Crippled?
Just like that, Li Wang, the vaunted genius and Nine Halls Direct Disciple of Yunxia Sect, was crippled?
One kick from Gu Qingfeng had torn his flesh open, one slap had made his seven orifices bleed, and even his pride and joy—his Dual-Color Nature Spirit Guardianship—had been shattered by a single slap from Gu Qingfeng.
This was Li Wang!
A True Body Sixth Tier cultivator, famed for his Dual-Color Nature Spirit Guardianship, a direct disciple who practiced the Yellow-Grade Great Wind-Thunder Sword Art! The same man who had once cleaved several True Beings in half with a single sword strike was now beaten half to death by Gu Qingfeng's slap.
This couldn't help but raise the question: just how formidable was Gu Qingfeng's physical body?
On the platform.
"Whose man is he? Take him back!"
Gu Qingfeng kicked Li Wang away once more.
The Li Clan members hurried forward to examine Li Wang's injuries.
Neck broken, knees shattered, meridians severed, dantian in utter chaos...
"Wang'er! Ah!"
The Li Clan members wailed in anguish, their eyes red with fury, itching to charge onto the platform and tear Gu Qingfeng to pieces.
"Stand down!"
Elder Ren De's expression was also grim. He had thought Huode's words yesterday—that if Gu Qingfeng made a move, the opponent would either die or be crippled—were just talk. He never expected...
He never expected it to be true...
Glaring at the furious Li Clan members, he berated, "This old man tried to intervene earlier, but you refused to listen. Now that Li Wang has been beaten to this state, it's entirely his own fault. Who else can you blame?"
Elder Ren De's words left the Li Clan with no rebuttal.
"And you lot, what's all this talk about Gu Qingfeng ambushing him? Was that an ambush?"
Elder Ren De was also angry—angry at himself for failing to prevent this. Of course, he didn't dare vent his anger on Gu Qingfeng, so he directed it at the Li Clan and the elders on the high platform: Mu De, Guang Yuan, and Fei Xue.
"If you had listened to this old man's advice, Li Wang would have suffered, at most, a neck injury. But now... the man is crippled!"
On the high platform, Elder Mu De, True Being Fei Xue, and True Being Guang Yuan wore expressions uglier than the last, their faces alternating between green and white. Faced with Elder Ren De's reprimand, none dared to speak up in rebuttal.
How could they rebut?
When Elder Ren De had stepped in to stop things earlier, they had all been jumping around more eagerly than anyone. And what was the result? The moment Li Wang stepped onto the platform, before even a single exchange, he was crippled on the spot.
"Fei Xue, if I recall correctly, you said Gu Qingfeng didn't show up that day because he was afraid of Li Wang, right?"
Ouyang Feiyue looked at True Being Fei Xue with a smile, mocking, "Open your dog eyes and see for yourself. Was Gu Qingfeng afraid, and that's why he didn't accept the challenge? With one slap, he shattered Li Wang's Dual-Color Nature Spirit Guardianship on the spot, and you have the gall to say he was afraid? Are your eyes just for decoration?"
"Ou! Yang! Fei! Yue!"
True Being Fei Xue was already thoroughly humiliated, and now, subjected to Ouyang Feiyue's biting sarcasm, she trembled with rage.
At that moment.
Fei Kui stepped forward and said, "Elder Ren De, since Gu Qingfeng has already defeated Li Wang, doesn't that prove he possesses sufficient strength for promotion? Is the trial assessment still necessary?"
As soon as Fei Kui finished speaking, True Being Fei Xue snapped sharply, "Defeating Li Wang only proves his physical body is formidable. It proves nothing else. To become a Nine Halls Direct Disciple of our Yunxia Sect, aptitude, Spiritual Root, comprehension, and cultivation base are all indispensable. He is nothing but a physically strong brute. On what grounds should he be promoted to Nine Halls Direct Disciple?"
Elder Mu De also spoke up, "Senior Brother, what Fei Xue says is not without reason. While our Yunxia Sect has no explicit rule forbidding those who failed Foundation Establishment from becoming Nine Halls Direct Disciples, at the very least, their aptitude, Spiritual Root, and comprehension must pass muster. Gu Qingfeng must pass the trial assessment to be promoted."
Following that, Guang Yuan and a host of other elders voiced their agreement. They were either aligned with Shui De or Jin De, and they all knew Gu Qingfeng was someone Huode had brought in to contend for the Heir Apparent position. Now, with Gu Qingfeng's physical body so formidable and his strength unfathomable, they absolutely could not allow him to pass the trial assessment.
"Enough. What's the point of all this nonsense? It's just an assessment."
On the trial platform, Gu Qingfeng looked somewhat impatient, his brow slightly furrowed. His eyes swept across Elder Mu De, Guang Yuan, and the others on the high platform as he said in a deep voice, "Today, out of respect for Huode's face, I'll play by the rules properly. But let me make one thing clear upfront: if I pass the assessment later, and anyone still dares to chatter nonsense, nitpick, or find fault with me, don't blame me for being impolite!"
"You brat! What did you say!"
Guang Yuan stood up and roared.
Mu De shouted, "Audacious madman! How dare you show such disrespect to us!"
"How utterly arrogant!"
True Being Fei Xue, her anger unabated, stared at Gu Qingfeng disdainfully. "What can you possibly do even if you are impolite!"
Gu Qingfeng's dark eyes swept over her, a faint, inscrutable smile curling at the corner of his mouth. "Little sister, trust me, you'll find out."
"Outrageous!"
True Being Fei Xue stood up, glaring furiously. "You dare threaten me?"
"Threaten you? You're not even qualified for me to threaten!"
Gu Qingfeng let out a contemptuous laugh. True Being Fei Xue wanted to say more, but he had already lost patience listening. He barked angrily, "Enough of this bullshit! Isn't there a trial assessment? Then let's get on with it!"
Too arrogant, too insolent, too brazen!
Never in Yunxia Sect's history had a disciple dared to be so wildly arrogant, showing such disrespect to the assembled elders and even cursing at them openly.
Fearing the situation might spiral out of control, Elder Ren De quickly ordered the trial formation to be activated.
The so-called trial assessment consisted of nine stages.
These nine stages tested a disciple's aptitude, comprehension, resilience, spiritual power, and so on.
And this first stage was Absorption.
Once the trial formation was activated, it would emit a type of Blazing Sun Spiritual Energy. The disciple needed to completely absorb it all within one hour to pass.
This Blazing Sun Spiritual Energy was a type of fire-attribute spiritual energy, extremely violent. Ordinary disciples didn't dare absorb it for fear their Spiritual Root couldn't withstand it, their meridians couldn't endure it, and their dantian couldn't handle it. Even after establishing their True Body and undergoing rebirth, it was still very difficult to fully absorb all the Blazing Sun Spiritual Energy within the trial formation in one hour.
Similarly, even disciples who had established a Colored Foundation couldn't do it. Mu Zibai had once attempted the challenge and failed. After establishing a Colored Foundation, one's Spiritual Root, meridians, and even dantian became exceptionally robust. If even he couldn't withstand it, one could imagine just how violent this Blazing Sun Spiritual Energy was.
The trial formation activated, light flashed, and within the formation, a faint, fiery mist appeared—this was the Blazing Sun Spiritual Energy.
"Gu Qingfeng, you need to completely absorb all the Blazing Sun Spiritual Energy inside the trial formation within one hour to pass."
As the Blazing Sun Spiritual Energy within the formation grew denser, Gu Qingfeng remained motionless, standing quietly without absorbing any of it, not even a trace.
Elder Ren De asked, "Why aren't you absorbing it?"
"I'll wait until all the Blazing Sun Spiritual Energy has emerged."
Wait until it's all out?
Wouldn't absorbing it while waiting save time?
Elder Ren De reminded him, "You only have one hour."
"It's just Blazing Sun Spiritual Energy. If I choose to absorb it, it'll be done in an instant."
What?
In an instant?
Hearing this, all the elders on the high platform frowned deeply. What did he mean, 'in an instant'? That was Blazing Sun Spiritual Energy! Not to mention ordinary True Beings, not to mention those with Colored Spiritual Roots—even those who had established a Colored True Body, even those who had established a Colored Purple Mansion, wouldn't dare boast they could absorb such a vast amount of Blazing Sun Spiritual Energy in the blink of an eye.
Elder Mu De stroked his beard and reprimanded, "Utterly arrogant to the extreme! Even this old man, after eight hundred years of cultivation, wouldn't dare claim I could absorb all the Blazing Sun Spiritual Energy within the trial formation in an instant. Your physical body may be strong, but you ultimately lack a Spiritual Root. How dare you spout such wild boasts?"
"Just because you can't do it doesn't mean I can't."
Gu Qingfeng stood there, looking at Mu De. "Mu De, after eight hundred years of cultivation, you're still this pathetic, and you have the face to say it out loud? It seems to me you've really cultivated those eight hundred years for nothing!"
(Procrastination has struck again...
Late-stage laziness is hard to cure...
One last chapter left, will be posted at 1:30 AM, everyone please don't wait up!)