Chapter 45: Stunning Everyone
"Shen Ran, Qi And Blood Six Turns! Qualified!"
"Liu Xin, Qi And Blood Five Turns, fail!"
"Ye Zheng, Qi And Blood Four Turns, fail!"
"Tao Liuyun, Qi And Blood Seven Turns, qualified!"
"…"
The Divine Warrior Examination's provincial examination began. The drilling field was a boiling cauldron of voices, its proctors like mountains. In the first portion of the provincial examination, warriors placed their palms down before three stone pillars, sending all the power they could muster into the stone column. The glossy pillars would slowly change color. Warriors supervising this used their loudspeaker-like voices to issue the acceptance or rejection of each warrior.
Some people were elated, others were dejected.
The first phase was a test of the warrior's qi and blood strength. Only those warriors who were above Five Turns had the qualifications to proceed to phase two. There was no way to conceal strength in the current phase, and it was the best opportunity to inspect Azure Dragon Town's young warriors, to see how a noble family thrived from this generation's youth. As expected, up until now, the Tao Family's daughter, Tao Liuyun, cultivated the strongest qi and blood of the warriors present, reaching Qi And Blood Seven Turns.
Even more amazing was that she was a mere fourteen years old. To be able to have the qualifications to participate in the present Divine Warrior Examination, she was worthy of being Azure Dragon Town's second genius and had great prospects in her future. She also made the Tao Family head's expression, which up until now had been very unsightly, drastically improve.
Tao Liuyun was very proud of herself, accepting everyone's admiring gazes.Under their stares, the girl walked straight up to Chen Mo, Azure Dragon Town's currently most famous warrior. The girl stuck out her chest that had only begun to bud and said directly to him: "Chen Mo, This Young Lady is Tao Liuyun. In the future, This Young Lady will definitely surpass you, remember this."
"En." Chen Mo cupped his fist, quite approving of the girl's strength. "But your goal should be to surpass her first." He hinted with his eyes. Tao Liuyun turned her head to see a gorgeous young woman wearing green clothes walk leisurely to the testing column. After the woman appeared, everyone could not help but stare at her.
The noble daughter of the Qing Family, the genius Qing Wan. After experiencing a chain of defeats, what level had her strength reached. Did she suffer a disastrous setback that lowered her to mediocrity, putting her at a dying gasp like the rest of the Qing Family, or did she break through the shackles of her mind and bound into the heavens, reaching an even higher level.
Everyone was very eager.
Qing Wan's strength here would represent the future of the Qing Family.
Tao Liuyun watched closely.
Qing Wan ignored the surrounding noise. The girl walked before one of the pillars. On the pillar, there was a palm imprint that she placed her hand against. She took a deep breath. Then, her arm shuddered as she poured her power into the stone column.
The testing column could sense the progress of a warrior's qi and blood cultivation and the capabilities of their body. No qi and blood warrior was able to conceal their strength.
All of a sudden.
The stone column immediately turned a bright red.
Qi And Blood Six Turns level.
The color was still darkening, turning darker and darker.
The bright red turned scarlet, then crimson, then maroon. In a few short breaths, the stone pillar seemed to become darker and darker, as if aflame. All the warriors present had stopped breathing, and everyone was increasingly stunned.
Maroon!
Qi And Blood Nine Turns!!
"Heavens, Miss Qing Wan broke through to Qi And Blood Nine Turns."
"As expected of a genius."
"Too incredible."
"Great Miss, we support you!"
Wave after high wave of surprise passed through the crowd. Seventeen years old and already able to cultivate to Qi And Blood Nine Turns. Even those senior warriors were somewhat envious. It was no exaggeration to describe this kind of talent as heroic.
Everyone's surprise had yet to end. Qing Wan was expressionless, her face clear, her gaze like ice.
The color of the pillar continued to darken, practically as red as blood.
The middle-aged warrior supervising the testing column was astounded. Such a dark shade demonstrated that the girl's Qi And Blood Nine Turns already was complete.
No, this is far from enough.
The limit Qing Wan sought was far from this.
The dark red column seemed to molt like a snake, its color increasingly dim. Finally, it turned white, and a white qi was expelled from the girl's pores. Then, it became a cloud, surprisingly forming a flower bud that took shape above the girl.
"Impossible."
Atop the elevated platform, the Tao Family and Shen Family heads stood up in astonishment, staring fixedly at Qing Wan.
Even Qing Yuanshan showed an expression of shock. Immediately, the old man covered his ecstasy with difficulty.
The entire drilling field was deathly silent. All the warriors stared as dumb as wooden chickens at the scene unfolding before them.
The pillar's sheen finally stopped at a white color.
This level.
Three Flowers Overhead!
"Three Flowers Overhead Early Stage!" The proctor announced the results with a quivering voice.
Everyone instantly erupted.
"Three Flowers Overhead! Unexpectedly Three Flowers Overhead!"
"Miss Qing Wan even has the qualifications to go to Chang'an now."
"Azure Dragon Town is truly fortunate to have such a genius."
The Tao and Shen Family heads stared blankly while Qing Yuanshan roared with laughter. He never imagined this noble daughter would be so resolved, to not only break through Qi And Blood Nine Turns in such a short time, but to even already reach Three Flowers Overhead. It appeared this was the Qing Family's fortune.
"How." The Tao Liuyun that had just been so proud suffered a serious blow, her spirit instantly becoming dejected.
Chen Mo looked at Qing Wan, quite surprised she could advance so quickly.
Qi And Blood Eight Turns led to Nine Turns, and to refine qi and blood into the heart and mind was a threshold. After refining heart and mind to the body, one would need to cultivate the "Essence" flower of Three Flowers Overhead. With Essence producing blood, a new level was reached. This was a very profound level, not something an ordinary Qi And Blood warrior could cultivate to just through sheer effort alone. Many genius warriors even reached Qi And Blood Nine Turns at age ten, but perhaps they would need an entire lifetime to reach Three Flowers Overhead.
That Qing Wan was able to break through to Three Flowers Overhead so quickly demonstrated the girl's talent was indeed extremely high.
"Looks like this provincial examination won't be so easy to get through." Chen Mo muttered to himself.
The glance Qing Wan shot at him was no longer as disdainful as in the past, but it contained feelings even more bothersome than mockery – he was her opponent, the opponent she truly wanted to defeat.
Qing Wan had become the very first warrior in the history of Azure Dragon Town's provincial examination to possess Three Flowers Overhead in the first assessment. Everyone lacked the mood and interest for the warriors that came afterwards. They no longer minded, and the warriors that appeared since were mediocre.
Even if another nineteen year old Qi And Blood Eight Turns warrior were to make an unprecedented appearance from a poor and humble family, they would not draw anyone's interest in the slightest.
However, there was still one other person who received significant attention.
Even more than notice than what Qing Wan received.
This person naturally was the one who turned Azure Dragon Town upside down, Chen Mo.
Chen Mo saw that it was about time for his turn. He bounded onto the platform with a few steps. The moment he stepped onto the testing platform, all the warriors held their breath, staring at him with rapt attention.
The supervisors also monitored Chen Mo's every movement with complete focus.
This warrior who was able to defeat the entire Qing Family by himself had brought about the greatest military accomplishment in Azure Dragon Town.
Everyone was guessing just how abnormal this former cripple had become, just how deeply his power had been hidden. They were in spirited discussion, their thoughts about Chen Mo's strength becoming increasingly beyond reason. The strength test of this provincial examination was the best opportunity to completely expose Chen Mo's cultivation.
All of the warriors wanted to know how shocking this result would be.
Would it bring about an even stronger surprise than Qing Wan's.
Chen Mo scratched his nose, feeling that he would make them disappointed. "Can I start?"
The proctoring official returned to his senses: "Please place your hand upon the column and focus your power into it."
Chen Mo looked at the pillar of white jade in front of him. He reached out his hand and put into the groove.
Taking a deep breath, Chen Mo shifted his waist, releasing all the power from meridians and marrow.
In an instant, the stone pillar turned a dark red color.
A complete Qi And Blood Eight Turns.
Chen Mo retracted his hand and cupped his fist towards the official.
"Qi And Blood Eight Turns?" The official's mouth hung agape, a bit in disbelief over this result.
"Only Qi And Blood Eight Turns?"
"No way, only Qi And Blood Eight Turns, this strength is too low."
"Qi And Blood Eight Turns is enough to defeat the whole Qing Family? How incompetent are they."
The martial arts fill let out dissatisfied murmur. It was very difficult for them to accept this was Chen Mo's strength. If he was a Three Flowers Overhead or even Qi And Blood Nine Turns warrior, they would have accepted it. For a motherfucking Qi And Blood Eight Turns warrior to be able to defeat a Qi And Blood Nine Turns warrior, this was too unreasonable.
"I thought that Chen Mo would be more awesome. Looks like he is only relying on Chang'an Mansion's backing, nothing more."
"He has a super first-rate martial art, you can't help but be convinced."
Everyone twitched their lips, very disapproving.
"Chen Mo is only Qi And Blood Eight Turns, is this true?" The Tao Family head asked Qing Yuanshan, who had traded blows with Chen Mo once before. Even if he had a super first-rate martial art, for Chen Mo to defeat the Qing Family relying on this bit of cultivation was still sleeptalk of an idiot.
"Can you fake the result of this testing column?" Qing Yuanshan shut his eyes.
"I heard that Chen Mo has a massive iron stick. It appears that iron stick may be a Destined Star Weapon." The Shen Family old man surmised.
If this was the case, they could barely accept it. A Destined Star Weapon was a powerful arm that transcended corporeal flesh. Indeed, it was difficult for Qi And Blood level warriors to contend against one, but this still was unable to explain how he was able to defeat a hundred warriors. This was because even if it was a Destined Star Weapon, it was very difficult for an ordinary warrior to even use one.
Although Chen Mo's test made everyone very disappointed, in the end, he still passed the first phase with his Qi And Blood Eight Turns.
"Sir, this column isn't working." A young man walked to that testing column Chen Mo was at before, discovering that it was not reacting to his palm at all. This made him nervously cry.
"Hey, I think you're a cripple making a show of yourself.
Everyone laughed.
The official turned away from Chen Mo and regained his senses. He wrinkled his brow at the youth taking the test, also doubting whether the young man came to stir trouble. Even a Qi And Blood One Turn warrior would have a reaction.
"I really do have Qi And Blood Five Turns." The youth was about to cry.
The official stepped forward and ushered him aside, placing his own palm upon the column. "Huh?" The man exerted his energy, discovering the column showed no reaction at all.
The man leaned close to the column and discovered the source of the problem. In the palm slot, there was a crack. Whatever power a warrior exerted completely leaked away, so the pillar naturally would not react.
"I didn't do that." The young man promptly defended himself.
The man stared at him.
Warriors below Thunder Tribulation level could not possibly destroy a testing column, and this column was clearly fine when Chen Mo tested a moment ago. The only explanation was that it cracked after Chen Mo's test.
"What's the matter? Why aren't you testing."
Qing Yuanshan and the others walked over.
"This column is broken, it is unusable now."
"How did this break?" Everyone was astonished.
"I do not know either." The official forced a smile: "It was still fine when Chen Mo tested. I fear that after he tested, the power upon his palm was too great and cracked the pillar."
"What?"
They were startled, turning to look at Chen Mo's figure in shock.
Outside the field, atop an enormous pagoda tree, a person wearing a cloak was currently monitoring everything happening upon the martial arts field. In a faint glimpse of their mouth under the hood, there was an amused smile.