Grade A Two-Star Heavenly Soldier

As the Red-robed Woman fell dead, the Jade Token in Chen Fan's hand shimmered faintly. The red total showed 6,000 Immortal Qi, while the green number represented his personal total of 5,000 Immortal Qi. It had been a bountiful run through the trial.

Seeing the last of their opponents fall, the Green-robed Woman's eyes lit up again. She wanted to jump up and cheer, but realized she was still bound from head to toe by the Red-robed Woman's vines. She couldn't help looking toward Chen Fan, who had saved them.

Yet in her eyes, Chen Fan was no savior. She thought he had been hiding his strength, and that he should have ambushed their opponents from the start, waited until they had all gathered, then wiped them out with one strike and cleared the second layer.

"I wouldn't have lost the others if he hadn't hidden his strength. I wouldn't have been so badly frightened, either." Remembering how Li Tang and Liu San had captured her, the Green-robed Woman still felt a lingering fear. She took everything for granted, forgetting how she and the others had treated Chen Fan when he first arrived.

"You, hurry over here and untie these vines!" The Green-robed Woman blamed Chen Fan for everything she had suffered.

Chen Fan frowned slightly at her words. He looked up at her, slowly raised the long sword in his hand, and pointed it at the Green-robed Woman. "Hand over your Immortal Qi Jade Token."

His words left not only the Green-robed Woman, but also the Yellow-Robed Woman stunned. Was this guy robbing even his own side?

"Y-you... what did you say?" The Green-robed Woman looked at Chen Fan as if she'd heard something unbelievable. "We're on the same side. Why would you take my Immortal Qi Jade Token? The mission is over. We cleared the trial. Don't you understand?"

"This is my mission, not ours." Chen Fan's lips curled into a cold smile as he looked at her. "I'll say it one last time. Hand over your Immortal Qi Jade Token."

"Y-you idiot! Do you even understand what it means to be on the same side? They're the ones who were against us!" The Green-robed Woman pointed at the spot where Hong Yu had disappeared, both exasperated and incredulous.

"I only know that you don't deserve to be on my side." Chen Fan shook his head and replied indifferently. He had heard every word she'd said earlier, and now she dared to talk about being on the same side.

A sharp whistle split the air. Chen Fan's sword flashed past the Green-robed Woman, flicking the Jade Token from her waist and sending it into his hand. He hadn't killed her because doing so would have disgraced his sword—and because he didn't know the rules of the Heavenly Court. Killing her might cause some unforeseen trouble.

Watching Chen Fan take her Jade Token, the Green-robed Woman cursed like a mad dog with its tail stepped on. She knew that if she lost those 500 Immortal Qi, she wouldn't clear the trial even if she survived.

"You bastard! You idiot! Do you have any idea what you're doing? Do you know who I am in the Cultivation World? I'm an elite disciple of the Cloud Glow Sect..."

The Yellow-Robed Woman cast the Green-robed Woman a sympathetic glance. Her threats were utterly feeble. Besides, she had been the one to look down on Chen Fan first. Now that she was alive, she should have been grateful, but instead she was still cursing him.

When Chen Fan walked over to her and raised his sharp sword, the Yellow-Robed Woman took a deep breath. She took it in stride. Chen Fan had single-handedly dealt with all six of their opponents. Just surviving was already a blessing.

If Chen Fan hadn't appeared, they might have lost not only their Immortal Qi Jade Tokens, but their lives as well. Then they would have had to waste even more time recovering their Divine Souls. So she didn't mind giving Chen Fan her Immortal Qi Jade Token.

Chen Fan's sword flashed before her eyes. The dazzling white light made her narrow them involuntarily.

With a snap, the Yellow-Robed Woman suddenly felt her whole body grow light. The vines binding her had been cut. When she opened her eyes, Chen Fan had already turned and walked away, while the Jade Token at her waist remained untouched.

"Don't you want this Immortal Qi Jade Token?" the Yellow-Robed Woman asked.

But all she got in reply was silence. Chen Fan's figure blurred, turning into a dark shadow that vanished into the depths of the forest.

"You shameless woman." The Green-robed Woman had seen everything.

"What did you say?" the Yellow-Robed Woman asked coldly.

"I said you're shameless! You seduced that idiot with your looks. Why else wouldn't he take your Jade Token? You two make a perfect pair of dogs!" the Green-robed Woman cursed.

At her words, the Yellow-Robed Woman shook her head and gave a cold laugh. "He may not have killed you, but that doesn't mean I won't. You don't belong in this world."

With that, the Yellow-Robed Woman suddenly sent a Talisman flying from her hand. It transformed into a flying sword and pierced straight through the Green-robed Woman's chest...

"When did I, Su Ziyue, ever have to put up with this?" After giving the Green-robed Woman a cold glance, the Yellow-Robed Woman turned and left.

Meanwhile, Chen Fan picked up his pace and hurried deeper into the forest. He hadn't robbed the Yellow-Robed Woman because she had explained the rules of this place to him. That was his code: if someone showed him an inch of respect, he would return a foot.

With the White-robed Scholar and the others all dead, the mission wouldn't end until the three days were up. Chen Fan had no intention of wasting time. He headed straight for the forest's depths, planning to hunt high-ranked Monster Beasts and seize their Demon Cores.

In Lingxiao City, Demon Cores were precious resources. Because of its location, no high-ranked Monster Beasts appeared near the city. Anyone who wanted to venture out for experience had to use a Teleportation Array. The farther away the destination, the more Spirit Stones the array required, which put considerable pressure on Chen Fan.

Now that he was in a place so rich in resources, he naturally wasn't going to let the opportunity pass him by.

"Roar!"

After night fell, the roars of all kinds of Monster Beasts echoed from the depths of the forest...

The next day, Chen Fan was expelled from the Magic Array and returned to the Heavenly Court. With several Demon Cores tucked against his chest, he strolled out of the Two-Star Heavenly Soldier passage. The Jade Pendant on him shimmered faintly, revealing two copper stars. The number that had originally been 510 had now become 5,600 Immortal Qi.

Aside from the 500 Immortal Qi he'd started with, he'd gained a net total of 5,000 from the trial. It was a huge sum.

As he slowly left the passage, he saw a familiar figure pass in front of him. Chen Fan paused, surprised to see the Yellow-Robed Woman.

The Yellow-Robed Woman had clearly noticed him too. She immediately stopped, staring at Chen Fan in astonishment.

"So you're from Lingxiao City too," said Su Ziyue, the Yellow-Robed Woman, in surprise. She had never heard of such a fearsome sword cultivator appearing in Lingxiao City—apart from the Grade A One-Star Heavenly Soldier who had caused a sensation recently.

"Mm." Chen Fan nodded slightly.

"Wait. Could that Grade A One-Star Heavenly Soldier at the second Qi Refining layer be this man?" Su Ziyue's heart jolted. She eyed Chen Fan suspiciously, and the more she thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

"You're blocking my way." Chen Fan saw that the woman was standing in front of him, staring at him. It made him uncomfortable.

"My name is Su Ziyue. I'm from Ghost Domain City." Su Ziyue smiled gently at Chen Fan.

Chen Fan paused at her words. He knew that the Heavenly Court divided cultivators according to their region. For example, Lingxiao City gathered all the cultivators within a thousand li of Heavy Sword Peak. So the people they saw in Lingxiao City each day came from far more than just one part of the Cultivation World.

Within a thousand li of Heavy Sword Peak, several places were well known. One was the Mountain Moving Sect, which was as famous as Heavy Sword Peak; another was Ghost Domain City.

Residents of Heavy Sword City called Ghost Domain City the birthplace of the Demon Sect, since the Heaven Ghost Sect and the Earth Ghost Sect were both located there. Disciples of Heavy Sword Peak described Ghost Domain City as a Mortal Purgatory. They even claimed that its skies were overrun by demons and ghosts, and that the whole city had no daylight, only night. But in truth, these people had never been to Ghost Domain City.

Hearing that the Yellow-Robed Woman was from Ghost Domain City surprised Chen Fan a little. After all, most people wouldn't reveal their location in the Heavenly Court.

"Chen Fan." Chen Fan gave his name indifferently. As for which city he came from, he naturally wouldn't say. If the information fell into the wrong hands, he himself wouldn't care, but Chen Jingjing and the others might get into trouble.

Su Ziyue showed little reaction, as if she had expected Chen Fan wouldn't tell her where he was from.

"Thank you for the second-layer trial." She smiled gently, gave Chen Fan a lingering look, then moved aside to let him pass.

"Don't mention it." Chen Fan shook his head slightly and walked toward Heavenly Court Hall.

Watching Chen Fan walk away once more, Su Ziyue's beautiful eyes lingered on him. A smile touched her lips as she softly murmured, "Chen Fan."

After leaving the passage and returning to Heavenly Court Hall, Chen Fan stopped again. A commotion had suddenly erupted in front of a huge stone. In the next moment, countless people surged toward it, and waves of astonished exclamations rang through the crowd. Before long, the entire hall was packed.

"A monster! Another monster has appeared! A Grade A Two-Star Heavenly Soldier at the fourth Qi Refining layer? How is that possible?"

"No, look! He has two Grade A ratings. This is the same guy who was at the second Qi Refining layer before, the Grade A One-Star Heavenly Soldier!"

"Who is this person? He's a complete monster! With talent that reaches the heavens, even Foundation Establishment experts from other immortal cities will probably be alarmed and come running."

"If he can become the disciple of a Foundation Establishment expert, he'll surely have a chance to achieve Foundation Establishment in the future."

"I think someone with his talent will manage Foundation Establishment even if no Foundation Establishment expert takes him as a disciple."

"You're overstating it. He may have broken two records in a row, but throughout history, there have been plenty of young geniuses who displayed astonishing talent during the Qi Refining Realm, only to get stuck at the ninth Qi Refining layer for the rest of their lives, never able to enter the Foundation Establishment Realm."

"But this man's talent far surpasses those who came before him."

"It's useless. These so-called geniuses use up their potential too early. They'll never go far. Some cultivators, on the other hand, build up their strength before they reveal it..."

The crowd gathered around the Heavenly Soldier Ranking and excitedly discussed the matter, but Chen Fan, the main character in this whole affair, didn't care in the slightest. The only thing he noted was that the Heavenly Soldier Ranking recorded the realm he had been in before the assessment, not the realm he reached after clearing the trial.

This time, however, he had received a Grade A rating without getting any reward at all. To him, the Heavenly Soldier Ranking had suddenly become completely meaningless.

He walked into a corner and silently recited the Incantation the Green-feathered Bird had taught him. In the next moment, he appeared in his Immortal Cave. He sat cross-legged in the medicinal field, absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth as he slowly entered a state of cultivation. Compared with the dark Immortal Cave, he preferred this medicinal field, where he could see both sky and earth.

After maintaining his cultivation state for a while, Chen Fan left the Heavenly Court again. He remembered that today he still had to go with Chen Jingjing to Heavy Sword Peak and make Elder Li return the Chen family's inheritance.