Chapter 12: This Was Picked Up By Me!
Chapter 12: This Was Picked Up By Me!
Jiang Taixuan returned to the dojo and took a look. There were three more items on the shelf: Li Guang’s bloodline, physique, and martial arts technique.
After inspecting the dojo, Jiang Taixuan went to find Ximen the Fatty to help him handle the demon beast. Otherwise, if he had to do it alone, it would take forever.
The hide of the Foundation Building demon beast was too tough. The two of them were exhausted and barely managed to tear a small opening. Eventually, they just left it there, deciding to wait until Wu Song and Li Guang returned.
After that, no more students came. After all, not every student dared to seek help. Of course, it was also possible some wanted to pass the assessment on their own strength.
After eating the tiger meat, Jiang Taixuan sent Ximen the Fatty back. He entered the dojo, closed the door, and began cultivating. His cultivation was too low; he couldn’t even handle a dead Foundation Building demon beast. As the Field Master, how could he be so pathetic?
Jiang Taixuan’s closed-door cultivation session lasted for two days. The Clear Moon Academy assessment also ended. The mentors led the Clear Moon students back to the academy to select the top three.
Inside the Divine Devil Dojo, Jiang Taixuan slowly opened his eyes and finally let out a turbid breath. A sword beam shot out and exploded in the air.
“Exhaling breath as a sword. Fifth Stage Martial Artist.”
Unable to contain his joy, he had completely absorbed that piece of low-grade Innate Spirit Stone and successfully advanced to the fifth stage.
Reaching the fifth stage meant he could release Primeval Qi from his body and exhale breath as a sword. He could be considered a minor expert now.
“Field Master, you’ve come out,” the door was pushed open as Wu Song and Li Guang appeared before him simultaneously.
“Is the task complete?” Jiang Taixuan asked.
“It’s done. They were very satisfied,” Wu Song said.
“Ding. Wu Song’s task is complete. You may choose a snack.”
The System’s voice sounded in Jiang Taixuan’s mind, startling him. So when these Gods and Demons completed tasks and wanted snacks, it still had to go through him!
Wang Mingming’s task wasn’t finished yet because the payment hadn’t been collected, so Li Guang could only look at Wu Song with envy.
“Field Master, we also took care of that Foundation Building demon beast while we were at it. If Field Master wants to eat it, we can cook it now,” Wu Song quickly added.
A flicker of satisfaction crossed Jiang Taixuan’s eyes. He smiled and said, “Good, thank you. Pick your own snacks. There are only three kinds.”
“I want the God-Demon Pills,” Wu Song said.
“No problem,” Jiang Taixuan took out two packs of God-Demon Pills and handed them to the two Gods and Demons. After a pause, he added, “Aren’t you going to choose Innate Spiritual Energy to improve your cultivation?”
Li Guang gave him a strange look and said, “God-Demon Pills can temper our God-Demon physique. Taking them long-term allows us to evolve. Cultivation? Is that urgent?”
Wu Song also calmly stated, “We Gods and Demons, even if we don’t cultivate, our cultivation will automatically increase, just slower. In a few days, I should be able to break through to Foundation Building.”
“Darn, the gap is just too big!”
Jiang Taixuan’s lips twitched. He had worked himself to death and used a low-grade Innate Spirit Stone just to reach the Fifth Stage of Martial Arts. Look at them — even being underdeveloped, they were at the peak of the Innate Realm! Comparing people made one angry, let alone comparing oneself to Gods and Demons.
Jiang Taixuan ignored the two guys. He glanced at the rewards on the turntable and then at his small treasury, abandoning the thought in his mind.
…
“The assessment inspection begins. Xiao Cheng, your haul,” the middle-aged Mentor called out loudly.
A young man hurried forward, took out a jade tablet. A flash of light, and three demon beast corpses materialized.
The middle-aged Mentor’s face was impassive. He nodded approvingly. “Not bad. Three fourth-stage demon beasts, two fifth-stage demon beasts. Good results. Pass. Next.”
The young man immediately sighed in relief and walked back to the group happily, not forgetting to shoot a provoking glance at Wang Mingming.
Wang Mingming sneered and gave him the middle finger.
“None at all? Failed the assessment. Stand aside!” The middle-aged Mentor’s face darkened.
“One third-stage, three fourth-stage. Barely pass.”
“One fifth-stage, one sixth-stage. Very good, pass!”
The middle-aged Mentor’s dark face showed a hint of a smile. He praised, “Fifth stage cultivation, able to hunt a sixth-stage demon beast. Very good, very good.”
“Next, Tang Yuelu!” the middle-aged Mentor called again, his gaze toward Tang Yuelu filled with kindness. “Yuelu, you’re the strongest. You should have been able to hunt a sixth-stage demon beast, right?”
Tang Yuelu was a sixth-stage martial artist, the strongest among the students taking this assessment.
Faced with the Mentor’s question, Tang Yuelu waved her hand, and bloody demon beast corpses appeared. “Mentor, you can see for yourself.”
“Oh? Could it be there’s no sixth-stage demon beast? That’s okay, your talent… Holy smokes, a ninth-stage demon beast?”
The Mentor was dumbfounded. The students below were also dumbfounded. What the heck was this situation? A sixth-stage martial artist hunting a ninth-stage demon beast?
If this got out, no one would dare believe it!
“Mentor, there’s more,” Tang Yuelu said with a smile, waving her hand again. Another ninth-stage demon beast appeared.
“…” The Mentor’s face turned dark, his expression gloomy. “Yuelu, you are the most talented one. How could you cheat?”
He didn’t believe Tang Yuelu could surpass three stages. Forget Tang Yuelu, even the entire Clear Moon Academy couldn’t produce a super freak who could surpass three stages.
Demon beasts were naturally stronger than Human Clan martial artists. Being able to fight one-on-one was already good. You’re telling me you surpassed three stages? You try surpassing one stage; you’d be beaten to a pulp!
“That’s right, Mentor, Tang Yuelu cheated. According to the rules, cheaters are to be expelled!” a student below shouted.
Ninth-stage demon beast? Even a single seventh-stage demon beast could crush them.
“Tang Yuelu, your cheating method is too shoddy. You don’t even know how to cheat properly,” Xiao Cheng shouted.
Wang Mingming below was stunned. The minimum he had prepared was ninth-stage demon beasts…
“Mentor, please don’t be angry yet,” Tang Yuelu said confidently.
“Fine, I want to see how you explain this,” the middle-aged Mentor snorted coldly. He was most disappointed that Tang Yuelu, whom he valued highly, had cheated on the assessment. This was unacceptable!
Tang Yuelu didn’t speak. She waved her hand again. Two more ninth-stage demon beasts appeared, equally bloody.
The middle-aged Mentor’s eyelids twitched. Four ninth-stage demon beasts. Even he would find them troublesome. If Tang Yuelu was cheating, this was too fake, the cost was too high.
Before the Mentor could speak, Tang Yuelu waved her hand again. A huge demon beast appeared, shocking everyone.
“Innate Monster Beast! Swiftwind Demon Tiger!” The middle-aged Mentor inhaled sharply. The students below, except for Wang Mingming, were all terrified and dumbfounded.
“Cheating! Absolutely cheating! But why would you take out ninth-stage, Innate monster beasts?” Wang Mingming’s face was a sight to behold. He wished he had rushed forward earlier to take out his demon beasts and then come up with some story. Now that Tang Yuelu had taken them out, what was he supposed to do?
He didn’t say it out loud because he had cheated too, and his cheating was even more outrageous than Tang Yuelu’s!
“Mentor, fellow students, as you can see, these demon beasts are all covered in blood, with almost no intact parts. Clearly, they were involved in a fierce battle before they died,” Tang Yuelu said calmly, smiling.
“Yuelu, are you saying…?” The Mentor’s heart trembled, a guess forming in his mind.
“Correct. After I entered the Monster Beast Mountains, I went deeper. Attracted by the screams of demon beasts, I hurried over. Do you know what I saw?”
“What did you see?” Even though he had a guess, the Mentor still couldn’t believe it and played along with the question.
The other students also listened carefully.
“A dozen or so ninth-stage demon beasts, for some reason gone mad, surrounded and attacked this Swiftwind Demon Tiger. The Swiftwind Demon Tiger fought to the death, refusing to retreat. The battle was intense. I hid to the side.”
“Finally, the Swiftwind Demon Tiger killed all the demon beasts, but it was also exhausted, left with only its last breath. I gathered my courage, went forward, and thrust my sword into the demon tiger’s mouth, killing it. If you don’t believe me, Mentor, you can check,” Tang Yuelu said.
The middle-aged Mentor was half-convinced and half-doubtful. He walked to the Swiftwind Demon Tiger, pried open its mouth, and sure enough, there was a sword wound that pierced the tiger’s throat. It was a fatal wound!
“Mentor, is it true?” The students below didn’t dare get close and quickly asked.
The middle-aged Mentor took a deep breath and said, “Yuelu is correct. This demon tiger was killed with a single sword strike while it was severely injured and unable to resist.”
“Yuelu’s luck is so good. Why didn’t I have such luck?”
“Alright, Yuelu’s results are excellent. Pass. Next, Wang Mingming.”
Wang Mingming’s face turned pale, and his body began to tremble slightly.