(Author's Note: Who is looking for R18 with a proud heroine like Qing Yi moaning submissively under Mc? Because I do!)
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3rd Pov
Feng Mian, Qing Yi, Haitao, Xin Yan, and Lin Ke appeared in a huge dark room lighted by torches, everyone glanced at each other and then checked the room they are in, the figure of the same elderly man appeared before them and all of them bowed slightly," We greet Emperor Che!!", they said greeting him with the title he used to introduce himself.
The elder man who was none other than Noah in disguise suppressed his enormous powers while creating a powerful illusion made by Reality Dao itself. He nodded and glancing at everyone he said," The second test shall begin when the rest of the candidates arrive till then you are free to prepare your heart".
They nodded and his figure disappeared letting them breathe in relief," That Aura is definitely of someone above Sky Realm cultivator!", said Xin Yan making only Lin Ke gasp, as he had heard about this stage and the cultivators of this cultivation can be counted in one hand in the entire Easter continent.
Qing Yi, Haitao, and Feng Mian on the other hand had normal looks as they had seen Sky Realm Cultivators and even Heavenly Cultivators in their sect!! Feng Mian smiled and said," But he is just a soul wisp right? Doesn't that means the cultivation of his real self would have been way higher right?".
Hearing that Lin Ke, Xin Yan, and even Haitao and Qing Yi couldn't help but feel ripples in their heart,' She is speaking right, it means that Emperor Che would have been much stronger during his life, and considering that my master had once told a soul wisp of the Heavenly Realm Cultivator would be definitely less than Sky Realm Cultivator he should have been a Saint Realm Cultivator!! ', Qing Yi thought shocked by the background of the person for whose inheritance they are going to compete for.
Yes, despite the Frost Flower Sect having no Saint Realm cultivator she knew about them as the founding ancestor of their sect was at this level, and considering Emperor Che, this mysterious figure claimed to rule the continent in the past so he was definitely a Saint Realm Cultivator or she thought.
Even Haitao had a serious look hearing Feng Mian's words,' She is right, and he might be a Saint Realm Cultivator to have the power to rule the entire continent! ', then he glanced at Feng Mian, the reason he lost the chance to become the Prime Disciple due to her possessing the talent to become Saint Realm Cultivator,' If I get this inheritance I might topple her position ', he thought with a smirk.
But then his eyes became serious,' It won't be that easy after all, such inheritance tend to make an equal test for everyone and Feng Mian is one of the five to have the ability to gain the inheritance and use it with maximum potential according to Senior, thus she has a higher chance than me ', he thought and then shook his head,' Let me give my best, and if I win I might become the Prime Disciple, and If I lose it will be definitely to Feng Mian not to this weaklings and my plan will remain the same ', he thought.
After a while when everyone had calmed down from the shock Xin Yan questioned glancing at Feng Mian," Who are you? I haven't seen you ever", Haitao snorted hearing that and Feng Mian replied politely," I am Feng Mian, the Prime Disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect", she and Lin Ke became shocked hearing that," Feng Mian, so you are the new Prime Disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect who caused a ruckus back a while", she said.
Feng Mian nodded, then she checked her cultivation and seeing it is lesser than her she proudly said," Whatever! I will get this inheritance and prove that I am better than you both!", she ignored Haitao's and Lin Ke's existence much to their annoyance, Haitao didn't make any move and remained silent as he needed to maintain his good persona in front of Feng Mian and knew fighting during the inheritance test might prove fatal.
Qing Yi ignored Xin Yan's words and then glanced at Lin Ke, not recognizing him she just looked away losing all her interest in him seeing he was the weakest one present of the five. Lin Ke himself felt awkward as he was only an inner disciple of the Red Lotus Sect, and was himself dumbfounded being selected as one of the five having the capability to use the Emperor Che's inheritance at its best.
Soon other candidates started appearing in the room and the first bunch to appear were the disciples of the Heavenly Sword Sect and the disciples of the Frost Flower Sect which stunned Xin Yan and Lin Ke," How the hell every disciple of your sects passed?!", asked Xin Yan with anger in her tone.
Qing Yi ignored her and looked away with a cold look, Xin Yan seeing this gritted her teeth and shouted," Tell me!!", Qing Yi replied with a slightly smug look," Are you that big of an idiot to not realize it? We were the closest groups to the inheritance grounds", Xin Yan fumed hearing Qing Yi mocking her but remained calm,' Hmph! Once I win this inheritance I hope you have the same smug look ', she thought.
Once the last person, Ye Chen appeared the figure of Emperor Che reappeared before them looked at them, and said," Now that all the disciples are here! Let the test begin! The second test is to stand while being pressured by the suppression of a True Golden Core Cultivator!".
He then released a powerful Aura making everyone, even Haitao kneel who grunted in pain as they felt the Qi inside their bodies becoming chaotic, while they had experienced the Aura of Sky Realm Cultivators but it was just a passive aura and not a direct suppression, there is a reason why every major step in cultivation is considered a big achievement which could be seen as the fully powered aura of a True Golden Cultivator was enough to make them kneel.
The first one to rise was Feng Mian making everyone surprised as she was merely at Peak Qi Condensation Realm, then it was Qing Yi's turn which made Haitao's face red in anger fueling his strength and making him the third one to rise up, then the fourth one was Xin Yan, and the fifth one was Lin Ke, who actually managed to stand up only because Noah wanted to as it would help him widen the crack between him and Ye Chen who looked at him in jealousy after he managed to stand up.
One after another some of the disciples gathered inside managed to stand up while the rest of them fell unconscious, in the end only 19 disciples including Ye Chen managed to pass the test, Emperor Che stroked his beard which Noah actually found funny to do and said," 19 disciples, not bad".
He glanced at Feng Mian impressed by her will, infact he was going to lower pressure on her to pass but she refused and asked for some time and manage to come first despite not receiving his help,' Her will isn't weak ', he thought satisfied, he knew that her prowess wasn't strong and she would definitely lose to the likes of Haitao, Qing Yi and even Xin Yan who had learned cultivation and battle techniques from an early age but she was the fourth strongest person here!
Fifth was naturally Ye Chen whose cultivation still couldn't compare to the Feng Mian who had cultivated from the pure Qi of the Heavens despite having a higher Cultivation Realm. Then some orbs appeared in front of them and Noah in disguise said," The third test begins now! This orb you are seeing has the capability to retard a Cultivator's realm! Once retarded you have to recultivate to regain your previous cultivation and the process is very painful! Who wish to show their courage please step forward and who don't can step back".
Hearing his words everyone trembled as Cultivation was the lifeline of a Cultivator and having their realm retarded is one of the bad things that could happen to them! But considering the inheritance and the fact losing some cultivation realm isn't the worst thing as they can recultivate everyone except Feng Mian stepped forward.
The first one was naturally Ye Chen, after which Haitao stepped forward, then Xin Yan, Qing Yi, Lin Ke, and the rest of the disciples were present. Seeing that Feng Mian didn't step up everyone became surprised, Qing Yi and Xin Yan became disappointed with her,' Giving up without trying? She is weak-willed ', they thought, and didn't bother about her focusing on the test with palpation in their hearts.
Haitao was surprised as well, but in the end didn't give much thought to it as it increased his chances of getting the inheritance, one by one everyone put their hands on the orb and clenched their fists feeling intense pain as their cultivation dropped by a few minor realms! Once everyone had finished getting their realms retarded, Noah in disguise pointed toward Feng Mian and said," This girl passes and everyone fails!!".
Everyone became dumbfounded hearing him and got a wtf to look. It wasn't anything they had expected! Shouldn't they have advanced to the next test after experiencing the hellish pain and sacrificing a huge chunk of their cultivation?!! " What?! How is it possible?! She didn't take the test why the hell she is the only one who passed it?!", questioned Xin Yan angrily.
Noah in disguise smiled stroking his beard and said," Cultivation is the life of a cultivator, and one should never sacrifice their cultivation realms and potential for a short advancement unless their life is on the line!! You guys definitely have no threat to your lives yet you sacrificed your cultivation realms! Thus you all fail!".
Ye Chen angrily said," Didn't you said us to step forward and touch the orb!! It was the prerequisite of the test!!", Noah suppressed him with his aura making him cough blood and kneel down while grunting in pain," Idiot!! Did I told that the test was to touch the orb?! I only told those who are wishing to touch the orb to step forward I never stated if that was the goal of the test!!."
Everyone became stunned as they were unable to refute him and Noah in disguise continued," After the strength of a cultivator, intelligence is the most important thing in this world and without it, every cultivator is as good as dead! If you can't find out such an obvious loophole in my words then what right do you have to get my inheritance and soar? In the future, if you remain such an idiot even a weaker cultivator will take advantage of you all! Such retards deserve their cultivation to be retarded!!".
His words opened everyone's eyes and made them all feel ashamed, Qing Yi bit her lips and thought,' He is right, I was so greedy to get the inheritance and become the Prime Disciple that I missed such an obvious loophole! ', Xin Yan thought,' I was too eager to prove myself better than Qing Yi that I ended up making a fool of myself, whatever, at least this hateful Qing Yi didn't pass either!! '.
Haitao looked at Feng Mian with reverence and thought,' As expected of the Prime Disciple and my future wife! She is not only talented, and strong but also smart! Everything worthy to be my main wife and someone equal to me! ', other's image of Feng Mian inside their mind who was the only one who passed increased.
Ye Chen fumed in anger and thought,' This bastard!! Who wants your inheritance? I have an inheritance of immortality I don't need your pesky inheritance! Intelligence you say?! In front of absolute power, one can't do anything but only yield! ', he missed the fact he didn't possess absolute power and neither the capability to pursue it but only wishful thinking coupled with Plot armor.
" Senior, does that means all of us fail and Feng Mian gets your inheritance?!", asked Haitao, Noah shooked his head surprising everyone," There are still some tests left, and seeing that no one else had passed I shall make an exception", he said making everyone cheerful, and then continued with an evil smile inside glancing at Ye Chen," But there is a condition! Except Feng Mian who will go through the preplanned test the rest of you shall go through other tests targeted at your biggest weakness!!".
Everyone hearing that wanted to say how unfair it is but knowing that they deserved it they remained silent and didn't create a ruckus," Senior, what about our cultivation level? Will it get restored once we go out or pass the tests?", asked Xin Yan, everyone hearing her words looked at Noah with anticipation as losing cultivation realms still hurt them a lot!! Not to mention many of them might be demoted once they go out with their retarded cultivation realm.
Noah shook his head much to everyone's despair and said," It won't be restored, you will have to recultivate through those realms again, after all, it's your punishment for being a retard!", everyone except Feng Mian had bitter faces, they wanted to cry but no tears came out of their eyes. He said," Everyone who wants to advance to the next test step forward, rest of you step back".
Naturally, everyone stepped forward as after losing their cultivation realms none wanted to give up, Noah in disguise gave a nod and everyone teleported to their respective tests, leaving only Feng Mian in the room, Noah erased his disguise and came forward, Feng Mian hugged him," Master!!", she inhaled his scent perversely, while Noah didn't minded a bit about his pervert maid as it only boosted his ego having such a beautiful female being a pervert for him.
To be continued...
(Author's Note: How was the chapter?
P.S.: Damn, no electricity and sweating buckets while writing this, f*ck rural government.)