhong in the building was at the top of the list...
That's perfectly normal.
If the top-ranked player can't do this, who can?
However, the fact that the stars appeared so quickly was unexpected.
·
The beautiful woman murmured softly, "Half an hour."
These alchemists all knew how astonishing this speed was.
The spirited young woman's face was solemn.
As expected of the top scorer in the entrance examination, he not only ensured the quality of the pills but also produced them in the shortest possible time.
He truly seemed like another sangtan master.
even……
Of course, they had no way of knowing how skilled Master Sang Dan was in alchemy when he was a second-level alchemist.
Let's take another look.
Will it soar to the heavens like a dragon, or fall midway?
If we wait a few more years, we will see it naturally.
·
The alchemists had previously been interested in asking Wu Shaogan about it, but as the purple light on the floor flickered, they lost interest.
Everyone was focused on the purple light.
Without realizing it, they were also whispering to the people around them.
"It's not pale purple, it's a very rich purple..."
"It's clear that they didn't just produce one or two."
"As far as I know, Junior Brother Qiu, who is currently ranked first on the second level of the Pill Ranking Tablet, not only had a pill that was fully formed during the badge assessment, but also produced three top-grade pills, which amazed everyone and made him famous in the Inner Academy! But even that time, it seemed that it was only medium purple, unlike now, which is a deep purple..."
The three of them stared at each other, holding their breath.
Could it be that the pills produced by this Junior Brother Zhong are full-grade pills... and at least four of them are of the highest quality?
That's unbelievable!
·
For a moment, all three alchemists stopped at this spot.
They originally came only to inquire about something, but now they can't help but stay.
Waiting to see what happens next.
·
Time passed by at a leisurely pace...
It was as if they were verifying their expectations, or perhaps undermining their confidence.
Half an hour later, a purple light appeared on the second floor of the pavilion.
Its brightness was exactly the same as the previous one.
The beautiful woman murmured, "The second one."
Neither the handsome young man nor the spirited young woman spoke.
The group lost all interest in talking, their emotions bottled up inside.
They also forgot about the indifferent young man who was waiting for them to return in front of the cave.
·
The listless young man waited and waited, but no one returned.
He looked over there and saw several friends staring intently at the floors of Dan Pavilion, so he couldn't help but look over as well.
Upon closer inspection...
The indifferent young man sat silently on the ground.
His gaze remained fixed on the purple light emanating from the upper floors.
No wonder no one's coming back.
They probably forgot to move at all.
·
It's still half an hour.
A third ray of purple light appeared, its intensity remaining unchanged.
Another half hour, another half hour...
The fourth, fifth, and sixth streaks of purple light hung from the floor, swaying and vying for attention.
Every ray of light looked like a copy and paste!
As time went on, not only the three alchemists who had come to watch earlier, but also a number of more alchemists, some curious and some stunned, gradually arrived in front of the alchemy pavilion.
All eyes were on the purple light.
What surprised them even more was that even with six kinds of pills already prepared, the junior brother who was supposed to take the test still hadn't come out!
This is to refine the seventh one...
·
More and more people came to watch.
At first, only alchemists from the surrounding area came, but gradually, many martial arts practitioners also curiously gathered around.
Wu Shaogan didn't actively engage with anyone, remaining calmly standing at the front and waiting silently.
Apart from the first few alchemists, the others didn't know the relationship between Wu Shaogan and the alchemists who were taking the entrance exam. They just assumed that he was also a stunned academy disciple who couldn't resist joining in the fun.
With more people around, the discussions naturally grew louder.
"With so much intense purple light, Junior Brother Qiu is outshone."
"Junior Brother Qiu's alchemy skills are already very good. I tried to place an order for someone before, but I haven't been able to get one yet. However, compared to many other alchemists, it's already fast enough. Now that Junior Brother Zhong has joined us, I wonder if we'll open up the ordering of pills?"
"If it's open, we'll have another place to build relationships!"
"We should first find out which pills Junior Brother Zhong is most skilled at refining."
"Let's ask him later. Junior Brother Zhong seems to be the new top disciple..."
Several people then brought up the rankings on the Danbang stone tablet again.
"Junior Brother Zhong is refining the seventh one. If he succeeds, he will definitely surpass Junior Brother Qiu."
"If we fail, we'll compare Junior Brother Zhong's six types of pills with Junior Brother Qiu's seven types."
"In terms of types, Junior Brother Qiu wins; in terms of alchemy, Junior Brother Zhong has the upper hand."
"It's difficult! It's hard to judge."
"We'll only be watching this round!"
·
Amidst everyone's anticipation, a faint purple light appeared on the far left of the floor.
In an instant, the crowd erupted in uproar.
"It's out! It's emitting purple light!"
"Junior Brother Zhong can also refine seven kinds of top-grade pills!"
Is there an eighth type?
Someone analyzed, "There probably isn't an eighth one. Look, the purple light of the seventh one is already very faint, which means that only one top-grade pill was produced in this batch. If there were any more, Junior Brother Zhong probably wouldn't be confident."
This analysis is very reasonable and has been recognized by everyone.
Many academy disciples got excited and headed straight for the Pill Ranking Stele.
The others realized what was happening.
That's right! By now, the Danbang stone tablet should have already reacted!
When they got closer to the stone tablet, they found that someone was already guarding it.
Sure enough, at the top of the second layer of the stone tablet, the name that originally belonged to Qiu Yuan suddenly dropped by one place.
At the very top, this line of text was clearly visible—
Zhong Cai, a Grand Alchemist, a Seven-Star Master, possesses exceptional abilities.
The alchemist's eyes widened immediately.
Exceptional ability!
These four words pierced his eyes deeply.
He exclaimed, "This evaluation—"
The other academy disciples looked in the direction of the alchemist's voice, and then, following the alchemist's shocked gaze, they saw those words.
Everyone was stunned.
An elderly alchemist stroked his beard, sighed deeply, and said, "Only two alchemists at the top of each level of the stone tablet received additional evaluations."
Everyone hurriedly checked.
Sure enough, they all discovered that, apart from the newly listed one, there was only the Sangdan Master at the very top of the stone tablet.
Master Sang's evaluation is longer, but he is, after all, a top-tier seventh-level alchemist.
Although Junior Brother Zhong's evaluation was only a few words long, he was only at level two and was still young, so his future was promising!
·
Although Wu Shaogan remained calm and collected, he took in everything that others saw and discovered.
He also filtered and noted down all the information that others were discussing or revealing.
When A-Cai comes out, he will talk to her about it.
Wu Shaogan continued to keep an eye on Dan Pavilion.
When will A-Cai come out?
It should be soon.
He knew that Acai had already finished refining all the level-two pills that he was confident in.
If nothing unexpected happens, A-Cai will be born soon.
·
Zhong Cai put the last type of elixir into the "bowl," feeling a little regretful.
Unfortunately, although he has made progress in refining the Taihuang Pill, he has only managed to control the quality of the pill to the upper-grade and top-grade levels.
There is only one top-grade one; the rest are all of average quality.
As the majestic voice announced, "The seventh star has been obtained," Zhong Cai put away the alchemy furnace and the wooden fire.
The next moment, the "bowl" kept getting bigger and was divided into many compartments.
Each compartment contains a type of elixir that Zhong Cai had previously refined.
[The assessment is over, the elixir has been returned.]
[Disciple Zhong Cai, who passed the examination, has obtained the Level Two Seven-Star Grand Alchemist Badge!]
Zhong Cai quickly put away the pills.
The "bowl" quickly sank into the ground and disappeared.
Almost simultaneously, the surrounding pillars emitted a rich purple light.
Amidst the interplay of countless rays of light, a small and archaic badge appeared in the center.
It exudes a rather strange aura.
Zhong Cai raised her hand.
The badge landed in his palm.
Zhong Cai looked at it carefully.
·
The badge is cyan.
It looks quite ordinary.
But with a slight turn, a dark light curtain faintly appears above.
Within the light screen, several stars twinkled, appearing and disappearing intermittently.
There were exactly seven beams of light emitted by the stars.
It was extremely beautiful, contrasting beautifully with the dark light curtain.
It's like stars hanging in the night sky.
It is conceivable that the more top-grade pills a master alchemist refines, the more stars will be generated.
This "night sky" will naturally become even more dazzling.
·
After obtaining the badge, alchemists can use it to receive ten times their monthly allowance.
In addition, some very special cultivation secret realms and other places related to alchemists are only accessible to alchemists who possess badges.
If a master alchemist is able to refine new top-grade pills afterward, they will need to hold a badge in order to continue the assessment.
Once successful, a new star will appear in the night sky.
·
Zhong Cai pinned the badge to her chest.
I must say, it's actually quite good-looking!
Next, Zhong Cai will leave Dan Ge.
The moment he stood up, a beam of light enveloped him.
In an instant, Zhong Cai appeared at the entrance of Dan Pavilion.
It happened to be the spot where he stepped on the teleportation array when he went in.
Zhong Cai walked out of Dan Pavilion without hesitation.
Unsurprisingly, when he looked up, the first thing he saw was that extremely handsome, tall and elegant young man.
Zhong Cai immediately broke into a bright smile.
As always, he leaped and pounced on it!
As always, the handsome young man spread his arms and caught him firmly.
But the difference is...
This time, Zhong Cai didn't hug the other person tightly.
He reached out and pushed slightly, then landed on his own.
Then, he pointed to his chest.
"Old Wu, is it good?"
The handsome young man smiled slightly: "Beautiful."
·
The moment Zhong Cai stepped out of the Dan Pavilion, all the academy disciples present saw him.
They all turned their attention to it.
I immediately realized that he was indeed a handsome and intelligent young man, radiating sunshine and making him very approachable.
This kind of temperament is quite different from the top scorers I've heard of before.
Before the many academy disciples could figure out how to start a conversation, they saw the boy jump directly into the arms of a young man.
The disciples: "..."
·
Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan looked at each other as if no one else was around, their words full of intimacy.
Then, a giant wolf with shimmering silver fur seemed to whip up a whirlwind and suddenly appeared beside the two of them.
Wu Shaogan grabbed Zhong Cai and jumped onto the giant wolf.
Zhong Cai then regained her composure.
At the same time, he noticed that there were many people ahead of him.
Zhong Cai was stunned.
Are there still so many people queuing up for the assessment? That must be quite a long wait.
Zhong Cai didn't think much of it and just smiled and said, "Please, fellow senior brothers and sisters."
After he finished speaking, he gently patted the wolf's head.
The giant silver wolf transformed into a streak of silver light and vanished into the distance in an instant.
·
The remaining academy disciples fell silent.
They looked at each other in bewilderment.
When the atmosphere wasn't conducive to interrupting, they hadn't thought of a topic to discuss, and it wasn't appropriate to bother them.
When Junior Brother Zhong came to his senses, he actually thought they were all taking the test, so he quickly left without disturbing them.
This feeling is truly indescribable.
·
The news of the Level 2 Grand Alchemist badge assessment was spread among these alchemists and cultivators to their respective circles.
Soon, the news reached the ears of countless people.
This achievement is so impressive that even disciples with higher cultivation levels can't help but pay more attention to it.
Once you follow Zhong Cai, you'll inevitably want to find out more about him.
And so, through these inquiries, they naturally learned that "Junior Brother Zhong has a Daoist partner."
In the academy, there are people who marry young, but very few who find a partner.
Not only are they Daoist partners, but even fewer are so close that they have to watch over each other during assessments.
Fine, they're just holding their ground, but they're completely still, silent, and focused...
To be honest, many people have never even seen it.
·
The message reached a small valley the fastest.
There are many fields in the valley, where many precious medicinal herbs grow.
On the vacant lot beside the field, there is a rather exquisite mansion.
This mansion is Qiu Yuan's residence.
At this moment, Qiu Yuan stopped cultivating and pursed her lips.
This indicates that he is not in a good mood.
Opposite him stood Liu Song, one of the martial arts cultivators he had hired.
Liu Song told Qiu Yuan about the changes in the rankings on the Danbang stone tablet, and also brought some related information about Zhong Cai.
Qiu Yuan's alchemy skills have always been among the best of those of alchemists of the same level.
After joining the Azure Dragon Academy, he made even faster progress.
·
Although the Azure Dragon Academy recruits students only once every fifty years, it doesn't only accept disciples during that time.
If a rare phenomenon of a Celestial Grade appears in many nearby cities, an instructor from the academy will step in and bring the genius back for further education. Of course, even if a Celestial Grade is exceptional, the academy will not force the family to relinquish the talent if they refuse.
In addition, mentors have a certain number of places available for recruiting disciples.
Each spot represents an opportunity for assessment.
Many mentors give their spots to outstanding younger members of their own families, while some are distributed to others.
Some spots may even be allocated to the auction.
If cultivators with available spots can pass the assessment, they can directly become disciples of the academy.
The level of a disciple is determined by their assessment results.
·
Qiu Yuan's spot was won through a family auction.
He lived up to expectations, successfully entered the academy, and gained the favor of several alchemy instructors.
But Qiu Yuan herself wanted to become a disciple of Master Sang Dan.
Unfortunately, Master Sang Dan did not accept him as a student, but only offered a few words of encouragement.
Qiu Yuan worked even harder to improve her alchemy skills and later even obtained a badge.
Master Sang Dan still refused to accept him.
However, it was the Mei Family Mountain faction, to which Master Sang Dan belonged, that extended an invitation to him.
Qiu Yuan had considered taking advantage of her proximity to the Mei family, but they were quite frank and told her that it was not possible.
In the end, Qiu Yuan did not enter the Mei Family Mountain Range, but chose to become an apprentice of another seventh-level alchemist, Qin Ziyang.
Master Qin admired Qiu Yuan and treated her well.
Qiu Yuan had nothing to be dissatisfied with, but she was still somewhat resentful, though she didn't dare ask her master.
Master Qin was open-minded and didn't mind Qiu Yuan's admiration for Master Sang.
On the contrary, he frankly told this young disciple.
For Master Sangdan, Qiu Yuan's abilities fell far short of his standards for accepting disciples.
Qiu Yuan cannot practice alchemy beyond her level.
Qiu Yuan's pill-producing speed was not the fastest.
Level 1 and 2 pills are only very low-grade pills, and the number of top-grade pills that Qiu Yuan produces each time is far too small.
Before Qiu Yuan, there were many other alchemists with outstanding alchemy skills who wanted to become disciples of Master Sang, and some of them were even better than Qiu Yuan—almost all of them had a place on the alchemy ranking stele, and some were even at the top of their level.
Sang Danshi did not accept them.
·
When Qiu Yuan learned of this, she felt as if she had been struck by lightning.
Such requirements are far too harsh!
However, he was helpless.
Qiu Yuan completely gave up her aspirations and devoted herself entirely to alchemy.
He deeply respected his master, but deep down, a faint voice still lingered within him.
What kind of disciples will Master Sang Dan accept?
He might have to wait a long time, but once that day comes, he'll go and meet them...
·
Qiu Yuan never expected that, just a few years later, this disciple would appear during a routine recruitment exam at Canglong Academy!
In just a few days after that disciple entered the academy, he had already earned a badge, directly surpassing his ranking!
After Qiu Yuan climbed the stone tablet, she remained in that position.
He is proud.
However, Qiu Yuan's defeat came as a complete surprise.
Qiu Yuan took a deep breath, suppressing her rising displeasure.
Liu Song told him in detail the many details of how the onlookers watched the young alchemist.
Qiu Yuan's face was ashen, and she slowly closed her eyes.
Reaching the top in the first badge assessment, with over half of the pills produced by skilled practitioners being of top quality, a 100% success rate, and even receiving an evaluation from the stone tablet...
Qiu Yuan had heard his master say that he hoped Qiu Yuan could surpass his master and one day receive recognition.
The evaluation on the stone tablet will only be bestowed upon the most outstanding alchemists!
Qiu Yuan breathed slowly.
So, is this the kind of disciple Master Sangdan wanted?
The last bit of resentment vanished at that moment.
·
The silver wolf sped along, carrying two people who were whispering to each other.
Although the wind was very strong, the space on the wolf's back neutralized all the disturbances.
Zhong Cai leaned against Wu Shaogan's chest and vividly recounted the scene of the assessment to him.
Wu Shaogan listened attentively and echoed his sentiments.
Zhong Cai said with a smile, "I was shocked when we came out. So many people came to take the exam. If we hadn't arrived early, wouldn't we have had to queue up with them?"
"But the Pill Pavilion should be able to accept multiple examinees at once, right? With such a large floor, it can't just be one person being examined each time, can it?"
"We're in a rush right now, otherwise I'd like to see how everyone else did..."
Wu Shaogan couldn't help but laugh out loud as he listened.
Zhong Cai said sullenly, "What's so funny? Old Wu, you've changed!"
Wu Shaogan put his left arm around Zhong Cai's waist and pinched his face with his right hand.
“Ah Cai, they were all attracted here by you.”
Zhong Cai: "Huh?"
Wu Shao chuckled dryly, "When you were taking the test, the Purple Star was too bright."
Zhong Cai: "..."
Suddenly it dawned on me.
It's a bit awkward.
But are all the disciples in this academy so fond of joining in the fun...?
Wu Shaogan laughed even more heartily.
Zhong Cai wanted to glare at him, but she was in his arms, so she couldn't do that.
Finally, Zhong Cai smiled too.
"Master Sang will find out about this soon, and maybe he'll be happy about it?"
“Master Sang will definitely be happy for A-Cai.”
"I've completed the task my master assigned me..."
“Achai should have done an excellent job.”
"Hey..."
·
The silver wolf carried the two of them and quickly arrived at the mission hall.
The Mission Hall and the Trade Hall are both located in a large valley, and are actually very close to each other.
Since the mission hall was located at the front, the two of them went inside first.
·
The mission hall is enormous, with the entire hall forming a unified whole.
It looks very majestic from the outside, and once you go inside, you'll find that it also has spatial arrays set up inside.
The interior space has been expanded many times over.
At first glance, the entire main hall is filled with pillars.
They were densely packed together, and it was impossible to count whether they were hundreds or thousands.
Many disciples of the academy came to the front of the pillar and placed their palms on it, seemingly sinking into their thoughts.
Behind these pillars, in the center of every few dozen pillars, there is a cultivator at the Fusion Realm guarding the area.
They sat behind a wooden table, holding thick booklets and sketching on them.
Once a disciple removes their hand from the pillar, they will approach the corresponding cultivator and speak with them.
The cultivator quickly made a few notes and then handed a scroll to the disciple in front of him.
The disciple took the scroll and left.
The cultivator then quickly went to greet the next person.
·
Zhong Cai looked around.
It's obvious that you need to find the missions among these pillars and then register with the cultivators.
There are many doors on the four walls of the main hall.
Some people were queuing in front of the portals, while others had already entered.
Zhong Cai pulled Wu Shaogan to the nearest door.
The portal connects to a room; if someone enters, the portal will close.
A cultivator who appeared to be in charge sat at the entrance; he was also at the Fusion Realm.
Whenever a disciple came before him, he would either take out his disciple token to handle some business or exchange a few words before following him inside.
·
Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan lined up obediently.
The line quickly shortened, and it was Zhong Cai's turn.
Zhong Cai took out a golden token, handed it to the steward, and said, "This disciple has just entered the academy and is here to collect the task points for breaking through to the Palace Opening Realm."
The steward took out a jade tablet and inserted the golden token into the groove.
In the blink of an eye, he confirmed something, poured his profound energy into the jade tablet, took it out, and returned it to Zhong Cai.
Zhong Cai took it and focused her mind on it—
One hundred more mission points.
Zhong Cai quickly thanked him, and then he pulled Wu Shaogan away from the mission hall.
·
The two were still sitting on the back of the silver wolf.
Under their guidance, Qinghui slowed down his pace.
Zhong Cai said with a smile, "Breaking through from the Heavenly Guidance to the Palace Opening only grants a hundred points. I wonder what it can unlock."
Wu Shaogan also laughed and said, "We don't lack anything for now. If A Cai wants anything, we can sell some top-grade pills to the Trading Hall and save them up slowly."
Zhong Cai raised her eyebrows: "That's not important, let's go get our monthly allowance first."
As the two chatted and laughed, Silver Wolf led them to the entrance of the Trading Hall.
·
The trading hall didn't have as many pillars, but it was still equipped with arrays to expand the space, and it was divided into several layers.
Each floor has numerous portals.
Except for the third level, which can only be entered by those at the Fusion Realm or above, the lower two levels are not divided by realm.
Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan went to queue in front of a door on the first floor, which was the nearest one.
He muttered under his breath, "It's like a bank teller window."
Wu Shaogan brought his right ear close to Zhong Cai's lips.
Zhong Cai understood and quickly explained to him.
Wu Shaogan smiled and nodded, indicating that it did indeed look quite similar.
·
Each disciple who makes a transaction will enter the portal.
When it was Zhong Cai's turn, he pulled Wu Shaogan inside with him.
Inside the portal was a steward from the Suspended Illumination Realm.
Upon seeing the two, the manager smiled and was quite friendly.
Zhong Cai quickly sized up the other person.
He should also be a disciple of the academy...
Wu Shaogan thought to himself that this senior brother must have come on a mission from the academy.
·
The two took out their golden disciple tokens.
Zhong Cai smiled and said, "We're here to collect our monthly allowance. Thank you for counting it, Senior Brother."
The disciple of Xuanzhao's expression changed slightly upon seeing the golden token.
Two such young gold medal disciples...
However, the disciples of Xuanzhao simply became more polite with their smiles.
When Zhong Cai handed over the Grand Alchemist badge on his chest to the Xuanzhao disciple for inspection, his surprise was almost impossible to conceal.
But this disciple had been in charge for a long time and had seen all kinds of disciples. The monthly allowances and resources he distributed were countless.
The disciples of Xuanzhao quickly regained their composure and began to tally the figures with practiced ease: "The newly promoted disciples of the Palace-Opening Realm, their basic monthly allowance... their badges have increased tenfold, and their total monthly allowance is..."
Before long, a disciple of Xuanzhao took out a mustard seed bag and handed it to Zhong Cai.
"Junior Brother Zhong, please accept this. This is your monthly allowance."
Zhong Cai smiled and nodded, then checked the monthly report.
The affairs on Wu Shaogan's side have also begun to be handled.
Martial arts cultivators do not have the same rules as alchemists, so their monthly allowance remains unchanged.
That makes it easy to handle.
The disciples of Xuanzhao didn't even need to count the items; they simply took out a box and handed it to Wu Shaogan.
Wu Shaogan thanked him and accepted the gift.
·
The two successfully received their monthly allowance and, in accordance with their previous decision, purchased a considerable amount of rare medicinal seeds.
For ordinary alchemist disciples, there are some rare medicinal seeds that cannot be obtained at level two, but it is different for badge alchemist disciples, who have greater privileges in all aspects.
The disciples of Xuanzhao quickly gathered enough seeds for Zhong Cai and asked him to hand over some Xuanzhu (mysterious pearls) to complete the transaction.
Zhong Cai readily paid the bill.
Afterwards, Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan had no other business to attend to, so they quickly left.
Under the rushing light of the blue sky, they quickly returned to Duobao Peak.
·
That day, Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan did nothing that evening but rested and conserved their energy.
The next morning, they rode on Qingyu's back and headed towards the nearby Hidden Dragon Ranking.
Qinghui was left in the mountains.
After watching Qingyu leave, the huge silver wolf ran and frolicked all over the mountains and fields.
It was quite enjoyable.
·
In the center of the vast valley stands a massive battle arena.
On the stage, two cultivators are engaged in fierce combat.
One of them was eight feet tall and had a very robust physique.
The other one was short and slippery.
Both men wielded giant axes, one slashing downwards and the other hacking from the side; the battle was extremely fierce.
Especially their speed.
Despite his seemingly rough appearance, the burly young man was incredibly fast. He changed his moves swiftly with each strike, leaving faint afterimages as he moved, exuding an aura of dominance.
The shorter youth was equally fast, but his movement technique leaned more towards agility.
Each time the burly youth moved, his slashes would be slightly slower. The shorter youth would then use his agility to resist the opponent's attack in that instant, even though he was not as strong as the burly youth.
Therefore, the sound of giant axes clashing was incessant.
The two fought and remained deadlocked, expending enormous amounts of physical and spiritual energy.
They were covered in sweat, and their faces were flushed.
But neither of them was willing to give up, and both wanted to achieve final victory!
·
There were many academy disciples watching near the battle arena.
Many cultivators stood together, talking and judging the fighting styles of the two on the stage.
When Qingyu arrived, she landed quietly, her wings beating very gently.
Despite its enormous size, it stopped at the back of the valley and didn't attract much attention.
Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan jumped down.
Qingyu suddenly transformed into a streak of azure light and disappeared into Zhong Cai's beast scabbard.
Wu Shaogan embraced Zhong Cai, and his body swayed.
In the blink of an eye, the two appeared in the valley.
They bypassed the crowd and gradually approached the battle arena.
Many academy disciples suddenly appeared like this to watch the arena battle.
Therefore, not many people pay special attention to the two of them.
·
Wu Shaogan looked toward the battle arena.
The two academy disciples on the stage were still exchanging blows, their movements brimming with power, clearly indicating they were nearing their limit, yet their will remained incredibly strong.
Zhong Cai whispered, "They all seem to be enlightened cultivators?"
Wu Shaogan nodded slightly: "Peak of Enlightenment."
Zhong Cai nodded.
This is not surprising; you can tell just by looking at the aura.
Among cultivators at the peak of the Enlightenment Realm, their aura is considered quite strong.
·
The two watched the battle intently.
Zhong Cai was dazzled by what she saw, and her mind was buzzing.
He couldn't help but exclaim, "As expected of a disciple of the Azure Dragon Sect, there are many moves that I can't even see clearly."
This is perfectly reasonable.
In the past, outside the academy, Zhong Cai had been instructed by Wu Shaogan on many combat methods for those in the Enlightenment Realm while they were together. This naturally honed his eyesight, allowing him to see many moves that were beyond his own level.
But that was mainly because the enlightened cultivators that Zhong Cai had seen were not particularly powerful or skilled.
The situation is different within the Azure Dragon Academy.
After being trained by the academy for a period of time, the disciples have undergone rigorous training and have basically no weaknesses.
Each consecrated object is not an ordinary consecration.
The secret techniques, movement methods, and cultivation methods they practice are all extraordinary.
No matter how much Wu Shaogan showed off his skills in front of Zhong Cai, he never used his full strength. He would slow down and explain the subtle points to Zhong Cai later, mainly to help Zhong Cai increase her understanding of the Enlightenment Realm.
With two powerful disciples now engaged in such a fierce battle, Zhong Cai naturally couldn't see much clearly.
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Wu Shaogan patted Zhong Cai's shoulder and whispered the explanation in his ear.
...It's called an explanation, but it's really just a description.
When the two young men clashed, how did they attack, what were the trajectories of their axes, how fast were they moving, and just how fast could they go...?
Explaining everything in great detail.
A glint of light flashed in Zhong Cai's eyes as she listened with great interest.
Indeed, it's very powerful.
Even though these two academy disciples may seem unremarkable, their techniques are truly exquisite.
He had witnessed so many arena battles before, but none of them could compare.
That's normal.
This battle arena was set up for the Hidden Dragon Ranking.
They came up on stage to compete for a place on the Hidden Dragon List.
·
Zhong Cai still asked in a low voice, "Old Wu, are these two senior brothers ranked or not?"
Wu Shaogan was also new to the area, so of course he didn't know either.
But it didn't matter. He slightly relaxed his senses and found the information he wanted to know from the many discussions around him.
Wu Shaogan said softly, "The more burly one of them is the gatekeeper of the Hidden Dragon Ranking."
Zhong Cai asked curiously, "A gatekeeper?"
Wu Shaogan said, "It's the last place."
Zhong Cai suddenly realized.
·
The two quickly figured it out.
This wasn't the first time that short young man had attempted to break into the Hidden Dragon Ranking.
Each time a cultivator ventures out, they can only choose to challenge the ten disciples ranked last – this is to prevent any of the disciples from being in seclusion and unable to accept the challenge.
However, as long as the gatekeeper hasn't gone into seclusion, we can only fight the gatekeeper first.
Once a disciple successfully completes a challenge and enters the rankings, they can then challenge those who rank higher.
However, only disciples who win three consecutive matches can challenge the top ten.
The short young man lost every challenge, but he never gave up.
Including the battles with this burly gatekeeper alone, there have been five or six times.
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After the two figures on the battle stage crossed paths several times, the short figure was suddenly sent flying backward and fell onto the stage.
The burly gatekeeper gasped for breath, then used his axe to brace himself against the ground.
·
This time, the short young man still failed to win and was unable to make it onto the Hidden Dragon List.
Even for a mere gatekeeper, defeating him is incredibly difficult...
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