Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Shao Qingfeng reacted quickly, moving his shoulder without giving the matter a single thought. However, despite this, Shao Qingfeng still felt like he was in danger, so he quickly turned his head around, and looked over, seeing that a similar small golden sword was already near his heart!
In that moment, he knew that his heart would surely be penetrated by Su Yu before his thorns impaled Su Yu! So, he shouted out, “Spatial attribute!”
After that, Shao Qingfeng’s eyelids shivered. This sword possessed a faint spatial attribute power, and it was due to this that it had managed to appear so silently behind him!
Just when Shao Qingfeng was in this precarious situation and was about to die, the thorns in his palms disintegrated once again, then turned into countless barbs that formed a thick shield to protect his back.
Clang!
As a soft sound echoed out, the small golden sword was deflected away. It then deviated slightly before continuing on. It flew right beside Shao Qingfeng’s right arm, leaving behind a trail of blood as it shot by.
Upon witnessing this scene, the crowd couldn’t help but gasp in surprise. The two fighters’ situation had changed in just a few seconds. They both faced deadly threats, but they managed to survive. The people in the crowd’s hearts couldn’t help but thump faster as they witnessed it.
Swoosh!
Su Yu snapped his fingers, and the two small golden swords flew back to his palm. He looked in surprise at the shield on Shao Qingfeng’s back.
It was his first witnessing such a strange object. Su Yu had already detected what was so strange about this weapon. The sword possessed a soul, which meant that this sword was a living organism! Su Yu wasn’t surprised by its disintegration and transformation into thorns, but he still didn’t expect that his deadly attack would be blocked by the Penta Ghost!
As for Shao Qingfeng, he had barely managed to survive such a deadly crisis, so he was still quite rattled and very frightened. That sword strike was really too dangerous! He had assumed that he could easily defeat Su Yu after using the Penta Ghost, and he certainly didn’t expect that Su Yu had this many semi-manufactured spiritual artifacts!
As he heard the uproar of the audience, Shao Qingfeng became more anxious. A moment ago, it could still be said that he hadn’t managed to put a quick end to the fight because he was being careless
But now, he had even used the Penta Ghost, yet he still couldn’t defeat Su Yu! This was why it wasn’t possible for him to keep his calm any longer.
At first, he was confident that he could easily take the victory, but that wasn’t the case any longer. He now realized that he had looked down upon Su Yu and had underestimated him. Now, if he didn’t go all-out, he might end up losing to Su Yu!
Once he lost, the Great Palace Master would carry out the agreement and take his life. As he thought of this dire consequence, Shao Qingfeng’s mood became grave, and his formerly relaxed expression disappeared from his face entirely.
“It seems like I must use my ultimate technique,” Shao Qingfeng uttered in a deep voice.
The Penta Ghost in his palm disintegrated once again, but this time, it didn’t take the form of thorns or a sword, but condensed into a sphere that was the size of a fist. The expressions of the people who were familiar with the Penta Ghost became grave upon seeing this, and someone in the audience exclaimed, “It’s the Penta Ghost’s final form. Shao Qingfeng is already cornered, so he was apparently left without a choice.”
“Su Yuxian will probably be in danger, as it’s impossible for even people who just advanced into the Level Nine Fairy Realm to withstand the power of the Penta Ghost’s final form! Moreover, among the outer sanctum’s ten greatest disciples, only the four demons could block it! As for the others, they would all be in danger while facing it,” another crowd member said.
While the crowd was still discussing it, Shao Qingfeng had already attacked swiftly. “Inescapable Net!” he shouted in a low voice, while he imbued his Vital Energy into the black sphere and compressed it inside it.
He then threw the sphere at Su Yu. When the black sphere was just thirty meters from Su Yu, the Vital Energy that was compressed inside it erupted outward.
Such a powerful and explosive power shattered the black sphere, which immediately turned into a thousand hideous black barbs. If one looked at them from afar, they would seem like angry bees, whose nest had just been attacked!
In the twinkling of an eye, the black barbs engulfed the whole sky. They all possessed astonishing speed because of the explosion’s momentum, so it would be impossible for someone to evade them. Moreover, Su Yu’s damaged Eternal Stone King Armor wouldn’t be capable of blocking such an intensive attack.
Everything was already set in stone, and the crowd felt like they could already hear Su Yu admitting his defeat. However, the voice that they expected didn’t echo out. Instead, Su Yu’s composed figure appeared before their eyes.
Su Yu let out a breath and retracted the two small, golden swords. He had unexpectedly given up on his weapons in such a precarious moment!
“Did he decide to admit defeat this easily?” someone asked. The entire crowd was startled by his strange actions.
Someone sighed and said, “It’s already extraordinary for him to force Shao Qingfeng, who is at the Level Eight Fairy Realm, to use his Penta Ghost’s final form, and even if he admits defeat today, he could still be proud of himself.”
Many gazes, all filled with admiration and regret, looked at Su Yu, but he still didn’t leave the stage. Instead, he bravely faced the countless barbs as they filled the sky.
“Wait! It seems like he doesn’t plan to admit defeat. Did anyone detect the change of the surroundings’ spiritual energy?” someone with acute senses asked suddenly.
“Huh? It seems like that really is the case. It seems like the spiritual energy of this region is out of control, and it seems like it’s flowing straight toward Su Yu,” someone else said.
“You should all clearly sense it! It isn’t just the world’s spiritual energy that is flowing toward him, but even the air itself is flowing towards him,” another onlooker shouted.
While the crowd was exclaiming in surprise, the air within the three-hundred-meter-radius around Su Yu flowed toward him. As it did so, that region was deprived of its air, thus turning into a vacuum.
As the air gathered and condensed around Su Yu, it started dancing around him, while being compressed unceasingly. Moreover, it gradually took on a black luster because it was being compressed too intensely.
If one looked at Su Yu from afar, it would seem like countless black ribbons were revolving around Su Yu. Moreover, most Fairies present felt a terrifying aura emanating from those ribbons.
“What cultivation technique is this? Why is it this powerful?” someone among the crowd exclaimed in alarm.
The pupils of the Three Palace Masters, senior brother Lu, junior sister He, Lao Ai and Wei Zheng couldn’t help but contract at that moment, and shock appeared on the faces of even the Demon Mountain’s four demons!
“It’s the first level of a middle-grade legendary technique, which has been cultivated to perfection,” Bing Wuxin spoke slowly, while an intense fighting intent surged in her eyes.
Gongsun Wuxie revealed an earnest expression for the first time, and her purple gem-like eyes shone brightly as she said, “He unexpectedly hid an amazing technique of such an impressive grade. And… He really hid it well!”
Tian Renyao’s eyes lit up and his face became flushed. “I already knew that brother Yuxian was amazing!”
Bai Shanliang looked at Su Yu with shock apparent on his face. “So, it turns out that he was this strong all along!”
Although they all acknowledged Su Yu, they had still never acknowledged his power. They all assumed that it was probably just at the Level Five Fairy Realm. However, it turned out that Su Yu unexpectedly possessed a fighting prowess that rivaled theirs!
The fighting prowess, which erupted out from him, shocked all of the outer sanctum’s disciples. When the black ribbons had been compressed to the extreme, the black barbs that were filling the sky finally reached them.
Su Yu’s star-like eyes shone with a sharp glint, and as he pointed at the barbs, all of the black ribbons around him shot out in all directions. If one looked at this scene from afar, it would seem like a circular black shockwave was sweeping over the entire three-hundred-meter-radius that was surrounding him.
All of the barbs were affected by the black shockwave, and they all fell down one after the other, like dying black wasps. In the twinkling of an eye, the whole sky was swept clean, and there wasn’t even a single barb left. They had all fallen on the ground.
At that moment, a faint, miserable shriek could be heard as it slowly faded away. Even the soul that was hidden inside Penta Ghost was extinguished by the shock wave!
But, the black shockwave still didn’t stop, but continued on toward Shao Qingfeng! He was currently unarmed and without any defense. Even though he hurriedly revolved his Vital Energy to protect his body, he didn’t manage to block the shock wave in time.
Bang!
The Vital Energy that was covering his body was extinguished, and a miserable groan echoed out from him. Shao Qingfeng was swept out of the three-hundred-meter-radius, and he spouted blood as he fell off the stage.
The shock wave in the stage still didn’t disappear, and it was only after a long while that it started dissipating. However, the crowd could still had not gotten over their shock even then!
Su Yu had unexpectedly won. No one could calm down at this moment!
It turned out that Su Yuxian was this powerful! It turned out that Central Demon’s power was this great!
Wei Zheng clenched his hand into a fist and crushed a part of the chair, while his eyes contracted until they turned as thin as needles. “I can’t believe that he’s this strong!”
He was greatly shocked. He had assumed that he was doing Xue Lian a favor by inviting Su Yu into the Left Palace Master’s camp, and it was only then that he learned how powerful this genius recommended by Xue Lian truly was!
He was just a Level Three Fairy, yet he exhibited a power at the Level Nine Fairy Realm. There shouldn’t be anyone with such an aptitude, even in the inner sanctum.
He couldn’t help but admit that his good judgment, which he always took such pride in, had failed him in this instance. He had unexpectedly ended up rejecting such a devilish genius! If the Left Palace Master learned that such a genius had barely slipped through their fingers, he would surely be disappointed.
Wei Zheng made a decision at that moment to look for Su Yu once again and have a talk with him. At the same moment, the Two Lesser Palace Masters’ faces were filled with surprise. They couldn’t believe that Su Yu had unexpectedly won!
They both couldn’t help but look at the Great Palace Master. After all, this was a match that he had set up in order to give Shao Qingfeng a way out, yet its outcome was completely out of his expectations!
They couldn’t help but become worried about Su Yu. They wondered in fear… Will the Great Palace Master fly into a rage?
However, they heaved sighs of relief when they saw the severe Great Palace Master reveal a gratified smile. “Not bad!”
As they let out their breaths, they were surprised to hear the Great Palace Master praise Su Yu! The Great Palace Master had been in charge of the outer sanctum for more than a hundred years, yet he rarely praised anyone. In fact, Su Yu was the only one he had praised in what seemed like forever!
The last person to enjoy such a privilege was Jian Wusheng’s daughter, the inner sanctum’s greatest expert, Bing Wuqing. There was just a slight difference between her name and Bing Wuxin’s name, but they were still two different people.
Bing Wuqing was a genius woman, and there wasn’t anyone inside or outside the Red Blood Palace or in the Eighteen Blessed and Heavenly Lands who didn’t know her. Bing Wuqing had a prominent status because she was the daughter of the Lifeless Sword Prefecture’s Queen, Jian Wusheng.
There was a rumor about her current power level, but this rumor was from half a year ago. She had once fought against Lü Chuyi when she had just left the Mysterious Heavenly Divine Pavilion. Lü Chuyi was known as the most powerful and talented woman in all the Eighteen Blessed and Heavenly Lands,
No one knew the outcome of their fight, but afterward, a piece of news transmitted from the Purple Cloud Palace that Lü Chuyi went into the Purple Cloud Palace’s Life and Death Secret Realm to carry out a deadly trial by fire. As for Bing Wuqing, she just returned to the Red Blood Palace and cultivated peacefully there as usual.
Their battle’s outcome could be inferred from those two points, and her fighting prowess should be almost at the level of the Eighteen Blessed and Heavenly Lands’ greatest young expert, Gu Taixu! In the past hundred years, the Great Palace Master had praised just Bing Wuqing alone, not caring at all about other people.
But, an exception occurred on this day. It seemed like he had truly appreciated Su Yu’s performance!
As he stood outside of the stage, Shao Qingfeng’s mouth was filled with blood, and his eyes were filled with shock and disbelief. “Impossible! If one wasn’t guided by a great teacher or hadn’t cultivated the technique for at least twenty years, it would be impossible for him to cultivate the first level of a middle-grade legendary technique to perfection!”
Besides geniuses, who possess high precision and impeccable comprehension power, only a few people could manage to cultivate the first level of middle-grade legendary technique to perfection in just ten years. Moreover, most of those people were guided by a famous teacher, while Su Yu had just joined the sanctum!
So, he had to wonder… Where could he have gotten a teacher’s guidance?
“I don’t accept this! Is Su Yuxian really just twenty years old? Great Palace Master, please get justice for me!” Shao Qingfeng was determined not to give in at such a precarious moment.
As a matter of fact, many other people were also still skeptical of Su Yu’s true age. They all wondered… Is this old man, who has an air of transcendence, really a young talented youth, just like us?
Since Su Yu had stolen the spotlight for himself, many people became very jealous of him.
“I request that the outer sanctum use the Bright Heart Mirror to check Su Yu’s true age. If he stands in front of the Bright Heart Mirror, it will show his true age and will reveal an appearance corresponding to that true age.” Shao Qingfeng knew that Su Yu couldn’t get into the outer sanctum by fooling them because it was impossible for one to falsify his age before such a tool.
But, he was just stalling for time with this tactic. Upon hearing him, many people looked at the Great Palace Master.
They were clearly all in favor of this suggestion. After all, if Su Yu was really a talented youth like them, they could only accept it despite themselves, but if he was really an old man, it wouldn’t be so strange for him to possess such powerful techniques.
Su Yu was shocked, and he realized that the development of the situation was far from encouraging. He quickly wondered… Will the outer sanctum expose my true appearance, which corresponds to my real age? This is really awful!
Several days ago, Su Yu had already exposed his status in the Elegant Spirit Mountain, and if he really went through with the Bright Heart Mirror’s inspection, his true identity would be exposed! All of the Red Blood Palace’s high-level members would be aware that Su Yu was the expert who killed the Blood Emperor, so exposing his true identity wasn’t any different than a death sentence to him!
“Okay, I will allow it. The Bright Heart Mirror can verify his true age and show an image corresponding to it.” The Great Palace Master nodded slowly.
Upon hearing him, Su Yu’s heart sank, while delight appeared on Shao Qingfeng’s face.
However, the Great Palace Master added in a stern tone suddenly, “However, we must first settle your agreement with him before verifying his true age.”
Upon hearing this, everyone was shocked, and they wondered… Will he really execute Shao Qingfeng?
Shao Qingfeng’s face turned as pale as paper, and his whole body shivered. He surveyed his surroundings, suddenly catching sight of Lao Ai, who was among the audience. He seemed like someone who had just found the last straw to clutch onto.
“Senior brother Lao, save me…” The frightened Shao Qingfeng ran toward Lao Ai.
As he did so, horror appeared on Lao Ai’s face. He didn’t dare to reveal that he was related to Shao Qingfeng at this time. So, he waved his sleeves and sent a wave of powerful wind, which swept Shao Qingfeng back into the plaza.
He then said coldly, “I don’t know what you are talking about. You made a grave mistake and didn’t manage to defeat Su Yuxian, so you must accept the Great Palace Master’s punishment. How can I save you? You must reap what you sow.”
Upon hearing him, Shao Qingfeng’s heart turned cold. He had been abandoned by everyone! All of this had occurred because of a single mistake, which allowed Su Yu to plot against him and caused him to fall into such dire straits.
As he thought of this, flames of anger welled up in his heart, which was now engulfed by despair. He became more daring as he looked ferociously at Su Yu and said, “All of this is happening because of you! I will kill you first!”
In the face of his angry tirade, Su Yu simply clasped his hands behind his back and wore a carefree expression. Just as Shao Qingfeng took a step forward, a blue light beam penetrated his chest. Shao Qingfeng could see that it was a blue feather that had just penetrated his chest, and that feather was flying back to the Great Palace Master’s hands!
“If you knew that this would be your fate today, would you still have done it?” The Great Palace Master asked as he collected the feather apathetically, not sparing the limp corpse on the ground a single glance.
Shao Qingfeng’s body was lying in a pool of his blood, and in this way, the outer sanctum’s tenth ranked disciple died on the stage. Not one person had any sympathy for him, as he had almost harmed an innocent disciple called Shangguan Yunque, nearly crippling his cultivation. So, it seemed to them that such scum didn’t deserve an easy death.
At the moment, the crowd’s attention was still focused on Su Yu. His name would surely become infamous after this battle. Now, he wouldn’t just have his title as the Central Demon to impress everyone, but the news of his terrifying power would spread far and wide soon as well.
“Ah! There isn’t any weakling among the five demons!” One of the disciples who had once attempted to challenge Su Yu couldn’t help but sigh.
Wei Zheng at Su Yu with a shining gaze, as such a genius would only appear once every hundred years. He felt that he must surely bring him into the Left Palace Master’s camp! Then, when Wei Zheng looked at Xue Lian, who was next to Su Yu, and found her looking at Su Yu with am equally shining gaze, he couldn’t help but curl up the corners of his mouth into a knowing smile.
Afterward, the other areas’ fighting contests ended, one after the other, and the current powers of all of the examined disciples were recorded. These recordings would be left as a reference for the next seasonal exam in order to verify whether they had made any improvements the following year.
At that moment, the Great Palace Master and the Two Lesser Palace Masters stood up, and it seemed like they were about to leave. However, before they left, the Great Palace Master’s gaze penetrated the crowd and stopped at Su Yu.
He then said calmly, “Although Shao Qingfeng has already died, what he stated was reasonable. You should come with me to go through the Bright Heart Mirror’s inspection. In this way, all of the outer sanctum’s disciples will have to accept you wholeheartedly.”
Upon hearing him, Su Yu’s heart sank and he was filled with hesitation. He felt like he was being engulfed by a great danger.
If he accepted the inspection, he knew that he would be exposed. So, he had to wonder… Should I go through with it obediently, or should I just use the spatial vortex and run away from these Eighteen Blessed and Heavenly Lands?
