Eating the Great Locust Tree

(The plot couldn't be separated, so two chapters have been combined. 5,700 words. That's all for today's update.)

"Your age?"

Zhang Yuxian looked at the first person, a slightly short, sturdy-built big man. The people in the Warrior Reserve Camp were basically all muscular, with dark skin.

This man held a fairly high position in the Lian Clan. Even in the Warrior Reserve Camp, he was one of the strongest. He felt deeply honored to be the first person examined by Zhang Yuxian and had been impatiently waiting for it.

"My lord, I'm twenty-six this year. I can lift a four-hundred-pound stone mill in one go. I'm not bragging—it's so heavy, but I can raise it four or five times in a single breath as easily as playing. My lord, would you like to come and see? There's a stone mill by the village. I'll lift it for you!"

The big man introduced himself with complete confidence. Zhang Yuxian paid no attention to his boasting. He merely placed a hand on the man's shoulder and slowly infused him with Yuan Qi.

A mighty expert who had reached the Heavenly Eye realm could see through a person's flesh, meridians, and bones at a glance, thereby determining whether they were suited to martial arts.

But Zhang Yuxian had not reached that realm. Thus, his method of choosing people was to infuse a small amount of Yuan Qi into their bodies and observe how well their bodies absorbed it.

Those who absorbed it well had good natural endowments. Those who absorbed it poorly naturally had poor ones.

After probing him briefly, Zhang Yuxian was speechless. The Yuan Qi he had just infused into the man's body had been absorbed by less than ten percent—only about seven or eight percent.

This kind of talent was truly hopeless.

"Do you think that being able to lift a stone mill means you can defeat an enemy?" Zhang Yuxian glanced at the big man. "Your natural endowments are extremely ordinary. You aren't suited to martial arts."

Zhang Yuxian's words poured down like a basin of cold water. The big man, who had been swaggering moments ago, instantly went blank.

Not suited to martial arts? How could I possibly not be suited to martial arts?

The big man felt indignant, but when he met Zhang Yuxian's icy gaze, he wilted at once, like a defeated rooster.

I've been stronger than people my age since I was little. After growing up, I could even lift a stone mill weighing more than four hundred pounds. If I'm not suited to martial arts, could I lift something that heavy?

The big man grumbled inwardly. He had practiced martial arts for so many years, yet Zhang Yuxian had said he was unsuitable for it, effectively denying all his past efforts.

Of course, he only thought this in his heart. He had no courage to talk back to Zhang Yuxian.

"Stand here for now." Zhang Yuxian did not send the big man packing immediately. Instead, he told him to wait for a while.

Zhang Yuxian understood that coming to the Great Wilderness to choose people required him to be mentally prepared. The people here had grown up in an environment starved of resources, making it very difficult for experts to emerge.

When a clan reproduced generation after generation without any experts, it was naturally difficult for geniuses to appear.

However, very soon, Zhang Yuxian discovered that he had still underestimated the Great Wilderness's barrenness. He also learned what it meant for there to be no worst, only worse.

As he continued examining people, that boastful big man from earlier counted as one of the better ones. Those who came afterward often absorbed only six or seven percent of the energy, or even four or five percent.

It was simply tragic.

Zhang Yuxian had no choice but to lower his standards again and again. In the end, he decided that anyone with an energy absorption rate above six percent could stay.

"You... are passable, I suppose."

Zhang Yuxian looked helplessly at a burly man. He could only use the word "passable."

After examining people all this way, his elimination rate had reached fifty percent.

There were only a little over forty Warrior Reserve Camp members who met the age requirement. With so many eliminated, barely more than twenty would remain, clearly falling short of the standard of thirty people.

"Lord Zhang is truly strict. The soldiers from the Warrior Reserve Camp are so formidable, yet he still eliminated half of them."

"Luckily we didn't go up there. Otherwise, we would've made fools of ourselves."

The First-class Males who had felt eager to try after seeing Yi Yun register were now feeling somewhat fortunate.

With this kind of elimination process, what sort of talent did one need to pass?

Moreover, they could see that Zhang Yuxian was not actually satisfied with those who passed, either. There was simply no one else to choose, so he had been forced to pick the best among the mediocre.

Once they realized this, everyone admired Lian Chengyu even more.

Only Lian Chengyu had won the assessment of "extremely good."

"Yun'er..." Sister Xiaorou twisted her little hands together and watched Yi Yun worriedly. She knew that Yi Yun had been secretly practicing martial arts these past few days, but Jiang Xiaorou could never believe that his strength had improved to the level of the Warrior Reserve Camp members.

Zhang Yuxian did not even think highly of those Warrior Reserve Camp members. How could he possibly choose Yi Yun?

Now, Jiang Xiaorou was still standing in the middle of the square, in an extremely awkward position. With everyone watching, her younger brother was still among the candidates. She could neither retreat nor continue standing there.

Yi Yun noticed the worry in Jiang Xiaorou's eyes. His lips moved slightly as he said, "Sister Xiaorou, don't worry. I'll be fine."

When Zhao Tiezhu heard Yi Yun, he burst out laughing. "What a load of crap! I could grab any mutt off the street and it'd be stronger than you. Even if Lord Zhang chose a dog as his disciple, he still wouldn't choose you!"

Faced with the sneering sarcasm, Yi Yun merely glanced coldly at Zhao Tiezhu and said indifferently, "You should worry about yourself. As for me, you don't need to bother."

"Oh? Kid, you're getting cocky now, talking to me like that! If you actually get chosen today, I'll pull up the great locust tree at the village entrance and eat it roots, leaves, and all."

Zhao Tiezhu burst into laughter as he spoke. At that moment, another Warrior Reserve Camp member beside him laughed and chimed in, "Then I'll eat the big stone mill at the village entrance!"

"Haha, you two are really hilarious. Then I'll join in too and drink all the water in East River."

The Warrior Reserve Camp members all joined in the uproar.

Yi Yun looked helplessly at them and shrugged. "Whatever."

By then, Zhang Yuxian had reached Zhao Tiezhu. Zhao Tiezhu immediately reined in his laughter and stood ramrod straight.

Zhang Yuxian pressed his hand against Zhao Tiezhu and said indifferently, "Twenty-eight?"

Zhao Tiezhu hurriedly replied, "Your lordship has a discerning eye. My bone age is indeed twenty-eight."

Zhang Yuxian frowned. Clearly, Zhao Tiezhu did not satisfy him either. But after counting the number of people who had passed, he found it far too low and could only reluctantly say, "You barely meet the minimum standard. Stay and make up the numbers."

Zhang Yuxian increasingly felt that holding the Divine Kingdom Grand Selection in Yunhuang was a thankless, exhausting task.

Zhao Tiezhu let out a long breath and clenched his fists. "Wonderful! I passed!"

He was wildly excited, and he shot Yi Yun a provocative glance. So what if I only barely met the minimum? I passed, didn't I?

I'm about to follow the Emissary Lord and learn martial arts. Once I rise to greatness, marry three wives and four concubines, and reach the peak of my life, how could a peasant like you compare with me?

At that moment, Zhang Yuxian walked toward Yi Yun.

Everyone's eyes focused on Yi Yun.

Lian Chengyu sneered. Let's see how you get out of this one!

He had only just thought this when another thought occurred to him. Yi Yun was simply a brain-damaged idiot. No matter how much of a fool he made of himself, he would not care.

Did one even need to worry about how an idiot would end up? It was normal for him to make a joke of himself. Perhaps if others laughed at him, he would even think they were praising him.

Lian Chengyu felt speechless at the thought. This was the so-called principle that one could never defeat a pure idiot. To defeat him, one first had to lower one's intelligence to the same level as his—and by then, one would be defeated by his incomparably rich experience.

"You're Yi Yun, right?" Zhang Yuxian walked up to Yi Yun.

"Yes, my lord!"

"You've really never practiced martial arts?"

Zhang Yuxian looked at Yi Yun thoughtfully. His cultivation was only at the Purple Blood Realm, so he could not sense Yi Yun's exact cultivation level. However, he felt a hidden aura coming from Yi Yun.

Its sharp edge was contained within, hidden and not yet released!

"I've practiced a little." Yi Yun carefully chose his words. Secretly learning counted as practicing martial arts, too.

"My lord, this kid is lying!" Zhao Tiezhu reported from the side. "I can testify that this kid has never practiced martial arts!"

Yi Yun looked at Zhao Tiezhu as if he were an idiot. "How do you know whether I've practiced martial arts? I've passed the clan training ground countless times. When Instructor Yao taught martial arts, I practiced along with him."

Yi Yun openly admitted that he had practiced martial arts. This was so that one day, when he displayed his true strength, he would have a reasonable explanation. People would then think he was a heaven-gifted genius, reducing the risk of exposing the Purple Crystal.

Otherwise, there would be no way to explain where his martial skills had come from.

"Secretly learning martial arts?"

After hearing Yi Yun's words, not only Zhao Tiezhu but the other Warrior Reserve Camp members nearly burst out laughing as well. They merely did not dare to be too reckless in front of Zhang Yuxian.

At that moment, no one bothered to pursue Yi Yun's crime of secretly learning martial arts.

One of the Warrior Reserve Camp members said, "Instructor Yao's 'Dragon Marrow Tiger Bones Fist' is broad and profound. We couldn't understand it even by learning every move and stance from him. You, a foolish little brat without the strength to truss a chicken, and learning it in secret at that—what the hell could you have learned?"

Yi Yun could not be bothered to argue. It was enough to leave everyone with the impression that he was learning martial arts. When he suddenly revealed his strength later, he would have a foundation and buffer.

Zhang Yuxian murmured and placed his hand on Yi Yun's shoulder, slowly infusing him with Yuan Qi.

In truth, Zhang Yuxian had not held out much hope. He merely admired Yi Yun's courage. It was not easy for a child to step forward under those circumstances. Of course, admiration was one thing. Martial arts could not be mastered through courage alone.

However, when the Yuan Qi Zhang Yuxian released entered Yi Yun's body and made a circuit, Zhang Yuxian was just waiting to withdraw it and see how much had been absorbed when...

He suddenly discovered that his Yuan Qi had vanished into the sea like a mud cow, leaving not the slightest trace!

"What...?"

Zhang Yuxian's eyes widened. How could this be?

His brows twitched repeatedly. Unwilling to believe what had just happened, he infused another stream of Yuan Qi into Yi Yun's body.

Once this stream of Yuan Qi entered Yi Yun's meridians, it was swept into Yi Yun's heart like a long whale sucking in water and absorbed by the Purple Crystal, without a single drop remaining.

"You..."

Zhang Yuxian was stunned. The Yuan Qi he had infused into Yi Yun's body had been absorbed completely, without a trace left behind!?

Seeing Zhang Yuxian's eyebrows twitching nonstop, Lian Chengyu did not know whether Zhang Yuxian had been angered. He walked over to Zhang Yuxian with a dark expression.

Lian Chengyu could imagine it. Zhang Yuxian had come to inspect the Lian Clan, only to find an oddity like Yi Yun among its people.

Although he regarded the lives of the Lian Clan members as worthless as grass, in front of outsiders, Lian Chengyu could not tolerate the Lian Clan embarrassing him and causing others to look down on him.

Lian Chengyu forced a smile and said, "Emissary Lord, the welcoming banquet is ready. Shall we eat first?"

Lian Chengyu wanted to divert Zhang Yuxian's attention and quickly put Yi Yun's matter behind them. But just then, Zhang Yuxian suddenly grabbed Yi Yun by both shoulders.

He looked Yi Yun up and down, examining him carefully.

A poor little clan in the Great Wilderness could actually produce such a talent?

What was even rarer was that this young man possessed a firm and courageous heart in the martial path. His ability to step forward in front of everyone had already proven his courage.

Furthermore, the aura hidden within the young man, unreleased but present, made Zhang Yuxian's eyes light up.

"You're very good—extremely good! I never expected that I could discover a piece of uncarved jade like you even after coming to a small clan in the Great Wilderness."

Zhang Yuxian did not stint on his praise. His booming voice carried a long way.

Huh?

Beside Yi Yun, Zhao Tiezhu had already been preparing to heap ridicule on Yi Yun the moment he was rejected. He suddenly widened his eyes, his expression like that of a rooster about to crow, only to have its neck suddenly clamped shut.

What had Lord Zhang just said? I didn't hear wrong, did I?

Beside Zhao Tiezhu, Lian Chengyu had been urging Zhang Yuxian to go eat. He was stunned as well, completely unable to react.

The people on the outer edge, who could not see what was happening inside, still had no idea what had occurred. But when they heard Zhang Yuxian suddenly praising someone, they immediately became interested.

"Who? Who received such high praise?"

Some people on the outer edge jumped up and craned their necks to look inside.

"You have a Flawless Physique. Even if it's only a low-grade Purple Blood Flawless Physique, it's still extremely good! In a great lineage, you would be taken seriously!"

A Flawless Physique?

What was a Flawless Physique? No one, including Lian Chengyu, had ever heard the term.

But that did not stop them from understanding Zhang Yuxian's attitude.

"Extremely good," "uncarved jade," "taken seriously in a great lineage"!

Even Zhao Tiezhu, who was not particularly bright, could tell that Zhang Yuxian's evaluation of Yi Yun seemed to surpass Lian Chengyu's!

How was that possible? Zhao Tiezhu's expression became extraordinarily vivid, as if he had eaten a pound of feces.

The other Warrior Reserve Camp members were all dumbstruck as well, their mouths hanging open for a long time.

"My brother..."

Sister Xiaorou blinked her limpid, lively eyes. Of everyone there, she was the one who most hoped that Yi Yun would make something of himself. But happiness had come too suddenly, to the point that she scarcely dared believe it.

She had watched Yi Yun grow from a little boy in split-crotch pants to the person he was now. She had never noticed any talent in him. Could what Zhang Yuxian had said really be true?

Jiang Xiaorou found it too incredible. It seemed that even the evaluation Lian Chengyu had received could not compare with that of her own younger brother.

"This kid is a martial arts prodigy? How is that possible!"

Lian Chengyu clenched his fists tightly. He could not accept this.

Zhang Yuxian clearly favored Yi Yun even more!

All this time, Lian Chengyu had been the number-one genius of the Lian Clan. How could he tolerate anyone surpassing him?

And the other person was merely a little slave!

"Um... Emissary Lord, you say this kid is a martial arts prodigy? Could you have made a mistake...?" Everyone doubted Zhang Yuxian's words. In the end, Zhao Tiezhu was the first to lose his composure and asked in a daze.

Zhang Yuxian's expression darkened at once, and his voice turned cold. "You doubt me?"

"Uh..." Zhao Tiezhu jumped in fright and shook his head like a rattle drum. "I wouldn't dare. I wouldn't dare, my lord."

Zhang Yuxian glanced coldly at Zhao Tiezhu and said, "My time is limited. Half an hour from now, those selected will gather here. I'll teach you martial arts, but only for three days!"

After saying this, Zhang Yuxian swept his sleeve and left, apparently no longer interested even in the welcoming banquet.

Zhao Tiezhu, Lian Chengyu, and the other Warrior Reserve Camp members were left staring at one another, completely at a loss.

They all looked at Yi Yun as if he were a monster, unable to accept reality!

Yi Yun had passed the preliminary selection and even received such high praise. How could this be?

"Yun'er!" Seeing the murderous looks Lian Chengyu and the others were giving Yi Yun, as if they wanted to swallow him whole, Jiang Xiaorou felt uneasy and hurriedly pulled Yi Yun to her side.

"I don't believe it! I don't believe it! That lord said I wasn't suited to martial arts, then said that kid was some kind of jade and some kind of physique. I can lift a four-hundred-pound stone mill, while that kid can't even hold on to a chicken. How could I be inferior to him?"

The short, sturdy man from before suddenly shouted.

His words immediately won the support of many people.

"He actually said I'm inferior to that brat? I don't believe it either!"

"That little bastard just got lucky!"

The people from the Warrior Reserve Camp had originally been brimming with confidence, but Zhang Yuxian had battered them completely in a single preliminary selection. Only Yi Yun, who did not even possess the strength to truss a chicken, had received high praise.

How could they possibly accept that?

At that moment, Zhao Tiezhu walked over to Yi Yun's side and said with a snort, "Kid, don't get cocky. Lord Zhang doesn't know what's going on with you, but do you think we don't? You've been weak and sickly since you were little, looking like a scrawny chick. You couldn't even lift a fifty-pound stone lock, and you could fall to your death while gathering herbs. A person like you is a martial arts prodigy? Bah!"

What Zhao Tiezhu said was actually true. Children in the village around Yi Yun's age could already lift a fifty-pound stone lock, whereas only a few months ago, Yi Yun had barely been able to lift thirty pounds.

Yi Yun himself had not expected to receive the evaluation of a "Flawless Physique."

Relying on the Purple Crystal and his keen perception after breaking through to the Meridian Realm, Yi Yun had already guessed what Zhang Yuxian had been doing. He had been testing his talent by infusing him with energy.

All that energy had been absorbed by the Purple Crystal, resulting in Zhang Yuxian's misunderstanding.

In truth, if one were talking about talent, this body's talent was truly ordinary. How could it possess a Flawless Physique?

A genuine martial arts prodigy could not have a constitution as poor as Yi Yun's. If the body's affinity for energy were truly high, then merely absorbing the surrounding energy imperceptibly through the flesh would already make a person strong and robust.

Could one expect a child who had grown up in the Great Wilderness, unable even to eat his fill, to be a genius?

Of course, understanding this was one thing. Yi Yun still intended to accept the title of genius.

Otherwise, when his strength was exposed in the future, what would he use to explain it?

Thus, Yi Yun gave Zhao Tiezhu a half-smiling glance.

When Zhao Tiezhu saw Yi Yun looking over, he glared back disdainfully. "What? Not convinced? If you're not convinced, compare yourself with me. I can kill you with one finger. If you make me use even one more hair, you win!"

Zhao Tiezhu was furious as well and wanted to teach Yi Yun a lesson.

Yet Yi Yun merely said flatly, "Uncle Tiezhu, may I ask whether you've finished eating your locust tree?"

One sentence—a fatal blow!

The mocking words Zhao Tiezhu had prepared instantly caught in his throat. His eyes bulged like dead fish dried on the ground, and he could not utter a word.

"What about the brave warrior just now... who wanted to eat a stone mill?"

"Mm... and there was also someone who wanted to drink all the water in the East River."

Yi Yun gave a foolish grin. His frame was small, and his face still carried a childish innocence, making him look completely harmless.

Yet the words that came out of his mouth packed a ton of destructive power.

The members of the Warrior Reserve Camp hurriedly distanced themselves from the matter, denying that they had been the ones to say it. In front of so many tribesmen, having their own words slapped back in their faces the moment they had spoken them was a humiliation they could not afford.

"Brave warriors, I still need to rest for a while before preparing to learn martial arts under Lord Zhang. By the way, Young Master Lian, since I'm going to practice martial arts, I'd like to ask for a few days off from tempering my Wilderness Bones. I wonder if that would be all right."

Yi Yun looked as though he was sincerely asking for permission. Lian Chengyu's face had gone completely dark. Did he dare refuse the leave?

"Of course. Learning martial arts comes first." After saying this, Lian Chengyu felt as if his intestines had twisted themselves into a knot.