Desolate Devouring Art - Chapter 1731 - Unconvinced

Chapter 1731 – Unconvinced

Liu Wuxie was satisfied with the crowd’s reaction. This was exactly the effect he wanted. He wanted everyone to feel that the spiritual array was easy to break and that they could succeed if they only took the final step. Yet the last step was actually the hardest part.

It worked on the same principle as the street chess hustlers’. They would make people think victory was only one move away, but no one realized they had already stepped into a carefully prepared trap.

The spiritual array resembled a bottomless swamp. Once someone sank into it, climbing back out would become nearly impossible.

About fifteen minutes later, Zhang Hua collapsed to the ground in dejection. He had already given up trying to break through the spiritual array.

Liu Wuxie swaggered into the spiritual array and walked through it without the slightest obstruction before arriving beside Zhang Hua.

“Do you admit defeat now?” Liu Wuxie asked with a smile.

“I admit defeat. I’m willing to join Mentor Ye’s class,” Zhang Hua said as he struggled back to his feet. Since he had willingly accepted the challenge, he naturally had to bear the consequences after losing.

“One day in the future, you’ll be grateful for the decision you made today,” Liu Wuxie said as he patted Zhang Hua on the shoulder. In terms of cultivation, Zhang Hua was an entire realm higher than Liu Wuxie, so the scene looked strangely awkward, like a child patting an adult on the shoulder.

The mist around them gradually vanished, and Zhang Hua’s vision returned. When he realized he had been standing at the edge of the spiritual array the entire time, he could only reveal a bitter smile before following Liu Wuxie over to Ye Linghan.

“I assume you don’t need my help with the registration?” Liu Wuxie asked, looking at the dazed Ye Linghan.

Ye Linghan felt as though she were dreaming. She couldn’t believe Liu Wuxie had recruited a student so easily.

Standing beside Ye Linghan were three students, two males and one female. Their clothes looked worn and tattered, so they were likely the poor students Ye Linghan had mentioned earlier.

Liu Wuxie merely glanced at them before returning outside the courtyard.

Discussions erupted throughout the crowd. “There’s definitely something strange about this spiritual array. We can clearly see everything happening from outside, yet Zhang Hua couldn’t leave after entering it?”

The four array flags stood less than ten meters apart. No one believed such a tiny area could contain any powerful spiritual array, yet Liu Wuxie had somehow achieved exactly that.

“This has to be fake! Zhang Hua must be in cahoots with them! The spiritual array looks completely ordinary. I refuse to believe a high immortal couldn’t break through it!”

After all, Zhang Hua’s performance earlier looked no different from an act.

“If you want to know whether it’s fake, then try it yourself. There are only thirty spots available, and it’s first-come, first-served!” Liu Wuxie said. He couldn’t be bothered to explain further. He intended to recruit only thirty students because managing any more would become too troublesome.

Quality mattered more than quantity. Recruiting one disciple earned him two hundred immortal stones, and even if he recruited a hundred students, he would only earn twenty thousand immortal stones each month.

Liu Wuxie would need nearly ten thousand immortal stones to break through a single level. If he managed 100 students, he would have to open at least 2 classes. At that point, teaching would consume all his energy, leaving him with no time to cultivate. That wasn’t the outcome he wanted. Instead, he planned to use these thirty students to help him earn even more resources.

Ye Linghan looked puzzled when she heard Liu Wuxie say he planned to recruit only 30 students. Wouldn’t it be better to recruit more? Although that sounded reasonable, the more students a mentor had, the more time and energy they would need to invest.

For ordinary mentors, such a trade-off was worthwhile, but Liu Wuxie’s time was far too valuable to waste in that manner. His true goal had been to use the students to earn more cultivation resources.

“I’ll give it a try!”

Another student strode directly into the spiritual array.

The surrounding mentors remained silent as they extended their divine senses into the spiritual array. They quickly discovered that the array imposed no restrictions on divine sense. In fact, their divine senses moved even more freely inside it. This discovery only made the situation feel even stranger. Since divine senses could enter freely, they were able to observe every detail of the spiritual array. Yet it made no sense for people to remain trapped inside.

The most common functions of spiritual arrays were to block divine sense, resist immortal energy, and suppress opponents. Yet none of those characteristics existed within this spiritual array. Only four ordinary array flags stood planted in the ground.

“Have any of you ever seen a spiritual array like this before?” Xia Yuanming had just arrived and was now asking the nearby spiritual array mentors.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Yu Yong and the others replied as they shook their heads. They had examined the spiritual array multiple times already, but they still couldn’t identify anything unusual about it.

Having also just arrived, Guo Anyi asked, “Are you all certain this is even a spiritual array? Why can’t I sense any fluctuation belonging to a spiritual array from it?”

Whenever any spiritual array was activated, it released powerful fluctuations. Yet Liu Wuxie’s spiritual array not only lacked fluctuations but also the most basic illusory effects.

Everyone’s gaze gradually changed when they looked at Liu Wuxie. They began to wonder whether he could truly be a once-in-a-century genius in spiritual matters.

As time passed, the second student eventually collapsed to the ground, drenched in sweat.

“Sign it,” Liu Wuxie said this time. He was no longer polite and directly tossed the agreement over.

Liu Wuxie intended to establish his authority as a mentor. Even if he was merely an assistant mentor, he still needed prestige.

The student glared at Liu Wuxie, the urge to attack him growing stronger by the second.

“Unwilling to accept defeat?” Liu Wuxie asked with a smile.

“That’s right! I refuse to accept this! I’m a ninth-level High Immortal, while you’re only a heavenly immortal. What qualifications do you have to become my mentor?!” the student demanded, voicing the thoughts everyone else shared. None of the students believed Liu Wuxie qualified to be their mentor because of his low cultivation.

“Wang Zhuang, well said!”

The crowd outside immediately burst into applause. Liu Wuxie was merely a heavenly immortal, and many had long grown dissatisfied with the superior attitude he displayed from the moment he had appeared. Most people had only gathered because of the tempting reward.

More and more people joined in the mockery.

“Get lost! The Azure Flame Dao Hall isn’t a place for someone like you!”

“A mere heavenly immortal wants to stand on equal footing with profound immortal mentors?”

“These days, just anyone can become a mentor.”

Yet Liu Wuxie remained completely indifferent to the ridicule around him. Since Wang Zhuang had stirred up this matter, he would have to be the one to bring it to an end.

Not a single mentor stepped forward to interfere. They all wanted to see how Liu Wuxie planned to resolve the situation. If he failed to overcome this obstacle, then establishing himself within the Azure Flame Dao Hall in the future would become impossible.

“So you refuse to join simply because my cultivation is too low?” Liu Wuxie asked, a chill flashing deep within his eyes.

“That’s right!” Wang Zhuang replied while staring directly back at him. The two were roughly the same age, making it difficult to tell which was the mentor and which the student.

“Since you think cultivation represents everything, then I’ll allow you to attack me three times. If I lose, you may leave,” Liu Wuxie replied with the same faint smile. He didn’t mind teaching these arrogant fools a proper lesson today.

“You said it yourself! If I accidentally injure you, don’t blame me afterward,” Wang Zhuang said with a sinister grin as he cracked his knuckles. He was a ninth-level High Immortal and fully confident he could knock Liu Wuxie down with a single punch.

“Make your move!” Liu Wuxie replied as he clasped his hands behind his back, showing no intention of retaliating.

Ye Linghan tried to intervene, but Liu Wuxie stopped her with a glance, signaling for her to stay where she was.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Wang Zhuang launched his attack without hesitation.

The punch looked plain and ordinary, but Liu Wuxie could tell Wang Zhuang possessed decent character. He wasn’t vicious or sinister by nature. Having him join Ye Linghan’s class wouldn’t be a bad thing. The only issue was that Wang Zhuang refused to acknowledge Liu Wuxie as his mentor.

After all, the two were about the same age, so Wang Zhuang’s refusal to submit was perfectly natural.

The punch shot toward Liu Wuxie like a meteor and arrived in the blink of an eye. Yet just before it landed, Liu Wuxie slightly shifted sideways and evaded the attack.

The surrounding students narrowed their eyes. They had all noticed how precise Liu Wuxie’s movements were, and even the surrounding mentors couldn’t help but look surprised.

Then again, another ninth-level Heavenly Immortal could likely accomplish the same feat as well, because Wang Zhuang hadn’t used his full strength during the first attack.

“Again!” Liu Wuxie said, signaling for Wang Zhuang to continue attacking.

Even after missing, Wang Zhuang didn’t think much of it. After all, his first punch had only been a formality. However, when he launched his second attack, terrifying ripples spread outward as he released the aura of a ninth-level High Immortal toward Liu Wuxie.

“You’d better be careful this time, Mentor!” Wang Zhuang warned deliberately, heavily emphasizing the word “mentor” to imply Liu Wuxie didn’t deserve the title.

Liu Wuxie performed the Seven Dipper Steps and vanished incomprehensibly beneath the incoming punch. No one had seen him disappear. This meant the suppression from a ninth-level High Immortal’s aura did not affect him whatsoever.

Wang Zhuang froze in shock. Two of his attacks had failed to touch a heavenly immortal. If word of this spread, he would instantly become a laughing stock within the Dao Hall.

“You still have one punch left,” Liu Wuxie said while standing calmly in front of Wang Zhuang with a faint smile.

This time, Wang Zhuang no longer dared to underestimate Liu Wuxie. He wasn’t afraid of losing, but losing to a heavenly immortal would be humiliating beyond measure.

He raised both fists as terrifying power surged through his body and flowed into his arms, stirring fierce gusts of wind.

“It’s the Four Elephants Fist! Wang Zhuang’s signature technique.”

Waves of exclamation immediately erupted from the crowd. No one had expected Wang Zhuang to use his signature martial technique.

“Is Liu Wuxie really that strong?” Many people couldn’t understand why Wang Zhuang would resort to his trump card when ordinary martial techniques should have been enough to suppress someone at the pinnacle of the Heavenly Immortal Realm.

A surge of divine elephant power burst from Wang Zhuang’s body, accompanied by rumbling sounds that made everyone’s ears ache.

Liu Wuxie no longer dared to be careless in the face of this attack. Although he possessed the ability to kill ninth-level High Immortals, the Azure Flame Dao Hall was clearly a place filled with hidden threats. These students had undergone years of training and possessed astonishing combat abilities.

A divine elephant burst from Wang Zhuang’s body and charged directly toward Liu Wuxie. This was the manifestation of fist intent, and Wang Zhuang’s talent had truly exceeded Liu Wuxie’s expectations.

Liu Wuxie merely watched with a devilish smile. Since he intended to use these students to earn resources, training them would become pointless if they all turned out to be trash.

The divine elephant stomped forward as its power transformed into four separate fists, which was precisely how the Four Elephants Fist earned its name. Although it was technically a single-fist technique, it split into four attacks simultaneously, making it nearly impossible for ordinary people to defend against.

No one in the crowd believed Liu Wuxie could withstand Wang Zhuang’s attack head-on. Even a first-level True Immortal wouldn’t dare boast of emerging unscathed against such an attack.

The fist force roared toward Liu Wuxie’s face, and Ye Linghan had already begun secretly gathering her strength, prepared to intervene the moment Liu Wuxie showed any sign of defeat.

Just before the fist landed, Liu Wuxie suddenly twisted himself into an odd angle, leaving everyone staring in shock.