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Someone is stepping onto the stage again so soon.

I thought the remaining students would hesitate after hearing the honey-tongued commentary from this arena.

Is that her?

Li Fengping, sitting on the judges' panel, recognized Zhang Yunlu almost immediately. She was the Qi Refining stage cultivator who had triggered his sword intent; it was because he had followed her that he ended up receiving such a brutal beating.

She was only at the eighth level of Qi Refining when he last saw her, yet now she had reached the ninth, and her spiritual energy was by no means weak among those at her level!

She is progressing truly fast.

"Does my worthy nephew recognize this student?" the principal asked from the side.

As a top-tier existence among Spirit Transmutation stage cultivators, even with his head wrapped in bandages, Li Fengping had noticed something amiss.

"We have met once before."

"To be noticed by you, she must be quite the promising seedling."

Huh?

I didn't say anything of the sort.

Zhang Yunlu walked step by step into the field, passing the outer rings of arenas, and arrived beside the central arena under the gaze of everyone present.

Whoa!

Is she really that confident?

She actually chose the largest arena directly!

"Zhang Yunlu, I ask my fellow students for your guidance!" Zhang Yunlu held her sword in her left hand, her expression calm.

If she had felt a hint of nervousness before stepping onto the stage, she now felt an incomparable serenity within her heart.

Fang Chi's face darkened.

The previous two had announced their classes, but Zhang Yunlu had only stated her name; this was clearly directed at him.

Still, that was fine. It saved him from having to endure the humiliating evaluations from this honey-tongued arena, which would only make him lose face.

He turned to look at Fang Lin, who was currently staring at Zhang Yunlu on the stage.

Should I go up now? he hesitated.

Each person only had two chances, so the choice was critical. Although he looked down on most of the students in this school, there were a few he had to be wary of.

Just as he hesitated, someone else had already stepped out.

With light gray eyes flickering with spiritual light and a body so full of spiritual energy it was nearly overflowing, it was the very same youth who had been discussing Cang Jiezi in the classroom earlier.

He strode past the various arenas, and his target was none other than Zhang Yunlu!

Fine, let's see what they are capable of first.

At this point, Fang Lin could no longer care about Fang Chi's previous instructions. Heaven knows why Zhang Yunlu had climbed onto the largest arena so quickly; securing his own ranking was more important.

"Hou Xiang of Class Three, I ask Student Zhang for your guidance."

Hou Xiang also held a long sword, its blade bright and flashing with cold light, though it was merely a mundane weapon like the others.

The two stood facing each other from a distance, each gripping their long swords.

Zhang Yunlu leaned forward slightly, and in the next instant, she charged straight toward her opponent. A thin layer of spiritual light coated her blade as she sprinted.

Hou Xiang retreated rapidly, channeling his spiritual energy and forming a seal with his left hand; a layer of hazy water mist began to coalesce into a water shield.

Just as the water shield was about to fully form, Zhang Yunlu had already reached him. The fierce light and killing intent flashing in her eyes made Hou Xiang's heart skip a beat.

Damn it!

Is this the kind of look a student should have?

His thoughts raced, and he made a split-second decision: he swung his sword toward Zhang Yunlu's waist to force her back, intending to use the water shield to create distance.

Clang!

With a crisp sound of clashing metal, his strike was parried by a short sword, while the tip of Zhang Yunlu's blade had already pierced through the water mist, stopping just a fraction of an inch from his brow.

A stinging sensation flared, and a bright white light obscured everything before his eyes; he closed them in a panic and retreated rapidly.

Thud!

A dull sound echoed, followed by a sharp pain in the back of his head as if he had collided with something.

Hou Xiang opened his eyes in a daze, only to see Zhang Yunlu looking down at him from above with a look of surprise.

Only then did he realize he had somehow ended up off the stage, and the back of his head had just collided with another arena.

[A single sword strike determines both victory and defeat, life and death.]
[The defender, defeating the enemy in one strike, is rated as Excellent.]
[The challenger, possessing only spiritual energy but lacking resolve, defeated in a single strike, is overestimating their own abilities. Called a cultivator, but in reality, a piece of meat for the slaughter.]

You have quite the vocabulary for insults!

Hou Xiang had thought he was mentally prepared, but hearing this, he couldn't help but lose his composure—especially when he remembered how he had scrambled back in a panic like a clown after falling off the stage...

Damn it!

Stupid arena!

Zhang Yunlu sheathed her short sword, feeling quite satisfied with the match that had just concluded.

Although her opponent was a bit weak, defeating him head-on still required at least three strikes.

The monsters in that trial were a bit treacherous, but their techniques were actually quite useful.

"Your insight is truly unique, worthy of a disciple of the Sword Sect," the principal praised.

Others might not see it and might think Zhang Yunlu had taken a shortcut, but he knew better; even if Hou Xiang had been lucky enough to dodge the first strike, once he lost the initiative, he would never have escaped the second.

To think the school actually had such a promising talent with outstanding combat instincts.

"You flatter me, Principal."

It seemed that her triggering his sword intent last time was no accident; this young girl truly had the potential to become an excellent sword cultivator.

He had previously suspected that the body cultivator who attacked him might be related to this girl, so he had sent people to investigate.

However, he discovered that both her parents were deceased, and her only remaining brother was merely at the Golden Core stage—and he was the very person who had first discovered the great cultivator coming out of seclusion.

Recently, apart from the time they reported their work to the two seniors from the Supreme Dao Sect, the siblings had not been in contact with any cultivators above the Nascent Soul Realm.

On the playground.

Zhang Yunlu quickly faced several more challenges, as others still felt she had won her first match through trickery.

The results were without exception: every challenger was defeated by Zhang Yunlu in a single strike.

Most of them were not even on par with Hou Xiang, who she had faced at the start.

Fang Lin's expression was grave; he no longer dared to underestimate Zhang Yunlu. Once could be called luck, but doing it so many times was definitely a sign of hard strength.

But what he understood even less was, had his uncle lost his mind?

To target such a formidable student over a measly tutoring fee—he wondered if his uncle was regretting it now.

Fang Chi was indeed regretting it; he regretted it so much his heart was bleeding.

Last year, a teacher from the neighboring class produced a student who ranked first in the entire city, and the school rewarded him with a massive amount of cultivation resources, allowing him to advance directly from the late Golden Core stage to the Nascent Soul Realm.

That student had also joined the Immortal Sect during his sophomore year, with a boundless future ahead, and the teacher from the neighboring class had been promoted to deputy director of the academic affairs office as a result.

For teachers like them, reaching the Nascent Soul Realm and getting a promotion was the absolute peak of their lives.

Fang Chi could already imagine how many teachers would be rushing to invite Zhang Yunlu to transfer to their classes after this combat test.

"The sword technique she uses has never appeared before."

True Monarch Purple Universe, seated high above the clouds, watched Zhang Yunlu. He was familiar with all the sword techniques recorded by the various high schools in Mystic Sword City.

Yet, the sword technique Zhang Yunlu was currently using was one he had never seen.

Could it be related to that sword cultivator who came out of seclusion?

He remembered that this little cultivator seemed to have a brother who was disguised as a Golden Core; it seemed things were not simple. After this combat test concluded, he could go and ask.

Suddenly, True Monarch Purple Universe felt a chill in his heart, and his divine sense rapidly extended toward a certain location in Mystic Sword City.

He felt a hidden, powerful, and terrifying demonic aura soaring into the sky.

It was someone from the demonic path, and an Old Devil at the Dao Integration stage at that!

"No!!!"

A scream filled with despair followed.

What was it?

What could possibly make an Old Devil at the Dao Integration stage feel such despair!

At this moment, Xu Xing also looked toward the place where the demonic aura was rising.

"Making such a ruckus; it seems I have to go and pick them up."

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