Chapter 145: The First Battle
Hearing Xuan Yuan Po’s words, the examiner’s expression instantly shifted. He waved his hand impatiently, signaling for him to leave quickly. Xuan Yuan Po was stunned, thinking to himself: Doesn’t he need to declare me the victor? Then, does this match even count? He glanced at the opponent being treated against the wall, scratched his head, and walked out of the Dust-Washing Pavilion in confusion.
Hearing the sound of the Dust-Washing Pavilion’s door closing, the examiner shook his head in speechless amazement, thinking: This young man is only thirteen years old—how does he have such immense strength? Even if the demon race has a special physique, this is still too exaggerated.
Watching Xuan Yuan Po descend the stone steps, the crowd didn’t find it too surprising. After all, his name was on the Azure Cloud List, and defeating that unknown disciple of Yellow Mountain Valley was only natural. What the examinees hadn’t expected was how quickly the match ended—even faster than the four Huai Academy scholars before him. And what about that thunderous sound? What was that all about?
Indeed, the soundproofing formation of the Dust-Washing Pavilion couldn’t block all noise. When the volume exceeded a certain level, sound could travel outside. Earlier, when Xuan Yuan Po punched that Yellow Mountain Valley disciple flying, the terrifying impact broke through the formation’s limits, reaching the ears of the examinees outside and sparking countless guesses and discussions. Most of the examinees still present were victors from the first round. Since they might face Xuan Yuan Po in the second round, their gazes toward him grew wary.
“What happened?” Tang Thirty-Six asked, watching Xuan Yuan Po return to the forest’s edge.
Xuan Yuan Po still hadn’t figured out what exactly had happened in the Dust-Washing Pavilion. After thinking for a long time, he gestured and said, “He didn’t block.”
The honest and simple young man couldn’t understand how Tang Thirty-Six could calculate every detail of a match. He thought Tang Thirty-Six must know that Yellow Mountain Valley disciple and had arranged for him to win in advance. So, his emotions weren’t particularly high; instead, he felt confused and at a loss.
Tang Thirty-Six had no idea what wild thoughts were running through his head. Hearing his words, he roughly guessed the match’s specifics and sneered, “It wasn’t that he didn’t block—he couldn’t block. In battle, momentum is everything. He was already weaker than you in realm and still tried to retreat and fight defensively. Losing was inevitable; it was just a matter of time.”
Just then, the murmuring in front of the Dust-Washing Pavilion gradually quieted as another examinee walked out. He was ranked sixty-first. This examinee was from the Heavenly Dao Academy. Zhuang Huan Yu walked over and spoke to him in a low voice. The Heavenly Dao Academy examinee carried a cloth bag on his back, its contents unknown. His expression was indifferent, and while listening to Zhuang Huan Yu, his gaze remained fixed on the direction of the National Academy.
After speaking, Zhuang Huan Yu stepped back.
That Heavenly Dao Academy examinee stared at the few people from the National Academy by the forest for a long time. Finally, he chose Chen Chang Sheng.
Yes, he chose Chen Chang Sheng.
Silence fell before the Dust-Washing Pavilion. Everyone turned to look at the forest’s edge.
This choice was somewhat unexpected, but upon careful analysis, it was only natural.
Su Mo Yu and Tang Thirty-Six were ranked thirty-third and thirty-second on the Azure Cloud List, respectively, while Luo Luo was even higher at second. No matter how hard that Heavenly Dao Academy examinee tried, he couldn’t defeat those three in a match. Although Chen Chang Sheng was famous, he was relatively the weakest. Choosing him at least guaranteed a chance of victory.
The Heavenly Dao Academy examinee looked at Chen Chang Sheng and said, “I don’t believe you can beat me.”
When he said this, his tone was deliberately calm, his expression deliberately indifferent, but everyone could hear a fierce edge. That fierceness came from a lack of confidence—only by being fierce could he avoid thinking about things like the Ivy Banquet, the Azure Cloud List, or the phrase “renowned throughout the capital.”
The forest’s edge was quiet.
Tang Thirty-Six looked at Chen Chang Sheng, wanting to say something but ultimately staying silent. Unlike with Xuan Yuan Po earlier, he didn’t constantly remind him of the match’s details or even prepare a battle plan in advance, because even he didn’t know what Chen Chang Sheng’s current situation was.
In the end, he only asked the simplest question: “Can you do it?”
Chen Chang Sheng looked at that Heavenly Dao Academy examinee, comparing him with the information Priest Xin had secretly sent to the National Academy a few days ago. He remembered that this examinee was named Liu Zhong Shan, seventeen years old, a direct disciple of Heavenly Dao Academy Dean Mao Qiu Yu. His realm and strength were decent—at least at the middle stage of Contemplation—and he was very likely carrying a powerful magical artifact.
“It should be fine,” he said after a moment’s thought to Tang Thirty-Six.
Hearing this, Tang Thirty-Six’s expression immediately relaxed, and he stopped worrying. He knew how cautious and calm Chen Chang Sheng was—if he said it was fine, then it definitely was.
“Master, use the Thousand-Mile Button,” Luo Luo said quietly beside him.
She was worried. Even though she usually had complete faith in Chen Chang Sheng, almost to the point of blind trust—this match was too important for him. With his written exam results, if he could defeat this Heavenly Dao Academy examinee, he would very likely enter the top three of the Grand Examination and qualify to enter the Heavenly Book Mausoleum.
Tang Thirty-Six heard her and thought, What kind of person is this?
The Thousand-Mile Button could be called a legendary magical artifact. Even against a Star-Gathering realm powerhouse, it could save one’s life. Its preciousness was unimaginable, and no matter how much cultivators wanted it, it was hard to obtain. Yet Luo Luo wanted Chen Chang Sheng to use it in an ordinary match? That was too wasteful!
Chen Chang Sheng looked at Luo Luo and said, “It’s fine. I can do it.”
With that, he walked toward the Dust-Washing Pavilion. Under the guidance of a Li Palace priest, he entered the door together with that Heavenly Dao Academy examinee.
Watching the door close again, the examinees before the pavilion fell silent, their expressions complex, lost in thought.
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Inside the Dust-Washing Pavilion, the round eaves were like a well’s mouth, and the blue sky seemed especially distant.
Chen Chang Sheng and that Heavenly Dao Academy student named Liu Zhong Shan were also far apart, standing at opposite ends of the flat ground, gazing at each other from a distance.
“I admit you surpass me in knowledge, but battle ultimately relies on true strength. I’m very curious—have you successfully completed Marrow Cleansing?”
Liu Zhong Shan looked at him with an indifferent expression, his seemingly flat tone actually hiding a faint mockery.
Just like the fierce edge hidden deep in his earlier words, this was also a way to boost his confidence.
Chen Chang Sheng didn’t stare at the blue sky in a daze like Xuan Yuan Po, nor did he look up to the second floor for the examiner. From the moment he entered the Dust-Washing Pavilion, he had been quietly watching his opponent, focused and calm. His divine sense slowly spread, and his true essence flowed through his meridians—unable to fully connect but enough to warm his chest and abdomen.
He replied, “I have.”
Today, at the Grand Examination, many people vaguely guessed or saw that he had completed Marrow Cleansing. Since Marrow Cleansing was only the beginning of cultivation, it couldn’t be used as a secret weapon, so there was nothing to hide.
Liu Zhong Shan said, “Is that so? I remember very clearly—at the Ivy Banquet, you couldn’t even cultivate. Even if you’ve completed Marrow Cleansing, it hasn’t been many days, has it?”
Chen Chang Sheng thought for a moment and said, “Yes, it hasn’t been long.”
“If you’ve only just completed Marrow Cleansing, you surely don’t even know how to enter Contemplation and observe yourself. I’m very curious—how can someone like you defeat me? Without enough strength, what use is fame?”
Liu Zhong Shan said with a faint sneer. He reached his right hand behind him, untied the cloth bag, and took out an umbrella, opening it in front of him.
That umbrella looked like an ordinary oil-paper umbrella, but once opened, its surface instantly overflowed with countless lights and colors, resembling precious yellow jade. A very powerful aura flowed faintly within it, clearly not an ordinary magical artifact. Because Liu Zhong Shan was too young, his realm wasn’t enough to unleash the umbrella’s full power, but in the Grand Examination environment, few examinees could break through it with their own strength. This umbrella was originally his trump card, but he hadn’t expected to encounter Chen Chang Sheng in the first round. To be safe, he used it without hesitation.
Chen Chang Sheng glanced at the umbrella once and then stopped paying attention, withdrawing all his focus into his own body.
In his broken meridians flowed a small amount of true essence. His powerful divine sense drove his spirit to become increasingly excited yet eerily calm. At the same time, an indescribable force emerged from the deepest parts of his body—his bones and organs—spreading to every part of him, bringing a feeling of power. This feeling was subtle and hard to articulate. It wasn’t the power itself that felt strong; even a trace of that force seemed to grant immense confidence, more like an instinct.
He wasn’t unfamiliar with this feeling.
That day, in the underground space, he had forcibly entered Contemplation and passed out. When he woke up, he discovered that a new force, a new aura, and a powerful sense of confidence had appeared in his body.
Because he had never seen that Black Dragon senior again, even now, he didn’t know what had happened that day. But he knew that some incredible changes had occurred in his body. His speed and strength had terrifyingly increased—even the most perfect Marrow Cleansing couldn’t compare.
Most importantly, no one knew about these changes.
“Come on,” Liu Zhong Shan said, looking at him with an indifferent expression, the oil-paper umbrella radiating a powerful aura before him.
His “come” meant Chen Chang Sheng’s “go.”
Chen Chang Sheng thought about how to go, how to go faster, and then he remembered jumping from the building onto the snow that day and gliding to the lake’s edge.
He lifted his right foot and stomped on the ground.
A sound rang out, hard to describe—like a red-hot iron anvil suddenly doused with a basin of cold water.
Sizzle, crackle.
Chen Chang Sheng’s foot landed on the ground.
His sturdy leather boots instantly split apart.
The yellow sand on the soles scattered as if fleeing in all directions, revealing the bare stone floor beneath.
Several cracks spread outward from his right foot, radiating toward the walls of the Dust-Washing Pavilion.
All of this happened in the blink of an eye.
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Many Li Palace priests were in charge of the Grand Examination matches. Among them, some handled procedures, some supervised exams, some treated injured examinees, and some managed miscellaneous tasks. Not all of them needed to stay inside the building; many had been outside earlier. But at this moment, they were all inside the Dust-Washing Pavilion.
They stood on the second floor, silently watching the match. They were very curious about that National Academy youth, whom the Bishop had placed such high hopes on. What realm and strength did he possess? Was he, as rumors said, completely unable to cultivate, or would he, like legendary figures, suddenly burst forth with unimaginable power?
Watching Chen Chang Sheng stomp on the sand-covered ground and seeing what followed, every Li Palace priest on the second floor changed expression. The strength displayed by this National Academy youth exceeded all their expectations. It wasn’t that his true essence was abundant—in fact, they could clearly sense that his true essence was ordinary, even somewhat scarce—but he had actually cracked the ground of His Holiness the Pope’s small world! How had he completed Marrow Cleansing? How could he possess such terrifying strength?
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The terrifying force rebounded from the ground into Chen Chang Sheng’s body. Yellow sand flew into the air!
His figure burst through the sand, the dark National Academy uniform trailing a clear afterimage, like a black dragon!
Gasps that the Li Palace priests could no longer suppress rang out one after another on the second floor!
Then they were quickly drowned out by an even sharper, almost piercing howl!
Because Chen Chang Sheng’s speed was too fast, his body rubbing against the air at high velocity, as if tearing space itself, the sound was like a dragon’s roar!
In an instant, he was before Liu Zhong Shan.
Liu Zhong Shan hadn’t even reacted, couldn’t even think. His mouth had only half-opened in shock.
Chen Chang Sheng’s fist landed on that umbrella.
The umbrella instantly emitted countless rays of light, generating a powerful aura.
But in the next moment, the light on the umbrella’s surface suddenly vanished, turning dim again.
Because that powerful aura was forcibly suppressed by an even stronger, purer force!
That powerful force came from Chen Chang Sheng’s fist.
With a crash, the umbrella was blown away by the fist’s wind.
The fist continued forward, landing precisely on Liu Zhong Shan’s chest.
With a boom, Liu Zhong Shan’s body flew up like a stone, hurtling dozens of yards before slamming heavily into the Dust-Washing Pavilion’s sturdy stone wall!
On that stone wall were still some very fine cracks.
Earlier, Xuan Yuan Po had punched that Yellow Mountain Valley disciple flying, and he had crashed right there.
Now, Liu Zhong Shan crashed into the same spot.
Again, just one punch.
Liu Zhong Shan spat blood and passed out.
At the start of the battle, he had said two words to Chen Chang Sheng with contempt: “Come on.”
So Chen Chang Sheng came.
And then he fell.
From beginning to end, he only said those two words.
He didn’t even have time to launch a single move.
The Dust-Washing Pavilion fell into dead silence.
Chen Chang Sheng withdrew his fist, straightened up, and looked toward the second floor.
The priests, still shaken and dazed, met his gaze and snapped back to reality, hurriedly going downstairs to treat the injured.
That Li Palace priest in charge of the match walked up to Chen Chang Sheng, wanting to say something but ultimately saying nothing.
Chen Chang Sheng calmly bowed to him with clasped hands, then turned and walked out of the building.
Watching his retreating figure, that Li Palace priest’s emotions churned. He thought to himself: The students of the National Academy… why are they all so simple and brutal?
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(This chapter is four thousand words. That’s all for today. I want to adjust my biological clock—going to bed at five or six in the morning every day is getting hard to handle.)