Chapter 143: The Trial

On the Mid-Autumn Festival, after leaving the Hua family, Hua Changxi realized she had nowhere else she wanted to go, so she could only wander aimlessly through the streets.

The streets were thronged with people, pedestrians rubbing shoulders amidst noisy laughter and chatter; every avenue was packed with crowds, exceptionally lively.

Shops along the street and under the eaves had long since hung all manner of lanterns—rabbit lanterns, lotus lanterns, palace lanterns—colorful and swaying gently in the breeze.

Everyone's face overflowed with festive happiness; watching the smiles of the crowd, Hua Changxi suddenly felt as though she were drifting outside this warm world.

At this moment, amidst the noisy crowd, she clearly sensed an invisible film separating her from everyone else.

Seeing that everyone else had family by their side, Hua Changxi's heart grew inexplicably irritable; suddenly unwilling to remain in the crowded city, she walked briskly toward the South City Gate and exited the city.

Following the city gate, Hua Changxi rode clouds southward; only when the surroundings fell completely silent and she felt the chill of the swift wind against her face did her heart gradually calm.

She had clashed with her family more than once or twice, but this time, when the old master told her never to return to the Hua family, it truly stabbed a sword deep into her heart.

Perhaps influenced by Gu Xing's reminder two days prior that she must 'find her place in the Medical Bureau,' she now realized that what she sought was not merely a foothold in the Medical Bureau, but a foothold in this world itself.

In the Medical Bureau, orders from superior officials could have her dismissed at any moment; in the Hua family, if she did not comply with the old master's wishes, he could directly expel her.

Having left the Hua family, having left the Medical Bureau, casting aside her identity as a Hua family member and her status as a Medical Bureau laborer, what did she have left in this world?

She suddenly realized that in this world she was still like duckweed, having taken no root whatsoever; she had not cultivated a true identity belonging solely to her.

Proprietor of the Shennuo Medicine Shop?

Master of Mount Wuzhi?

Hall Master of Lingguang Hall?

None of these could represent her completely; they were merely parts of her.

Moreover, these were all superficial identities; when others mentioned them, they would not think of her as a person at all, knowing nothing about her.

Hua Changxi fell into deep thought, beginning to seriously consider how she was to live in this world.

Traveling directly south from the southern part of Jingcheng, one quickly reached the borders of Nanxiang County; once within Nanxiang County, the towering palace of Lingguang Hall became visible.

Hua Changxi had not flown long before she spotted Lingguang Hall.

She did not approach it; instead, she condensed a massive cloud and sat cross-legged upon it, silently observing the official road below.

Lingguang Hall was magnificent and towering, resembling an immortal palace; even though government troops had blocked every intersection, it still attracted forces from all directions to investigate.

Previously, whenever Hua Changxi entered or exited Lingguang Hall, she never paid close attention to the conduct of the stationed soldiers, but today, after watching for only a short while, she noticed something unusual.

Ordinary people or cultivators attempting to approach Lingguang Hall would absolutely be blocked, yet those holding various tokens were allowed passage by the soldiers.

Witnessing this scene of differential treatment, Hua Changxi's eyes darkened; although all those granted passage returned without success, it still made her very unhappy.

Gazing at Lingguang Hall, Hua Changxi thought about the recruitment mission for the hundred thousand Zhu Que soldiers.

If she relied solely on herself to recruit, finding a hundred thousand fire-affinity spiritual root cultivators who all inherited the will of Zhu Que would take an unknown amount of time.

She felt she should mobilize the initiative of others, letting them join the Zhu Que Army voluntarily.

Thinking thus, Hua Changxi began to ponder.

Lingguang Hall stood right there, attracting countless people without doing anything; if she further informed the world that the palace contained top-tier fire cultivation techniques, one could imagine that even with government troops stationed there, they could not stop forces from all directions from swarming in.

Looking at Lingguang Hall bathed in the clouds, Hua Changxi 'whooshed' down like a meteor, riding her clouds to land on the steps outside the main hall.

Moments later, a line of conspicuous fiery red characters condensed from fire spiritual energy hovered above the main hall of Lingguang Hall.

"Those with fire spiritual roots who possess fate may enter the Technique Transmission Hall of Lingguang Hall to obtain the top-tier fire cultivation technique—'Zhu Que Divine Art'."

To ensure that everyone who could see Lingguang Hall would see these words, and to guarantee the script would not dissipate quickly, Hua Changxi expended half the spiritual energy in her body to enlarge and solidify the characters.

"Look quickly, what is that?"

As soon as the characters appeared above Lingguang Hall, the surrounding crowd saw them immediately, sparking various discussions.

"'Those with fire spiritual roots who possess fate may enter the Technique Transmission Hall of Lingguang Hall to obtain the top-tier fire cultivation technique—'Zhu Que Divine Art''; what does this mean?"

"Does it mean that as long as we can enter the Technique Transmission Hall, we can receive the technique?"

Cultivators and martial artists who had rushed from various regions, even the ordinary onlookers, felt immense shock in their hearts upon seeing the line of characters condensed by Hua Changxi.

At this moment, even with soldiers stationed at the intersections, they could not extinguish the fervor in their hearts.

The military general responsible for guarding the intersections, upon seeing the red characters, adopted an extremely grave expression; he ordered his subordinates to guard the intersections well while he personally returned to the city to report to Prince Fu.

"What? The Hall Master of Lingguang Hall has announced to the world that any fire spiritual root cultivator with fate can enter the Technique Transmission Hall to acquire the 'Zhu Que Divine Art'?"

"'Zhu Que Divine Art'? What kind of technique is this?"

"Zhu Que is one of the Four Celestial Spirits of Heaven and Earth; what level of technique do you think it is?"

The news spread like a tornado, instantly sweeping through the entire capital.

When Gu Jinfan heard this news, she fell into profound silence.

She knew that the Hall Master of Lingguang Hall was most likely Hua Changxi; regarding Hua Changxi actually making such a move, she was both surprised and puzzled.

The 'Zhu Que Divine Art' was one of the four supreme techniques in the Four Spirits Realm; could she really reveal it so easily, and to everyone at that? Did she know the value of the technique?

Beyond her puzzlement, she felt some admiration; the court had dispatched troops to block all intersections around Lingguang Hall, their purpose obvious, yet Hua Changxi's action amounted to directly confronting the court.

Even if her identity had not been exposed under the court's very nose, the fact that she dared to conceive such an idea and dared to implement it was enough to make people look upon her with higher regard.

Gu Jinfan had to admit that she knew far too little about Hua Changxi.

Hua Changxi was completely unaware of the uproar she had caused; only when the Zhu Que jade pendant reacted as she condensed the characters above Lingguang Hall did she discover that she could control Lingguang Hall through the pendant.

Although recruits still had to swear an oath before the Zhu Que Stele before receiving transmission, this did not guarantee the quality of the recruited Zhu Que Army.

After discovering the pendant's function, she established two trials.

The first trial covered the distance from the gate tower of Lingguang Hall to the steps; using spiritual energy was forbidden, while surging fire spiritual energy from underground would cover the entire body in flames to burn the flesh; the flames would not truly harm the body, but the trial required the participant to possess strong psychological endurance.

The second trial covered the distance from the first step to the Technique Transmission Hall; Hua Changxi had arranged a vicious and perilous battlefield environment where those who surrendered without fighting, fled in the face of the enemy, bullied the weak with their strength, disobeyed commands, disregarded military orders, or betrayed and abandoned their comrades would be automatically teleported outside the archway.

After setting these up, Hua Changxi simultaneously opened the Technique Transmission Hall and the Training Hall on the fifth floor of the palace complex.

Those who obtained the 'Zhu Que Divine Art' could remain in the Training Hall to cultivate; thus, there would be no need to worry about subsequent persecution by the court.

Having done all this, Hua Changxi entered the main hall, took out a stone bed crafted from supreme-grade fire spiritual stones, placed it in the center of the hall, lay upon it, and began to cultivate.

She waited within Lingguang Hall, wanting to see how many people would dare to break through the court's blockade to reach Lingguang Hall.

Time slipped away bit by bit; night fell, and the bright moon hung high in the sky. Today should have been a day for everyone to reunite and admire the moon, yet this proclamation from the Lingguang Hall had stirred the hearts of countless people.

By midnight, at the hour of Zi, all the spiritual energy Hua Changxi had consumed had fully recovered. She opened her eyes, extended her senses slightly, and discovered that on the square between the memorial archway and the steps, at least several dozen people were bathed in flames, struggling to advance toward the palace.

"So many people?"

Hua Changxi was somewhat surprised, but she soon understood.

The realm she now inhabited was called the Four Spirits Realm, where the Four Spirits were the supreme existences; the calling power of the Vermilion Bird Divine Art was absolutely unprecedented.

Hua Changxi walked out of the main hall and stood upon the steps, looking down at the few dozen people struggling to move across the square below. She had not watched for long when her expression suddenly stiffened, and she sharply raised her head toward the memorial archway.

"Boom~"

An invincible, gigantic sword beam swept across, seemingly intending to obliterate the Lingguang Hall with a single strike.

Seeing this, Hua Changxi narrowed her eyes, clasped her hands behind her back, and remained motionless, watching the sword beam descend.

However, just as the sword beam reached the space above the Lingguang Hall, a fiery-red spiritual energy shield materialized. Immediately afterward, a firebird soared into the sky and shot like lightning toward the direction from which the sword beam had originated.

"Ah~"

A cultivator's piercing scream of agony rang out; a late-stage Golden Core cultivator wielding a long sword was instantly incinerated to ash by the firebird.

Beneath the bright moonlight, the firebird vanished, as brilliant and fleeting as fireworks.