Chapter 88: Shocking Prodigy
Martial Tower, Second Floor, Third Challenge.
After passing through the arrow corridor of the second challenge, Zhang Ruochen stepped onto the hard ground and arrived at the third challenge.
Pushing open the iron door of the third challenge, a one-zhang-square pool appeared before his eyes. By the pool stood a transparent, crystalline jade stele. On the stele, a line of text emerged: "Count the number of ripples in the pool, with an error margin of no more than ten ripples."
"Count ripples? What does that mean?"
Before Zhang Ruochen could react, he heard a splash.
"Dong!"
A silver coin fell from above the pool, landing on the calm surface.
Immediately, circles of ripples spread across the water, radiating from the center toward the edges.
Although Zhang Ruochen didn’t understand the purpose of this challenge, he immediately fixed his gaze on the water surface and began counting the ripples. "One ripple, two ripples, three ripples..."
The ripples grew finer and weaker, making observation increasingly difficult.
"This is testing the martial artist’s spiritual power, observation, judgment, and willpower!"
Zhang Ruochen’s eyes grew drier and even stung slightly, but he kept staring at the pool surface without shifting his gaze.
Though it seemed simple, it contained the great principles of martial arts.
First, spiritual power. Without sufficient spiritual power, one couldn’t perceive the subtle changes in the ripples.
Second, observation. Only those with keen observation could clearly see every ripple. Because after the ripples spread from the center and hit the iron walls of the pool, they surged back in the opposite direction, affecting the observer’s focus to some extent. Those lacking observation would panic when the water ripples rebounded, leading to failure in this challenge.
Third, judgment. As the ripples weakened, the water surface might even appear completely calm. At this point, it tested the martial artist’s judgment. When was the water truly calm?
Fourth, willpower. Under intense mental concentration, continuously counting the ripples would quickly tire the eyes. Without willpower, one couldn’t persist until the water was completely still.
About fifteen minutes later, the water surface finally calmed down.
Zhang Ruochen’s eyes burned with pain. He closed them to rest briefly. "Fortunately, I’ve opened my eye meridian, giving me far superior eyesight compared to martial artists at the same realm. And my spiritual power is strong, reaching above the thirtieth level, allowing me to clearly distinguish every ripple. This challenge isn’t too difficult for me!"
Zhang Ruochen walked to the jade stele, picked up an inscription brush from the ground, and carved a number on it.
Two thousand seven hundred and sixty-five water ripples.
"Hua!"
A white light appeared on the stele’s surface, and another line of text emerged:
Two thousand seven hundred and sixty-five water ripples, zero error. Pass.
Zhang Ruochen smiled faintly. "Just as I observed. But this challenge is still quite brutal. No wonder so many can’t get through it. It’s a test of a martial artist’s overall qualities."
"Hong!"
The door to the third floor of the Martial Tower opened.
Zhang Ruochen walked straight in, ascending the steps to reach the third floor.
The tower lamp on the third floor lit up.
Outside the Martial Tower, the young martial artists and nine elders were once again stirred.
Of the ten martial artists who had entered the Martial Tower with Zhang Ruochen, eight had already retreated in defeat. Only Xie Zhaowu of the Four Directions Commandery and Zhang Ruochen of the Cloudwu Commandery remained inside, challenging the tower.
"Someone else passed the second floor’s third challenge and entered the third floor. Who could it be?"
"It must be Xie Zhaowu of the Four Directions Commandery."
"Right! It has to be Xie Zhaowu! Though his fame isn’t as great as Prince Huo Xing or Qing You, he’s still a genius at the Mysterious Extreme Small Extreme Position. To reach that level at such a young age, how could he be mediocre?"
No one thought Zhang Ruochen had passed the second floor’s third challenge. After all, he was too young—only sixteen—and only at the Mysterious Extreme Middle Stage.
Even Elder Situ nodded slightly. "Xie Zhaowu must have been hiding his true strength, waiting to make a stunning debut during the Martial Tower challenge. With such a mindset, he’s bound to achieve no small success in the future."
The other eight elders wore cold expressions, unwilling to see Elder Situ’s smug look.
Elder Situ was the guide for the martial artists of the Four Directions Commandery. The better their performance, the greater his rewards.
Seeing the third-floor tower lamp light up, Elder Situ was naturally overjoyed and couldn’t help but show his pride.
But the next moment, his expression froze.
"Zhi ya!"
The Martial Tower’s door opened, and Xie Zhaowu walked out dejectedly.
He looked up and saw the nine elders staring at him wide-eyed, startling him into stepping back slightly.
What was happening?
Elder Situ immediately approached and asked, "Xie Zhaowu, which challenge did you pass?"
Seeing Elder Situ’s overbearing demeanor, Xie Zhaowu stepped back again. Steadying himself, he said in a trembling voice, "Reporting to the elder, I passed the second challenge on the second floor but failed the third. Elder Situ, what’s going on?"
Elder Situ’s face turned the color of pig liver, and he almost lost his composure. He roared, "If you failed the second floor’s third challenge, why did the third-floor tower lamp light up?"
"What? The third-floor tower lamp lit up?" Xie Zhaowu was even more shocked than Elder Situ.
Elder Xie, standing nearby, laughed heartily. "Elder Situ, you should know there’s still another young martial artist in the tower. Since Xie Zhaowu failed, it must be that other one who passed the second floor’s third challenge."
"The Ninth Prince of the Cloudwu Commandery, Zhang Ruochen."
At that moment, everyone finally realized, revealing expressions of shock.
If a Mysterious Extreme Middle Stage martial artist could also pass the second floor’s third challenge, it was simply unbelievable.
Only Zi Qian remained the calmest, because no one knew Zhang Ruochen’s strength better than her. If he hadn’t passed the second floor’s third challenge, that would have been the real surprise.
"Step back!" Elder Situ glared fiercely at Xie Zhaowu. Then he said, "Someone, bring me Zhang Ruochen’s records."
Elder Situ still refused to believe a Mysterious Extreme Middle Stage martial artist could pass the second floor’s third challenge and wanted to investigate this Zhang Ruochen.
Soon, an outer palace disciple delivered Zhang Ruochen’s records to Elder Situ.
"How is this possible?"
After seeing Zhang Ruochen’s records, Elder Situ was stunned, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.
The other eight elders grew curious. What was so remarkable about Zhang Ruochen’s records that it shocked Elder Situ like that?
"Calm down! Calm down! Elder Situ, you’re well along in years. You should learn to stay composed. How can the records of a mere young genius shock you so much?" Elder Xie laughed.
Elder Situ’s face turned serious. "Don’t make sarcastic remarks. Come see for yourselves."
The eight elders exchanged glances, walked over, and all looked at Zhang Ruochen’s records.
After reading them, their expressions mirrored Elder Situ’s—stunned into prolonged silence.
"He awakened his Divine Martial Mark at sixteen and has only been cultivating for less than a year? In less than a year, he reached the Mysterious Extreme Middle Stage?"
"Look here. After only half a year of cultivation, he became a Yellow Board martial artist and ranked first on the Yellow Board. Heaven! What kind of shocking prodigy is this?"
Although Elder Xie was the guide for the Cloudwu Commandery’s young martial artists, he had never bothered to check Zhang Ruochen’s records before.
Now, seeing them for the first time, he burst into curses. "That bastard Liu Chuanshen! Why didn’t he tell me earlier that Zhang Ruochen was such a monster? What a pity! What a pity!"
Elder Xie was deeply frustrated, regretting it bitterly. If he had known Zhang Ruochen’s talent was so extraordinary, he would have taken him as a disciple on the way to the Martial Market Academy.
Now, it was too late!
A genius of such high caliber would surely be accepted as a personal disciple by the West Courtyard’s dean. It wouldn’t be his turn.
Elder Xie cursed Liu Chuanshen’s ancestors for eighteen generations.
Liu Chengfeng stood nearby, his face showing displeasure. He muttered quietly, "Uncle Xie is usually so gentle and refined. Why is he suddenly cursing my father? Forget it, he’s an elder. I won’t argue with him."
Liu Chengfeng was also quite frustrated.
...
Zhang Ruochen entered the first challenge on the third floor of the Martial Tower, arriving at another enclosed training ground, similar to the first challenge on the first and second floors.
"Hua!"
On the stone wall, Luo Xu’s spiritual projection emerged again.
Luo Xu glanced at Zhang Ruochen and smiled. "This challenge, no need to fight. You already passed during the first challenge on the second floor."
Zhang Ruochen could sense that Luo Xu’s aura was still at the Mysterious Extreme Late Stage, so he asked, "For this challenge, how many of your moves must I withstand to pass?"
"Three moves," Luo Xu said.
Luo Xu’s first move used twenty percent of his power, the second thirty percent, and the third forty percent.
If one could withstand three moves, they would pass the first challenge on the third floor.
But Zhang Ruochen had already withstood all nine of Luo Xu’s moves during the first challenge on the second floor. So, this challenge was unnecessary—he passed directly.
Zhang Ruochen stared at Luo Xu and said, "I have a question."
"I can answer one question," Luo Xu said with a smile.
Zhang Ruochen asked, "Over the past four hundred and sixty years of the West Courtyard, you were the strongest Mysterious Extreme Middle Stage martial artist and also the strongest Mysterious Extreme Late Stage martial artist. Were you the strongest in all seven levels of the Mysterious Extreme Realm?"
Luo Xu replied, "Before you appeared, yes. But now that you’re here, I believe you will replace me at every level, becoming the new guardian of the Martial Tower."
With that, Luo Xu’s body dissolved into wisps of spiritual energy, vanishing from the training ground.
Zhang Ruochen smiled lightly and walked toward the second challenge on the third floor.
...
Ao ao! Old Fish rolls around begging for recommendation tickets! Recommendation tickets! Recommendation tickets! Important things must be said three times. Haha!