Chapter 540: Showing One’s Prowess

"Interesting. Very interesting."

The gray-robed youth smiled faintly and closed his eyes.

’Celestial Wheel?’

A glint flashed in Ye Xuan’s eyes. He remembered. Celestial Wheel... wasn’t that the name of the person ranked first on the Trial Tower’s ranking monument!

Ye Xuan had to admit, the inner courtyard of Gale Light Academy was truly a gathering of geniuses.

Although he hadn’t used his full strength, the other man hadn’t either. To remain completely unfazed under his Divine Spirit Gaze was not something an ordinary person could achieve.

’That man’s eyes are strange. Although his cultivation is at Tier Six Triple Peak, his strength is likely more terrifying than that of an ordinary Tier Seven Martial King.’

’Gale Light Academy is truly full of hidden masters.’

It made sense when he thought about it. Even someone like Lv Feng, ranked seventh, possessed Martial King Level combat strength. To say nothing of a genius like Celestial Wheel, who was ranked first.

"Xuan Ye, be careful," Lin Yuan warned quietly from the side. "Those people over there are all top-tier students on the academy leaderboard."

"I don’t bother others if they don’t bother me. But if they come looking for trouble, what happened to Meng Qing will be their fate!"

Ye Xuan smiled faintly. He wasn’t the type to start trouble and had no interest in the so-called inner courtyard leaderboard. But if someone dared to provoke him, they had better be prepared for a lesson.

After Ye Xuan’s display of skill, the gazes of many students present became filled with reverence.

According to the rules, inner courtyard students could challenge the Trial Tower an unlimited number of times, but only if the tower was unoccupied.

Furthermore, the more one challenged, the lower the probability of their turn coming up again soon.

Take Ye Xuan, for instance. His first assessment had been a month ago. Thus, even though he arrived late, his turn came quickly.

With practiced ease, Ye Xuan walked through the large gate before him.

HUM!

His vision blurred for a moment, and he found himself standing before a stone structure.

It was the very same Trial Tower he had seen in the outer courtyard.

And in a corner of the main hall, an old man completely enveloped in a cloak sat cross-legged.

’It’s a teleportation array.’

Ye Xuan instantly understood. There was indeed only one Trial Tower. The ones in the outer and inner courtyards were one and the same. It was just that from the inner courtyard, one first entered a teleportation array to be brought here.

"You must be Xuan Ye?"

The old man suddenly opened his eyes, a spark of electricity flashing within them.

This was their second meeting, but this time, the old man’s tone carried an unusual emotion. He had clearly heard of Ye Xuan’s exploits.

"Greetings, Instructor." Ye Xuan bowed respectfully.

"You’ve certainly turned our Gale Light Academy upside down."

The aged voice held a hint of amusement.

"It was all because the Profound Mystery Sect was throwing their weight around. It really had little to do with me."

Ye Xuan was speechless. ’This guy isn’t going to bar me from entering the Trial Tower, is he?’

He was a far cry from the person who had first entered the Trial Tower. His powerful Soul Power could clearly sense the aura of the cloaked old man; he was definitely an expert on par with Vice Director Ge.

"Haha, no need to be so tense. I have no intention of blaming you. Go on in," the old man chuckled.

’Nervous my ass.’ Ye Xuan wasn’t worried about being blamed in the slightest; he was afraid the old man wouldn’t let him into the Trial Tower. That would be a disaster.

Placing his hand gently on the stone door, Ye Xuan’s Spiritual Power swiftly entered the Trial Tower.

’The last time he came, this boy was only at Tier Five Second Layer, wasn’t he? To think he broke through to Tier Six Second Layer in just a few short months. Old Ge Puzi said this boy had some connection to the Director. Looking at him now, perhaps it’s true after all.’

’I wonder what floor the boy will reach this time.’

The old man muttered to himself and closed his eyes.

Having been through it once before, Ye Xuan wasn’t nervous upon entering the Trial Tower again.

The same ancient voice rang out, and after it faded...

SWOOSH!

A figure in black appeared before Ye Xuan. It still had no facial features and held a longsword. Its height, build, and Profound Power aura were identical to Ye Xuan’s.

’So this spirit body really does grow stronger as I do.’

When Ye Xuan took the test for the first time, the black-robed martial artist’s strength was the same as his own, at Tier Five Second Layer. Now, for his second test, Ye Xuan had broken through to Tier Six Second Layer, and the spirit body’s cultivation had risen to match.

WHOOSH!

The moment the spirit body in the black martial robe appeared, it transformed into a streak of light and shot toward Ye Xuan. Simultaneously, the longsword in its hand thrust out from a bizarre angle, moving with lightning speed.

Ye Xuan sidestepped.

SWISH!

A sinister gleam of sword light cut through the air. A black head flew high, and the black-robed figure, along with its head, instantly vanished into nothingness, disappearing from the space.

’Same strength, and its combat experience is identical to last time.’

Ye Xuan muttered to himself. The first time he took this assessment, he had been injured on the very first level and nearly died. This time, however, he had killed his opponent with ease.

Although his opponent’s strength had also increased, Ye Xuan was already familiar with the first-level spirit body’s combat patterns, so he naturally didn’t run into the same problems as before.

"First-floor assessment cleared."

"Proceeding to the second floor!"

SWOOSH! SWOOSH!

The ancient voice resounded. A few breaths later, two spirit bodies appeared and charged directly at Ye Xuan, unleashing two long arcs of sword light.

The sword lights crisscrossed, radiating a piercing glint. Ye Xuan’s body twisted, and he slipped between the two beams of light. In the instant he rushed past the two spirit bodies, a brilliant flash of his own sword lit up the space.

PFFT!

Two heads flew into the air at the same time, and the two spirit bodies from the second floor disintegrated within the trial space.

The past few months of cultivation had resulted in an astonishing improvement in Ye Xuan’s abilities. With this increase in cultivation, his mastery over the various martial arts and cultivation techniques from his past life grew ever more perfect, leading to a rapid surge in his combat power.

Most importantly, during these months, the previous assessment had given Ye Xuan new insights into his Nine Profound World-Defying Art. As a result, compared to his first attempt, he was handling the trial with far greater ease.

He soon reached the third floor.

Four spirit bodies instantly appeared in the void.

"Kill!"

Ye Xuan charged into their midst and quickly engaged the four black-robed figures in battle.

This time, he didn’t go for a quick victory. Instead, he slowly savored the experience of clashing with the four opponents.

He knew that with his current strength, he could have killed the four of them quickly. However, the further he progressed, the less time he would have to think. Therefore, he had to use this third floor to gradually reacquaint himself with the process.

As for the first and second floors, they had been far too simple, which was why Ye Xuan hadn’t held back.

In the Void Space, Ye Xuan fought the four spirit bodies for a full quarter of an hour before finally slaying them one by one.

He exhaled.

’The fourth floor, is it?’

Last time, Ye Xuan had been defeated on the fourth floor. This time, his previously casual gaze gradually sharpened.

HUM! HUM! HUM! HUM! HUM!...

The fourth floor: eight enemies of the same level.

But when eight Tier Six Second Layer spirit bodies appeared, the terrifying wave of Profound Power still made Ye Xuan’s heart skip a beat.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

As soon as the eight black-robed martial artists appeared, they immediately began to form a large circle, closing in on Ye Xuan.

"Bring it on!"

With a cold smile, Ye Xuan’s figure transformed into a bolt of lightning and shot into the group of spirit bodies.

Last time, he had used a kiting strategy to kill three of the eight.

This time, however, he had no intention of doing so.

SWISH!

A sinister, piercing sword light flared. Two black heads immediately flew into the air. In a single exchange, two spirit bodies had fallen to Ye Xuan.

With his increased strength, Ye Xuan had more options, and his attacks were even more vicious.

"Kill!"

The strike landed. He dodged the combined attacks of the remaining spirit bodies with lightning speed, and his figure once again plunged into their midst.

PFFT!

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

SWISH!

A series of sounds—flesh being sundered and swords clashing—rang out. Ye Xuan’s figure was like a slippery eel, weaving constantly between the spirit bodies. With every flash of his sword, another black-robed figure was slain.

In the time it takes to burn an incense stick, all eight spirit bodies lay dead at Ye Xuan’s hands, leaving him alone in the empty trial space.

"Hah..."

Reining in the boiling Profound Power within him, Ye Xuan carefully replayed the battle in his mind, gaining new insights.

Last time, using a kiting strategy of fighting while retreating, he had only managed to kill three before being eliminated. This time, he had faced all eight spirit bodies head-on and passed smoothly in the time it takes to burn an incense stick. The difference represented an extraordinary level of progress.

However, the fifth floor would feature sixteen opponents of the same strength, raising the difficulty significantly.

A few breaths later.

VMMMMMM...

A continuous humming sound echoed from the void. Instantly, sixteen figures in black martial robes appeared before Ye Xuan. Their boiling battle intent was palpable, and their sheer numbers were dense and overwhelming, creating a shocking and terrifying sight.

"Kill!"

The moment the sixteen black-robed martial artists appeared, they launched a ferocious, simultaneous assault on Ye Xuan. For a moment, the air was filled with crisscrossing Sword Qi, which formed a dense, spiderweb-like net of sword gleams that blotted out the sky.

"Carefree Wanderings!"

’Charge!’

Instead of retreating, Ye Xuan advanced. His body became a black shadow, barely managing to slip through the web of Sword Qi just as the attacks were about to land, plunging him into the crowd of black-robed martial artists.

SWISH!

Sword Qi flashed. Ye Xuan skimmed past the bodies of several black-robed martial artists, narrowly avoiding one sword gleam after another. At the same time, he casually flicked his right hand, sending out a horizontal slash like a bolt of silk.

The black-robed martial artists swarmed him. Squeezed by the crowd, one of them found it impossible to dodge Ye Xuan’s attack and could only attempt a hasty block.

CLANG!

The clang of metal rang out. Before the martial artist could react, another sword gleam sliced diagonally from an unconventional angle behind several other black-robed figures. It flashed across the martial artist’s neck, and his head flew high into the air before vanishing within the trial space.

’One!’

Ye Xuan’s figure shot backward, instantly dodging several sword strikes. His body was incredibly agile as he once again plunged into the middle of a group of black-robed martial artists.