Chapter 86

"First place among this year's freshmen will definitely be Prince Huoxing."

"If he can pass the first level of the third floor, that would be impressive. It's said that the three female tyrants currently ruling the Martial Market Academy's Western Courtyard all passed the first level of the third floor when they entered the academy."

...

Everyone was discussing animatedly, their expressions excited.

After about ten more minutes, Prince Huoxing finally walked out of the Martial Tower.

Elder Situ immediately went up to him and asked, "Did you pass the first level of the third floor?"

Prince Huoxing's face carried a hint of a smile as he proudly looked at the other young martial artists. Finally, his gaze settled on Zhang Ruochen, and he said with a smile, "I passed the first level of the third floor, but unfortunately, I failed at the second level."

"Great!" Elder Situ said, extremely pleased.

When Prince Huoxing finished speaking, the area outside the Martial Tower immediately erupted.

He's so impressive!

To actually pass the first level of the third floor, his talent is probably not far off from those three female tyrants who rule the Western Courtyard.

"Amazing! With Prince Huoxing's powerful talent, he might be able to break the current imbalance of the Western Courtyard, where women dominate and men are in the minority," a male outer palace student said, somewhat excitedly.

"First place among the freshmen, it has to be him."

Amidst the praises, the next batch of martial artists entered the Martial Tower.

This batch included not only Zi Xi but also Yao Qingtong, the pride of Jingyue County.

Ten people entered the Martial Tower simultaneously.

Four minutes later, the first martial artist failed and exited the tower.

Ten minutes later, five more people exited the tower.

A short while later, the lights on the second floor of the Martial Tower lit up.

The nine elders below the tower all nodded, and one of them praised, "This batch of martial artists is quite good. Four of them entered the second floor at the same time. I wonder how far they can go?"

"Yao Qingtong has been a genius since childhood. She opened her Divine Martial Mark at the age of four, and it was even a sixth-grade Snowfall Divine Martial Mark. Passing the third level of the second floor shouldn't be difficult."

Elder Xie was also very confident in Zi Xi, believing she had a chance to pass the third level of the second floor.

Half an hour passed, and the lights on the third floor of the Martial Tower lit up.

It's important to note that by this time, only eight martial artists had exited the tower. This means that two people had passed the third level of the second floor.

Moreover, those two continued to challenge the first level of the third floor!

"Those two are Yao Qingtong from Jingyue County and Zi Xi from Yunwu County. I didn't expect the Western Courtyard to produce two exceptionally talented female geniuses this year."

The faces of the nine elders were somewhat peculiar, as the Western Courtyard had been dominated by women for nearly a hundred years.

They originally thought that Prince Huoxing's appearance might break the current situation, but who could have thought that two more female geniuses would suddenly appear.

This is dangerous now!

If they also pass the first level of the third floor, the Western Courtyard will continue to be ruled by female students for the next few years, making it difficult for male students to turn the tide.

Prince Huoxing sneered, "The difficulty of the first level of the third floor is so great that even I almost failed. They definitely won't pass."

Zhang Ruochen was still very confident in Zi Xi. After all, she was of the Sage Bloodline and possessed a very unique constitution, with her vision, hearing, and sense of smell all reaching an extremely abnormal level.

Her talent was absolutely not inferior to Prince Huoxing, and might even be slightly stronger.

Not long after, Yao Qingtong and Zi Xi almost simultaneously walked out of the Martial Tower.

The nine elders immediately went to inquire about their results.

Yao Qingtong said, "I passed the first level of the third floor but failed at the second level."

Zi Xi also nodded and said, "I'm the same."

The nine elders all smiled. This year's freshmen were simply too extraordinary, with three geniuses consecutively passing the first level of the third floor.

It's important to note that in the history of the Western Courtyard, many times, not even one genius who could pass the first level of the third floor would appear in ten consecutive years.

In recent years, however, they have been appearing frequently.

This is a sign of great prosperity!

If there are no unexpected events, Prince Huoxing, Yao Qingtong, and Zi Xi will be the top three among this year's freshmen. The specific rankings will depend on their performance in the Martial Tower.

"A young lady like Zi Xi is truly amazing, to pass the first level of the third floor. She will definitely be given special cultivation," a martial artist from Yunwu County said, very enviously.

Liu Chengfeng's face showed a bitter expression, "This year's freshmen are really too extraordinary. I originally thought I had a chance to compete for the top ten, but now that chance seems slim."

"The next batch of Martial Tower challengers: Liu Chengfeng, Zhang Ruochen, Xie Zhaowu..."

Including Liu Chengfeng and Zhang Ruochen, ten young martial artists walked out of the crowd and stood before the nine elders.

There were six early-stage Profound Apex Realm, three mid-stage Profound Apex Realm, and one Lesser Profound Apex Realm martial artists.

The Lesser Profound Apex Realm martial artist was named Xie Zhaowu, a genius from the Xie family of Sifang County.

Xie Zhaowu glanced at Zhang Ruochen and the others, a look of disdain in his eyes. He thought to himself, their cultivation is too weak. Among this batch of martial artists, I will definitely stand out and become the best.

Prince Huoxing's eyes were fixed on Zhang Ruochen, and he frowned slightly, "He was able to kill Qingyou, so his talent must be high. However, he is only at the mid-stage Profound Apex Realm, so he can at most pass the third level of the second floor."

The ten people walked into the first floor of the Martial Tower.

Upon entering the main door of the Martial Tower, ten small doors appeared inside.

Above the ten small doors, three ancient characters were carved—First Level.

Zhang Ruochen walked very casually into the second small door. The other nine martial artists also chose a small door and entered.

As soon as Zhang Ruochen entered the small door, he found himself in a closed training ground surrounded by iron walls.

This closed training ground was quite spacious, measuring twenty meters in length and width, and thirty meters in height. The iron walls on all four sides had sixteen recesses, each containing a bronze lamp.

Zhang Ruochen walked to the center of the training ground and looked up at the stone wall.

A young martial artist, around twenty years old, walked out from the stone wall and stood opposite Zhang Ruochen, saying, "I am Luo Xu, representing the strongest power of the mid-stage Profound Apex Realm. If you can withstand my three attacks, you will pass the first level."

The Luo Xu standing opposite Zhang Ruochen was not a real person but a spirit body formed by the Martial Tower using spiritual energy.

Zhang Ruochen asked, "Can you represent the strongest power of the mid-stage Profound Apex Realm?"

Luo Xu smiled, "The Martial Market Academy's Western Courtyard has been open for four hundred and sixty years. Every year, young martial artists come to challenge the Martial Tower, including both freshmen and older students who have been cultivating in the Western Courtyard for some time. I am the strongest mid-stage Profound Apex Realm martial artist in the Western Courtyard's four hundred and sixty years."

Zhang Ruochen seemed to understand a bit and asked, "If my cultivation reaches the late-stage Profound Apex Realm, will I face the strongest late-stage Profound Apex Realm martial artist in the Western Courtyard's four hundred and sixty years?"

Luo Xu smiled, "Exactly."

Zhang Ruochen nodded and asked, "Withstanding your three attacks means passing the first level."

"That's right."

Zhang Ruochen asked, "What if I defeat you?"

Luo Xu said, "Then you can directly enter the second level, and in the future, you will replace me as the guardian of the mid-stage Profound Apex Realm. However, defeating me won't be easy."

"Let's give it a try!"

Zhang Ruochen held the Flash Soul Sword and stood with the sword horizontally, blending seamlessly with the surrounding space.

He did not use his spatial domain, only wanting to have a fair fight with the strongest mid-stage Profound Apex Realm martial artist in the Western Courtyard's four hundred and sixty years.

In the central chamber of the Martial Tower, two very beautiful women were seated.

The woman surnamed Huang and the young woman surnamed Duanmu were sitting cross-legged in the center of the chamber. In front of them, ten spirit energy mirrors floated, showing the scenes of the ten martial artists challenging the tower.

The original guardians of the Martial Tower were two silver-robed elders of the Martial Market Academy.

However, the woman surnamed Huang and the young woman surnamed Duanmu wanted to see the geniuses among this year's freshmen, so they negotiated with the two elders to help guard the Martial Tower.

The woman surnamed Huang had a cold and elegant aura, with her azure blue hair falling over her cheeks, making her skin appear exceptionally fair. She stared at the ten spirit energy mirrors and said indifferently, "After Prince Huoxing, Yao Qingtong, and Zi Xi, there's nothing much to see in this year's Martial Tower challenge. Even if another genius appears, they won't surpass these three. Overall, this year's freshmen are quite good. I'm going back to cultivate!"

The woman surnamed Huang seemed uninterested, stood up, and walked out of the Martial Tower, her tall and beautiful figure fully displayed.

The woman surnamed Duanmu continued to stare at one of the spirit energy mirrors, her eyes growing brighter, exclaiming, "Interesting! So interesting!"

The woman surnamed Huang, who had already reached the door, stopped and said indifferently, "Duanmu Xingling, are you going to continue watching?"

The young girl, who looked about thirteen or fourteen years old, was one of the three female tyrants of the Western Courtyard, Duanmu Xingling.

The woman surnamed Huang was also one of the three female tyrants, named Huang Yuchen.

Both were ranked martial artists in the Western Courtyard, virtually invincible.

Duanmu Xingling waved at Huang Yuchen, saying, "Sister Chen, come over and look. That mid-stage Profound Apex Realm martial artist is actually able to fight evenly with Luo Xu."

"How is that possible? Luo Xu is the most outstanding genius in the Martial Market Academy's four hundred and sixty years, a prodigy of his generation. Can someone at the same realm really match him?"

Huang Yuchen was somewhat skeptical but still walked back and looked at the spirit energy mirror.

On the mirror, two men were engaged in intense combat.

Their speed was extremely fast, forming more than a dozen afterimages.

Huang Yuchen's expression finally changed slightly, a hint of joy appearing in her beautiful star-like eyes, as if she had discovered a new continent. She asked, "How many moves have they exchanged so far?"

Duanmu Xingling said, "Seventy-four moves!"

Huang Yuchen sat down again, picked up a list from the ground, and looked at it, saying, "He should be the ninth prince of Yunwu County, Zhang Ruochen. His name also contains the character 'Chen.' Does he not know that it offends my taboo?"

Duanmu Xingling laughed, "Are you going to force him to change his name?"

"Let's see after he passes the Martial Tower."

Huang Yuchen said coldly, "If he can withstand Luo Xu for a hundred moves, it means he is a top genius. As long as he changes his name, I can spare his life."

Huang Yuchen still appreciated top geniuses.

Suddenly, the scene on the spirit energy mirror changed. Zhang Ruochen's sword technique became fierce, forcing Luo Xu to keep retreating.

"How is that possible?"

Duanmu Xingling and Huang Yuchen both held their breath, staring intently at the mirror.