Volume 3 Chapter 14: Gloominess and Warmth of the Hear

If it was anyone else who was experiencing Wen Xuanyu's current condition, they would definitely first sit down to adjust their breathing.

The past few days of muscle pain were still easy to recover from, but under his current state where his body was already approaching its limit, if he ended up creating internal injuries because of his agitation, then that would be much more troublesome, if he didn't recover well, it would easily leave behind traces unfavorable for cultivation. However, because he was always arrogant, it instead made him stick out his chest with even greater force.

While forcefully enduring the rage and tearing pain, holding back the bloody taste in his mouth, his body that originally had difficulties even walking, he began to cough, taking a step into this overcast hall where the rear gate had already been shut, the spears returned to their original positions.

Weng!

A black spear shot out from the square-shaped stone hole, but Wen Xuanyu couldn't even block this very first black spear. It smashed into his body.

He fell heavily onto the ground.

"I... definitely... won't admit defeat!"

However, he shouted this from his throat, body staggering as he stood up once more. He threw aside the black mace in his hands, continuing forward.

Pa!

Another black spear smashed heavily into his body.

He collapsed once more, but he crawled back up from the ground. However, when he had only barely supported most of his body up again, three more black spears smashed into his body one after the next.

No matter how unwilling he was, no matter how much more pressure Wen Family placed on him, he finally couldn't hold on anymore, fainting, falling down onto the gloomy stone hall's cold and slippery earth.

Li Wu appeared in the stone temple once more. "You are quite excellent... however, no one knows what kind of flower will bloom under Wen Family's watering." He shook his head, and then after saying this to the unconscious Wen Xuanyu, he picked him up, placing him outside the hall. Afterwards, he picked up the black spears one after another, throwing them into the square-shaped holes one after another with incomparable accuracy.

At this time, both Lin Xi and Jiang Xiaoyi were also in rather miserable states, collapsed in the next stone temple.

This stone temple's name was also extremely direct, called 'Blade and Spear'. Apart from the deep, finger width cracks, the layout of this stone temple was almost identical to the 'Direct Spear Strikes'. There were also square-shaped holes all along the walls, at the end also a bronze door, the distance similarly close to two hundred steps.

Because neither Lin Xi nor Jiang Xiaoyi were people who liked to bite off more than they could chew, they didn't enter this main hall before either. As such, the two of them decided to give it a try.

As a result, the two discovered that apart from Black Flower Pikes shooting at them in this stone temple, there was also a black long blade that shot out from the thin and deep cracks. This simulation was naturally a situation where one faced two Black Flower Pike wielders and a border army long blade user. Normally, lances, blades, and spears were all the most commonly seen weapons, so on the battlefield, the enemy troops naturally wouldn't use just a single type of weapon. The Black Flower Pikes and the lances were still not that different, but the long blade's hacking trajectory was entirely different from the lances and Black Flower Pikes' direct thrusts. When these two types of weapons attacked in coordination, the difficulty became considerably greater.

Even Lin Xi, after taking just thirty or so steps, already couldn't avoid being struck down.

Apart from sighing inwardly that he would definitely be tormented quite a bit under this formation in the future, Lin Xi still couldn't help but consider another issue: that Internal Study record, was it made by the same person? If so, then who was he?

It was because before entering this 'Blade and Spear' stone temple, both he and Jiang Xiaoyi had closely examined the records of this stone temple. On the records, the best achievement was still Internal Study Department, passing in fifty-five breaths, only being struck once. Meanwhile, the next best Self Defense Department record was already much inferior, at sixty-seven breaths, passing with the achievement of being struck by one blade and two spears.

He understood extremely clearly, this Green Luan Academy's established standards hadn't changed in the past few decades. However, despite this being the case, this individual was so much more outstanding than the records of other departments, this could only mean that this Internal Study Department new student... should be an extremely well-known figure among Green Luan Academy's students throughout the years!

If that was the case, then in these past few decades, among the students who came out of Green Luan Academy, the most formidable individual was instead an Internal Study Department student? Not a Self Defense Department student?

Then who was that person?

Towards this Internal Study Department student, he was also extremely curious, he wanted to surpass him. Only, his competitive heart was relatively more calm, not as strong as Wen Xuanyu's.

...

Nightfall.

Seven lacquer sealed small sheepskin scrolls entered Xu Shengmo's hands.

The grim faced Xu Shengmo picked two scrolls first, opening one of them.

Immediately afterwards, a rare hint of pleasant surprise appeared in the corners of his eyes, his normally always indifferent and pale face, in that instant, developed a bit of brilliant warmth.

This small scroll was just like many of the ordinary small scrolls, recording things in a direct and straightforward manner, describing a simple matter without any emotions; a carriage from Central Continent's Imperial City was currently headed towards Green Luan Academy.

Inside the carriage were three notable individuals: Yan Shaoqing, Feng Qianhan, and Ye Shaofeng.

This small scroll didn't explain this carriage's purpose of arrival, but because he was quite familiar with these three people, and the main proposer of this was Yan Shaoqing, Xu Shengmo immediately appreciated the many unique implications.

Yan Shaoqing was Government Sector's vice head, the number two figure of the entire Government Sector.

Feng Qianhan was a member of the Justice Sector, as well as the one many people were used to calling Great Commander of the Military Division. Even though Yunqin is an empire founded on military might, and apart from a sector head, two vice heads, and a few border guarding great generals having greater authority than him in the Justice Sector, at least six or seven people who were of the same level as himself, he was an elder who had previously accompanied the late emperor, a Justice Sector Great Commander personally assigned by him, a person of virtue and prestige.

Ye Shaofeng was from Central Continent's capital city defense system, his position two whole levels lower than Yan Shaoqing and Feng Qianhan. His post wasn't all that astonishing, but he was someone who worked for the current emperor and the vice general leader.

Government Sector, Justice Sector, Imperial City, there was someone from each of these three powers who came. Regardless of what they were here for, they definitely weren't just coming here to put on airs.

Moreover, among these three people, based on normal reasoning, Feng Qianhan should be the leader, after all, Yan Shaoqing was just a civilian system's vice sector head, not even a sector head. All of Yunqin Empire's officials were fully aware that apart from the Military Division's vice sector head, the other sectors' vice sector heads' influence were a bit lower than even the Military Division's generals and local high officials.

However, the main one in charge was actually Yan Shaoqing, meaning that the Military Division, on this Rudong City matter, were already taking a step back.

That was why this group, what they mainly represented was the current emperor's will.

This group might be able to change many parts of the academy he, Xu Shengmo, strongly disliked, very well grant him an opportunity.

Some of the academy's regulations, some people, were even more obstinate than Heaven Ascension Mountain Range's eternally unmelting ice and snow. Now that there was a chance to change them, how could he suppress the strong emotions he felt inside?

After slowly tossing this small scroll that was good news in his eyes into the furnace in front of him, letting it burn to ashes, he opened the second small scroll he fetched.

"What? He actually passed the Direct Spear Strikes Trial, not hit by a single spear?"

Xu Shengmo's face immediately sunk.

Lin Xi had just received two course points of reward from An Keyi through some type of research project not even he knew about until yesterday, news of this type of hidden reward would be passed around comparatively slower. As a result, he only heard about it this afternoon, thus he didn't know about Lin Xi's soul force cultivation increase, to the extent where he couldn't even increase the difficulty to Lin Xi's training, allowing him to actually dare provoke Xu Shengmo in an incredibly complacent manner.

Now today, he actually obtained another course point of reward!

As soon as he recalled the scene of Lin Xi somersaulting in front of his face early in the morning, he knew that Lin Xi would definitely become even more proud of himself before him after obtaining this point of reward.

However, what was so special about the Direct Spear Strikes Trial? It was nothing more than some dead objects he loathed the most!

Originally, Xu Shengmo felt a bit of happiness he usually lacked because of what he read from the first scroll, but after seeing this information related to Lin Xi, when he thought of Lin Xi's appearance, he felt a disgust similar to seeing rat droppings land in a good pot of congee.

"Even if you pass through dead things like the Direct Spear Strikes Trial ten times, it still can't compare to truly experiencing life and death in an enemy formation at all... Even if we currently have no way of changing these dead things, I will still let you understand that your challenge will only make you seem even more frivolous and make me feel even more disgust! I really want to see, when faced with the sneers of others, if you can still be just that happy!"

Xu Shengmo's face completely fell, hatefully throwing the small scroll carrying Lin Xi's information into the furnace, burning it to ashes.

...

Nangong Weiyang quietly sat under the pergola of a tea shop on the side of Rudong City's official use street.

It had already been quite a few days since that rainy day's assassination attempt. The official use street had already been cleaned, and because there was no rain in the past few days, the ground was already completely dry, no longer muddy, no traces left from that day at all.

As early as a few days ago, it was unknown just how many officials of varying statuses passed through this official use path, only this pergola that green-clad 'assistant' walked out from was a restricted area no one was allowed to enter.

It was because ever since that day's assassination attempt, Nangong Weiyang sat under this pergola, not eating or drinking from sunrise to sunset, not even taking a single step from this place.

No one knew just what she was looking at while sitting under this pergola, what she was thinking about. Perhaps she had gained some insights from the battle, her cultivation reaching a breakthrough point?

However, because of the princess' instructions, and also some hinting from some high status officials, no one entered this pergola to disturb her. There was only a carriage prepared several li from where she was, a hundred silver-armored soldiers stationed here, ready to carry out her orders.

This very night, several silver-armored soldiers who were in charge of keeping watch suddenly saw Nangong Weiyang walk out from the pergola. Just as this camp became a bit chaotic, a commander getting on a horse and preparing to greet her, a serious, melodious voice instead transmitted over. "Don't follow me... tell her that I'm leaving. If I want to meet her, I will naturally look for her."

Even though this voice was calm, it seemed to carry a great wave of power, momentarily making that silver-armored commander's entire body become a bit rigid, not daring to budge in the slightest... Under his and the other silver-armored soldier's stunned gazes, this young lady dressed in ordinary green clothes walked into the bamboo forest that heavy armored giant charged from that day, disappearing from their line of sight.