Chapter 2

"Whether Chu Xisheng has the qualifications, it's not your place to criticize, Shao Lingshan." Ye Zhiqiu did not want to argue with Shao Lingshan and turned to bow to the hall master, Lei Yuan: "Hall Master, I am willing to vouch for him with my reputation."

Shao Lingshan curled his lips, his expression full of disdain: "Hall Master, the young man behind me is named Long Sheng, the legitimate son of the Long family in the inner city. He has practiced martial arts since childhood and has a solid foundation. He is only thirteen years old, yet his Wu Dao Yuan Gong has already reached the lower ninth rank. If he can be admitted without an examination, he will surely bring glory to our martial hall in the future."

"Admitted without an examination? So he isn't even an outer disciple yet." Ye Zhiqiu sneered: "If his Wu Dao Yuan Gong has already reached the lower ninth rank, then he must have entered with his own skills, right? I'll ask you again, among the ten arts of our Wu Xiang Divine Sect—Yang Yuan Gong, Zui Feng Dao, Jiu Gong Jian, Qing Yun Zhong—which one has he learned?"

"He can learn if he doesn't know."

Shao Lingshan's smile did not waver as he bowed to Lei Yuan, who was seated in the main chair: "Hall Master! The head of the Long family has said that if our martial hall is willing to accept this child, he will donate a 'Ji Yuan Array' to our martial hall."

Ye Zhiqiu's divine sense was sharp, and she noticed that Lei Yuan's expression had clearly changed, making her very anxious: "Hall Master, this is not in accordance with the rules!"

Shao Lingshan shook his head and snorted: "Why is it not in accordance with the rules? The inner hall martial examination of our martial hall is to select talented individuals for the country. If your Eastern Hall cannot recommend a suitable candidate, then this inner hall slot should be given to true talent and beauty."

"Let's do this, Instructor Ye. If you really think Chu Xisheng has excellent talent and his Zui Feng Dao has already reached a rank, then let them have a match. If this person can withstand three rounds against Long Sheng, then not only will I retract my previous words, but I will also personally donate a 'Ji Yuan Array' to the martial hall, as my personal donation."

Ye Zhiqiu's face turned dark, her hand resting on the yanling knife at her waist, her eyes cold as ice.

Chu Xisheng's knife skills were only slightly better than those of ordinary outer disciples. The key issue was his poor physical condition and weak strength, making him no match for Long Sheng.

They couldn't have a match; it would expose their weakness.

Hall Master Lei Yuan, however, waved his hand slightly, his tiger-like eyes fixed on Chu Xisheng: "Chu Xisheng, are you willing to accept the challenge?"

At that moment, the attention of the thousands of people on the platform and below was drawn to Chu Xisheng.

Chu Xisheng's expression remained calm. He glanced at Shao Lingshan and the young man behind him, then looked at Hall Master Lei Yuan and Ye Zhiqiu.

Finally, he focused his gaze on the virtual screen in front of him.

Looking at the status bar, he saw the words "Liu Yin Huan Hun Spell."

This inner hall slot was a matter of life and death for him.

His siblings had worked day and night, struggling to earn money for three months, not even daring to eat meat, to finally save up eighty taels. He still had to spend extra money on medicine to sustain his life.

So, what he was putting on the line was not just money; it was his life!

Chu Xisheng was filled with righteous anger. He took a deep breath, his expression resolute as he bowed: "Disciple is willing to accept the challenge."

Ye Zhiqiu's hand trembled slightly, her face turning bitter.

※※※※

A short while later, Chu Xisheng stood at one corner of the stone platform, lost in thought as he looked at the virtual screen in front of him.

Chu Xisheng was focusing on the "Wu Dao" section.

In his mind, a mysterious text appeared.

"Please confirm, do you wish to use 3 Wu Dao points to upgrade the level of the Zui Feng Dao remnant technique?"

Chu Xisheng was definitely unwilling. Although he hadn't thoroughly studied the mechanism of using Wu Dao points, the cost-effectiveness of upgrading the Zui Feng Dao was clearly not high.

Since he could practice and improve it himself, why waste Wu Dao points?

He then shifted his gaze to the "Yuan Gong" section.

Another line of text appeared in his mind.

"You have not mastered the second level cultivation method of Yang Yuan Gong, so you cannot use Wu Dao points to upgrade it."

Chu Xisheng had no intention of using these Wu Dao points on Yang Yuan Gong.

Subsequently, he used his mind to open the "Wu Dao Treasure House" and directly exchanged the initial special offer talent—Zui Feng Zhu Dian Zhi Shou (Stage 1).

He had roughly evaluated that this was currently the most cost-effective choice.

At that moment, the seal script icon on the screen suddenly burst into countless spiritual lights, which then converged into his hands and arms.

Strangely, the surrounding crowd was completely unaware of this fantastical scene.

Chu Xisheng was momentarily stunned, feeling a warm, burning current circulating in his hands and arms.

"I didn't expect this to happen."

Ye Zhiqiu stood beside Chu Xisheng, her face extremely grim: "This time, I have involved you. Shao Lingshan is targeting me, trying to embarrass me!

If you feel unwell later, don't force yourself; just admit defeat. I will refund your money, and within three months, I will ensure you can enter the martial hall."

A layer of greenish hue appeared on her face: "I will not rest until I avenge this!"

Chu Xisheng's eyebrows slightly raised.

He smiled: "Disciple understands."

At this moment, Chu Xisheng shifted his gaze to the "Talent" section of the screen.

The words "Quick Hands" had been replaced by "Zui Feng Zhu Dian Zhi Shou (Stage 1)."

At the same time, another line of text appeared in his mind.

Zui Feng Zhu Dian Zhi Shou (Stage 1)—allows the hands to chase the wind and the fingers to catch lightning, with hand speed and dexterity exceeding that of ordinary people by one fold.

What caught Chu Xisheng's attention was the "one fold" in this text.

Three months ago, when he started practicing the knife, he knew he had a terminal illness, lacked strength, and could not endure prolonged battles. Therefore, he chose to specialize in the fastest few moves of the Zui Feng Dao, focusing on offensive techniques, aiming to achieve a decisive victory with a single strike.

The problem was that Chu Xisheng had only practiced the knife for three months, and no matter how fast his knife speed was, it couldn't match Long Sheng's.

The system in front of him, however, gave Chu Xisheng a glimmer of hope.

If he could increase his knife speed by one fold on top of his original speed?

At that moment, someone on the platform shouted: "Outer disciples Chu Xisheng and Long Sheng, please step forward."

Chu Xisheng immediately stepped forward, standing five zhang away from the young man named Long Sheng on the stone platform.

At that moment, the entire grand training ground was drawn to the scene.

The platform was crowded with people, and countless curious gazes were cast upon them.

Long Sheng, who was about thirteen years old with a high nose and deep-set eyes, blushed slightly, appearing somewhat excited.

He glared at Chu Xisheng with a wolf-like gaze.

"I heard your Zui Feng Dao isn't fully learned? You're not my match. Why not just admit defeat? Since you're stupid enough to step onto the platform, I won't hold back."

Chu Xisheng ignored him, focusing his mind and observing his opponent's every move while tightly gripping his waist knife with his right hand.

The referee, a middle-aged martial master whom Chu Xisheng did not recognize, took out a copper coin: "Pay attention, the match begins when the coin lands."

The middle-aged martial master tossed the copper coin, making it fly up to three zhang high before spinning and falling rapidly.

At that moment, the platform and the crowd were deathly silent, all eyes fixed on the copper coin.

When the copper coin landed with a "ding" sound, their attention shifted back to Chu Xisheng and Long Sheng.

At that moment, they only heard a sharp "clang" and saw a flash of white light like lightning on the platform. Then, Long Sheng let out a "ah" of pain, his knife falling to the ground, and his left hand pressing on his right wrist in agony.

Shao Lingshan, who had been smirking, instantly turned furious and rushed forward to Long Sheng's side.

While stopping Long Sheng's bleeding, Shao Lingshan roared at Chu Xisheng: "You scoundrel, why are you so vicious? It's just a match; did you have to use such force?"

"Enough!" Hall Master Lei Yuan also rushed over: "He didn't do it intentionally; he couldn't control his knife. He was already reducing the force when the knife reached its target."

As Lei Yuan spoke, he cast a reproachful glance at the referee.

The referee's face turned red with shame.

If he had been fully focused, he could have prevented it. But who could have expected Chu Xisheng's knife to be so fast?

It was truly shocking!

The crowd below was buzzing.

"What just happened? Did you see clearly?"

"Such a fast knife! Was that the Zui Feng Dao's draw technique 'Kong Xue Lai Feng'? Long Sheng's knife was only halfway out."

"Just one strike! This level of knife skills is surely not just the lower ninth rank?"

"Even the lower ninth rank might not be able to withstand it. No wonder Master Ye values him; he truly has exceptional talent!"

Chu Xisheng, however, was staring intently at his hands, lost in thought.

He recalled the information about the talent—hands that can chase the wind, fingers that can catch lightning!

Could his hands really be that fast?

At that moment, the virtual screen in front of him burst into a fireworks display.

He focused his attention and noticed that the reputation section had changed. The original "lower ninth rank (virtual)" had become "lower ninth rank (real)."

The Wu Dao points, which had been reduced to "1," had now increased to "7."

Chu Xisheng's eyes showed a hint of confusion.

"From 'lower ninth rank (virtual)' to 'lower ninth rank (real)'?"

What was the reason for this?