Chapter 66 - Asking For Trouble
In the Stormy Gorge, a huge crowd had gathered which almost seemed endless, the crowd had gathered in front of the Life and Death Arena. They were all young disciples of the Yun Hai Sect who were excitedly talking amongst themselves. There was such a larger number of disciples that they were all standing shoulder to shoulder. Looking down from above it looked like thousands upon thousands of ants.
On the top of the cliffs surrounding the gorge there was also a large crowd of people looking down at the gorge. They were all staring at the people in the arena, these people all had sharp expressions on their faces. There was a powerful Qi which was filling the atmosphere around the arena.
There were some people within the gorge who were extremely strong compared to the average disciple of the sect. They were the high level disciples of the sect. Nan Gong Ling, many years ago was one of those disciples. Nan Gong Ling sat in the middle of the high level Yun Hai Sect disciples and elders.
Those participating in the Elite Disciple Exam were some of the most important disciples of the Yun Hai Sect. It was the first time in many years that there were so many ordinary disciples who would attend Elite Disciple Exam. Some of them were going to become Elite Disciples within the sect and some of the strongest participants could even become Core Disciples.
Of course, some of them were going to be eliminated from the exam altogether.
That was the rule: fight and win or be eliminated.
Ordinary disciples who sat the exam might have to fight with the current elite disciples. The battles were randomly arranged. If the ordinary disciple won, he would probably be chosen to become an elite disciple. If an elite disciple lost, he lost face and reputation.
On the same basis, if an elite disciple wanted to become a core disciple, he would then need to fight a core disciple and win. If an elite disciple could defeat a core disciple then he could become one of the core disciples and would definitely gain a lot of prestige and recognition from the high ranking members of the Yun Hai Sect.
The rules were very simple. You would have to fight repeatedly, fighting an elite disciple would enable an ordinary disciple a chance at promotion. There were people at the Elite Disciple Exam who had big arrogant smiles on their face from winning and there were others who looked depressed as they were eliminated.
It was the first time in the year that all of the ordinary disciples, elite disciples and the core disciples were present in one place.
It was the second time this year that the ordinary, elite and core disciples were going to be ranked.
No matter if it was an ordinary, an elite or a core disciple whose ranking was in the Top Ten, he would gain an infinite amount of prestige within the Sect.
Furthermore, the disciples who showed the most potential and placed at the top would receive great rewards such as precious stones, weapons, profound pills or maybe even extremely powerful skill books.
Obviously, the elite disciples and core disciples who would get eliminated or not obtain a good ranking would be humiliated. If the disciple had bad luck then the opponent could be very strong and humiliation would be inevitable. This is why all disciples would fight with their utmost power if they wanted to achieve the best results. Losing because of underestimating an opponent would bring shame and humiliation.
Lin Feng and his group had arrived at the Life and Death Arena. When they arrived, the Elite Disciple Exam had already started. Coincidentally, ordinary disciples were challenging elite disciples.
At that moment, two people were fighting on the rocky stage of the Life or Death Arena. The fight was very intense and the crowd continued to discuss the battle as they watched it very closely.
"It's Liu Fei, she said earlier that she had broken through to the Ling Qi layer… obviously it's true. She's very pretty and on top of that she's incredibly strong and powerful. I wish she could become my wife in the future…"
Said Han Man who was looking at the battle of Liu Fei while laughing. Liu Fei was a dream for many of the young disciples. They all wanted her to become their lover. Liu Fei was famous for being extremely beautiful in the Yun Hai Sect. Many of the young disciples would spend their entire lives within the sect and would even take a wife from the sect. This is why many men were courting her, including some geniuses and even core disciples…
The rumors said that Liu Fei was pretty and that she was a real genius… in other words, she was amazing.
"Haha, go ahead and ask her to become your wife!" Lin Feng said while laughing at Han Man. That simpleton had even dared to imagine such a thing. Liu Fei was too much of a tomboy for him. She was violent and stubborn, he would not last a second.
"Hehe, I think that I'm pretty strong but I don't think I'd manage to court her." said Han Man while laughing and scratching his head. He then continued, while looking at Lin Feng and said: "By the way Lin Feng, I heard that you got along quite well with Liu Fei. She's very beautiful and you're very handsome, you are both geniuses, you would definitely be a perfect couple."
"Me?" asked Lin Feng with a shiver running down his spine. He shrugged his shoulders and shook away the feeling from that shiver. He was so scared that it may become reality that he would have trouble sleeping later that night.
Lin Feng raised his head and looked at the people around. His attention focused on a particular person.
"Mo Xie, during this elite disciple exam, I will take care of you." thought Lin Feng while smiling coldly. He had precisely rushed to the Exam because of Mo Xie.
It looked like Mo Xie could feel a dark premonition and felt like darkness itself was staring at him. He stopped looking at the arena and observed the crowd, he was glancing at everyone trying to find the source of his premonition.
At that moment, Liu Fei released her spirit and effortlessly won the battle. Her bow and arrows were radiating a brilliant light as she stepped out of the arena. Lin Feng was looking at her with news eyes.
For Liu Fei, joining the elite disciples wouldn't be something which would make her extremely proud. She looked around her and heaved a sigh. She had broken through to the Ling Qi layer and her spirit had awakened, she had the same spirit as her father in the past… but she still couldn't beat the person on her mind…
Unfortunately, Lin Feng had gone to gather some precious items and had been killed because of Mo Xie.
"If he was still here, I could learn so much from him and I would certainly be able to greatly improve my strength."
She didn't know why but Liu Fei, suddenly missed Lin Feng: that unconventional and unrestrained genius… but he did have some detestable aspects.
If she had the choice, Liu Fei would prefer to be fighting against Lin Feng and winning against him to that of participating in the Elite Disciple exam and becoming an elite disciple.
At the same time, back at the pavilion was Protector Bei who was staring blankly at the horizon while watching Liu Fei who had just won her battle.
"Not bad, Liu Fei… a real genius, but you still have a lot to do before reaching your father's level. It will be hard to achieve his power while not growing in the Imperial City."
Protector Bei's thoughts were flowing at full speed. Imperial City… these two words made him shiver but they were very clear to him. It was a very crowded place. There were lots of political strategies which were involved in the day to day life of the city. This was a gathering place for many strong cultivators. Cang Lan was still there to protect her but if he wasn't, maybe Liu Fei would get into trouble.
"I wanted to let Lin Feng go to the Imperial City. Not only would he have become more important by moving up in the hierarchy but it would have also enabled him to fight against stronger cultivators. At the same time, he could have helped Cang Lan… and maybe, he would have met his destiny there...."
While Protector Bei was thinking these things, he started to grow furious and wanted to kill Mo Xie yet again. Because of Mo Xie who had killed Lin Feng, Protector Bei's slowly realized that his dream was impossible… and these painful thoughts flowed like a stream of blood as his face turned red with anger.
Lin Feng didn't know that there were so many people that missed him. At that moment, he noticed someone else.
"Lin Feng, you're here as well! What a coincidence." Jing Yun was walking towards Lin Feng. Her expression looked fresh and pure like spring.
"What a great coincidence." said Lin Feng while looking at Jing Yun and smiling. Han Man, Jing Yun and Lin Feng were finally together again after what seemed like an extremely long time.
"It's not a coincidence, it's called fate." said Han Man smiling. "Jing Yun, I am the biggest person in the group, how come you only saw Lin Feng and not me?"
"Ehhhh…" Lin Feng was glaring at Han Man. That couldn't be true.
"Who would know someone like you?" asked Jing Yun while pouting.
"Alright, if you don't know me then I should just go. I am starting to remember that there was a young girl who was waiting for Lin Feng every day, wondering when she would see him again." said Han Man with a fake smile on his face. Lin Feng was speechless. Since when was there a girl like that?
"How would I know something like that?" replied Jing Yun while blushing. She looked so delicate and charming that it was touching. Han Man couldn't help but burst into laughter.
Po Jun who was standing next to them looked at Lin Feng with a wry smile on his face. He was truly heartless to join in and laugh at Lin Feng.
"You guys, can you shut your filthy mouths?"
At that moment, a cold voice had shouted at them which had destroyed their good mood.
They all looked at the person who had spoken. It was an elite disciple carrying a sword on his back and he was looking at them with a look of disdain.
"Does it look like we were talking to you?" Han Man said furiously. That guy was incredibly impolite so Han Man could not hold his temper.
"You are courting death." said the disciple carrying a sword on his back. A strong Qi suddenly emerged from his body.
"It's you." said Lin Feng. It was really a huge coincidence. Lin Feng recognized that disciple. It was the elite disciple who had helped Liu Fei during their fight in the stormy gorge. It was Yu Hao, the one who said he would kill Lin Feng if Liu Fei asked it of him. He had actually almost killed him twice with that sword on his back. He was extremely strong.
Yu Hao was stupefied when he heard Lin Feng. He attentively looked at Lin Feng and then remembered him. He then smiled and said: "Last time, you were lucky that I didn't kill you. Are you that impatient that you want to die now?"
"Impatient?" said Lin Feng while smiling coldly. He just regretted that he hadn't broken through to the Ling Qi layer on their last meeting otherwise he would have unsheathed his sword and beheaded Yu Hao.