Chapter 40 – Annual Examination (2)
"Aha! So, you want to gamble with me? How about this, if you can't pass the first trial, I want you to kowtow to everybody here and call me father!"
Nie Ping wanted to humiliate Miaomiao, so he pushed the gamble. He was confident that Miaomiao would fail 100%.
As for the one that got looked down, Miaomiao revealed his usual crescent smile. His sinister smiling face was creepy enough to send chills down Nie Ping's spine.
"What if I pass the test with a flying color?"
"That will never happen!"
"Oh, sure. How about this? If I win, I want a hundred refined spirit stones. It doesn't matter if they are Yin stones or Yang stones. I want a hundred of them."
"Huh!?"
Nie Ping was taken aback. In the market, one refined stone equaled 1,000 raw spirit stones. However, Miaomiao demanded a hundred of them, which would translate into 100,000 raw spirit stones.
Miaomiao hadn't realized yet that Silver Phoenix Sect made money by refining raw spirit stones into Yin stones or Yang stones. Xu Xiuying was also an alchemist master that could convert ten raw spirit stones into a refined stone. Even though the conversion process usually took an hour to complete, the profit that she made was enough to support her elders and over a thousand disciples for years.
For Mountain Goose Sect and other cultivators who couldn't refine spirit stones, this demand was absurd.
"Don't get too cocky, Xu Miao! Do you think I'm rich like you? You must be joking!"
Miaomiao bellowed back, "Do you think having me kowtowing to everyone and call you my father also a joke!? I am the representative of the Xu Clan and the Silver Phoenix Sect! If I kowtow to you, the entire sect will also kowtow to you! If we're betting the pride of my sect, I want equal compensation! If you can't afford the bet, then scram and go back to your beggar hole!"
The nine Virgin Yin disciples nodded in approval. If Miaomiao, who they considered as the strongest of outer disciples, were to bow to Nie Ping, everyone would have lost face. Then, the entire sect would be humiliated. If Nie Ping wanted this bet, he had to put something with equal value on the line as well.
Yet, Nie Ping scoffed, "Fine! A hundred refined spirit stones? I have no problem with that. Hell, I don't even need to gather those stones because you can never pass the trial with your meager cultivation base!"
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Watching the entire drama, Xu Xiuying and Qi Hong almost couldn't hold back their laughter. This golden goose of theirs was cunning.
"Elder Qi. How many points do you think my son will get?"
Qi Hong had to cough three times to get rid of the urge to laugh, "At least 90. His meridian, dantian, and Qi volume will be full-score. I don't know about his muscle and bone marrow, though. But I think both of them should be somewhere in the 90s."
"Very perceptive. I have the same idea."
Both Xu Xiuying and Qi Hong mastered the Succubi Sense Technique and possessed eye artifacts. Their naked eyes could see through Miaomiao's meridian, aka his blood vessels. They were aware that he had practiced Qi Dissolving Technique, and his physique was the same as the 3rd stage cultivators with all 108 opened meridians.
"So, you knew about his potential all along?" Qi Hong thought that Xu Xiuying was aware of her son's potential.
"No, I didn't. If it weren't for yesterday's competition, I wouldn't have realized that this boy had hidden his strength. Did he secretly go out and train at night?"
"… No," Qi Hong was surprised that Xu Xiuying wasn't aware of her son's talent, "This is puzzling. I don't know when he trained. I've checked all the CCTV footage, but he did sleep every night."
"Hmm… Then, is it possible that he gets stronger every time he has sex?"
"I don't know, but it's possible."
"…"
Xu Xiuying and Qi Hong were still baffled about how Miaomiao raised his strength and mastered the ice manipulation technique. They misunderstood that he might be a natural genius that could improve his strength via sex.
The two elders ignored the competition and conspired among themselves. Xu Xiuying consulted Qi Hong on how they could use Miaomiao if he was really a hidden genius.
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Spectators and many noble clans paid attention to Miaomiao as they were curious about his abilities. Many old cultivators who came here to protect their children were not stupid. Since Xu Xiuying was bold enough to send her spoiled son to this examination, this young man might be a hidden gem among the young generation.
Wei Huang, the first elder of Mountain Goose Sect and the patriarch of the Wei Clan, stared at Miaomiao in doubt. He had received intel from spies from the Silver Phoenix Sect that Miaomiao never cultivated but had sex all day. He wondered why the shrewd old fox allowed her son to be here as Miaomiao might ruin her sect's reputation.
But everyone's suspicion would be answered soon. Miaomiao strolled toward one of the arrays and stood on it. Then, he placed his hands behind his back and raised his head, showing off his pride and dignity.
*WHOOM*
Then, the test result appeared.
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[Evaluation – Xu Miao]
Muscle: 95
Bone Marrows: 93
Meridian: 100
Dantian: 100
Qi and Essence: 100
Overall: 98
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Miaomiao glanced at the score and clicked his tongue. He forgot to completely cleanse impure Yin Qi that he absorbed from other girls. Or else, his muscle and bone marrow scores would have been 100.
Although Miaomiao was dissatisfied, all spectators widened their eyes as they had to read through the result five times to confirm the number.
"N-N-Ninety eight!?"
"That's impossible! He's only a 1st stage trash!"
"How!? This is BS! Xu Miao is cheating!"
Everybody but the female disciples from the Silver Phoenix Sect didn't believe the result. Nie Ping and spectators were in denial as the status was too high.
Miaomiao didn't move away from the array. He turned around to Jian Meng, "Do you want to check if your array is working properly?"
"…"
Jian Meng frowned and examined the array. However, the formation was working as intended, so the result was correct.
"There is nothing wrong with the array. Go and stand on the other."
Making sure that the result wasn't wrong, Jian Meng ordered Miaomiao to use another array platform.
Miaomiao didn't resist. He walked away from the old array and stood on another one.
*WHOOM*
A new result appeared, but the value was still the same.
"…"
The crowd was speechless. Even Wei Feng was at a loss for words.
Yet, Nie Ping still didn't believe in the result. He stepped on the previous platform that Miaomiao had stood to prove that the latter had done something to cheat.
*WHOOM*
Nie Ping's old result was shown. His jaw dropped as he couldn't believe it.
"T-T-That's impossible. The array must have been broken! This whole test is a fraud!"
Miaomiao walked around and stood on every platform. All results were the same, which confirmed that the test wasn't rigged.
"Any complaint?"
"…"
Other disciples also tried to stand on the arrays, and various results were shown. None of them but Wei Feng managed to score more than 80.
Nobody could refute or deny the test result. Jian Meng was also watching the commotion while he was communicating with the sect master of Mountain Goose Sect, reporting the situation and asking for his assistance.
*WHOOSH*
Descending from the mountain was the sect master of the Mountain Goose Sect and the overlord of this city, Jia Shan. He was an elderly man with a long white full-beard that reached his belly. His thin and withered physique made him look like a frail old man, but his real cultivation strength was at the 7th stage, one rank higher than Xu Xiuying.
This sect master always kept his long hair tied into a topknot. Yet, his white hair was so long that it could reach the ground, so he couldn't tie everything on top of his head.
Still, the sect master had deep eyes, which always glowed in blue light. His inner Qi was brimmed with energy, which continued to prolong his life even though he was already over 300 years old.
Jia Shan didn't say anything and looked at anyone. He inspected the arrays one by one.
The crowd and all elders stopped speaking. Some of them even held their breath, afraid of this old man. His presence terrified all noble clansmen and cultivators as the strongest sword saint could easily kill them on a whim at any moment.
This was a world where the strong ruled over the weak. Laws and orders were meaningless in front of Jia Shan.
"Xu Xiuying," the Mountain Goose's sect master called for the co-host, "I haven't heard anything about you having a son, let alone having a proper husband."
Xu Xiuying obediently descended from the VIP spectator stand. Then, she bowed to Jia Shan, "This junior has adopted this child recently. Because of his previous undesirable family background, I have given him a new name and surname, so he won't be bullied by his peers."
"In summary, you've found a hidden gem and adopted him as your son. Am I right?"
"Senior Jia is wise."
Their conversation was quiet. Nobody but the two masters could hear them.
Xu Xiuying's usual domineering attitude flipped 180 degrees when she was in front of this sect master. She even confessed a partial truth about Miaomiao, but she didn't reveal that he was once a slave or had another appearance.
Still, Jia Shan gave Xu Xiuying and Miaomiao a meaningful look as if he could see through the disguise technique and everything inside their bodies. Jia Shan took a slow and deep breath before he turned to the crowd.
"I've inspected the arrays. Nothing has been tampered or altered! Also, I've scanned through Xu Miao's constitution. He has a unique physique and solid spirit roots that have been nurtured by practicing the most dangerous cultivation art, Qi Dissolving Technique! The overall score is correct!"
As if an atomic bomb had been dropped, the crowd erupted.
"WHAT!?"