บท 39: Annual Examination (1)
Chapter 39 – Annual Examination (1)
6 AM.
Similar to the Silver Phoenix Sect, the Mountain Goose Sect's elders brought their best outer and inner disciples down the mountain. Aside from the disciples, several hundreds of their employees and minor disciples tagged along with them to assist the elders for the event.
Luo Cheng, the dwarf blacksmith, was also one of Mountain Goose's elders. However, he stood behind all of them as he intentionally kept himself a low profile.
A long black-haired middle-aged swordsman in full-plate knight armor stood in the middle of the stage. His trimmed curve mustache and thick eyebrows were so iconic that it drew the attention of the crowd.
Jian Meng, one of Mountain Goose's elders who was in charge of teaching sword techniques, acted as the host of this examination.
"Welcome fellow daoists to the grand annual examination!"
The crowd stopped talking and listened to Jian Meng.
"Today is an auspicious day to hold a trial in searching for talented young cultivators of this continent. Many great heroes began their tales in this event, such as Master Jia Shan, the current sect master of our sect, and Fairy Xu Xiuying, the vice master of Silver Phoenix Sect. By showing their promising talent in this examination in the past, their names became famous…"
Jian Meng narrated the biography of Xu Xiuying and Jia Shan, the two leaders of the powerhouse sects.
The Xu Clan was built by Xu Xiuying's mother, but the one who contributed the most was none other than Xu Xiuying. As a female cultivator, she went through many ordeals, such as being oppressed by male cultivators, being treated like an object, being pursued, or being threatened. Yet, Xu Xiuying overcame those obstacles and established the current Silver Phoenix Sect with her mother, who was the current sect master.
The biography was briefed as Jian Meng skipped the minor details about how Xu Xiuying defeated her enemies. However, Miaomiao could guess how she did it since she practiced Joyous Yin arts. He, too, had the experience of being sucked dry by her clone.
As for Jia Shan, he was a sword saint that showed his talent when he was young. His sword skill was second to none. Even today, no sect master on this continent had defeated him in sword fight even once.
Listening to the fabricated tales of two powerhouse masters, the crowd was in awe. Only the insiders like Qi Hong, Miaomiao, and several elders from the Mountain Goose Sect tried their best to hide their cringed expression. Even Xu Xiuying herself sighed a few times as she couldn't endure the false stories.
Jian Meng's stories were like fairy tales, but the reality was much darker. No cultivator in this world became a powerhouse without dirtying their hands.
"And now, let's not delay the event. Both sects, please send your best outer disciples on the stage to open the trial ceremony and demonstrate your strength!"
Miaomiao had been briefed about this arrangement yesterday. Both sects would send their best outer disciples to exhibit their prowess by taking the same trials with other examinees. They would take the tests first, but their scores wouldn't be calculated in the exam rankings. Still, their scores would become the face of their sects.
More importantly, there were special rewards that both sects had prepared for the best disciples. The winner would get 100 refined spirit stones, a low-graded magic weapon, and a technique manual from one of the sects. A Mountain Goose disciple could request a technique from the Silver Phoenix Sect, and vice versa.
Miaomiao wasn't interested in the rewards, but 100 refined Yang or Yin stones were still precious to him. It wouldn't hurt winning a few prizes for his future cultivation. Moreover, winning the event would raise his standing in the sect, and Xu Xiuying might give him extra rewards for his trouble.
10 Outer disciples from Mountain Goose Sect and 10 outer disciples from Silver Phoenix Sect leaped down from their spectator stands.
When the crowd noticed that Miaomiao was one of the representatives, they booed.
"What the hell!? A 1st Stage wastrel as one of the 10 best outer disciples? Do you take us for a fool!?"
"Get that trash down the stage! He doesn't deserve to be called the top dog!"
"The Xu Clan has sunk a new low. I can't believe that Xu Xiuying has spoiled her son so much. The Silver Phoenix Sect is on the highway to ruin."
"Pffft. Let's wait and see that spoiled brat embarrassing himself in the trial. Remember that some tests are dangerous? He will probably die if the tests are the same as last year."
"Right. That horny dog won't make it to the last round. Hell, he will probably fail on the first round!"
Everyone looked down on Miaomiao because of his infamous reputation. As for the guy that got booed, he tilted his head to the side, confused why everyone underestimated him.
'I'm not an MC. I no longer have short hair, but these assholes think that I'm a pushover? What the hell? Do you think I'm a protagonist or something? Sorry, pals. Since y'all acting annoying, you'd better keep running your mouth because I will face-slap you motherfuckers to oblivion.'
Instead of getting angry, Miaomiao almost burst into laughter. He had read too many novels and had seen so many plots with these scenes. He knew exactly what was coming for them.
Miaomiao's mocking expression triggered the crowd. The boo got louder, and many noble family leaders were scorned by Miaomiao's immature behavior.
The ten disciples from the Mountain Goose Sect also heard of Miaomiao's reputation. One of their representative, a young man in white robes with golden long hair, dissed Miaomiao in a loud voice.
"This place is for the best of the best. A sex maniac like you doesn't belong here. Go home and suck on your mama's titties."
Miaomiao chuckled, finding this disciple cute, "I don't know about my mama's titties, but I know what your mama's titties taste like. She cried, "Oh, yes, baby" when I pound her to heaven!"
"WHAT!?"
Knowing how talented Miaomiao was in a real fight, Kang Yan and other VY disciples covered their mouth, holding back their laughter. They were looking forward to seeing how Miaomiao would "strip" this young man.
But after listening to Miaomiao's childish comeback, they burst into laughter. Even some of the Miaomiao-haters found it amusing.
"Hahaha! He said he fucked your mama!"
"No, no, Hahahaha! He said that he's your father!"
"Oh, boy. I didn't know that you can comeback this way… Pfft! Hahahaha!"
Getting humiliated and mocked, the disciple was fume with rage. He drew his long sword from the side sheath and rushed at Miaomiao.
However, one of the Mountain Goose disciples stood between Miaomiao and the angry disciple, "Nie Ping! Stop!"
Nie Ping, the angry disciple, came to a pause. He glared at the one that stopped him.
Surprisingly, Miaomiao knew this person. It was the guy that gave him a dangerous jade sword, but he didn't know his name.
Wei Feng, the youngest young master of the Wei Clan, was one of the top outer disciples of Mountain Goose Sect. His cultivation strength had already reached level 3 of the 3rd stage.
Because Wei Feng was the strongest fighter of this group, Nie Ping didn't dare to defy him.
As Wei Feng couldn't recognize Miaomiao's new appearance, he took a formal stance and cupped his fist to Miaomiao, "My name is Wei Feng, a representative from the Wei Clan. I'm sorry about my friend's rude behavior. I hope that you can forgive him."
Miaomiao shrugged and cupped his fist, "Well, We're just joking. Let's have a fair competition first, then we can find ourselves a place to drink and get to know each other. By the way, I'm Xu Miao."
"Hahaha! Young master Xu. I see that you're a cultured man. I admire you. Very well, may the best man wins."
The two had fake smiles on their faces and pretended to be friendly toward each other. However, both Miaomiao and Wei Feng were planning to kill the other during the competition.
Miaomiao had a grudge against the Wei Clan that had robbed his stolen jade sword. Wei Feng also had a reputation to uphold. Both had a reason to cripple or kill the other if there was an opportunity.
Without realizing it, Miaomiao slowly acted and thought like a local villain.
The tension died down after both sides behaved.
Jian Meng had been observing the confrontation between the youths. He was ready to stop it at any moment, but it was no longer necessary. He continued to explain the rules.
"Ahem! The first test is your aptitude test! We will have all examinees stand on the prepared arrays on the stage. Once an examinee stands on it, the array will analyze the examinee's spiritual roots and display the evaluation score for everybody to see! The minimum requirement to pass this test is 51 in overall attributes."
As soon as Jian Meng finished speaking, twenty magic circle arrays appeared on the stage. Each of them had a diameter of one meter, which was large enough for one person to stand inside the formation.
"Now, outer disciples. Go and stand on the arrays and display your potential and statuses!"
Nie Ping laughed and walked toward one of the arrays. He didn't forget to mock Miaomiao.
"Hahahaha! I don't think this test is necessary for you, Xu Miao! A wastrel that can't even advance to the second stage doesn't have the right to be a disciple. Hell, I doubt that your overall point will even reach 30 points! Hahahaha!"
*WHOOM*
The array under Nie Ping's feet activated. A blue hologram appeared above his head and revealed his status.
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*********************************************
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[Evaluation – Nie Ping]
Muscle: 82
Bone Marrows: 88
Meridian: 62
Dantian: 67
Qi Volume: 63
Overall: 72
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*********************************************
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The evaluation was simple. They measured the contestant's muscle, bone marrows, meridians, dantian, and Qi volume.
The muscle score was evaluated from physical strength and impurity within the muscle fibers. If one didn't get rid of their impurity in their muscle tissues, the evaluation point would be low.
Bone marrows were similar to muscle evaluation. However, it also measured the amount of Qi that the cultivator could produce naturally. Once a cultivator reached the 2nd stage, which was Bone Refinement Realm, the person's body would be able to produce Qi without relying on external sources. Usually, only the 2nd stage or stronger cultivators could have a high score on this part.
Meridian was blood vessels and blood cells. The test evaluated if the person's blood and blood vessels could carry Qi strands to various parts efficiently or not. The point reflected the speed that the examinee could circulate their Qi throughout the body – the faster, the better the score.
Dantian reflected the maximum Qi volume that one could hold. This part of the test couldn't be trained as everyone had a different limit. In other words, it reflected the examinee's potential and natural talent.
Qi Volume was the current amount of Qi strands and Essence drops inside the examinee's dantian. The array tested if the examinee had come here prepared or not.
As for the overall point, it was the average point of all categories. As long as the examinee's status was high in all attributes, they would pass the test.
"72 Points! Pass!" Jian Meng announced the result and allowed Nie Ping to pass to the next round.
Nie Ping laughed as he was looking forward to seeing Miaomiao humiliating himself in public.
"Get your ass to the array, Xu Miao. Go and tell everyone how weak you are! I bet that your point won't reach 30!"
Miaomiao giggled when he heard that someone wanted to bet, "Ah, a bet? I love gambling. How much will you bet, then?"
บท 40: Annual Examination (2)
Chapter 40 – Annual Examination (2)
"Aha! So, you want to gamble with me? How about this, if you can't pass the first trial, I want you to kowtow to everybody here and call me father!"
Nie Ping wanted to humiliate Miaomiao, so he pushed the gamble. He was confident that Miaomiao would fail 100%.
As for the one that got looked down, Miaomiao revealed his usual crescent smile. His sinister smiling face was creepy enough to send chills down Nie Ping's spine.
"What if I pass the test with a flying color?"
"That will never happen!"
"Oh, sure. How about this? If I win, I want a hundred refined spirit stones. It doesn't matter if they are Yin stones or Yang stones. I want a hundred of them."
"Huh!?"
Nie Ping was taken aback. In the market, one refined stone equaled 1,000 raw spirit stones. However, Miaomiao demanded a hundred of them, which would translate into 100,000 raw spirit stones.
Miaomiao hadn't realized yet that Silver Phoenix Sect made money by refining raw spirit stones into Yin stones or Yang stones. Xu Xiuying was also an alchemist master that could convert ten raw spirit stones into a refined stone. Even though the conversion process usually took an hour to complete, the profit that she made was enough to support her elders and over a thousand disciples for years.
For Mountain Goose Sect and other cultivators who couldn't refine spirit stones, this demand was absurd.
"Don't get too cocky, Xu Miao! Do you think I'm rich like you? You must be joking!"
Miaomiao bellowed back, "Do you think having me kowtowing to everyone and call you my father also a joke!? I am the representative of the Xu Clan and the Silver Phoenix Sect! If I kowtow to you, the entire sect will also kowtow to you! If we're betting the pride of my sect, I want equal compensation! If you can't afford the bet, then scram and go back to your beggar hole!"
The nine Virgin Yin disciples nodded in approval. If Miaomiao, who they considered as the strongest of outer disciples, were to bow to Nie Ping, everyone would have lost face. Then, the entire sect would be humiliated. If Nie Ping wanted this bet, he had to put something with equal value on the line as well.
Yet, Nie Ping scoffed, "Fine! A hundred refined spirit stones? I have no problem with that. Hell, I don't even need to gather those stones because you can never pass the trial with your meager cultivation base!"
.
.
.
Watching the entire drama, Xu Xiuying and Qi Hong almost couldn't hold back their laughter. This golden goose of theirs was cunning.
"Elder Qi. How many points do you think my son will get?"
Qi Hong had to cough three times to get rid of the urge to laugh, "At least 90. His meridian, dantian, and Qi volume will be full-score. I don't know about his muscle and bone marrow, though. But I think both of them should be somewhere in the 90s."
"Very perceptive. I have the same idea."
Both Xu Xiuying and Qi Hong mastered the Succubi Sense Technique and possessed eye artifacts. Their naked eyes could see through Miaomiao's meridian, aka his blood vessels. They were aware that he had practiced Qi Dissolving Technique, and his physique was the same as the 3rd stage cultivators with all 108 opened meridians.
"So, you knew about his potential all along?" Qi Hong thought that Xu Xiuying was aware of her son's potential.
"No, I didn't. If it weren't for yesterday's competition, I wouldn't have realized that this boy had hidden his strength. Did he secretly go out and train at night?"
"… No," Qi Hong was surprised that Xu Xiuying wasn't aware of her son's talent, "This is puzzling. I don't know when he trained. I've checked all the CCTV footage, but he did sleep every night."
"Hmm… Then, is it possible that he gets stronger every time he has sex?"
"I don't know, but it's possible."
"…"
Xu Xiuying and Qi Hong were still baffled about how Miaomiao raised his strength and mastered the ice manipulation technique. They misunderstood that he might be a natural genius that could improve his strength via sex.
The two elders ignored the competition and conspired among themselves. Xu Xiuying consulted Qi Hong on how they could use Miaomiao if he was really a hidden genius.
.
.
.
Spectators and many noble clans paid attention to Miaomiao as they were curious about his abilities. Many old cultivators who came here to protect their children were not stupid. Since Xu Xiuying was bold enough to send her spoiled son to this examination, this young man might be a hidden gem among the young generation.
Wei Huang, the first elder of Mountain Goose Sect and the patriarch of the Wei Clan, stared at Miaomiao in doubt. He had received intel from spies from the Silver Phoenix Sect that Miaomiao never cultivated but had sex all day. He wondered why the shrewd old fox allowed her son to be here as Miaomiao might ruin her sect's reputation.
But everyone's suspicion would be answered soon. Miaomiao strolled toward one of the arrays and stood on it. Then, he placed his hands behind his back and raised his head, showing off his pride and dignity.
*WHOOM*
Then, the test result appeared.
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*********************************************
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[Evaluation – Xu Miao]
Muscle: 95
Bone Marrows: 93
Meridian: 100
Dantian: 100
Qi and Essence: 100
Overall: 98
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*********************************************
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Miaomiao glanced at the score and clicked his tongue. He forgot to completely cleanse impure Yin Qi that he absorbed from other girls. Or else, his muscle and bone marrow scores would have been 100.
Although Miaomiao was dissatisfied, all spectators widened their eyes as they had to read through the result five times to confirm the number.
"N-N-Ninety eight!?"
"That's impossible! He's only a 1st stage trash!"
"How!? This is BS! Xu Miao is cheating!"
Everybody but the female disciples from the Silver Phoenix Sect didn't believe the result. Nie Ping and spectators were in denial as the status was too high.
Miaomiao didn't move away from the array. He turned around to Jian Meng, "Do you want to check if your array is working properly?"
"…"
Jian Meng frowned and examined the array. However, the formation was working as intended, so the result was correct.
"There is nothing wrong with the array. Go and stand on the other."
Making sure that the result wasn't wrong, Jian Meng ordered Miaomiao to use another array platform.
Miaomiao didn't resist. He walked away from the old array and stood on another one.
*WHOOM*
A new result appeared, but the value was still the same.
"…"
The crowd was speechless. Even Wei Feng was at a loss for words.
Yet, Nie Ping still didn't believe in the result. He stepped on the previous platform that Miaomiao had stood to prove that the latter had done something to cheat.
*WHOOM*
Nie Ping's old result was shown. His jaw dropped as he couldn't believe it.
"T-T-That's impossible. The array must have been broken! This whole test is a fraud!"
Miaomiao walked around and stood on every platform. All results were the same, which confirmed that the test wasn't rigged.
"Any complaint?"
"…"
Other disciples also tried to stand on the arrays, and various results were shown. None of them but Wei Feng managed to score more than 80.
Nobody could refute or deny the test result. Jian Meng was also watching the commotion while he was communicating with the sect master of Mountain Goose Sect, reporting the situation and asking for his assistance.
*WHOOSH*
Descending from the mountain was the sect master of the Mountain Goose Sect and the overlord of this city, Jia Shan. He was an elderly man with a long white full-beard that reached his belly. His thin and withered physique made him look like a frail old man, but his real cultivation strength was at the 7th stage, one rank higher than Xu Xiuying.
This sect master always kept his long hair tied into a topknot. Yet, his white hair was so long that it could reach the ground, so he couldn't tie everything on top of his head.
Still, the sect master had deep eyes, which always glowed in blue light. His inner Qi was brimmed with energy, which continued to prolong his life even though he was already over 300 years old.
Jia Shan didn't say anything and looked at anyone. He inspected the arrays one by one.
The crowd and all elders stopped speaking. Some of them even held their breath, afraid of this old man. His presence terrified all noble clansmen and cultivators as the strongest sword saint could easily kill them on a whim at any moment.
This was a world where the strong ruled over the weak. Laws and orders were meaningless in front of Jia Shan.
"Xu Xiuying," the Mountain Goose's sect master called for the co-host, "I haven't heard anything about you having a son, let alone having a proper husband."
Xu Xiuying obediently descended from the VIP spectator stand. Then, she bowed to Jia Shan, "This junior has adopted this child recently. Because of his previous undesirable family background, I have given him a new name and surname, so he won't be bullied by his peers."
"In summary, you've found a hidden gem and adopted him as your son. Am I right?"
"Senior Jia is wise."
Their conversation was quiet. Nobody but the two masters could hear them.
Xu Xiuying's usual domineering attitude flipped 180 degrees when she was in front of this sect master. She even confessed a partial truth about Miaomiao, but she didn't reveal that he was once a slave or had another appearance.
Still, Jia Shan gave Xu Xiuying and Miaomiao a meaningful look as if he could see through the disguise technique and everything inside their bodies. Jia Shan took a slow and deep breath before he turned to the crowd.
"I've inspected the arrays. Nothing has been tampered or altered! Also, I've scanned through Xu Miao's constitution. He has a unique physique and solid spirit roots that have been nurtured by practicing the most dangerous cultivation art, Qi Dissolving Technique! The overall score is correct!"
As if an atomic bomb had been dropped, the crowd erupted.
"WHAT!?"
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