Chapter 1886 (Raw 1897): Might of a Palm Strike
“He’s talking about you. Stop staring blankly. If you want to enter the outer palace, go to the left passageway. If you want to go to the inner palace, go to the right passageway. This is not the place for you.”
When Xiao Chen did not immediately reply, a disciple beside Yi Qianyun berated him.
This person was a Holy Venerate as well, also a core disciple.
Naturally, when this disciple berated Xiao Chen, he did so in a stern and mighty manner. An ordinary person would definitely feel fearful and quickly apologize before leaving.
Xiao Chen’s expression did not change. He only asked indifferently, “Is there a rule in the sect that middle-stage Star Venerates cannot directly take the test for core disciple?”
However, even if there were, he would not leave.
Xiao Chen had wandered around outside for four years, encountering deadly situations and facing all sorts of danger—all to enter Ancestor Dragon City. After so much difficulty, he gained his current cultivation and strength. How could he possibly waste any time?
His target was very clear: the position of core disciple. Since others could directly take the exam, he could as well.
Although his question seemed to be an inquiry, Xiao Chen did not tone down his attitude or lower his voice. He directly faced Yi Qianyun.
Yi Qianyun felt slightly stunned, not having expected Xiao Chen to be so bold.
“Where did this stupid person come from? Are you here purely to cause trouble?”
While Yi Qianyun did not say anything, the person beside him felt somewhat upset. So, that person stepped forward to make a move, wanting to chase Xiao Chen away.
“Whoosh!”
That person gently took a step forward. He used some kind of Movement Technique, making the ground appear to shrink, and he miraculously appeared in front of Xiao Chen.
That person raised his hands, wanting to pick Xiao Chen up and directly toss him out.
“Scram! Go back to where you came from!”
Raging in his heart, Xiao Chen threw a punch.
Vital Qi surged in his body, and he instantly brought out the Divine Dragon War Body. The dragon veins and dragon bones in his entire body crackled. Thunderous noises rang out in the surroundings, sounding earsplitting.
As Xiao Chen’s Qi and blood surged, his physical body roared like a dragon. When he punched, he drove thirty Cauldron Force.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
Explosions rang out. The force contained in Xiao Chen’s fist seemed to punch through space. He snatched the initiative and landed his punch on that person’s chest first despite launching it later.
It looked like Xiao Chen just offered his fist, and that person took the initiative to crash into it.
“Pu ci!”
Caught off guard, this person walked into the attack. A few bones in his chest broke with audible cracking sounds.
The attack directly knocked that person back. After he landed, he vomited a mouthful of blood.
Everyone present felt stunned. The might of one punch knocked back a Holy Venerate.
“No wonder. It looks like he cultivated his physical body. His punch probably contained thirty Cauldron Force. Furthermore, he did not execute a Fist Technique. He is truly extraordinary. No wonder he is confident in taking the test for core disciple.”
“However, even so, that’s all there is to him. His cultivation is his weakness in the end. If he had not exposed this punch, he might have been able to catch everyone off guard. Now that everyone has their guard up, it would be hard to say.”
“That’s right. That core disciple earlier suffered a loss because he had his guard down. He did not even put up a Veritable Essence Energy defense.”
“Which of those cultivators who came to participate in this test does not have a trump card, aside from their cultivation?”
After the rest regained their senses, they evaluated Xiao Chen’s punch.
Regardless of incaution or carelessness, Xiao Chen’s punch did indeed prove that he was qualified to participate in this test.
After suffering a loss, that person still wanted to continue attacking. However, Yi Qianyun stopped that person and sent a voice projection. What are you doing? Martial Uncle is watching from above. Do you still want to cause a spectacle?
Yi Qianyun gave Xiao Chen a deep look. He smiled and said, “Not bad. I misjudged you. In reply to your earlier question, although the sect has no iron-clad rules, as an examiner, if your strength is clearly insufficient, I have the right to advise you to give up. Do you have any more questions?”
Some of the rich clan disciples who came to take the test revealed disdainful expressions at his aloof attitude.
Xiao Chen did not reply to the other party, but merely countered indifferently, “Do you still doubt my strength?”
“Hahaha! Well said. Yi Qianyun, there is no need for you to get self-conceited because of seniority and put on airs before us. After today, we will all be competitors, fighting for the same slots for the heaven-class core disciples. You are not much stronger than us.”
The one who spoke was a youth with an unbridled sharpness. He was dressed in azure clothes and had sharp eyebrows, holding a sword in his hand.
Xiao Jinyu!
Yi Qianyun frowned slightly. This person came from the south, where his father controlled three counties. His clan possessed deep and vast accumulations.
Purely in terms of cultivation resources, Xiao Jinyu’s situation might be even better than Yi Qianyun’s.
There were many such people here. Fang Tianyi was another example.
These people had only one purpose in coming here. They wanted to use the Heavenly Dragon Palace’s allocated slots to enter Ancestor Dragon City.
“Let’s begin, then. Stop being so long-winded and overly sensitive. Yi Qianyun, are you a woman?” Fang Tianyi said indifferently with a cold expression from his war chariot.
“Come with me, then.”
Yi Qianyun felt upset in his heart. However, he knew that he could not control this group of rich clan disciples with his cultivation.
Hence, this small commotion came to an end.
The group followed Yi Qianyun to the large path in the middle, to steps that headed straight to the mountaintop.
The Heavenly Dragon Palace’s main gate was at the highest point of Heavenly Dragon City. With every step, one could see the city below clearly.
When walking there, one naturally gained a certain loftiness.
As for the left and right paths, those were just small passageways, ordinary with nothing special about them.
The person whom Xiao Chen injured earlier, one of the core disciples in front leading the way to the Heavenly Dragon Palace, complained indignantly, “Senior Brother Yi, the people who came to participate in this test are truly arrogant, each one more arrogant than the one that came before them. Never mind those rich clan disciples, even a mediocre mixed-blood dragon independent cultivator dared to turn his nose up and look down on us.”
“He is just a clown, nothing much. The ones to pay attention to are Xiao Jinyu, Fang Tianyi, and the other rich clan disciples. All of them come from impressive backgrounds, possessing extraordinary strength. They are all targeting the heaven-class core disciple slots. At that time, they might become Senior Brother Yi’s competitors.”
When Yi Qianyun heard that, he snorted coldly. “It is just a group of dancing clowns who have not seen the true great world. They are too inexperienced to compete with me. The Heavenly Dragon Palace has such a long history. It is not as simple as they think it to be. These so-called rich clan disciples merely have clans with territories. They are ignorant and narrow-minded.
“Right now, we should just endure for a while. When I break through to middle-stage Holy Venerate, I will be able to trample on them anytime. Only death awaits anyone who competes with me for the heaven-class core disciple position.”
Compared to the other palaces, the competition within the Heavenly Dragon Palace was even more intense and cruel.
Someone of a True Dragon bloodline or mixed-blood dragon bloodline had to pay a much higher price in order to succeed in the Divine Dragon Empire compared to a person with Divine Dragon lineage.
As Xiao Chen climbed the steps, he covertly observed the others. All those who came to participate in the exam this time were indeed experts.
Some of these people possessed exceptional strength, not even caring about Yi Qianyun.
Although Xiao Chen did not feel any pressure in his heart, he did feel a sense of urgency. Now that he had reached the Heavenly Dragon Palace, he could no longer purposely hide his strength.
He had to fight when it was time to fight, establish his might when it was time to do so.
Otherwise, the sect would have no reason to give him any resources or the qualification to become a heaven-class core disciple. Without potential and strength, the sect absolutely would not take on a losing proposition.
Xiao Chen also felt somewhat curious. What method would the Heavenly Dragon Palace use to test them?
He suspected that there were too many people here. The slots for core disciples were probably much fewer.
“Whoosh!”
The fog of the mountain suddenly dispersed. Xiao Chen casually looked over and discovered that they had already arrived at a plaza at some point in time.
The plaza was made of divine materials. It was incredibly tough. Even the full-powered sword strike of a Holy Venerate might not be able to mark its surface.
A person sat on a dragon-patterned throne on a tall platform in the center of the plaza.
This person emanated a Sovereign Personage’s aura. A sovereign of people, the final cultivation grade of the Cloud Sea Realm, the Sovereign Stage.
This person did not do anything. He only looked at Xiao Chen’s group, and they felt a huge pressure on them.
In the path of cultivation, there was an adage, one had to become a person first before becoming a god.
This person before the group was already a sovereign of people, reaching the limits of a person. Any further and one would be in the Divine Vein Realm. That was no longer considered a person. One would forge their bodies into a divine body step by step and light up a divine flame, making preparations to become a Faux God.
Why was it that regular people could only inherit the Faux God Flame but not use it or forcefully absorb it? It was because their bodies were still that of a mortal, not yet divine.
If the divine flame lit up, before it could burn the enemy, one would be completely burned away already.
Hence, one could only store the divine flame in their bodies first and slowly absorbed it when they reached the Divine Vein Realm.
“I am one of the Heavenly Dragon Palace’s heaven-class Elders. Just address me as Elder Tian Yun. I will be your chief examiner this time.”
The old man swept his gaze through the crowd and made a rough mental calculation. Then, he said, “There are three stages to this test, and there are only ten slots.”
“What?!”
Elder Tian Yun’s pronouncement shocked everyone. The fifty-odd people here were almost all Holy Venerates, but the Heavenly Dragon Palace wanted only ten.
That was to say, forty of the people here would be eliminated.
“The first stage begins!”
Before everyone could recover from their shock, Elder Tian Yun suddenly sent out a palm strike. This palm strike contained a Sovereign Personage’s will of soul.
When the palm strike flew out, mountains and seas roared, rumbling endlessly. The sky changed color, and the plaza alternated between light and dark.
A strong wind blew, and different mysterious phenomena appeared before everyone’s eyes.
For some, it was a majestic ancient city. For some, it was a Great Desolate Eon ferocious beast. For some, it was a gigantic, towering dragon. For some, it was even more startling, a treasure sword that split the world apart, breaking through the primal chaos.
Xiao Chen faced a massive claw looming over him. This claw tore the sky apart. Its talons were sharp and flickered with a strange, cold light.
If one was too slow, one’s physical body would be immediately torn apart. One would sustain severe injuries, unable to stand up again.
Elder Tian Yun’s sudden strike even caught Xiao Chen off guard.
By the time Xiao Chen reacted, the massive claw had already appeared overhead.
There was practically no time for Xiao Chen to prepare. The might contained in the claw already infiltrated his body.
“Break!”
Xiao Chen’s cultivation was not outstanding, but in terms of combat experience, he was practically unrivaled in the same generation.
A crisp saber hum came from his body, and the Saber Dao’s Great Dao Energy spread out. This reaction was nearly instinct.
A Dao disk appeared behind Xiao Chen as the Great Dao Energy appeared. His aura changed suddenly, becoming like a treasure saber unsheathed. He was bright, resplendent, and sharp.
In the time it took for a spark to fly, he drew the Tyrant Saber. The tip of his saber pierced the weakest part of the massive claw, immediately shattering it.
A huge force charged around in his body. He nearly could not endure and could only move back.
Xiao Chen was stunned. This was just one-fiftieth of Elder Tian Yun’s palm strike. If Xiao Chen faced the complete palm strike by himself, he knew that he would not have been able to block it; he would have been finished off on the spot.
When the mysterious phenomenon vanished, Xiao Chen looked around and saw that ten-odd people out of the fifty had already vomited blood and gone flying back, directly rolling down from the top of the mountain.
“Trash! Your cultivations are built up by relying on your clan’s resources. Such trash would not even be able to enter the inner palace.”
Elder Tian Yun did not give those people another look before casting his gaze on those who remained. “Not bad. You are able to block my palm strike. You have not wasted the resources that your clans gave you. Even if you fail the test, I will let you all be reserve candidates, above the inner palace disciples.”
Everyone present withdrew their initial arrogance. Their expressions were nearly the same as they looked at this Elder Tian Yun.
Yi Qianyun smiled coldly at the side. However, when he saw Xiao Chen in the group, a strange expression involuntarily flashed in his eyes.
“Continue! Those who can take ten steps forward will pass the second stage.”