Fired Up

The girl was named Shui Qingyan, and she came from the Weishui Tribe, one of the three thousand tribes of the Great Wilderness. The Weishui River had many shoals and mudflats, so the Weishui Tribe was known as the Shuitu Clan, and its people often used Shui as their surname.

Zhong Yue and Shui Qingyan had known each other for a long time. Last year, when Zhong Yue returned home, he had crossed the Great Wilderness alone, traveling from the Zhongshan Tribe to the Holy Land, Sword Gate. Along the way, he had encountered Shui Qingyan by chance.

Shui Qingyan's parents held a lofty position within the Shuitu Clan, and more than ten adult hunters had escorted her to Sword Gate. Unfortunately, they were attacked by a beast tide along the way. In the end, only Shui Qingyan remained alive. Just as the girl was about to die beneath the beasts' fangs, Zhong Yue saved her.

The scar on Zhong Yue's left arm had been left when a vicious beast bit him while he was saving Shui Qingyan.

Zhong Yue had escorted her to Sword Gate, and because of that experience, Shui Qingyan called him Brother Yue with great intimacy.

"Qingyan, you've already achieved Soul Egress?"

Zhong Yue was startled and said incredulously, "You've only been cultivating for a year..."

At that point, Zhong Yue suddenly fell silent, because he thought of himself. Shui Qingyan's cultivation speed was already astonishingly fast. She had entered Sword Gate only a year ago, yet she was already capable of Soul Egress and entering Azure Sky Hall for the examination. Compared to the many Outer Disciples, her speed could simply be called divine!

But compared to her, Zhong Yue had cultivated the Fire Epoch Palace Suihuang Visualization taught by the Kindling Child, and had achieved Soul Egress after only a few hours. If word of such speed got out, surely no one would believe it!

Of course, Zhong Yue had already cultivated for several years in the past. Now that he had broken through to the Soul Egress realm, among the tens of thousands of Outer Disciples, he could only be considered above average. He would not attract much attention.

The two had already entered Azure Sky Hall. Only then did they see that the hall truly deserved the name "Azure Sky."

Beneath their feet was an invisible barrier. Below that barrier stretched an expanse of sky ten thousand zhang high, with magnificent mountains rolling one after another. Almost the entire hundred-thousand-li Great Wilderness could be seen at a glance!

White clouds drifted beneath their feet. Looking out, he could see the Great Wilderness's strange scenery: snow-covered mountains, giant trees stretching across hundreds or even thousands of li, roaring rivers surging onward, and lotuses so enormous they defied belief. It was all incomparably magnificent.

Above their heads hung a blazing sun, along with a bright moon. It was as if the sun, moon, and stars were countless times closer to him than before.

At that moment, more than ten people were already gathered inside Azure Sky Hall before a high platform. The platform was a hundred zhang across, and a Sword Gate stood upright at its center, shaped like a sword.

A fierce battle was raging on the platform. A boy of fifteen or sixteen was fighting an entirely black Other Demon.

The Other Demon's arms resembled a mantis's forelegs, while its legs bent backward. It moved with astonishing speed, coming and going like the wind. On the platform, it transformed into a black shadow that whirled around the boy, its two arms like a pair of sickles, hacking at him without pause!

The boy could only fend left and right as fresh blood constantly flowed from his body. From time to time, the Other Demon struck him, leaving him in grave danger!

An invisible restraint surrounded the platform and sealed it off. The Other Demon could not escape, and by nature it was bloodthirsty, so it attacked the boy on the platform with all its might.

On the other side of the platform, several white-robed examiners sat quietly, waiting for the battle to end.

"This Other Demon is a low-level demon race raised by Sword Gate for examinations. It's fast, strong, and its arms are like blades. In close combat, defeat is certain."

Below the platform, several Outer Disciples dressed in splendid clothing were clearly disciples from great clans. They had a deep understanding of Other Demons and discussed among themselves, "But the Other Demon's weakness is also tremendous: its soul is extremely weak! During the fight, all you need to do is perform Soul Egress, charge into the Other Demon's sea of consciousness, visualize Sword Gate, and slash with sword qi. You can then shatter its soul and win naturally!"

"That sounds simple, but doing it is difficult."

Another person shook his head. "The Other Demon attacks incredibly fast and is immensely strong. If you fight it in close combat, you'll suffer a crushing defeat! But if you perform Soul Egress and its arm strikes your soul, you'll be killed instantly! The disciple just now had his soul struck by the Other Demon while performing Soul Egress. His soul scattered on the spot, and even the Azure Sky Hall examiner had no time to save him! You must seize that fleeting opportunity, send your soul into its sea of consciousness, and slash its soul with a sword!"

"That's right. This Other Demon is far too fast, and its strength is much greater than an ordinary person's. It can't be defeated by force. You can only win through wit!"

The examination in Azure Sky Hall tested both Soul Egress and battle awareness. Neither could be lacking!

Zhong Yue frowned slightly, a look of confusion appearing on his face. "This Other Demon doesn't seem that fast, and its strength doesn't seem greater than mine either. Why does everyone say it can't be defeated by force?"

In his eyes, the Other Demon's speed was not especially fast. The force behind the sickle-like arms as they swung down did not seem particularly heavy either. He could clearly catch every one of its movements, while every limb and bone in his body seemed eager to move. It was very strange.

What he did not know was that his spirit had grown several times stronger than before. The Other Demon, whose speed was too fast for others to catch, did not seem so astonishing in his eyes. At most, it could be called ordinary.

This was the marvel of a powerful spirit!

Shui Qingyan took the small Totem God Pillar off her back. Her eyes shone as she whispered, "The Shuitu Clan has senior experts in Sword Gate. One of them gave me this Totem Pillar, so my cultivation progressed extremely quickly. Brother Yue, this examination is very dangerous. Later, take my Totem Pillar into the examination. Once you pass, give the Totem Pillar back to me. That way, both of us can pass."

Zhong Yue was rather tempted. He raised his head and glanced at the Other Demon on the platform again before shaking his head. "No need. I want to try it myself."

On the platform, the boy was covered in wounds, yet he still gritted his teeth and held on.

Suddenly, a white-robed examiner pointed a finger. The Other Demon exploded with a bang and died on the spot. The examiner remained expressionless as he said to the boy, "You no longer have the strength to fight. Get down. Next, Junshan Tribe, Junshan Clan's Jun Shaofei."

Another boy climbed onto the platform. He was clearly from a great clan. As soon as he reached the platform, he planted the Totem God Pillar in his hand into the ground. Strange patterns on the Totem God Pillar gradually lit up, bursting outward in dazzling streams of patterns.

The Sword Gate on the platform opened with a rumble. A black shadow shot out of it with a howl and charged straight at Jun Shaofei. Its arms were like sickles, and in the blink of an eye it reached within three feet of Jun Shaofei. In the next moment, it could chop off his head, leaving him no time to react!

Suddenly, the Other Demon's speed slowed sharply, falling half a beat behind. Although it remained extremely fast, it was no longer impossible to catch with the naked eye.

"The Totem God Pillar truly is wondrous."

Zhong Yue's eyes lit up. He praised it, filled with curiosity about the Totem God Pillar. "Qi Practitioners use spirit to refine Totem God Pillars. I wonder how they refine them?"

Although the Other Demon had slowed down, it was still very fast for Jun Shaofei. The battle lasted for the time it took an incense stick to burn before Jun Shaofei finally seized an opportunity. His soul shot out and entered the Other Demon's skull. He slashed its soul with a sword and finally won!

As time passed, one boy and girl after another climbed onto the platform, while Other Demons continued to surge from the Sword Gate. Some of these youths did not last even a single exchange before the Other Demons chopped off their limbs and the examiners rescued them. Others fought bitterly, but still failed to hold on.

Only two youths carrying Totem God Pillars had barely won with the help of their pillars. As for the Outer Disciples from humble backgrounds, not one of them had managed to win.

Soon, it was Zhong Yue's turn. Shui Qingyan could not help looking worried. She removed the Totem God Pillar from her back and whispered, "Brother Yue, you should use my Totem Pillar after all..."

Zhong Yue's gaze grew brighter and brighter. He shook his head. "No!"

The battle on the platform ended. A white-robed old man glanced at the register without even raising his brows. "Zhongshan Tribe, Zhongshan Clan, Zhong Yue!"

"This disciple is here!"

Zhong Yue answered and climbed onto the platform. He drew a long breath, his gaze fixed tightly on the Sword Gate atop the platform.

Below the platform, many Outer Disciples looked up. The youth was thin and gaunt, his clothes tattered, with a large medicine basket on his back. He did not look like he had come to take an examination at all. He looked more like someone who had come to gather medicinal herbs.

Laughter immediately rose from below the platform. Someone chuckled softly, "A disciple from a humble background should know better than to come up here and embarrass himself..."

Before the voice had even faded, a rumble rang out. Driven by a white-robed examiner, the Sword Gate opened. The soul-shaking roar of an Other Demon came from within, and a black shadow shot out like a sword, charging straight at Zhong Yue. Its two sickle-like arms flashed across the platform like strips of silk, carving two streaks of blade light through the air!

The two streaks of blade light chopped down at Zhong Yue, one after the other!

"Dragon Coiling Technique!"

Zhong Yue roared, his voice exploding like spring thunder. At that moment, a deep dragon's roar seemed to echo through Azure Sky Hall. Someone seemed to see a vicious, fearsome dragon faintly appear around Zhong Yue's body, coiling around him!

The Other Demon's two streaks of blade light came crashing down. At the same time, a soft pfft rang out, blood splashed, and a black shadow soared high into the air. With a rumble, it slammed into the invisible restraint around the platform, then fell to the ground and lay motionless!

Only one figure remained standing on the platform.

Silence descended below.

One white-robed examiner after another raised his head and stared at the platform in disbelief. The Other Demon's corpse lay at the edge of the platform. Its ribs had been shattered by a fist, and the broken bones had pierced its heart. It was already dead.

"He killed the Other Demon with his fists instead of using his soul..."

An examiner looked dazed and murmured, "Senior Brothers, does this count as passing the examination?"

The other examiners looked at one another. Since taking charge of Azure Sky Hall, they had encountered such a situation for the first time!

Killing an Other Demon that was terrifyingly fast and immensely strong with bare hands was easy for a Qi Practitioner, but for an Outer Disciple, it was simply impossible!

And now, this Other Demon had been killed by a single punch from Zhong Yue, leaving all of them somewhat frantic!

Just now, they had all been careless and unconcerned. Now, however, they had been jolted fully awake by the shock. Yet as for how to judge this examination, none of them had any idea.