Zhao Kun Humiliates Him in Public

Before the incense altar tablets, blue smoke curled upward.

Tablets of Azure Cloud Sect's forebears throughout the generations stood silently arranged, solemn and dignified. By the sect's old rules, when disciples publicly made a wager and swore an oath here, they were bound by the sect's code of honor. Whoever broke that oath would be deemed to have betrayed the sect's trust and would suffer sect punishment.

A great crowd of disciples and servants swarmed over, packing the area so tightly that not even water could pass through, three layers within and three layers without. Everyone had come to watch the show, and the murmur of discussion buzzed incessantly.

"They really made a wager? Shen Yuan is betting far too much." "Steward Liu is certain he won't pass the assessment, or he wouldn't dare accept. Three years as a slave servant—if he loses, his whole life will be ruined." "But if Shen Yuan actually passes, Liu Er will have to kneel and apologize in public. He'll lose every shred of face."

Wang Dong squeezed into the front of the crowd, his plump palms drenched in cold sweat as he stared nervously at the two figures before the spirit tablets. He admired Shen Yuan's courage, yet could not help worrying for him.

Liu Er's face was dark as he walked before the spirit tablets and picked up three sticks of incense to light. He glanced sideways at Shen Yuan beside him, his gaze brimming with disdain. In his heart, he had already won this wager.

Shen Yuan likewise accepted the incense, his expression calm and utterly devoid of panic.

Facing the spirit tablets, the two men recited the oath of their wager in turn.

"I, Liu Er, hereby make a wager with Shen Yuan. If Shen Yuan fails to pass this Outer Sect Assessment, he shall serve as my laboring slave for three years. If Shen Yuan passes the assessment, I, Liu Er, shall kneel and apologize before everyone. Heaven, earth, and the sect bear witness to this oath!"

"I, Shen Yuan, hereby make a wager with Liu Er. If I fail the assessment, I am willing to serve Liu Er as a slave for three years. If I pass, Liu Er must kneel and apologize before everyone. Heaven, earth, and the sect bear witness to this oath!"

As their voices fell, the two inserted their incense into the burner.

A wisp of blue smoke spiraled upward.

The wager officially took effect.

The surrounding spectators erupted into an uproar.

Liu Er set down the incense and sneered at Shen Yuan. "Fine. Now that the wager has been made, I'll register you. I'd like to see what waves you can possibly stir up. Don't let yourself get your arms and legs broken on the assessment stage and have to be carried down."

He waved a hand at the disciple handling registrations, signaling him to write Shen Yuan's name into the Outer Sect Assessment roster.

Though unwilling, the registration disciple had no choice but to comply, writing the two characters "Shen Yuan" into the register.

Shen Yuan had finally obtained the qualification to take the assessment.

His goal had been achieved, but Shen Yuan did not relax in the slightest. The wager had merely cleared the obstacle to registration. The true danger still lay upon the assessment stage. And behind Liu Er stood Zhao Kun.

Just as the registration was completed, a stir arose from the outskirts of the crowd.

A group of outer sect disciples escorted a white-clad youth over at an unhurried pace. Dressed in a spotless moon-white outer sect training uniform, a longsword hanging from his waist, the youth was handsome and carried an arrogant air of superiority between his brows. He was none other than Zhao Kun, one of the most prominent outer sect disciples.

Zhao Kun's cultivation had already reached the Body Tempering Ninth Stage. He was publicly recognized as the foremost disciple of this cohort in the outer sect.

He had merely been passing through the registration plaza when he heard the commotion and brought his followers over to watch the spectacle.

The surrounding disciples unconsciously made way for him.

Zhao Kun's gaze swept over the crowd and quickly settled on Shen Yuan beside the spirit tablets. His brows lifted slightly, and a mocking curve tugged at his lips.

"Oh, isn't this Shen Yuan? I heard you fell off a cliff some days ago. You actually didn't die. What a tenacious life." Zhao Kun slowly approached Shen Yuan and looked him over from on high, his tone openly mocking. "I just heard that you actually registered for the Outer Sect Assessment and even made a wager with Steward Liu?"

Shen Yuan raised his eyes to Zhao Kun.

This was the man. Among the fragments of the original owner's memories, he had been the central figure in the incident that had ruined his spiritual roots years ago. Though there was no conclusive evidence, every clue pointed to him.

The Zhao Kun before him had vigorous blood and qi, the aura of the Body Tempering Ninth Stage faintly spreading outward, his oppressive presence rushing straight at him. Compared to Shen Yuan's current Body Tempering Sixth Layer, he was a full three minor realms higher.

Everyone around them fell silent, watching the two confront each other.

"That's right. I've completed my registration." Shen Yuan's tone was flat, neither servile nor overbearing.

"Ha ha ha!" Zhao Kun threw back his head and laughed aloud, while several outer sect disciples following him joined in the jeering laughter.

"What a laughable absurdity. A piece of trash whose spiritual roots have been shattered dares dream of becoming an outer sect disciple?" Zhao Kun folded his arms, his eyes contemptuous. "Shen Yuan, when you were talented back then, I did think highly of you. But now, you're nothing but a cripple. Swords and blades have no eyes on the Outer Sect Assessment stage. If you go up there, you'll only be beaten into serious injury for nothing. Why humiliate yourself?"

His booming voice carried across the entire plaza.

Quite a few watching disciples nodded. In their eyes, someone with shattered spiritual roots truly had no business meddling in the assessment any longer.

Liu Er stood to one side, a faint smile secretly lifting the corner of his lips. With his arms folded, he watched coldly. Zhao Kun personally stepping forward to suppress Shen Yuan was exactly what he wanted.

In Shen Yuan's heart, anger rose inch by inch.

The man before him had destroyed the original owner's life. But there was no evidence now. If he openly turned hostile here, he would only be charged with offending an outer sect senior brother and bring great disaster upon himself.

He pressed down his surging emotions and looked steadily at Zhao Kun. "Senior Brother Zhao, the assessment has not yet begun. Victory and defeat remain uncertain. Whether I am trash or not will naturally be decided on the stage."

"Decided?" Zhao Kun stepped forward, his aura pressing down. "By you? I advise you to withdraw from the assessment voluntarily and go back to being a servant. Don't lose the wager, become a slave, and make an even greater laughingstock of yourself."

He deliberately raised his voice and deliberately humiliated Shen Yuan, wanting to crush Shen Yuan's fighting spirit.

Behind the crowd, Wang Dong clenched his fists anxiously, yet he did not dare step forward to interrupt. The other party was a core outer sect disciple. If a mere servant like him went up, he would only be asking for humiliation.

Shen Yuan shifted slightly aside, avoiding the pressure of the other man's aura, and spoke calmly. "Whether I participate in the assessment is my freedom. I need not trouble Senior Brother Zhao to worry over it. If Senior Brother Zhao has nothing else to do, please step aside and do not obstruct others from registering."

Neither servile nor overbearing, he neither flew into a rage and argued nor retreated in humble submission.

Zhao Kun had not expected that Shen Yuan, who had once become dispirited after his spiritual roots were crippled, would now be so unyielding. His expression darkened slightly, and just as he was about to continue mocking him, an outer sect disciple beside him quietly reminded him, "Senior Brother, several elders' attendants are watching from the plaza. It would not be wise to make too great a scene in public."

Zhao Kun turned and swept his gaze around. Sure enough, he spotted several attendants dressed in inner sect robes watching from afar. If he continued bullying a servant in public and word reached the elders, it would harm his reputation.

He suppressed his displeasure and cast Shen Yuan a cold glance.

"Fine. Very fine. Since you insist on courting death, I'll wait to see you make a fool of yourself on the assessment stage. I hope you can remain as stubbornly defiant then as you are now."

After throwing down those words, Zhao Kun did not continue the entanglement. He turned and strode away with the outer sect disciples.

His white-clad figure gradually vanished at the far end of the plaza.

The spectators slowly dispersed as well.

By the spirit tablets, only Shen Yuan, Wang Dong, and the grim-faced Liu Er remained.

Liu Er shot Shen Yuan a vicious glare before leaving with Zhou Hu and the others.

The plaza gradually returned to its usual clamor.

Wang Dong hurried to Shen Yuan's side and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. "Heavens, that was far too dangerous. Zhao Kun was clearly trying to humiliate you on purpose. That man is narrow-minded. Since you contradicted him in public this time, he might secretly arrange people to target you during the assessment."

Shen Yuan watched the direction in which Zhao Kun had departed, a cold glint flashing through his eyes.

"I know."

He remembered every word of Zhao Kun's mockery.

Without evidence, he could not act now. But the stage assessment would be a battlefield for an open and honorable contest.

Returning to his firewood room, he shut the wooden door, sealing off every prying gaze from outside.

Shen Yuan sat cross-legged on the floor, his consciousness sinking into his sea of consciousness as he looked at the floating Martial Arts Heavenly Stele.

At that moment, the golden patterns on the surface of the Heavenly Stele slowly lit up, and a line of mission text gradually emerged.

[Heavenly Stele mission triggered: Pass this Outer Sect Assessment and successfully obtain outer sect disciple status. Mission reward: Martial Dao Points earned in this combat will be doubled. Mission failure: No penalty.]

Martial Dao Point gains doubled!

Shen Yuan's eyes lit up.

This reward had come at exactly the right time. To deduce stronger martial arts and repair his spiritual roots, what he lacked most were Martial Dao Points.

"But Zhao Kun will certainly interfere during the assessment, and the circumstances surrounding my opponents are unknown." Shen Yuan pondered inwardly.

He had to simulate battles in advance, deduce the opponents he might encounter, and work out fist techniques and moves to counter them.

He closed his eyes and threw all his focus into the Martial Arts Simulation Space.

Within the vast white void of the Martial Arts Simulation Space, he began gathering battle intelligence from past Outer Sect Assessments. Wang Dong was usually well informed and had told him quite a bit about the cultivation methods and fighting styles of candidates from previous assessments.

Countless virtual opponents appeared one after another in the void.

One simulated battle after another began.

Within the real firewood room, time flowed quietly. In the outside world, only a single night passed, but in the Martial Arts Simulation Space, Shen Yuan had already experienced more than a hundred simulated fights to the death on the stage.

Every defeat made his soul endure feedback of genuine pain. Every victory made his use of the Subduing Tiger Fist more refined, until it approached perfection.

He would deduce every possible opponent he might encounter in advance.