“You?” Wang Ying frowned.
Even though they were all direct disciples of Zhang laoshi, Wei Ruyan had only joined two months ago, and the guidance she had received from Zhang Xuan was limited.
A normal combat master assessment wouldn’t pose much of a problem to her, but the Dragon Gate Formation was likely beyond her means for now.
After all, even Zheng Yang had needed to use some tricks and put in quite a bit of effort before he could succeed.
If he hadn’t suppressed his cultivation and pushed for a breakthrough in the midst of his battle, it would have been nearly impossible for him to defeat the Dragon’s Head.
“Even though it hasn’t been long since I came under Teacher’s lineage, I hope to give it a try,” Wei Ruyan said resolutely.
This wasn’t a decision she had made on the spur of the moment but something she had decided upon long ago.
Seeing that Wei Ruyan was determined, Wang Ying nodded. “Alright then. Be careful. If you find yourself in any danger, surrender immediately!”
“Thank you, senior!” Wei Ruyan replied before leaping onto the stage.
“Is this lady… Principal Zhang’s direct disciple as well?” Upon seeing Wei Ruyan going onto the stage, doubtful expressions surfaced on the faces of the students and teachers of the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy.
Wang Ying, Zheng Yang, and Liu Yang were guest elders in the academy, so it was natural that the students and teachers had heard of them. On the other hand, Wei Ruyan had never appeared in public before. Furthermore, she had a particularly weak physique, which indicated that she wasn’t an active person, so was she really suited to challenge the Dragon Gate Formation?
“I heard that she is a student that Principal Zhang accepted two months ago!”
“Two months ago? So short?”
“That’s right…”
Some who were aware of the matter whispered among the crowd, sharing the news around.
Principal Zhang was formidable, but it seemed impossible, even for him, to train a student whom he had accepted only two months earlier to a standard capable of clearing the trial.
On top of that, Principal Zhang had been outside for most of the past two months due to his 6-star master teacher examination, only returning a few days prior. Even if he had made time for some lessons with Wei Ruyan, the amount of time they would have had together was still severely limited. Was that really sufficient for her to clear such a difficult trial?
After all, the Dragon Gate Formation was at least tenfold more difficult than the Combat Master Selection before!
After checking Wei Ruyan’s cultivation, Liao Song said, “Your cultivation is at Chrysalis realm pinnacle, so going by that, the opponents you will be facing will have cultivations ranging from Chrysalis realm pinnacle to Nascent Saint pinnacle!”
Of the group who had assessed Zheng Yang, even though one had been impaled by his spear, there were still others who could substitute for the wounded. As for the others, while they had been wounded in the confrontation, those were just light wounds, and they had mostly recovered. It wasn’t a problem for them to go another round.
Thus, they were still able to make up the nine members required for the Dragon Gate Formation.
“Alright.” Wei Ruyan nodded.
Had Zheng Yang not achieved the consecutive breakthroughs, she would have been the one with the highest cultivation among Zhang Xuan’s direct disciples. At the current moment, she was just a step away from reaching Half-Saint.
An hour later, the preparation for the Dragon Gate Formation was finally done. Liao Song turned to Wei Ruyan and said, “Alright, you can begin!”
Wei Ruyan nodded, and her eyes immediately turned grim. At the same time, her mind became incredibly composed, unperturbed by anything in her surroundings.
Tortured by her affliction for so many years, she had matured far beyond her age. In terms of mental resilience, even Lu Chong couldn’t compare with her. In face of difficult situations, she could maintain her composure and not panic.
Huala!
With the start of the trial, the three combat masters began to drive their zhenqi, and a powerful might burst forth from them, creating an immense pressure on their opponent.
Wei Ruyan pushed her feet against the ground and dashed right toward them.
“She isn’t going to use any weapons?” Seeing Wei Ruyan rushing toward the Dragon’s Tail unarmed, the crowd couldn’t help but frown.
Even with a spear in hand, Zheng Yang had found it relatively tough to deal with the Dragon Gate Formation. Considering that Wei Ruyan was a delicate lady, how could she defeat the powerful combat masters bare-handed?
“She… just started cultivating two months ago, so she hasn’t learned how to wield any weapons yet,” Wang Ying explained with a bitter smile.
“Just started cultivating two months ago?” Wo Tianqiong widened his eyes in shock.
“Un. She has been ill from a young age, and it was only two months ago that our teacher successfully treated her affliction and accepted her as his direct disciple. It was then that she first started cultivating,” Wang Ying replied.
“She only started cultivating two months ago and is unable to use any weapon. How is she supposed to win like that?” Wo Tianqiong nearly fainted on the spot.
They had all seen with his own eyes how fearsome the Dragon Gate Formation was. For a cultivator who had just started cultivating two months ago and couldn’t even wield a weapon properly to rush right in…
Are you here to play?
Hearing those words, Liao Song’s lips also twitched.
The Dragon Gate Formation is a trial that countless combat masters have challenged only to fail. Do you all really think that… it is that simple to clear?
Peng! Peng! Peng!
While the group was speaking, Wei Ruyan had already begun clashing with the three combat masters of the Dragon’s Tail.
Upon seeing their fight, Liao Song’s cheeks began to twitch.
“She… doesn’t know any battle techniques?”
To his astonishment, the young lady’s movements were extremely crude, as if she had never learned even the most basic of fist arts before. She was simply flailing her arms around erratically with all the strength she could muster, a clear indication of an amateur.
Anyone who had learned the slightest bit of a battle technique would never utilize such crude movements!
“Battle techniques… In the past two months, she has been busy reinforcing her cultivation, and Teacher also hasn’t had any time to teach her a battle technique yet,” Wang Ying said awkwardly.
From the moment she woke up, Wei Ruyan had been a Chrysalis realm cultivator. But as strong as she was, her power was built up through the accumulation of medicinal energy, an extremely unstable foundation. As such, their teacher had instructed her to start cultivating from the very bottom to reinforce her cultivation.
Working diligently for the past two months, she had barely managed to reinforce her cultivation up to Chrysalis realm, so how could she have any time to learn battle techniques?
Besides, their teacher had been extremely busy in the past two months, only meeting them on three occasions to guide them in their cultivation.
“She wasn’t taught any battle techniques?” Hearing those words, Liao Song nearly spurted a mouthful of blood. “Given her state… you still allowed her to challenge the Dragon Gate Formation?”
Aren’t you making light of the Dragon Gate Formation?
Putting aside the fact that she is unable to use any weapon and hasn’t learned any battle techniques at all, more importantly, she only started cultivating two months ago! To allow such an amateur to challenge the Dragon Gate Formation, aren’t you underestimating our combat masters way too much?
They were impressed by Principal Zhang because of his deep understanding of battle techniques and combat techniques. Those who had listened to his lecture had found their fighting prowess raised by leaps and bounds.
However, even though Wei Ruyan was Principal Zhang’s direct disciple, she had barely learned any of the basics! To challenge the Dragon Gate Formation like that… there was no doubt, she was bound to lose!
The same thoughts also surfaced in the minds of Wo Tianqiong, Wu Ran, and the others, and they couldn’t help but shake their heads.
“It’s fine. Since she wants to challenge the Dragon Gate Formation, so be it. Besides, it is not certain whether she will lose or not…” Contrary to the opinion of most, Wang Ying had a different thought in mind.
The others might not have been aware of how fearsome Wei Ruyan was, but she was. Even if she were to fight against Wei Ruyan, she had no confidence that she would be able to achieve victory. The combat masters on the stage were indeed powerful, but it was not entirely impossible for Wei Ruyan to defeat them.
Her teacher had taught each of them according to their own strengths. Since her teacher hadn’t taught Wei Ruyan any battle techniques to date, naturally, that could only mean that there was no need to do so. Otherwise, given how the other students could easily become combat experts after an hour-long lecture, how could Wei Ruyan still be completely ignorant of battle techniques?
Noticing the confidence in Wang Ying’s voice, Liao Song shook his head. “I think you are being too optimistic. The strength of our combat masters is no joke… Ah? What the heck!”
He had just been about to advise the other party against the matter when he suddenly caught sight of what was happening on the stage with his peripheral vision and choked on his words.
“What is going on? Why are your combat masters… suddenly moving so slow as if they are drunk?” Not only was Liao Song astonished by what he saw, Wo Tianqiong and the others also widened their eyes in shock.
At this moment, the three combat masters of the Dragon’s Tail were swaying weakly on their feet, and their movements were becoming slower and duller by the moment. It was as if they had turned from energetic young men into frail elderly all of a sudden.
“Isn’t this cheating? Even if they wished to go easy on her, this is not the way to do so!”
“Even I could clear the Dragon Gate Formation like that!”
The crowd below were also bewildered by the situation on top.
When they were facing Zheng Yang earlier, those combat masters had displayed an indomitable aura that would instill fear into any opponent. Why had they suddenly become so soft all of the sudden, as if there was no strength within their bodies? Was it because their opponent was a beautiful lady?
But this was a formal trial; they shouldn’t have been going easy on the other party like that, especially not so openly!
How brazen!
After taking a closer look, Liao Song suddenly noticed something, and his eyes narrowed in astonishment. “They… are not doing this on purpose. It looks more like… they have been poisoned!”
He knew full well that his men wouldn’t ever go easy on an opponent just because she was a beautiful lady. There was only one possibility in this scenario, and that was that… they had been poisoned!
But he had been watching the situation closely all along. From the start to the end, Wei Ruyan had been suppressed by their might, and there should have been no opportunity for her to poison them at all.
Furthermore, the rules of the Dragon Gate Formation forbade the usage of poison in the trial. The headquarters had been supervising the duel from above, and if Wei Ruyan had indeed resorted to such underhanded tricks, they would have terminated the trial immediately.
The fact that this hadn’t happened only meant that Wei Ruyan’s act of poisoning her opponent was considered a part of her strength, and the duel was completely fair and honest!
But how could this possibly be true?
Liao Song felt so frenzied by the absurd situation before him that he nearly tore his hair out.
“We reminded Junior Ruyan to curb it, but it seems like it is futile,” Liu Yang remarked with a bitter smile.
They were all aware that Wei Ruyan possessed the Innate Poison Body and Poison Soul Constitution, and this was also why they weren’t worried about sending Wei Ruyan up.
Nevertheless, poison was still something typically shunned and feared on the Master Teacher Continent, so they had advised Wei Ruyan to keep her poison in check wherever possible. However, from the looks of it… they might have been underestimating the potency of Wei Ruyan’s unique constitution.
Innate Poison Body and Poison Soul Constitution… It could be said that Wei Ruyan’s very existence was a lethal poison, be it her body or her zhenqi. Wei Ruyan had been trying to curb her poison consciously, but nevertheless, it was still able to easily render the combat masters, who possessed superior physical resilience, powerless.
“Those three are going to lose…” Wang Ying nodded grimly, and before she could finish her words, ‘Putong! Putong! Putong!’, the three combat masters collapsed to the ground with white foam trickling from their mouths.
“First section, cleared!”
With the three of them incapacitated, Wei Ruyan proceeded forward to the next section, the Dragon’s Back, without any hesitation.
“Demoness, what kind of sorcery did you pull?”
The three combat masters of the Dragon’s Back glared at Wei Ruyan warily as if they were facing a powerful enemy, not daring to look down on her in the least.
“Sorcery? I did nothing of the sort.” Shaking her head, Wei Ruyan said, “Let’s begin!”
After saying those words, she immediately charged forward and shrouded the three combat masters with her zhenqi.
Her attack was extremely crude, devoid of any technique at all, but the sheer potency of the poison contained in her zhenqi could easily fell any opponent that came into contact with it. Not even deities were an exception to the rule.
This was also the reason the Innate Poison Body was such a feared existence in the world.
Putong! Putong! Putong!
Not too long later, the three combat masters of the Dragon’s Back fell to the ground with white foam flowing down their chins.
In less than five minutes, a delicate young lady, who had only cultivated for two months and had no knowledge of wielding a weapon or any battle techniques, had already cleared two sections.
After defeating the three combat masters, Wei Ruyan moved on to the Dragon’s Head.
Five minutes later, the three combat masters of the Dragon’s Head were lying on the floor as well.
They were indeed significantly stronger than Wei Ruyan, but in the face of the potent poison released by her, it didn’t take long before they collapsed to the ground, powerless.
“She… really cleared the trial?” Having watched the entire scene, Liao Song was on the verge of tears.
At this point, a certain thought surfaced in his mind, and he couldn’t help but tremble.
Could it be that the strength of their combat masters was really a joke?
Author’s Note: The seventh arc, Zhang laoshi’s Students, has come to an end. The next arc, Kong shi’s Warning, is about to begin, so look forward to it!
