As Huchen Wanli looked toward the source of the commotion, Huchen Jianghai did the same, his gaze falling upon the last remaining light shield. When he had just woken up, Huchen Wanli's stare had made him flustered. Years under Huchen Wanli's oppressive thumb had instilled in him a habitual fear. So, after his mother, Ye Luoyan, had delightedly informed him of his result via voice transmission, he had only given his surroundings a cursory scan with his Divine Sense. He sensed that there seemed to be one light shield left, but then his attention was fully consumed by Huchen Wanli's murderous glare.
Now, as he looked over, his once simple and honest face twisted into a fascinating expression. He was witnessing a scene he found utterly absurd. In a corner of the plaza, the only light shield still colored had now turned pitch-black. As the light flowed across its surface, it seemed to take on a tangible texture, as if it could reflect a person's image.
Before Huchen Jianghai's disbelieving eyes, Ye Luoyan's somewhat angry voice once again entered his mind. "That's that brat, Huchen Wuding."
At this point, the surrounding discussions began to grow louder.
"How did Young Master Wuding do that? Just half an incense stick ago, it was only gray. How did it change so quickly? Could there be a problem with the trial?"
"It's possible. If Young Master Wuding was this fast, why didn't we see any movement for the past quarter-hour? Wouldn't that have been a safer bet? For the color to change so rapidly when the trial is almost over is just too much."
"Perhaps he's using a different method," someone mused thoughtfully.
Huchen Huiqing's beautiful eyes, however, sparkled with a peculiar light, and her full chest began to heave slightly. 'What is this guy up to? Is it all just to get everyone's attention at the end? Really.'
On the main viewing platform, apart from the several family ancestors who remained relatively calm, the rest wore varied expressions. Huchen Wandong's brows were knitted so tightly they almost merged. He, too, couldn't understand why this son of his showed such a stark contrast in performance between the beginning and the end.
On the other hand, a slight smile tugged at the corner of the Huchen Ancestor's lips. 'Such pure Ghostly Poison Scroll,' he thought. He had sensed a familiar aura from Huchen Wuding the moment he entered the family grounds. It was an aura identical to his own. Although this aura was so faint to him as to be almost negligible, as the only person in the family's nearly ten-thousand-year history to walk the path of pure Ghostly Poison Scroll cultivation, he had immediately picked out this thread of pure aura from amidst the chaotic mix of Ghostly Poison Scroll auras in the family.
With a soft pop, a crisp sound echoed, just like the nearly one hundred light shields before it. Yet, the appearance of this sound plunged the entire plaza into an instantaneous silence.
As a figure was ejected, collapsing unconscious to the ground, the pitch-black color of the light shield rapidly faded, and the scene within was slowly revealed to the onlookers. For a moment, even the family disciples at the edge of the plaza, who were on standby for medical aid, seemed to be in a trance. It was only after two or three breaths that they remembered their duty to administer a medicinal pill to the unconscious Huchen Wuding and hastily dashed into the plaza.
As the crowd's Divine Senses eagerly enveloped the area, the plaza remained silent, a deathly quiet. A few breaths later, the plaza erupted like a volcano.
"Did... did I see that... see that wrong? Five hundred... thir... thirteen herbs?"
"It's... it's five hundred and thirteen herbs! That's right! I've scanned it three times already!"
"Judging by the color of the light shield, Young Master Wuding only started moving after half the time had passed. How is that possible?"
"..." For a moment, the faces of the crowd were filled with stunned disbelief.
In the distance, Huchen Wanli had long forgotten the blow Huchen Jianghai had dealt him. He just kept scanning with his Divine Sense, over and over, completely unable to believe what he was seeing.
Huchen Jianghai was even more crestfallen, muttering incessantly, "Impossible. This is impossible. Unless his Ghostly Poison Scroll has reached the fifth layer. But then he should be at Foundation Establishment. Did he hide his cultivation..." At this thought, his Divine Sense shot towards the still-meditating Huchen Wuding. But the next moment brought disappointment. No matter how he scanned, Huchen Wuding's aura was clearly that of the ninth level of Qi Condensation.
Huchen Wandong gazed at the handsome young man in the center of the arena, and slowly, his features overlapped with that of a petite figure from his memory.
'Xiangyun, is this our son? I wondered why his cultivation was only at the ninth level of Qi Condensation. So it turns out he walked the path of pure cultivation,' he mused internally. By now, he had figured out the key to Huchen Wuding's victory. It wasn't just the Huchen Patriarch; many in the Huchen family had long since forgotten the few opening words of the Ghostly Poison Scroll and had grown accustomed to the current method of cultivation. The scene before him made Huchen Wandong suddenly recall that when he had first set foot on the path of cultivation, he too had chosen that pure method. But after experiencing progress that was as slow as a tortoise, the blow to his confidence had been immense, and he had been forced to switch to the family's common auxiliary method.
"Hmph!" A cold snort suddenly echoed across the plaza, striking everyone's heart like a heavy blow. The faces of the crowd changed drastically, and they fell silent, looking toward the main viewing platform with lingering fear.
Seeing the somewhat chaotic plaza, the Huchen Ancestor had frowned, letting out a displeased snort. Then, he glanced at the seemingly contemplative Huchen Wandong and said in a deep voice.
"Alright, the first round of the assessment is over. Wuding temporarily takes the lead. Tingchun, let the top ten disciples rest for two hours, then begin the final match."
His voice wasn't loud, but it instantly reverberated throughout the plaza, ringing like a clap of thunder in everyone's ears.
Li Yan had been watching the competition in the arena the whole time. It was only after Huchen Wuding's victory that he gave a slight nod. It seemed the bet he had placed was the correct one; the boy truly had his own trump cards. As for Zhuo Lingfeng, he had kept his eyes closed in meditation from the beginning, not sparing the plaza a single glance.
It was only when the Huchen Ancestor's deep shout rang out that Zhuo Lingfeng's eyes snapped open, a flash of shock in them. Although he had been a prodigy of his generation in his youth, he had never had the chance to meet a Nascent Soul cultivator. Nascent Soul cultivators were notoriously elusive.
An ordinary cultivator might go their entire life without the good fortune of meeting a Nascent Soul cultivator, let alone three of them appearing at once today.
The Huchen Ancestor's shout had been like a great bell tolling in Zhuo Lingfeng's heart, making it impossible for his usually calm mind to maintain its focus.
Li Yan felt the same sensation, but he was different. He had a vague feeling that this Huchen Ancestor's cultivation might not be as profound as the Nascent Soul ancestor in the rear mountain of the Little Bamboo Peak of his sect. Although this was also his first time seeing a Nascent Soul cultivator, he had this feeling. So, while he was surprised, his expression only shifted slightly before returning to calm. What he didn't notice, however, was that his subtle reaction was captured perfectly by the Huchen Ancestor's discerning eyes.
To the ancestor, Li Yan's early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation was insignificant. Yet, he sensed a certain temperament from Li Yan, one that only appeared on disciples from great sects. This kind of temperament could only be nurtured by being in a specific environment for a long time, an attitude that manifested from within.
He had been suspicious of Li Yan before. Now, seeing that under his sudden shout, even the Pseudo-Core realm Zhuo Lingfeng's expression changed repeatedly, while this early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator's face barely twitched.
'There has been some turmoil in the cultivation world recently. Some time ago, I received a message from Mo Qing of the Malevolent Spirit Sect, telling all sects and families to be wary of suspicious individuals. This child is somewhat suspicious. According to Mo Qing, all Malevolent Spirit Sect disciples have returned to the sect to await orders. This person should not be a Malevolent Spirit Sect disciple. Could he be a cultivator from one of the other three major sects? What is his purpose in my Malevolent Spirit Sect's territory? And how did he get involved with this child, Wuding?' The Huchen Ancestor's eyes narrowed. With his power, he could take Li Yan's life with a single breath. Even performing a Soul-Searching Art would be effortless. However, if Li Yan had malicious intentions, yet still dared to come to the Huchen family knowing they had a Nascent Soul cultivator in residence, the Huchen Ancestor didn't believe Li Yan would be so reckless.
Li Yan, for his part, was unaware that his life had just been dangled before the gates of hell and back several times. All of this, though long to describe, happened in the flash of the Huchen Ancestor's thoughts.
Just as the Huchen Ancestor's voice fell, Ye Luoyan was about to stand up but was immediately stopped by a stern glare from the Ye Family Ancestor. He knew what his daughter wanted to do. Although the first round was determined by the top ten finishers, Ye Luoyan still wanted to put in a good word for Huchen Jianghai. This was a chance to perform in front of the Huchen Ancestor. A matter that should have been a surefire way to gain face had been completely overshadowed by a boy who had been missing for over a decade, living like a stray dog. How could she tolerate it?
The Ye Family Ancestor would not allow Ye Luoyan to act recklessly. He could see the Chi Family Ancestor watching the show with amusement, and even the Xie Family Ancestor was observing coldly, not saying a word on Huchen Wanli's behalf. A Nascent Soul cultivator had spoken, and the competition had proceeded under his watch. If you questioned it, you were expressing dissatisfaction with the Huchen Ancestor.
After being fiercely glared at by the Ye Family Ancestor, Ye Luoyan instantly came to her senses, a cold chill running down her spine. In her moment of anxiety, she had been blinded by the sudden turn of events. Had she not noticed that even the usually arrogant Xie Xiaoxiao had kept her mouth shut? Ye Luoyan felt a wave of post-fright terror.
This demonstrated the terrifying power of a Nascent Soul cultivator. A single sentence could seal fates, a single sentence could decide life and death.
If those on the platform were like this, the disciples in the plaza dared not utter a word more. Huchen Wanli and Huchen Jianghai, though both dissatisfied in their hearts, dared not speak a single word at this moment.
The imposing elder, Huchen Tingchun, first bowed respectfully to the Huchen Ancestor, then looked at the crowd in the plaza. "Huchen Wuding, Huchen Jianghai, Huchen Wanli, Huchen Qiukong, Huchen Huiqing, Huchen Gu... you ten will proceed to the next round of the competition. The remaining disciples are all eliminated. The final match will begin in two hours. You ten, recover as quickly as possible!" After rattling off ten names in one breath, he gave a slight nod to the other three elders at the edge of the plaza. The four of them simultaneously formed a hand seal, and the nearly one hundred light shields in the plaza dissolved into specks of starlight and scattered into the air. In just a few breaths, the plaza returned to its previous state.
Upon hearing the elder's words, the dozens of eliminated disciples in the plaza, though they already knew the result, still showed disappointment in their eyes. With sighs, they transformed into streaks of light and shot towards the viewing stands on either side.
In an instant, only ten figures remained in the vast plaza.
"Hehe, you must be feeling very pleased with yourself, aren't you?" Huchen Wanli suddenly looked at Huchen Wuding, his gaze hostile.
"Third Brother, you're really amazing. You even surpassed me, and I just got lucky," Huchen Jianghai said with a simple-minded smile to Huchen Wuding.
"My, my, you two are putting on quite a show. Can't handle losing, can you?" A melodious voice sounded from the side. It was Huchen Huiqing. She was scrutinizing Huchen Wuding with her beautiful eyes, as if seeing him for the first time.
The other six, including Huchen Qiukong, remained silent, their gazes shifting between the four. This was a matter between the patriarch's own sons and daughter. Although they each had their own allegiances, they had no intention of getting involved under the watchful eyes of so many. However, their gazes lingered mostly on Huchen Wuding. No one had ever imagined that he would win with such an overwhelming advantage.
Huchen Wuding's face was pale; the previous trial had been too draining. He glanced at the others, who had also not yet recovered, and spoke directly to Huchen Huiqing, "Second Sister, let's go back and recover quickly. Why waste time here?" With that, he didn't spare Huchen Wanli or Huchen Jianghai another look and was the first to fly towards the viewing platform.