Chapter 56: Assessment

Murong Wushuang gritted his teeth in hatred before saying, “That despicable man Yue Wuyang, and to think I thought of him as my idol before this. I must’ve been truly blind.”

Ning Xiaochuan glanced at Three-finger Lin’s hands and said, “Then Mr. Lin, why have you lost seven fingers?”

Three-finger Lin was deep in thought for a moment before he lifted his hands and sadly said, “There were a total of seven hundred thousand troops! I watched them all die one by one before my very eyes and could do nothing. I was at fault, I was guilty, so I cut off seven of my fingers to make up for my crime.”

Ning Xiaochuan slammed a fist onto the table; this entire thing was outrageous, three people of peerless talent from the olden days were either dead, wounded, or disabled, yet the shameless villain had been crowned a Marquis and enjoyed ten years of glory, splendor, wealth, and rank while being worshipped as an idol by countless geniuses.

Was there anything more ridiculous than this?

Three-finger Lin warned solemnly, “Before the pair of you are fully grown up, you must not mention this to anyone. Otherwise, you’ll be digging your own grave.”

Ning Xiaochuan and Murong Wushuang nodded their heads.

It ended up being a sleepless night!

The next day, Ning Xiaochuan and Murong Wushuang dressed up as two beggars before they returned to the alley that Murong Wushuang used to live in. From a distance, they could see soldiers fencing off the entire alley as the residents living there were questioned one by one.

“Yue Wuyang didn’t come here personally, so it seems he isn’t taking this matter to heart,” said Ning Xiaochuan.

Murong Wushuang replied, “Who would think that the people they thought they killed ten years ago were actually still alive? Besides, the Lin Xiao that Yue Wuyang knew had complete hands but the Lin Xiao Ji Hanxing saw was a cripple with three fingers. Even if Ji Hanxing had described Lin Xiao’s appearance to Yue Wuyang, he would never be able to associate him with the Divine Dragon Warrior from ten years ago.”

Ning Xiaochuan nodded his head and returned to Begonia Manor with Murong Wushuang.

However, what Ning Xiaochuan found weird was that not only did Yue Wuyang not send people to Begonia Manor, nobody had arrived to question him either.

This was beyond Ning Xiaochuan’s expectations, so the preparations Ning Xiaochuan had made to deal with the situation went unused.

There were only three days left until the Heavenly Emperor Academy began their student recruitment so Ning Xiaochuan felt that he could begin auctioning his Blood-toad Pills.

On the same day, Ning Xiaochuan and Murong Wushuang rode the Green Deerhorse carriage towards the Imperial City.

Inside the carriage, Murong Wushuang held a single Blood-toad Pill in his hands, his mouth continuously watering as he said, “Brother Chuan, is this really the legendary mid-grade Pill? You’re giving it to me?”

Ning Xiaochuan lay sideways on the carriage’s seat and said with a smile, “The Blood-toad Pill is more potent than ordinary mid-grade Pills. You’re at Stage Nine Qi now so once you eat that Blood-toad Pill, you just might be able to reach the Divine Body Realm before the Heavenly Emperor Academy begins their student recruitment.”

The Blood-toad Pill enabled martial artists below Stage Seven of the Divine Body Realm to achieve the next Stage in a short period, hence it was deemed the best mid-grade Pill.

Of course, it only worked for martial artists with a Diamond Divine Body and Ning Xiaochuan had cultivated an Astronomical Divine Body instead, otherwise he would have long eaten one Blood-toad Pill to help him break into Stage Two of the Divine Body Realm.

In the end, Murong Wushuang could not bring himself to eat the pill. He placed the Blood-toad Pill into the frost jade box and hid it underneath his armpit as if he was afraid someone would snatch it away.

Ning Xiaochuan did not head for Jinpeng Auction House straight and instead went over to Great King Jinpeng’s Residence first.

Great King Jinpeng’s Residence was impressive and magnificent.

Two hundred-meter high dragon sculptures stood on both sides of the residence’s gate; their teeth bared and their claws brandished in an overbearing manner. Most people would be deterred by the pair of dragon sculptures and would never dare to approach the residence’s gate.

“Who is visiting?” The guard at Great King Jinpeng’s Residence’s gate was a martial art expert and his voice rumbled like thunder.

Ning Xiaochuan’s Cultivation was already at Stage One of the Divine Body Realm so he was also a martial art expert himself. He circulated the Qi in his body and formed a transparent ring of Fortified Qi around himself so that the soundwaves from the guard were reflected off to the side.

The guard saw that the young man before him had tremendous Cultivation and thought that he must be an outstanding descendant of some influential power. Therefore, he did not immediately drive away Ning Xiaochuan.

Ning Xiaochuan replied. “I ask for you to report that the humble servant Ning Xiaochuan is requesting to see Princess Qianqian. As for the reason, Princess Qianqian should already know.”

“Then please do wait a moment, Master Ning,” replied the guard before he turned around and walked into Great King Jinpeng’s Residence.

Ning Xiaochuan thought to himself, ‘Just as I expected, showing off my true power was the deciding factor. If I hadn’t blocked off his soundwaves just now, he not only might’ve looked down on me, he probably wouldn’t have helped me pass on my message too.’

Once Consort Xi Mu heard the guard’s report, she furrowed her eyebrows slightly and replied coldly, “Go and tell that young man that Princess Qianqian isn’t meeting any guests right now and send him on his way!”

“Understood!” The guard stood up and turned to leave.

“Wait.”

The guard stopped in his tracks.

Consort Xi Mu pondered for a moment before she asked, “How old did you say the young man seemed to be?”

“About sixteen or seventeen!”

Consort Xi Mu said, “Did you ask his name? Whose descendant is he?”

The guard replied, “He said he’s called Ning Xiaochuan!”

“Oh! Ning Xiaochuan.”

Consort Xi Mu’s face flashed with a joyous expression before she quickly ordered the palace maid standing by her, “Cui Ping, quickly go tell Qianqian that Master Ning is here to see her.”

The guard was speechless; what was going on with Consort Xi Mu? Why did she change so much once she heard Ning Xiaochuan’s name?

Consort Xi Mu was very curious about Ning Xiaochuan so she wanted to assess him to see if he was truly as outstanding as Skilled Master Guo and the sixth Attendant said!

She had already made a decision!

Ning Xiaochuan waited outside Great King Jinpeng’s Residence for the time it took for him to finish a cup of tea. However, Yu Qianqian did not appear and the guard that had passed on his message reappeared instead.

The guard gave a strange look at Ning Xiaochuan.

Ning Xiaochuan was just about to step up to ask when the guard drew his sword from his waist, the weapon was followed by a stretch of bright-red Qi that radiated brightly. The guard dug his heel into the ground before he slashed towards Ning Xiaochuan.

The guard gripped his sword with both hands and leaped more than ten meters into the air as a formidable force exploded from him.

“What are you doing?”

Ning Xiaochuan could not understand what was going on as he circulated Qi into his legs.

His legs turned into streaks of electricity, his speed increasing drastically as he quickly withdrew about a hundred meters back.

However, the guard’s Cultivation was extremely high. He was at Stage Two of the Divine Body Realm so his speed was not inferior to Ning Xiaochuan as he chased after Ning Xiaochuan like a shadow following its body.

The flashes of the sword followed the flashes of electricity and the entire scene was like waves continuously crashing against a shore, completely impenetrable.

Atop Great King Jinpeng’s Residence’s tall rampart.

Consort Xi Mu sat up high, two servant girls waiting on her as she watched the intense battle unfold below.

One of the servant girls with a beautiful face and a cinnabar mole between her eyebrows said, “Empress, not only has Guard Cheng Lin cultivated the Fire Peng1 Technique to Stage Four, he’s also a seasoned general that’s made it out alive out of countless battles. If Master Ning were to be injured by him, I’m afraid the Princess will throw a tantrum.”

“I’ve already told Cheng Lin that if he hurts Xiaochuan, he’ll have to lose an arm himself, so I’m sure he knows how to control himself.” Consort Xi Mu had ordered Cheng Lin to assess Ning Xiaochuan’s skills. She wanted to see just how many attacks Ning Xiaochuan could block.

Consort Xi Mu stared at the streaks of electricity running along Ning Xiaochuan’s legs. With a smile, she said, “An Astronomical Divine Body, not bad, goes well with the Seven-orifices Devil Heart.”

Although Consort Xi Mu had ordered her subordinate not to hurt Ning Xiaochuan, Cheng Lin did not dare battle against him half-heartedly. His attacks were quite ruthless, which injured Ning Xiaochuan accidentally.

Murong Wushuang said, “Hey! Does the Great King Jinpeng’s Residence not need to follow the law? We’re only here to visit the Princess, it’s not like we want to kidnap her so why are all of you so eager to kill us?”

Murong Wushuang rolled up his sleeves and continued, “I can’t watch this go on anymore. If you don’t stop, you best believe I’ll cut you.”

Murong Wushuang then said, “If this can be tolerated what else cannot be? I’m going to fight with your Great King Jinpeng’s Residence today.”

“You’re spouting too much nonsense!”

“Bang!”

Cheng Lin sent a Fortified Sword Qi flying across the air. The Fortified Sword Qi changed into a Qi Greatsword and it sent Murong Wushuang flying over a distance of more than twenty meters before he landed on the ground coughing blood.

Although Cheng Lin did not dare to hurt Ning Xiaochuan, he had no qualms about hurting other people.

Ning Xiaochuan saw Murong Wushuang being sent crashing into the ground, which caused Murong Wushuang to vomit blood. Rage boiled deep in Ning Xiaochuan. “Qi Sword Nine Continuous Cleaves!”

Ning Xiaochuan’s entire body was enveloped in Mystical Fortification and he formed a Qi Sword in his hands before launching a counterattack against Cheng Lin. The Sword Qi rushed out for about thirty feet, turning the surrounding ten feet into its attack range.

Ning Xiaochuan sent nine cleaves out continuously, the next one even more ferocious than the previous one.

“Bang, bang, bang, bang!”

On the ninth slash, the Sword Qi was ten feet long, resembling a greatsword that could split the world in half. It sent the sword in Cheng Lin’s hands flying.

“Fire Cloud Fist.”

Cheng Lin was truly on fire as well. He knew Consort Xi Mu was watching from high up in her seat so if he were to be defeated at the hands of a martial artist with Stage One of the Divine Body Realm, he would be entirely disgraced. If that were to happen, would he still have a foothold in Great King Jinpeng’s Residence?

Therefore, Cheng Lin had summoned his Divine Technique.

With a single punch, a large fire cloud emerged from his fist, the burning sounds crackling loudly through the air. The temperature in the air rose sharply and the slates on the ground melted as a result.

“Lightning Divine Beast!”

Roar!

A loud roar came out of Ning Xiaochuan’s mouth as he spread his arms out. More than twenty bolts of lightning appeared in mid-air, writhing about like snakes of electricity before they gathered into a giant ball of electricity!

A beast’s claw emerged from within the ball of electricity.

The claw shredded the fire cloud immediately before it slammed Cheng Lin’s chest, shattering his protective Mystical Fortification entirely. Cheng Lin flew through the air from the impact, spitting blood from his mouth as he did so.

“Bang!”

Cheng Lin crashed into the ground, his expression one of utter disbelief. ‘What a powerful Divine Technique. It actually managed to destroy my Fire Cloud Fist and defeat me.’

Cheng Lin pushed himself off the ground before continuing his battle with Ning Xiaochuan.

“Cheng Lin, what are you doing?” Yu Qianqian walked out of the residence and immediately berated Cheng Lin, causing him to stiffen in his spot, not daring to act out against Ning Xiaochuan anymore.

Cheng Lin’s gaze shifted towards Consort Xi Mu, who shook her head at him, which allowed him to retreat safely.

Consort Xi Mu was shocked as well because this result was completely beyond her expectations.

‘Although Cheng Lin did not use his full strength just now, that was still half his Cultivation, which is more than enough to sweep away martial artists with Stage One of the Divine Body Realm. Ning Xiaochuan actually managed to defeat him, which means he has the ability to achieve victory beyond his rank. The Seven-orifices Devil Heart is truly amazing.’

Consort Xi Mu glanced at Ning Xiaochuan and Yu Qianqian below, a small smile tugging at her lips before she left.