Chapter 86 - The Scum Is Vain

"You-shimei, are you ready?" Li Tian asked.

"Yes, Li-shixiong." You Rou said and raised her cauldron.

"How about you, Lei-shidi?" Li Tian asked.

"Yes, Li-shixiong!" Lei Ling grinned and raised his talismans.

Li Tian sighed in relief. "How about you, Li-shixiong?" Cheng Sheng asked.

Li Tian smiled at him. "Ready." He answered.

Fei Yin nodded, seemingly pleased. "Everyone, do your best. However, don't push yourself. If we'll get hurt…" he said, didn't continue what he's about to say.

Everyone gulped as they raised their head, seemingly seeing Fan Wen's tear-stained face as he looked at them full of accusation and blame. Then, he ran and complained to Xie Lan about them being reckless and not minding of their shifu's feelings. As if they had forgotten he'd worry… then, Xie Lan comforted Fan Wen before he evilly grinned at them, his eyes glinted.

They all shook their head and shivered. "We'll be careful!" they all exclaimed, frightened out of their wits. Fortunately, they only saw Xie Lan last night at the banquet. If he had followed them… they all paled.

"What's wrong with them?" Chen Han asked, his eyes filled with worry as he looked at Cheng Sheng and Li Tian.

"They frightened themselves." Sun Yi answered and laughed. He turned to their fellow disciples since Chen Han was worried with the Xinfaxian Sect disciples if they were nervous of the competition. "If you're done with your test, look after the Xinfaxian Sect disciples." He told them.

"Yes, Sun-shixiong!" they answered.

"Well, you do your best, too. If you'll get injured…" Sun Yi grinned at them.

They all paled when they imagined Wu Yuan's dark face as he pointed his sword at them while he raised his other fist, asking them, "I'll kill you, or I kill you?" They all hugged themselves in fright. "Hm? What happened to them?" Chen Han asked.

Sun Yi just laughed. "We'll be very careful!" the Youxiwang Sect disciples answered.

Chen Han was puzzled, but he didn't ask for more. "Let's go." he told them.

Sun Yi nodded as their group split into two: one for the mage test, while the other is for the martial arts test. "Everyone!" he waved at the Xinfaxian Sect disciples.

"Sun-shixiong." They greeted.

Sun Yi pointed his fellow disciples at the back who were still frightened by Wu Yuan. "Why don't you go with them?" he asked.

Li Tian nodded. "We're planning to." He said and turned to Fei Yin, Cheng Sheng, Lei Qing and Feng Mo. "We'll be going." He said.

"Yeah. Good luck!" Feng Mo told them.

"Thank you, Feng-shixiong!" Lei Ling said as he, You Rou and Li Tian went with the Youxiwang Sect disciples to the direction of the venue of the alchemy test: Hall A and B. Cultivation isn't limited to only the sword.

"Shall we get going?" Chen Han asked.

"Yes." Fei Yin answered as their group went to the other direction: the canyons, where the venue of their test is.

Just when they went out of the gates of the inn, they met the Zunjingde Sect, Shanliangde Sect and the Qianxu Sect. What was this called again? Enemies meet in a narrow road?

The Zunjingde Sect are all present. In the Shanliangde Sect, only Xi Ning is missing. She's going to do the alchemy test. The Qianxu Sect are also all present. The Youxiwang Sect and the Xinfaxian Sect, half of them are present.

Everyone's gaze fell on Cheng Sheng. Since the road leads to the canyons, that must mean he'll be doing the martial arts test, too. "Second young master Cheng won't be taking the alchemy test?" Qian Lin asked.

Everyone had the same question as him. After all, they know that Cheng Sheng is both a mage and sword cultivator. He can also take the alchemy test if he doesn't want to get injured. However… "No." Cheng Sheng answered. "I'm too good being a mage. I want to challenge myself in the other area." He said.

Everyone wanted to cough blood. He's not holding back in praising himself, is he? If Cheng Sheng had taken the alchemy test, they'll have one less competitor in the martial arts test.

Qian Lin smiled in admiration, not the least bit offended from Cheng Sheng's words. "Indeed, second young master Cheng is full of talent." He said.

Jing Hei frowned, not because he's jealous of Cheng Sheng's talent, but because he's jealous Qian Lin praised Cheng Sheng. "Ah Lin. How about me?" he asked and pointed himself. He only got a hit from Qian Lin's fan by Qian Lin.

"Thank you for the praise, second young master Qian." Cheng sheng humbly smiled and saluted. "Then, we'll be going on ahead." He told them. Before everyone could react, the Youxiwang Sect and the Xinfaxian Sect disciples all disappeared.

Everyone was shocked. "… Array Drawing." Jing Cheng said. Xi Ming nodded, agreeing to his words.

"He's a genius." Gong Xian rarely praised someone.

"Yes, he is." Jing Bai said. "We could have had a free ride and save our time and energy." he said and looked at the long road ahead of them. Their face was covered in black lines. Flying in their sword requires not only qi, but also strength. They also need to shorten the time they'll travel to rest and preserve their strength before they do the martial arts test, which is a battle royale.

In a battle royale, all participants are gathered in an arena to fight amongst themselves. You knock out other opponents until you're one of those who were left. This is an advantage to those who are weaker. As long as they can endure until the end and find a place for their self, then they win. Some strong people find this to their disadvantage though. If they were targeted by a large group, they can be eliminated if they were defeated.

"Let's go." Jing Rui said and rode on his sword.

"Yeah!" Jing Hei and Jing Bai followed. "Ah Lin! You can ride on my sword!" Jing Hei told Qian Lin as he reached his hand out.

"… then, thanks." Qian Lin said and took Jing Hei's hand. The Qianxu Sect followed suit Jing Hei and Qian Lin's example by flying on the sword of those who are stronger than them.

"… nice." Xi Ming said as he watched them flew away. Only the Shanliangde Sect remained. He pulled Xi Xing, who wanted to ride with Gong Xian, to him. Xi Shi had always been proud so he rode alone on his sword. Gong Xian had always been a loner. He didn't see Xi Xing's silent gaze on him and rode ahead of them.