Zhang Fei - The Abandoned Son

Chapter 551: First Test

*Boom*

”Damn it!” Ximen Yan cursed angrily after he could only light up eight crystals, and he could also hear the jeers from the beast and natural races. ʼThese bastards! Sooner or later, my father will exterminate their races, and I will laugh at your destruction.ʼ ”Your turn.”

”Yes, Master.” Qian Ying immediately took a deep breath and punched the stone obelisk, lighting up six crystals.

Ximen Yan nodded in satisfaction at Qian Yingʼs result, and he immediately pulled her into his embrace before giving her a rough kiss on the lips. ʼIf you manage to bring Ximen Yueliang to me, I will give you a tremendous reward, and it will help your cultivation break through to the 2-Moon Divine Transcend Realm. If you also manage to bring Xian Xianqin and Yun Xinyue to me, I will give you an additional reward, so you should try your best.ʼ

”Yes, Master.” Qian Ying then looked at the three women, and a faint evil smile appeared on her face.

”Itʼs your turn! Donʼt let me down!” Ximen Yan shouted to his people.

The demons of the Dark Demon Kingdom immediately took turns hitting the stone obelisk. Three-quarters of them successfully lit up five crystals, but a quarter failed to do so.

After they stepped aside, Ximen Hongwu and Ximen Yueliang immediately led the demons from the Ximen Demon Kingdom. ”Hey, brother, you must not lose to Ximen Yan, or our father will punish you.”

”I know.” Ximen Hongwu immediately took an attacking stance, clenched his fists tightly, and took a deep breath. After a black aura enveloped his body, he immediately punched the stone obelisk with all his strength, causing a loud bang.

*Boom*

Gradually, the crystals started to light up from the bottom, but Ximen Hongwu let out a disappointed sigh when it stopped at the eighth crystal, only to dimly light up at the ninth.

”Hehe! Not bad!” Ximen Yueliang said as she chuckled. ”Even though you failed to light up the ninth crystal, it has already lit up dimly, which means your strength is slightly above Ximen Yan.”

”I assume only the eighth crystal is lit up, so our strength is still equal.” Ximen Hongfu then pushed his little sister forward. ”Your turn, Yueliang. You must be able to light up at least five crystals, or you will fail.”

”Humph! Itʼs too easy for me.” Ximen Yueliang immediately walked in front of the stone obelisk and touched it gently. ”Five crystals, huh?”

Ximen Yueliang immediately closed her eyes and stood in her spot in silence, confusing the spectators. However, their eyes widened as soon as the eighth crystal lit up rapidly, indicating that her strength was superior to her big brother even though their cultivation was three minor levels apart.

Ximen Yueliang immediately turned to her big brother, making a victory gesture with her two fingers. ”See? Itʼs easy, right? I can match you even if I donʼt use all my strength.”

Ximen Hongwu shook his head helplessly at his little sisterʼs behavior, and he immediately ordered the demons from the Ximen Demon Kingdoms to start. Unfortunately, only half of them could light five crystals or more, and the rest failed to meet the minimum requirement.

After that, the humans began to take their turns testing their strength, starting with the Bai Kingdom. Bai Chongxi, Bai Renfu, and Bai Shaoyi could light eight, six, and five crystals, respectively. However, only a quarter of the people of their kingdom managed to light five crystals.

On the Zhou Kingdomʼs side, Zhou Tong succeeded in lighting ten crystals, shocking the strongest people from the beast and natural racesʼ kingdoms. They never expected a human cultivator to match their strength, but they remembered his kingdomʼs relationship with the two demon kingdoms, and they thought the demons had helped him to increase his strength.

Unfortunately, his siblingsʼ strength was not on par with Zhou Tongʼs, especially since Zhou Tai could only light six crystals. Meanwhile, Zhou Fang and Zhou Meiling only succeeded in lighting five crystals, highlighting the stark difference in their strength. The other people from their kingdom were clearly stronger than those from the Bai Kingdom, with three-quarters of them managing to light five crystals.

Huangfu Lian then led his brothers, sisters, and people to run the test. The first prince of the Huangfu Kingdom was quite satisfied with his results, having managed to light up eight crystals using a special technique to enhance his raw strength.

Like their eldest brother, Huangfu Xiaofan, Huangfu Xiaoying, and Huangfu Xiaomei use a special technique to light seven crystals. Even though people sneered at their actions, the Huangfu siblings didnʼt care about them. Of the members of the Huangfu Kingdom, only half managed to light five crystals.

As the weakest of the five human kingdoms, only a few representatives of the Yun Kingdom managed to light up five crystals, and their number was at most thirty. Even so, three of them managed to light up six and seven crystals.

Based on the system scan, Zhang Fei discovered that one of them was Guo Jihai, the nephew of Guo Xuehua, who was cultivated in the 1-Moon Divine Transcend Realm. Judging from his physique, he is also a body cultivator, and his raw strength is the highest. The other two were Li Yao and Su Zhen, who cultivated in the quasi-divine realm.

”Li Yao is Big Brother Aoxianʼs wife.” Zhang Fei turned to Yun Qinghao and Yun Xinyue in surprise. ”Su Zhen is Guo Jihaiʼs fiancée, but their relationship often goes through ups and downs, so they havenʼt gotten married yet.”

”Oh.” Zhang Fei nodded slightly in response, but he then turned to Xian Xianqin, who had been paying attention to Qian Ying since earlier. ”Are you going to take your test now?”

”No.” Xian Xianq shook her head at Zhang Fei. ”Iʼll wait for your turn first.”

”Princes! Do you realize that his attitude is similar to that of a lovebird?” Xian Xianqin immediately looked back and glared at Yuan Luo, but she shrugged her shoulders and pointed at their sect sisters. ”Ask them; they will definitely agree with me.”

Ru Yanyue and Ye Zhiqiu chose not to say anything, but Bai Tianʼer was different from them, and she immediately agreed with Yuan Luo. ”Sheʼs right, Princess. Youʼre a lovebird, so you should confess your feelings to him, or Iʼll take him away from you.”

”Tch!” Xian Xianqin gritted her teeth and turned her gaze at one of the groups from the Xian Imperial Sect, who had begun to line up on the four sides of the stone obelisk. She then pointed to two men and informed Zhang Fei of their identities. ʼThey are Uncle Xian Hongʼs sons, Xian Yu and Xian Mu. Both of them hate my family because of the enmity between our fathers, and many members of our sect side with them, especially since their father is the supposed emperor of our kingdom. However, his tendency to align with the demons led my father to overthrow him before he could ascend to the throne. In the end, he joined the dark demon kingdoms and became Ximen Gongfuʼs right-hand man, repeatedly attempting to kill us with their assistance.ʼ

ʼAs expected, there are indeed complicated issues between them, but Iʼm not surprised by Xian Fengʼs decision, especially since humans hate demons most.ʼ Zhang Fei then pointed to the two other people leading the other group. ʼWho are these two? Why are they leading the third group?ʼ

Xian Xianqin looked at the two people for a moment before telling Zhang Fei. ʼXian Qifeng is Uncle Luoʼs son, and the woman next to him is his wife, Luo Qinglin. Although they are still part of our royal family, my second uncle prefers to be neutral, and the people in their entourage also do not want to interfere in our family disputes. Even so, they are very loyal to our kingdom, and they will help us if other kingdoms attack us.ʼ

ʼI see.ʼ Zhang Fei nodded in understanding. ʼWhat about your aunt? Is she married?ʼ

ʼHmm?ʼ Xian Xianqin looked at Zhang Fei with raised eyebrows. ʼHow did you know about Aunt Changyue? Have you met her before?ʼ

ʼLook at the sky.ʼ Xian Xianqin looked up immediately and saw Xian Changyue standing there, her arms crossed in front of her chest, her gaze firmly fixed on Zhang Fei. She has been here for some time now, but none of you have noticed her presence. Unlike you, I have been aware of her presence from the very beginning. Based on her gaze, I believe your parents sent her here to keep an eye on me.ʼ

Xian Xianqin let out a soft sigh in her heart before nodding to Zhang Fei. ʼHey, you know that my parents have no ill intentions towards you, right? I hope you donʼt take their actions to heart, and you can ignore Aunt Changyue.ʼ

ʼIʼm not that petty, okay? I know they have no ill intentions towards me, and theyʼve helped me a lot, but I still donʼt like it when they keep monitoring me.ʼ Zhang Fei then asked Xian Xianqin again. ʼIs your aunt married?ʼ

ʼNot yet.ʼ Xian Xian shook her head in response. ʼAunt Changyue doesnʼt like men, and she doesnʼt feel like she needs them, so she never plans to get married.ʼ

A faint smile immediately appeared on Zhang Feiʼs face, and he looked up slightly at Xian Changyue, but he right away shifted his gaze to the stone obelisk when the eight crystals lit up twice. ʼXian Yu and Xian Mu are much stronger than you and your big brother; no wonder there are more people on their side.ʼ

ʼYou are right; they are indeed stronger than us, but we will not lose to them once we break through to the Seven Divine Realm.ʼ However, Xian Xianqinʼs expression turned disappointed. ʼUnfortunately, we never managed to break through to that stage. No matter how hard we try to break through that final barrier, we always fail to do so, which makes us feel that something is holding us back.ʼ

Zhang Fei directly pointed at Xian Xianqinʼs chest. ʼClear your demon heart first; Iʼm sure you will successfully break through to the seven divine realms after that. If you still have difficulty doing it, I will help you to break through to that stage.ʼ

If Xian Xianqin had not witnessed Zhang Feiʼs abilities, she would definitely doubt him. However, she already knew quite a lot of his abilities, and he could even defeat Huan Ya, who was much stronger than him. Moreover, he could reach the Earth Realm even though he was only 20 years old, something he could not do in the past.

Xian Xianqin nodded with a smile. ʼI will prove to you that I can overcome my demon heart.ʼ

ʼThatʼs good.ʼ Zhang Fei then looked at the people from both groups again, and he saw that Xian Qifeng had successfully lit up seven crystals. He did not pay much attention to the other people, but he still remembered their respective strengths, especially the people from Xian Yu and Xian Muʼs group.

Once the members of the two groups completed their tasks, Chao Yuanfeng immediately ordered his disciples, ”Itʼs your turn. You guys must make it into the top 100 rankings.”

”Yes, Master.”

Ximen Chuixue immediately led them toward the stone obelisk, but those people did not care about him or the other disciples. They also did not care about Xian Xianwu, Xian Xianqin, Yun Qinghao, and Yun Xinyue. Their gazes were only focused on one person, Zhang Fei, who was leisurely walking at the back.

Even Ximen Yan, who had no information about Zhang Fei, paid serious attention, mainly because of his closeness to Xian Xianqin.

Likewise, Ximen Yu and Ximen Mu glared at Zhang Fei with a look full of questions, especially since they had never heard of him before they set off for the Star Tower.

[Master, are you going to show off your power here? If you do that, people from the Huangfu, Bai, and the two demon kingdoms will target you directly.]

ʼDidnʼt you pay attention to their expressions, Mei?ʼ Zhang Fei responded with a slight shake of his head. ʼEven without me showing my strength, those people from the Huangfu and Bai Kingdoms have already plotted to capture me. The people from the Zhou Kingdom still look down on me now, but they will also target me if I show my strength. I can see that those demons are also targeting me; Ximen Yan appears to be jealous of my close relationship with Xian Xianqin. I donʼt know Ximen Hongfu and Ximen Yueliangʼs reasons for targeting me, but they have been glancing at me repeatedly since earlier.

[Does that mean you will show them your power?]

ʼYes.ʼ Zhang Fei nodded to Mei. ʼWhether I show my power or not, they will definitely target me anyway, so I donʼt need to hold back my power. If the situation gets complicated, I can hide them in my training space, or I can bring them back to the Sky Jade Realm.ʼ

[Well, thatʼs true. However, it would be best if you still exercise caution, particularly when dealing with people from the three human kingdoms. Regarding the demons, you can utilize your demonic force manipulation ability to weaken them, and you also possess new techniques from the Nine Demon Secret Scripture.]

ʼYeah.ʼ

”Brother, you must use all your abilities, and we will prove to them that our group is not weak.” As soon as they arrived in front of the stone obelisk, Yuan Luo immediately spoke to Ximen Chuixue.

Ximen Chuixue nodded and took a stance, but he briefly looked at the demons before he unleashed his full strength. With his full strength, he punched the stone obelisk, creating a loud explosion audible from a considerable distance.

*Boom*

In a few seconds, all ten crystals lit up, and the people immediately shifted their gazes from Zhang Fei to Ximen Chuixue.

”Yay!” Yuan Luo jumped up in joy after seeing that. ”Congratulations, Brother! Your diligent training over the past few years has paid off!”

”Phew!” Ximen Chuixue breathed a sigh of relief and withdrew his strength, but he then turned to Bai Tianʼer. ”Your turn.”

Bai Tianʼer nodded to Ximen Chuixue before standing in front of the stone obelisk. She thought for a while as she looked at the three Bai siblings. ʼYour family ostracized my family even though we are part of the Bai royal family, but I will show you that I am much better than you.ʼ

*Swoosh*

Bai Tianʼerʼs aura exploded, and a shockwave swept toward the people. She used her full power to punch the stone obelisk, causing the spectatorsʼ eyes to widen in shock as she ignited nine crystals. However, the other two groups from the Xian Imperial Sect were particularly shocked after witnessing that, as they never expected her raw strength to be that high.

”Nine crystals, huh?” Bai Tianʼer muttered to herself as she looked towards the top of the stone obelisk. ”My raw strength is still inferior to yours, Brother Chui.”

Ximen Chuixue shook his head at Bai Tianʼer. ”I have been a body cultivator since I was small, and my body cultivation level is quite high, so my raw strength is also higher than yours.”

”Yeah.” Bai Tianʼer then spoke to Yuan Luo. ”If you canʼt light up a minimum of six crystals, I will ask our master to punish you.”

”Hey! Iʼm Brother Chuiʼs lover, and I wonʼt disappoint him.” Unlike Ximen Chuixue or Bai Tianʼer, Yuan Luo did not take any stance and directly punched the stone obelisk, igniting the seven crystals. ”Hehe! Yay! Seven crystals!”

Following them were Ying Shanhu, Huang Chi, Xuan Wuji, Yu Chongming, Xi Shen, Ru Yanyue, and Ye Zhiqiu. All of them managed to light up six and seven crystals, satisfying Chao Yuanfeng, who was watching them from a distance.

”Brother.” Xian Xianwu nodded to his sister and struck the stone obelisk, immediately lighting eight crystals. ”Sigh! At first, I thought I could ignite the ninth crystal, but my power could only ignite the eighth.ʼ

”Haha.” Yun Qinghao laughed and patted Xian Xianwuʼs shoulder. ”Brother, your strength has improved a lot compared to before, so you should be quite satisfied. Anyway, I will do it now, but I think our strengths are no different now.”

Yun Qinghao and Yun Xinyue immediately tested their raw strength through the stone obelisk, and both of them succeeded in lighting eight and seven crystals.

Zhang Fei then pushed Xian Xianqin forward. ”Show them you are stronger than many of them, even though your cultivation is still in the quasi-divine realm.”

”Yeah.”

- To Be Continued -