Chapter 728 – Surprise Reunion
The last exam was smooth and absurd as usual. Half of the local cultivators barely dodged or blocked the attack, but they managed to get at least 50 points from the elders. As for the players, they all failed, including Chase. None of them managed to react after their five senses had been deprived.
In the end, 4,000 cultivators were qualified to become Celestial Sword Sect's initiates. As for Tang Ting and Miaomiao, they were promoted directly to outer disciples.
As the couple got the perfect score, they had the right to challenge an inner disciple to a duel to claim their seat.
499 platform sank to the ground, leaving only one platform. Then, ten inner disciples of the lowest ranks stepped on the stage, presenting themselves in public. All of them were 5th or 6th stage cultivators, and they carried two different swords.
Despite being at risk of losing their positions, these disciples didn't look nervous. They seemed to be experienced in duels and public fights.
Mao Shan gazed at the 10 inner disciples, Tang Ting, and Miaomiao.
"As promised, you have passed all exams, and you can challenge one of the inner disciples to claim their seats. However, your cultivation base will be suppressed to the 5th stage, and you need to bring your own swords. We do not allow any weapon other than swords in this fight. Also, be careful. In a formal duel, the fight only stops when one side is clearly defeated. Sometimes, people died from the fight. But if possible, avoid killing, okay?"
Tang Ting raised her hand, "Is a saber considered a sword?"
"Yes. Any form of saber, cleavers, or blades is allowed."
"Alright!"
Tang Ting leaped on the stage. She pulled out a heaven-grade khopesh from her system inventory, which she had obtained from Miaomiao in the previous life.
The khopesh was a sickle-shaped sword, which could also be used as like a battle-ax during fights. It was specialized in hacking, slashing, or digging into human flesh with its sickle-shaped edge.
However, the khopesh in Tang Ting's hands was not an ordinary one. It wiggled and shape-shifted every second, which made it difficult for her opponents to guess her movements or attacks.
Tang Ting scanned the disciples in front of her. Then, she picked the strongest one, who was a burly female cultivator with a square face, muscular body, and large biceps.
"Pikachu, I choose you!"
The burly female cultivator stepped forward while the rest of the inner disciples receded. The inner disciple unsheathed two bastard swords, which had been hanging behind her back, and bellowed.
"I AM MEI LINGLING, THE CUTEST INNER DISCIPLE OF THE CELESTIAL SWORD SECT! WHO DARES CHALLENGE ME?!"
Strangely, Mei Lingling's voice was deeper than men's.
Tang Ting narrowed her eyes. She sensed something odd in Mei Lingling's weapons.
They were not low-grade artifacts but common weapons that could be forged by mortals. Although they didn't contain a sentient spirit inside, the aura in the sword was comparable to heaven-grade weapons.
Miaomiao also sensed the anomaly. He shouted.
"Be careful! They might be practicing a sword law!"
Tang Ting was surprised, "Sword Law? They can even reach this level before they can even step into the immortal realm?!"
"There's a Game Law and a System Law in this world. Mu-Nyang and Pangu might have changed them, and they don't tell anyone about this! Don't let your guard down!"
"…"
Tang Ting deeply exhaled as circulated her Life Essence and elemental Qi. As a former goddess, she was confident that she wouldn't lose to a 5th-stage mortal in a real fight.
Sima Yi got on the stage. He gave a meaningful look to Tang Ting and sent a sound transmission to her.
'As Young Master Mao has said – Do not let your guard down. Although you defeated an outer disciple, their strength is incomparable to real inner disciples. All of them are monsters among monsters. Imagine Mao Miaomiao in his serious dragonewt mode before he becomes a Chaos Seraphim. They're at that level.'
The more Tang Ting listened, the more excited she was. Her nipples were hardened, and her expression turned into a lewd smile.
"Now, that's interesting. Hey, big girl! Don't disappoint me."
"You're in for trouble, bitch! No outer disciple can defeat me, even a 7th-stage cultivator can't even withstand the power of my Sword Law!"
"You're not the first person to use the power of Law and Dao! Hell, I doubt you can even cut through my skin with that common blade."
Tang Ting deeply inhaled and projected the illusion of a female Anubis with two khopeshs in her hand.
Sima Yi noticed that they were eager to go at it. He stood in the middle of the stage and prevented them from going at it before the signal.
"Introduce yourself before the fight!"
Tang Ting scoffed, "Tang Ting of the Tang Clan! I shall claim your seat!"
Sima Yi nodded. He stepped back away. He waved his hand, "Begin!"
Mei Lingling bellowed and grew larger. Her bastard swords also grew larger.
She swung her giant swords down like a scissor, aiming to cut Tang Ting in half.
Tang Ting's Dao Avatars extended her arms and blocked the incoming swords with the khopeshes. As for Tang Ting, she leaped toward Mei Lingling's face and hacked down with the heaven-grade sickle blade.
A sphinx spirit manifested from Tang Ting's khopesh. It stared down at Mei Lingling and questioned the giant with its archaic voice.
"ANSWER MY QUESTION HONESTLY OR BE JUDGED! IF YOU SAY YES, YOU WILL DIE! IF YOU LIE, YOU WILL DIE! IF YOU IGNORE MY QUESTION, YOU WILL DIE!"
BOOM
The khopesh hit Mei Lingling's face, but it failed to cut through her thick skin. However, the sphinx spirit laughed as its master had finished planting a curse on her.
"HAVE YOU EVER SINNED IN THIS LIFE?!"
Mei Lingling scoffed and refused to answer. As if she transformed into Starscourge Radahn of a certain soul game with a tarnished protagonist, she spun and weaved her giant swords around at a terrifying speed, defying all physics and gravity.
Unfortunately for Tang Ting, she could not roll and gain a split second of invulnerability. A hundred giant blades hit her and slashed her clothes into pieces.
Yet, none of the slashes managed to cut through her skin. Tang Ting also didn't flinch when the giant bastard swords hit her.
Mei Lingling also sensed the abnormal feedback from her hands as the blades couldn't cut through Tang Ting's skin. She widened her eyes in shock.
"HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?! WHAT ARE YOU?!"
Tang Ting snorted as she manipulated shadow element Qi to create dark gas to cover her private parts. She floated in the sky and sneered.
"It's my win. You didn't answer the question. Now, taste my LAW!"
As soon as Tang Ting declared her victory, the small wound on Tang Tingting expanded. Her blood gushed out like a fountain.
Realizing her doom, Mei Lingling shouted, "I give up!"
Tang Ting snapped her fingers, and the wound stopped expanding. She pulled out a new set of clothes and wore them.
Sima Yi rushed toward Mei Lingling and fed her a pill. She slowly shrank and transformed into a slender sexy woman with a deep wound on her forehead.
The disciples carried Mei Lingling to an infirmary while Sima Yi announced.
"Tang Ting of Tang Clan wins! She earns the inner disciple seat from Mei Lingling. As for Mei Lingling, she is demoted to an outer disciple!"
The male crowd cheered and clapped for Tang Ting. Even the players whistled as they had caught a glimpse of her sexiness.
Tang Ting got off the stage, and the new batch of 10 lowest rank inner disciples stepped on the platform again. They glared at Miaomiao as if they were eager to fight him.
Miaomiao stepped up on the platform. He scanned through their dantian and sized up their physique for a moment. Then, he made a shocking challenge.
"Is there anyone who can defeat a soul formation cultivator or an immortal? If so, step forward. I'll fight that guy. I don't want to bully mortals."
"…"
The inner disciples' expressions turned dark, but none of them took a step forward. They simply lowered their heads as if they admitted that they couldn't accomplish it.
"I see. Very well. I'll take on you!"
Miaomiao pointed at a cultivator, who had been sitting on the battlement of the sect city wall. The latter had been sneering and giggling by himself when Miaomiao got on the stage.
The person was not an inner disciple but a core disciple of Mao Cheng. In short, was not among the people whom Miaomiao could challenge.
The core disciple sneered, "Young Master Mao, you're not at my level yet. Perhaps, you should earn the top inner disciple title first before you bark at me. I'm the strongest core disciple here, and I don't fight a weakling scum."
Miaomiao laughed, "That's the more reason I should challenge you! Come down here, so this papa can wipe the floor with you!"
"…"
The cultivator on the battlement chuckled. He glanced at Sima Yi and Mao Shan.
Sima Yi coughed and shook his head.
"Sorry, Young Master Mao. Per the sect's rules, you cannot challenge a core disciple to claim his seat. You can only challenge the inner disciples at the lowest 10 ranks right now."
Miaomiao clicked his tongue, "I thought I could challenge anyone."
"The world is bigger than what you've imagined. All inner disciples can use Sword Daos and Laws that sages normally used, but you don't have that power."
"So, I need to learn the laws from the sect first? Is that a new feature of this universe?"
"Yes. Without it, you won't be able to challenge the other disciples even though they have a lower cultivation base than you."
"Hmm."
Miaomiao looked up again and pointed at the guy on the battlement.
"What's his name?"
Sima Yi looked up. He deeply exhaled.
"I thought you remembered him."
"I met him before? I don't recognize him."
Sima Yi whispered, "He's formerly Monkey King. He goes by the name Sun Wukong in this life, and he is the crown prince of Wu Dynasty Empire."
"… A big shot, I see. Oh, I remember the dude. He was Lu Fengxian's sponsor!"
"He seemed to retain his previous life's memory, too. He joined our sect two months ago because of Mao Cheng's recommendation, and he reached the core disciple level within two weeks. Actually, he's already ascended into the immortal realm, but he refused to become an elder because he hated working."
"That bastard is still arrogant, I see."
"Don't provoke him for the time being. Just challenge anybody here and get it done."
Miaomiao nodded. He turned to the group of 10 weakest inner disciples and picked one of them at random.
"Come out. You."
The one that Miaomiao had selected was a plain-looking cultivator. He wielded a katana like Miaomiao, but he used two of them.
"I'm Fan Xiao, the Blade of Fan Clan! I will not go easy on you, Young Master Mao!"
The other inner disciples let out a sigh of regret as they didn't get to fight Miaomiao. They withdrew from the platform.
On the other hand, Lu Fengxian flew down from the battlement and stood in the middle of the ring.
"Since you have the guts to challenge me, I shall be the referee of this duel myself. Be honored, scum!"
"That sounds very like you."
"Whatever. Bring out your sword and show me your skills!"
Sima Yi shook his head and retreated, letting the youth solve this themselves.
Miaomiao sized up Sun Wukong up close. He didn't look like a monkey in this life, but he became a handsome and cool teenager, who dressed in a proper uniform and carried two swords like others. Without the phoenix tail headwear and a long pole, he barely recognized him.
Sun Wukong grinned. He leaned over and whispered.
"Don't worry. I remembered everything you did before the great reset. I'll be sure to make your new life a living hell later since you abandoned me and OG-Buddha for Mu-Nyang!"
"Yeah, right. You joined the wrong side and blamed everything on me after your side was defeated."
"Whatever my Buddha's decision was, it was always the correct decision! Now, go and get this over with so that I can beat your ass when you become an official disciple!"
.
The fight only lasted one second. Miaomiao simply rider-kicked Fan Xiao off the stage and ended the match before the latter could even use his Sword Law.
Just like that, the Celestial Sword Sect welcomed two new inner disciples and 4,000 initiates.
.
Wu Dynasty Empire's Capital City, Jianye
In the palace, a hundred 9th-stage cultivators and a hundred civil officers with the same cultivation bases stood in files and ranks, bowing their heads toward the throne.
The emperor of the Wu Dynasty was a tall big-chested man in a white tiger leather suit. His cultivation base was comparable to a one-star stellar constellation immortal.
One of the ex-acquaintances of Miaomiao, Sun Wentai, was reincarnated here. His name changed to Sun Jian, and he was the current emperor.
He read the scroll in his hands and glanced at his retainer, former known as Huang Gongfu. But now, he changed his name to Huang Gai.
"Can someone confirm this intel? Is it true that the United States of Wei is requesting our reinforcement?"
Huang Gai saluted, "It is confirmed. Their army clashed against the monster army from the Southern Pacific Sea. Our spy sent us footage of the bitter battle."
"Who are they fighting against? Do you know who leads the monster army?"
"We have no clue."
"…"
Sun Jian deeply exhaled. He swept his gaze around the hall and called other subordinates. One of them was Huang Hansheng while the other was also a member of the Huang Clan.
"Huang Zhong, Huang Zu!"
Two old men stepped forward and knelt, "Your majesty!"
"Go warn the Celestial Sword Sect to prepare for a monster invasion! A monster army is coming from the south, so they might attack there first if they can break through the USW navy. Tell Mao Shan and Tang Fan to mobilize their army and evacuate the civilians from the Pirate Hunter City!"
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺