True Martial World - Chapter 275: Lin Bone Gall

The news of Yuehua taking in disciples quickly spread throughout the Tai Ah Divine City.

People thought that Yuehua took in direct disciples and did not know that she was just a quasi-master. If they knew that, it would be impossible to know their reaction.

When Yang Yuefeng heard that Yuehua took in both Yi Yun and Luo Huo'er as disciples, he received another devastating blow!

These days, Yang Yuefeng was completely listless. He locked himself in his house all day and did not see anyone.

For a person like Yang Yuefeng, who was one of the leaders of the younger generation in the Chu royal residence other than the Chu crown prince, what was most important in his circle was face.

But now, he had become the biggest joke in the Tai Ah Divine City.

In Yuehua’s first lesson, Yang Yuefeng had ridiculed Yi Yun in an extremely condescending way, but the next day he had been mercilessly suppressed by Yi Yun. The face he valued so much had been smashed to pieces!

Taking advantage of this opportunity, many of those who were not on good terms with Yang Yuefeng purposely spread and embellished the actions and the "impassioned" words he said in front of a crowd. Soon, Yang Yuefeng became a huge joke amongst the aristocratic circles.

Whenever Yang Yuefeng thought of this incident, he would go crazy. Many of the things in his house had already been broken by him.

"Yi Yun! I'll remember this!"

Yang Yuefeng did not dare to hate Yuehua, he could only hate Yi Yun. From his failure in recovering the 'Truth of the Laws' to the point of him becoming a clown in the Tai Ah Divine City, it was all because of Yi Yun.

He was determined to find an opportunity to settle scores.

...

Now, in the Wilderness Divine Hall.

Yi Yun was in the sixth hall of the Wilderness Divine Hall. He had already stayed in there for 16 hours.

The primordial strain statue in front of Yi Yun was a large, red firebird.

The firebird had its wings spread out. Its feathers were soaked in Great Yan gold, making it shine like the lustrous sun. It was burning in front of Yi Yun.

Yi Yun was standing almost right in front of the firebird, at a distance of less than three feet. The frightening heat made Yi Yun feel like he was being burned by flames, his entire body was scalding hot.

He perspired and soon his sweat evaporated to form steam. That feeling was extremely hard to undertake.

"This Rainbow Blood Feather is scary..."

Yi Yun gasped. He had already come to the sixth Wilderness Divine Hall, which contained the Rainbow Blood Feather, several times.

The Rainbow Blood Feather was chosen by the founding city lord of the Tai Ah Divine City. It was a primordial strain that had a vestige bloodline of the ancient three legged Golden Crow. Back when Yi Yun cultivated the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique', he had chosen this hall in the Wilderness Divine Hall to cultivate pure Yang Qi. It made the process so much easier.

But till now, Yi Yun had only spend about 2-4 hours in the sixth hall of the Wilderness Divine Hall. He had never spent 16 hours in there like he did today.

This was a big challenge for Yi Yun.

Yi Yun kept using the Purple Crystal to control the pure Yang power in the hall. At the same time he also used the pure Yang power to think through the 'Myriad Beast Totem'!

To use the 'Myriad Beast Totem' to complete an Aspect Totem was an extremely difficult task. This was not only an Aspect Totem mystic technique prepared for sages, it was even a remnant copy.

Even Yi Yun, with the Purple Crystal's help, found it very difficult to gain much understanding in the 'Myriad Beast Totem'.

"Indeed, the primordial strain killed by others millions of years ago cannot be used to condense an Aspect Totem."

Yi Yun felt a sense of regret while enduring the torturous, high temperature.

Cultivating the 'Myriad Beast Totem' was best done by condensing the energies of primordial strains.

Warriors, who cultivates an Aspect Totem, had to absorb the energies of the desolate beasts they killed, only then could it be completed. The Rainbow Blood Feather in front of him had been dead for many years. So even with the help of the Purple Crystal, Yi Yun had no way of binding those energies to condense an Aspect Totem that belonged to him.

"The Purple Crystal may be heaven-defying, but at times, it will also follow certain rules." Yi Yun thought in his mind. The Purple Crystal had absolute control over energy, but it was not omnipotent. For example, the energy controlled by another living being could not be absorbed by the Purple Crystal.

Now, in the condensing of an Aspect Totem, the Purple Crystal also followed the rules of the Aspect Totem.

"It seems that I have to use the desolate beasts I kill with my own hands to condense an Aspect Totem that belongs to me. With my current strength, it's completely impossible for me to hunt a primordial strain. I can only instead use low-grade desolate beasts, but that will make mastering the 'Myriad Beast Totem' much more difficult."

The path Yi Yun chose was already much harder than others from the outset.

Not only in regards to the Aspect Totem, even the Saber Truth's 32 Words, the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique' and the pure Yang Great Dao that Yi Yun chose were all extremely difficult types.

It was difficult to grasp it, and perfecting it was difficult. However, once it was mastered, it was obvious how beneficial they would be for Yi Yun.

Other people still had to switch mystic techniques midway, Yi Yun however did not need to do that. These Great Dao Yi Yun chose were sufficient for Yi Yun to reach an extremely high level.

After the 18th hour, Yi Yun came out from the sixth hall in the Wilderness Divine Hall.

All of his skin had been completely burned red. These 18 hours of cultivation had been a kind of torture for Yi Yun.

Although the Rainbow Blood Feather's energy could not be condensed into an Aspect Totem, Yi Yun still gained something. He had used the pure Yang power in the sixth hall to continuously deduce the 'Myriad Beast Totem'. Now, Yi Yun had a much deeper understanding of the 'Myriad Beast Totem' technique.

Thanks to this, when Yi Yun really went out into the Divine Wilderness to hunt desolate beasts, it would make his attempt at condensing of a 'Myriad Beast Totem' Aspect Totem much easier.

Yi Yun dragged his exhausted body back to his apartment, there he took a comfortable bath and meditated for about an hour before he slowly recovered.

At that moment, the door sounded.

Yi Yun opened the door and saw a maidservant of Luo Huo'er standing by the door.

She looked at Yi Yun and stuttered, "Teacher Yuehua has set up a lesson for you… The work… needs to be handed over to Teacher Yuehua… after you are done."

The maidservant said while passing a jade scroll to Yi Yun before she turned and ran away.

Yi Yun laughed. He injected his spiritual energy into the jade scroll and scanned it. Inside it, there were practices that involved energy extraction and basic Desolate Heaven Master seals. When Yi Yun completed it, he would then hand it to Yuehua for her to point out his deficiencies.

"I never expected Grandmaster Yuehua to guide me in such a painstakingly manner..."

Yi Yun was flattered by such painstaking educational methods. He kept the jade scroll and walked to the Desolate Heaven Master Society.

The Desolate Heaven Master Society had dedicated bone refinement rooms. On top of that, Yuehua had set aside an exclusive area for Yi Yun and Luo Huo'er. This exclusive zone had the best facilities for the Desolate Heaven technique.

Yi Yun opened the door to the bone refinement room. Luo Huo'er was already in there.

Besides Luo Huo'er, there were also Luo Huo'er's maidservant Dong'er as well as six other young girls.

These girls had clearly received Luo Huo'er's approval to enter. They too were Desolate Heaven Master apprentices.

"President, what do you think of my method?"

A girl with a ponytail asked Luo Huo'er after she took out a scroll that had energy runes condensed within it.

President?

Yi Yun was stunned. How did Luo Huo'er become a President?

On further thought, Yi Yun recalled that Luo Huo'er had formed the Luohuo Association, and it was a large association, only second to the Linxiao Association in the Tai Ah Divine City.

And Luo Huo'er was the President.

"This girl actually used her name to name the association. She sure is narcissistic." Yi Yun mused. He could not help but recall the first time he met her and the speech she spoke to the mirror.

"You came?" Luo Huo'er glanced at Yi Yun. She actually greeted Yi Yun with a face full of smiles. She casually pointed to a spot and said, "You can have that position. Xiaoling, give way."

"Yes President."

The girl named Xiaoling obediently gave up her spot to Yi Yun. These girls were clearly also from the Luohuo Association.

The room was full of estrogen except for the only male, Yi Yun. Yi Yun stroked his chin. Why was Luo Huo'er so nice to him today? She even smiled at him?

Yi Yun walked to his spot and took out a jade scroll. He was preparing to finish the work Yuehua assigned him.

"Everything has been prepared. Master got someone to bring them over." Luo Huo'er said and pointed to the stone table in front of Yi Yun. There was a pile of materials which were required for the assignment.

"Alright," Yi Yun nodded. He noticed that Luo Huo'er's eyes looked around when she was speaking to him. She never looked at him.

Yi Yun took a glance at the materials. They were the same as the pile on Luo Huo'er's table. For energy extraction, Yi Yun exceeded Luo Huo'er greatly, so their assignment was exactly the same.

Yi Yun recalled the things Yuehua said in class. He reached out his hand to grab the materials but when his hand touched the materials, he suddenly felt that something was amiss...

Oh?

Yi Yun was slightly surprised. As the Purple Crystal was within his body, he was extremely sensitive to energy fluctuations.

This material is odd...

Yi Yun examined the material. The material's name was Lin Bone Gall.

This was the gall of the desolate beast Lin Snake. The Lin Snake was very special. The surface of the gall was not made of flesh but was made of an inch-thick bone shell.

This bone shell enclosed the bile, so it was unique to the Lin Snake.

Such a Lin Bone Gall was the most valuable body part of the Lin Snake. It was not easy to extract the energy from a Lin Bone Gall, failure could come from a single mistake. This was also the reason why Yuehua used this material for the assignment.

By feeling something amiss, Yi Yun opened up his energy vision once again.

With the energy vision open, everything he saw turned into their original energy forms. All appearances disappeared.

Yi Yun finally saw the mystery hiding within the Lin Bone!

Inside the desolate bone, there was a strange energy node.

There were four different Power of Desolates mixed in this node. These energies were bound together by a seal, maintaining a delicate balance.

They canceled out each other's effects and was well hidden. If not for Yi Yun's energy vision, it would be difficult to realize its existence noveltranslationweb.blogspot.com

Yi Yun analyzed it bit by bit and understood that if he were to inject his spiritual energy into the desolate bone to extract its energy, he would break the balance amongst the four Power of Desolates. Following that, the Lin Bone Gall would also explode!

Because the energy was not strong, this explosion would not hurt Yi Yun, but it would drench Yi Yun with bitter bile.

True Martial World - Chapter 274: Acknowledging a Quasi-Master

When Yi Yun asked about her results, Luo Huo'er's face sank. Her results were much more inferior. Saying it out would just show how bad she was compared to Yi Yun.

"Huo'er, do you know your result?" Yuehua asked Luo Huo'er with a smile.

Luo Huo'er reluctantly nodded, "I probably filled 138 fine rune paths perfectly. 20 fine rune paths were not completely filled, and the remaining 24 fine rune paths were left completely empty..."

Luo Huo'er accurately mentioned her own results. Yuehua nodded, "That's right! Huo'er's energy control score is 296 points, but Yi Yun managed to get a perfect score, which is 364 points. Although for energy filling, Yi Yun's results were not stunning, but just his energy control already got him first place!"

"Yi Yun, was it really...your first time coming into contact with the Desolate Heaven technique?" Yuehua looked at Yi Yun with sparkling eyes.

Here it came!

Yi Yun took a deep breath and still nodded, "Yes! It was the first time this junior came into contact with the Desolate Heaven technique."

"Oh?" Yuehua's eyes flashed. This gaze was blinding! She clearly doubted Yi Yun's words!

"But..."

Yi Yun quickly added on, "Although this junior doesn't know the Desolate Heaven technique, I have received some pointers from an expert for energy extraction!"

To fool a person like Yuehua, Yi Yun had to mix some truths with some lies. If they were all lies, Yuehua would easily see through it.

"Expert? May I know what his name is?"

Yuehua became interested. An expert, who could find a genius like Yi Yun, was no ordinary person.

"This..." Yi Yun faltered slightly and appeared hesitant. "He did not tell this junior whether I could reveal his name, so this junior would rather not say it. But, he had left this junior a book...This book describes many experiences related to energy extraction."

Yi Yun mixed truths with lies and took out a black scroll.

This was the Desolate Heaven Master notebook that Su Jie had given to Lin Xintong. The first scroll amongst the 18 scrolls of Su Jie's Desolate Heaven Master notebook described energy control!

Because energy control was the foundation of the Desolate Heaven technique, it was only right for it to be described in the first scroll.

About half a year ago, Lin Xintong had left Yi Yun this notebook before she left. They had agreed on a two year period. Back then, Lin Xintong had said, "In two years, if you can understand the most basic hand seals and energy control...then I will aid you in learning the Desolate Heaven technique."

"Oh? This scroll..."

Seeing Su Jie's scroll, Yuehua's pupils shrank. "Can I take a look?"

When Yuehua asked, Yi Yun hesitated. It was, after all, something Lin Xintong had given him. It was not nice to just give it to others.

Yuehua naturally understood Yi Yun's hesitation. She was not angered, and in fact, felt that what he did was appropriate. She laughed, "I will not look at the contents in the scroll."

With that, Yi Yun handed the scroll over to Yuehua.

Yuehua gave the scroll a look and her expression turned complicated, "It's really him..."

Yuehua gave off a light sigh. It was as if she had recalled something. She handed the scroll back to Yi Yun and said, "I see...I didn't expect that you would have received pointers from him..."

"I had originally wanted to ask if you would want to be taken in by me as a disciple, but I did not expect you to already have a master."

Yuehua grimaced deep down. She had seen two pieces of jade , Yi Yun and Luo Huo'er. However, due to Luo Huo'er's mysterious background, it was likely that she had a master. Even Yi Yun, a commoner who came from the Cloud Wilderness, had a master.

It was quite ironic that with her status, there would be numerous people wishing to be taken in as disciples if she wanted to, yet when she wanted to taken in Yi Yun and Luo Huo'er as personal disciples, she could not take them in.

Yuehua felt that their talents were rare and they would have a great future ahead of them. When she compared them to her two other disciples, her disciples were inferior.

After some thought, Yuehua let out a sigh and said, "Are you two willing to acknowledge me as a quasi-master?"

Quasi-master?

Yi Yun was slightly stunned. In this world, there were a few types of masters.

Firstly, there was the late master. Due to chancing upon some opportunities and receiving the heritage from a dead person, such a master was known as a late master. For example, in Yi Yun's gaining of saber truth insight in the saber tomb, the saber tomb's owner was Yi Yun's late master.

Secondly, there was a master. A disciple would go through a formal ceremony to acknowledge a master. Typically, there was only one such master under normal circumstances.

There were exceptions. When one's strength exceeded one's master, the master-disciple relationship would be automatically be relieved, allowing one to find another master.

As for the third type, there was the quasi-master. A quasi-master was not an official master, but one could follow the quasi-master to learn all sorts of skills and martial arts. One could have many quasi-masters, and there was no strict formal ceremony.

Typically, a sage-ranked Desolate Heaven Master like Yuehua would be a real master, whether it be taking in a personal or in-name disciples. She would never be a quasi-master.

But for Yi Yun and Luo Huo'er, Yuehua had decided on this.

Originally with just Luo Huo'er, Yuehua was not willing to degrade her status to be a quasi-master.

However, with Yi Yun appearing, Yuehua could no longer curb the temptation. Taking in one was no different than taking in two disciples. She might as well be a quasi-master.

This was because Yi Yun's master was Su Jie. Yuehua was cognizant of her inferiority, so being a quasi-master after Su Jie was in no way disgracing herself.

"Grandmaster Yuehua is actually willing to be our quasi-master?"

Yi Yun was surprised. He knew the meaning behind a quasi-master. It made him feel flattered.

"I guess Grandmaster Yuehua knows Old Man Su...In the future, she would probably find out that Old Man Su is not my master at all. But it is a fact that I received Old Man Su's scroll. Since I didn't say that I had acknowledged Old Man Su as my master and only said that I had learned from him, it cannot be considered a lie..."

After thinking it through, Yi Yun felt that there would not be any problems and said, "Thanks to Grandmaster Yuehua's appreciation, this junior is willing to acknowledge you."

Yi Yun was well aware of his present situation. He may have shown unparalleled talent, but compared to a sage or the large factions in the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom, the gap was too great.

He needed resources and protection.

A faction like the Chu royal residence was still aiming to rope him in by signing a soul contract. Naturally, he would not agree to it. In contrast, a sage-ranked Grandmaster Yuehua, who had no demands on him, only wanted to take him in as a disciple, even as a quasi-disciple, to groom him.

Yuehua had already degraded her status, so if he were to reject it, he would be failing to appreciate her kindness.

Yi Yun bowed in the form of acknowledging her. Luo Huo'er, who was watching beside him, fell into a daze. She did not know whether to acknowledge or not.

Yuehua looked at Luo Huo'er without any insistence. She guessed that Luo Huo'er had many worries mostly due to her background.

But in reality, Yuehua had thought too much. Luo Huo'er did not care about all those rules or pointless ceremonies. What was on her mind was that if she acknowledged Yuehua as a master, she would become a fellow disciple with that irritating rascal, Yi Yun.

Wouldn't they then be meeting frequently? Wouldn't that be a joke?

"Huo'er, if you don't wish to, it's alright."

Yuehua's expression was calm. At that moment, Luo Huo'er gritted her teeth and bowed, saying, "Huo'er is willing to acknowledge!"

Yuehua gave a satisfactory smile, "Good, in the future, the both of you will be fellow disciples. You must love each other and take care of each other..."

How could Yuehua know of the "past matters" Yi Yun and Luo Huo'er had? All the words she said were common remarks made when taking in disciples, but Luo Huo'er's corner of her mouth twitched when she heard them.

What sort of life was this? She and Yi Yun had suddenly became fellow disciples. It really made her speechless. Back in the training ground when Yi Yun saw her breasts, then hearing the embarrassing words Yi Yun said, Luo Huo'er never expected that she would end up in such a relationship with Yi Yun one day...

She was really at a loss whether to laugh or cry.

"Then...that will be all for today. In the future, Yi Yun's tuition fee will be waived. If you have any problems with the Desolate Heaven technique, you can look for me at anytime for answers."

As Yuehua said this, she took out two notebooks from her interspatial ring. Yi Yun and Luo Huo'er received one each. "This is my Desolate Heaven technique notebook. Both of you can take it back to learn from it. Yi Yun's book is on the most basic things while Huo'er's book is a bit more profound."

Yuehua was very considerate. Yi Yun's talent may be alarming, but his foundation was too weak.

The notebook Yuehua passed to Yi Yun was prepared for Desolate Heaven Master apprentices many years back. As such, it could make up for Yi Yun's lack of a foundation.

"Thank you master." Yi Yun accepted the notebook and looked at Yuehua with gratitude.

Yi Yun and Luo Huo'er bade farewell and walked out the door. Yi Yun noticed that Luo Huo'er's face was still sullen. He did not know what she was thinking, but clearly she was not very happy.

Luo Huo'er was in front, while Yi Yun was in the back. The two of them walked silently to their apartments.

Unfortunately, they were also neighbors, so their apartments were also in the same place. Naturally, they walked along the same path.

The two remained silent, causing the atmosphere to turn extremely awkward.

Yi Yun felt that since they were fellow disciples, they could not carry on like this in the future. As such, he coughed dryly and tried to make a greeting to ease their relations.

"Oh...That..."

Just after Yi Yun said those words, Luo Huo'er immediately stopped and she turned to look at Yi Yun.

Being surprised, Yi Yun stopped.

"What 'that'? Who were you calling? In the future, I'm your senior sister. Next time when you see me, you are to shout senior sister! Did you hear that!?" Luo Huo'er said fiercely and even waved her little fist to demonstrate her prowess.

Since them being fellow disciples was an unalterable fact, then it was natural that she had to be the senior sister. Just thinking of this irritating rascal having to address her as senior sister this, senior sister that, it did not seem so bad after all.

Having an errand boy was also good!

Things like bringing in and pouring the tea and other things would make everything a lot easier.

Luo Huo'er's thoughts were as such. As for how Yi Yun thought or if he would resist against it, it was naturally not in Luo Huo'er's consideration.

As such, Luo Huo'er slowly cheered up. Her sullen little face suddenly brimmed with smiles.

Seeing Luo Huo'er's face turn in such an inexplicable way, Yi Yun turned agape. He did not know what to say.

He had not even said a word...

This girl, was she right in the head…?

True Martial World - Chapter 273: Yuehua’s Invitation

"Brother Yuefeng, Brother Yuefeng, calm down!"

Some of the cultivators who were part of the Chu royal residence rushed forward to pull Yang Yuefeng back.

Seeing Yang Yuefeng's stance, he would have probably rushed up to tear down the ranking list if he was not stopped.

At that moment, many of the Desolate Heaven Master apprentices around Yang Yuefeng were looking in complete disbelief at the bizarre ranking list.

They still remembered the scene of Yi Yun standing foolishly in Grandmaster Yuehua's class. He did not even know how to refine a simple bone relic, yet he exceeded Luo Huo'er?

Was there really a mistake?

"I want to see Grandmaster Yuehua!" Yang Yuefeng was pulled back others, but he carried on screaming.

Seeing Yang Yuefeng in such a state, many Desolate Heaven Master apprentices looked at him with sympathy and also with a sense of schadenfreude.

The situation was very clear. Regardless of the list having a mistake, there was one thing that was certain. Grandmaster Yuehua had no intentions of taking in Yang Yuefeng as a disciple.

Yang Yuefeng's test results was only 360 points. This score was not much higher than Li Daohong, so how could it catch Grandmaster Yuehua's eye?

Only a heaven-defying score like Luo Huo'er's 494 points, and the questionable 515 points that Yi Yun obtained were qualified to catch the eye of Grandmaster Yuehua.

Now, the higher Yang Yuefeng climbed, the harder he fell!

If he did not have hopes to skyrocket in one step and did not say those impassionate words in public to the point of no return, he would not be in such a tragic state.

"You want to meet Grandmaster Yuehua?" The two law-enforcers in charge of releasing the results looked at Yang Yuefeng as if they were looking at a retard. "Grandmaster Yuehua isn't someone you can meet just because you want to."

The two of them had never seen the results, but the results were handed to them personally by Grandmaster Yuehua. With Grandmaster Yuehua's mental powers, she could refine a desolate bone relic that required tens of thousands of seals without any problems, not to mention the recording of a score. How could she make such a simple error?

Looks like Yi Yun really obtained first place...

The two law-enforcers left, leaving the group of Desolate Heaven Master apprentices in a daze. Today's ranking was too shocking. It completely overturned everything they knew.

But at that moment in the crowd, the little maidservant Dong'er was completely dumbfounded.

"Miss actually isn't first...Miss isn't first?" The little maid muttered the sentence again and again. She stared with a large pair of watery eyes at the ranking list pasted on the wall.

But no matter how long she stared at it, the large and eye-piercing words; "Yi Yun, 515 points" remained there.

There was really no mistake.

"I need to tell Miss..." Dong'er spoke to herself as she ran to the central divine tower with her short legs.

At the 69th floor of the central divine tower, Dong'er rushed up quickly.

"Peng!"

Dong'er pushed open the training ground's door. At that moment, Luo Huo'er was still practicing her family's heart sutra. When she saw Dong'er's rash entrance, Luo Huo'er angrily said, "Damn girl, what's all this rush about!?"

Luo Huo'er needed to have a calm heart while she practiced. Dong'er's frequent entrance and exit affected her cultivation.

Dong'er ignored Luo Huo'er's reprimand and exclaimed, "Miss, Miss...The test...test..."

Dong'er was extremely agitated so she was stuttering.

"The results have been released? Alright...What's my score?" Luo Huo'er asked casually as she carried on her cultivation. It seemed like the release of the results was just a small matter to her.

Dong'er hesitated as the words she was about to say got stuck.

"Miss received 494 points..." Dong'er slowly said.

"494 points? What's the perfect score? And how many points did the second place get?" Luo Huo'er asked casually again. She did not know the grading rubric, but she knew roughly what 494 points meant.

"Perfect score is....700 points." Dong'er swallowed a mouthful of water and said nervously, "And...Miss, you are the person in second place. Someone else got first place. His score was 515 points..."

Oh?

Luo Huo'er was almost about to do a flip of her body to complete a revolution, but when she heard Dong'er's words, her body froze, almost to the point of crashing to the ground.

"What did you say!? Someone got 515 points, higher than me!?" Luo Huo'er stared widely. Her cultivation state was now in a mess, all lost in that one breath.

Dong'er jumped up in fright. She carried on nodding her head fervently.

Luo Huo'er looked at Dong'er with a dumbfounded expression. She knew that Dong'er was a natural simpleton who would not crack a joke. noveltranslationweb.blogspot.com

How could someone be higher than her?

Was that person someone like that Yang Yuefeng or something?

Just recalling Yang Yuefeng's toad face, Luo Huo'er felt that it was impossible. If she could not beat that toad, she might as well just die.

"Who scored higher than me?" Luo Huo'er crawled up and grabbed Dong'er's shoulders. She was a lot taller than Dong'er, so now with her scary expression, Dong'er became afraid.

"That...That person's name is Yi Yun..."

Dong'er did not know the "story" behind Yi Yun and Luo Huo'er. Of course, she did not know what impact the two words, "Yi Yun", left on Luo Huo'er...

"Who!?"

After hearing that name, Luo Huo'er felt as if she was struck by lightning. She was completely dumbfounded!

That...That rascal? How could that be possible!?

Luo Huo'er stared till her eyes turned round and her mouth was so open that a quail's egg could be stuffed in it.

Just the mentioning of Yi Yun made her remember the evil words he had said a few days ago. That asshole actually ranked above her?

Besides, it was clear he did not know the Desolate Heaven technique!

*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*!

Just as Luo Huo'er could no longer accept it any longer, she heard knocks on the door.

Dong'er ran to the door and saw a girl in white that looked twenty years old standing outside the door.

"Little lady, how are you?" The girl in white smiled sweetly.

"Good..." Dong'er greeted in a daze.

"Is Miss Luo Huo'er here?" The girl in white asked softly.

Luo Huo'er walked over, "You are..."

"I am Grandmaster Yuehua's personal disciple. You can call me Senior Sister Liang. My master invites Miss Luo." The girl in white gave a smile that made one very comfortable. Luo Huo'er was just about to look for Grandmaster Yuehua. She wanted to see the result list with her own eyes. She wanted to see how that irritating rascal had defeated her.

"Let's go." Luo Huo'er quickly changed her set of clothes and followed the girl in white to Yuehua's room.

The girl in white took Luo Huo'er to the 98th floor of the central divine tower. Upon pushing open the door, all one could see was a spacious hall.

In the middle of the hall, there was an elegant-looking woman sitting on a chair. She was none other than Yuehua.

Beside Yuehua was another girl who looked like she was in her twenties. This girl had brought a youth. This youth was the person who made Luo Huo'er have no idea how to deal with, Yi Yun.

At the beginning, Luo Huo'er was slightly annoyed with Yi Yun when he first managed to break the record through trickery.

Later, in the training ground, that awkward situation had made Luo Huo'er want to silence Yi Yun, destroying his body in order to cover all traces.

Next was this test. Yi Yun had crushed Luo Huo'er with his score of 515 points.

What sort of person was he!? Why did she have this rotten luck every time she met him?

Luo Huo'er looked at Yi Yun while he looked back at her. Just exchanging glances with Yi Yun made Luo Huo'er feel uncomfortable. She kept feeling "bugged in the chest".

"Student Luo Huo'er greets Teacher Yuehua." Luo Huo'er respectfully bowed.

"Hmm...." Yuehua nodded with a smile. "Huo'er, in the future I will call you as such. Do you have any doubts?"

Yuehua's voice was amiable. No matter who it was, they would find it strange encountering such a thing.

A kid who had never had any contact with the Desolate Heaven technique had defeated a bunch of elites. How could this be possible?

"Yes!" Luo Huo'er nodded. She said indignantly, "Teacher, I personally think this person doesn't know the Desolate Heaven technique. I can not believe that he can score higher than me! Can...Can I look at the test paper?"

Luo Huo'er was suspecting that Yi Yun's test paper was different from the one she did.

Yuehua gently smiled and said, "I will show it to you in a while if you want. Actually...I am also wondering, how did Yi Yun score higher than you? Yi Yun had also just arrived and I did not have a chance to ask him yet..."

As Yuehua said this, her gaze landed on Yi Yun. Her eyes looked clear, as if she could see through Yi Yun.

Yi Yun held his breath. He knew it was time to explain once again.

Talent was one thing, but just using talent to explain it was insufficient!

"Yi Yun...Your energy control received a perfect score. You filled in the 182 fine rune paths perfectly. How did you do that?"

Before Yi Yun could answer Yuehua's question, Luo Huo'er covered her mouth.

What? A perfect score!?

"Teacher! Did we really take the same test?" Luo Huo'er asked.

She knew the difficulty of that test she did. Even if she was given another 15 minutes, she could not guarantee that she could perfectly complete the 182 fine rune paths.

"Of course, there was only one type!" Yuehua looked seriously at Yi Yun. Her eyes looked as brilliant as the stars at night.

When Luo Huo'er received Yuehua's affirmation, she found it ridiculous. She had been exposed to the Desolate Heaven technique since she was young, yet she was inferior to a rookie who took one lesson?

Luo Huo'er's reaction was noticed by Yi Yun. He touched his nose and awkwardly said, "That...How many points did Miss Luo Huo'er get in energy control?"

Yi Yun had attempted such a test for the first time. He did not know what results the other Desolate Heaven Master apprentices would obtain without the help of the Purple Crystal. Seeing Luo Huo'er, who was an extremely proud girl, lose her cool when she heard that he had obtained a perfect score, Yi Yun knew that he had caused a big situation.

But even if it was a big situation, Yi Yun did not mind revealing his advantage at energy control as it could be explained.

As for energy filling, this needed the foundation in one's training. If Yi Yun, who lacked training, did shockingly well in that aspect, then he would arouse suspicion.

True Martial World - Chapter 272: Release of Results

Not only did the Tai Ah Divine City's cultivators form associations, they also formed societies.

The biggest society was the Divine Wilderness Adventurers' Alliance. The people in this society mainly formed groups to go into the Divine Wilderness to obtain training experience and hunt desolate beasts.

And the second biggest society was the Desolate Heaven Master Society, which was headquartered in the central divine tower. Every month, the Desolate Heaven Master Society would organize various kinds of activities, and these activities received official support from the Tai Ah Divine City.

Today, there were no special Desolate Heaven Master Society activities, but the hall was still overcrowded!

There were 400-500 people gathered there, all of them Desolate Heaven Master apprentices. Nearly 80-90% of the Tai Ah Divine City's Desolate Heaven Master apprentices had come.

It was because today was the day that Grandmaster Yuehua would release the test results.

Yuehua's class actually only had about a hundred students enrolled. Many Desolate Heaven Master apprentices could not afford to pay the tuition fee to attend the classes, but even so, when they heard that Yuehua had tested her students during the lesson, many of them wanted to see the results of the geniuses.

This test resulted in scholarships and allowances and that was very critical. And many people believed that this test, from a certain perspective, would indicate the levels of the Desolate Heaven Master apprentices in the Tai Ah Divine City.

The scores could determine who was better!

There was no doubt who would be first. Luo Huo'er did not need to prove her Desolate Heaven technique talent. She had outshone everyone by breaking a record a few days ago!

Everyone wanted to know who would get second place.

Yang Yuefeng, Li Daohong, and Zhou Shiguang were all contenders for second place!

The three of them were in the top ten of the Man roll of honor. However, the top ten in the Man roll of honor did not only consist of Desolate Heaven Master apprentices. For example, Qin Haotian, Li Xiao, etc earned a place in the top ten by earning dragon scale runes from hunting desolate beasts.

Yuehua's test was a comprehensive way to judge all the Desolate Heaven Master apprentices in the Tai Ah Divine City. The meaning behind the judging was very significant. Not only were the Tai Ah Divine City's Desolate Heaven Master apprentices concerned, even many large factions had dispatched their informants to obtain first-hand information of the results.

The people placed second to tenth would gain a lot of attention by all these large factions.

At that moment, in the training ground of the central divine tower's 69th floor, Luo Huo'er was dressed in a white training suit. Her two long legs were split 180° apart. Her inner thighs were stuck to the ground while her body was bent backward. Her body was bent into a perfect curve, with her silky long hair hanging down and spreading across the carpet.

Luo Huo'er was practicing her family's heart sutra.

Suddenly, Dong'er pushed the door open and furtively ran in.

"Miss, today is the day the results will be released. There are many people gathered in the Desolate Heaven Master Society. Everyone is waiting to see the rankings. Why aren't you going?"

Luo Huo'er did not answer as both of her hands pressed onto the ground while she lifted her entire body off the floor. Both her legs were still maintaining the 180° posture. She looked like a bird that was spreading its wings.

Because of Luo Huo'er's motions, her training suit stuck tightly to her body, showing off her perfect buttocks and chest.

She focused on finishing the last few motions before she flung her hair and said, "Anyway, I'll be first. There's nothing much to see. Those people's standards are so bad that I can use half a hand seal to beat them!"

Luo Huo'er's mouth curled before she carried on practicing.

Dong'er chuckled, "Miss is right! There's no other way besides Miss being first. But doesn't Miss want to see what result you obtained?"

"The test was difficult. I have a vague idea what my score is, so I don't really need to see it to know it. Besides, there're so many people there squeezing to look at the results. If I were to go squeeze with them, won't I be degraded?"

Luo Huo'er curled her lips. Actually, this was the main reason why she was not going to look at the results. How could she squeeze in the crowd, tiptoeing just to see the rankings? Such a degradation did not match her status.

"Miss is right. I'll go." Dong'er volunteered and ran out of the training ground with her short legs.

When Dong'er reached the Society's grounds, it was extremely crowded. Even some of the large factions’ ambassadors, who were not Tai Ah Divine City cultivators, were mixed in the crowd.

Firstly, they were here to look at the results, and secondly, build good relations with the up and coming rookies.

In the crowd, the three people who received the most attention were Yang Yuefeng, Li Daohong, and Zhou Shiguang. Without Luo Huo'er present, they were the leaders amongst the Desolate Heaven Master apprentices.

"Brother Daohong, Brother Shiguang, it's been a while!" Yang Yuefeng greeted Li Daohong and Zhou Shiguang.

"How have you been, Brother Yuefeng? I heard Brother Yuefeng did very well for this test and have already reserved a banquet in the Divine Moon Restaurant. It looks like second place is definitely Brother Yuefeng's!" Li Daohong replied with a smile.

"Come on, come on. My results can only be considered satisfactory. It might not even be better than Brother Daohuo's." Yang Yuefeng replied "humbly".

When young masters gathered together, they would often flatter each other, purposely causing the others to feel extremely flattered. In truth, only they knew what they were really thinking.

Not only were their reputations on the line, there was also a generous scholarship. If you get the appreciation of Grandmaster Yuehua, you might even have a slim chance of learning the 'Thousand Hand Moon Buddha'!

Who did not want to be in second place for such an important test?

Although the three seemed to compliment each other openly, truthfully, all of them wanted to exceed the other!

"Hypocrites!" Dong'er saw the three of them wishing to be second, yet pretended to flatter one another. Although she was young, she sometimes knew the ways of the world.

At that moment, the Desolate Heaven Master Society's door was pushed open. Two black-cloaked central divine tower law-enforcers walked out. They were holding a scroll as thick as a water bucket in their hands.

Everyone immediately turned silent. They sensed that the two law-enforcers were here to release the results. And the scroll was likely the result ranking!

Sure enough, when the two law-enforcers came to the center, one of them said, "Grandmaster Yuehua has told us to release the results. I will first paraphrase Grandmaster Yuehua's words. She said that in this test, the students who are ranked first and second will be able to receive the teachings of the 'Thousand Hand Moon Buddha'. If the two of them wished, Grandmaster Yuehua would guide them with all her heart."

When the law-enforcers said these words, it was like a rock dropping into a still water. The quiet scene turned into a tumultuous uproar!

The first two would receive the teachings of the 'Thousand Hand Moon Buddha'!

If the two wished, Grandmaster Yuehua would guide them with all her heart. In fact, this was equivalent to taking them in as her personal disciples!

Everyone knew that Grandmaster Yuehua's purpose in coming to the Tai Ah Divine City was to take in a disciple. She would only take in Luo Huo'er, but everyone else was hoping to catch the fancy of Grandmaster Yuehua. Even being an in-name disciple was something they could be contented with.

And even if it was just being a disciple in name, one had to go through several tests and obtain outstanding results before it was possible.

They never expected that just after the first test, Grandmaster Yuehua had decided to take in another disciple other than Luo Huo'er!

This was the greatest opportunity!

Who was so lucky to obtain second place?

A few Desolate Heaven Master apprentices who were ranked at the top became excited.

"Brother Daohuo, Brother Shiguang, I never expected that the three of us would have a chance. Who knows, maybe either Brother Daohuo or Brother Shiguang has caught the fancy of Grandmaster Yuehua!" Yang Yuefeng said disingenuously. His voice was shaking. He was currently wishing that Li Daohong and Zhou Shiguang would suddenly die, leaving only him to be Grandmaster Yuehua's disciple.

"Haha! Brother Yuefeng sure is humble. I think second place is most likely Brother Yuefeng's. If that's the case, Brother Yuefeng will be soaring into the sky. In the future, you must take good care of us." Zhou Shiguang also lied. As he said, his heartbeat rate accelerated as he murmured in his mind, "It has to be me, it has to be me!"

At that moment, Li Daohong, Zhou Shiguang, and Yang Yuefeng were the most nervous. It was the moment when their fate was decided. None of them had absolute confidence in beating the other two.

The two law-enforcers said, "I will now post the results. A perfect score is 700 points."

One of the law-enforcers tore off the result list's seal. No one else had seen the result list yet.

The list was very long. A law-enforcer would hold on to one end of the scroll, while the other law-enforcer would pull open the other end of the scroll. The two of them would open up the scroll horizontally like an art picture, displaying the results slowly.

Everyone held their breaths!

After some white space, name after name appeared.

These names appeared in the order from lowest to highest. The first name to appear was ranked at the bottom, with a score of just barely over 200 points.

"Such a low score!"

Some were secretly horrified. At the bottom of the list, with 700 points being the perfect score, obtaining 200 points was less than a third.

The list was slowly revealed. Name after name appeared. When the youths saw their own score, their expressions looked complicated. It was not exactly a glorious thing to be ranked near the bottom.

Slowly, more than ten names had appeared. Following that were those ranked in the middle, as the score slowly increased, exceeding 250 points.

Following that, 260 points, 270 points, 280 points...

The scores kept on increasing as they reached 300 points.

Now, those youths who saw their names lit up. Although their scores were unimpressive, being ranked in the upper range amongst a group of elites made them proud of themselves.

The list had opened up about three-quarters. It reached the top 20 names.

The remaining people tensed up.

Yang Yuefeng pretended to stay calm by fanning himself with his paper fan, but his palms were covered in sweat as his fan began to flap faster and faster, almost to the point of the fan tearing.

Li Daohong hung a smile on his face, but his smile looked forced as if it was frozen on his face.

On the other hand, Zhou Shiguang did not conceal his feelings. Both of his hands were clenched into a fist as he stared without blinking at the names appearing on the list.

He was afraid to see his name appear.

After another ten names appeared on the list, it reached the top ten!

At that moment, everyone's names that appeared were famous. They were the Desolate Heaven Master geniuses that came from big family clans!

Even so, these people's scores were still approximately 320-330 points.

The perfect score was 700 points, and yet these geniuses from big family clans failed to obtain even 50%. It showed how difficult the test was!

Those who had not appeared on the list were extremely nervous. They wished they were the lucky one other than Luo Huo'er.

After a few more names appeared, there was only a tiny portion of the scroll left to be unveiled. A few people looked disappointed.

At that moment, the list's names were now written in a larger font. Each word was three times bigger. Due to the large font, the speed of revealing the scroll slowed down. So every name that appeared seemed to take even longer.

Yang Yuefeng and company felt that each second was like a year!

All of them wished they would see the others' names, hoping to see their name last.

"Zhou Shiguang, 345 points!"

When Zhou Shiguang's name appeared, Zhou Shiguang who was standing beneath the stage felt like his brain had been slammed. His ears were ringing as he felt faint...

He had been eliminated...

His name had appeared before Li Daohong and Yang Yuefeng. This meant that he scored the lowest amongst the three of them.

"Brother Shiguang, such a pity..." Yang Yuefeng fanned his fan saying. He was rejoicing in his heart, yet he purposely gave a look of regret.

"It's...It's alright. Congratulations to Brother Yuefeng and Brother Daohuo. I'm inferior." Zhou Shiguang cupped his hands and said it with an extremely reluctant smile. He looked uglier than crying.

At that moment, Yang Yuefeng and Li Daohong could no longer be bothered with speaking to Zhou Shiguang because the next name was about to appear. This was the most critical moment. Both of their hearts were beating like a drum as their pupils constricted. They unblinkingly stared at the result list that was being slowly revealed.

If a person's gaze had any heat, the result list would probably have been burnt.

Next was, "Li Daohong, 347 points!"

Li Daohong's body shook as his face turned white! His fingers trembled, unable to believe what he had seen.

He had lost... lost to Yang Yuefeng!

At that moment, Yang Yuefeng was rejoicing in his heart!

"Brother Daohuo, such a pity. Just by a bit!" Yang Yuefeng's heart was beating fast as his blood flow sped up. He had wanted to look relaxed, but he could not fake it. His voice trembled slightly due to his excitement.

Everyone could tell that Yang Yuefeng was basically in an ecstatic happiness.

After Li Daohong, Yang Yuefeng's name appeared.

"Yang Yuefeng, 360 points!"

Yang Yuefeng did not know if he had done especially well that day because a divine being had possessed him. He had scored 13 points higher than Li Daohong, breaking through to 360 points.

His score was really high! It was no wonder he had been selected together with Luo Huo'er.

Many people thought similarly. They had begun to congratulate Yang Yuefeng.

"Congratulations Brother Yuefeng!"

"Brother Yuefeng must treat us! It has to be at the most luxurious room in the Divine Moon Restaurant! And it has to last for three days straight."

Many people smiled and complimented him, but there was some sourness behind those smiles.

Only people related to Yang Yuefeng or people who had become a follower of the Chu royal residence were truly excited. If their boss was strong, they would also gain much from it. Many people were glad that they had joined the Chu royal residence earlier on.

Now, Yang Yuefeng's face was flushed turned red with excitement. His body was like a boiling pot that was about to burst.

But he still had some sense. He did not get carried away until the end. There might be a dark horse appearing suddenly.

"Don't congratulate me too early. There are all sorts of hidden dragons and crouching tigers in the Tai Ah Divine City. There might be someone even better than Brother Shiguang, Brother Daohuo and me." Yang Yuefeng may sound humble and calm, but the vein on his forehead and already appeared. His eyes stared unblinkingly at the expanding result list. All he saw in his mind were the names that had already appeared.

While the result list was being revealed, Yang Yuefeng was already counting all the people that were a threat to him. All of their names had already appeared. Hence, there could not be any other person who could threaten his second place.

He was definitely selected as Grandmaster Yuehua's disciple!

It was like a dream!

"Brother Yuefeng is so modest. How could it be? All those that should appear have appeared."

As someone said that, a name that made Yang Yuefeng heave a sigh of relief appeared.

"Luo Huo'er, 494 points!"

When this name appeared, it was even bigger than the previous names. It was even written horizontally. It took up two feet on the scroll. Each word was not written in black ink, but condensed using energy runes. This reflected the difference.

494 points!?

So high!?

Seeing this terrifying score, everyone’s eyes widened.

Yang Yuefeng, who was in second place, had only earned 360 points.

Luo Huo'er had beaten him by more than 130 points. It was insane!

People knew how terrifying Luo Huo'er was, but only when the ridiculous result appeared did everyone realize the gap that was incredibly difficult to be bridged.

In the crowd, Dong'er saw Luo Huo'er's score and punched her fists into the air. It was as if all the honor was hers.

"Hehe, Miss is so good. Not only did she obtain first place, she had led number two by so much. When I tell Miss the good news later, I doubt she will be very happy. She would definitely say that it was a matter of course."

Dong'er had already anticipated Luo Huo'er's reaction.

Luo Huo'er's results were stunning, but Yang Yuefeng could no longer be bothered. He only had one thought in his mind.

With Luo Huo'er's name appearing already, there was no mistake about it!

He was placed second. Because Luo Huo'er was first, and no one could score higher than Luo Huo'er!

"Congratulations Brother Yuefeng!"

"Brother Yuefeng is a dragon amongst people!"

A group of people came to congratulate him immediately. Regardless if it was truthful or not, all of them sang praises for Yang Yuefeng.

Yang Yuefeng had been chosen by Grandmaster Yuehua and he had limitless prospects in the future. Now that he was in high spirits, it was best to enhance their relationship with him.

"Haha, everyone is too nice." Yang Yuefeng turned his body to accept the congratulations from these people.

He cleared his throat and said to the people around him, "All these years, I have been practicing the Desolate Heaven technique arduously. Although I am lacking, I still worked hard and never relaxed. By receiving Grandmaster Yuehua's appreciation and her taking me in as a disciple, I am extremely afraid. I'm afraid I will not live up to Grandmaster Yuehua's expectations. In the future, I will work harder. With everyone's encouragement, I will fight for the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom, protecting and fighting for all life under the heavens..."

Yang Yuefeng was riding on the crest of success and his voice was one octave higher. He wished he could fly up into the Heavens.

He had tried very hard to maintain his "not pleased by external gains, not saddened by personnel" image, but when he said these words, his mouth was almost from ear to ear.

But just after he finished his impassioned monolog, he suddenly froze.

"Oh...What's wrong?"

He found something odd. All the people who had come to congratulate him had frozen. They were all looking at something behind him as if there was a ghost.

Only the result list was behind Yang Yuefeng's body.

Yang Yuefeng heart thumped. What's wrong?

Was there a problem with the list?

He did not dare to look back, but at that moment, an odd silence had befallen the entire hall. Everyone stood there dumbfounded. It was as if their expressions had been cursed, in a trance-like state.

Yang Yuefeng felt a cold breeze as his goosebumps raised on his back. He felt as if he was no longer in the Desolate Heaven Master Society but in a silent graveyard.

"Luo Huo'er...Luo Huo'er, she...how could this be..."

After a long time in this tepid scene, a youth pointed at the ranking list and murmured with an incredulous look.

Seeing the youth's reaction, Yang Yuefeng suddenly felt like his chest had been struck with a knife.

Everything around him had slowed down.

Yang Yuefeng's body froze. It was as if he had turned into a zombie that crawled out of a grave. He turned his body with difficulty, as his head turned around bit by bit.

The ranking list which had brought him tremendous glory and anticipation now turned into a scroll that contained a devil's curse. He did not dare to look at it.

Yang Yuefeng forced his eyes to land on the list. On the list, in a position ahead of Luo Huo'er, there were shiny golden runes that condensed into words. The words wrote, "Yi Yun, 515 points!"

Seeing these words, Yang Yuefeng suddenly felt as if his body's blood had been sucked out of his body. His body seemed to lose all support as he almost fell to the ground.

515 points?

515 points?

This line of words circled in Yang Yuefeng's mind like a curse. These golden words seemed to be dyed red, devouring him!

Yi Yun...It's Yi Yun. How could it be Yi Yun!?

In over a hundred Desolate Heaven Master apprentices, there was only one person named Yi Yun, and it was the most unlikely person!

"Noooo! I cannot accept it!" Yang Yuefeng shouted.

His face was contorted. Veins appeared on his neck and face. It was as if there were squirming worms under his skin. It made Yang Yuefeng look hideous!

"There must be some mistake! Yi Yun does not know the Desolate Heaven technique, how can he be ranked ahead of Luo Huo'er!? How could he be ranked ahead of me!? There must be some mistake! There must be some mistake! I'm second! I'm second!!"

Yang Yuefeng was already incoherent.

He could not accept the reality in front of him. After his hopes were raised to an unprecedented peak that allowed him to look triumphantly in front of everyone, it had been snatched away from him! It was as if his heart had been sliced by a knife!

Library of Heaven's Path - Chapter 120: Not a Thing

"Since I've answered the second question already, name your third one!"

Seeing the other party conceding the second question, Zhang Xuan couldn't be bothered to continue lingering about the matter noveltranslationweb.blogspot.com

"I admit defeat! These are already the two most difficult questions I can think of. I will just be making a mockery of myself if I continue asking!"

Apothecary Jin Chen shook his head.

The other party's action of listing out the names of so many books felled his confidence. He knew that if he continued like this, the only one being embarrassed would be him. He might as well surrender at this point. At least he could retain some dignity.

"You aren't going to ask the third question?"

Zhang Xuan was taken aback for a moment before coming to a realization.

Since he was able to easily answer the most difficult questions he could come up with, he would most likely be humiliating himself if he continued.

Zhang Xuan was impressed with Apothecary Jin Chen's decisiveness.

"It's your turn!"

He turned around to look at Lin Mu.

Upon seeing Zhang Xuan's attention turned onto him, Apothecary Lin Mu gritted his teeth and asked, "I have a question which, honestly speaking, I don't have an answer to either. If you can't answer it, it won't be considered your defeat! However, if you can answer it, I will admit defeat right away. It will be pointless even if I ask any further than that anyway!"

In the Pill Debate, the examiner had to know the answers to the questions they were posing. Otherwise, when you don't even know the answer yourself, how can you determine whether the other party's answer is correct?

Now that Apothecary Lin Mu had confessed that he wasn't able to answer this question either, logically speaking, it was already beyond the boundaries of the Pill Debate. Zhang Xuan could reject to answer his question.

It wouldn't be considered his defeat if he chose to do so.

"Speak!" Zhang Xuan casually said.

'Reject? Are you kidding? Since I can answer two fewer questions, it is obvious that I should answer his question.'

"I have been researching 【Meridian Expansion Pill】for a very long and regardless of the forging method, the medicinal herbs, or the cauldron, I double-check them to make sure there is nothing wrong with them. But for some reason, I am unable to form the pill. I would like you to tell me the reason for my failure!" Apothecary Lin Mu asked, after hesitating for a moment

"What kind of question is this?"

"Aren't you being a little too difficult here!"

"That's right, you should find the reason behind why you're unable to successfully forge a pill yourself. How do you expect him to answer that question out of the blue?"

……

Upon hearing Lin Mu's words, everyone was dumbfounded for a moment before peculiar expressions crept onto their faces.

When posing a question during a Pill Debate, one had to ask something that the other party could answer. Asking the other party how many moles you had on your body, how many meals you had yesterday, how many women you had relationships with… Even gods would be unable to answer these questions!

Right now, Lin Mu's question was similar to those. You simply said that you were unable to forge the Meridian Expansion Pill, how do you expect the other party to answer your query?

"Cough cough, Apothecary Lin Mu, you have to ask a question with basis behind it. This question isn't suitable, you should switch to another one…."

Ouyang Cheng, who was conducting the Pill Debate, couldn't stand looking at the situation any longer and spoke up.

"I was being too rash…."

Upon hearing the words of the others, Lin Mu realized that his question was inappropriate. Thus, he shook his head and just as he was about to say something else, Zhang Xuan beat him to it. "You weren't really rash. How about this: you try to forge a Meridian Expansion Pill for me first. I can't do anything about it through just your descriptions alone!"

"Alright!"

Lin Mu didn't expect the other party to agree. Nodding his head, he walked over to the cauldron.

Actually, he didn't intend to ask this question initially, it simply popped into his mind all of a sudden.

Recently, he had been thinking of forging Meridian Expansion Pills, but for some reason, he was unable to succeed. He had researched many different books, tried many different forging techniques, and everything he could think of, but his forging still ended in failure! Upon seeing Zhang Xuan pointing out the mistakes of the others so easily, he couldn't help asking him.

As long as he was able to find the mistake behind it, he was confident that with his skills he could successfully forge it.

Thinking that it was impertinent to ask this of him on such an occasion, he thought that the Zhang Xuan would reject his question. He didn't expect him to actually accept his question.

Fwoosh boosh!

The flames burned furiously and all kinds of medicinal herbs flew inside.

Lin Mu's ten fingers looked like they were playing the zither, continuously dancing all about. Peering from afar, it seemed as though he were playing a heavenly tune instead of pill forging.

With a single look, Zhang Xuan could tell that the apothecary before him had immersed himself in the art of pill forging for countless years and was already well-versed in it.

With such skills and a completely flawless forging sequence, he was still unable to successfully form the pills. This perplexed him.

"There is no errors at all!"

"With such skills, he could successfully forge a Strength Enhancement Pill. Why would he be unable to form the Meridian Expansion Pill?"

"Indeed, that's strange…."

Everyone's attention gathered on Apothecary Lin Mu as he started his forging. The more they watched, the more puzzled they became.

It was exactly as he said. Regardless of whether it was the medicinal herb, his movements, or any other significant factors, there wasn't a single error at all. Reasonably speaking, he should at least be able to form the pills. In fact, the pill would likely reach Satiation!

To be unable to form the pills... That was impossible!

Unfortunately, reality glared straight back at them. Soon, the flames died down and upon lifting the lid of the cauldron, a black sludge of medicinal waste presented itself before the people.

Fail!

"This doesn't make sense!"

Ouyang Cheng's wrinkled his brow to the point it folded into creases.

As the guild leader of the Apothecary Guild and a 1-star intermediate stage apothecary—the highest of the group here—his discernment ability was also outstanding. After looking at the entire process, his conclusion was the same as the others, that pills would be formed. Yet the results were contrary to his expectations. A puzzled expression hung on his face and he contemplated the matter seriously.

"Sigh!"

Upon seeing the pitch-black medicinal waste in the cauldron, Apothecary Lin Mu sighed and shook his head. He lifted his head to look at the young man. "This is the question I would like to ask you. If you can answer it, I will admit defeat straight away! However, if you can't answer, I will switch to a different question. It won't affect the results of the Pill Debate!"

"Can't answer?"

Zhang Xuan laughed. Stepping over to the cauldron, he circled around it and examined the medicinal waste. After that, he lifted his head to look at Apothecary Lin Mu with a bizarre expression on his face. "Apothecary Lin Mu sure is vigorous despite your age. I never thought it possible!"

"Vigorous despite my age?"

Lin Mu was taken aback.

'What does me being vigorous have to do with whether I am able to successfully forge the pill or not?

'Is there even a relationship between the two?'

The other apothecaries also looked over with doubtful expressions.

Previously, they would have publicly criticized him and doubted his words. However, after witnessing his vast knowledge and his ability, they understood that he had good reason for saying such words.

"Indeed. Upon walking over, I noticed a fragrance unique to women on Apothecary Lin's body. Furthermore, the scent is refreshing, pure and full of life. If I'm not wrong, she should not yet be eighteen years old!" Zhang Xuan said.

"Indeed, I just brought a concubine into my household. She hasn't reached eighteen yet!"

Apothecary Lin Mu's face flushed red.

He was already nearing seventy. He had a foot in the grave, but he had brought a seventeen year old concubine back home. Even though it didn't mean anything much in this world, he was still embarrassed to have the fact pointed out in front of so many other apothecaries.

"Could it be that… the reason why I am unable to forge the Meridian Expansion Pill is because of my concubine?"

Soon, Lin Mu arrived at a conclusion. Puzzled, he stared at Zhang Xuan.

If there was no relationship between the two, given Zhang Xuan's previous actions, he probably wouldn't point it out.

Just that… how was accepting a concubine related to forging pills?

They were two completely different things!

"You're right…. If I'm not wrong, that concubine of yours… isn't a thing!" Zhang Xuan pondered for a moment before replying calmly.

"Not a thing?"

Lin Mu was flabbergasted for a moment before frowning. Infuriated, displeasure showed on his face. "Why did you start insulting her?"

Library of Heaven's Path - Chapter 119: The True Pill Debate 2

"Clearly, the theory about the difference being attributed to the constitution does not hold!

"Thus, Apothecary Zhang Jian investigated the matter and wrote the conclusion of his research into 《Discussions of Tempering Pill》. This book clearly details his opinions and he disagrees with the notion that the difference in effects of the Body Tempering Pill is due to one's constitution. Rather, it was because the medicinal effects of the herbs weren't distributed fairly among the different pills during the forging process! As such, even in the same cauldron and among pills of the same quality, there could be different medicinal effects!

"This theory was accepted for a few years until twelve years ago, when someone cast doubts and overthrew it! The one who doubted the theory wasn't an apothecary but a 1-star master teacher. He questioned: if the medicinal effects weren't distributed fairly among the different pill, then why did such a phenomenon only occur to Body Tempering Pills and not other pills?

"Therefore, he proposed a bold suggestion. It was recorded in 《Ning Han's Verbal Records》. This book wasn't widely sold and there is only a single copy of it in the guild's basic tier book collection vault. If you all haven't read it, it is in the 19th bookshelf, at the extreme right corner!"

Zhang Xuan chuckled and continued, "This master teacher named Ning Han came up with a bold proposal. He thinks that the reason there was such an occurrence among Body Tempering Pills was because of the difference between the maturity of the herbs and the forging technique of the apothecaries! Of course, he only brought it up as a theory and didn't experiment!

"Eight years ago, Apothecary Zhao Yue from Hongxuan Kingdom received an epiphany from this book and conducted an experiment. He changed eighteen of the main medicinal herbs used in the pill and tried forging it using forty-two different kinds of forging techniques. He wrote his conclusion in a book titled《Detailed Explanation of Body Tempering》. It just so happens that there is one of them in our basic tier book collection vault. It is on the 27th row, on the upper left corner, beside 《Yang Zhen's Pill Forging Guide》 and 《The Method to Forging Jade Blood Pill》! If all of you doubt my words, you can find someone to fetch it here!

"I believe that the answer in the book is the most accurate one, and it should be able to answer your question!"

At this point, Zhang Xuan stopped and gesture for Ouyang Cheng to dispatch someone to fetch the book.

"There's no need…."

Upon hearing Zhang Xuan's explanation, the complexion of Apothecary Jin Chen, who was still gleeful a moment ago, darkened to the color of the bottom of a wok and he stumbled two steps backward. In an instant, he seemed to have aged many years.

"What? If we don't fetch the book here, I fear that Apothecary Jin will not accept my answer!" Zhang Xuan said.

"Your answer is correct. I have read the book and it is identical to what you said!" Apothecary Jin Chen nodded his head.

"Correct?"

"Identical?"

"That shouldn't be possible…. Apothecary Jin Chen simply raised a casual question and he was able to answer it so simply. Furthermore, out of the countless books in the vault, he was able to remember its exact position…. How is that possible?"

"Is he still human? You must be pulling my leg!"

……

Upon hearing his acknowledgment, the room broke into a commotion once more.

Previously, they thought that due to the limitations of his age, Zhang Xuan wouldn't have the time to read many books. After this round, they realized that compared to him… they were the ones who hadn't read many books!

Not only was the other party able to accurately remember the contents, time the book was written, and title of the book, he was even able to point out its exact location in the vault….

For them… it would already be wonderful if they could remember the contents detailed within!

Looked like there really was a huge difference between humans!

"Since Apothecary Jin Chen has acknowledged my answer to be correct, let's proceed onto the second question!"

Zhang Xuan chuckled.

'You want to compete with me in memorization ability?

'What a joke! I have the Library of Heaven's Path in my mind. With a jolt of my consciousness, the book comes flying to me. I only have to read according to it. Regardless of how good your memory is, you can't possibly be more accurate than me!'

"The second question. When forging a grade-1 【Strength Enhancement Pill】, why do cracks appear on a cauldron, making it difficult to continue with the forging?" Apothecary Jin Chen pondered for an entire ten minute before asking.

"Incredible!"

"He chose an excellent question!"

"Indeed, the cauldron often cracks while forging a grade-1 【Strength Enhancement Pill】. On the surface, it seems like an apothecary's question, but to answer the question, you require knowledge of smithing as well!"

"Indeed, let's see how he will answer the question!"

……

Upon hearing Apothecary Jin Chen's second question, everyone's attention was piqued again.

An apothecary's cauldron was forged by blacksmiths, and the matter of it breaking during pill forging wasn't strictly within the boundaries of pill forging anymore.

However, if one scrutinized the question carefully, it was still related to pill forging. It was precisely because it lay at the boundaries of the two that many apothecaries did not bother to learn about it, let alone answering such a question.

Since everyone could tell what he was trying to do, how could Zhang Xuan remain oblivious? The corners of his lips curled upward and he replied, "As for this problem, Apothecary Wu Xiao's 《Cauldron Maintenance》, Apothecary Zhao Qian's 《Important Matters to Note for Pill Forging》, Apothecary Niu Xuan's 《Miscellaneous Things You Have to Know》, Apothecary Pang Bo's 《Protect Your New Cauldron》…"

Without pausing, Zhang Xuan listed the titles of dozens of books before concluding, "… The answers are detailed in these books. Actually, it wasn't really a difficult question. The cauldrons that you all use are made of ordinary Nine Refinement Metal. This metal may be strong, but it is unable to withstand the clash between extreme cold and heat. The main ingredient required for Strength Enhancement Pill is the blood of a cold-attribute savage beast. When something that cold comes into contact with the hot cauldron, it's natural that the cauldron's unable to withstand it!

"If you wish to resolve the problem, it is best to use Heavy Iron Cauldron instead! Or you can also change your cauldron every time after you forge Strength Enhancement Pills!"

Zhang Xuan smiled.

This question might seem difficult, but it was recorded in the books of the basic tier book collection vault as well. It was just that the number of books in the vault was too vast and the apprentices in the guild would often choose to research pill forging techniques so that they could become an official apothecary faster. As a result, there was no reason for them to look into these kinds of miscellaneous books!

Furthermore, after becoming an official apothecary, one's standing would become completely different. With more guests paying them a visit and with more authority, they would have less time to read books. There were many things that they could learn from the book collection vault, but they never found the time to look for it and as such they were ignorant of them.

This was precisely the reason why the other apothecaries were unable to answer such questions. On the other hand, for Zhang Xuan who had duplicated a basic tier book collection vault in his mind, he had no difficulty answering this question at all.

"I wonder if Apothecary Jin Chen is satisfied with my answer? If not, I can still go on…."

"There's no need, your answer is correct!"

Cold sweat appeared on Apothecary Jin Chen's forehead.

When he started to forge Strength Enhancement Pills, he met with such a problem. So he went around asking others to seek an answer. Eventually, he found his answer in a book and that book was one of the dozen books which Zhang Xuan had just listed, 《Protect Your New Cauldron》 by Apothecary Pang Bo.

He thought that this was the only book which had detailed information on this subject, so he raised this question to trouble the other party. Yet this fellow was able to list more than a dozen books in a breath.

It was fortunate that he didn't name the book earlier. Otherwise, he would be humiliated when the other party listed this huge collection of books.

The heck, what is the head of this fellow made of?

How could he remember everything so clearly?

Upon seeing this situation, Ouyang Cheng and Du Man exchanged glances and smiled wryly. This was nothing! If you all knew that this fellow could even point out the specific page in the book, you probably wouldn't have insisted on conducting your test like that!

In fact, the other party proposing to point out flaws in their forging technique was indeed raising the difficulty for him. If you wish to triumph against him in a competition of knowledge…

We're afraid that you could only do it in your dreams….

Library of Heaven's Path - Chapter 118: The True Pill Debate 1

"I admit defeat!"

After declaring that he would no longer forge pills, Apothecary Bai Ming bowed deeply to Zhang Xuan.

It had been slightly more than two hours since the beginning of the Pill Debate and there were already four apothecaries who had admitted defeat.

This conclusion was unexpected for all involved. Even Ouyang Cheng shuddered in disbelief.

Previously, he didn't hold high hopes for Zhang Xuan's victory. He didn't expect it to end up like this!

It was completely one-sided!

It was no wonder that he was able to achieve a perfect score on the apprentice apothecary examination, even recognizing medicinal herbs that the examiners got wrong. His abilities were simply way too impressive!

On the other hand, Wen Xue's eyes were full of fear and her body trembled nonstop.

To think that she had mocked a person who could leave these apothecaries speechless…. Was there something wrong with her head or was she simply too gutsy?

It was fortunate that the other party had no intentions of fussing over the matter with her. Otherwise, she could've even been expelled from the Apothecary Guild!

"I'll go!"

Upon seeing Bai Ming admit defeat and the silence that lingered around them, Du Man stepped forward. noveltranslationweb.blogspot.com

"Please go easy on me!"

Forcing a smile onto his face, Du Man walked over to the cauldron.

The pill he forged was grade-1 too. It was slightly inferior to the Acupoint Soothing Pill and Tranquil Heart Pill from before.

His movements were fluid and swift. Soon, he managed to successfully forge the pills all of which were at the level of Satiation.

The other party's attitude was amiable. Besides, they also became acquainted yesterday. As a result, Zhang Xuan didn't say too much and simply pointed out a few of the more obvious mistakes. The latter admitted defeat straight afterward.

At this moment, out of the ten apothecaries, five had already admitted defeat.

The Pill Debate was halfway through.

"Let's continue. Who will be the next?"

With his hands behind his back, Zhang Xuan scanned the crowd calmly. Silence continued to linger around them.

In the Pill Debate of other apprentice apothecaries, the examinee would always look at the examiner in fear, afraid that the other party would intentionally come up with difficult questions. Yet this fellow was the exact opposite. All of the remaining apothecaries cowered back, afraid of their names being called. If not witnessed it firsthand, no one would believe it possible.

"I'll go!"

After another moment of silence, an elder stood up.

Apothecary Lin Mu!

Apothecary Cheng Jiang had once used the excuse of wanting to view his skills to secretly learn his personal forging technique, Frost Threaded Hands.

"Apothecary Lin, please wait a second! This time, I would like to test him along with you!"

Right after Lin Mu stood up, a middle-aged man stood up as well.

Apothecary Jin Chen!

"Together?" Lin Mu frowned.

How can two people forge pills simultaneously for the other party to point out their flaws?

"The fact that he can see through our flaws means that his ability to discern is impressive and he has undergone good education. It's very likely that he is under the guidance of a master teacher. However, I don't believe that the knowledge he has stored in his head can be as impressive as his discernment ability, especially given his age! So… let's not forge pills and instead bring up questions. Let's not be fooled by him!"

Apothecary Jin Chen harrumphed.

"This…"

Lin Mu was stunned.

"That's right, why didn't I think of this?"

"He isn't even twenty yet. Even if he could read right after he was born, how many books could possibly be read? How much of the content of each book could he possibly recall?"

"A true Pill Debate involves raising questions about pill forging for the examinee to answer. He must have known that he didn't have enough knowledge, so he intentionally heightened the difficulty to perceiving flaws in forging techniques instead. It is true that the difficulty has been raised, but if he had the guidance of a master teacher and came into contact with good education from a young age, it wouldn't be difficult for him to see through our mistakes!"

"That's right, master teachers are extremely knowledgeable while on the other hand we are only 1-star apothecaries. His discernment abilities can't possibly be weak being the disciple of such a figure. If so, it's understandable that he sees through our mistakes!"

……

Apothecary Jin Chen's words relit the flames in the four remaining apothecaries and they regained their confidence.

The fact that the other party was able to see through their mistakes by viewing their pill forging could only mean that his discernment ability was outstanding. It didn't mean that he had to be knowledgeable.

Since that was the case, questioning him might just turn out to be his weakness. All along, everyone had been fooled by this fellow.

"That's right!"

Lin Mu came to realization and nodded his head fervently.

It was no wonder that everyone agreed with Jin Chen's view. After all, accumulation of knowledge required time and effort. This Zhang Xuan, even with an optimistic estimate, couldn't possibly be twenty yet. Even if he read every day, how many books could he have possibly read?

Furthermore, he still had to remember their contents!

"You want to ask me questions instead?"

Not expecting these people to come up with such a conclusion after a long moment of contemplation, Zhang Xuan simply smiled faintly in response. "Alright then, let's begin!"

After reading through the books in the basic tier book collection vault and the teacher's Compendium Pavilion, the knowledge in his head right now was significantly greater than that of these apothecaries. Even if they wanted to test his knowledge, he didn't have anything to fear.

"I'll see whether you can retain your confidence when I stump you later on!"

Upon seeing that the other party held no fear whatsoever, a cold gleam flashed across Apothecary Jin Chen's eyes. "According to the rules of a normal Pill Debate, I can raise three questions. If you are able to answer all of them, I will have to admit defeat! On the other hand, if you fail to answer any one of the three… you will have failed. All that you have accomplished beforehand would go to waste!"

There was a complete list of rules and regulations for Pill Debate. The ten apothecaries weren't allowed to bring up as many questions as they pleased. Otherwise, wouldn't the examinee tire himself to death when undergoing Pill Debate?

The examiners could only pose three questions each, and if the other party's answers were correct, they had to admit defeat, However, if he couldn't answer any one of the questions or he answered erroneously, it would be a straight failure, regardless of how many questions he had answered before that!

"Sure!" Zhang Xuan was also well-aware of the rules. He nodded his head.

"Alright then, here is my first question. When forging a grade-1 Body Tempering Pill, even when the pill comes out from the same cauldron and was at the same level of quality, it is possible for one pill to have outstanding effects while another has miniscule effects. What are the reasons behind this?" Apothecary Jin Chen asked.

Upon hearing this question, the other apothecaries' attention was piqued.

Body Tempering Pill was a pill often consumed by Fighter 4-dan. It could temper a person's physical body, allowing one to improve swiftly in the Pigu realm.

This was also the reason why they often forged such a pill. However, just like what Apothecary Jin Chen said, there would often be situations in which the medicinal effects in each pill were different despite coming from the same cauldron.

Consuming the pills that came from the same cauldron, some experienced tremendous effects and advance far in the Pigu realm while others found it completely ineffective for them.

"Apothecary Jin Chen sure picked a difficult question!" Zhang Xuan shook his head. "There is no clear answer to this question in the entire Tianxuan Kingdom. Yet you posed this question to me. How do you expect me to answer it?

"However… other people may be unable to say anything about this subject, but I have my own ways!

Smiling lightly, Zhang Xuan said, "As for the matter you said, an apothecary named Cheng Ye had already proposed it thirty-seven years ago. Back then, he gathered twenty-three apothecaries and researched the matter for three days straight. He wrote the conclusion to their discussions in a book titled《Cheng Ye's Body Tempering Theories》. If you have read it, you should know what his conclusion is!

"He thinks that the reason for this difference has something to do with the constitution of a cultivator. Some people are born with a body compatible with Body Tempering Pill while others' physique may be resistant to it. It's just like how some people have a high tolerance for alcohol while others don't!

"Back then, this theory received the approval of many people. However, eighteen years ago, 3-star apothecary Zhang Jian noticed something that disputed this theory. If it was due to the constitution of an individual, then why was the second consumed pill effective for some individuals when the first one wasn't?"