Chapter 31: Small Competition

Translator: GGP

Among the three people, there was indeed the Confucian scholar surnamed Gui from Jiuying Mountain, Zhu Chi, and another beautiful Daoist nun in her thirties with a head full of blue-black hair.

By then, Liu Ming had learned that the Confucian scholar’s full name was Gui Ruquan, and the presence of the beautiful Daoist nun with them clearly indicated that she was the Aunt Master Zhong who had been in closed-door cultivation.

As for the other inner door disciples, besides a group of newcomers and those whom he had met last time, there were clearly many older disciples over thirty years of age.

These older disciples were unfamiliar in appearance, but each one had a profound presence, and it was obvious that most of them had no simple cultivation.

After waiting a little while longer, another dozen or so inner door disciples landed around the plaza. When no one else appeared, Gui Ruquan cleared his throat and began to speak.

Very well, except for those few disciples who are unable to return in time due to sect missions, all disciples of the Jiuying lineage have now arrived. This is also the first minor competition for our sect since several new Junior Brothers joined. Those disciples who perform well will be rewarded, and the one who performs best will receive an additional special reward. Junior Brother Zhu, please bring out the testing tools.”

The Confucian scholar’s last few words were addressed to Zhu Chi.

Rest assured, Senior Brother, I have everything prepared.” The loose-haired man chuckled, took several steps forward, and his hands suddenly held several light yellow talismans, which he raised in unison.

With a series of bangs, cloud-like white vapors dissipated, and spontaneously, more than a dozen items appeared out of thin air in the center of the plaza.

Upon seeing this, Liu Ming’s eyes lit up; those talismans must be the storage talismans mentioned by Uncle Master Su.

The ability to store so many items in such small talismans was truly incredible!

Five uneven-sized dusky iron shackles, a vague white stone stele about half a zhang high, and seven or eight crude puppets of different colors appeared. Some were clad in thick armor, while others held giant iron swords as tall as a person.

“Following the usual rules, the competition will be divided into three groups. New disciples will form one group, disciples over thirty years of age will form another, and the remaining disciples will make up the last group. The content of the competition includes strength, magic, and practical combat. Junior Brother Zhu, you will be responsible for testing the disciples over thirty, Junior Sister Zhong will handle those under thirty, and I will personally oversee the new disciples,” explained Gui Ruquan before giving his direction.

Zhu Chi and Aunt Master Zhong naturally had no objections.

After briefly discussing, they decided to start testing the new disciples, then those under thirty years of age, and finally, they would test the elder disciples over thirty.

The Confucian scholar gave a light cough and then stepped forward to speak: “New disciples, step forward and let your fellow Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters who haven’t seen you get to know you. Our Jiuying lineage may not be the strongest in the sect, but when it comes to unity and mutual support, we are certainly not inferior to any other lineage.”

Hearing the Confucian scholar say so, Liu Ming and the other five newcomers naturally stepped forward, introduced themselves, and gave a respectful bow to the other people around them.

The other disciples also returned their greetings with smiles on their faces.

“Yu Cheng, as a personal disciple, you go first. Let me see the results of your half-year’s cultivation,” said the Confucian scholar, scanning the five newcomers before finally setting his gaze on the red-haired boy and speaking decisively.

The red-haired boy, upon hearing the words, respectfully agreed and walked towards the five dusky iron shackles, finally stopping in front of the smallest one.

Though called the smallest, the black iron shackle in front of him was still the size of a washbasin, weighing four to five hundred catties, which a normal person could not possibly move even slightly.

At least, Liu Ming thought that lifting it would be quite challenging unless he tapped into his potential.

The red-haired boy let out a low shout, grabbed the handle of the iron shackle with both hands, and applied a sudden force.

However, the iron shackle merely shook a few times and did not lift off the ground.

The red-haired boy’s face reddened, and he started muttering incantations. Suddenly, a faint yellow light enveloped his entire body, drastically transforming his aura from what it was before.

With another loud shout, several long, shining yellow spiritual patterns appeared on the boy’s arms, and he tremblingly managed to lift the iron shackle.

With a “bang,”

In just a moment, the boy’s face turned completely red, and he threw the shackle back onto the ground, even smashing a shallow pit in it.

It seems that you have mastered the first layer of your earth spiritual skill. Otherwise, you couldn’t have lifted that shackle with sheer magical power. Do you want to try the second one?” Gui Ruquan said, smiling slightly, without any particular evaluation of the red-haired boy’s performance in lifting the shackle.

The other inner door disciples watching around the plaza also just smiled and watched, equally showing no surprise.

“It was already quite a struggle for me to lift the first one; there’s no way I could lift the second,” the red-haired boy took several deep breaths to stabilize his somewhat panting chest and respectfully replied.

“Hmm, then use your strongest spell to attack this white stele made of White Burmese Crystal from ten steps away. We will judge the proficiency and power of your magic based on how deep the mark you leave on it within ten breaths,” the Confucian scholar said slowly.

“Yes, Master Gui!” Yu Cheng responded and then took a few steps to stop ten steps away from the white stele, with a solemn expression, he quickly began making hand signs, and within a few breaths, a palm-sized blue disc appeared between his hands, growing increasingly bright.

Suddenly, the boy shouted “Wind Blade,” threw his hand up, and the disc shot out in a flash.

With a “thud,” a clear white mark, about half an inch deep, instantly appeared on the seemingly smooth stele.

This stone tablet was unexpectedly hard.

Yu Cheng continued to murmur incantations, but this time, just as a flicker of wind blade formed between his hands, Gui Ruquan said indifferently, “Time’s up.”

The red-haired youth could only disperse the unfinished spell, a trace of unwillingness on his face.

“Hmm, to penetrate half an inch into the tablet, it seems you have put in a lot of time on this spell and have truly begun to grasp it. As long as you continue to work hard, if you can launch two attacks within ten breaths, this spell will be considered to have reached a minor level of proficiency. However, as you advance, spells become harder to improve. You must be mentally prepared,” the scholar said, giving the stone tablet a glance, finally nodding his head and offering some advice.

The red-haired youth responded with a yes.

“Based on the first two tests I can only give you a medium evaluation. The final result will depend on your actual combat performance. As new disciples, you only need to face the lowest grade Puppet,” the scholar said, walking toward a few humanoid dolls as he spoke.

He stopped in front of the smallest doll that was bare-handed and slapped a hollow in its chest. He immediately inserted a white, misty spirit stone and pointed a finger at the doll’s head, causing a wisp of black qi to flash and enter it.

The next moment, the previously motionless doll’s eyes flashed red, and it took big steps into a circle that had already been drawn in the plaza and then stood still again.

“You will fight this Puppet infused with a low-order war spirit within this circle. Whoever steps out of the circle is considered a failure. Your specific achievement will depend on how long you can endure under the attacks of this Puppet,” said Gui Ruquan, with his hands clasped behind his back.

Upon hearing this, the red-haired youth did not dare to slack off. He reached to his waist and drew out a greenish short blade, cautiously stepping into the circle.

No sooner had his feet touched the ground inside the circle than the seemingly cumbersome doll suddenly sprang into action, pouncing forth like a whirlwind.

The red-haired youth was startled and almost instinctively slashed at the Puppet with the short blade in a void.

“Puff,” a pale green blade of light swept out but when it struck the Puppet, it only made its body pause slightly before continuing its lunging attack unabated.

The youth immediately panicked, hastily retreating.

While continuing to swing the short blade, he tried to quickly recite the incantation for the wind blade spell, but in his panic, he made mistakes again and again, failing to produce even a single wind blade.

Moments later, the Puppet was already upon him, braving his symbolic attacks and striking him out of the circle with a single palm.

“Combat, lower grade. Overall evaluation, below average,” Gui Ruquan said, shaking his head yet speaking calmly.

Although Yu Cheng was not truly hurt, he could only stand up and dejectedly walk back to the other disciples.

Seeing this, Liu Ming and other new disciples couldn’t help but exchange glances.

“Next, Xue Shan,” the scholar unceremoniously called out the next name.

Xue Shan grimaced but could only grit his teeth and step forward.

As expected, after three tests, he, who had not yet cultivated the first layer of the basic techniques, was unable to lift any of the iron locks, and the spell test left only a faint mark on the stone tablet with much effort using a fire pellet spell. The final actual combat result was even more disastrous; he was swiftly knocked out of the circle by the Puppet.

Unsurprisingly, his final evaluation was merely “lower grade.”

Wan Xiaoqian, who was next, fared slightly better.

Although she also performed poorly in strength and spell casting, during the actual combat, she first cast the Light Body Technique on herself, along with another kind of wind attribute spell for support, and managed to endure under the Puppet’s attack for the time it takes to brew a pot of tea, ultimately receiving a below-average rating.

“Bai Congtian”

The scholar’s gaze finally landed on Liu Ming.

After taking a deep breath, Liu Ming stirred the Nether Bone Secret Formula slightly, and a faint black qi rolled out from his body as he walked towards the iron locks.

Seeing this, the scholar’s eyes narrowed slightly.

On the other side, Zhu Chi, who had been whispering something with a Daoist nun, glanced over at Liu Ming and couldn’t help but exclaim softly upon seeing the anomaly around him.

The Daoist nun beside him, seeing his reaction, asked with raised eyebrows:

“What’s the matter, Senior Brother Zhu? Why the surprise?”

“Junior Sister Zhong may not know, but this boy has only a three-spirit root and chose to cultivate a technique that is not our Sect’s priority, the Ghost Spirit Technique. However, looking at him, it’s clear that he has already managed to cultivate the first layer of the Ghost Spirit Technique. This is somewhat unexpected,” Zhu Chi replied slowly.

“If that’s the case, it seems that there is more to this child than just having a three-spirit root,” said the beautiful Daoist nun, her eyes on Liu Ming showing a look of interest upon hearing this.