Chapter 68

Just as he saw Gu Jianfeng peeking into the courtyard, Chen Xun smiled and said, "Come, try out this knife of mine..."

Gu Jianfeng came over bare-handed, stood there, and said, "Go ahead."

Gu Jianfeng was clad in the Vajra Mystic Armor, drawing on the essence of heaven and earth to generate a protective Vajra mystic power. He needed to occasionally expend some of it to facilitate the practice of the mystic armor ritual.

"Ha!"

Chen Xun exhaled lightly, held the knife with both hands, and a knife aura spontaneously formed above his soul sea. He slashed downward, and the Frost Blade's mystic coldness rapidly permeated, instantly forming a piercingly cold blade beam that slashed toward Gu Jianfeng...

"Ah..."

Previously, when Gu Jianfeng tested the knife for Chen Xun, the Vajra Mystic Armor could withstand at least ten slashes. But now, seeing Chen Xun raise the knife and condense a blade beam, which was far more intense than any previous test, and the bone-chilling coldness that pierced his heart, he dared not take the hit. Gu Jianfeng screamed and quickly retreated, fearing that his precious Vajra Mystic Armor would be damaged by Chen Xun's knife.

"It's fine, it's not that strong!"

Chen Xun laughed heartily, not letting Gu Jianfeng retreat. He followed quickly and slashed down, the blade beam hitting Gu Jianfeng's left shoulder. A golden light burst from the mystic armor, blocking the blade beam, and a "sizzle" sound of a thunderclap was heard.

Although the blade beam could not penetrate the golden light, the immense force generated by the impact sent Gu Jianfeng flying backward, crashing into the courtyard wall. The mystic armor released another golden light to absorb the impact, but the wall collapsed, leaving a hole...

Gu Jianfeng, covered in dust, crawled back, his face full of shock, and asked in surprise, "How can this knife be so strong? If I take two or three more hits, the Vajra Mystic Armor will surely break..."

It wasn't just the knife that was strong.

Chen Xun thought the Frost Blade would only double the power of his brute soul knife aura, but unexpectedly, when he used the brute soul knife aura, the brute soul divine radiance in his body rapidly flowed into the Frost Blade, and the speed of the aura's induction and fusion more than doubled, making this slash three to four times more powerful than before.

Chen Xun thought the mystery might lie in his mystic cold spirit body, which had been reshaped by the blood of a six-armed giant demon.

Su Tang had previously said that if he practiced mystic arts of yin coldness, he would progress much faster than ordinary people. With his mystic cold spirit body, he would naturally be more sensitive and quick to the frost cold mystic symbols engraved on the Frost Blade than other mystic symbols.

"Ah, why are Master and Lord Gu fighting..." Cai'er, hearing the commotion, ran into the courtyard. Seeing a large hole in the courtyard wall, a pile of broken bricks and stones, and the mess, and seeing Gu Jianfeng covered in dust, she was frightened and her face turned pale, not knowing what had happened.

"I was testing my moves with Lord Gu, and I didn't notice I used too much force. Call someone to repair this wall..." Chen Xun said.

At this moment, Zong Ling, Nan Xi, and Zuo Qianlan, who lived nearby, also rushed over. Seeing Chen Xun and Gu Jianfeng testing their moves, they didn't expect them to lose control and cause such destruction.

Nan Xi, seeing Chen Xun holding the Frost Blade, asked, "Xun, did you integrate the Nine Abyss War Spear into your knife aura?"

The courtyard houses were reinforced with secret techniques. Unless the Reverse Scale Thrust was integrated into the knife aura, Nan Xi found it hard to imagine Chen Xun and Gu Jianfeng causing such destruction.

Chen Xun shook his head. He wanted to integrate the Nine Abyss War Spear into his knife aura, but the Nine Abyss brute soul was extremely fierce, and the two different brute soul martial arts could not be easily combined at this stage.

However, the compatibility between his mystic cold spirit body and the Frost Blade significantly increased his strength, which was no different from integrating the Nine Abyss War Spear into his knife aura.

The Reverse Scale Thrust of the Nine Abyss War Spear, though extremely powerful, was also extremely fierce. Once used, it left nothing in reserve, draining all his blood and qi to transform into the most intense Nine Abyss Hellfire, burning the enemy to ashes.

Such a fierce and deadly martial art required a trusted assistant to protect him, and Chen Xun would never dare to use it lightly without one.

When the Frost Blade was used with the brute soul knife aura, although its power was less than half of the Reverse Scale Thrust, Chen Xun could control the remaining force, which greatly enhanced his combat ability.

Chen Xun also wondered why the barbarian tribes viewed a few mystic artifacts as their clan treasures. If Zong Sang and Nan Liao could fully utilize the power of the Vajra Mystic Armor and the Frost Blade, their strength would not be much less than that of a Transcendent Realm expert.

Seeing other disciples peeking from the courtyard, Chen Xun didn't want his secrets to be seen by others. Just as he was about to ask Gu Jianfeng to go inside with them, he heard a mocking voice from behind.

"Hey, the Black Python kid is really impressive. He's only been here a few days, and he's already tearing down walls. If he practices for a few years in the academy, will he tear down the entire Canglan City?"

Chen Xun turned around and saw Su Ling with his broad brows raised, his eyes glaring fiercely, looking over with a domineering air. Su Yi and Qingxuan stood behind him.

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Chen Xun didn't know why Su Ling, Su Yi, and Qingxuan suddenly appeared in the courtyard where the martial disciples lived, but seeing Su Ling's smug face, he asked, "What, are you upset about something?"

Su Ling thought a few mocking words would dampen the spirits of these country bumpkins. He put his hands on his waist, eager to see Chen Xun's angry face, but didn't expect Chen Xun to be so defiant, acting as if he didn't care about the damage, which made Su Ling almost choke with anger.

Chen Xun lightly hummed, his eyes sweeping over Qingxuan's face behind Su Ling.

They had been living in the courtyard for several days and had learned a lot about the Su family and Canglan Academy.

The Su family had thrived in Canglan for a thousand years, with tens of thousands of descendants, but the most prestigious were the Three Orders and Six Martial Houses. Other branches, though of the same lineage, had much lower status.

This was the core strategy of the Su family's rule over Canglan.

If all tens of thousands of Su family descendants were superior, it would stifle the growth of other forces, making Canglan a stagnant pool, and the Su family's power would have no room for further development.

Although Su Yi and Su Ling were not far from the bloodline of the Six Martial Houses, they were still a minor branch of the Su family and would receive limited care.

Chen Xun and Gu Jianfeng, having entered Canglan City with the trial iron plates, were already disciples of Canglan Academy.

Chen Xun's defeat of Lou Shiyi had already earned him a reputation among the new disciples. Even if he couldn't enter the inner courtyard in the short term, he would still be a core disciple in the Six Martial Houses.

His status would be above Su Ling and Su Yi, not below them.

Now that they were no longer in Black Python, Su Ling's smugness in coming to find trouble was not welcome, and Chen Xun naturally wouldn't show him any good face.

However, Chen Xun was more curious about why Su Ling, Su Yi, and Qingxuan suddenly appeared in the disciples' courtyard.

They had been living there for several days, and apart from the servants and the courtyard's overseers, they hadn't seen anyone else enter or leave.

Qingxuan, seeing Chen Xun look at her, smiled awkwardly.

She didn't want Su Ling to come over and immediately clash with Chen Xun again, feeling it was a bad omen. She wished she hadn't come.

However, she had heard from Ge Yi that among the ninety disciples recommended by the Six Martial Houses to Canglan Academy, Chen Xun was the most outstanding in both current strength and future potential. Her adoptive father had already shown great favor toward him, and once he achieved something in his practice, he would be heavily relied upon in the Six Martial Houses, possibly becoming her adoptive father's right-hand man.

Thinking of this, Qingxuan suppressed her slight annoyance and said to Chen Xun in a soft voice:

"Junior Brother Chen Xun, we came to greet you..."

Qingxuan's soft and sweet voice was like a gentle spring rain, and Zong Ling, Nan Xi, and Gu Jianfeng, standing nearby, felt their hearts melt.

Hearing Qingxuan call him "Junior Brother," Chen Xun quickly understood: Su Ling, Su Yi, and Qingxuan had suddenly appeared in the courtyard because they would also officially become disciples of the Six Martial Houses and enter Canglan Academy for practice.

Chen Xun's age was listed as only fourteen, so in the Six Martial Houses, he would be the junior of Su Ling, Su Yi, and Qingxuan.

"I didn't know you were also entering Canglan Academy this time. I hope Senior Sister Qingxuan will take good care of me in the future," Chen Xun said politely, but he was secretly troubled:

Though the other disciples in the courtyard were cold and disdainful toward them, Su Ling and Su Yi were purely hostile. The thought of living and practicing with them for several years in the disciples' courtyard was truly unpleasant.

However, Chen Xun had already learned that Qingxuan was the daughter of a loyal general who had died in battle, and Su Qingfeng had taken her in as his adoptive daughter.

Qingxuan's status was higher than Su Ling and Su Yi, and he would need to maintain a good relationship with her in the disciples' courtyard.

"Senior Sister?" Su Ling, hearing Chen Xun call Qingxuan "Senior Sister" so affectionately, felt a sour taste in his heart. His face, which was still somewhat handsome, twisted, and he sneered at Chen Xun, "You're just one step away from entering Canglan Academy with the trial iron plate, but don't forget, you might never take that step in your life..."

"Can you stop me from entering Canglan Academy? I didn't know Young Master Su had such power!" Chen Xun laughed heartily, his demeanor extremely arrogant.

Chen Xun and Gu Jianfeng had captured the Ghost Xi Clan's leader, Lou Shiyi, and stripped him naked in front of everyone before handing him over to the Ghost Xi Clan, causing a sensation in Canglan.

He couldn't remain low-key in Canglan Academy or in Canglan City, and it was impossible to avoid others' attention. He might as well be arrogant.

Su Ling had come to undermine their morale, but unexpectedly, Chen Xun turned the tables on him.

Among the onlookers, there were also many Su family clan members who didn't get along with Su Ling. They now looked down on him even more, not rushing to join the commotion but crossing their arms and smirking, eager to see how Su Ling would back down.

Su Ling, extremely angry, sneered, "I see you won't shed a tear until you see the coffin. The Black Python clan thinking they can urinate and defecate on the Su family is still a long way off."

Chen Xun thought Su Ling's words were truly malicious and decided to find a way to get back at him.

The Black Python clan had once been the dominant force in Canglan, but after being defeated by the Su family, they had declined. Though the Su family was extremely powerful and far stronger than the Black Python clan, it was unrealistic to say they had no concerns about the Black Python clan.

Chen Xun didn't want to tangle with Su Ling, seeing his infatuation with Qingxuan, and deliberately said to her in a friendly manner, "It's too chaotic here. I'll invite Senior Sister Qingxuan over another time. I won't entertain you today..."

With that, Chen Xun coldly glanced at Su Ling and Su Yi, then walked into the house with Gu Jianfeng and Zong Ling, leaving the mess outside for Cai'er to clean up.