Chapter 74: Chapter 73: Mutated Martial Arts Talent
"Qin Feng!" Qin Tianjiao growled, his voice low and deliberate as he watched the figure’s unhurried departure. His fists were clenched so tightly that his nails dug into his palms.
"Brother Tianjiao, don’t let it bother you. We’ll let the boy run wild for a little while longer. Once we get into All Stars Academy, we’ll have plenty of opportunities to kill that little bastard!" A cold smile appeared on his handsome face. His chiseled features held a bone-chilling coldness, like a viper in the dark flicking its tongue as it stared down its prey.
"And Brother Tianjiao, don’t you forget what kind of place All Stars Academy is!" An extremely bloodthirsty smile spread across Xu Fei’s handsome face.
"Exactly! Exactly!" A savage smile curled on his lips as Qin Tianjiao stared murderously at the departing figure. He laughed grimly. "All Stars Academy isn’t like other schools. The rules there... heh heh... Qin Feng, I, Qin Tianjiao, will give you a *very* warm welcome!"
...
"Those spoiled scions actually have some self-control. They managed to hold back!" Zuo Ming suddenly spoke, his cold voice filled with surprise.
"They had no choice but to hold back. This is All Stars Academy’s turf," Zuo Quan said with a frown. "Don’t forget how All Stars Academy operates. It’s not a place for the faint of heart."
"I’m afraid they’ve resolved to deal with Brother Qin Feng inside All Stars Academy." Zuo Quan’s expression turned grave as he watched the disciples from the Nine Great Families shoot hostile glances in their direction.
Zuo Quan knew that with Qin Feng’s status as an Official Xuan Master, he would be accepted without question, regardless of his results in the second and third rounds of the test.
"Is All Stars Academy that frightening? Why do you both look like that?" Qin Shou couldn’t help but ask, clearly bewildered.
"Frightening doesn’t even begin to cover it!" A flash of terror crossed the Zuo Clan brothers’ eyes. Whatever they were remembering, it made their faces turn pale.
Qin Shou was about to ask again when a sudden cry of astonishment rose from the crowd, and the plaza erupted into an uproar.
BOOM!
On the Central Array Map, specks of icy-blue light began to float up, converging on a tall, beautiful girl with a cold and aloof expression. An icy-blue halo gradually materialized at her feet.
It was as if a light snow had begun to fall over the plaza, and many people reached out their hands to catch it.
One, two, three, four, five—in succession, five icy-blue halos pulsed outward, rushing in all directions and blooming with a dazzling radiance. The sight of the overlapping, icy-blue ripples was breathtaking.
Near the Array Map, the middle-aged man’s eyes lit up as he watched the halos ripple out one after another. A rare smile touched his otherwise indifferent face as he announced the result.
"Zhuang Yan, Fifth Grade Ice Attribute Martial Arts Talent. Pass!"
"She passed! And with the extremely rare Ice Attribute, a Mutated Attribute! The Ice Attribute is one of the most powerful offensive Mutated Attributes. How lucky!" In the crowd, countless eyes watched the girl in white with envy.
"The Ice Attribute... a Mutated Attribute that surpasses the Five Elements Attributes!" Zuo Ming’s eyes lit up, a strange glint in them as he sized up the girl in white who was walking off the Array Map.
"But what’s most important is that it’s a Fifth Grade Martial Arts Talent! Fifth Grade is one of the Middle Three Grades. Talent like that is a once-in-a-century find!"
"I think the Zhuang Family is a minor family affiliated with the Ning Family, one of Mountain and River City’s Nine Great Families. That girl has a boundless future ahead of her!"
"Zuo Ming, you’ve reached a marriageable age," Zuo Quan suddenly said. "How about I ask Grandfather to arrange it and send someone to the Zhuang Family with a betrothal gift?"
"That’s not a bad idea," Qin Feng said with a slight smile, glancing at the clearly tempted Zuo Ming. "I’ve heard that when two Martial Artists with outstanding talent have children, their offspring have a much higher chance of inheriting high-grade Martial Arts Talent than ordinary people."
"Besides, it looks like quite a few people have their eyes on her. If you act too late, Brother Zuo Ming, she’ll likely be snatched up by another family." Qin Feng frowned slightly. His gaze swept over the group from the Nine Great Families, where several young men were already staring with gleaming eyes, rubbing their hands together in anticipation.
Powerful female Martial Artists were already rare, and a beautiful woman with such outstanding Martial Arts Talent was an even greater prize. One could only imagine how popular she would be; there were far more suitors than there were prospects.
Many of the families had clearly come prepared. Qin Feng saw that as soon as the girl, Zhuang Yan, stepped off the Array Map, she was immediately surrounded by a crowd of matchmakers.
Zuo Ming was clearly swayed. After a moment’s thought, he nodded at Qin Feng and waved to someone nearby. Qin Feng then saw a person from their group head towards Zhuang Yan. He couldn’t help but chuckle. ’So the Zuo Family came prepared too.’
The same scene played out over and over. However, of the next several dozen youths tested, only a few possessed Fourth Grade Martial Arts Talent, and their Attributes were mostly the Basic Five Elements Attributes.
There was one with a powerful Light Attribute, but unfortunately for that young Martial Artist, his talent was only First Grade, so he was still eliminated.
"One at a time! Pass to the left, fail to the right!" the middle-aged man said coldly, looking at the long queue of testers near the Array Map.
After several dozen more youths were tested, it was finally the turn of Qin Tianjiao’s group. First up was Guan Ruo Lin.
Guan Ruo Lin had a graceful figure. She was already an exceptional beauty, and when combined with her cold, aloof, iceberg-like demeanor, she was utterly captivating. Most eyes in the plaza were fixed on her.
"Step onto the testing platform!"
Before long, specks of icy-blue light floated up from the Array Map and settled upon Guan Ruo Lin. Six icy-blue halos gradually materialized at her feet.
The middle-aged man glanced at the light flaring on the Profound Array Map, a flicker of surprise crossing his stoic face. He nodded and announced, "Guan Ruo Lin, Sixth Grade Ice Attribute Martial Arts Talent. Pass!"
Upon hearing the man’s announcement, Guan Ruo Lin lifted her chin slightly. A smug smile graced her lips, and a triumphant light danced in her beautiful eyes.
"A Sixth Grade Ice Attribute Martial Arts Talent! She’s the second genius with a Mutated Attribute! Miss Ruolin is truly the Guan Family’s Palm Pearl! A Martial Arts Talent of that grade is like a star in the sky; we can only look up in awe!"
"A Sixth Grade Martial Arts Talent is one in ten thousand! She’s truly worthy of her title as one of the Three Heroes of Mountain and River City!"
"The Guan Family certainly lives up to its thousand-year heritage!"
...
Hearing the chorus of envious voices, Guan Ruo Lin’s smile widened. As she stepped down, she was immediately swarmed by a group of admiring young women, her usual friends. A touch more arrogance entered the icy maiden’s eyes as her gaze swept across the crowd, gliding past countless adoring looks. But when her eyes suddenly landed on the Black Robe-clad figure she utterly detested, her expression turned frigid.
’Qin Feng, once we are in All Stars Academy, I will kill you!’
If the icy maiden had any doubts before about her ability to crush Qin Feng, she was now brimming with confidence. The chilling killing intent in her eyes was completely unconcealed. She even made a throat-slitting gesture directly at Qin Feng.
