Chapter 17: From the Heart

A figure appeared at the open hall door. Several disciples from various sects serving in the hall rushed over to block, but then they saw the array protecting the evaluation hall open on its own in front of that person, so they stopped in astonishment.

That person was dressed as a scholar, with sword-like eyebrows and star-like eyes; it was Zhang Sheng. Seeing Zhang Sheng appear, some evaluators were astonished, some were disdainful, and some remained calm.

Zhang Sheng's face still had an unusual paleness, but standing there, all the evaluators suddenly felt a slight stinging and burning sensation on their skin, and they were terrified in their hearts!

The elderly cultivator asked tentatively, "Junior Brother Zhang, I originally heard that your Dao power had not recovered; I didn't expect it to have recovered as before now; it is truly gratifying."

Zhang Sheng said calmly, "Only after recovering my Dao power can I come to meet the various demons and monsters."

The old Confucian scholar was hot-tempered and couldn't listen to such sarcastic words, so he raised his eyebrows and shouted, "Presumptuous..."

Before he finished speaking, he saw Zhang Sheng wave his left hand lightly, and then a crisp slap was heard; the old Confucian scholar was actually slapped in the face in mid-air, his mouth and nose bleeding!

The whole scene was shocked!

"I didn't let you speak." Zhang Sheng said calmly.

The middle-aged Confucian scholar was furious, stood up, and pointed at Zhang Sheng. Before his mouth could open, another slap was heard, and he was also slapped in the face!

"I didn't let you speak either."

The evaluation hall was in an uproar. The two Confucian scholars were also high-level cultivators of the Four Sages Academy; how could they not have the slightest power to fight back? The two Confucian scholars were furious, their Dharma power rising, and they were about to strike!

Zhang Sheng's snow-white, slender index finger stood at his brow, and a wisp of green light suddenly drifted from his fingertip. The entire evaluation hall was instantly filled with misty rain. This rain was like mist and silk, carrying a lazy warmth, like spring rain in the south. However, all the evaluators were in the rain, but they were suppressed as if by mountains, unable to move at all!

The bones of the two Confucian scholars rattled, their Dharma power dissipated, and they fell back into their chairs, unable to even lift a finger.

At this moment, except for Daoist Brother Fufeng who could move freely, all other evaluators were struggling to support themselves, resisting the eroding and suppressing power of the rain, unable to even speak. Only then did everyone know Zhang Sheng's terror; he had actually suppressed five evaluators with his own strength!

Not only that, their Dao foundations were constantly trembling and wailing, as if they had a great fear of the rain.

Those who were knowledgeable immediately thought of a legendary Dao foundation: the immortal sword "Green Qing Qing Si Yu"!

This sword was both soft and hard, and its most powerful point was that it could erode the Dao foundation. Being slashed by it a few times would lower the rank of the Dao foundation. This was no joke, and it could potentially cut off one's Dao path, so everyone absolutely dared not let a single wisp of rain fall on them.

Zhang Sheng walked slowly to the center of the hall and said, "Everyone, don't worry, I just want to say a few words calmly."

All the evaluators cursed in their hearts; with an immortal sword hanging over their heads, this was also called calm? However, they only dared to say it in their hearts; their expressions didn't dare to be wrong, otherwise, if the rain turned into sword Qi, hundreds of holes would immediately appear on their bodies.

Hearing Zhang Sheng's words, the monk hurriedly said, "Senior Brother, please speak freely!"

Although the evaluators couldn't move, their eyes were all focused on the monk, their hearts shocked: this guy could actually speak?

Seeing everyone's gaze, the monk also realized something was wrong and hurriedly grabbed a fruit and stuffed it into his mouth.

Huh? Still able to move? A dangerous light flashed in Zhang Sheng's eyes, and an immortal sword faintly appeared in the depths of his pupils.

The monk was shocked, his bald head sweating, and he immediately entered meditation and spiritual travel, observing his nose, nose observing his mouth, and mouth observing his heart.

After cowing the entire room, Zhang Sheng then said: "I know the unified examination has always had its share of irregularities, but I never expected you all to be so reckless and wanton, arbitrarily suppressing scores with baseless excuses! Those two slaps just now were on behalf of my disciple. If the two of you are not satisfied, once I withdraw my immortal sword in a moment, feel free to come and challenge me to a duel!"

Zhang Sheng looked at the old Confucian scholar and said, "If three swords can't kill you, I will immediately reincarnate and re-cultivate!"

He looked at the middle-aged Confucian scholar again and said, "You are more troublesome; it will probably take four swords."

Liu Liu Sigu's old face turned red, and the middle-aged Confucian scholar turned green and white. Neither of them spoke, nor could they speak. Their eyes turned around, but the rest of the people were either looking at the sky or closing their eyes to look inside, none of them making eye contact with them. All the evaluators knew that there was a cause and a master for every grievance, and no one was willing to block disaster for them at this time. Besides, they hadn't received any benefits from them in the past, so why should they block disaster for them?

Zhang Sheng slowly withdrew the sword Qi and rain, looked at the two Confucian scholars, and sneered, "The scores of the first two rounds cannot be changed, but for this round, I will see how you evaluate! You can do whatever you want, but my immortal sword has a bad temper. If I see something I don't like, maybe I will slash it with one sword! When the time comes, I will naturally return to the Grand Void Palace to accept punishment, as for life for life, ha! Are you worthy?"

Everyone felt a chill in their hearts, only then understanding Zhang Sheng's determination.

After the evaluators gained freedom, while relieved, they looked at the two Confucian scholars one after another. They saw that the two Confucian scholars, who were just furious, were now calm and composed, their faces without waves, concentrating on watching the martial test, never mentioning what had just happened.

If it weren't for the fact that half of Liu Liu Sigu's face was still swollen and the middle-aged Confucian scholar's mouth corner was bruised, it would seem as if those two slaps had never happened.

Zhang Sheng waited for a long time, but didn't wait for the two Confucian scholars to challenge him, not even a harsh word, making his immortal sword hang empty, indescribably awkward.

Such composure of swallowing insults made Zhang Sheng have to admire.

"Truly able to endure!" Zhang Sheng could only sigh.

The two Confucian scholars concentrated on watching the martial test, hearing nothing.

The immortal sword was already out, but the opponent shrank their neck; it was not good to pull out their heads and slash them hard, right? Zhang Sheng, after all, was not the two Confucian scholars and couldn't do such a thing.

Everyone knew clearly that a genius like Zhang Sheng, even if he killed someone on the spot in the evaluation hall, could the Grand Void Palace really make him pay with his life? At most, he would be punished to face the wall for a few decades, and then negotiate a procedure with the Four Sages Academy, say some scene words, and pay some immortal silver. In a few years, Zhang Sheng would be released, but the dead would really be dead.

Everyone actually still had doubts; this unified examination in Feng Yuan County was special, and it wasn't just these people in the evaluation hall; there must be great powers from various sects watching in the sky. But with Zhang Sheng acting like this, why didn't the great powers have any movement? Even the great powers of the Four Sages Academy were silent.

The martial test had been going on for a while, and the situation in the field began to become clear.

The blue and yellow teams were based in the north and south, and both had completed the investigation of the terrain and the enemy's deployment. Throughout the process, there were no casualties among the scouts of both sides, which could be considered a small miracle.

Li Zhi's formation in the south was originally close to the eastern mountains, but after the opponent's scouts came, he moved to the west.

And in the northern central army stood a girl who was as beautiful as a carved jade. After Li Zhi's scouts probed, she moved the central army forward by a hundred zhang, occupying a small highland near the central area.

In the south, Li Zhi looked north, but could only vaguely see the edge of the central area. Standing on his left was a girl holding a jade plate, on which more than a hundred elixirs were neatly arranged. All the elixirs distributed to ordinary soldiers were on this plate.

Li Zhi said, "Soldiers are valued for quality, not quantity. I have concentrated these elixirs on the thirty elites of the personal army, and each of them can be distributed three. In this way, my personal army can fight from beginning to end!"

The girl looked up at Li Zhi and admired, "Senior Brother Li is truly a master of military strategy!"

PS: There will be irregular updates

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(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 18 =====