ASER - Chapter 142
Chapter 142: Retaliation?
This display was truly distinctive; even if the students from the Five Prefectures hadn't seen it, they'd heard of it.
Yin Canghe, one of the three freaks of Qingzhou.
"Yin Canghe, you're still so ostentatious and vain. This is just the preliminary selection; why make such a grand entrance? Why not pull a golden coffin?"
Yin Canghe had some reputation in the north. Knowing his prowess, the few who had previously challenged Song Erhu and others immediately quieted down. After all, someone more formidable would step up.
Zhaoguang watched the person who walked out, just about to explain the situation to his Danzhou friends whom he had gotten to know recently, when he saw Cheng Zhang quickly come online and whisper to his classmates: "Legend has it that the Northern Five Prefectures have the seven most dazzling stars: Chen Shuhe, Lian Tingbi, Liu Qiushan, Shen Yexi, Liu Ying, Qi Biyuan, and Guanshan. This person is Liu Qiushan. I heard he's best at methods of exorcising evil and dispelling yin. He probably fought Yin Canghe during their travels, and their talents clash, hence their discord."
The Tang Song territory was vast, with a saying of the Son of Heaven touring forty-eight prefectures. Among them, the north and south had always been in conflict. The coastal Northern Five Prefectures and Southern Five Prefectures fought to the death, a rivalry that hadn't eased since the first generation. Originally, with spiritual energy gone for three hundred years, they only competed economically. Now that spiritual energy had revived, this confrontational spirit had resurfaced.
People from the north felt they were closer to the center of power, fierce and strong, looking down on the south's hypocrisy and affectation. The south, in turn, saw the north as a bunch of arrogant barbarians, not at all refined or elegant, exceptionally crude—just like how Liu Qiushan had just mocked Yin Canghe for his love of ostentation.
Yin Canghe had the looks of a pretty boy. Whether handsome or not, he definitely looked frail. His face was as if coated with a pound of flour; a casual shake could probably make a few steamed buns. But his mouth was venomous. He opened it and said, "I'm not lacking a coffin, but someone to lie in it. How about you, Brother Liu, do me the honor?"
I lie in the coffin, and you sit on my coffin lid?
Liu Qiushan's face darkened. He sneered, "I'm afraid you can't handle it. Besides, the Southern Five Prefectures are washed up. You're the only one worth looking at."
Song Erhu and the others felt that in the entire Five Prefectures, only a few from their Qingzhou and Han Zhuo were capable fighters; the rest were not up to par. But looking around, several of the seven from the Northern Five Prefectures had arrived. Even without announcing their names, their presence was strong.
"He's so ugly, like a dead person, yet in your Liu Qiushan's eyes, he's considered 'worth looking at'? Is the aesthetic sense of your Northern Five Prefectures so trashy?" Gu Yuntang had a fiery temper. Seeing the other party disregard them, she retorted unhappily.
Duan Fei sneered, "If you don't look at people properly, naturally you have no aesthetic sense."
The bespectacled Guanshan smiled, "Not bad at all. So many people jumped out at once. It seems Yin Canghe, you have some standing in the south. Before you came, they were like quails. Once you arrived, they perked up."
Song Erhu: "Oh ho, as if you dare to make a move."
Guanshan: "We can't fight within the circle. How about it, Little Brother Erhu, you come out of the circle with me?"
Song Erhu: "You want me to go out just because you say so? Wouldn't I lose face then? If you have the guts, drag me out!"
Guanshan and the others were slightly puzzled. What was going on? Previously, this Song Erhu would explode at the slightest provocation. Now, he seemed like a different person, so shameless.
"Where's Xiao Du? A bunch of juniors are so unruly, and he hasn't come out to manage them. All sorts of riffraff are jumping out and making a fuss."
A handsome youth in brocade robes swept his smiling gaze over the crowd, a cold glint in his eyes. "Forgotten the experience of being strung up and beaten by me during last month's mid-term exam?"
Fuck! Lian Tingbi.
Song Erhu was afraid of him. Li Zhaowu and the others also immediately deflated, subconsciously looking towards Yin Canghe and Han Zhuo.
However, Han Zhuo paid no attention to such disputes, while Yin Canghe remained seated on the coffin, merely glancing coldly in one direction.
The atmosphere in the south immediately became much gloomier. The north's arrogance surged, becoming even more rampant, pointing fingers at the people from the south.
Relying on Cheng Zhang, the "doctor," for online popular science, the crowd quickly recognized the most distinguished-looking young master who had suppressed the atmosphere with a single sentence as Lian Tingbi. The most ordinary one, sitting on the ground pulling weeds, was Qi Biyuan. But the most conspicuous was Shen Yexi, a woman. Her attire made her look quite coquettish and shrewish. At this moment, with her arms crossed and eyebrows raised, she said, "I heard there's an Xu Ye in the south, known as the South's Number One Poisonous Widow. Where is she? Let me see how widowed and how poisonous she is."
Speaking of the Poisonous Widow, the expressions of the people from Qingzhou Academy, including Song Erhu and the others, all became subtle.
Just then, everyone felt the atmosphere drop a few degrees. From the woods behind, a voice came: "I heard you didn't fare too well against the demonic tide on the northern coast and even notified the imperial court for rescue. Chen Shuhe, Liu Ying, I'm now giving you and Lian Tingbi's group a chance to ask for help."
Cold and indifferent, but the style was somewhat similar to someone.
A'Diao immediately thought of Xiao Mieluo and inwardly mused that this person must be Xiao Du, deliberately imitating his older brother. It seemed he greatly admired him.
Rightly so, Xiao Mieluo was indeed a person who commanded admiration.
"Haha, Xiao Du, you don't have Grand Governor Xiao's abilities, but your tone is certainly big. I'd like to see just how formidable you and Xu Ye can be!"
The two exchanged only one sentence each. Then, a large flock of startled birds rose from the forest, followed by a flurry of golden light, wood qi, flying swords, and frost.
Just that one ripple of movement allowed people to glimpse the approximate level of the few individuals in the forest.
A'Diao glanced over. They were all Forbidden Masters, and all at the mid-grade Transcendent Realm, but their combat power could surpass their sub-level to reach the peak of the Transcendent Realm.
The Northern Seven Stars and several from Southern Qingzhou had all appeared,
But scanning their mental bodies, A'Diao was somewhat surprised, thinking to herself that there were quite a few people pretending to be weak while actually being strong.
However, this was only their mental bodies. Overall, these people were quite a bit different from the second-tier group like Song Erhu and Zhaoguang. As for their aptitude, she couldn't tell, so she let it be.
Fortunately, the fight in the woods ended after just one wave, because the principals from both sides called out to their people.
At this time, the crowd finally saw the gentle and refined Chen Shuhe and the cold, arrogant, red-haired Liu Ying, as well as the steady Xiao Du, who was like a long sword piercing the heavens.
When Liu Ying appeared, female cultivators like Li Zhaowu actually felt their hearts skip a beat.
This woman was so hot—her figure was hot, her personality cold, and her actions ruthless. The visual impact she gave was too great.
However… when the woman behind Xiao Du appeared, the entire area fell somewhat silent.
A wind came from the east, but the western mountains and wilds fell silent, because a woman came from the south. She walked out of the mountain forest, taking with her the crimson hues of a vast, dense jungle, and bathed the north in a damp, cold, pale snow-rain, the kind only seen in winter.
Cold yet stunning, stunning yet restrained and concealing beauty, beautiful yet overflowing with excellence.
This was a woman of extremely outstanding appearance, so outstanding that even dressed in a set of black cotton martial arts attire, she captured everyone's attention the moment she appeared, an effect that couldn't be suppressed.
She was probably used to such gazes. She raised her hand, pressed down on a fallen leaf, lightly touched it to her forehead, then her slender fingers rolled it up and flicked it out.
The soft leaf, like a formation of metal combined, instantly shot through the air.
Whoosh!!!
In the blink of an eye, it pierced the air, flew past the ear of someone who hastily dodged, and embedded itself in a tree behind them.
Pierced through.
"We're already in the circle, and you're still using a mental body device to probe me?" Xu Ye glanced at Lian Tingbi, her eyes devoid of any emotion.
Lian Tingbi smiled. "It's just that I missed Miss Xu too much. After all, a beauty that can topple cities and nations is hard to forget. I was also afraid you might have been assassinated and replaced."
Xu Ye didn't like verbal sparring, so she couldn't be bothered with him. She had long had entanglements with these people from the north and knew them all, so there was no need to scrutinize them. Instead, she glanced a few more times at the people from the Five Prefectures.
To be honest, she and people like Xiao Du weren't very familiar with the four prefectures of the Southern Five Prefectures outside of Qingzhou. After her gaze swept over them… it occasionally paused in certain places.
A'Diao felt this person looked at their side a couple more times, especially staring at Song Ling for a while. So she curiously asked Song Ling, "Are you love rivals with her?"
To be frank, Song Ling had a "nation's first love" face, the type of beauty most women would first admire for her looks and temperament without feeling hostility, but would soon fear that the men around them might fall for her.
Song Ling felt greatly wronged and whispered, "No, don't talk nonsense. Couldn't it be another sister-in-law of yours?"
A'Diao: "…"
Song Ling, you've become naughty.
A'Diao watched coldly. The Northern Five Prefectures, led by Chen Shuhe and Lian Tingbi, were temporarily united. The Southern Five Prefectures were led by Xiao Du. The others didn't care much about unity; as long as external pressure mounted, they would naturally unite. If the pressure wasn't enough, they would each just laze around like salted fish.
Anyway, Danzhou was a group of salted fish, watching the drama unfold without a word. Facts proved their low profile was correct, because others arrived.
The university students arrived.
Geographically, they were all from the best universities in the various prefectures and provinces within the coastal regions of the ten northern and southern prefectures. It was true that Kyoto University, Beichuan University, and Minghai University—the three major universities—dominated, but every year, among the top talents supplied to the country, there were always a few outstanding individuals who came precisely from the echelons below these three major universities. Therefore, they absolutely could not be underestimated.
Opportunity, effort, and temperament—these were all key factors influencing achievement.
Anyway, the geniuses from the academies immediately noticed that the aura of these university students was significantly more mature than theirs. They didn't cause trouble; after arriving, they registered and waited for their wristwatches to be distributed. They didn't pick fights with these academy geniuses, avoiding any clichéd villainous plotlines from TV shows or movies.
Quietly, waiting to soar to the heavens.
Yuan Shu and the others felt even more pressure. This was preliminary exam point number 13, and it was only the preliminary exam, yet so many talented individuals had come. Could they stand out?
A'Diao saw that the screen floating in the sky suddenly loaded over 500 people. These were elite university students from several prefectures, from more than ten well-known universities. Some of them even knew the academy students, as they were all within the ten prefectures and had some connections or relations. After they greeted each other, the atmosphere became much more peaceful.
Forced peace.
Because they all knew that although these students from top universities were a few years older, they were also in their prime development age. Coupled with more university resources and stronger teaching resources, many of them could suppress the academy students.
The smart ones chose to lie low and keep a low profile.
A student from Linzhou Academy asked his cousin, who was in university, if everyone was here.
"We still have some classmates at point number 12. Anyway, two or three designated points are assigned to people from ten prefectures. There are more university students. Your academies each send out twenty or thirty, so you have fewer people."
"Because our universities have both independent registration and school recommendations, plus some social organizations and individuals registering themselves, each designated point probably ends up with about two thousand people."
Indeed, there were few academy students. The ten academies from the ten prefectures combined only amounted to just over two hundred people, accounting for only one-tenth of the planned allocation for this designated point. Overall, university students had the largest proportion and the strongest capabilities.
But small cliques had already formed among them.
North and South, university and high school, students and those from society, those from society and those from social institutions—all belonged to different origins, each with their own pride and wariness of each other. But it was undeniable that these people were all geniuses selected from various levels of the country. If they only had confidence, they wouldn't have passed the first level of registration.
It seemed the basic registration requirement was to be under 25 years old and have a C-level cultivation or higher to qualify for the preliminary selection.
The two thousand spots filled up quickly, everyone was present. The people from Lushan Academy hadn't paid any attention to these high school students, university students, or individuals from various backgrounds from the start. When the time came, this teacher released a pile of small spheres from a storage device. These spheres levitated, released their casings, and unfolded the 'wings' of the wristwatches. The DNA aura of the corresponding binders had already been recorded on them, and they quickly flew out, directly finding their respective owners.
A'Diao received her own identity wristwatch and began to bind it, but she sensed someone approaching her.
"Hey, are you Chen Xun's younger sister?"
A'Diao turned her head to look at the speaker.
Seemed like a university student? She didn't know which university, but he had a few companions with him. They looked much more mature than high school students. He currently appeared benevolent and said to her with a smile, "Your older brother was kicked out of the Central Academy of Sciences, did you know? Because of academic misconduct, he was abandoned by the Central Academy of Sciences. He should still be in jail now."
This person's voice wasn't soft.
Many people turned to look. Tian Zhongye and others sensed the other party's malice and were about to intervene, but several university students separated them. Because they couldn't fight within the circle, they could only watch A'Diao being surrounded and… humiliated?
Song Ling frowned but didn't say anything, because she could see that A'Diao could handle this situation. It was just that Chen Xun's matter was so sudden, and she hadn't heard any news about it. But looking at A'Diao's expression, it seemed unperturbed. Did she already know?
Knew jack shit.
A'Diao was genuinely surprised, but only surprised. Then she looked at this twenty-year-old young man with a strange expression. Ah, this person probably had a grudge against Chen Xun, or he was related to Chen Xun's competitors within the Central Academy of Sciences, taking the opportunity to kick him while he was down.
Or, they were here to test her, afraid she might actually have some aptitude and achieve good results, so they came to play some mind games first to affect her performance.
Perhaps A'Diao's 'looking at an idiot' gaze was too obvious. The person's expression stiffened slightly, and he continued, "The academy discovered through his genetic test that the reason he can't cultivate is because his bloodline is cursed. However, since you can cultivate, either your mother did something, or you're just lucky and happen to have cultivation aptitude. But if the bloodline is blocked, let alone mastering bloodline attacks in the Glimmer Realm, even breaking through to Glimmer will be very difficult."
"So, I really feel sorry for him, and for you too."
"But luckily, registration for the Lushan assessment is free, so you haven't lost anything. Fortunately, your father is still the Governor of Danzhou, and you're still the daughter of an official. It would be good for you to go home, find a husband early, and get married."
He expressed pity while smiling.
Because this matter, after all, was shameful.
Her brother kicked out of the Central Academy of Sciences for academic misconduct, the family bloodline cursed, future ruined—no matter how one heard it, it was like a bolt from the blue.
Outside the circle, Jiang Zhou's expression darkened slightly, as if pondering something. But he also shot a cold glance towards the university the other party belonged to. They, however, didn't seem to think much of it.
Verbal disputes among young people in private, as long as it wasn't complete nonsense, what did it matter?
Although the words were arrogant and vile, what could be done? They couldn't fight within the circle. If it was a verbal battle… the people from Lushan Academy didn't give them time either, directly announcing the content of the preliminary exam.
"Now, activate your wristwatches."
Everyone activated them.
"Then, before 6 PM this evening, reach check-in point number 13 registered on your wristwatch. Arriving alive and successfully checking in means you've passed the preliminary selection."
"Within these 12 hours, you are allowed to fight and battle. As long as you don't cripple someone's spiritual core, and no one dies, any means are permitted. However, the use of storage equipment and information equipment is forbidden. Of course, you probably won't be able to use them anyway."
Everyone heard the content of this preliminary selection clearly. Before they could react, they suddenly saw a circle of techniques released from within their wristwatches, directly sealing their storage equipment, information equipment, and… sealing their spiritual power.
Holy shit!
Everyone was momentarily flustered, but some remained composed and immediately checked the target red dot registered on their wristwatches—check-in point number 13 was within Kyoto city, approximately an 8-hour flight from here.
They were already in the suburbs, but Kyoto was the nation's capital, with a vast city territory. And the most terrifying thing was that flying vehicles were prohibited inside… unless one had official flight authorization. Otherwise, they could only use public transportation within the city.
Everyone was still digesting this preliminary exam information, preparing to take action, when suddenly!!!
Ah!!!
A shrill scream rang out. Even the Lushan Academy teacher, who had just finished speaking and taken a sip of water, was stunned for a moment. Turning to look, he saw among the dense crowd of 2000 people, a young man was half-kneeling on the ground. The bone of his kneeling leg was bloody; his kneecap had likely been shattered by a kick, and one of his hands was restrained.
They saw that the plain-looking, delicate girl who had struck like lightning, at the very first moment they looked over, crack!
She snapped the person's arm as if twisting a cucumber, then her other foot, even faster, kicked and broke the leg bone of another person who was trying to grab her neck from behind.
Crack! The bone protruded from the flesh again, and the spurting blood even splashed onto Song Ling's trouser leg.
But she wasn't idle either. With Tian Zhongye and the others, she quickly and deftly took down several people who rushed over to provide support.
Without spiritual power, these university students might not necessarily be a match for them.
Especially Tian Zhongye, who easily kicked seven or eight people flying.
Amidst a chorus of screams, A'Diao had, with lightning speed that caught everyone off guard, crippled the hands and feet of five people within two or three seconds. Stained with blood, she had already jumped onto a flying vehicle.
"A tiger stranded in shallow waters is bullied by dogs! I never thought you dignified university students wouldn't even spare an eighteen-year-old high school girl like me, who doesn't even have the strength to truss a chicken! Fine, fine, fine! I'll flee first. When I strive hard and make a name for myself, I'll definitely show you not to bully the young and poor!!!!"
"Those who bullied me today, I will remember today's humiliation! Even if I turn to ash, I will remember it for a lifetime!"
Then she flew away, flew away… leaving behind a few people in a miserable state, basically eliminated from the preliminary exam and with no chance in this assessment.
Revenge, at lightning speed. But she still had a tearful tone, extremely aggrieved, extremely frightened, like a delicate young girl who resisted a bully in a moment of crisis and fled in panic… Were those things she just shouted very arrogant?
No, she was just like Wolffy who couldn't beat Weslie, fierce in appearance but timid in heart. She was probably crying, right?
So… forget it, I can't make this up anymore.
Zhongchuan Mingxiu and the others silently sent A'Diao a huge wave of continuous 66666s…
Truly unexpected! They had thought that with so many geniuses here, it wouldn't be the turn of a timid B-level cultivation little girl to stand out. Unexpectedly, taking advantage of the preliminary selection rules, she became brutal!
This wasn't just brutal; it was downright savage.
The teacher from that university and their classmates were dumbfounded. But when they reacted, they said angrily, "She violated the rules! Why isn't she being eliminated!?"
The Lushan Academy teacher withdrew his gaze and said indifferently, "The wristwatch timer has already started, haven't you noticed? If you hold a grudge, go chase her and fight. Just don't violate the rules."
After these words were spoken, hundreds of flying vehicle streams had already sped out.
Towards Kyoto!
Outside the circle, the Qingzhou Academy Principal looked at Jiang Zhou with a profound gaze. "You old dog, your luck is quite good."
This Chen Adiao is quite a talent, her reaction speed is incredibly fast.
Jiang Zhou smiled modestly, but in reality, he felt slightly uneasy.
Who was targeting the Chen family? If it was aimed at Chen Xun, there was no need to involve Chen Adiao… Did the Chen family have any old enemies?
Or had the Qu family found out about the relationship between Qu Jiangnan and Chen Adiao, and wanted to use this to force Qu Jiangnan to submit?
Or perhaps Chen Adiao's foul mouth had offended someone, leading them to retaliate?
Or was it the Baili family, bored and looking for trouble, who made a move?
Or…
But regardless, everyone faced potential crises. To stand out, one inevitably had to face these crises; no one could avoid them.
He only hoped these children could withstand it.
If they withstood it, their future would be bright.
But the problem was, Chen Adiao's bloodline… If she stopped at the Glimmer Realm, she would have no chance of being admitted to Lushan Academy. Lushan aimed to cultivate future Grandmasters, the nation's future top-tier combat power.
This child, it would be difficult for her.
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