Chapter 104: Sect Entry Examination (Part Two)

Crash and clatter~

In the great vat, the iron sand churned like a whirlpool. Li Yuan was submerged within it, ceaselessly driving his Soldier Body Stance, using the violent friction to fight against the unbearable tingling numbness.

Gradually, the numbness receded.

But before he could catch his breath, Li Yuan let out another muffled groan.

The change began at the soles of his feet. He felt as though he were standing in red-hot molten iron, the searing heat creeping up to his calves, giving him the terrifying illusion that his legs were melting.

"This fierce?!"

Li Yuan's tightly shut eyelids twitched. After the searing heat circled his legs and feet dozens of times, it violently spread across his entire body.

"Ah!"

Li Yuan couldn't hold it in at last, nearly grinding his teeth to powder. After the searing heat came a wave of intense numbness he had never felt before.

From feet to head, from head to feet.

This terrifying numbness reminded Li Yuan of a torture method he had heard of in his previous life—the feeling of one's scalp being sliced open and mercury poured in.

Even having undergone multiple bone-structure transformations, he still couldn't hold steady, nearly failing to maintain his Soldier Body Stance.

"Hold on!"

Li Yuan clenched his teeth hard.

His movements grew faster and faster. The iron sand in the specially made great vat rubbed so furiously it glowed red and burned hot, yet the numbness showed no sign of easing—instead growing ever more intense!

Sizzle, sizzle~

Iron sand scraping against skin made a hair-raising sound. Li Yuan felt like a big fish being pinned to an iron plate while someone scraped off its scales.

The sharp pain born of numbness and itch made his vision go black; he nearly fainted on the spot.

"Just a little more!"

Li Yuan nearly bit through his tongue. The intense pain jolted him back to clarity for a moment. He knew he had reached the final step of the 'Fish Skin' transformation.

Boom!

He didn't know how long it had been when the great vat suddenly shattered. Li Yuan stood rooted to the ground, his entire body's skin flushed red to the point of purple.

Beneath the skin, veins swelled from small to large.

Feet, calves, thighs, waist and belly, spine, neck, both arms…

The violent transformation seemed to begin the instant he stamped his foot. His whole body swelled up like it was being inflated, his one-meter-eighty frame shooting up to over two meters twenty!

The darkened great tendons kept on quivering, while the teeth-grinding sound of bones grinding together emanated from within his body…

"Ape arms and wasp waist, lion neck, kite step, tiger back and bear waist, serpent body and python tendons…"

The soreness, numbness, and pain vanished in an instant, replaced by the sensation of suddenly casting off shackles that had weighed on him for a lifetime. The exhilaration was so intense it was like an electric current passing through Li Yuan, making his scalp tingle!

Roar!

Howl!

Screech!

In that instant, Li Yuan seemed to hear apes wailing and tigers roaring, a chorus of all beasts.

The moment the nine forms were gathered, the bone-structure transformations from the previous times linked together all at once, erupting into a power that even frightened him.

Compared to now, his former self had been like a living corpse on the brink of death from grave illness, weighed down by heavy shackles all over!

Bang!

Li Yuan pushed off with his feet. As earth and stone exploded, he leaped from level ground—and this single jump was as high as the three-story wine house across the street!

A flat-ground leap of over ten meters!

Crack crack crack~

Li Yuan stretched out both arms, his tendons and bones moving like drawn bowstrings. When he landed, the blue stones paving the small courtyard were punched through by a single foot.

Without using inner force, he punched through blue stone!

"Success!"

Dust billowed. Li Yuan's frame shrank back to its original state. He lightly shook his hands and feet, the muscles across his body rippling like waves, and the force transmitted through him showed no sign of depletion.

He drew his dagger and sliced with ordinary strength, yet it felt like cutting through rubber—elasticity and toughness had multiplied beyond measure!

"No, there's also force deflection!"

When Li Yuan sliced with full force, the moment the power reached his body, more than half of it was deflected away, as if he were wearing a thick suit of fish-scale armor.

"The Seven Star Horizontal Training Body has finally reached minor completion! But the greater change comes from gathering the nine forms…"

Li Yuan curled and stretched his five fingers; he almost wanted to howl at the sky.

The change brought by gathering the nine forms was far beyond what six forms could compare to. Only now did he understand why the nine forms were called the Dragon Form.

This transformation, like a serpent becoming a dragon, was so distinct and intense that his whole body tingled.

The strength of Xiong Hu, the speed of a hummingbird, the agility of a snake…

Perfect!

Beyond this single word, he could find no other term at the moment to describe his present self.

"Those born with the nine forms, compared to those with mid- or lower-grade bone structure—no, there's no need to compare at all. They're simply not the same species!"

Li Yuan was deeply shaken, feeling the disparity of the world.

His tendons, bones, and skin had all transformed; the force throughout his body flowed unimpeded, instinctively surpassing the Six Harmonies Unified.

Once those geniuses born with the Dragon Form took up martial arts, inner force was almost within their grasp. The gap between them and martial artists with mid- or lower-grade bone structure…

"Is greater than the gap between a human and a dog!"

Li Yuan felt an overwhelming urge to find a master and spar.

But he still held himself back, merely clenching his fist and swinging it a few times through empty air, because he suddenly thought of Han Han Chuijun.

If Old Han had already gathered the nine forms when he entered the sect, then over these sixty or seventy years, he must be close to a hundred forms, if not already there, right?

"Old Han is probably even more terrifying than I imagined…"

Li Yuan gave a start, his agitation vanishing in an instant. He gave himself a hasty wash and went back inside the room.

He only released the little mouse to stand guard, then, wrapped in exhilaration and satisfaction, sank into a heavy sleep.

When he woke again, it was already the morning of the third day.

"Brother Li, it's time to go!"

Today was the day the gates of the Divine Weapon Valley swung wide open.

Li Yuan opened his eyes and felt his energy surging as if about to explode—every trace of soreness, numbness, and weariness seemed never to have existed at all.

He stretched slightly, and a series of *crack-crack-pop-pop* sounds rang out from his sinews and bones.

After the Nine Forms Body Modification, the Seven Star Horizontal Training Body had advanced to minor completion along with it; every kind of Wu Gong seemed to have taken a small step forward out of thin air, and several types of internal force had surged along with them.

Only the Body Tempering had retreated rather than advanced, as if it had reached the moment just before a breakthrough.

But he knew very well that his Body Tempering progress had not actually declined—it was…

"Once the nine forms are gathered, it becomes the Dragon Form. My limit has been raised by a great deal… Now, my own strength, speed, and flexibility have all surpassed an internal-strength warrior like Cao Yan."

Add to that the Four heavy mouths—could he, even without a full transformation, cross blades with elite disciples of great sects like Sha Sha Pingying or Fang Fang Yunxiu?

"Brother Li, wh-what is this?"

Outside the road, Liu Zheng, carrying a dozen or so steamed buns and various kinds of cooked meat, took one look at Li Yuan coming out and got a terrible fright.

Wang Wang Peiyao, Wu Ming, Yue Yue Yunjin, and the others were all startled as well.

Compared to a month ago, today's Li Yuan seemed unchanged in build or features, but in their perception, he was like an entirely different person!

"Just a small breakthrough in Wu Gong. Is it really that obvious?"

Li Yuan was in excellent spirits and did not bother hiding his change. After all, bone-reading was the first gate of entry, and he had no intention of concealing it.

Over the past month or so, he had carefully studied the Divine Weapon Valley—this faction with a heritage of over a thousand years. Its hierarchy was far stricter than that of the Weapon-Forging Shop.

A menial disciple needed several years to enter the Outer Gate; the same to go from Outer to Inner; and even an Inner Gate disciple often needed many years of grinding before reaching True Inheritance.

If he could not astonish all in one stroke, he might not learn the core of the Soldier's Path Combat Hammer even in ten years—let alone freely entering and leaving the forbidden ground to seek the Rift Sea Mysterious Whale Hammer.

On this trip, what he wanted was to astonish all in one stroke!

"A b-breakthrough? Br-Brother Li, y-you've cultivated internal force?!"

Liu Zheng gaped, and the rest were equally aghast.

Especially Yue Yue Yunjin and Wu Ming—both were utterly dumbfounded. Before the New Year last year, his qi and blood hadn't even reached minor completion!

In just one year, he had already cultivated internal force?!

"Stop gawking. Let's go."

Li Yuan took the buns from Liu Zheng's hands, smiled, and boarded the carriage that had long been waiting. Wang Wang Peiyao followed without the slightest hesitation.

"Giddyap!"

……

The seventh day of the third month. The sky was brilliantly clear.

On the official road stretching over twenty li from outside Fucheng to the gates of the Divine Weapon Valley, a long dragon of a queue had already formed. Tens of thousands of people had gathered here; the uproar could be heard from several li away.

The carriage could go no further when it was still seven or eight li from the gate.

Li Yuan and the others alighted and saw nothing but a dense, dark mass of people stretching beyond the reach of the eye.

"Th-this many people?"

Even Yue Yue Yunjin was starting to stammer.

"Impossible! As far as I know, the Divine Weapon Valley's quota for this assessment released to Fucheng is one thousand three hundred; add the various commanderies and counties, seven hundred—altogether only two thousand. How could there possibly be this many?"

Wang Wang Peiyao immediately shook her head: "Probably a lot of onlookers, no?"

Without the carriage, the group moved quickly on foot. Pushing through the crowded, clamoring throng, Li Yuan caught sight of the Divine Weapon Valley's gate.

Lofty mountain ranges rose in majesty, vegetation lush and verdant; in the distance, wisps of pale smoke could be seen rising from the mountainsides.

Unfortunately, he could not see that black-colored pillar of light.

……

By the Grand Canal, beneath the Divine Weapon Mountain, on a vast stretch of yellow-earth tamped open ground spanning several li, several hundred Divine Weapon Valley disciples stood with hands at their sides. A powerful aura spread outward, instantly silencing the uproar nearby.

Wooden frames had been erected from rough timber, and at the foot of the mountain stood a wooden platform seven or eight meters high, upon which quite a few people stood or sat.

"A gathering of masters!"

Wang Wang Peiyao, clutching a small booklet, kept glancing around and muttering nonstop:

"Shao Shao Fangbai, Gan Wu, Tong Tong Jincheng… they've all come. Well, I heard Master Master Gongyang, the Valley Master, dislikes lateness the most—if your name is called and you don't answer, you'll probably lose your qualification on the spot."

Li Yuan glanced at her. The more nervous she got, the more she talked.

As for Yue Yue Yunjin, Liu Zheng, and the others, their faces were grim, their breathing rapid, their palms sweating with nerves.

The Divine Weapon Valley opening its gates wide was a first in several decades; if they failed to enter this time, there would never be another chance.

"Those few—are they the Divine Guard Army?"

Li Yuan spotted them at once: before the assembled Divine Weapon Valley disciples stood burly men gripping blades and spears, clad head-to-toe in black armor.

The Great Yun forbade crossbow-armor, but great sects like the Divine Weapon Valley were not subject to the prohibition. A prefecture's leading sect had a quota of three hundred armored men, and those permitted to wear armor were without exception the elite of the elite.

Li Yuan was very curious about the control effect of heavy armor, but they were too far off and it wouldn't do to push closer, so he could only restrain himself for now.

He surveyed his surroundings.

Just as Wang Wang Peiyao had said, the recently famous geniuses like Shao Shao Fangbai had all arrived early; it was rather they who had come a touch late.

"Silence!"

The armored burly man stepped forward, his voice erupting like thunder, echoing unceasingly for several li.

"Lion's Roar Art?"

"Inner Strength Great Completion, Qi and blood flourishing!"

The moment the big man opened his mouth, the open ground first stirred, then Yu Yu Xuanji fell silent as a pin-drop; even Wang Wang Peiyao, who was so chatty, shut her mouth.

Shao Shao Fangbai's expression shifted slightly; that shout from the big man carried far too much imposing force.

"That central Qi is far too abundant."

Li Yuan cleared his throat; with the nine forms gathered, his control of strength grew ever more refined, but he figured even he couldn't match that shout.

This was more than a burst of inner force—it was a Wu Gong.

"To suddenly let out a shout like that during a fight with someone…"

Li Yuan muttered to himself, but didn't speak aloud; he gathered his thoughts and waited for the examination to begin.

……

On the high platform, Han Han Chuijun sat upright with proper bearing, slightly tilting his head as he looked at the elder beside him, whose face was like black iron and whose beard and hair were all white:

"The last time our valley was this lively must be traced back over sixty years ago, right?"

"Seventy-two years!"

To the white-haired elder's left, a long-faced elder in brocade robes calmly corrected him:

"Elder Han, you've even forgotten the time you entered the sect?"

"Time spares no one. In the blink of an eye, seventy-two years have passed."

Han Han Chuijun swept a glance at the long-faced elder, a look of lament on his face:

"As the saying goes, those who live past a hundred and twenty have always been rare. How old is Martial Uncle Qiu, by the way?"

That elder was named Qiu Qiu Zhengxiong, the Inner Gate Spear Head, who was adept at the 'Nine Yin Spear of Leaving Dust,' had entered the sect even before Han Han Chuijun, and was now the oldest person in Divine Weapon Valley.

"Old Han!"

Elder Kuyu, dressed as a monk or nun, slightly furrowed his brow, but the several elders behind Qiu Qiu Zhengxiong, their faces covered in bruises, glared furiously:

"Valley Lord, Han Han Chuijun…"

Bang!

Lord Master Gongyang Yu raised his hand and pressed down on Han Han Chuijun's palm:

"Junior Brother Han, before your elder brother, you still mean to run wild?"

"Run wild?"

Han Han Chuijun's eyelids lifted slightly:

"Senior Brother's inner Qi grows ever more fierce."

"If you weren't so fixated on Yi Bai Xing, you might have already broken through to the Hundred Meridians long ago."

Lord Master Gongyang Yu lowered his hand.

"The Valley Lord is too fixated on realm. For martial artists like us, great strength and swift speed are enough; reaching the meridians is only a matter of time—what hindrance could it be?"

Han Han Chuijun paid it no mind, instead harboring a hint of anticipation:

"Speaking of which, it's been many years since our senior and junior brothers have crossed hands. Once this matter is settled, how about we try a bout?"

"Han Han Chuijun!"

Qiu Qiu Zhengxiong's face darkened:

"The Valley Lord has just come out of seclusion, his realm not yet stabilized—what are you trying to do?"

"Martial Uncle Qiu, you should be thankful that seventy-two years ago, it was you yourself who recruited me into the sect…"

Han Han Chuijun's gaze turned slightly cold.

"If I had known this earlier, even if you'd starved to death in the wild, this old man would never have recruited you into the sect!"

"Enough!"

Lord Master Gongyang Yu frowned, his gaze sweeping calmly over the crowd on the platform:

"In recent years, Zhelong has been quite turbulent. At a time like this, if anyone dares to run wild again, don't blame this old man for showing no mercy!"

Wherever his gaze fell, everyone except Han Han Chuijun lowered their heads; after Han Han Chuijun slightly furrowed his brow, he too lowered his head a little.

"Within and without the sect, who truly runs wild besides Han Han Chuijun? He served once as a Talent-Seeking Envoy and killed over a thousand people—his murderous nature is too strong, unlike the righteous path!"

Qiu Qiu Zhengxiong's face was dark as still water as he counted Han Han Chuijun's offenses:

"This time returning to Huishan, he successively wounded over a dozen senior and junior brothers! Running wild like this—if he isn't disciplined, I fear he'd even dare to wipe out the gates of our Divine Weapon Valley?!"

Han Han Chuijun's face was expressionless, acting as if he hadn't heard.

"He's the one you recruited, so why don't you handle it?"

Lord Master Gongyang Yu's face darkened slightly.

"Does Martial Uncle Qiu wish to personally give guidance?"

Han Han Chuijun's eyes brightened slightly.

"Hmph!"

Qiu Qiu Zhengxiong's face reddened; he gave a muffled snort and spoke no more, and the elders behind him likewise fell silent and looked away.

"It's getting late; let the examination begin now!"

Lord Master Gongyang Yu glanced at the sky and slowly spoke:

"Junior Brother Han, I heard you've found two disciples with decent talent. Let's start with them!"

……

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