Sorcerer Duel

At last, with the crowd boiling in outrage, someone could no longer hold back and pulled out a medicine pouch and drafting paper before the Fei Clan disciples.

Those were preparations for casting a spell.

Xia Fan had used Sorcery Arts before. Or rather, it was precisely because he had practiced them that his understanding had been completely rebuilt. But this was his first time watching people fight with spells.

In this world, a complete spell was usually divided into three layers: what one envisioned, what one linked to, and what one enacted. When all three became one, a spell could unleash its full power. Put simply, one first conceived the spell one wished to use in one's mind, then used the relevant medicinal materials as a catalyst, and finally revealed the process of its transformation.

This was also the most unbelievable part of his new understanding—qi not only responded to the caster's will, but also drew part of the surrounding qi into changing along with it. Like a stone thrown into a lake, sending ripples across the surface, it eventually turned the spell into reality.

His master had said that humans themselves were formed from qi, so it was only natural for qi to answer humanity's call. The so-called unity of Heaven and man was founded on this very principle. Yet Xia Fan knew full well that he could never be satisfied with such an explanation.

What was qi? Why could thoughts be projected into reality? To what extent could that projection reach? There were too many questions that needed answers. Perhaps seeking a precise answer in a world like this would be incomparably difficult, perhaps there would never be an answer at all, but no matter what, he could not convince himself to stop searching further.

A man in a blue robe pinched a small black object from his medicine pouch between his fingers, then drew out a sheet of drafting paper covered in Spellcraft. Xia Fan narrowed his eyes and stared for a while before realizing that what the man had taken out was a cicada shell.

"Xun Technique, Guichen—Cusheng!"

With his sharp cry, a piercing shriek suddenly exploded, stabbing straight into everyone's skulls. All those present who had been unprepared jolted, their faces twisting in pain.

Using a cicada shell as a catalyst to create a brief but tremendous Whistling Sound—that was the effect of this spell!

The man in blue intended to use the sound to shake his opponents, then seize the chance to break through the Fei Clan's line.

Unfortunately, this was hardly some rare Sorcery Art. He had not hidden anything when taking out his materials. Even Xia Fan could tell it was a cicada shell, let alone the Fei Clan disciples facing him.

But compared to Xia Fan's method of covering his ears, the man in white reacted far more elegantly. He merely flicked out a Talisman and completely blocked the Whistling Sound.

A spell's effectiveness depended not only on individual strength, but also on the environment in which it was cast. In the open wilderness, the power of noise was inherently limited.

The man in blue, who had tried to charge through, had no time to stop before the other man slashed him across the shoulder with a wooden sword. He immediately fainted.

"Brother Yan!"

"What are you waiting for? Get them!"

With that roar, several more people rushed out of the crowd. But this time, the result was even worse. They did not even have time to cast their spells. While they were still fumbling for medicine pouches and drafting paper, wooden swords knocked them all to the ground.

Watching his first Sorcery Art duel made Xia Fan's mouth twitch. By the time more than ten people lay sprawled across the ground, he had only one feeling left—

That's it??

It had to be said that this group had even less real combat experience than street thugs.

Although spells required all three stages to unleash their full power, they could still take effect with one or two stages missing. Yet in pursuit of maximum effect, these people rigidly followed the entire process step by step, undoubtedly giving the Fei Clan ample room to counter them.

Nor was that all. Few bothered to conceal or mislead while casting. There were even unlucky fools who spent ages pulling out the wrong ingredients, then simply turned their medicine pouches upside down and dumped everything out. Everyone here was a novice who had yet to enter the sect, and they only knew a handful of spells. Seeing the medicinal materials practically meant knowing the opponent's plan. Even the one or two who managed to cast a Sorcery Art posed little threat to the Fei Clan disciples.

On the contrary, those who remained standing the longest were the examinees who had given up on casting spells. Their sturdy bodies, strengthened by years of drawing qi, let them trade a few rounds with the Fei Clan members using only wooden swords and fists. Of course, one side consisted of clan disciples accustomed to acting as a group, while the other was a loose pile of sand. No fighting style could change the final outcome.

Especially after Fei Nian, the Fei Clan's leader, declared that anyone who failed to stir up trouble would be thrown across the suspension bridge.

Crossing that bridge meant leaving Qingshan Town's territory, which was equivalent to failing the examination.

In other words, if they endured for now, they could still seek other opportunities. But if they were knocked unconscious here, the Scholar Examination would end for them.

A quarter of an hour later, not a single person in the crowd dared take another step forward.

"If they had already been fighting in a tangled mess before I arrived, there might still have been a turn for the better. But now, it seems Fei Nian was not wrong."

Luo Qingqing's words suddenly rang in Xia Fan's ears.

So that's how it is, he thought. This was probably why the Luo Family's genius had turned and left—the people before her were not worth fighting the Fei Clan for. If they had truly charged together, not only would the Fei Clan have been unable to stop them, but those who were knocked down would not have lost their qualifications either. But they had not done so, because from the very beginning, this group had only intended to fish in troubled waters.

With that thought, Xia Fan stepped forward.

"You want to give it a try too?" Fei Nian frowned slightly and placed his hand back on his sword hilt. "I said it already. Once you fall, the Scholar Examination ends early for you."

A stir swept through the crowd.

"Don't be afraid! He's just trying to scare you!"

"With us standing guard here, he doesn't dare lay a hand on you!"

"As long as you can take down Fei Nian, we'll charge through together!"

Xia Fan smiled. As he walked, he spread his hands toward Fei Nian, showing that his palms held nothing. Fei Nian did not move either, simply waiting as Xia Fan approached step by step.

The atmosphere at the scene froze. Everyone's eyes focused on the two of them. At such close range, a new battle seemed ready to erupt at the slightest touch.

Fei Nian's expression grew increasingly grave. The only reason he had not struck first was to preserve his image. As the new generation's leader of the Fei Clan before so many watching eyes, he had to remain calm and composed, graceful and refined at all times.

This man was different from the others, he vaguely realized.

He neither ostentatiously pulled out a medicine pouch and wore his intent to attack on his face, nor did he possess the caution and tension one would expect before a duel. He seemed full of openings, yet that only made it impossible to grasp the right moment to counter him. Fei Nian had never seen such a stance in someone his own age.

What would he do next?

Draw his sword, or use the more direct approach of fists and feet?

Perhaps waiting for him to make the first move had been a mistake from the start.

Without realizing it, Fei Nian had clenched the sword hilt tightly.

And at that very moment, Xia Fan moved—he turned, then walked toward the other end of the fork in the road, as though he had not noticed the atmosphere around him at all.

Fei Nian, who had raised his momentum to its peak, nearly choked. It felt like swinging his weapon at full strength only to hit empty air. He covered his mouth and coughed several times before suppressing the surging blood and qi in his chest.

What the hell is this guy up to?

At the same time, the onlookers behind him exploded into an uproar.

"Hey, where are you going? Get back here!"

"Do you even still want the Spirit Fire or not?"

"Tch, I knew he was a coward. How could he possibly have the guts to arm-wrestle the Fei Clan?"

"We were even backing you up! How can you be so shameless?"

The examinees shouted indignantly, thoroughly treating Xia Fan as a Betrayer.

"If you want the Spirit Fire, go get it yourselves!" Xia Fan shouted back irritably. "What does yelling from over there accomplish? I never said I was going across. Can't I look around at the scenery?"

"L-look at the scenery?"

Perhaps because they had never seen such a "shameless" answer, everyone was stunned speechless for a moment.

Even Fei Nian was no exception. Watching Xia Fan stride away with such righteous confidence, he could not utter a single word of rebuttal or mockery.

After all, the examination rules really did not say one could not look at the scenery!

While everyone was still lost in thought, Xia Fan had already gone around the base of the cliff and entered the dense forest.

The path, which had been fairly clear before, immediately became narrow and hidden. It had probably been too long since anyone last traveled it; weeds and shrubs had formed a continuous carpet beneath his feet. He had to use his wooden sword to clear the way before he could distinguish the mountain path's direction.

According to Xiao Er, this forked path wound all the way up Green Mountain, and scarcely anyone in town had ever seen where it ended.

Half an hour later, Xia Fan stopped, panting for breath.

Walking through a real forest was no easy task. Leaving aside the annoying vines beneath his feet, the dew lingering in the low grass alone was enough to make one miserable. After walking for so long, his trouser legs and shoes were soaked through, and every step felt as though he were treading through mud.

Then there were the mosquitoes. Mountain mosquitoes did not hide by day and emerge by night—they buzzed about working in broad daylight. If qi did not have some repelling effect on small insects, he felt he would never have lasted this long.

His exploration proved that there were no graveyards, burial mounds, or anything similar around this winding mountain road. His hopes of finding another route to obtain Spirit Fire had become slim indeed.

At the same time, he confirmed one thing: this road had definitely not been opened by the town's hunters. Though weeds concealed it now, its actual width and smoothness rivaled even Qingshan Town's main road. Compared with the fork leading toward the mountainside, this one looked more like the true main road.

Why would anyone build such a broad road on a mountain? Even with Sorcerers to help, it would have been an enormous undertaking. More strangely, why had the winding mountain road, built at such great expense of effort, been abandoned now?

Unfortunately, with his own abilities, he could not investigate any further.

Just as Xia Fan was preparing to head back, the wooden sword he was using to part the weeds suddenly struck something with a dull clang. The sensation was neither that of a vine nor a hard stone jutting from the road.

He gave a soft sound of surprise, crouched down, and pushed aside the grass.

A severely rotten wooden beam lay half-buried in the soil. It was about four fingers wide, while its length could not be estimated for the moment. To his surprise, this piece of wood, with obvious planing marks, did not seem to have been carelessly dropped here by someone. At intervals of roughly half a meter, he could see a wooden peg driven into the beam, fastening it firmly to the ground.

Across the beam ran countless long indentations. Though the years had taken their toll and insects had eaten away parts of it, one could still tell that it had once borne many heavy loads.

This was actually a track.

Thanks to Mu Qingfeng for the Alliance Leader reward, and thanks to Blackened CC for the Alliance Leader reward. Muah!