Chapter 355: Chapter 141: One Punch
Yang Jing, Zhou Bohao, and Shen Yue followed the three Stewards, making their way to the high platform in the center of Dragon Gate Plaza.
The platform was built from massive cyan rock, standing about ten feet tall. Its surface was flat and broad, and its edges were engraved with primitive beast patterns, giving off a solemn, imposing aura.
A crowd had already gathered around the platform, all of them Outer Sect disciples in cyan robes from the Xuanzhen Sect’s Main Peak and its various Seven Veins.
Their expressions varied. Some nervously clenched their fists, secretly steadying their breathing. Others were calm and composed, murmuring to fellow disciples from their own vein. These were the ones who were clearly well-prepared—the Outer Sect disciples from the various veins who would be participating in the Dragon Gate Martial Trial.
The disciples who were merely spectators knew to stand further back, not daring to approach the platform.
In the open space below the platform, only the Stewards leading the groups and the cyan-robed Outer Sect disciples about to compete remained. The atmosphere grew heavy, filled with the palpable tension of an impending trial.
Yang Jing casually glanced around and made a rough estimate. There were about fourteen or fifteen cyan-robed disciples in total, all from different veins. Lingxi Peak had sent three participants, which was a considerable number compared to most other veins that had only sent one or two.
He knew the number of disciples from each vein participating in the Dragon Gate Martial Trial was never fixed. It all depended on how many disciples had reached the Peak of Transformation and were willing to register for that session’s trial.
Sometimes a single vein might have a large group of disciples participating, while at other times, there might be hardly any at all.
...
「In a distant corner of Dragon Gate Plaza.」
Sun Ningxiang stood alone at the edge of the crowd, her gaze locked on the platform, where she had a clear view of Yang Jing’s profile.
Her brow was slightly furrowed, and she couldn’t hide the worry on her face.
She was no longer the naive newcomer she’d been when she first joined the Xuanzhen Sect. After spending time cultivating on Yunxi Peak, she had developed a deep understanding of the sect’s rules and trials. She had even watched the Dragon Gate Martial Trial from afar on several occasions, so she knew its difficulty far surpassed what most imagined.
The vast majority of disciples who took the Dragon Gate Martial Trial ended up failing. Very few passed successfully.
Worse still, some would get injured on the trial platform while battling exotic beasts. A light injury could set one’s cultivation back by months, while a severe one could damage their foundational cultivation, leading to unthinkable consequences.
Yang Jing had registered for the trial immediately after his breakthrough to the Peak of Transformation, giving him no extra time to consolidate his power or prepare. Though Sun Ningxiang knew he had always been level-headed and was by no means a reckless person, she couldn’t help but feel her heart clench with worry for him, silently praying he would pass without a hitch.
’Sigh, Junior Brother Yang is so ambitious. Otherwise, it would have been nice for us to stay in Yuhe County. I could have stayed with my father, and he could have taken care of his family.’
Sun Ningxiang thought to herself, ’With Junior Brother Yang’s skills, who in Yuhe County would dare mess with him? Wouldn’t that be so much better than this difficult struggle here? If he fails this Dragon Gate Martial Trial, should I try to convince him to come back home with me?’
...
「On a small hill even farther away.」
Two figures slowly ascended to the crest of the hill. They were none other than Bai Bing, the Peak Master of Lingxi Peak, and Si Jiawen, its Senior Sister.
Bai Bing wore her usual plain white robes. Her posture was tall and straight, her face exquisitely beautiful but cold, and her aura was as deep and still as an abyss, betraying no hint of emotion.
Si Jiawen followed close behind, dressed in a white robe with embroidered silver patterns. She carried herself with a crisp precision, and the sharp look in her eyes projected all the steady composure expected of a Senior Sister.
The small hill was a considerable distance from Dragon Gate Plaza, separated from it by a wide expanse of forest and open ground. From here, an ordinary disciple could only make out the blurred shapes and silhouettes of the people in the plaza, with no hope of seeing any detail.
But Bai Bing and Si Jiawen both possessed profound Cultivation. Their eyes had been tempered multiple times, making their vision far superior to that of ordinary people. Even from this great distance, they could see the situation in Dragon Gate Plaza with perfect clarity, able to take in even the smallest details of the battles about to unfold on the platform.
Bai Bing stood quietly at the crest of the hill. Her cold gaze swept slowly over Dragon Gate Plaza, passing over the bustling crowd and the solemn platform before finally settling on the three disciples from Lingxi Peak.
Her gaze lingered on Yang Jing for a moment, a barely perceptible flicker of expectation in her eyes. It vanished as quickly as it appeared, and she resumed her usual indifference, her aura once again as calm as still water.
Standing beside Bai Bing, Si Jiawen was thoroughly confused, her brow slightly furrowed.
She had been in seclusion, refining her Cultivation, when her master had suddenly summoned her to watch this Dragon Gate Martial Trial—an event that had absolutely nothing to do with her. She couldn’t make heads or tails of it.
The Dragon Gate Martial Trial was critically important to Outer Sect disciples seeking promotion. But to an Inner Sect Core Disciple like her—one who was firmly established as the Senior Sister of her vein with a Cultivation level that far surpassed her peers—it was nothing more than a routine outer sect examination. She would never normally pay it any mind, which made her master’s actions today all the more unusual.
Then she remembered that her master had previously given her special instructions to pay attention to the battle on the Cyan Qilin Platform. Her heart stirred as a guess began to form in her mind.
’Could it be that Lingxi Peak is about to produce an exceptionally talented disciple? One worthy of our master’s high regard?’
’And that disciple... is one of the three from Lingxi Peak down below the platform right now?’
As this thought took hold, Si Jiawen’s gaze shot toward the base of the platform in Dragon Gate Plaza. She fixed her eyes on the three cyan-robed disciples from Lingxi Peak and began to study them carefully.
All three stood tall with steady auras, but she couldn’t see anything particularly outstanding about any of them. For a moment, she couldn’t tell which of the three could possibly be the supposed genius her master was interested in, assuming her guess was even correct.
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