Chen Juan stood casually under a willow tree, his flowing long hair and loose Daoist robes exuding an air of languid grace in the sunlight.
He smiled and ruffled Chen Sheng’s wet hair, then said in a mellow voice, “I’m not interested. Let your third senior brother go.”
Upon hearing this, Chen Sheng immediately turned to look beside him at the young man with short hair, an aura of steely resolve radiating from him, holding a long spear. This was his third senior brother from the Tianxing Sect, Chen Sheng.
“Going together?” Chen Sheng’s heart stirred slightly, and he then looked at the sword-carrying youth, asking, “Let Chen Juan accompany you. I’ll stay here and look after our junior brother.” Chen Guo spoke calmly. Then, disregarding Chen Juan’s objections, he pointed directly at the two seven-colored lotuses in the center of the golden lotus pond and said, “Two lotuses, you two pluck three petals, and bring one leaf for our junior brother.”
Chen Sheng nodded.
Chen Juan smiled helplessly. Then, stepping in his wooden clogs and waving his wide sleeves, he walked towards the pond, yawning as he went, “Alright then.”
Seeing this, Chen Sheng shouted, “Senior brother, it’s fine if you don’t get the lotus, but you must beat that fish soundly for me!”
Chen Juan heard this, gave him a gesture of understanding, and then, stepping on his fine sword, swayed precariously as he landed on the first water lily.
“Drip.”
Ripples spread, and bubbles rose to the surface of the water. Green algae, growing at the bottom of the pond, burst out of the water like the claws of an octopus, trying to pull Chen Juan in.
Chen Juan yawned and stretched his waist while standing on the water lily. A warm current immediately spread from his body, formed from sword intent, slicing the green algae into countless tiny pieces that fell back into the water.
Then, Chen Juan walked to the second water lily.
Chen Sheng entered the pond from another direction. Holding his long spear, he landed powerfully on the first water lily. His overbearing and fierce spear intent spread, and his immense strength shattered the algae and snail demons below, their corpses floating to the surface.
“These two have such powerful strength!”
Around them, people from various forces across the realm watched. As more and more Daoist prodigies fell into the water, they all saw clearly that the golden lotus pond’s challenge was not something ordinary people could overcome.
And Chen Juan and Chen Sheng, despite only just entering the pond, had already surpassed most of the previous participants. Only a select few of the strongest geniuses from other Daoist temples could compare to them.
“Tianxing Sect?” someone noticed that the sect of Chen Juan and Chen Sheng was named Tianxing Sect.
No one knew this sect.
After some discussion, everyone learned that the Tianxing Sect was merely an inconspicuous, low-ranking sect, not even a formal Daoist lineage.
This time, besides the Sect Master and elders, the Tianxing Sect had only brought four people to observe the ceremony. They were fellow disciples, the youngest of whom had already fallen into the water. Those currently undergoing the test were their second and third senior brothers.
“Chen Juan, Chen Sheng…” By the golden lotus pond, a young disciple from Longhu Mountain repeatedly murmured these two names, then slapped his thigh and exclaimed, “I remember these two!”
“At the Ten Thousand Races Assembly, both of them ranked in the top four thousand. And Chen Guo, she even broke into the top one thousand!”
After the young man spoke, a young man beside him said with a faint sneer, “If one didn’t know better, they’d think he got first place.”
“I’m curious, has Longhu Mountain truly declined to this extent, that a mere thousand places at the Ten Thousand Races Assembly is enough to shock you so?”
The young disciple from Longhu Mountain immediately turned around with a dark expression.
He saw that the speaker had a handsome face, a pair of effeminate peach blossom eyes, wore a Nine Yang headscarf, a Tai Chi Yin Yang Daoist robe, and Qingyun boots. He exuded an air of arrogance.
The Longhu Mountain disciple recognized the Daoist robe of the Wudang Mountain and said with a grim expression, “Although Wudang Mountain entered the top hundred this year, that does not give you the right to humiliate my Longhu Mountain.”
The young man from Wudang Mountain smiled slightly with his effeminate eyes and spoke again, “You are mistaken. The top hundred is precisely the capital.”
“Moreover, if it weren’t for my bad luck in meeting Chen Changkong early, I could have gone even further.”
This statement immediately drew the attention of everyone present, especially the Longhu Mountain disciple, whose already grim expression paled slightly.
For he knew that the Daoist prodigy of Wudang Mountain, named Lin Qing, had been recognized as the foremost prodigy in the Daoist world before Zhao Qingdong and Zuo Mingqiu emerged. He had learned Plum Blossom Divination at the age of eight and was proficient in lightning techniques and Daoist arts, possessing great strength.
Seeing the Longhu Mountain disciple speechless, another young man of similar age, named Zhou Le, stepped forward and said coldly, “If our Longhu Mountain’s Daoist prodigy, Princess Qiushui, had not contracted the Ice Vein Blood Poison in the far north and been unable to participate in the Ten Thousand Races Assembly, how could you be so arrogant here!”
Lin Qing heard the name, his arrogance undiminished, and his tone became even more mocking.
“You can ask Qiu Shui yourself if he dares to say that to my face.”
“Besides, even if he could barely make it into the top hundred, what does that have to do with you? I am humiliating you who cannot even pluck a single lotus leaf, not him.”
Zhou Le from Longhu Mountain, holding his sword, took a step forward and said angrily, “Say that again!”
Lin Qing laughed mockingly, “I will say it ten more times, and it will still be the same.”
“Six people from your Longhu Mountain went down just now, ranging from nineteen to twenty-six in age, and not a single one could pluck a lotus leaf. Is what I’m saying incorrect?”
These words were factual.
The disciples of Longhu Mountain, and those of other temples allied with Longhu Mountain, could only remain silent, unable to refute.
The assessment in the golden lotus pond was indeed difficult because its difficulty was set according to the realm of the cultivators entering it. The rank of the monsters encountered by each person was different.
For someone in the second stage lower realm, the difficulty might be that of the second stage peak realm. For someone in the second stage peak realm, it might be the third stage. In short, the difficulty would far exceed their own realm, making the chances of success infinitesimally small.
“If you’re so capable, go and try to pluck one!”
A disciple, driven to frenzy by Lin Qing’s provocation, shouted loudly.
“Shut up quickly!” Zhou Le’s face paled in alarm, and he quickly turned to cover the disciple’s mouth, but it was too late.
“That’s Lin Qing!”
“He’s definitely deliberately provoking us to say this, so after he plucks the lotus, he can keep mocking us. By saying this, you’ve fallen right into his trap!”
Zhou Le gritted his teeth and said. The disciples from other temples also had grim expressions, and the disciple who had spoken suddenly covered his mouth with both hands, looking filled with regret.
As expected, Lin Qing smiled slightly upon hearing this. He then formed a hand seal and flew into the golden lotus pond on a blaze of fire.
“Watch carefully, learn well.”
Lin Qing said with a calm and confident smile. He moved with incredible speed, not pausing on any of the lily pads. The flames erupting from his feet seemed to contain the origin of the Dao, incinerating all the attacking demons into dust.
Even the stout water lilies, which seemed capable of supporting a small mountain, ignited with flames.
“Rumble rumble rumble!”
Lin Qing advanced unhindered, treading on flames, with nothing able to stop him. In an instant, he reached the core area of the golden lotus pond, less than fifty steps away from the dazzling seven-colored lotuses.
This scene made countless young disciples outside the pond’s edge look grim. They knew Lin Qing was strong, but they hadn’t expected him to be *this* strong. He was about to pass a trial that hundreds had failed in mere seconds.
“Misjudging an opponent’s strength can be a fatal mistake,” an elder emerged from behind them. He was an embodiment of immortal grace, wearing the Daoist robe of Longhu Mountain.
“Grand Elder…” Zhou Le and the others lowered their heads in shame. Especially the young disciple who couldn’t restrain himself and spoke out, tears falling from his flushed face, “I’m sorry, Elder Hong Quan, I’ve disgraced our sect!”
“It’s not your fault,” the elder from Longhu Mountain sighed softly, then looked at Lin Qing’s retreating figure with a complex expression.
“Let alone you, even I almost forgot that Lin Qing of Wudang Mountain was once the most talented prodigy in the world, a talent that made many Daoist temples unable to lift their heads.”
“It is only in recent years, with the emergence of talents like Zhao Qingdong, Zuo Mingqiu, Yan Yu, and even Xu Mu, all shining like the sun, that we have naturally overlooked the prowess of others.”
“A genius like Lin Qing, even if placed among the numerous Daoist powerhouses of Tianshi Mountain, would undoubtedly be a top-tier prodigy. Those who can defeat him, or even stand shoulder-to-shoulder with him, might not exceed ten individuals.”
“Being humiliated by such a person is far more valuable than misjudging an enemy’s strength on the battlefield and losing your life later.”
“We disciples understand!” Zhou Le and the others cupped their hands in a solemn salute.
Then, they all looked towards the golden lotus pond again, staring intently at Lin Qing’s back, ready to face their failure and humiliation head-on.
However, they immediately noticed something that astonished, even shocked, everyone.
“Ch-ch-ch… those two disciples from Tianxing Sect are also about to pluck the lotuses!”
Zhou Le stammered and shouted, while others stared at the center of the golden lotus pond in disbelief.
Chen Juan and Chen Sheng, from different directions and one after the other, had already reached the center of the pond.
Chen Sheng was still twenty steps away from the lotuses, with countless fish demons blocking his path, causing considerable trouble. However, they could not harm him, being flung away one by one with his spear, demonstrating terrifying strength.
As for Chen Juan, he had already reached the seven-colored lotuses. With his fingers in a delicate pinching gesture, he gently plucked a leaf, scattering a cascade of brilliant jade in the air.
“Junior brother, I got it!”
Chen Juan turned around, a wide smile on his face, and said to Chen Sheng. Chen Sheng, on the shore, danced with joy, and Chen Guo nodded with a gratified smile.
But in the next second, the joy of Chen Sheng and others, along with the astonishment of the onlookers, turned into disbelief and a tremor of shock.
“Plop!”
A flash of fire streaked through the air. Chen Juan quickly raised his sword to defend himself, but he was still repelled by the fire dragon, falling into the pond and being surrounded by a swarm of dragon-fish. The seven-colored lotus leaf he had plucked also fell into the void, swept up by the blast wave.
Then, a hand grasped the lotus leaf.
The attire was familiar; it was Lin Qing of Wudang Mountain.
“The outer sect disciples of Tianxing Sect are not worthy of standing here with me.” Lin Qing’s Yin Yang Daoist robe slowly rotated, his eyes were fiery red and proud. He smiled and said indifferently to the fallen Chen Juan not far away.