Book 2: Chapter 37: Stir Amongst the Crowd
Whenever he felt that intense pain, Zhao Jiuge felt the spirit force inside his body increase, as if it were being compressed. As his spirit force continued to be compressed, he felt impurities being forced out of his body. When he first reached the Blood Movement Realm, a lot of impurities were eliminated from his body and his physique changed a lot. He hadn’t expected the Spirit Tempering Pill to eliminate even more impurities from his body again. His body would undergo an earth-shattering change by tomorrow morning.
The pain inside his body caused his brows to furrow, but he still endured it because the more he endured, the more his body would change. When the full power of the Spirit Tempering Pill came into effect, Zhao Jiuge felt like there were ants biting his internal organs. The veins on his forehead popped, but the pain and soreness could not stop his determination.
As time slowly passed, the effect of the Spirit Tempering Pill was gradually exhausted. His body was now numb by the pain. At this moment, Zhao Jiuge only had 10% of his original spirit force left, but it was more refined than before. When the last bit of the pill dissipated, Zhao Jiuge opened his tired eyes.
He noticed that two hours had unknowingly passed, and the back of his sword robe was soaked in sweat. He let out a sigh and lazily stood up before taking off the blue sword robe. A faint stench came from his body and there were black impurities coming out of his pores. Zhao Jiuge was not surprised, because when he reached the Blood Movement Realm, the same thing happened. The Spirit Tempering Pill had not only refined his spirit force, it had also tempered his physique to become even stronger.
There weren't as many impurities as when he reached the Blood Movement Realm, but the smell was really disgusting. Although it came from his body, when he looked at the black, mud-like impurities, he revealed a look of disgust. He quickly rushed out of the room while ignoring the aches in his body only to find that it was already dark outside.
In a pool on the Mysterious Heaven Peak.
As Zhao Jiuge soaked inside the pool, his expression was a bit sluggish. Although he had looked indifferent while facing the provocation from the youth with the scar, now that he had time to think about it, he felt a bit of pressure. If he won, it would be good, but if he lost, he would lose all face. If he lost, how could he raise his head among so many other disciples?
He looked up at the night sky filled with stars, but he could not find the star that belonged to him.
Thinking back, from the day he killed Wang Dazhuang, to when he met Ye Wuyou, and then everything that happened afterward—he felt like it all just happened yesterday. When he first accidentally embarked on the path of cultivation, he wanted to change his destiny and cultivate in peace. However, there were always people who couldn't tolerate him. What was it all for?
Was it because he was too much of a failure as a person? No, it was all strength, it was all brought on by strength. Thinking about this while soaking in the pool, Zhao Jiuge finally changed. It was like a rock was thrown into a stagnant pool, setting off ripples.His brows furrowed and his dark eyes became determined. Tomorrow, he had to win no matter what!
After he washed his body clean, he quickly returned to his room because he had suddenly remembered something. If not for looking up at the starry sky, he would have forgotten.
Inside the room, Zhao Jiuge calmed himself and quickly entered the state of cultivation. His breathing became slow and long. When his breathing stabilized, he entered the state of cultivation.
……
……
The next day, the sunlight tore through the darkness and shined on the square of the Mysterious Heaven Peak. The square became more and more lively as time passed. All of the new disciples arrived early without any exception because today was the fight between Zhao Jiuge and the youth with the scar!
There was a ray of red light rushing toward the square. It was so fast that one could hear the sound of wind breaking. When it finally got closer, people saw that it was a fire crane! A young man wearing a blue robe was standing on top, but judging by his age and appearance, he was not one of the new disciples, but an older outer sect disciple.
The fire crane was more than three meters tall, and its wings were white and its feathers were spotless. On its forehead was a red feather. Every time it flapped its wings, its fiery red aura seemed to tear apart the space around it, bringing about a sense of distortion. The young man standing on the fire crane had a flying sword on his back. He stood on the back of the fire crane with his hands behind his back.
His otherworldly appearance, combined with the fire crane, immediately caused the female disciples to scream.
“Wow, so cute. Turns out it’s a mount!”
“That’s right, when can we have our own mounts? I want a cute mount! Just thinking about it makes me happy.”
“This person should be an older disciple of the outer sect. Why did he come here now?”
As if to answer the questions of the female disciples, more sounds of wind breaking came from the distance and rays of light covered the sky like locusts. The colorful rays of light formed a bright rainbow.
A four-hoofed animal with the head of a cow, the body of a horse, and the tail of a mule flew over from the distance. The noise it made through its mouth sounded like a bellow at a forge. There was a somewhat mature young man who was also wearing a blue sword robe somewhat lazily straddled on in its head. The beast was also enthusiastically rushing toward the square on the Mysterious Heaven Peak.
A bright sword light streaked across the sky with brilliant splendor and arrived at the square in the blink of an eye. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a woman wearing a white dress standing on a flying sword. Her hair was coiled up and very beautiful. Her beautiful eyes were full of enthusiasm as she looked at the square. This glamorous woman was at least at the Spirit Core Realm!
The sky above the square was filled with a lot of people. They were either on flying swords or riding various strange mounts. Although they were all dressed differently, they were all filled with curiosity, as if they were waiting to watch a show.
These people were all disciples of the Mysterious Heaven Peak. The people wearing blue robes were all outer sect disciples. Although they could only stay in the outer sect and learn basic sword arts after three years, and had no chance of entering the inner sect, there were still some powerful disciples. At the beginning, they could only learn superficial arts, but as time went on, they could rely on sect contributions to buy more advanced spells and treasures.
Those riding mounts were all outer sect disciples at the Foundation Realm. They wouldn’t be able to fly on swords for a long time, so they could only rely on external forces. The disciples that were wearing various types of clothes and standing on flying swords were actually inner sect disciples! Only inner sect disciples could wear what they liked. This was a rule clearly stated when they entered the sect. Some people even walked on the void without relying on flying swords or mounts; the usage of spirit force didn’t affect them at all.
As they floated in the air, the power and colors of their auras added a touch of warmth to the originally cold morning. At this moment, the disciples below finally knew why these people had come to this place. They had all come here to watch the battle like them! Moreover, even inner sect disciples were here. This scene shocked everyone.
No one had expected this battle to attract the attention of so many people. All those flying swords and mounts shocked the hearts of these new disciples. Little did they know that all these disciples had been cultivating for far too long and were all very bored. When they heard that there was going to be a fight, all the disciples who weren’t out on missions came to watch. Not only had they come to check the quality of this new batch of disciples, what they really wanted was to see some excitement. As the new disciples below stared at these older disciples, it was as if they were seeing their own futures.
At this moment, the square on the Mysterious Heaven Peak was full of people and very lively.
Soon, the three instructors also appeared. Along with the three instructors, there was a young man in a yellow robe. It was the person who was on top of the tower on the day of the entrance exam, Wu Tianshan. Even he had come here today.
The sounds of wind breaking gradually slowed down, and the sky was now filled with people. On the ground, more than 80 figures had gathered, Zhao Jiuge not being one of them. Even the youth with the scar arrived, everyone was waiting for Zhao Jiuge.
Finally, some of the disciples couldn’t wait any longer and became anxious.
“Why hasn’t this Zhao Jiuge come? I have waited for so long.”
“Haha, maybe he didn’t dare to come. He is probably afraid he will lose and humiliate himself.”
“Hmph, running away without a fight is more embarrassing than losing. He deserves it for getting involved with Bai Qingqing and making the youth with the scar jealous. If he doesn’t have the ability, he shouldn’t have accepted the challenge.”
“How do you know Zhao Jiuge won't dare to come? Isn’t it still early? But it sure is lively. I didn’t expect so many people to come. Even the older disciples and the inner sect disciples came. I’m looking forward to it.”
For a while, the square was very lively, filled with the conversions of the new disciples. As for the older disciples, they stood in the air without a word and patiently waited for Zhao Jiuge’s arrival.
After hearing the voices on the square, the youth with the scar’s face remained the same, but he smiled in his heart. He thought, “Zhao Jiuge, Zhao Jiuge, if you don’t even have the courage to fight, then you disappoint me too much.”
After a while, Zhao Jiuge still hadn’t arrived. Even Bai Qingqing, Wang Baiwan, Luo Xie, and Liu Yinger became anxious. Mu Zijun was also here, but he was in a trance, thinking about something.
When even the three instructors’ calm faces became a bit strange, they spotted a figure rushing toward the square from the distance. Everyone looked toward that direction. The other main character of today’s show, Zhao Jiuge, had finally arrived.
The arrival of Zhao Jiuge pushed the atmosphere to the climax because the battle was about to erupt!