Chapter 7

After the martial soul anomaly persisted for a while, a sudden surge occurred deep within the thunderclouds. Under the intense golden light, it seemed as if a storm was spreading out from within.

The purple clouds dissipated with the wind, and in a few breaths, the entire sky returned to its original color, once again calm and peaceful, as if nothing had happened.

Qing Buli stood there, pale-faced, and only let out a heavy sigh when the anomaly finally vanished, but the fear in his eyes was still evident.

"The martial soul pressure just now indeed came from the Lord of the Purple Flame Void... During the Sky Arena of Martial Arts years ago, I had a fleeting glimpse of him from beyond the boundary..."

A scene flashed through Qing Buli's mind:

A golden throne floated in the void, radiating supreme majesty. A man sat smiling, with an extremely handsome appearance. Every movement he made seemed to reach for the stars and shatter the heavens!

Though it was just a fleeting glimpse, it was unforgettable!

Qing Buli's face turned ashen, and he stood dazed in the sky, frozen in place.

Soon, more than a dozen beams of light rose from the White Water City palace, all rushing over.

In an instant, they arrived in front of Qing Buli. The leader was a tall and robust man, Hou Mingyi, the commander of the imperial guards of Cangnan Kingdom, a True Martial Realm expert at the peak of his power.

Behind him, everyone had a faint, wing-like glow, the mark of the True Martial Realm—True Essence Manifestation.

When martial artists reached the True Martial Realm, they could condense their True Essence into various shapes like weapons, armor, and wings, though it consumed a great deal of True Essence.

Hou Mingyi hurried forward, clasped his fists, and bowed, saying, "Lord Chancellor."

Qing Buli waved his hand and said, "I know why you are here, but the matter is over. Go back."

Hou Mingyi and the others exchanged glances, looking troubled. "We don't know what happened just now, and our martial souls were greatly shaken. If we return without any results, we cannot explain to the Emperor. Please understand, Lord Chancellor."

Qing Buli gave him a cold look and said, "My word is your explanation."

Hou Mingyi's body trembled, and he immediately clasped his fists and said, "I obey the command!"

The Chancellor of the First Academy of the Northern Five Kingdoms, known as the "King of Martial Arts," had an authority that rivaled any emperor. Hou Mingyi and the others dared not disobey and immediately bowed and retreated.

At that moment, inside the Tiancong Academy, on the examination ground.

Everyone was stunned by the heavenly anomaly and took a while to recover.

Qin Zhen's body trembled violently, but he ultimately did not kneel, though he was drenched in cold sweat and his face was extremely pale.

Yu Liang and Zuo Hang both struggled to their feet, brushing off the dust from their clothes. Being subdued by the pressure and kneeling before hundreds of students, trembling and groaning, left them feeling extremely embarrassed.

Especially when he saw that Qin Zhen did not kneel, Yu Liang's eyes blazed with jealousy. This was the gap in strength between them. Not only were the students he taught inferior to Qin Zhen, but his own strength was also inferior, which made Yu Liang extremely angry.

Zuo Hang, on the other hand, glared at Wu Qiyue, feeling his image was damaged.

Seeing Wu Qiyue's eyes tightly closed and her face pale, he felt a sense of relief, thinking to himself: Perhaps she didn't see me kneel.

The other students who had cultivated martial souls looked better, just standing up and brushing off the dust from their clothes, without much shame.

Among all the martial artists, Wu Qiyue was the most severely injured because she had forcibly used her Green Eye to observe the martial soul anomaly.

She secretly wiped away two streaks of blood tears. Her eyes were still bloodshot, and she dared not open them, fearing that someone might notice.

But inside, she was in turmoil, "A single thought, suppressing the mountains and rivers! This is the 'One Thought Suppresses the Mountains and Rivers' of the strongest martial souls! Just with 'Martial Intent,' it crushed my Green Eye. This aura is extremely yang and strong, capable of breaking all phenomena. Among the top ten strongest martial souls, only 'The World Has Enemies' and 'Unmatched Dominance' can achieve this."

"But, the owners of these two strongest martial souls..."

"Could the martial soul anomaly just now be one of those two lords passing by, not caused by Yang Qingxuan?"

Wu Qiyue was filled with shock and doubt, her mind swirling with questions. Recalling the terrifying pressure, her shoulders trembled, and she was overwhelmed with fear.

"Qiyue, don't be afraid, I'm here. Even if the mountains collapse and a thousand armies come, they won't hurt you a bit."

Zuo Hang, feeling her trembling, quickly tried to show off, acting as if he were protecting her.

But as soon as he finished speaking, he felt many strange gazes from those around him. The mud on his knees and limbs was still not brushed off, and he seemed to have forgotten his own embarrassing state.

Wu Qiyue opened her eyes, the bloodshot color gone, and gave him a strange look.

Zuo Hang felt an overwhelming sense of shame and embarrassment, wishing he could find a hole to hide in. He could only glare at those looking at him, scaring them into quickly turning away.

"What just happened? Why did my martial soul feel like it was about to be crushed!" a kneeling student asked, still trembling with fear, though now safe.

The ten or so students with martial souls also showed fear in their eyes.

"Martial soul pressure!"

Qin Zhen's eyes were full of fear as he said in a deep voice, "It was due to an extremely powerful martial soul manifesting, suppressing all other martial souls!"

"It was too terrifying. I couldn't help but submit. Who could have such a terrifying martial soul?" another student said, trembling.

Yu Liang wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and looked in a certain direction of the academy, saying, "Could it be the Chancellor? It's said that the Chancellor is in seclusion, cultivating a powerful technique."

"That's it! It must be the Chancellor's martial soul!"

The ten or so students' eyes lit up, excitedly saying, "The Chancellor is a great expert in the True Martial Realm, known as the 'King of Martial Arts'!"

Yu Liang nodded. "In the entire Northern Five Kingdoms, only the Chancellor can release such a terrifying martial soul."

All the students were extremely excited, discussing it animatedly. Being able to witness the Chancellor's martial soul anomaly was considered a great fortune in life.

Zuo Hang frowned, seemingly agreeing with this explanation.

Only Qin Zhen remained frowning, unable to recover for a long time, thinking to himself, "The Chancellor's martial soul is indeed terrifying, but it's far from this terrifying! Just a bit of martial intent almost crushed my martial soul. Is that a god of martial arts?!"

After a long time, he finally calmed down and said, "The matter will be investigated by the academy and the royal family. Let's continue the examination. Everyone saw that Yang Qingxuan has a martial soul, though it's a low-quality one, it does exist. I declare that Yang Qingxuan has passed the examination!"

No one would associate the anomaly with Yang Qingxuan, except for Yang Qingxuan himself, who was still looking up at the sky, dazed and puzzled.

"This fool... actually passed the examination..."

"And he even showed martial soul potential... Is this a dream..."

All the students, recovering from their shock, began to look at Yang Qingxuan in disbelief, the mentally deficient fool seemed to have changed.