Volcanic Age

As Zhou Xuchuan displayed the first form of the Plum Blossom Sword Art, Luo Xiaoyue quickly raised her sword to defend.

Clang!

What an incredible amount of internal qi! Luo Xiaoyue inwardly exclaimed, her thin wrists shaking slightly.

Zhou Xuchuan looked old, but he still had the traits of a young boy. Unless he was old enough to be called a youth, there was no way his pure physical strength was this strong, which meant that this was a result of internal qi.

Luo Xiaoyue regretted yielding the first move and acted. She quickly retreated using a footwork art.

Calm down.

As soon as she took a few steps backward, Luo Xiaoyue quickly analyzed her next moves, aiming to gain an advantage.

It's astonishing how he possesses so much internal qi, but that's not what's important here.

Luo Xiaoyue was young, but her thought process was closer to that of an adult. She was a true prodigy. Her understanding of martial arts, discernment of the situation, and intelligence could hardly be called that of a nine-year-old.

Above all, her greatest advantage was that she could think of numerous counter strategies even in the short moment she clashed swords with her opponent.

'I must think about how he would attack next…'

The Plum Blossom Sword Technique, the Six Cardinal Sword, the Falling Petal Sword Art, the Plum Brilliance Sword Art, the Five Ways Plum Blossom Sword Art. These were the martial arts that her opponent could currently learn.

She didn't know which one he trained in, but she was sure that he would attack her with one of them.

Luo Xiaoyue knew about these five sword arts, and visualized how to counter each technique.

However…

"...What?"

…The plans she had come up with in that short moment all crumbled; none of them were right.

It wasn't that Zhou Xuchuan used an advanced martial art. It was nothing like martial arts at all.

"Take my attack!" Zhou Xuchuan shouted with confidence and swung his sword.

He literally just swung his sword. He didn't use the Plum Blossom Sword Art. He just swung it around recklessly. There was no form, and it didn't even look like a sword attack. He simply slashed diagonally from the upper left to the lower right.

It was not a form of the Plum Blossom Sword Art.

"What the…!"

She was caught off guard. Luo Xiaoyue could come up with numerous strategies in an instant, but that also sometimes backfired. In plain terms, she tended to overthink, and would panic if what happened was something outside of her expectations.

When Zhou Xuchuan attacked with something that couldn't even be called a sword art, Luo Xiaoyue awkwardly defended, wearing a dazed look.

"Here I go again!" Zhou Xuchuan shouted loudly once more.

He drew out internal qi from his dantian like a madman and used it. His body, fueled by the surge of internal qi, moved quickly. His muscles, well-trained as a result of the rock climbing sessions, brought out great power.

Each slash of his sword tore through the air with a loud whoosh, splitting the air as it aimed for Luo Xiaoyue.

However, that was no sword art. It felt more like intense continuous swinging.

Clang!

The swords clashed, sending sparks flying.

"Kyaa!" Luo Xiaoyue screamed.

The shock that spread from her sword into her hand and her entire body was definitely not small.

"Haap!"

Whoosh!

The sword cut through the air again, followed by a short shout.

Luo Xiaoyue raised her sword and blocked Zhou Xuchuan's attack.

Clang, clang, clang…!

The sounds of metal on metal rang out repeatedly as Zhou Xuchuan madly pressured her with the power of his internal qi, and swung around without form while Luo Xiaoyue defended against his attacks.

At first, she was caught off guard, but she managed to defend with her innate talent and reflexes.

Although the random attacks from the sword were irregular and unpredictable, she could block them regardless. She actually found it easier to block because his movements were so simple, and there was no highly advanced sword trajectory.

Zhou Xuchuan was basically warning her about all his attacks in advance, and she felt like he was a toddler swinging around a wooden sword without knowing anything.

"Kyaa!"

And eventually, the final scream burst out.

Sure, she could see the trajectory of his sword clearly. It was dead obvious. She could avoid it even with one eye closed.

However, that was only for attacks that she could predict. The power and speed behind each sword attack were not normal. Even if she could predict its trajectory, it would be meaningless if her body couldn't keep up.

It was an overwhelming, stupid assault of internal qi!

Ultimately, she raised the white flag in the face of such power.

"I… lost…"

Luo Xiaoyue dropped her sword. She looked uneasy. The relaxed attitude she had a while ago was gone.

"Victor, Zhou Xuchuan!"

The juror raised his hand to signal the end of the match. However, he didn't look pleased.

"What the hell was that?!"

"How could he do something like that?!"

Boos could be heard everywhere, not directed at her, the loser, but at the victor, Zhou Xuchuan.

"You want me to acknowledge something like that?"

"He's worse than Third-Class cultivators!"

"How can you call yourself a disciple of Mount Hua?!"

Mount Hua, no, the Orthodox Faction in general, placed more importance on honor than life. Mount Hua, in particular, was stricter, especially when it came to using a sword.

By their standards, it was natural for Zhou Xuchuan to be booed and insulted after what he did, even if it resulted in his victory.

This was the examination for the Lotus Pavilion, which boasted a long, reputable history. In such a place, he managed to win in a shameless manner with something that could hardly be called a martial art, much less a sword art.

Although he didn't use underhanded tactics like rolling on the ground, scattering dirt at the opponent, and using hidden weapons, his actions were enough of an insult to them.

'Well, I knew this would happen.'

Zhou Xuchuan was unfazed by the boos and insults.

'Being too strong is a problem too.'

That didn't just apply to Luo Xiaoyue, but himself as well. Winning against a cultivator of Luo Xiaoyue's level would be difficult if he were to use ordinary methods. He would have to display the Plum Blossom Sword Technique and reveal that he was superior to her.

However, that would mean revealing his true strength. No matter how weak he wanted to look, his body, which had been strengthened through the improvement exercise, would have been problematic.

There was also his abundance of internal qi, which would mean that he would display skills that surpassed a Third-Class cultivator even if he used the basic Plum Blossom Sword Art. He could easily picture the jury reporting him to the sect master and the five high elders if he were to display any of that.

However, if he lowered his skills too much, he wouldn't be able to win against Luo Xiaoyue. That brutish method of winning was the method he came up with in the end.

By defeating Luo Xiaoyue, he was preventing others from calling him a genius or spreading unnecessary rumors. He used just his internal qi and superior bodily physique.

This way, he could hide his skills and also win.

"You should be ashamed of yourself!"

However, the consequences of that felt a little too bitter.

I also wouldn't have been able to raise my head up boldly if I didn't experience the Era of War and Chaos.

He was also a cultivator of the Orthodox Faction. Initially, he wouldn't forgive such an act, let alone consider doing it himself.

However, after experiencing the Era of War and Chaos, the Orthodox Faction underwent a significant change in their stuck-up mindset.

The state of the martial world had become too dire for them to cling to their traditions and old ways.

This was also in line with how the five high elders of Mount Hua managed to learn the Violet Haze Divine Art and the Violet Haze Sword Sutra, techniques reserved for the successive masters of the sect.

The Orthodox Faction evolved, adopting a more progressive stance out of necessity for the continuity of the sect.

The Era of War and Chaos changed numerous things in the martial world, and Zhou Xuchuan was also one of those who had experienced those changes.

Even though I had no other choice, I feel bad thinking about how this might harm Master's reputation.

Zhou Xuchuan let out a soft sigh.

*

The Lotus Pavilion Examination was over, but it wasn't totally finished. There weren't any injuries or deaths, but there was a controversial match—the match between Zhou Xuchuan and Luo Xiaoyue.

"I disapprove," said a woman who looked around fifty years old. She exuded an ice-cold aura.

She was Shen Yulian, one of the five high elders of Mount Hua, known as Iron Blood Plum Sword.

"Elder Shen. It's not that I don't understand you, but shouldn't you hear the story at least?" said an elderly man with a small build and a graceful smile.

Xue Song, also one of the five high elders and known as the Sage Sword, ranked second in seniority after the sect master among the second-generation members.

"There's no need for discussion, Elder Xue. How could we possibly admit someone who insulted the sword of Mount Hua into the Lotus Pavilion?" Shen Yulian calmly explained her rationale.

Most of her remarks were about what Zhou Xuchuan did wrong and his lack of etiquette.

Zhou Xuchuan's actions couldn't be seen in good light from the perspective of the sect, no, the Orthodox Faction in general.

"It's just as she says."

A middle-aged man, who was the tallest among the people gathered in the Upper Palace, nodded in agreement to Shen Yulian's claims. He was also one of the five high elders, Zhao Wuyang, known as the Destiny Hand.

The five high elders did not call each other by their apprenticeship titles unless they studied under the same master. Instead, they respectfully addressed each other by their positions regardless of seniority.

An exception was made for Xue Song, given his age among the second-generation members.

"Hur hur. Both of you, don't put Elder Xue in a tough position. I'd like to hear what happened as well."

You Riwen redirected attention while stroking his white beard.

"Also, shouldn't we hear from the other two as well?"

Xue Song gave the sect master a grateful look for siding with him.

"From what I hear, the disciple of the Gentle Smiling Swordsman has apparently consumed a spiritual medicine. Is this true?"

The Pill Apothecary Ling Zhen's eyes gleamed.

The movements Zhou Xuchuan showed during the test were not achievable by someone who was only ten years old. Strength and speed stemmed from one's internal qi, and to do what Zhou Xuchuan did, he would need to have at least twenty years' worth of internal qi at least.

Cultivators who were good enough to have become jurors in a sect like Mount Hua would naturally know this, and they reported what they saw.

Naturally, Zhou Xuchuan was consequently interrogated about this, to which he told them what happened, albeit with some lies. He told them that he had left the sect secretly in the past to enjoy some pleasures and coincidentally discovered spiritual medicine back when Liu Zhengmu was out for a regular gathering.

Even if he wanted to keep it a secret, an instructor would specifically oversee him once he entered the Lotus Pavilion. The instructor would then give him a physical diagnosis, which would mean that his thirty-plus years' worth of internal qi would be exposed.

Fortunately, it wasn't a big problem. Since Zhou Xuchuan hadn't consumed a spiritual medicine under Mount Hua's possession, and it had no owner, the sect authorities had limited grounds to accuse him of wrongdoing.

It might have been a different story if they had heard rumors about the Water Spiritual Fruit beforehand and ordered everyone in the sect not to consume it upon discovery and instead report to the sect.

However, since that wasn't the case, they just glossed over the fact that Zhou Xuchuan had consumed spiritual medicine as something beyond their control.

Instead, he was punished for secretly leaving the sect and indulging in pleasures during Liu Zhengmu's absence. Well, while it was a "punishment," it wasn't anything severe, and he was just tasked with trivial chores like cleaning the toilets for about a month.

"We can't take out the spiritual medicine that entered his stomach, but I'm curious about its effects," said Ling Zhen.

He implied that he wanted to put Zhou Xuchuan in the Lotus Pavilion for observation. Like his title indicated, Ling Zhen was an apothecary who refined pills, on top of being a cultivator.

With that, it was two in favor and two against. Everyone's gaze naturally landed on the last person.

Wei Zhijie, the Plum Blossom Sword Captain.

Among the five high elders of Mount Hua, no, the Mount Hua sect in general, there was a hereditary title that was passed on to the next generation, just like the Palace Lord of the Northern Sea.

He was the only one with the authority to mobilize the Plum Blossom Swordsmen alongside the sect master. His position was equivalent to his title, the Plum Blossom Sword Captain.

That title was special among the five high elders, and his public authority was strong as well.

"Admit him."

"Sword Captain." Shen Yulian expressed her disapproval.

Wei Zhijie continued speaking without batting an eyelid. "A boy, who is merely ten years old, possesses around thirty years' worth of internal qi. Regardless of his qualities, if we beat some teachings into him, he should become a valuable battle asset. There might be some controversy, but it's nothing we can't handle."

The five high elders of Mount Hua were in charge of different areas of management and were given their respective authority.

The Plum Blossom Sword Captain's say carried significant weight in admitting individuals to elite groups like the Lotus Pavilion or the Plum Blossom Swordsmen.

Even if the result of the vote was two in favor of and three against his admission, there would be more weight in his words as long as he sided with the one in favor.

Clap!

You Riwen clapped to gather everyone's attention.

"Then let us conclude the meeting with this. The members to be admitted to the Lotus Pavilion will be Zhou Xuchuan and Luo Xiaoyue."

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