madnovel Chapter 43 Observation
Chapter 43 Observation
The twelve people in the secret realm are theoretically of similar strength.
They all possessed external martial arts skills that allowed them to pass through one level of the Tower of Ascension. In half a year, even disciples who had a chance of receiving the true teachings would not have made much progress.
Qu Fei and Liu Changfeng are in their second year of study here. They are also good friends. When they join forces, apart from the two senior brothers at the Stone Skin level, no one else can defeat them. That's why they decided to plunder here.
The situation of the Rejuvenation Realm is public knowledge; if Mo Zheng can find out, they can naturally find out as well.
Any disciple who wants to hunt the Azure Flame Bird will inevitably come here to hunt the Twin-Winged Frost Cicada.
Therefore, they waited here early in the morning, hoping to snatch the resurrection herb that had been delivered to their door.
"Senior Brother Qu, Senior Brother Liu."
Mo Zheng frowned and said, "Please step aside, or don't blame me for being impolite."
His purpose in coming to this secret realm was for the Azure Flame Bird; he was too lazy to fight with these people.
"It seems Junior Brother Mo is unwilling. Fine, since you lack self-awareness, the two of us will teach you a little lesson."
"Foolish little fellow, you're good at multitasking. You're nothing special. In martial arts, only mastery matters."
The smiles on their faces vanished without a trace, and they each drew their weapons—one wielding a knife, the other a sword—and a murderous intent emanated from them.
"My two senior brothers, let me remind you, my sword must draw blood when it is drawn."
Mo Zheng drew his twin swords and calmly said, "I hope you won't regret this later."
"Arrogant!" "Ignorant!"
These words immediately enraged the two men. Both of them had the strength to pass through the first level of the Tower of Ascension. Whether you have one sword or two, they were clearly in the upper hand as two against one. How dare this kid utter such arrogant words!
call out!
A flash of cold light, and the two moved.
The distance of tens of meters was traversed in an instant.
Each blade and sword, imbued with the master's rage, slashed mercilessly toward Mo Zheng.
His knife skills were steady and powerful, while his swordplay was agile and cunning. The coordination between the knife and sword was extremely tacit, completely sealing off any escape routes and forcing him to confront the opponent head-on.
Mo Zheng did not dodge.
He drew his longsword and slightly shifted his body to the side.
On this side, the knife slashed down close to his body, but did not cause him any harm.
So fast!
Qu Fei, who was wielding the knife, was startled. He had not expected Mo Zheng to be so fast, causing his knife strike to miss its mark.
He hurriedly changed his slashing motion to a slicing motion, trying to salvage the situation, but it was too late.
Mo Zheng's figure had already disappeared from his sight.
when!
The sound of metal clashing rang out as two swords collided.
However, as soon as they made contact, Liu Changfeng's expression changed. He felt the terrifying power contained in the opponent's longsword, which made his tiger's mouth hurt and he could hardly hold the sword!
How is that possible? You know, this kid has only been cultivating for a short time, how could his strength be greater than his?
It felt somewhat like when he clashed with martial artists at the Stone Skin level!
Various thoughts flashed through his mind, and before Liu Changfeng could change his move, a sword light appeared before his eyes again.
"not good!"
Liu Changfeng was terrified, but then he suddenly realized that his opponent possessed two swords.
However, it was too late for him to do anything.
The sword light was as swift as the wind, impossible to dodge.
Pfft!
The sword's edge grazed his shoulder, drawing a drop of blood.
boom!
Immediately following was a powerful kick to the chest, so forceful that Liu Changfeng's blood surged, his internal organs trembled, and he fell heavily to the ground, unable to get up at all.
Seeing Liu Changfeng injured and defeated in a single exchange, Qu Fei was immediately terrified!
The two of them joined forces, and one of them was taken down in an instant, leaving him alone. How could he possibly stand a chance?
"It's a misunderstanding, Junior Brother Mo, it's a misunderstanding..."
Qu Fei shouted loudly, but a swift and icy sword light choked him back down.
Learning from Liu Changfeng's example, Qu Fei dared not hold back and desperately parried with his sword.
There was no wind from any direction!
This move is a defensive technique that can protect you from water and skillfully deflect force.
However, his knife was fast, but Mo Zheng's sword was even faster!
Like a gust of wind, the sword light instantly disappeared into the dense shadows of blades, yet it managed to find a sliver of space within the otherwise windless swordplay.
laugh!
The sword flashed, and Mo Zheng did not attack again, but instead sheathed his sword.
"what……"
Qu Fei's long sword fell to the ground, his hands trembled, he hugged his thighs, and let out painful groans.
As you can see, a long, narrow sword wound on his right thigh is constantly oozing blood.
lost.
The two looked at the young man with a sword hanging at his waist, their eyes filled with fear.
"How is this possible?!"
Coming back to their senses from the pain of their injuries, both of them found it unbelievable.
They all had the strength to clear the first level of the Tower of Ascension, so how could this young man be so much stronger than them?!
He was defeated in a single exchange, even though he was outnumbered two to one.
His movements are fast, but his swordsmanship is even faster!
Qu Fei recalled his defensive move that had left him completely unscathed, without even touching the opponent's sword, and was deeply shocked. Liu Changfeng, on the other hand, was amazed by the opponent's strength, which was almost comparable to that of a Stone Skin Realm martial artist. How did he train like that?
But coincidentally, both of them remembered the last words the young man had said: "My sword is meant to draw blood. I hope you won't regret it later."
"It seems that I am not the arrogant one." Mo Zheng looked at the two of them thoughtfully.
After a month of cultivation, he made great progress. Not to mention anything else, with the help of the Qi Gathering Pill, his strength had reached four thousand jin, a strength that was comparable to that of the Stone Skin level.
His swordsmanship improved even faster, perhaps because the Swift Wind Sword move from the Twelve Wind Swords suited him perfectly. He originally thought it would take half a year to fully master the move, but he only spent a month. Well, adding the few days he spent studying and comprehending it during his duel with You Chendong, he mastered it in just one month and seven days.
With the Gale Sword as a foundation, his speed when using the Wind Shadow Sword Technique was frightening. As a result, as seen just now, he easily defeated Qu Fei and Liu Changfeng in a single exchange.
"Don't argue..."
Qu Fei and Liu Changfeng both roared in low voices, their eyes filled with resentment as they looked at Mo Zheng.
One of them had been stabbed in the shoulder, and the other in the thigh. This greatly affected their combat strength. They couldn't even think about ambushing anyone else in this secret realm, and even hunting monsters became difficult, let alone collecting the three Rejuvenating Herbs. Under these circumstances, how could they not hate each other?
Seeing their expressions, Mo Zheng smiled and said, "What, you're not convinced? Then get up and continue!"
"I'm not going to get up, what can you do about it?"
Qu Feiqi retorted, "Fighting is forbidden in this secret realm. The teachers have their own methods of observation. If you dare to kill any of us, you will be severely punished!"
Liu Changfeng also said angrily, "Today, it was our carelessness that led to our downfall. Once we get out of here, we will definitely avenge this!"
Their performance in the Rejuvenation Realm assessment was closely related to their subsequent apprenticeship in the hall. Now that they were injured, their performance in the assessment was bound to be poor, and they were naturally very resentful.
Mo Zheng could not clearly hear the rules the headmaster was explaining outside. He naturally knew that he could not kill people; otherwise, those two swords would not have been aimed at his shoulder and thigh.
But not killing them doesn't mean there aren't other ways to deal with them.
Mo Zheng looked at the two men with a mocking expression and said, "Don't worry, senior brothers, I won't kill you."
After speaking, he suddenly attacked the two of them.
Qu Fei and Liu Changfeng couldn't stop him even if they weren't injured, let alone now, so they simply gave up resisting and let Mo Zheng take action.
Unexpectedly, the two of them did not feel any pain. Instead, they felt a chill all over their bodies. When they opened their eyes, they saw Mo Zheng tearing off their clothes.
"What...what are you going to do?"
"No...no!"
The two panicked immediately, but they were powerless to resist. The louder they screamed, the more vigorously Mo Zheng pried at them.
In no time at all, the two of them were naked.
Mo Zheng collected the two men's clothes and personal belongings, saying, "Three Qi Gathering Pills, two Healing Pills, plus one thousand taels of silver notes. Thank you for your generous gifts, senior brothers."
They actually managed to rob him. Don't they know that Mo Zheng is a thief who never leaves empty-handed?
"You...you..."
The two stood naked in the secret realm, not even bothering to take their weapons with them, throwing them on the ground and covering their sensitive areas with their hands, feeling both angry and ashamed.
Mo Zheng's move was even more painful than killing them.
You should know that there are no clothes in this secret realm. Unless they steal clothes from others, they will be naked for the next three days.
But how could they, who were injured, steal from the others?
If they run into other disciples and tell them about this, the two of them will definitely make a big splash in the martial arts hall!
Thinking of this, the two forgot about their hatred for Mo Zheng and pleaded, "Killing someone is just a matter of beheading them, Junior Brother Mo, please be magnanimous and return our clothes to us."
"That's right, that's right. We don't want anything else, we just want the clothes. Please, Junior Brother Mo, have mercy on us."
"Haha, my two senior brothers, we'll meet again someday. Farewell!"
Mo Zheng laughed loudly, completely ignoring their requests, and strode towards the north.
He was incredibly fast, disappearing from their sight in just a few moments, leaving the two of them staring at each other, bewildered.
"Senior Brother Qu, what should we do?"
Liu Changfeng stared blankly in the direction Mo Zheng had left. He had completely forgotten about the inner sect assessment and the Rejuvenating Grass. His only worry was how to cover his shame.
"That bastard..."
Qu Fei gritted his teeth and said, "Let's go to the woods and get some grass and leaves to cover ourselves up."
As they spoke, the two of them limped into the woods.
……
The assessment continues within the Rejuvenation Realm.
Other disciples either fought against demonic beasts, or rushed to the location of the Twin-Winged Frost Cicada, or found a place to meditate and cultivate. Their mindsets were different, and so were their purposes.
Outside the Rejuvenation Realm, the headmaster and the others had long since vanished without a trace, leaving only the three teachers who had opened the realm.
The three were a middle-aged woman with a cold and stern expression, a burly man, and an elderly man with gray hair.
Before them lay a stone the size of a washbasin, which emitted a faint glow and projected twelve images into the air, depicting the situation of the twelve people who had ventured inside.
"This Water Mirror Stone is truly a fine item. It allows one to see scenes beyond their field of vision. It's just a pity that it's too expensive. For such a small place as the Huanyang Secret Realm, setting up surveillance costs two hundred thousand taels of silver. That's outrageous." The burly man sighed, "Those bastards from the Great Yan royal family have made all the money."
"He has the Water Mirror Stone, and we have the Rejuvenating Grass. Old He, it's all mutual."
The old man laughed and said, "Take it easy. Look at the performance of these little guys. If one of them can reach the Internal Organ Realm in the future, the sect won't mind spending any amount of money."
"They're far from being at the Internal Organs Realm. Look how naive their methods are for dealing with demonic beasts."
The burly man sighed, "Youth is truly wonderful. Seeing them is like seeing ourselves when we first entered the Martial Arts Hall. It's a pity that sixty years have passed in the blink of an eye."
The old man shook his head and said, "Hey, I'm five years older than you, but you sound like you're older than me."
As long as martial artists do not have old injuries, they can generally live to be over a hundred years old. Martial artists at the Visceral Realm can live to be over one hundred and fifty years old and can also use elixirs to delay the aging of their appearance.
This is one of the benefits of practicing martial arts.
"Senior Sister Wang, I heard that the young fellow from the You family that you recently took on is also participating in this assessment. I wonder which one it is?" The burly man looked at the middle-aged woman beside him and asked in a somewhat respectful tone.
Among martial artists, strength is paramount, and this middle-aged woman is stronger than all of them.
Even if he and his old friend were to fight two against one, they might not be able to defeat the opponent's elusive longsword, which made him feel awe.
"It's just giving that old man from the You family face, nothing to worry about," the middle-aged woman said coldly, clearly not wanting to say more.
Seeing this, the big man didn't say anything more and just quietly watched the disciples' performance on the screen.
"Hahaha……"
Suddenly, the old man beside him laughed and pointed to a screen, saying, "Old He, Senior Sister Wang, look! These two little guys have been stripped naked and are hiding in the woods!"
The scene shows Qu Fei and Liu Changfeng, cowering in the woods, too afraid to show their faces for fear of running into others.
This scene made the burly man burst into laughter, and a barely perceptible smile also appeared on the middle-aged woman's cold and stern face.
Such things rarely happen during the assessment of the Rejuvenation Realm.
"Um?"
The burly man suddenly looked at one of the images in surprise and exclaimed, "Senior Sister Wang, look! Look at this kid's swordsmanship!"
The three of them immediately stared at the scene he was pointing to. In the scene, several two-winged cicadas were attacking a disciple. The disciple was a boy of fourteen or fifteen years old, holding a sword in both hands. He had a handsome face and a hint of heroism between his brows. Who else could it be but Mo Zheng?
"Such swordsmanship..." The middle-aged woman raised an eyebrow, a glint of shrewdness flashing in her eyes.
"This little guy is amazing, multitasking. He must be Mo Zheng, who's been making waves lately. I heard he's only been in the academy for two months."
The burly man praised, "Look at how fast he performs the Wind Shadow Sword Technique! It's incredibly fast! He has truly grasped its essence. None of the other disciples can match his external martial arts skills."
"He has grasped a sliver of the essence of the wind."
The middle-aged woman stared intently at Mo Zheng's swordsmanship. She saw that Mo Zheng's two swords were incredibly fast, and his sword path was even more agile and unpredictable, like two gusts of wind sweeping past. This level of swordsmanship directly piqued the interest of the three teachers who were at the Visceral Realm.
It should be noted that even a martial artist who has cultivated the Wind Shadow Sword Technique to the Unity Realm and reached the Bone and Tendon Realm may not be able to comprehend the essence of wind.
Because this is the most difficult path, and for many people it's just a waste of time!
But all three of them, who were at the Internal Organs Realm, understood that this was the fastest shortcut, the fastest path to the Internal Organs Realm.
It is also the most difficult road.
"Tsk tsk tsk, I remember he was specially recruited by the headmaster. He had only been in the hall for a little over two months, but he had already grasped a trace of the essence of the wind."
The old man exclaimed in amazement, "Such talent! Amazing! Amazing! He might actually have a chance to succeed on this path! He's truly a promising talent for learning swordsmanship!"
……