Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Bai Ze’s body was carried out on a stretcher. Many had learned of him before he went to study in the palace, and that was due to him having a brother of unparalleled talent. It was even rumored that his brother was to be made the successor of the Holy Zhi Palace itself.
Many thought that while Bai Ze would not have been able to achieve what his brother was capable of, he would have at least became some important figure known by all. No one expected that he would have been beaten and humiliated by Ye Futian during the battles to qualify them for entrance. Worse still, he ended up being walked over by Yu Sheng in his sparring session in his very first year entering the palace. Bai Ze’s reputation was practically in the gutter.
Bai Ze found it difficult to live with dignity inside the Holy Zhi Palace. Those two battles were simply too intense, especially the sparring session. He was practically being slaughtered. If Yu Sheng’s plane was higher than Bai Ze’s, that would have been seen simply as the natural course of things, as it was normal to be bullied by one of a higher level. There would have been nothing humiliating about his loss if not for the fact that Yu Sheng was the one with a lower plane.
That battle was simply too brutal for Bai Ze in more ways than one.
Many from the Holy Sage Pavilion felt rather uneasy at everything that took place. Even Hua Fan thought they had taken it too far, judging by how badly battered Bai Ze ended up. Ye Futian and Yu Sheng held nothing back in ridiculing Bai Ze, which was more than enough to crush his pride and destroy his confidence. However one would have put it, Bai Ze was still Bai Luli’s biological brother. Futian and Yu Sheng simply did not give any face to Bai Luli or the Holy Sage Pavilion when they went about pounding Bai Ze. But then again, Yu Sheng’s strength was indisputable. He was thought to have been trained in Sage Douzhan’s art at body refinement, as he sported appallingly powerful constitution. That, coupled with his own training in demonic arts, practically made him a devil.
Many were astonished by what Yu Sheng was capable of. From the looks of things, the second most powerful among the newly added students was not Bai Ze; it was Yu Sheng.
It was the first time that a disciple of the Holy Sage Pavilion ended up completely overwhelmed by a disciple of the Battle Sage Palace. With Ye Futian and Yu Sheng both studying in the Battle Sage Palace, the upper ranks of the Law Rank would probably end up being bagged by the Battle Sage Palace. It was a situation that could have been overturned by the Holy Sage Pavilion if someone from there turned out to be some tremendous genius.
That one battle allowed Yu Sheng to demonstrate his prowess; prowess that was worthy of being ranked in the top three in the Law Rank in the future.
“Just how far are those two going to go with things,” Xu Que mumbled right beside Ye Futian. It was him who had bested Yu Sheng before, however, Xu Que did not manage to end up overwhelming Yu Sheng. He won only because he was taking the attrition warfare approach with Yu Sheng. Had both of them actually clashed head-on, Xu Que might have actually been the one who ended up losing. But then again, Xu Que trained in the killing arts and cared little about how he won.
It was even more obvious that Yu Sheng had gotten stronger, and considerably so. Bai Ze clashed head-on with such a monster, and it was only natural that he ended up losing terribly.
Xu Que stepped onto the platform in a flash, and a sword appeared in his hand. The sword aura around him whipped about in furious howl, as streaks of formless currents of the sword flowed between the heavens and the earth. Xu Que was a Grade Six Noble, and it was a given that he had become even more formidable. Lights from two statues were seen showering down onto him.
“Xu Que from the Sword Palace. Is there any one of the seniors here who wish to spar with me?” Xu Que asked. A Grade Five Noble went onto the stage and said, “I’ve always wanted to see how powerful the killing arts of the sword of the Tingxue House are. It seems like I’ve gotten my wish.”
The figure taking the challenge leaped into the air, but Xu Que vanished from where he stood before his opponent made it to the ground. The faces of many looked funny. Strike without proper announcement, eh? Xu Que had launched his attack before the figure was even able to stand up properly.
Xu Que’s opponent lashed out with a palm attack, bringing the force of the mountains to bear on Xu Que in the front while being on guard against any attacks coming from the back. Streaks of killing sword aura went to attack him from the back, and all carried intense murderous intent. He responded by lashing out with his palms on both sides of his body.
Cracking noises were heard instead. The overwhelming huge palm attack striking at the front ended up being cut right in the middle. A sword went swooping by at tremendous speeds as if it was something that came from the heavens, heading for the throat of its target. The attack carried intense cold, sending chills to everyone’s bones.
The battle ended before the one who answered the challenge was even able to make it to the ground.
“I’m sorry if I have offended you. That was the sword technique of Tingxue House. No patterns, no rules, just seizing any opportunities there were to be seized.” Xu Que sheathed his sword and backed away.
Everyone was rendered speechless. It was the one who answered the challenge who claimed to want to know what the sword techniques of Tingxue House were like, and as such, he could not have blamed Xu Que for striking so suddenly. Everything happened so quickly that he was unable to process anything. However, other than the element of surprise, it was still true that Xu Que was powerful, as he ranked fifth in the battles for entry into the Holy Zhi Palace. It was only natural for him to become one ranked in the upper ranks of the Law Rank in the future. He would at least be able to make it to the top 20. However, the one he fought was not one personally instructed by the palace lord, but one who advanced from the Thousand Holy Islands. Even if he were to fight squarely with Xu Que, there was no certainty that he would have come out on top.
“That attack would have been even more ferocious if it came from the front,” Ye Futian said to himself after watching Xu Que fight. Ye Futian was thinking that Xu Que had definitely merged the essence of the sword techniques of the master of Tingxue House with those learned from the Sword Demon.
“It seems like the little brothers who entered this time around all sport incredible prowess. It would be wise to take them seriously,” Hua Fan said.
Many spectators looked amused. While the sparring session was definitely an opportunity for the newbies to show what they were capable of, the stage still belonged to the old-timers. Every time there were newbies to fight, everyone would allow the newbies to demonstrate their abilities for a bit before the old-timers went in to teach them a lesson. However, the newbies from that particular batch were interesting, especially those who had experienced sparring sessions three years ago. They felt the talents demonstrated by this particular batch were possibly higher than that of the last batch. At the very least, from the looks of things at the moment, Ye Futian, Yu Sheng, and Xu Que performed admirably. Hua Jieyu of Daozang Palace was also a Divine Spiritual Sorcerer, and it was a given that she was meant for great things in the future.
“Understood.” Many went on to try their hands against the newbies, and the fights felt rather fun. There was nothing wrong with finding something amusing to do before the true mighty ones on the Law Rank were pitted against each other.
Yuan Zhan stepped out and made it onto the platform. Its wild body coursed with overwhelming force. He looked like a meaty mountain made of gold by just standing.
A mighty one who seemed to be basking in dazzling golden lights walked out, looking down on the ape.
Many who saw him walking out looked amused. Yuan Zhan is really going to get hurt really bad. The one who walked out was someone from Tianxing Pavilion, a Grade Four Noble with incredible powers.
Boom. Yuan Zhan stepped forward and began running in the battlefield. His opponent, however, simply stood in the air, basking in showers of light. Rows of golden halberds appeared behind him, and lightning crackled about as if the end of the world was near. The golden halberds fell from the sky with a loud crackle of thunder, out to kill everything below.
“Ning Huang’s God Slaying Halberd.” Ye Futian watched the battle closely. The figure from Tianxing Pavilion was probably a student of Elder Ning.
Yuan Zhan conjured a golden staff and struck with the Nine Heavenly Attacks. However, his opponent was simply too powerful. One halberd after another fell, accompanied by bolts of lightning as if they were some form of divine punishment dealt on their target. A devastating Thunder Halberd fell from the sky soon after. The staff in Yuan Zhan’s hand was utterly destroyed, and he ended up falling hard onto the ground with a roar. The golden halberds kept raining from the sky, landing around his body.
“Bullying at its finest,” Yi Xiaoshi said coldly at the scene.
“That is something everyone here has been through,” Qi Jie added. “But bullying newbies of my place, the Battle Sage Palace, eh?”
Other newbies walked up one by one, and every one of them ended up overpowered. Furthermore, they went about bullying newbies of other pavilions or palaces. Ye Wuchen was also targeted by people of Tianxing Pavilion and was brutally bashed. Yi Xiaoshi, Zhong Li, and all others were no exceptions.
When Hua Jieyu stepped forth, it was Xiang Zhiqin, a disciple of Daozang Palace who went to face her. Xiang Zhiqin was the princess of the Xiang Kingdom. It was a given that she was powerful, and she went on to overwhelm Hua Jieyu.
“Our little sister here possesses exceptional talents indeed, being able to reach Grade Seven Noble in less than a year. Furthermore, she’s a Divine Spiritual Sorcerer. I would advise you to quiet yourself and train hard,” Lian Yuqing of Daozang Palace stood at a corner watching Hua Jieyu on the platform and commented.
Hua Jieyu smiled and said, “Thank you for guidance, seniors.” She went to take her place beside Ye Futian as soon as she finished.
Lian Yuqing looked in Futian’s direction and said, “You are now the only one who has yet to step on to the Zhonggong Battle Platform among all the new students this year. It’s better to not miss the chance to learn from this opportunity.
Learn? Ye Futian smirked. No newbies after Xu Que managed to win, and their opponents were those who seemed to target each one of them specifically. They did well in teaching the newbies by pummeling them to the ground.
“I don’t see any meaning to all of this,” Ye Futian said plainly.
“All of you new little brothers and sisters were proud sons and daughters, and you all had an intense ego. This served as an opportunity to warn all of you to never be arrogant and keep your feet on the ground with your training. It is also an encouragement of sorts,” Lian Yuqing elaborated.
“Whatever you say, senior.” Ye Futian smiled. “I just think that as new students, the sparring sessions should have been one where we juniors get to watch our seniors fight, so as to remind ourselves to be diligent in our training. There is simply no meaning for us juniors to fight our seniors. If that is indeed so useful, why don’t you seniors go pick fights with the sages and encourage yourselves?”
“Is it not a part of your training to find out what you lack in battle and find out parts of yourself to improve?” Lian Yuqing looked at Ye Futian.
“I don’t see the need to do so.” Ye Futian said, “If there is anything lacking with us juniors, that would be level in planes. There is hardly anything else.”
“You are indeed the champion. So arrogant.” Many smirked at his comments. While such ways of ‘encouragement’ did have its demerits, it had become the tradition of the place. As new students, they were expected to simply take it without question; however, Ye Futian seemed adamant on challenging the rules.
“That way you put it, is it to say that other than differences in planes, there is nothing that sets you apart from your seniors?” Lian Yuqing added, “Even those who ranked high on the Law Rank dared not say that they were free from weaknesses and reigned supreme over others. The sparring sessions have always served as a platform to find out one’s own weaknesses by fighting others. This is to improve.”
Ye Futian looked at Lian Yuqing and smiled brightly, then said, “Indeed.”
The eyes of everyone present turned to look at Ye Futian. He actually said ‘indeed’. I have never seen a newbie so insolent. Even Bai Luli did not behave in such an arrogant manner when he first entered the Holy Zhi Palace. Seems like the number one this time is indeed different from everyone else.
Ye Futian, in turn, returned the gazes beamed at him, without any care about what they thought. Many new students looked at him and thought him to be immensely pompous.
Qi Jie blinked and felt impressed. Our little brother is indeed no common folk. I never thought he would be daring enough to say something like that in front of his seniors!
