All, whether it was the students or the inmates, each and every one of them looked at Guo Feng differently as he calmly walked away. No one could believe such a slim decrepit-looking body would hide such terrifying power underneath.
An air of wariness and confusion hit both sides before some semblance of calmness started to fill the area when Instructor Pan announced the next participants.
Most of the students still seemed slightly shaken more than the next person to be called up. It was a young girl by the name of Zhu Wang. She was fifteen years old, blue hair, and a saber user.
As she walked over her eyes kept darting behind her where her fellow student, Mu Li, the blonde-haired student, lay unconscious. Yang Qing gently pulled his unconscious body out of the crack and healed his wounds.
His internal organs had been shifted, and his ribs were all cracked, though, in terms of damage, it could be considered pretty light, all things considered. Guo Feng had controlled his force exquisitely and spread the right amount of damage all around his body. It was enough to hurt him, but not enough to cripple him.
In a single breath, Yang Qing had healed all his wounds.
"Huh..what happened? Where am I?" Mu Li woke up groggy.
Yang Qing helped him up and then left for his seat, leaving the next part to Instructor Pan.
Mu Li shook his head a few times as his brows coiled up in deep consternation.
"What happened?" he muttered over and over, and when he saw the sympathetic and awkward looks he was receiving from the students it didn't take long for him to connect the dots, especially, when he saw the deep crevice next to him and his torn robes.
"Did I lose? DiD I MU LI LOSE?! No! No! It can't be.." his expression soon turned livid as he rushed to the center of the arena.
However, his dash was interrupted halfway when a cold voice sounded. It was Instructor Pan's voice.
"What do you think you're doing?"
Instructor Pan who was floating above the center of the arena exuded a coldness that made the hot-tempered Mu Li pause in his steps as a look of fright appeared on his face, however, when his gaze fell on the students, the deep crack behind him and the detached looking Guo Feng in front of him, a feeling of rage and indignation got reignited.
"Instructor Pan, i don't mean any disrespect, but i feel the inmate cheated. How could I have been defeated that fast? he likely used a secret artifact or some taboo artifact. There is no way i could have lost to him.." he angrily said.
"Is that so?" asked Instructor Pan without a change in his expression and tone.
Mu Li flinched a bit but he managed to pull enough courage to answer back despite the dangerous air surrounding Instructor Pan.
"I would like to request a rematch, Instructor, and I don't mind if he uses the same hidden artifact or taboo art.."
"He did not use any artifact or taboo art. Every inmate present has been screened and when it comes to taboo arts, does it matter if they use it or not, it's part of their arsenal. These fights are meant to prepare you.
Do you think the enemies you face will do things fairly or chivalrously? They will use tricks, dubious means, curses, and taboo arts, they will gang up on you, deploy poison, and use subterfuge and misinformation to try and gain an upper hand over you.
They will use anything and everything against you, and you need to be prepared for that. There will be no, I want a rematch because you have used an underhanded means or whatever excuse you will come up with as your last breath leaves your corpse.
Mu Li, do you think we are playing here? From the way I see it, you and most of you here, all just want the title of being members of the Order. You want to wear that crown despite not knowing the cost it takes to hold it.
There are no laurels in what we do, no fame, no renown, all you will get for your efforts is the ire of the entire cultivation world because we are an anomaly that is destroying the accepted way of life within the continent.
You may save someone today in the conduct of your duties, but in the next, they will no longer be the victim but an assailant whom you will have to apprehend and if that is not possible, you will have to destroy.
So, Mu Li, I ask again does it matter if he used a taboo art or not?" Instructor Pan asked as an overbearing pressure enveloped the entire arena.
It was early in the day with the sun high up, however, as he asked the question, light seemed to turn dimmer while the temperature dropped.
The students, Mu Li included felt a deep primal fear that they could not stop well up from within them.
"But like I said, Guo Feng did not use any taboo art. He defeated you in a straightforward manner. He even went easy on you, had he gone all out, broken bones and shifted organs would have been the least of your worries.
In simple terms, you were just too weak Mu Li, but don't worry, you will have all the rematches you want because, for the next six months, you will be living in the Purple Twilight Forest where there will be no shortage of things as strong if not stronger than Guo Feng, and the best part, they do not hold the same reservations as he does.
You will have your fill of rematches Mu Li.." Instructor Pan ominously said as he waved his sleeves creating a subtle force that pulled Mu Li away from the arena and placed him next to the other students.
Mu Li had a distraught and lost look on his face. Even though he did not know what the Purple Twilight Forest was, but from the way Instructor Pan put it, it was bound to be a horrifying place.
Of those present only Instructor Pan and Yang Qing knew of it. Yang Qing couldn't help but throw a sympathetic look toward Mu Li. The Purple Twilight Forest was one of the test sites for the purple grade test.
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