Chapter 91: Yellow Character Number One
The people outside the martial tower could only see the tower lamp on the third floor light up, but they had no idea which level Zhang Ruochen had reached on the third floor.
Not only did Elder Situ find it hard to believe, but most of the young martial artists present also held skeptical attitudes.
After all, a new student breaking through the second level of the third floor was simply too shocking to hear.
Elder Situ walked to the base of the martial tower’s gate, extended an arm, and pressed it against a recessed iron wall, channeling the true qi within his body into the iron wall.
The martial tower was a True Martial Treasure. Under the infusion of Elder Situ’s true qi, some of the inscriptions within the tower were activated.
“Whoosh!”
A white radiance immediately appeared on the spiritual energy mirror of the martial tower’s third floor.
The scene of Zhang Ruochen challenging the second level of the martial tower’s third floor appeared on the surface of the spiritual energy mirror.
The nine elders standing below the martial tower, the four hundred and sixty-eight new students, and many older students all looked up toward the spiritual energy mirror on the third floor.
On the mirror’s surface was the image of Zhang Ruochen battling eighteen Refining Warriors. Zhang Ruochen fought with unrestrained vigor, every movement flowing like clouds and water, breaking through the eighteen Refining Warriors as if splitting bamboo.
The battle scene made the young martial artists below burn with excitement, wishing they were Zhang Ruochen, locked in combat with the eighteen Refining Warriors.
As for the female students, their eyes sparkled with admiration, their expressions filled with awe. In the end, they all turned to look at Zhang Ruochen standing below the martial tower, their gazes full of worship.
Zhang Ruochen’s performance in the martial tower was simply too stunning.
In a world where martial arts reigned supreme, a young hero like Zhang Ruochen would naturally drive many women wild with admiration.
“How infuriating! He actually managed to get through the second level of the third floor!”
Prince Huoxing stood among the new students, his eyes icy as he stared at Zhang Ruochen below the martial tower, silently resolving to eliminate this Ninth Prince of the Yunwu Commandery.
Prince Huoxing, Zi Qian, and Yao Qingtong were all rare talents, but compared to Zhang Ruochen, they fell far short.
Thus, the spotlight for this year’s new students was almost entirely stolen by Zhang Ruochen.
The fourth person in the history of the Western Academy—who could compare to him?
In the subsequent martial tower challenges, no genius managed to break through the second level of the third floor again.
By dusk, the martial tower challenges finally ended. The top one hundred and twenty performers became outer disciples of the Western Academy of the Martial Market Academy.
The rankings of the one hundred and twenty new students were quickly assessed. Without any suspense, Zhang Ruochen secured first place among the new students.
Zi Qian came in second, Prince Huoxing third, and Yao Qingtong fourth.
Among the top ten, there were six women and four men.
If not for Zhang Ruochen, this year’s new students would have seen the female students completely dominate the male ones.
A total of fifteen young martial artists from the Yunwu Commandery became outer disciples of the Western Academy, while thirty-eight from the Four Directions Commandery achieved the same.
Overall, the Four Directions Commandery held an absolute advantage in the number of new students. However, the Yunwu Commandery claimed both first and second place, making quite a splash.
In previous years, the Western Academy also accepted one hundred and twenty new students, with the Four Directions Commandery’s martial artists making up the majority. But this year, they didn’t even account for a third of the new students. Prince Huoxing’s expression was extremely grim.
“If not for Zhang Ruochen and Zi Qian hunting down dozens of geniuses from the Four Directions Commandery in the first round, how could we have ended up with only thirty-eight outer disciples this year?” Prince Huoxing’s face was dark, his killing intent barely concealed.
Xie Zhaowu said, “Your Highness, no matter how talented Zhang Ruochen is, he’s only at the Mysterious Extreme Realm middle stage. With the power of our Four Directions Commandery in the Western Academy, we can easily eliminate him. As for that Zi Qian, killing her would be a waste. Why not take her as your princess?”
Prince Huoxing’s heart stirred slightly, his eyes narrowing into slits as he smiled. “Zi Qian’s talent is indeed high, ranking even above mine. If I could make her my princess, it would be like a tiger gaining wings. But she’s close to Zhang Ruochen—would she agree to me?”
Xie Zhaowu smiled. “Zhang Ruochen is just a prince from a low-ranking commandery. If the Four Directions Commandery defeats the Yunwu Commandery, he won’t even be a prince anymore. Zi Qian is a smart woman; I believe she’ll know how to choose. If she still refuses to submit to Your Highness, we can use some forceful methods to compel her. Under the weight of power, I doubt she won’t yield.”
A smile appeared on Prince Huoxing’s face. He glanced at Zi Qian and found her indeed very beautiful. Taking her as his princess seemed like a delightful prospect.
But when he saw Zhang Ruochen, the smile vanished instantly. “Zhang Ruochen must die! Xie Zhaowu, go tell Feng Zhilin to come see me tonight.”
Feng Zhilin was Feng Zhiyi’s older brother. He had become an outer disciple of the Martial Market Academy two years ago, with a martial cultivation reaching the Mysterious Extreme Realm Great Extreme Position.
Prince Huoxing decided to use Feng Zhilin to deal with Zhang Ruochen.
Feng Zhilin’s younger brother had died at Zhang Ruochen’s hands. As the elder brother, how could he not avenge his sibling?
Becoming an outer disciple of the Western Academy meant they had to collect the robes, waist tokens, and dormitory keys specifically for outer disciples.
The outer disciples’ robes were all plain white garments.
As for the waist tokens, they were more complex. The Martial Market Academy’s waist tokens were carved from white jade, inscribed with runes, and refined into True Martial Treasures, each about the size of a palm.
The tokens recorded not only each student’s information but also their merit points.
For example, Zhang Ruochen, as this year’s top new student, was awarded three thousand merit points. So, his token displayed three thousand merit points.
Zi Qian, as the second-place new student, was awarded two thousand merit points, also recorded on her token.
As for Liu Chengfeng, ranked fourteenth among the new students, his token showed five merit points.
The Western Academy only issued five merit points to outer disciples each month. New students who didn’t make the top ten also received only five merit points.
In the Martial Market Academy, all cultivation resources had to be exchanged with merit points.
Without merit points, one couldn’t move an inch.
Merit points represented one’s contribution to the Martial Market Academy. Apart from the five points issued monthly, all other merit points had to be earned personally.
Besides merit points, the tokens also recorded the strength rankings of every outer disciple in the Western Academy.
Zhang Ruochen infused his true qi into the token, and it immediately displayed his strength ranking: six hundred and seventieth.
Zi Qian also infused her true qi, and her token showed her ranking: five hundred and ninety-seventh.
Zhang Ruochen asked, “What’s with the ranking on the token?”
Liu Chengfeng clearly knew more about the Martial Market Academy than Zhang Ruochen and Zi Qian. “The ranking on the token reflects the strength ranking of the Western Academy’s outer disciples. It’s mainly based on the student’s martial realm, the number of tasks assigned by the academy, the quarterly assessments every three months, and the annual Four Academy Martial Meet. These are all criteria for the ranking.”
Then Liu Chengfeng added, “The Western Academy’s ranking isn’t that significant. What really matters is making it onto the ‘Mysterious Ranking.’”
Only by entering the Mysterious Ranking could one be considered a true powerhouse.
Liu Chengfeng asked, “Ninth Prince, which key did you get?”
Zhang Ruochen took out the bronze key in his hand and looked at it. He noticed that his key was indeed different from Liu Chengfeng’s dormitory key.
“Dragon Martial Hall, Yellow Character Number One,” Zhang Ruochen said.
“Dragon Martial Hall…”
Liu Chengfeng’s face changed dramatically, and his body trembled slightly. “I knew it, I knew it…”
Zhang Ruochen glanced at Liu Chengfeng curiously. “Is there something wrong with Dragon Martial Hall?”
Liu Chengfeng shook his head vigorously. “Dragon Martial Hall is the place with the most abundant spiritual energy in the Western Academy. Only the top new student of each year can live there. Moreover, cultivating in Dragon Martial Hall has many benefits, not just abundant spiritual energy.”
Zhang Ruochen breathed a sigh of relief. “Then it seems like a good thing.”
Liu Chengfeng kept shaking his head. “There’s a saying in the Western Academy: any man who enters Dragon Martial Hall will either be crippled or maimed. It’s said that two years ago, the top new student, Yu Chi Tiancong, the son of the Prime Minister of the Four Directions Commandery, had his legs broken on his first night in Dragon Martial Hall and was thrown out the door. After that, Yu Chi Tiancong never dared to step into Dragon Martial Hall again.”
It was hard to imagine a top new student genius having his legs broken and being thrown out of Dragon Martial Hall—how miserable that must have been.
Suddenly, Zhang Ruochen recalled the words of Huang Yanchen and Duanmu Xingling.
Looking at the key in his hand, Zhang Ruochen felt a chill wind blow, from the soles of his feet all the way to the top of his head.
“Are they that brutal? Even a top new student genius had his legs broken? Don’t the elders of the Martial Market Academy care?” Zhang Ruochen asked.
Liu Chengfeng spread his hands. “How could they care? One of those female demons insisted that Yu Chi Tiancong barged into her room to spy on her bathing. So, in her anger, she broke his legs and threw him out of Dragon Martial Hall. The fault was Yu Chi Tiancong’s, so the academy elders couldn’t intervene.”
Zi Qian said, “Since Yu Chi Tiancong knew the three female demons lived in Dragon Martial Hall, how could he dare to spy on them bathing?”
Liu Chengfeng laughed. “Even if you gave Yu Chi Tiancong ten times the courage, he wouldn’t dare. But that female demon pinned the crime on him—what could he do?”
Zhang Ruochen said, “So Yu Chi Tiancong confessed?”
Liu Chengfeng said, “How could he not? If he didn’t, next time it wouldn’t just be broken legs—he’d be beaten to death. Yu Chi Tiancong was scared, so he confessed. But confessing wasn’t the end of it. He also had to compensate that female demon, so the three thousand merit points he got as the top new student were all paid out and fell into her hands. What a tragedy!”
Zhang Ruochen sucked in a breath of cold air, suddenly feeling that Dragon Martial Hall should be the Western Academy’s number one forbidden ground, no less than a dragon’s den or a tiger’s lair.
“Ninth Prince, you must take care! Try to at least keep your life, like Yu Chi Tiancong. Even if your legs are broken, with timely treatment, you can stand up again quickly. A man must be able to bend and stretch. Isn’t that right?”
Liu Chengfeng patted Zhang Ruochen’s shoulder meaningfully, sighed, and then headed toward his own dormitory.
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