Myriad Dragon Divine Sovereign

Wen Qingye gritted his teeth, swiftly spun around in mid-air, and rushed toward the Dark Slaughter Tiger.

The Dark Slaughter Tiger sensed the fierce wind behind it. Black streams of air swirled beneath its paws. It then threw its head back, and its iron tail lashed out like a whip, cutting through the air like a streak of black light.

Wen Qingye moved, taking a step forward in mid-air. He seized the perfect opportunity, just before the Dark Slaughter Tiger’s iron tail could reach him.

”What is Wen Qingye doing? Even if he gets close to the Dark Slaughter Tiger puppet, he can’t possibly harm its body.”

”I feel like Wen Qingye’s cultivation is still too low. It’s going to be difficult for him to pass this fourteenth floor.”

”Sigh, what a shame. This Dark Slaughter Tiger puppet is just too powerful, especially its physical defenses.”

Outside the Heaven-Reaching Martial Pavilion, the crowd clicked their tongues in amazement, marveling at the Dark Slaughter Tiger’s power.

Wen Qingye closed the distance, getting right next to the Dark Slaughter Tiger. Seeing that its attack had failed, the beast grew enraged. It opened its massive maw, preparing to pounce on Wen Qingye.

”Silver Moon Wushang!”

Wen Qingye took a step in mid-air, and a Sword Aura like a bolt of white silk erupted from his blade. With each step he took after that, another Sword Aura burst forth.

The light was so dazzling that the crowd could barely keep their eyes open.

Through the Water Curtain, they could only make out the intertwining flashes of Sword Aura and a black silhouette, a brilliant, heart-pounding spectacle.

WHOOSH!

After some time, the Water Curtain gradually cleared.

The crowd saw Wen Qingye standing there, leaning on his sword for support. Blood from the web of his thumb trickled down the Sword Body and dripped onto the ground. Beside him, the Dark Slaughter Tiger lay motionless, a heap of flesh collapsed on the floor.

Everyone stared at the heavily panting Wen Qingye, shocked beyond belief. ’What in the world just happened?’

”That... that Swordsmanship...” Instructor Chen stammered, staring at Wen Qingye in astonishment. ”His Swordsmanship is unbelievable. It’s reached a nigh-divine level, hasn’t it?”

Nie Qinglan turned to Instructor Chen. ”I saw Wen Qingye’s sword flashing. It looked like he stabbed into the Dark Slaughter Tiger’s body, didn’t he?”

Instructor Chen gazed at Wen Qingye, his voice trembling with excitement. He took a moment to compose himself before speaking. ”Just now, Wen Qingye plunged his sword deep into the Dark Slaughter Tiger’s body with incredible speed. He knew he couldn’t break its bones, so he struck the flesh. He... he actually used his sword to instantly butcher the Dark Slaughter Tiger. I, for one, could not do that. It requires not only immense Sword Technique Cultivation, but also an unparalleled understanding of a tiger’s anatomy.”

As Instructor Chen’s words echoed outside the Heaven-Reaching Martial Pavilion, all eyes turned to Wen Qingye.

The Inner Courtyard students were also stunned. ’Who is Instructor Chen? He’s an Inner Courtyard instructor, a master swordsman! Yet he just admitted that he’s no match for Wen Qingye. Isn’t Wen Qingye’s talent for the Sword Dao just too heaven-defying?’

Wang Chong’s face was a hideous sight, shifting from deathly pale to beet red. He was utterly speechless.

The Outer Courtyard students couldn’t resist jeering at him.

”I wonder who it was that was just shamelessly claiming that this was all an Outer Courtyard student was capable of.”

”Yeah, and bragging about passing the fourteenth floor himself, like it was some amazing achievement.”

”These days, some people are just so arrogant. Give them a tiny bit of skill, and they can’t help but act all high and mighty.”

.......

Hearing the mockery from the Outer Courtyard students, Wang Chong’s face burned a furious, deep red.

The Outer Courtyard students were absolutely delighted. Seeing the sour looks on the faces of the Inner Courtyard students was especially satisfying, a truly gratifying feeling.

Yann Xiangyang watched the stalwart figure within the Water Curtain, a bitter feeling welling up inside him.

Guu Lei and Ren Hua exchanged a look, both sharing a wry smile.

Nie Qinglan was also taken aback. ’Even though I knew Wen Qingye’s Swordsmanship was formidable and that he was even proficient in Moonfall Swordsmanship,’ she thought, ’judging by Instructor Chen’s words, I still underestimated him.’

Thinking of Wen Qingye’s astonishing aptitude, Nie Qinglan smiled. ”Excellent. Wen Qingye is a promising talent. Our Qig Mountain Academy should focus on nurturing him.”

Instructor Chen nodded in agreement. ”Yes. If Wen Qingye’s cultivation can catch up to his technique, I believe he’d have a thirty percent chance of passing.”

”Do you really mean that?” Nie Qinglan asked, pleasantly surprised. It seemed a thirty percent chance was enough to astonish her.

”I do,” Instructor Chen said with a firm nod.

Wen Qingye walked out slowly, the blood on his hand already starting to dry.

Wen Qingye walked up to Wang Chong and smiled. ”I suppose you’d say I passed.”

Wang Chong’s expression flickered, but with Nie Qinglan and the other Inner Courtyard instructors present, he couldn’t afford to cause a scene. He gave a stiff nod. ”You passed.”

”Kneel! Kneel!”

”Kneel!”

Suddenly, a single voice cried out from the crowd. That voice was a spark that instantly set the area ablaze. A deafening roar erupted from the masses, a sound like boiling water that echoed all around the Heaven-Reaching Martial Pavilion.

Wang Chong’s face turned deathly pale, and his body began to tremble.

The arrogant Inner Courtyard students who had stood beside Wang Chong now looked uneasy. They felt awkward, but also a sliver of relief. ’Thank goodness I didn’t say something like that.’

Nie Qinglan was also confused. She raised an eyebrow. ’Why is this happening?’

”What is going on here?” Nie Qinglan asked.

An Inner Courtyard student spoke up cautiously, ”Well... Wang Chong said that if Wen Qingye passed the fourteenth floor, he would... kneel to him...”

Wang Chong shot a furtive, pleading glance toward Instructor Chen.

Instructor Chen frowned. ”Nonsense. It was clearly said in jest. Are these Outer Courtyard students actually taking it seriously?”

Nie Qinglan nodded in agreement. ’If Wang Chong kneels today, his spirit will be crushed. He might never recover from the blow. Besides,’ she thought, ’for the sake of a certain someone’s reputation, we can’t let him kneel.’

Wang Chong panted heavily, looking around at the crowd of Outer Courtyard students. There were thousands of them—thousands of pairs of eyes staring at him, thousands of arms raised as they shouted in unison.

Wang Chong stumbled back several steps, fear and fury warring within him.

Nie Qinglan raised a hand. ”Alright. This matter was just a jest. Why don’t we all just let it go?”

Hearing Nie Qinglan say this, the shouting from the Outer Courtyard students died down.

”Dean Nie, was it also ’just a jest’ when Wang Chong was mocking us?”

”Yeah! Is he not going to honor his own words?”

”Wang Chong, if you’re a man, you’ll kneel!”

”Yeah, kneel!”

......

All color had drained from Wang Chong’s face. He never imagined a single sentence could back him into such a corner.

”Enough!” Instructor Chen roared. ”Do you all do nothing but stir up trouble instead of focusing on your studies? Have you forgotten why you came to Qig Mountain Academy?”

Seeing Instructor Chen’s fury, the Outer Courtyard students quieted down considerably. Although they didn’t know who he was, they had seen him speaking familiarly with Nie Qinglan and figured he must be an important figure.

Nie Qinglan stepped forward at that moment. ”Alright, it’s a small matter. Don’t take it to heart. You all still have the Inner Courtyard examinations next year. You should be focusing your energy on that.”

Hearing even Nie Qinglan say this, the Outer Courtyard students fell silent. It seemed they knew that forcing Wang Chong to kneel now was impossible.