Volume One: The Demon Lord’s Young Master Chapter 15: The Trial
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By the time Qi Yu arrived at the Sword Sect’s martial arena, it was already packed with people.
Of course, not all of them had come to register. Some disciples were there simply to watch the excitement, while others had only just reached the minimum requirement for the assessment and wanted to try their luck.
In truth, although the Outer Sect proclaimed Su Moxuan to be the foremost genius, there were also no few prodigies from powerful clans who concealed their abilities and kept their brilliance hidden.
As for who would ultimately claim the title of Saint Son, nothing was certain.
At that moment, a disciple was undergoing the assessment in the arena.
The requirements were simple. First, the candidate’s cultivation had to be tested, and they had to have reached at least the Profound Entry Realm. Second, they had to withstand twenty breaths or more beneath the attacks of a battle puppet at the fifth level of the Profound Entry Realm.
The battle puppet stood three meters tall, with a massive frame and a long staff in its hands. Every sweep of that staff was like Mount Tai crashing down from above, suffocating all who faced it.
Boom!
A deafening impact rang out.
The battle puppet swept its staff across the arena, striking the disciple and sending him flying. He crashed down at the edge of the platform, the sword in his hand already broken and his body covered in wounds. He looked utterly wretched.
The examiner presiding over the test said indifferently, “Ten breaths. Eliminated.”
The disciple wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and cursed under his breath, “Damn it, that thing’s freakishly strong!”
The examiner looked toward the crowd below and called out in a deep voice, “Next!”
Yet after quite some time, no disciple stepped onto the platform.
Qi Yu then lifted his foot and slowly walked toward the martial platform.
The instant they saw him, all the disciples revealed strange expressions.
“That’s Qi Yu!”
“Wasn’t he dead?”
“No. Even if he isn’t dead, he’s still nothing but a useless cripple without any cultivation!”
“Could he really be willing to throw away his life for the Saintess?”
“...”
The disciples below began whispering among themselves.
Qi Yu stepped onto the platform. The examiner glanced at him with undisguised disdain.
He did not like Qi Yu.
During that battle against the demons, his own beloved elder brother had gone with the expedition and never returned.
The reason, in his eyes, was Qi Yu’s cowardly father. He had fled in the midst of battle, disrupting the sword formation and causing so many people to die.
“Get off!” the examiner said coldly.
Qi Yu stopped and frowned. “Why?”
The examiner did not even look at him properly. He sneered disdainfully, “Do you think this is a place for you to fool around? What is a useless cripple like you doing up here?”
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Qi Yu said, “I am here to undergo the assessment, of course!”
The examiner gave a mocking laugh. “Undergo the assessment? What makes you think you qualify? Your father was a coward, or perhaps you’re relying on the bloodline of a man who cultivated for three years and remained a useless cripple?”
Qi Yu’s fist tightened beneath his sleeve until his fingers turned white, but his voice remained calm. “I possess cultivation now. Every disciple has the right to take the assessment. I hope you will not deliberately make things difficult for me.”
The examiner snorted coldly. “Make things difficult for you? So what if you’ve gained some cultivation? Your father had cultivation as well, yet he was scared witless and fled the moment he saw the demons and monsters of the Demon Race!”
Qi Yu clenched his teeth. “I have never met you before, yet you have insulted my father twice. I may not understand many great principles, but I do know this: when my father is humiliated, I will defend his dignity with my life if necessary!”
The examiner’s eyes were filled with contempt. “You useless wretch. I’d like to see how you intend to defend that coward’s dignity! What, are you planning to hit me?”
“You asked for it!”
Qi Yu knew there was no point in arguing further. He simply stepped forward, using a strange movement technique to appear before the examiner in an instant.
The examiner’s pupils contracted sharply. Before he could react, Qi Yu drove a fierce punch straight into his face.
Bang!
The examiner’s entire body was sent flying. Before he could even land, Qi Yu leaped into the air and kicked him hard in the chest.
Puff!
The examiner spat out a mouthful of blood and crashed heavily against the edge of the martial platform.
Qi Yu slowly walked over and planted one foot firmly on the examiner’s chest.
Below the platform, every disciple was stunned.
Perhaps not a single one of them had imagined that Qi Yu would actually dare to strike someone.
“Stop!”
At that moment, two powerful auras descended from the sky.
When the disciples saw the two figures, they immediately bowed.
“Fifth Elder! Sixth Elder!”
The newcomers were none other than the Sword Sect’s Fifth and Sixth Elders. The two elders swept their gazes across the martial arena before finally fixing their eyes on Qi Yu.
Beneath Qi Yu’s foot, the examiner coughed up great mouthfuls of blood. He stretched one hand toward the two elders and pleaded weakly, “Elders, save me...”
The Fifth Elder spoke in an indifferent tone. “Qi Yu, release him.”
Qi Yu’s voice was cold to the extreme. “And what if I don’t?”
The Fifth Elder clearly had not expected Qi Yu to defy him. His eyes widened as he barked, “Insolence! You assaulted an examiner in full view of everyone, violating the sect rules. Release him at once and accept your punishment. Otherwise, you will be expelled from the sect!”
Qi Yu remained neither servile nor overbearing. “Elder, do you know why I struck him?”
In truth, the Fifth Elder had witnessed everything that had taken place in the martial arena. He had not appeared when the examiner insulted Qi Yu’s father, yet had shown himself the moment Qi Yu attacked the examiner. His bias was obvious.
The Fifth Elder let out a soft laugh. “He did insult your father first, and that was indeed wrong. But his offense does not warrant death. Release him, and the sect will naturally punish him.”
Qi Yu gave a cold laugh. “The sect will naturally punish him? Then, Elder, why did you deliberately refuse to appear when I was being treated unjustly?”
The Fifth Elder was rendered speechless.
The Sixth Elder stepped forward and snorted coldly. “Nonsense! He merely used harsh words, yet you attacked and injured him. Who gave you the courage to disregard the sect rules?”
Qi Yu exerted force with his foot.
Crack!
Several of the examiner’s ribs broke, and he immediately let out a terrible scream.
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“What an excellent example of ‘merely using harsh words.’ Sixth Elder, if I were to spread throughout the sect the fact that you once wore the green hat, how would you feel about that?”
“You!”
The Sixth Elder’s face flushed crimson with fury. He nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.
The disciples below, however, were suddenly brimming with excitement.
There was an explosive secret like this?
When the Sixth Elder was young, he had taken a woman as his companion. Only later did he discover that on the night before their wedding, she had still been carrying on with her lover. What was worse, even the child she bore was not his own.
He had been cuckolded by his companion for ten years.
Upon learning the truth, the Sixth Elder flew into a rage and killed both the woman and her lover. As a result, only a handful of people in the sect knew about the matter. Qi Yu himself had happened to overhear it by chance and had kept silent for years.
Now that Qi Yu had revealed it before everyone, the Sixth Elder’s expression darkened to an extreme degree. Killing intent emerged in his gaze as he looked at Qi Yu.
Seeing this, Qi Yu deliberately feigned alarm. “Sixth Elder, I was merely using harsh words as well. Surely my offense does not warrant death. You wouldn’t stoop to quarreling with a junior like me, would you?”
The Sixth Elder’s own words had been perfectly returned to him. He had truly lifted a stone only to drop it on his own foot.
Yet he could not attack. He knew that Qi Yu was deliberately provoking him.
The confrontation dragged on for a while before the Fifth Elder finally spoke.
“Qi Yu, since that is the case, and the examiner has already been injured by you, release him now and we shall let bygones be bygones. You may continue with the assessment.”
“You should understand that once someone is killed, the nature of the matter changes completely.”
Qi Yu naturally understood the consequences. He had never truly intended to take the examiner’s life. It would serve no purpose and would only bring him endless trouble.
All he wanted was fairness and justice.
Unfortunately, no one was willing to give him either.
In that case, he would fight for them himself.
Qi Yu said indifferently, “Fifth Elder, you had better keep your word.”
The Fifth Elder glanced at the Sword Sect disciples below. With so many eyes upon him, and occupying such a lofty position, he naturally could not go back on his word.
The Sixth Elder leaned close to his ear and whispered, “Why agree to his demands?”
The Fifth Elder sneered. “Qi Yu is nothing but a useless cripple. Even if we let him take the assessment, how could he possibly pass?”
Upon hearing this, the Sixth Elder revealed a meaningful expression. He then whispered, “That wretched brat humiliated me before everyone. I want him dead.”
At that moment, another sect steward stepped onto the platform to temporarily replace the examiner. He looked at Qi Yu expressionlessly.
“The minimum requirement for the assessment is cultivation at the Profound Entry Realm.”
Qi Yu nodded.
His body trembled, and a powerful aura swept out in every direction.
That aura alone was enough to prove that Qi Yu had unquestionably reached the Profound Entry Realm.
The disciples below immediately erupted into an uproar, their faces filled with disbelief.
Qi Yu looked calmly at the steward. “Steward, may I take the assessment now?”