Grade A Two-Star Heavenly Soldier

As the red-robed woman fell dead, the jade token in Chen Fan's hand flickered faintly. The red total Immortal Qi read 6000, while the green number represented his personal 5000 points of Immortal Qi—this was a bountiful harvest of a trial.

Seeing the last opponent fall, the green-robed woman's eyes lit up again. She wanted to leap up and cheer, but found herself still bound by the red-robed woman's vines, and couldn't help but look at Chen Fan, who had saved them.

But in her eyes, Chen Fan was no savior. What she thought was that Chen Fan had hidden his strength. She felt he should have ambushed the opponents from the start, waited for them all to gather, then wiped them out in one strike to clear the second floor.

"If he hadn't hidden his strength, the others wouldn't have died. If he hadn't hidden his strength, I wouldn't have been so terrified." Remembering being caught by Li Tang and Liu San, the green-robed woman still shuddered. She took everything for granted, forgetting how they had treated Chen Fan when he first arrived.

"You! Aren't you coming over to untie these vines?" The green-robed woman blamed Chen Fan for all her suffering.

Chen Fan frowned slightly, looked up at her, slowly raised the longsword in his hand, pointed it at the green-robed woman, and said coldly, "Hand over the Immortal Qi jade token."

As his words fell, not only the green-robed woman but also the yellow-robed woman was stunned! This guy was even robbing his own allies?

"You... what did you say?" The green-robed woman acted as if she had heard something unbelievable, looking at Chen Fan with a ridiculous expression. "We're on the same side. What are you taking my Immortal Qi jade token for? The mission is over, the trial is cleared—don't you understand?"

"This is my mission, not ours." A cold smile curled at the corner of Chen Fan's mouth as he looked at the green-robed woman. "I'll say it one last time. Hand over the Immortal Qi jade token."

"You... are you an idiot? Do you even understand factions? They were our enemies." The green-robed woman pointed at where Hong Yu had disappeared, laughing bitterly.

"I only know you're not worthy to be on my side." Chen Fan shook his head indifferently. He had heard every word the green-robed woman said earlier, and now she dared to talk about factions in front of him.

A sharp "whoosh" cut through the air. Chen Fan's sword light swept past the green-robed woman's face, flicking the jade token from her waist into his hand. He didn't kill her—that would have dishonored his sword, and also because he didn't know the rules of the Heavenly Court. Killing her might bring unforeseen consequences.

Watching Chen Fan take her jade token, the green-robed woman cursed like a mad dog whose tail had been stepped on. She knew that without those 500 Immortal Qi points, even if she survived, she couldn't clear the trial.

"You bastard, you idiot! Do you know 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 looked at the green-robed woman with sympathy. Such threats were utterly feeble. Besides, she had been the one to look down on Chen Fan from the start. Now that she was alive, she couldn't be satisfied and still hurled abuse.

When Chen Fan walked up to her and raised his sword, the yellow-robed woman took a deep breath. She was quite open-minded about it. Chen Fan had indeed single-handedly taken down all six opponents. For them to survive was already a stroke of luck.

If Chen Fan hadn't appeared, they might have lost not only their Immortal Qi jade tokens but also their lives, and would have wasted extra time recovering their Divine Souls. So giving the jade token to Chen Fan didn't bother her.

Chen Fan's sword light flashed before her eyes, the blinding white glare making her squint.

With a "snap," the yellow-robed woman suddenly felt her whole body lighten. The vines binding her had been cut. When she opened her eyes, Chen Fan had already turned and walked away, and the jade token at her waist was still intact.

"You don't want this Immortal Qi jade token?" the yellow-robed woman asked.

But the only response was silence. Chen Fan's figure blurred slightly, dissolving into a black shadow that vanished into the depths of the forest.

"Shameless." The green-robed woman naturally saw everything.

"What did you say?" the yellow-robed woman said coldly.

"I said you're shameless, using your looks to seduce that fool. Why else wouldn't he take your token? A pair of dogs and bitches." The green-robed woman cursed.

The yellow-robed woman shook her head and gave a cold smile. "He didn't kill you, but that doesn't mean I won't. You simply don't belong in this world."

With that, the yellow-robed woman suddenly struck out with a Talisman, which transformed into a flying sword and instantly pierced the green-robed woman's chest...

"When did I, Su Ziyue, ever need to swallow such insults?" The yellow-robed woman gave the green-robed woman a cold glance, then turned and left.

Meanwhile, Chen Fan quickened his pace, heading deeper into the forest. He hadn't taken the yellow-robed woman's token because she had explained the rules of this place to him. That was his principle: respect those who respect you.

Now that the white-robed scholar and the others were all slain by him, this mission would only end when the three days were up. So Chen Fan didn't intend to waste time. He headed straight for the depths of the forest, planning to kill high-grade Monster Beasts and seize their Demon Cores.

In Lingxiao City, Demon Cores were a rare and valuable resource. Due to its geographical location, no high-grade Monster Beasts appeared near Lingxiao City. To go out and train, one had to use a Teleportation Array, but the longer the destination, the more Spirit Stones the array required—a considerable burden for Chen Fan.

So now that he was in such a resource-rich treasure land, Chen Fan naturally wouldn't let it go.

"ROAR!"

After nightfall, the roars of various Monster Beasts echoed from deep within the forest...

The next day, Chen Fan was teleported out of the Magic Array and back to the Heavenly Court. He carried several Demon Cores in his arms as he slowly walked out of the Two-Star Heavenly Soldier passage. The jade pendant at his waist flickered, revealing two bronze stars. The original number of 510 had now become 5600 Immortal Qi.

Excluding his own 500 Immortal Qi from the trial, he had netted 5000 points—a massive sum.

As he slowly walked out of the passage, he saw a familiar figure pass before him. Chen Fan was slightly startled—it was the yellow-robed woman.

The yellow-robed woman also noticed Chen Fan and immediately stopped, staring at him in astonishment.

"You're from Lingxiao City too," said the yellow-robed woman, Su Ziyue, in surprise. She had never heard of such a terrifying sword cultivator appearing in Lingxiao City, except for that Grade A One-Star Heavenly Soldier who had caused such a stir recently.

"Mm." Chen Fan nodded slightly.

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

"You're blocking my way," Chen Fan said. This woman was standing right in front of him, staring straight at him, which made him uncomfortable.

"My name is Su Ziyue. I'm a resident of Ghost Domain City." Su Ziyue smiled lightly as she looked at Chen Fan.

Chen Fan was slightly taken aback. He knew that the Heavenly Court divided cultivators by region. For example, Lingxiao City grouped all cultivators within a thousand li of Heavy Sword Peak into this city. So what they usually saw in Lingxiao City was far from the entire Cultivation World.

Within a thousand li of Heavy Sword Peak, there were several notable places, such as the Mountain Moving Sect, which was as famous as Heavy Sword Peak, and Ghost Domain City.

Ghost Domain City was called the birthplace of the Demon Sect by the residents of Heavy Sword City, because the nearby Heaven Ghost Sect and Earth Ghost Sect were both located there. Disciples of Heavy Sword Peak even described Ghost Domain City as a hell on earth, saying that the sky above the city was occupied by demonic ghosts, and that the city never saw daylight, only night. But in truth, none of these people had ever been to Ghost Domain City.

Hearing that this 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 said his name flatly. As for which city he was from, he naturally wouldn't say. If word got to the wrong ears, he wouldn't mind himself, but it would cause trouble for Chen Jingjing and the others.

Su Ziyue showed no particular expression, as if she had already expected Chen Fan wouldn't tell her where he was from.

"Thanks for clearing the second floor." She gave a light smile, cast a deep glance at Chen Fan, then shifted her body slightly to the side, making way for him.

"No need." Chen Fan shook his head slightly and strode toward the Heavenly Court Hall.

Watching Chen Fan's retreating figure once more, Su Ziyue's beautiful eyes shimmered with lingering admiration. A faint smile tugged at her lips as she softly murmured, "Chen Fan."

After exiting the passage and returning to the Heavenly Court Hall, Chen Fan halted again before a massive stone tablet. Suddenly, a commotion erupted, and countless people rushed to crowd around the stone, exclamations rippling through the crowd. The entire Heavenly Court Hall was instantly packed.

"A monster, another monster has appeared—a Qi Refining Layer 4 Grade A Two-Star Heavenly Soldier? How is that possible?"

"No, look, he has two Grade A ratings. This guy is clearly the same one who was a Qi Refining Layer 2 Grade A One-Star Heavenly Soldier before."

"Who is this person? He's simply too monstrous. With such heaven-defying talent, even the Foundation Establishment Realm experts from other Immortal Cities will surely be stirred into action."

"If he can become a disciple of a Foundation Establishment Realm master, reaching Foundation Establishment in the future is practically guaranteed."

"I think, with this person's talent, even without a Foundation Establishment Realm master taking him as a disciple, Foundation Establishment won't be a problem."

"You're going too far. Although this person has broken two records, throughout history, there have been young prodigies who displayed astonishing talent in the Qi Refining Realm, only to be stuck at Qi Refining Ninth Layer for life, never stepping into Foundation Establishment."

"But this person's talent far surpasses those predecessors you mentioned."

"It's useless. These so-called geniuses, I think, have all burned through their potential early. They definitely won't go far. On the other hand, some cultivators build up slowly and then explode..."

The crowd buzzed with heated discussion around the Heavenly Soldier Ranking, but Chen Fan, the subject of it all, paid no attention. The only thing that caught his eye was that the ranking recorded the realm before the assessment, not the realm after clearing the floors.

However, this time he had received a Grade A rating but no reward at all. To him, the Heavenly Soldier Ranking suddenly became utterly meaningless.

He walked to a corner, silently recited the Incantation the Green-feathered Bird had taught him, and the next moment appeared in his Immortal Cave. He sat cross-legged in the Medicine Field, absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, slowly entering a cultivation state. Compared to the dark and gloomy cave, he much preferred this Medicine Field where he could see the sky and the land.

Maintaining his cultivation state, Chen Fan then withdrew from the Heavenly Court. He remembered that today, he still had to go with Chen Jingjing to Heavy Sword Peak to retrieve the Chen Clan's heritage from Elder Li.