Chapter 84
Chapter 84: The Warrior of Division Profound
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
When they went back to the drill ground of Western Yard, Zhang Ruochen and Zi Qian found nearly 400 young warriors gathered there. Many of them had injuries and their faces were full of disappointment.
Some were in high spirits, laughing and talking happily. It was apparent they had completed the first round of the exam, which explained their confidence.
People were discussing vividly in the drill ground, mostly about the thrilling experience of hunting the savage beasts.
"I heard there are two killing stars in the exam this year. They caused a foul wind and a rain of blood in Omen Ridge, killing many young warriors."
"I heard that too! The killing stars targeted warriors from Square Commandery, killing at least 50 of them."
A warrior from Yunwu Commandery sighed. "We’re lucky that the two killing stars fended off warriors from Square Commandery so that they didn’t have the energy to fight us. I don’t think I would pass the first round otherwise."
Zhang Ruochen walked past those warriors with a small smile on his face and hand over 20 Beast’s Eyeballs to the disciple in charge of counting them.
Zi Qian handed over 80 Beast’s Eyeballs.
They both passed the first round of the School of the Martial Market exam and returned to the drill ground to join the others from Yunwu Commandery.
They both kept the extra Beast’s Eyeballs to themselves.
The eyeballs of savage beasts all had medicinal value. They could be used for making Pills. If they sold them, they could make a hefty profit.
It was now noon, and the first round of the exam was over.
Standing on a dais, Elder Situ held a scroll made of animal skin and began reading the names of the warriors who had passed the first round.
"1,537 people took part in the first round of the exam, 468 passed. The names are as follows: Jiang Ying, Liu Chengfeng, Xia Hao…"
The young warriors who had passed left the drill ground after Elder Situ finished reading their names. The others were sent back to their own commanderies.
Elder Situ continued, "Warriors, who have passed the first round, will rest in the drill ground tonight. The second round, ‘Breaking Through the Wu Tower’, will start tomorrow morning. The top 120 who finish the second round will pass. The others are all eliminated.
"Your two seniors will keep order here tonight. Whoever dares to make trouble before ‘Breaking Through the Wu Tower’ round will be punished severely."
Elder Situ walked off the dais and left the drill ground.
Two pretty ladies, one tall and the other short, walked into the drill ground of Western Yard from the ancient building after Elder Situ left.
The external students of the School of the Martial Market seemed alarmed when they saw the two ladies and bowed immediately.
"Greetings, Senior Huang and Senior Duanmu!"
"Greetings, Senior Huang and Senior Duanmu!"
…
Wang Qi, the external student who escorted Zhang Ruochen and Zi Qian back to the School of the Martial Market earlier, also bowed to the two ladies in respect.
Senior Huang was tall and slender with royal blue hair that reached her waist. Her skin was fair and smooth, like the petals of the pear blossom.
Senior Duanmu appeared only 13 or 14 years old. Her facial features were quite delicate, with long and fine eyelashes and a pair of bright eyes. Despite her youthful appearance, her body was fully grown. Her breasts were perkier than Senior Huang’s.
More importantly, they were both devastatingly beautiful, with appearances that could topple nations.
They climbed up the stone stage and glanced at the young warriors in the drill ground. They sat with their legs crossed on the stage and closed their eyes, as if they were practicing.
In the drill ground of Western Yard, everyone’s attention was drawn to those two ladies. No one could look away.
But the external students of the School of the Martial Market who had studied here for one or two years dared not look at them, as if it was a taboo.
Zhang Ruochen also glanced at those ladies and said with a little surprise, "They’re wearing colorful robes!"
Generally, external students of the school could only wear white robes.
Only the internal students of the school could wear colorful robes.
Liu Chengfeng stared at the ladies and replied quietly, "Even external students of the school could wear colorful robes if they become Warrior of Division Profound or earn enough merits."
Liu Chengfeng’s eyes would typically light up and he would be impatient to make a move when he saw pretty ladies.
But he showed no trace of being a player when he saw the two ladies. Instead, he seemed a little afraid.
Zhang Ruochen was a little curious. "Are they Warriors of Division Profound?"
Liu Chengfeng nodded at once. "It’s always the Yin that flourishes while the Yang declines in the West House of the School of the Martial Market. Females are extremely powerful while males hardly have any say in Western Campus. They’re called the imperial consort of Western Palace inside the School of the Martial Market. They control the whole Western Campus. If any men offend them, they’re dead meat. Alas!"
Zhang Ruochen looked serious. If those two ladies were indeed Warriors of Division Profound, they were very powerful.
It was harder to enter the Profound Board than to enter the Yellow Board.
The Yellow Board was only the ranking list of the top warriors of the Yellow Realm in one commandery. Firstly, the Yellow Realm was quite low. Secondly, the Yellow Board’s territory was very narrow.
The Profound Board was different. Only the top warriors of the Black Realm could enter it.
Moreover, the Profound Board involved the 36 commanderies around Omen Ridge.
In other words, only the top warriors of the Black Realm of the 36 commanderies could enter the Profound Board.
In a manner of speaking, any warrior who could enter the Profound Board had the power to fight warriors of the Earth Realm. The top ranking people of the Profound Board were even more powerful than warriors of the Earth Realm.
If the two ladies on the stone stage were indeed Warriors of Division Profound, could it be that they could fight the top warriors of the Earth Realm?
No wonder that the external students were all afraid of them.
Zhang Ruochen withdrew his gaze. Instead of staring at the two ladies, he looked around and saw there were 31 young warriors from Yunwu Commandery who had passed the first round.
In previous years, no one dared to expect such an achievement.
There were 162 people from Square Commandery who had passed the first round. It was still the best result of the Western Nine Prefectures. Of course, it was still not as good as the previous years.
Zhang Ruochen and Zi Qian had killed 98 warriors from Square Commandery. Many of them had been very powerful. It surely shocked the other martial artists of Square Commandery.
Prince Huo Xing sat among the warriors from Square Commandery with his legs crossed. He shot Zhang Ruochen and Zi Qian a cold glare, with strong malice brewing in his eyes.
Zhang Ruochen also stared at Prince Huo Xing who sat afar and noticed his Spiritual Blood had increased a lot. Even his eyes looked sharper.
"Prince Huo Xing has broken through to the Dawn State of the Black Realm!" Zhang Ruochen said.
"What?"
Liu Chengfeng’s faced changed as he cried out in surprise. "Prince Huo Xing is incredibly talented and he’s also a genius tamer. He must have strong Spiritual Power. With his breakthrough to the Dawn State of the Black Realm, maybe he’ll be ranked first in this exam."
Zhang Ruochen asked, "What happens if you become the first in the exam? Are there any benefits?"
Liu Chengfeng said, "Never mind being first, you’ll be well-rewarded if you get to the top 10.
"Even the 10th place would get 100 points of merits. The ninth would get 200 points, and so forth. The fourth would get 700 points.
"The third ranked would get 1,000 points.
"The second would get 2,000 points.
"The first ranked would get 3,000 points."
A young warrior beside them scoffed. "The first only gets 3,000 points of merits. It’s not much!"
Liu Chengfeng rolled his eyes. "The merits of the School of the Martial Market can be exchanged for any Practice resources, like Pills, Genuine Martial Arms, savage beast mounts, slaves, buildings… The limitation is your imagination. There’s nothing the School can’t give. It’s beyond your wildest imagination.
"If you have enough merits, the School of the Martial Market could help you buy a commandery.
"One merit of the School of the Martial Market equals one Spiritual Crystal. The reward for the first ranked equals 3,000 Spiritual Crystal, in another word, 3,000,000 silver coins."
"Three… million… silver coins…" Those young warriors from Yunwu Commandery were all shocked.
Zhang Ruochen was surprised too. He had heard of the wealth of Martial Market Bank, but he did not truly comprehend it until this moment.
Even seventh-class families like the Lin family had to use up all their savings and unite all their forces to gather 3,000,000 silver coins.
Now, to obtain 3,000,000 silver coins, all he had to do was to get the 3,000 points reward for the first ranked new disciple.
With such a fortune, one could surely trade for massive Practice resources to speedily increase one’s cultivation.
"The ‘Breaking Through the Wu Tower’ round tomorrow is the key. The better your performance is, the higher your marks are."
Liu Chengfeng continued, "Although it tests your cultivation, it tests your talents and comprehension even more, such as Spiritual Power, Five Senses, willpower, judgment…"
Zi Qian’s eyes lit up. "I’m going to get into the top three tomorrow."
Liu Chengfeng glanced at Zhang Ruochen thoughtfully. "What about you, Ninth Prince?"
Zhang Ruochen smiled. "I know nothing of the Wu Tower. I can only try my best."