The 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 was a lot of shore around Wei River, which was why the Wei River Tribe was often called the
Zhong 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.
Shui Qingyan's parents held a position of high prestige within the Shui Tu Clan. More than ten hunters were escorting her to the Swords Gate. However, a wave of beasts ambushed them 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.
The scar on his left arm was the price he had paid to save Shui Qingyan from the beasts.
Zhong 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.
"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…"
He stopped his sentence midway as he suddenly thought of himself. Shui Qingyan's 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!
In 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!
Of 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 ordinary within the tens of thousands of outer disciples. As such, he would not attract much attention to himself.
The two youngsters walked into Cloudless Hall: the hall was indeed worthy of its name of Cloudless.
Below them was an invisible barrier, and underneath the barrier was a view from a high altitude. Magnificent mountains and hills stood like stationary sea waves, and nearly the entirety of the hundred thousand miles of Great Wilderness came into plain view!
Waves 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.
Above 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.
In 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 shaped like a sword.
A young fifteen-year-old teenager was fighting against a dark black peculiar demon.
The 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!
The 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 precarious position!
The 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.
On the other side of the high stage, were a few examiners dressed in white clothes sitting quietly as they waited for the examination results.
"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."
Below the stage, many outer disciples were wearing fine clothes that suggested that they were all descendants of prominent 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. It will be exterminated with a slash of Sword Qi, and victory will then be in our hands!"
"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 the Mantis Demon slashed him. 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!"
"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!"
The 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!
Zhong Yue frowned and made a puzzled face, The Mantis Demon doesn't seem to be that quick, and its strength is not as high as mine. Why did they all say that it can't be defeated face to face in close combat?
In 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 capture clearly every movement of the Mantis Demon. His body seemed to be eager to fight on the stage; it was all so surreal.
Little 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 average.
This was the advantage of a powerful psyche!
Shui 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!"
Her suggestion moved Zhong Yue. 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 try it myself."
On the stage, wounds opened all over the body of the youngster, but he grit his teeth and held on.
Suddenly, one of the examiners dressed in white clothes lifted his finger. The head of the Mantis Demon burst mid-step, 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."
Another young man climbed onto the stage. It was apparent that the youngster was from one of the prominent 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.
The 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. There was simply no time left for him to react!
Suddenly, the Mantis Demon slowed down. Its speed was delayed by half a beat. Even though it was still quick, it was not to the point that its movements were beyond the limits of ordinary perception like before.
The totem godly pillar is indeed incredible. Zhong Yue was astonished, his eyes brightened, and he was very curious about the totem godly pillar. Qi Practitioners use their spirit to make the totem godly pillar. I wonder how do they make it?
Although the speed of the Mantis Demon was slowed, it was still relatively 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!
Time continued ticking. 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.
There 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.
It was not long until it was Zhong Yue's turn. Shui Qingyan was worried so she took out the totem godly pillar behind her back and said in a low voice, "Brother Yue, you should use my totem pillar…"
Zhong Yue's eyes were brighter than ever. He shook his head and said, "No need!"
On 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!"
"Here!" Zhong Yue answered.
He ran up to the stage and inhaled a deep breath; his eyes stared right at the Sword Gate.
Below 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.
Right 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…"
Before he finished his sentence, the crowd could hear a loud bang. One of the examiners opened the Sword Gate. 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!
The two sharp blades quickly flew toward Zhong Yue!
"[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!
The two blades from the Mantis Demon slashed down. At the same time, the 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 onto the floor, not moving a single inch!
On the high stage, stood only a young man.
The crowd below the stage fell dead silent.
The 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!
"Without using his soul, rather, he ended the demon with his fist…"
One of the examiners was dumbstruck, and mumbled, "Senior martial brothers, should this count as a pass?"
The 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!
Killing the swift and powerful Mantis Demon with their bare fists was a piece of cake to Qi Practitioners, but it was an impossible task to outer disciples!
Now, a Mantis Demon was dead, killed by the bare fists of Zhong Yue. This situation nearly drove the examiners crazy!
The indifferent examiners were now roused to attention. However, they still had no clue about how should they evaluate this examinee.