Chapter 197: Rivalries Ignite: First Sparks
It was midday now, the sun high and unforgiving in the azure sky, beating down on the vast expanse of the waiting ground. The air hung thick and heavy, shimmering with heat haze and carrying the faint metallic tang of lingering exertion—the ghost of countless spiritual energies unleashed and spent. Dust motes danced in the brilliant shafts of sunlight that cut through the remaining tension.
The examination was coming to an end.
Of the one thousand who had survived the elimination round, three hundred had earned a place in the Outer Court—their fates sealed with official acceptance. A hundred more, falling just shy of direct entry but demonstrating undeniable potential or unwavering resolve, had accepted the path of servant disciple, their fates to be addressed separately.
Now, only a dozen or so individuals remained on the now-bare circular ground. But even in their reduced numbers, each one radiated something distinct. Something that made the air feel different when they occupied it.
The participants who followed Chen Mu had brought their own surprises—more Peak-stage Martial Disciples, more six-star talents. But none had touched seven stars. None had shown that same quality of raw, untouched promise.
That was about to change.
Elder Gu Lie's finger extended, pointing toward a young man with distinctive silver hair and matching silver robes that fluttered gently in the mountain air. A sword rested at his waist. His posture carried a solemn, solitary aura—like a lonely hero watching the heavens with indifferent eyes.
Su Lei.
"You. Step forward."
Su Lei nodded, his expression relaxed as he approached the first stele.
Without waiting to be told, he placed his hand directly on the Qi Measuring Stele. The array symbols ignited. His aura flared.
1st level Martial Adept Realm.
Interest rippled through what remained of the crowd. Even those who had failed and had every reason to leave were still lingering—watching, unable to pull themselves away from the spectacle unfolding above the minimum expectations.
Elder Xie Ning gave Su Lei a peculiar glance. "Place your hand on the second stele."
Su Lei obeyed.
From atop the Jade Winged Eagle, Lu Ruyi had been suppressing yawns for the better part of the last hour. But now she straightened slightly, crystalline blue eyes sharpening.
"Finally, someone interesting," she murmured.
Qiongqi stayed quiet. She had noticed Su Tianhao acknowledge this person earlier. Normally she wouldn't have given it a second thought—but something about the current Su Tianhao made her more attentive to everything around him.
"Curious too?" Lu Ruyi's eyes flickered with luminous interest. "So am I."
Below, the Aptitude Rating Stele lit up one star after another.
The result that emerged shocked everyone.
Not because it was exceptional. Not because it was remarkable. But because of the sheer absurdity of it.
5 star talent.
A 1st level Martial Adept—someone who had already entered the Martial Adept Realm—with only five stars?
"How is this possible?" a spectator from an unrated force muttered.
"Yeah, it doesn't make sense."
"Could there be something wrong with the stele?"
That question spread through the failed participants like fire through dry grass. If the stele was wrong—if there was a flaw—then maybe their own results hadn't been accurate either. Maybe they hadn't actually failed after all.
Before things could escalate further, Duan Fei's voice cut through the air like a blade drawn clean from a scabbard.
"Watch your tongues, ignorant fools. There is nothing wrong with our stele—so stop feeding your delusions."
"Lord Duan Fei is right, the—" Elder Gu Lie moved to interject.
"How dare you interrupt me?!"
The words hit him like a bucket of ice water. He opened his mouth. No words came out. He could only lower his head and admit defeat.
"I apologise, Lord Duan Fei. It will not happen again."
Even as a 7th level Martial Master, the gulf between him and a Martial Grandmaster was the gulf between a serpent and a dragon. He had known it. He had simply forgotten for a moment.
"Hmph."
Duan Fei dismissed him with a glance, then turned to Su Lei with a warm smile that erased every trace of the ice that had just been in her voice.
"If I may ask, young warrior—are you a sword cultivator?"
Su Lei was momentarily caught off guard by the shift.
"Y-Yes, ma'am," he said quietly.
"Ma'am?" Duan Fei's lips curved. "Well, that's old." The intimidating aura was gone entirely, replaced by something almost playful. "The Silverblade Peak could use someone like you. While your base talent may be lacking, your talent for the sword dao is another matter entirely."
A wave of realisation swept the crowd.
"He's a sword cultivator. No wonder."
The failed participants looked at Su Lei differently now. Everyone knew the sword dao wasn't easy—it demanded parallel mastery of both cultivation and relentless sword training, each one taxing the practitioner in its own way. A lack of progress in the sword dao could create a permanent bottleneck in cultivation. It was a path few dared walk. That Su Lei had walked it this far—past the cultivation requirements, past the aura elimination—despite the natural limitations of five-star talent, earned genuine respect from those who had just failed.
Not just from them, either. From the Elders. From the spectators.
But among those who had passed—particularly the nobles—the reading was different.
"I thought he was a threat. Turned out he just got lucky."
"Someone with five-star talent can't go far. Talent is everything."
"Let's see how far the sword dao carries him before he hits a wall."
The mocking came easily from those who could afford it. Su Lei heard it and said nothing.
Why would he? Words were not what he was here for.
'I'll show them.'
With the Heavenpiercing Gale Sword Scripture, he had little to fear from the ceilings others imagined for him. He had Su Tianhao to thank for that—and he felt it quietly, the way gratitude sits when you've had time to understand the depth of what was given.
Without changing his expression, he pressed his hand against the Bone Age Discernment Stele.
The array symbols lit. The result came a moment later.
16.
Applause erupted from the crowd—genuine, warm, carrying something the polished and prepared results hadn't quite earned today. Su Lei didn't look for it.
His eyes found one face. Su Tianhao was watching.
Su Lei smiled. Then he moved on.
---
"So that's Tianhao's friend," Lu Ruyi said quietly from above, watching Su Lei walk away from the steles. "Good character. The path ahead won't be easy—but he has the right potential for it."
At this moment, she didn't realize just how right she was.
Qiongqi nodded, emerald features catching the light, eyes already tracking the examination as it continued.
---
The examination pressed on.
Four more participants. Each one more remarkable than the one before.
A hefty young man with a broad, sturdy frame—nineteen years old, six stars.
A slim young man with an air of quiet nobility—eighteen years old, six stars.
Two sisters who shared similar features without being twins. The elder was eighteen, six stars. The younger was sixteen—and seven stars, it landed like a stone in still water. Like Chen Mu, neither of them carried clan colours or sect emblems. They had the look of people who had seen things that age alone couldn't account for.
All four of them—1st level Martial Adepts.
Then came a young man whose robes refused to be ignored.
Layers of emerald silk. Gold-trimmed sleeves wide enough to catch wind. A crimson sash tied loose at the waist. Short green hair, deliberately messy, bleached at the tips as though he'd slept outdoors for a week and decided that constituted a grooming routine.
No sword. No saber. Only a jade wine gourd swinging from his belt with each unhurried step.
He walked like the examination was a festival he'd wandered into by accident—grin lazy, hazel eyes half-lidded, as if the Three Steles were marginally less interesting than the clouds overhead. Yet when he moved, the air shifted in ways that had nothing to do with carelessness. Dust didn't cling to his boots.
This was Xiao Fenghua—last born son of the Ancient Xiao Clan of the Imperial Capital. A prestigious second-rate force. And someone thoroughly infamous in the capital for choosing to live rather than cultivate.
No arrogance. No pride. Just the uncomplicated enjoyment of being alive.
"Place your hand on the Qi Measuring Stele," Elder Xie Ning said, her tone carrying a disapproval she was working hard not to show.
"It wouldn't hurt you to smile," Xiao Fenghua said, hazel eyes shifting between gold and green as they landed on her—not quite looking at her, more like looking through her, taking quiet inventory of something she couldn't identify. It wasn't disrespectful. It was just deeply, unsettlingly perceptive.
Elder Xie Ning's lips twitched. But she didn't scold him. The Ancient Xiao Clan stood on equal footing with the Three Great Sects in Longzhou Country. She had no idea why someone from that bloodline was participating in this examination—and she had no desire to find out through confrontation.
Xiao Fenghua smiled at her silence. Then he placed a hand on the first stele and, without waiting for results, moved directly to the second and then the third.
The first stele lit — 2nd level Martial Adept.
The second shimmered — 7 stars.
The third flared — 18 years old.
"Hehehe." Xiao Fenghua spread his arms and offered an elaborate, courteous bow to no one in particular. "You see? You don't need to train to be strong."
Elder Xie Ning's fists clenched beneath her sleeves.
The crowd simply stared—a collective expression that asked, without words, where exactly this person had come from and how he had ended up here.
No one spoke. Not even the Martial Grandmasters.
Their faces had split into amused smiles. Huo Changfeng in particular looked at Xiao Fenghua the way a man looks at something that reminds him of a version of himself he hasn't thought about in a while.
Then a voice cracked through the air like a whip.
"2nd level Martial Adept? What's so amazing about that."
Every head turned.
A young woman stepped forward—lean, curvaceous figure, long ink-black hair pulled into a sleek ponytail, sharp brows, and eyes like the depths of a frozen lake at midnight. She was dressed for a mission rather than an examination—tight black martial outfit, baggy trousers that looked borrowed from someone a size larger, and an expression that communicated she had places to be and this examination was not one of them.
She looked directly at Xiao Fenghua, and her frown carried both familiarity and the specific kind of annoyance that only comes from long proximity.
"When will you start behaving, Fenghua? You're acting like a child."
Xiao Fenghua glanced at her. "Oh. Qingxue." His grin didn't waver. "Didn't expect the Mo Clan to send a nanny."
Mo Qingxue's brow twitched violently.
"Your nanny?!" She stamped her foot. "You are the one who insisted on joining the Qingyun Sect with me!"
"Hey—would you two quit the bickering and get on with it?" A sharp, cutting voice sliced through the exchange. "We don't have all day."
She turned.
Jin Yulong.
Arms crossed. Blonde hair catching the light. Easy smile on his face, like the interruption had cost him nothing and he wanted her to know it.
The Mo Clan was also a second-rate force of the Imperial Capital—not as powerful as the Ancient Xiao Clan, but still a force that eclipsed the Wang Mansion and the Goldcrest Jin family without difficulty. For him to speak to her like that without blinking was enough to make any nerve she had left go taut.
"You—" she began.
But a gentle hand touched her shoulder.
She turned sharply.
Xiao Fenghua stood beside her, smile soft, entirely unfazed.
"He's right, Xue'er. Why not place your hand on the stele and show off properly?"
"Don't call me that!" The words came out louder than intended. She quickly looked away, her expression doing something she had no intention of letting anyone see. "...And I'm not showing off," she added, in a voice that had become considerably quieter.
"What an interesting pair," Wang Bing said from a distance, nudging Su Tianhao's shoulder with barely suppressed amusement. "Don't you think, Brother Tianhao?"
"They certainly are," Su Tianhao said, and a smile broke through—genuine, light-hearted, the kind that rarely made it to his face without a fight. Xiao Fenghua in particular had caught something in him he hadn't expected. The man's easy, unperforming warmth reminded him of someone from his orphanage days—he couldn't place the face, couldn't retrieve the name. That chapter of his life had been buried a long time ago. But the feeling it left behind was still there, somewhere underneath everything else.
---
Mo Qingxue placed her hand on the Qi Measuring Stele.
3rd level Martial Adept Realm.
The crowd held its breath.
The result hit the crowd's expectations and raised them in the same instant. Many held their breath through the talent stele.
7 stars.
Then the bone age stele flared.
17.
The silence lasted exactly one second. Then it detonated—not with chaos, but with a wave of awe and disbelief and something close to reverence that rolled outward through the crowd in every direction simultaneously.
Mo Qingxue's smirk arrived right on schedule. She tilted her head toward Jin Yulong, dark eyes carrying a challenge she hadn't needed to speak aloud.
"Can you beat that?"
Jin Yulong smiled. He ran a hand through his blonde hair without urgency. His eyes gleamed with quiet mischief.
"Oh, fiery beauty." He tilted his chin slightly. "You'll be surprised~"