Chapter 70

"Before you is this bamboo forest, which I'm sure you have already seen. This bamboo forest is called the Sword Forest and is one of the most important places of our Wind Sword Sect. The wonders within it, you will come to know in time. This time, the location for your test will be right here in the Sword Forest!"

Elder Jin’s authoritative voice echoed, not particularly loud but extremely clear to everyone’s ears.

"After you enter the Sword Forest, with every step you take, the Sword Forest will conjure up some martial artists, whose strength will increase from the First Level of Body Tempering all the way up. The number of martial artists you kill will be your test score, and all the test scores will be announced!"

As he spoke, Elder Jin waved his hand, and two objects suddenly flew out. These objects, like the flying apparatus, grew with the wind, quickly expanding to over a dozen zhang tall, turning out to be two enormous stone steles!

Everyone’s attention was immediately drawn to the two massive stone steles, unsure of Elder Jin’s intentions in suddenly producing them.

Lu Xuan couldn’t help but look over as well, his gaze sweeping over the two stone steles. He found that one of the steles was completely blank, while the other was densely filled with names, exactly five hundred in total!

The names on the stele varied in size; the higher the rank, the larger the font, especially the top three, which shone brightly and could be seen clearly from a distance. The names at the bottom, however, were as small as grains of rice, and even with his best effort, Lu Xuan could barely make them out.

"First place: Xu Wenyang of the Blade Sect, 26,781 points; second place: Mo Xiaochen of the Spear Sect..."

As his gaze swept over the top few names, Lu Xuan noticed that each name had a score behind it. If his guess was correct, these names should be those of all the inner disciples of the Wind Sword Sect.

After all, Lu Xuan and his peers were merely new inner disciples, newcomers, while the Wind Sword Sect already had many senior disciples from previous years. This ranking, he presumed, was a reflection of the disciples’ strength, though he wasn’t sure what the scores were based on.

Suddenly, Lu Xuan’s gaze focused on a name, the 86th place: Long Tian!

The eldest son of Long Zhan, the older brother of Long Tai, his name was Long Tian!

He never expected that Long Tian’s strength would place him among the top hundred inner disciples of the entire Wind Sword Sect!

To Lu Xuan, Long Tian was not only the one who had killed his brother but also the one who had killed his father. The enmity between them was irreconcilable, and if given the chance, Long Tian would undoubtedly want to kill Lu Xuan.

Just as Lu Xuan’s expression was fluctuating, Elder Jin’s voice sounded again.

"These two stone steles are used to record your scores. The blank stele will record the scores of all the new inner disciples. The scores you obtain will be transmitted to this stele through your respective badges and displayed. The stele with names records the scores of all the inner disciples of the Wind Sword Sect, including both new and senior disciples!"

Elder Jin’s words confirmed Lu Xuan’s guess, and he continued.

"The way to earn points is by killing enemies in the Sword Forest. Killing a First Level of Body Tempering martial artist earns you one point; a Second Level, five points; a Third Level, ten points; a Fourth Level, fifty points; a Fifth Level, one hundred points; and a Sixth Level, five hundred points! The points earned will be recorded in your badges."

"Besides this time, if you feel your strength has improved in the future and you want to challenge the rankings, you can enter the Sword Forest at any time. The badge records will be based on the highest score, and the first time you achieve a ranking on the main list, you will receive a certain reward."

Elder Jin explained the rules of the ranking steles clearly. Clearly, the rankings on this stele represented the rankings of all the inner disciples of the Wind Sword Sect. If one had the strength, challenging the ranking steles was undoubtedly the fastest way to gain fame. If one could become the top of the main list, it would be a great honor, known by everyone in the Wind Sword Sect. Even now, Lu Xuan and the others had already memorized the name of the top-ranked individual, Xu Wenyang of the Blade Sect!

As Elder Jin’s words ended, a voice suddenly came, "Elder Jin, the scores you mentioned only go up to the Sixth Level of Body Tempering. What if one kills a martial artist of the Seventh Level or higher, how many points would that be?"

Upon hearing this, the disciples all turned to look. To want to kill a Seventh Level of Body Tempering martial artist on the first test was quite a bold statement!

Lu Xuan noticed that this person was standing in the Blade Sect’s formation, likely a member of the Blade Sect. Given his position at the front of the Blade Sect’s formation, he was probably the strongest among the new inner disciples of the Blade Sect.

Seeing everyone’s attention on him, a hint of pride flashed across his face. He thoroughly enjoyed being the center of attention.

Noticing Lu Xuan’s interest, Xia Ye whispered, "I’ve heard from other disciples that a genius has appeared in the Blade Sect this time, named Zheng Gang. He is a Sixth Level of Body Tempering at seventeen, just a step away from entering the core disciples. It’s likely him."

Lu Xuan nodded slightly. A Sixth Level of Body Tempering at seventeen? He was still far behind Xia Chenxi, and even Lu Xuan himself might not be far behind him!

Elder Jin’s gaze focused on the speaker, and a smile appeared on his face, "Sixth Level of Body Tempering at seventeen, not bad, not bad. Since you believe you have the strength to challenge Seventh Level of Body Tempering martial artists, I’ll tell you. Killing a Seventh Level of Body Tempering martial artist earns you one thousand points; an Eighth Level, five thousand points; and a Ninth Level, ten thousand points!"

Upon hearing this, the disciples were somewhat astonished. Xu Wenyang, the top-ranked individual, had over 26,000 points. Did that mean he had killed at least five Eighth Level of Body Tempering martial artists, or even a Ninth Level?

Most of the disciples present were around the Fourth Level of Body Tempering, with Fifth Level being quite rare. To them, this was an incredibly powerful existence.

After hearing Elder Jin’s words, the disciples began to feel restless, eager to enter the Sword Forest and see how many points they could earn. Even if they couldn’t make it to the main list, a good ranking among the new inner disciples would be enough to gain fame. Young people, who doesn’t want to be famous?

However, Elder Jin wasn’t done speaking.

"What I just mentioned are the rules of the test. Next, I will announce the rewards! In the Wind Sword Sect, the most important thing is not wealth but contribution points. Contribution points can be exchanged for elixirs, weapons, cultivation techniques, martial arts, and so on. Even if you want to enter the Sword Forest for testing again in the future, you will need to pay contribution points. In short, contribution points can do anything in the Wind Sword Sect. Therefore, the reward for this test is contribution points."

He first introduced the concept of contribution points to the disciples, making them understand its importance, before announcing the actual rewards.

"The new inner disciple who ranks first will receive two thousand contribution points! Those who enter the top three will receive one thousand contribution points, the top ten will receive five hundred contribution points, and the top hundred will receive one hundred contribution points! If you can enter the main list, you will receive an additional two thousand contribution points, and if you can enter the top three hundred of the main list, you will receive five thousand contribution points! The rewards for the main list can be cumulative!"

Such generous rewards made the hearts of many disciples race, and even Lu Xuan couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement!