Chapter 535: Golden Dragon Hall
The surrounding crowd was completely dumbfounded by this scene. This was especially true for those who were well-informed and recognized the background of the Chen siblings. Waves of shock surged through their hearts.
The Chen siblings had always been known for being arrogant and overbearing. How did this kid at the 4th level of Mortal Core Realm manage to make such an arrogant pair become so submissive?
Wait.
Some of the more observant people noticed what Chen Haoyan had said, and their hearts became even more horrified.
Chen Haoyan was a powerhouse ranked within the top thirty of the Spirit Ranking, yet he personally admitted that he was far from being Li Yun’s match. Just what kind of strength did this kid at the 4th level of Mortal Core Realm possess?
A cultivator at the 4th level of Mortal Core Realm possessing strength greater than Chen Haoyan’s. Once they thought of this possibility, everyone felt a chill run through their hearts. They exchanged glances, but none of them dared to continue thinking further, because that conclusion was simply too shocking.
"Enough."
At that moment, a deacon from the Golden Dragon Hall spoke indifferently. "The examinations of my Golden Dragon Hall have always been extremely fair. There will never be any cheating. This person was able to obtain one thousand three hundred and fifty-seven battle merit points purely through his own strength."
"Of the ten 4th and 5th level Earthly Core Realm powerhouses in the Seventeen Cloudchain Strongholds, eight were slain by him."
After a brief pause, the deacon looked coldly at the troublemaking cultivators and said indifferently, "Speaking of which, you should be thanking him. If not for his existence, do you truly think you would have been lucky enough to avoid encountering even a single 4th level Earthly Core Realm enemy during those ten days?"
"What?"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone looked at one another in shock. Even the few cultivators who had already guessed something felt as though a thunderclap had exploded in their minds. They were horrified to the extreme.
This mere kid at the 4th level of Mortal Core Realm had personally killed eight cultivators at the 4th and 5th levels of Earthly Core Realm.
"How... how is this possible?"
The cultivators who had been shouting the loudest earlier suddenly turned pale, then flushed red with embarrassment. They stood there awkwardly and no longer dared to say another word.
After all, their strength was at the bottom of the group. If they had encountered a 4th level Earthly Core Realm cultivator during the mission, they would certainly have died without even a chance to escape.
In other words, Li Yun could indirectly be considered their savior. Yet before this, they had actually mocked and questioned the very person who had helped them survive.
"Young brother, I was wrong. I should not have doubted you."
"Young brother, I owe you a favor. From now on, if you need anything, just say the word, and I will not refuse."
For a moment, several people showed expressions of shame and spoke up one after another.
"It is only a small matter. There is no need to be so polite."
Li Yun shook his head.
He actually had not taken these people’s doubts to heart at all. It was just that the Chen siblings had suddenly interfered and insisted on standing up for him, and he could not stop them.
He felt increasingly helpless toward this pair of siblings. He truly did not know what had gotten into them, but they insisted on pestering him, leaving him with no choice.
"Alright."
At that moment, the Golden Dragon Hall deacon spoke again. "Based on the number of battle merit points, Li Yun, Feng Tianyue, Chu Minghan, Lan Yichen, and the rest of the top ten have passed the test. Follow me back to the Golden Dragon Hall. Everyone else has been eliminated and may disperse here."
The people from the Golden Dragon Hall were quite direct. They had brought all the examinees to the Cloudchain Mountain Range, but they only took back the ten who passed. As for the rest, they ignored them completely and left them to fend for themselves.
However, this had always been the style of the Golden Dragon Hall. They provided excellent treatment to the Golden Dragon Guards, but toward those who failed to become one, they did not show much consideration at all.
Among the ten people who passed the test, Lan Yichen was included, and so were the Chen siblings.
Lan Yichen was able to pass because he had followed Li Yun. While Li Yun ate the meat, Lan Yichen drank the soup and managed to gather quite a few battle merit points. As for the Chen siblings, they were already quite strong themselves, so securing places by working together was naturally not difficult for them.
Under the lead of the three deacons, the group boarded the Sky Azure Eagles and returned to Mistcloud Prefecture City.
Fortunately, the Chen siblings did not harass Li Yun along the way, which allowed him to breathe a sigh of relief and enjoy a rare moment of peace.
Two hours later, the group landed in Mistcloud Prefecture City and directly entered the local Golden Dragon Hall.
Inside the Golden Dragon Hall, people moved about in a crowd that numbered several hundred. Although not many people passed the Golden Dragon Guard examination each month, the total number of Golden Dragon Guards had become quite large after accumulating over time.
Of course, most of these Golden Dragon Guards were only ordinary One-Clawed Golden Dragon Guards. Even Two-Clawed Golden Dragon Guards were rare, let alone Three-Clawed or Four-Clawed ones.
Generally speaking, once someone became a Two-Clawed Golden Dragon Guard, they would possess a relatively high status within the Golden Dragon Hall and would rarely appear there. As for those at the Three-Clawed level or above, they were even more elusive. Even if the Golden Dragon Hall summoned them, whether they appeared or not would depend on their mood.
After handing over their mission records, Li Yun and the other nine officially became One-Clawed Golden Dragon Guards.
"Young Brother Li Yun!"
Just as Li Yun received the badge representing a One-Clawed Golden Dragon Guard, a hearty laugh suddenly rang out.
A tall middle-aged man with an aura as imposing as a mountain walked toward Li Yun with vigorous strides.
When Li Yun saw the tall middle-aged man’s appearance clearly, he could not help being slightly stunned.
It was actually him.