Chapter 855: Chapter 855: Elder Lou
"This is hell..." In the middle of a secret room, a young woman who appeared to be no older than 25 was sprawled on the table with an exhausted and bored look on her face.
Her clothes were loose and spread in directions she did not bother to check. She could sense men in the room glancing at the gaps between her robes or her exposed skin but did not seem concerned with it.
xIn front of her there were tens of translucent screens hovering in the air, being projected from various talismans she had lying before her on the table.
"Why did I have to get so lost in the dual cultivation with my cauldron and miss the ranking exam? Now I have to take this trash mission just to not lose on the minimum quota I need to claim my resources."
Her job, like the others’, was simple: keep an eye on the participants in the exams and the examiner.
Since the trial was bound to last for five years, there was no way the elders were going to waste their time by sticking around and watching their every move.
They had just sent in their representative, which was the disciple of their lineage or peak, to keep an eye on everything.
"But I am also glad I came here." Xu Er, the female disciple, moved her legs, making her robes uncover the little they were barely covering, and continued. "To think there was someone as handsome and capable as him."
Her eyes were glued on the screen, which showed Noah’s image where he was walking into the second section of the library.
Despite how much she was being suggestive, the rest did not dare to make a move on her.
The reason being her reputation.
Xu Er was famous for being a cold and heartless woman who craved to make all the handsome men she could get her hands on grovel at her feet.
Then she would drain their cultivation and essence during Dual Cultivation and leave them with a dry husk.
Their lives became worse than dying, and their fate in the cult bleak.
No one, no matter how horny they were, who knew her reputation would even dare to look her in the eyes, let alone make a move on her.
Gulp!
Amidst the room, several gulping sounds echoed, but no one answered Xu Er.
"What are you doing, Xu Er?" Just then, a melodic voice filled the room like a fellow scent that follows spring.
Everyone turned to look at the person who had walked into the room, and it was none other than the female elder, one of the elders who were in charge of the whole trial.
Everyone, including Xu Er, straightened up at the sight of the beautiful woman who had an easygoing smile on her face.
If Xu Er were a poisonous rose, then this elder would be the demonic succubus who would ensnare your soul just from a single look.
The female elder Lou Lan stepped forward, and the heads in the room lowered on their own. No matter if it was a man or a woman, they all were the same; only Xu Er seemed less scared of the elder than the rest.
"What brings you here, Elder Lou?" She asked carefully while adjusting her robes.
Elder Lou smiled at her actions and then turned to look at the screens behind her.
"I am here to see how the trial is progressing. Do we have any talented people in this batch, or are there just spies from those hypocrite factions?"
Even though her voice had not changed, everyone felt the air around them had become sharper.
"There are indeed many talents in this batch," Xu Er quickly replied. Noah’s batch was not the first one to go through this test. There had been others who attempted the test and joined the rest in the third stage of the trial from other places.
Xu Er passed a list to the woman that contained names of talented individuals and their achievements.
The first name on the list had so many achievements that it had filled the whole page.
"Fang Yuan. Who is this?" The elder asked curiously and turned to face the screen where Xu Er pointed out Noah, who was in disguise.
"He had passed the first section after comprehending what we assume to be a heaven-grade skill in a span of mere seven months."
Elder Lou’s hands paused and her eyes widened in disbelief as she uttered, "Genius... do you know anything about his background?"
"We only know that he came out of the western forests of the Feng Empire, where he killed one of the original participants with the tag and took their place."
Even as she heard it, Elder Lou did not seem bothered. It was as if what Noah did was a common occurrence. Instead, she focused on watching Noah’s every move as he stepped close to a huge stone stela.
"It looks like he is trying to claim another heaven-rank technique."
Her whisper shocked everyone in the room. They could not believe the apatite of Noah. He was not satisfied with one grand technique and wanted to try another one.
It was well known that not all heaven-rank techniques were the same and the time it takes to comprehend each one, let alone master them, was different.
But they could not utter a word in the presence of the elder even if they wanted to.
They could only watch as Noah moved towards the stele where a batch of participants had already been gathered, staring at the imprint of a palm embedded on it.
Even though they could not see it through the screen, Noah sensed a powerful pressure coming from the palm imprint.
Wisps of energy would radiate from the palm from time to time before dissipating, making it look like an ordinary carving.
Noah knew what it was... the power of Intent.
Something he already grasped in the way of swords. The intent lingering on the stone slab belonged to its owner, and it was not something he wanted to comprehend, but as he stared into the intent, something happened.
Noah entered a trance-like state and sat down on the ground, joining the rest who were looking in his direction with open curiosity, contempt, or hostility.
"Keep an eye on him. I want to know everything there is to know about him before the trial ends." Elder Lou glanced at Xu Er and commanded before turning around to leave. "Maybe he is the one we have been looking for."
