Heart-Questioning Stake

Lu Li stared at Yu Canglang's face without the slightest fear in his eyes. His expression remained unchanged, though a trace of stubbornness shone through his calm gaze.

He could sense the anger in Yu Canglang's words, but he simply could not stomach Yu Canglang berating his master so harshly. He knew perfectly well that he ought to lower his head now.

Yet this time, his stubborn streak had risen. He did not want to lower his head. They had been master and disciple, after all. Yu Canglang could refuse to acknowledge his master, but there was no need to humiliate him before so many people.

From the corner of his eye, he could vaguely make out Dean Gao seated high upon the central platform. He faintly sensed that Dean Gao was scrutinizing what was happening here as well.

"Such youthful pride. I suppose your talent is quite high?"

Seeing that Lu Li still said nothing, stubbornness gleaming in his eyes, Yu Canglang unexpectedly did not flare up. Instead, he asked:

"Tell me, what is your Root Bone aptitude, and how long have you practiced martial arts?"

Shen Gangfu answered in a taut voice:

"Reporting to Master, Hua Yuan has a Lower Ninth Grade Root Bone aptitude. He has practiced martial arts for just over two months and has currently reached Fifth-Level Skin Tempering. A few days ago, he raised his Root Bone aptitude once, and it is now Eighth-Tier Lower Bone Aptitude."

At those words, Yu Canglang narrowed his eyes slightly. Ripples gradually stirred in his placid gaze.

As thoughts surged through his mind, Yu Canglang suddenly spoke:

"Kneel and kowtow. Then I shall grant you another method to improve your Root Bone aptitude and help you with today's Martial Examination."

If you're giving me medicine, then just give me medicine. Do I really have to kneel to receive it?

Kneel, then... I've already knelt before Master. Naturally, I can kneel before my martial grandmaster too.

But... at a moment like this, before so many people, I really can't bring myself to kneel...

Lu Li thought silently to himself. At worst, he would give up on this method of improving his Root Bone aptitude and find another way in the future. In any case... he did not want to kneel right now.

Lu Li's eyes shifted faintly, and the expression on his face softened. Still, he remained unmoved. He might as well play the fool for once.

He did not kneel.

Shen Gangfu knew Lu Li's temperament and did not want him to miss this opportunity. Even he himself had never received such favor from his master. Without hesitation, he knelt in Lu Li's place.

"Thank you, Master. Hua Yuan is still young. I hope Master will forgive him and not be angry."

Yu Canglang took a deep breath. A Lower Ninth Grade Root Bone aptitude, Fifth-Level Skin Tempering in two months—he knew all too well what that meant. He had taught and seen countless disciples, yet this was the first time he had encountered someone with comprehension as astonishing as Lu Li's.

He was his own martial grandson in the end.

He truly had the capital to be proud.

Didn't he just call me Martial Grandmaster and pay his respects?

Yu Canglang mused inwardly. He had always regarded promising martial talents more highly. With that thought, he lowered his eyes to glance at Shen Gangfu, praise in his gaze.

"Little Fu, you've taken in a fine seedling for me. You've rendered a service to the sect."

At those words, Shen Gangfu's entire body trembled faintly. This was the first time his master had praised him. He abruptly raised his head, his eyes warming. Decades of grievance and unwillingness... all those emotions were washed away by that one simple compliment, and his heart felt as though floodwaters had burst through a dam...

"Which aperture did Hua Yuan open when he improved his Root Bone aptitude?" Yu Canglang asked as he rose and helped Shen Gangfu up.

Shen Gangfu hurriedly answered, "Reporting to Master, it was the Life Spring Aperture."

Yu Canglang nodded slightly, then turned his head. The disciple behind him immediately stepped closer upon seeing this.

"Go explain the situation to the head of the Martial Lecture Hall. Borrow an Aperture-Opening Pill that opens the Spinal Aperture for your master."

The disciple behind him nodded slightly and jogged off, swiftly returning with an Aperture-Opening Pill.

"Whether one's Root Bone is sturdy depends on whether the Spinal Aperture can withstand external force. The Spinal Aperture is commonly known as a martial artist's Dragon Bone. This aperture is the core of defense and the axis that transmits force."

"Once the Spinal Aperture opens, the back becomes like an iron plate. Even when struck, the frame will not fall apart."

Yu Canglang handed the Aperture-Opening Pill to Shen Gangfu, then quietly explained the route for circulating force.

Lu Li drew a deep breath, then composed himself and bowed again, performing the grand rite of his martial lineage.

"Thank you, Martial Grandmaster, for granting me the medicine."

Lu Li's tone was calm, and his bearing steady.

Yu Canglang calmly accepted the great salute. Smiling, he fixed his blazing gaze on Lu Li, unable to conceal his appreciation for talent.

"You master and disciple may go. The Martial Examination is about to begin. Prepare yourselves well."

In the viewing area for the fourth-tier aristocratic platforms, the Pang Family and the disciples of the Three Gangs and Four Families saw this scene. They swiftly gathered together, whispering among themselves as they secretly settled upon a new plan.

The auspicious hour gradually approached.

Within the martial arts arena, seventy-two Martial Students stood in neat formation.

These were Skin Tempering martial artists selected from the seventy-two martial schools of Blackwater City, painstakingly cultivated with medicinal food.

Quite a few people in the arena radiated steaming auras, their sharpness exposed. Their eyes were arrogant as they competed against one another in silence.

Lu Li's heart was still as water, his entire being tranquil and composed.

Just then, Gao Jiangong rose from the elevated platform.

Dressed in a plain blue-green scholar's martial robe, his hair bound without a crown, his brows and eyes were clear as deep pools. His temperament was like a silent mountain amid the hills, like still waters in a deep abyss. His gaze swept across the seventy-two Martial Students below, and when he spoke, his voice was like a great bell, carrying throughout the entire Martial Lecture Hall.

"The first round of Martial Examination selection—the Heart-Questioning Stake—begins!"

As his words fell—

Before the examinees, seventy-two square black iron stakes slowly rose from the ground. Fine silver patterns lit up across them, while dim light glimmered at their tops. An invisible, tranquil pressure spread outward, shrouding the entire formation of examinees.

"The Blackiron Stake Pillars are inscribed with martial patterns and contain Soul-Magnet Stone. They can magnify the distracting thoughts in one's heart, reveal delusions, and reflect one's true heart."

"You must stand atop the stakes without swaying, without disorder, without collapse, without agitation. This test examines your martial heart. Those whose hearts are not still will fall from the stake tops."

As Dean Gao's words ended, the spectators on the viewing platforms slowly took their seats.

"Dong! Dong! Dong!"

Three deep strikes of a bronze bell rang out, marking the arrival of the auspicious hour. The Martial Examination had officially begun!

The seventy-two Martial Students each displayed their movement techniques and leaped atop the stakes.

Lu Li sprang onto a stake top and landed steadily. His posture did not waver, his figure light and graceful as a crane.

The instant his feet settled, a bone-wearying, soul-seizing pressure suddenly spread through Lu Li's entire body.

Under this state—

Restlessness began to rise within Lu Li's heart. Thoughts of gain and loss, victory and defeat emerged, along with greed for silver, resentment toward Ironwood Hall, obsession with martial arts... all manner of thoughts surfaced and were rapidly magnified.

They frantically tore at his heart.

He immediately felt as though his heart were splitting apart. His thoughts began to scatter, and his Sea of Consciousness burned like fire.

This was pain invisible to the naked eye, harder to endure than shattered sinews and bones or torn flesh and skin.

Before three breaths had passed, two people had already fallen.

Most of the others had flushed faces, their bodies swaying violently as fine cold sweat instantly seeped from their temples.

One after another, quite a few people could no longer hold on and began to fall.

Lu Li gritted his teeth, lowered his gaze, and stilled his heart. The Primordial Unity Force throughout his body began to draw inward. Hidden-Blade Intent spread out, all the energy about him fully converging. His spirit withdrew into the spiritual platform, his breath closed at the center of his chest, and his intent hid within the void.

His mind condensed into a single beam, like candlelight illuminating objects.

The aura around his body gradually became even and clear.

His figure gradually steadied, his heart returning to clarity and emptiness, as stable as a placid lake.

The time of half an incense stick slowly passed.

At this point, only thirty people remained atop the stakes.

Just then, the pressure of the Heart-Questioning Stakes abruptly increased. Lu Li's obsessions suddenly surged in his heart. He remembered the day his uncle-by-marriage Chen Hai had been killed. That obsession began to turn demonic, red light shone from his eyes, and all he wanted was to become a killing demon and slaughter Ironwood Hall clean, leaving not a single one alive.

"Kill!"

The obsessions of the others were each different.

"Ah... I'll kill you!"

"Third Madam, just indulge me once. Just once. Father will never know..."

"Qingwen, I'm willing to do anything for you. Don't leave me. For you, I can even abandon this martial path..."

"Second Brother, don't turn back. I am your sister-in-law."

"I want to win! I refuse to live beneath others! I want to surpass everyone! I will climb step by step to the very top..."