Chapter 129: Exam (Part 3)
The Crimson Devil Blade looked grim and emitted a dark aura. Bai Lan narrowed his eyes and then took a stance.
This time, nothing was outstanding about this stance, and it was more suitable for competitions than for battle. His posture was straight, his left foot was stepped back three steps, and the sword handle was at neck level.
The sword looked up at the sky, emitting a dangerous aura. Even those who were far away could feel the danger.
“Oh…”
“As expected of this blade. Its history is not just ink on paper.”
“Ugh… it’s hard to breathe…”
There were whispers in the crowd, many were holding their throats and trying to breathe in more air, feeling suffocated.
“How interesting…”
Xie Qing narrowed his eyes, looking at the sword with interest. He could detect that the sword seemed to have a spirit. Judging by everything, this spirit was at least at the Soul Integration level, which was already incredible.
Moreover, it seemed that this was not an ordinary spirit, but an evil spirit, and an ancient one at that. This gave the sword its characteristics.
Meanwhile, Bai Lan proudly smiled. The members of the Bai family had an excellent filter for insults and mockery, letting through only flattery and praise.
He looked at the elder, and the elder nodded, announcing the start of the exam.
“Fuuu…”
Even if Bai Lan was confident in himself, he did not dare to underestimate the mannequin in front of him. At the very least, it was made of sturdy resources and adapted to the released combat power of the opponent.
And so, a deep breath in and out. Bai Lan’s back became straight, and without hesitation, he tightly gripped the sword handle with both hands and then raised it into the air.
Everyone held their breath. The sword emitted a grim glow, and there was a smell of blood. It did not take long for the blade to swiftly fall.
Swoosh! The sound of air being pierced by the blade was heard. As if destroying all obstacles in its path, the Crimson Devil Blade brightly shone.
Finally, the blade did touch the head of the mannequin. There was an explosion, and Bai Lan clenched his teeth, ignoring the sharp pain in his wrist from the impact inertia.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Three consecutive explosions with an aftershock brought the elder to admiration. However, when the dust and dirt rose into the air and were already going beyond the arena, the elder waved his hand.
Swoosh.
A sound was heard, as if something was sucking, and the dirt and dust disappeared. The scene was clean, freeing the view for the spectators.
“O-he…”
“This is…”
“Dark orange!”
Many jumped up from their seats, clearly shocked as they looked at what color the mannequin was burning with!
“Hm…”
Xie Qing raised an eyebrow in surprise. He looked at the sword, which had slightly lost its luster. His eyes flashed as the young man realized:
“This is… he exhausted the spirit’s power for this attack? Interesting. Very interesting. But why waste such a valuable resource on an ordinary exam?” Xie Qing was genuinely puzzled: “Or is it that money is no object in the Bai family?”
A spiritual item with a spirit was expensive, and few could afford it. The peculiarity was that they were many times stronger than ordinary spiritual items.
At the very least, one could use the depletion of the spirits to temporarily strengthen the item to show a better result. However, after that, the properties of the item would become weaker until the spirit recovered.
And this would take a very long time. Depending on the spirit, restoration could take from ten years to a hundred and a thousand!
“Eh, bastards, they don’t understand how to use money properly!” Xie Qing thought with pity.
However, no matter how much he complained, Bai Lan himself looked pleased and with arrogance, he cast a look at the other participants, as if throwing them a challenge, which greatly angered them.
“Bastard…”
“What a show-off! He’s just a rich freak!”
“Tsk!”
Of course, this was unfair. However, the rules did not forbid bringing spiritual items that could strengthen you. You just had to register them.
After all, strength decided. If you had the resources to buy a sword, then you were qualified enough to be considered a main courtyard disciple.
“How stupid. It would be better to just give the same sword to all participants. We need to test their techniques, not their swords!” Xie Qing narrowed his eyes in indignation: “No wonder the sect has been stagnating! Lian Lin probably found it too difficult to change the rules because of the elders.”
***
“Hm… sister, do you think that the rule shouldn’t be changed?” Lian Xin, who had returned to Lian Lin after supporting Xie Qing, was puzzled.
“I also want to change it, but these old men don’t agree. And Master doesn’t want to interfere in the sect’s affairs at all. She will only help when the sect is on the brink of destruction,” Lian Lin said, pouting her lips as she looked at the stage where the next examinees were passing: “But this Bai Lan did surprise me. The Crimson Devil Blade… this sword was considered forbidden in a way, but when it was proven that the spirit inside did not belong to a devil, there were fewer disgruntled people.”
“The Bai family controls a large sector of spiritual items such as weapons. No wonder they’ll show themselves well in this competition,” Lian Xin muttered with a twist of her mouth: “This is very unfair.”
“Hmph, as if you’re not worried about that guy!”
“Eh?!”
Lian Xin blushed deeply, and Lian Lin just snorted. She understood that her sister was worried about the fairness of this competition only because she did not want to see Xie Qing lose.
“I doubt that guy will lose. I had to try hard to create a suitable mannequin for him!” Lian Lin complained: “It cost me a lot of money!”
“Sister, but you used the money that we earned thanks to his image…”
“Eh… w-well, y-you’re right.”
***
“Light yellow… failed.”
“Dark yellow… passed.”
“Light orange… passed.”
“Dark yellow…”
“Light yellow…”
The elder announced the results in turn. Some left disappointed, while others, on the contrary, smiled from ear to ear.
In the end, only Xie Qing was left, who stood in place and waited for the queue to clear.
And when he was about to draw his sword, he was interrupted by the elder.
“Disciple Xie Qing, wait a moment. We will now bring out a mannequin suitable for you.”
“Hm?”
Xie Qing raised an eyebrow in puzzlement, and then could not help but twist the corners of his mouth when he saw that ten people were carrying a one-meter mannequin with a gray texture, resembling stone.
Although it was not immediately clear what material it was made of, Xie Qing could guess by the distorted faces of these guys.
“Immortal stone… damn.”
Even if he was confident in himself, striking such a stone would be difficult, and it was not excluded that one could break their hands.
“Well, since the test is like this, I need to try harder,” thought Xie Qing, rolling his eyes.
The audience also recognized the mannequin, and they could not help but whisper about it.
“This is a mannequin made of immortal stone. They say it can withstand a full-force blow from a Divine Transformation cultivator!”
“Well, you’re exaggerating, but close to the truth. This stone is of medium quality, so at most, it’s a Spiritual Ascension cultivator at full power.”
“Even so, that’s amazing. It looks like the sect master is serious this time.”
“And what did you think? It would have been a miracle if after the attack of this monster that mannequin could have been collected in pieces. It’s expensive!”
“Eh, where are our taxes going?”
Xie Qing ignored the chatter of the crowd and, seeing that the elder nodded to him, he nodded in response.
Then, under the expectant gazes, he drew his sword.
“Hm?”
“This is it… the sword of the famous genius? It looks… very ordinary.”
“Agreed. I expected something like the Crimson Devil Blade, but it turned out…”
“I’m a little disappointed…”
The sword that Xie Qing drew was the Nameless Sword. It had a quite ordinary and boring look.
However, Lian Lin and other high-level cultivators did not underestimate this sword, as they felt a sharp Sword Aura and danger from its blade.
This time, the examinee was not an ordinary person, so Lian Lin replaced the examiner. She clicked her fingers and erected a barrier that would block this blow.
“You have to use your strongest technique… if you believe the rules. However, I’m not interested in seeing what you got from the Master. I want to see what you’ve been working on for so long!” Lian Lin declared, narrowing her eyes: “This time, I’m not just your older sister, but also the sect master! Prove to me that you’re worthy of becoming a main courtyard disciple!”
The audience stirred with excitement. Xie Qing nodded.
He had been trying to develop his technique for a long time but had failed. Only after he was able to destroy so many monsters and train at night did he gain some understanding.
Partly, his technique could not be considered completely original, but this was only if you delved into the details.
“Good.”
The young man nodded. He didn’t even bother to take a normal stance, just grabbed the handle with both hands and raised it to neck level, holding the sword vertically.
Many were once again disappointed, and Bai Lan and some participants smiled, but…
WHOOSH!
Xie Qing’s eyes lit up, and a vortex appeared around him. This was not an ordinary vortex, but a vortex of Sword Aura!
“I-I… c-can’t breathe!”
“H-help…”
“Ugh… i-it hurts…”
Many in the stands lost consciousness from the overwhelming aura. Even Lian Lin’s barrier did not help.
The elders quickly took action and erected a barrier for the stands. It had been more than a thousand years since this barrier was last used.
Lian Lin became serious, and her eyes narrowed when she met Xie Qing’s eyes, which were glowing with a golden light.
And then, as if he was the only being in this world, his voice sounded in the ears of everyone.
“Sword God Strike.”
Boom!
