Seven Great Clans

To become the leader of this group of Aristocratic Clan Disciples, the blue-robed Young Master's strength was naturally not weak.

When he clearly saw that Luo Zheng actually dared to pounce at him, the blue-robed Young Master let out a savage laugh. His fists transformed into claws, and he reached straight for Luo Zheng.

"Azure Dragon Claw! You think you can get away?"

The claws carried extraordinary might. They were like dragon claws, their talons bared as they reached for Luo Zheng's head.

Luo Zheng's expression did not change. He suddenly shifted sideways and actually slipped through the gap between the blue-robed Young Master's claws. Then, riding the momentum, Luo Zheng slammed his shoulder into him, sending the blue-robed Young Master toppling backward toward the ground.

But Luo Zheng did not stop. Before the blue-robed Young Master hit the ground, he flipped behind him and pressed a hand against his neck, saying in a low voice, "Whoever dares come over, I'll knock him out."

Seeing the blue-robed Young Master restrained, all the Aristocratic Clan Disciples halted in their tracks.

This blue-robed Young Master was the Young Master of the Zhuge Clan. His name was Zhuge Hong. He had been resourceful and intelligent from a young age. The checkpoint set up here today had also been organized by Zhuge Hong, making him the core figure among these Aristocratic Clan Disciples.

Now that Zhuge Hong was under the enemy's control, Luo Zheng only needed to exert the slightest force to knock him out. Thus, no one dared to act rashly.

"Friend, let me go and I'll let you leave," Zhuge Hong said. He was quite a figure in his own right, with an exceptionally sharp mind, and remained calm even while held hostage by Luo Zheng.

"You think I believe you?" Luo Zheng countered. In terms of bare-handed combat, with his formidable body, Luo Zheng might not have been unable to fight his way out of here.

However, these Aristocratic Clan Disciples were practically all carrying Mysterious Artifacts. Some even possessed High-Grade Profound Artifacts. Although his body was as tough as a Mysterious Artifact, being stabbed by one of those weapons would likely end badly for him. Thus, taking this fellow hostage was the safest method. "Tell all these people to clear out."

"My surname is Zhuge. Do you know what that means?" Zhuge Hong said coldly.

There were also ranks among the Scholar Clans.

In the Imperial Capital, more than thirty clans of various sizes had been granted the status of Scholar Clan, but only seven of them were true behemoths.

They were the Wei River Pei Clan, the Divine Needle Zhu Clan, the Sky Dragon Huang Clan, the Forbidden Yu Clan, the Qilin Yun Clan, the Forget River Meng Clan, and the Divine Calculation Zhuge Clan.

The Seven Great Clans were the pillars of the entire empire. Only they could truly be called prestigious, powerful clans.

Although Zhuge Hong was merely a collateral descendant of the Zhuge Clan, his status and prospects were still higher than those of the legitimate descendants of the other Scholar Clans!

That was also why Zhuge Hong was so confident.

He believed that as long as he revealed his identity, no one would dare touch him even if he simply stood there.

Unfortunately, he had run into Luo Zheng.

To tell the truth, when Luo Zheng heard that his surname was Zhuge, he felt a little wary as well.

The Seven Great Scholar Clans were the great clans that had established the empire together with the late emperor. It could be said that the histories of these Seven Great Scholar Clans were as ancient as the empire itself.

Luo Zheng, born a nobody, found even an ordinary Scholar Clan to be a towering behemoth, let alone one of the Seven Great Scholar Clans.

"The Zhuge Clan certainly has a mighty reputation. But I'm sorry—the Bloodcolor Trials are something I must pass. Tell them to move aside, or else you'll... be knocked out!" As he spoke, Luo Zheng increased the force of his hand slightly.

A flush spread across Zhuge Hong's face. Participating in the Bloodcolor Trials at the Azure Cloud Sect was nothing more than a game to him. This fellow truly did not know the height of the heavens or the depth of the earth. Did he have any idea what the consequences of angering the Zhuge Clan were?

Feeling humiliated, Zhuge Hong instantly flew into a rage. In any case, he was inside a phantom array and could not die. At worst, he could participate again next month!

Thus, ignoring the hand clamped around his neck, Zhuge Hong actually tried to launch a counterattack.

Unfortunately, the instant Zhuge Hong moved, Luo Zheng's hand twisted lightly. Zhuge Hong's neck immediately made a click, and Luo Zheng snapped it.

Before Zhuge Hong had truly died and been eliminated, Luo Zheng lifted his body and hurled him at the group of Aristocratic Clan Disciples.

Those Aristocratic Clan Disciples had never imagined that Luo Zheng would be so decisive. When they saw Zhuge Hong's body crash toward them and fall to the ground, surrounded bit by bit by specks of light, they finally reacted. Zhuge Hong had already been knocked out...

In the brief moment they were stunned, Luo Zheng had already broken through the Aristocratic Clan Disciples' encirclement and was sprinting toward the third level.

The Aristocratic Clan Disciples came to their senses and naturally brandished their Mysterious Artifacts, pursuing him relentlessly from behind...

At the same time, outside Bloodcolor Mountain, a burst of cheers erupted.

"Beautiful!"

"This kid stayed calm in the face of danger. He has the bearing of a great commander!"

"Hey, what a crafty little fellow."

The commotion in Bloodcolor Mountain was so great that it had drawn the attention of all the instructors long ago.

At first, the instructors had not focused their attention on Luo Zheng. They had been more captivated by the Iron Tower Strong Man, who was wielding a greatsword and leading the charge through the checkpoint.

However, after the Iron Tower Strong Man charged through, Luo Zheng turned back to save someone. He kicked an Aristocratic Clan Disciple out with one punch, then swiftly seized Zhuge Hong after breaking through the encirclement. When Zhuge Hong attempted to counterattack, Luo Zheng decisively took him out, using Zhuge Hong's elimination to draw the others' attention while he himself fled far away...

This entire string of actions attracted the attention of all the instructors.

The instructors quickly looked up Luo Zheng's records while trying to switch to his image through the Trust Jade.

Only then did they discover that the image following Luo Zheng was blurry and impossible to make out clearly.

"What is going on?" An impatient instructor immediately began shouting at Zhong Ming. The Bloodcolor Trials were entirely under Zhong Ming's responsibility. They wanted to switch to Luo Zheng's image, but could not see what they wanted, so naturally they had to question Zhong Ming.

"Zhong Ming, why can't we see this person's image? Where did something go wrong?" Several instructors were also growing anxious. Earlier, they could still observe Luo Zheng from other people's viewpoints, but now that Luo Zheng had run farther away, they naturally could no longer see him.

Zhong Ming was just as frustrated. Before the Bloodcolor Trials, he had inspected everything, from the Disciple Tokens to the several thousand phantom arrays scattered throughout Bloodcolor Mountain. It was practically impossible for anything to go wrong. Besides, nothing like this had happened in all his decades of service.

Why had a problem suddenly appeared today?

Looking at the image on the Trust Jade, only that kid's image was blurry. The problem had to be with him. That kid's Disciple Token... Wait.

Zhong Ming seemed to recall something. Before that kid had set out, Instructor Su had inspected his Disciple Token. He finally understood: Instructor Su had tampered with the Disciple Token.

Just as Zhong Ming was about to speak, he suddenly felt a chill surge up his spine. The bone-deep cold left him almost unable to move. He turned his head and saw Instructor Su staring at him with a frigid gaze.

It seemed that the moment he said anything, she would kill him on the spot!

Thus, Zhong Ming forcibly swallowed the words he wanted to say...

A layer of coldness shrouded Instructor Su's face. She was not actually afraid that Zhong Ming would reveal that she had tampered with the Disciple Token. What infuriated her was that Luo Zheng had clearly passed the checkpoint with ease—so why had he turned back to save someone?

It was precisely because he had saved someone that he had fallen into trouble. And now, all the instructors had seen Luo Zheng's performance. Instructor Su knew that a bitter struggle was probably unavoidable today. Although her identity was lofty and her position special, the instructors of the Thirty-Three Peaks had always been willing to disregard everything in their efforts to recruit an outstanding disciple.

Watching Luo Zheng's nimble figure running across the Trust Jade, Instructor Su helplessly shook her head. She had tried her best to recruit him into Little Rain Peak without making a fuss, but this boy was no oil-saving lamp. He was the sort who could not rest unless he stirred up some trouble.

Instructor Su lightly bit her silver teeth and said in a low voice, "You brat, just wait until I recruit you into Little Rain Peak. I'll show you how I'll torment you."