Chapter 396: Currying Favor
Chapter 396: Chapter 396: Currying Favor
The Black Tortoise Realm was an Extraordinary World, filled with all manner of supernatural wonders.
On the Great Song Empire’s list of the ten greatest masters in the world, the third-ranked Zen Master Wuxin of the Asura Temple had caused a supernatural phenomenon at his birth, with golden lotuses raining down from the heavens.
Zen Master Wuxin could walk a mere half-month after his birth, speak at one month, and read by the age of one. After he turned eight, the previous abbot of the Asura Temple, Zen Master Yuan De, brought him to the temple to begin his training.
After Zen Master Yuan De passed into nirvana, the Heart-eating Demon He Tu, one of the ten great demonic fiends, went to the Asura Temple, intending to slaughter everyone in his archenemy’s monastery.
But the then-unknown Zen Master Wuxin, only twenty years old at the time, took action. He suppressed the Heart-eating Demon He Tu, twisted off his head, and shot to fame in a single stroke, becoming the youngest Martial Saint in the Black Tortoise Realm!
An expert like Shu Feng, with cultivation merely at the Martial Artist realm but able to easily lift a ten-thousand-jin stone lock, was undoubtedly a prodigy blessed with Innate Divine Strength and exceptional talent.
Zhao Tian asked eagerly, "What’s your name? What family are you from?"
Shu Feng replied, "My name is Han Feng. I’m a beggar from Liuguang City."
Ning Chen was stunned, a sense of superiority welling up inside him. ’A beggar! He’s a beggar?’
A look of contempt flashed in Yuan Ling’er’s beautiful eyes. ’So he’s just a beggar!’
Zhao Tian’s brow furrowed slightly as his gaze fell upon the fine clothes Shu Feng was wearing. That white brocade outfit was definitely not something a beggar could afford.
Shu Feng was quite frank, directly voicing the mentality of a ’Mad Dog Egg’. "A beggar kingpin named Black Tiger wanted to kill me, so I killed him instead. I stole all his money and bought this outfit. My hope is to join the Bi Yao Demon Sect, learn Superior Martial Arts, change my destiny, and enjoy a life of wealth and glory!"
Only then did Zhao Tian’s brow relax, and he nodded slightly.
For children of the Lower Class who wanted to make a name for themselves and rise in the world, their only hope was to join a major Martial Arts Sect like the Bi Yao Demon Sect. Most ordinary people joined the Bi Yao Demon Sect for wealth and glory. This was perfectly normal.
Zhao Tian’s eyes suddenly lit up, and he asked with urgent haste, "Does that mean this is the first time you’ve ever practiced the Opening Profound Skill?!"
Shu Feng replied with a guileless look, "That’s right! The Opening Profound Skill wasn’t that difficult. I just practiced it casually and reached the Fourth Layer."
’What?! This guy reached the Fourth Layer of the Opening Profound Skill in just an hour?! How is that possible?’
Ning Chen stared, dumbfounded, his eyes flashing with disbelief.
Practicing martial arts too early could have adverse effects on the body. Therefore, aside from peerless, exceptionally talented prodigies like Zen Master Wuxin, everyone else merely focused on strengthening their bodies and building a foundation before the age of ten. Only after ten would they formally begin to practice martial arts.
Ning Chen had started practicing martial arts at ten, and only reached the Fourth Layer of the Opening Profound Skill at sixteen. For Shu Feng to reach the Fourth Layer in an hour was simply heaven-defying.
Even the perpetually proud expression on Yuan Ling’er’s pretty face changed. "Reaching the Fourth Layer of the Opening Profound Skill in a single hour... how is that possible?"
A fervent glint flashed in Zhao Tian’s eyes. ’If he isn’t lying, then he’s a true genius of cultivation! He might even become a True Disciple!’
Zhao Tian was a Grand Martial Master, an expert who could dominate a place like Liuguang City. But in the Bi Yao Demon Sect, he was merely an Outer Disciple with a low status. If he could successfully invest in a True Disciple, he would surely gain immense status in the future; it might not even be impossible for him to be transferred back to the Bi Yao Demon Sect Headquarters.
"Han Feng, you’ve passed the assessment!"
Like a chameleon, Zhao Tian’s cold, severe expression instantly became gentle, only to turn incomparably cold again the next moment as he barked, "Next!"
After the strength test concluded, more than half the people were eliminated, leaving fewer than fifty young men and women.
With a wave of Zhao Tian’s hand, four burly men walked over, carrying a stone tablet ten meters high.
Zhao Tian said indifferently, "Inscribed on this stone tablet is a set of blade techniques. You have the time it takes for an incense stick to burn to comprehend it. Then, you will perform it before me. Only those who are proficient enough will be allowed to stay in the Lower Courtyard."
"Han Feng, you go take a look as well. This set of techniques is the Bi Yao Demon Sect’s Basic Knife Technique, the Flowing Light Saber Technique. It’s also the foundation for several top-tier blade arts like the Bi Yao Saint Slayer Sword and the Flowing Light Heaven-Slaying Blade. It has six stances in total. If you can comprehend some of its subtleties, it will be of great benefit to your future."
As soon as Zhao Tian turned to face Shu Feng, his expression became a mask of fawning smiles.
Ning Chen was speechless. ’What a pragmatic old bastard!’
The rest of the young men and women were also cursing him inwardly, but not one of them dared to speak out of line. With Zhao Tian’s power, a single word could crush their hopes of entering the Lower Courtyard.
Other than Yuan Ling’er and Shu Feng, there was little difference between any of the young men and women in Zhao Tian’s eyes. Even a minor genius like Ning Chen could be told to get lost with a single word.
Shu Feng nodded slightly, accepted a Wooden Blade, and walked over to the ten-meter-high stone tablet to take a look.
Inscribed upon the stone tablet was a series of bizarre and chaotic lines. It looked like a complete mess, not like a blade technique at all.
However, when Shu Feng circulated his Profound Qi and took a closer look, he could suddenly see a burly man on the tablet, wielding a Demon Blade and executing an incomparably domineering blade technique.
’This Flowing Light Saber Technique clearly has seven stances, so why did he say there were only six?’
Shu Feng looked closer and understood. ’So, the seventh stance is hidden very deeply. It only reveals itself once you have a profound understanding of the first six.’
"Alright, your time for comprehension is over!"
Zhao Tian said indifferently after an incense stick had burned down.
The young men and women all stepped away from the stone tablet.
Zhao Tian immediately turned to Shu Feng with an attentive expression and asked, "Han Feng, would you like some more time to comprehend it?"
Watching Zhao Tian’s obvious and fawning attentiveness, the other young men and women were speechless.
Shu Feng said, "No need. I’ve already comprehended it completely!"
Zhao Tian said, "Then do you plan to demonstrate first or last? Or you could just skip it entirely! After all, you’ve already passed the assessment!"
Shu Feng replied, "I’ll go first."
Since Shu Feng planned to join the Bi Yao Demon Sect, he intended to complete all the assessments by the book. That way, if anyone within the sect tried to find fault with him later, they would have a hard time finding anything to criticize.
Shu Feng said, "This Wooden Blade doesn’t suit me. I’d like a Steel Blade!"
"Of course!"
Zhao Tian waved his hand, and a current of Profound Qi wrapped around a Steel Blade, sending it into Shu Feng’s grasp.
Shu Feng took the Steel Blade and immediately executed the Flowing Light Saber Technique. His blade moved like a stream of light, shining with a brilliant glow. In the end, the six strikes merged into one, and a three-meter-long blade aura erupted, striking the ground and carving a long gash in its surface.