Chapter 31: Start of the Foundational Exams
The same two people had faced off once more, and Yan Yiming
had fallen in defeat and once again lost completely.
Jiang Chen was once again the victor and had used the same
Eastern King Point to win.
The only difference was that Yan Yiming had employed his
family’s heritage this time and his mindset had been adjusted from
underestimating his opponent to full battle readiness.
But, Yan Yiming had still been the one to fall.
And, it was within the agreed upon three moves.
That was to say, Yan Yiming still hadn’t been able to take
three of Jiang Chen’s hits even when the former had been fully prepared.
Of course, Yan Yiming hadn’t been so lucky this time. Jiang
Chen had left him some face during last time’s spar and he hadn’t really used
his true qi.
This time, Yan Yiming’s repeated provocations had crossed
Jiang Chen’s bottom line. Thus, Yan Yiming had tasted at least 70% of Jiang
Chen’s strength.
After this loss, Yan Yiming probably wouldn’t be able to get
out of bed without recuperating for three to five months first.
“How does the saying go? A full bucket of water doesn’t
sway, but half a bucket of water likes to sway back and forth; those who are
knowledgeable don’t like to boast, but those who are ignorant love to strut and
preen. This saying was probably meant for people like you, was it not?”
Jiang Chen didn’t care if Yan Yiming was still alive or
dead. Brawls between heirs were more than common in the capital, not to mention
that the Hidden Dragon Trials were originally designed to increase competition
between heirs.
The heirs who were unfriendly with Jiang Chen all took
subconscious steps backwards when they saw Yan Yiming lying prostrated on the
floor.
They were deathly afraid of being seen by Jiang Chen. They
didn’t even possess the strength of Yan Yiming to fight back if he were to
challenge them.
By this point, no one believed that Jiang Chen only
possessed three meridians true qi.
Only a fool would believe that Jiang Chen was in the initial
realm of true qi after that poke.
Could someone in the initial realm have inflicted that type
of injury on Yan Yiming?
Jiang Chen didn’t think much of defeating a mere nobody such
as Yan Yiming. After all, his current strength was at the peak of five
meridians true qi.
With all of his advantages, it was a foregone conclusion
that he could defeat Yan Yiming, who was at six meridians true qi.
If he found it difficult to defeat someone with even six
meridians true qi, then all the advantages that had been conferred upon him in
his past life would be a joke.
As for Jiang Zheng, he puffed his chest out with elation. He
had already enjoyed the treatment of being waited upon by others last time in
the Hall of Healing. And today, he was once again receiving looks of respect
from those around him.
What was the key point in being a servant? That was for
things to go smoothly, and to be able to walk proudly upright, no matter where
he went.
And today, Jiang Zheng’s waist was quite upright.
“Organizer, my house’s young duke wishes to sign up for the
three foundational exams.” Jiang Zheng’s voice was also louder than normal.
If it had been before, Jiang Zheng would’ve found it too
embarrassing to sign up for the foundational exams at such a shameful timing.
But things were drastically different after Jiang Zhen had
trampled over Yan Yiming. How couldn’t a superior practitioner, who had run
roughshod over Yan Yiming, be unable to pass even the three foundational exams?
Why hadn’t he come before? That was because our young duke
had been too busy to come and pass the exams!
Other than Jiang Chen, there was no one else who had not yet
passed the three foundational exams before the deadline.
However, no one dared cause trouble for Jiang Chen in this
step of the process.
He quickly arrived at the testing site for the first exam.
There was a large disc in the center of a ring. The disc was
punctuated by twelve holes. Each of the holes had a white jade column erected
in the middle of them.
These were the true qi columns that were used in testing
true qi.
No one was able to cheat in this test. The candidate would
be able to light the number of white jade columns according to how many
meridians true qi he possessed.
One could reserve his strength, but could not falsely
inflate his strength.
That was to say, if you had ten meridians true qi, you could
display eight levels, or even four meridians true qi.
But if you only had four levels, there was no way you could
materialize an additional meridian out of thin air.
Therefore, this was a test that no one could cheat in.
“No wonder the past Jiang Chen couldn’t pass this test. How
would it be possible for three meridians true qi to pass?” Jiang Chen shook his
head slightly and walked forward, placing his palm in a depression and
circulating the five meridians true qi within his body.
The disc started turning with a crackling sound.
The white jade columns on it started lighting up one by one.
One column, two, three, four, five…
Some in the crowd breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing the
light stop at the fifth column, whereas a few others were slightly
disappointed.
All sorts of reactions were present, but Jiang Chen paid
them no heed. He did not reserve his strength for this particular test.
“Eh? Look. Although there are only five columns lit, this
light…” Other people immediately noticed this after one person had pointed it
out.
“That’s right, we only give rise to faint blue light
normally. Jiang Chen’s true qi light is green! And look, there are no
impurities within the light, every column is quite balanced and pure…”
“Such perfect true qi. No wonder a mere five meridians true
qi was able to easily defeat Yan Yiming!”
“Looks like we’ve underestimated this Jiang Chen!”
“Makes sense! With this kind of true qi purity, I think he’d
be able to put up a fight even if he challenged someone in the advanced realm
of true qi!”
The lowest barrier to the advanced realm of true qi was
seven meridians true qi. Such an assessment was high praise indeed.
Even the official in charge of this exam was slightly moved
by Jiang Chen’s true qi columns, and he cast a complicated look at Jiang Chen.
Jiang Chen could see praise and doubt in that look. Perhaps,
in the official’s eyes, Jiang Chen had even held back some of his true qi.
“Alright, Jiang Chen, five meridians true qi. You pass the
first foundational exam!”
The official continued speaking brightly, “Jiang Chen,
congratulations. Your passing grades and performance will be recorded and used
for reference.”
“Thank you for going to the trouble.” Jiang Chen smiled
faintly. He would naturally respond in good grace if someone was polite to him.
He had easily passed the first foundational exam. Jiang Chen
had also anticipated this.
He arrived at the second foundational exam site after
walking through a few hallways.
The second exam took place in a sealed off room with sword
aura.
“Jiang Chen, the second exam is not the same as the first,
and it embodies a certain amount of danger. If you don’t possess four meridians
true qi and your Amethyst Eastern Qi hasn’t been trained to the realm of
“perfection”, you are very likely to fall victim to the aura inside this room.”
The organizer of the second exam reminded Jiang Chen of the dangers, as
according to the rules.
Jiang Chen nodded. “Thank you for your reminder, I am
ready.”
“In that case, go on in.” The organizer nodded and said no
more. Since the candidate had already come, there was no reason for the
candidate to leave just because of his words of warning.
The sword aura room was a square space measuring roughly ten
meters by ten meters.
Countless mechanisms were installed within this room. They
would randomly shoot out all sorts of sword aura, following no rules or reason.
Candidates must endure an hour within the room.
In addition, one or two flying beetles would be placed into
the room at regular intervals. Candidates must shoot down at least ten flying
beetles within an hour.
They had to remain unharmed in the room and shoot down at
least ten flying beetles within the designated time.
This exam was, in comparison, only slightly harder than the
first exam.
A practitioner wouldn’t be able to shoot down the flying
beetles if he had yet to reach four meridians true qi. The flying beetles
speed, flight patterns, as well as the hardness of their armor, would not be
easily overcome by someone in the initial realm of true qi.
“This exam is a bit interesting.”
A current of sword aura came shooting at him just as Jiang
Chen was thinking those thoughts. But these simple sword aura currents posed no
threat to him.
The face of the second in command of the Trials, Du Ruhai,
was turning ghastly pale as he listened to the reports from a trusted man
within a secret room in a highly restricted area.
“This brat had concealed his true strength of five meridians
true qi. And the purity of his qi is actually on par with the heirs of the
preeminent dukedoms!”
Du Ruhai’s face darkened considerably upon viewing the
results of Jiang Chen’s first exam. He had been harshly lectured by Princess
Gouyu on that day at the Soaring Dragon manor. Although he hadn’t been fired
afterwards, he was facing tremendous pressure from the rumors in the outside
world.
His credibility and influence had also been similarly impacted
with the team in charge of the Hidden Dragon Trials.
This was what he least wished to see. Du Ruhai had made his
way up from the bottom of the ranks. His desire for power outweighed everything
else.
And now, the duke of Soaring Dragon had given him an
ultimatum. If he wasn’t able to stop Jiang Chen, then he would lose Duke Long’s
trust.
Losing Duke Long’s trust meant losing his biggest backer. It
could even be said that without the duke’s support, all his vaunted riches and
power would quickly become a joke.
Therefore, he had to suppress Jiang Chen. He simply had to
suppress Jiang Chen at all costs!
He had to take the risk. Duke Long’s ultimatum wasn’t a mere
joke. If the duke became unhappy, then perhaps Du Ruhai’s corpse would be found
on the streets tonight.
“Xiaoma, come here. I want you to…” Du Ruhai issued a series
of commands to his most trusted man.
This Xiaoma was absolutely loyal to Du Ruhai. He thumped his
chest in affirmation after hearing Du Ruhai’s instructions, “Be at ease sir, I
will complete the task with competence, and leave no clues behind!”
“Mm. If this matter is conducted smoothly, I will ensure a
life of riches for you.”
Within the sword aura room, the bodies of more than fifty
flying beetles lay haphazardly in the smooth floor. Time elapsed had been one
hour exactly.
Jiang Chen did not leave the sword aura room, and had, in
fact, become more and more excited.
“No human opponent can match this sword aura room. Who in
the same level can deploy such abstract, unsystematic moves like the mechanisms
of this room? Where else could I go to find a free opponent like this one?”
Jiang Chen was hooked on this room.
Although the force of the room’s sword aura attacks would
double every hour, Jiang Chen grew more invigorated from battle, and his
interest intensified.
He also became more skilled at utilizing his five meridians
true qi as time went on. The clashes between true qi and sword aura further
heightened his battle intent and potential.
Chapter 32: Impressive Performance, Setting New Records
Geniuses loved spending time in the second foundational
exam.
Every genius seemed to love using this masochistic method to
stimulate his or her own potential. Jiang Chen was no exception.
Previously, none of the many Eastern Kingdom geniuses had
docilely left the room after an hour was up.
Every person kept hanging on inside, and refused to come out
until they had reached their limit.
This exam had basically become a hidden battle stage for the
top notch geniuses.
They competed on who could stay inside the longest.
Who could kill the most flying beetles.
In actuality, no one could spare a thought for shooting down
flying beetles towards the end of the exam. They were too busy dodging the
boundless sword aura that danced without rules, threatening to take candidates’
lives at any moment.
Observers had started gathering outside the sword aura room.
Jiang Chen had been in the sword aura room for a full four
hours. Many curious bystanders rushed to the room when the news circulated.
Four hours, what kind of concept was that?
The sword aura attacks would double in strength every hour
in the sword aura room. This meant that after four hours, the sword aura in the
room had increased sixteen fold!
If he still hadn’t emerged after another hour, the strength
of the sword aura would increased to 32 times, and continue at that rate!
“This Jiang Chen, has he already died in there?”
“Stop bullshitting. If a candidate is killed the sword aura,
the mechanisms will stop attacking when it senses no life. They will also send
out a notification.”
“Heh heh, I’m curious, is all. Is this Jiang Chen really
that good?”
“A wolf in sheep’s clothing. He’s absolutely a wolf in
sheep’s clothing.”
“Ai, the only result of comparing oneself to another is a
frustrated death! I remember that I wanted to put up a front when I took the
second foundational exam and stay in there for another hour, but that doubled
sword aura was almost the end of me!”
“Do you know what the longest record for staying within the
sword aura room is?”
“I don’t think anyone’s made it past six hours.”
“It’s said that Miss Long Juxue stayed in the room for
almost six hours. She almost faced 32 fold attacks!”
“Huh. Don’t compare Jiang Chen with Miss Long Juxue. He’s
not worthy!”
“Yes. Although Jiang Chen is a wolf in sheep’s clothing,
he’s only that tiny bit stronger than ordinary geniuses. Miss Long Juxue is a
genius for the ages! A peerless genius who has an azure phoenix constitution
and has attracted the attention of the great hidden sects! They’re absolutely
not on the same level.”
“Comparing Jiang Chen with Miss Juxue is an act of sacrilege
against Miss Long Juxue!”
Many zealous fans immediately opened their mouths to reduce
Jiang Chen to less than worthless when it came to Miss Long Juxue.
It was apparent from this that Long Juxue was in high demand
amongst these heirs. You had to give it to her, her natural captivating charms
were no trivial matter.
“You there, what nonsense are you farting? My house’s
brother Chen is my brother Chen, why does he need to compare himself against
others?” This voice rang out like an earthquake.
Fatty Xuan had arrived. As Jiang Chen’s best friend,
insulting Jiang Chen in front of him was worse than insulting him.
The brawny Hubing Yue stood next to fatty Xuan.
The two were either fat or stocky - like two mountains,
giving others an imposing feeling.
It was easy to be sarcastic, but these onlookers didn’t yet
have the guts to really face off against Jiang Chen. These two arrivals were
Jiang Chen’s best friends. Insulting them was the same as offending Jiang Chen.
Another hour passed…
Fatty Xuan checked the time in the hourglass — this was the
sixth hour’s hourglass.
Every hourglass represented an hour. This was to say, Jiang
Chen had already been in the sword aura room for six hours.
The level of sword aura attacks had now reached 32 times.
Although fatty Xuan still swaggered around pridefully, his
tightly clenched fingers beneath his robes betrayed his internal anxiety.
“Fatty Xuan, do you think brother Chen could be in some
danger?” Hubing Yue was also similarly worried.
“Do you think brother Chen is someone who doesn’t know his
limits?” Fatty Xuan asked in response. Although that’s what he said, fatty Xuan
wasn’t too sure of his own words.
The previous Jiang Chen had never been so awesome or
displayed such potential before.
He had vaulted to the challenge of enduring the sixth hour.
Out of all the heirs, only Long Juxue had taken the challenge before, but she
hadn’t made it through to the end.
If Jiang Chen emerged after the hourglass had run out, then
he would’ve broken this year’s records!
However, Long Juxue had already been at eight meridians true
qi, about to breakthrough to the ninth meridian when she took the second
foundational exams.
She treated the sword aura room as a means to stimulate her
potential and break her shackles, as a way to successfully ascend to nine
meridians true qi!
She was successful in the end.
Although she wasn’t able to fully take the entire gamut of
attacks from the sword aura at 32 times, she broke through to the ninth
meridian and created a sensation in the kingdom.
Long Juxue had not even been 15 years old at the time. She
broke through to the ninth meridian in one fell swoop and became one of the
few, the mighty within the kingdom.
One had to know that apart from very few true qi masters,
nine meridians true qi was basically invincible.
And out of all the true qi masters in the kingdom, who
hadn’t trained for at least a few decades? She could stand shoulder to shoulder
with the experienced true qi masters at the tender age of not even fifteen.
With such potential, no wonder she possessed the asure phoenix constitution.
Long Juxue was now sixteen, and there were vague rumors that
there was only a thin veil separating her from being a true qi master of ten
meridians. It was a very thin veil that could be punctured by a single poke.
All eyes stared intently at that hourglass.
Many felt complicated emotions. They hoped for a miracle to
be born, for a subject ripe for new gossip to appear within the kingdom. They
also felt a bit envious at the same time. What right did this Jiang Chen have
to suddenly become such a blockbuster figure?
Long Juxue’s fans even cursed him inwardly, hoping for Jiang
Chen to be hit by a sword aura attack and thus be ruined.
Long Juxue was the goddess of their heart, and they were
absolutely unwilling to see a previously infamous good-for-nothing break the record
set by their goddess.
Allowing Jiang Chen to break Long Juxue’s record was the
greatest insult to the goddess!
However, matters would not change because of some people’s
thoughts. The sand in the hourglass slowly trickled downwards as time marched
on, second by second.
Finally, the hourglass reached its end.
As the final grains of sand trickled down, the entire
hourglass had finally emptied!
That meant that six hours were up!
The stone doors to the sword aura opened haltingly. There
were slight traces of sweat on his forehead, as the previous five hours hadn’t
taxed him at nearly the level that the last hour had.
The power of sword aura at 32 fold in the sixth aura had
simply be too frightening. If it wasn’t for the fact that Jiang Chen had
grasped a tiny bit of the sword aura rhythm, he would have definitely been
unable to take the barrage with his true level of training.
Upon seeing Jiang Chen walk out slowly from the room, those
who had been verbally attacking Jiang Chen all hid guiltily towards the back.
It was as if Jiang Chen could pierce through the darkest
recesses of their hearts with his bright, clear gaze.
They didn’t even have the courage to look Jiang Chen in the
eye at that moment.
As for Jiang Chen, his entire being was like a finely honed
knife, his light increasing with each step he took. It wasn’t Jiang Chen
stepping out of the room! Everyone had the sudden impression of a divine weapon
walking out of the room.
After the baptism by sword aura at 32 fold, Jiang Chen was
indeed infused with the light of a slashing sword at this moment. It would be
more appropriate to say that the sword aura had cut and polished Jiang Chen,
rather than baptized him.
Regardless, Jiang Chen had become one with the sword aura,
and his light shone patently!
“Brother Chen, Brother Chen, first of all geniuses!” Fatty
Xuan called out with great emotion.
“Jiang Chen, congratulations. You have passed the second
foundational exam with flying colors!” The organizer in charge of this segment
was also agog with surprise, and sincerely admired Jiang Chen’s performance.
Such an amazing performance wasn’t available every day. The
organizer also felt proud to be able to witness such a feat with his own eyes.
“What? Six hours? Are you sure that nothing’s wrong with the
sword aura room?” Du Ruhai found it hard to believe his eyes when he received
the report of the results of Jiang Chen’s second foundational exam.
Even Long Juxue’s prior performance paled in comparison with
this record.
“There’s nothing wrong with the sword aura room. That kid
stayed in there for a full six hours and shot down 120 flying beetles.”
“Jiang Chen!” Du Ruhai’s overcast eyes shot out a sinister
look. “It looks like I would’ve had to suppress you even without Duke Long’s
exhortation. Otherwise, with the grudge that I have formed with your Jiang
family, what place would there be for me if your Jiang family actually rose to
power?”
In this moment, Du Ruhai was even more resolute in his
determination to firmly suppress Jiang Chen.
If he didn’t suppress Jiang Chen, he, Du Ruhai, would have
no future to speak of.
The Jiang Chen of now was the greatest victor of the two
foundational exams, and had won the support of many neutral parties. Many saw
shadows of themselves in Jiang Chen.
Ordinary potential, middlingly dukedom rank. But even with
these circumstances surrounding his birth, Jiang Chen’s performance was not any
less than those top tier heirs.
They had found emotional sustenance, a point of resonance with
Jiang Chen.
So therefore, when Jiang Chen appeared at the testing site
for the third foundational exam, he was actually accompanied by a large crowd
that cheered and applauded him.
Apart from a few preeminent heirs, only Jiang Chen had
enjoyed such treatment.
The third exam was also the easiest out of all of the
foundational exams. It tested the basics, concepts that could be committed to
memory.
Of course, there were also dissertation topics that allowed
for creative leeway - ones that tested the candidate’s experience. The final
score wouldn’t be affected even if these freeform topics were left blank.
As long as one answered all those rote memorization topics,
one would receive enough points to pass the theory exams.
Therefore, there was a saying in the three foundational
exams that as long as one passed the first two exams, the third one was a walk
in the park.
Only idiots or people who really hadn’t studied would fail
out of the third exam.
Jiang Chen walked into the testing site for the third exam in
the midst of a hail of applause.
Four scrolls, four tests represented the major topics from
“The Articles of Martial Arts”, “The Articles of Spirit Medicine”, “The Papers
of Power and Influence”, and “The Papers of Military Strategy”.
Chapter 33: End of Exams, Brothers Lay Their Hearts Open
A generous amount of time was given for the exam and Jiang
Chen wasn’t unduly worried. This third exam was a walk in the park for him.
With the reading abilities that his past life had cultivated for millions of years,
he had developed an almost photographic memory for things that needed to be
committed to memory.
Therefore, this little bit of rote memorization was no sweat
for him.
He inked in his name with a grand flourish of his brush and
started to answer the questions.
About an hour later, he had completed the rote memorization
problems to his satisfaction.
The creative portion was next. This section’s questions
would be more flexible and deeper as well.
Of course, with Jiang Chen’s experiences, these questions
were still so low and crude that they were just a joke to him. However, he
still structured his answers very seriously.
Although the topics were shallow, it wouldn’t do for his
answers to be too insightful. With the Eastern Kingdom’s standards of
theoretical knowledge, it was unlikely for the kingdom to be able to digest
anything that was too convoluted.
With Jiang Chen’s knowledge, if he really answered too
profoundly, then it would be no different to him handing in a blank exam paper.
Anything too profound wouldn’t be understandable... then
what difference would there be to answering nonsense?
Therefore, Jiang Chen racked his brains to start from this
world’s foundation of knowledge, and elaborated with some innovation.
These answers were actually ranked as very low knowledge in
his knowledge banks. But Jiang Chen was still a bit worried that he had gone
outside of the box and created some unnecessary trouble.
Thus, he repeatedly held himself in check and finally
overcame the urge to really elaborate. He controlled the summary for the
creative section and held it at a level appropriate for knowledge found within
the Eastern Kingdom.
Doing it this way actually created more work for him. He
double checked his exam paper after an hour, discovered that it was impeccable,
and then turned it in.
The organizer in charge of this exam sealed Jiang Chen’s
exam into a box in accordance with the rules.
“Jiang Chen, this exam needs to be read by senior officials
and graded by officials from the various subjects. Do you understand this
rule?”
There was indeed such a rule and Jiang Chen paid it no heed.
He nodded.
No matter who graded it, this exam was sure to pass. Jiang
Chen was completely confident about this point.
It was already dusk when he’d completed the three
foundational exams. Fatty Xuan jogged as he kept up with Jiang Chen. With his
weight and body shape, it was tough for him to keep up with Jiang Chen.
Fatty Xuan was panting heavily after a short distance.
“Brother Chen, wait for your brother!
Brother Chen, I’ve reserved a table at the Autumn Crane to
celebrate you passing the three foundational exams. I knew a long time ago that
Brother Chen must be a wolf in sheep’s clothing. You didn’t pass the exams
before to purposefully portray that you’re weak. Heh, numbing the enemy through
strategy!”
Fatty Xuan’s fawning words flowed like the tides and he was
utterly unembarrassed in doing so.
“Let’s not go to the Autumn Crane.” Jiang Chen said faintly,
thought for a moment, and sighed when he saw the earnest Fatty Xuan and Hubing
Yue. “Let’s gather at my place tonight.”
Hubing Yue nodded, “Yes, Brother Chen is correct. My old man
has also said that there is too much going on within the capital recently. We
should avoid going to places like the Autumn Crane.”
“Heh heh. If Brother Chen says not to go, then we won’t go.
Besides, going to Brother Chen’s manor just means more face for us brothers,
right?” Fatty Xuan was an easygoing character and went with the flow instead of
stubbornly sticking to something.
As a personal body servant, this was Jiang Zheng’s moment to
shine. He immediately spoke up when he heard Jiang Chen’s words, “Your steward
will return home to make preparations.”
Fatty Xuan and them were even more relaxed once they reached
the Jiang Han manor.
This was also the first time that Jiang Chen had gotten
together with his best friends since arriving in this world. He was in good
spirits, and listened raptly to fatty Xuan and the others talk of all that had
happened before.
“Brother Chen, wouldn’t you say that that Yang Zong is
completely heartless? To think that you took such care of him back then, and he
recoiled from fear and shrank from responsibility after something happened to
you. He hunkered down and was too afraid to interact with us. Looks like this
person is unreliable. And I even treated him as a brother before. What a
shameful person!”
Fatty Xuan was quite impassioned when it came to Yang Zong.
On the other hand, Jiang Chen laughed easily and decided to
ignore the matter. Everyone had their own ambitions. Yang Zong had chosen the
pursuit of profit and a side that benefited him instead of choosing his
brothers. That was his choice.
Except, Jiang Chen naturally struck off Yang Zong’s name
from his heart.
Fatty Xuan eased off crucifying Yang Zong upon seeing that
Jiang Chen didn’t join in. He changed the topic to the Hidden Dragon Trials.
“Brother Chen, do you actually have any ambitions when it
comes to the Trials?” Fatty Xuan had had a bit too much to drink and his tongue
had become a bit loose.
“What ambitions?” Jiang Chen smiled.
“Brother Chen, I, fatty Xuan, am a stubborn sort. I don’t
think much of any of those premier dukes. I only feel a kinship with Brother
Chen, so if Brother Chen soars triumphantly in the sky, then I will smile even
in my dreams! Brother Chen, I wish you would aim for those preeminent
positions!”
“Indeed Brother Chen, that Bai Zhanyun is just that. You
absolutely have the potential to make a play for a position as one of the four
great dukes.” Hubing Yue was also extremely fervent as he thought of Jiang
Chen’s performance that night.
“Four great dukes?” Jiang Chen murmured lightly and then
grinned widely. “The four great dukes are not my end goal.”
“Ah? Brother Chen, then what is your goal? It would also be
great if you could vault into the ranks of the top ten.” Hubing Yue said.
“Hubing Yue, are you a silly pig?” Although Fatty Xuan was
drunk, his mind wasn’t. With his understanding of Jiang Chen, his tone wasn’t
that he couldn’t nab one of the spots as one of the four great dukes, but that
he didn’t deign to!
As his thoughts traveled down this path, Fatty Xuan’s
immense body shook briefly, his sobriety returning immediately. Looks of
unparalleled fervor shot out from his quickly darting eyes beneath his plump
eyelids.
“Brother Chen, can it be that your goal is the position of
the Eastern royals? Haha, that’s my Brother Chen alright! Great ambitions, damn
straight!”
Fatty Xuan was also a slight bit of a bastard. Add to that
the influence of alcohol, and that resulted in him completely losing all
reservations when talking. He probably hadn’t thought that these words would
already clap him as a suspect for rebellion.
“This… Brother Chen, are you for real?” Hubing Yue was
gobsmacked and his breathing also grew heavy.
Jiang Chen didn’t know whether to laugh or cry upon seeing
how serious these two were. “Fatty Xuan, your imagination is too active. When
did I say I wanted to replace the Eastern royals?”
“Then what?” Fatty Xuan scratched his head and wore a
perplexed look.
“I am a cultivator. It would be a waste of my life if I
pursued momentary wealth. I, Jiang Chen, wish to pursue martial dao with my
life. All common wealth and riches are but floating clouds to me.”
Fatty Xuan became completely listless upon seeing how
serious Jiang Chen was.
“Brother Chen, this doesn't seem like you. What happened to
our previous vows? Didn’t we agree to go crazy together, enjoy everything
together, be wild and free together, and weather all storms together?”
Fatty Xuan pouted as he muttered complaints.
“People have to change.” Jiang Chen sighed lightly. “Fatty,
since you two are my brothers, I won’t voice false words. Although playing
hooky is fun, those days won’t last long. Do you know how many eyes are staring
at the dukedom that you hold in your hands, to speak of nothing else? If it
wasn’t for the dukedom, on what basis do you have to be a dandy? What ability
do you have to be wild and free?”
Fatty Xuan was speechless. How would he not know that to be
wild and free together was just a temporary dream.
How could you be wild without strength? Who would allow you
to be so haughty?
At the end of the day, they were able to be wild and free
together because of a good father and a good reincarnation.
But after their generation had run carefree, what of the
next generation?
This resonated deeply with Hubing Yue, “Fatty, Brother Chen
is right. I too think that only strength is the true law of this world. Look at
Brother Chen’s experiences over the past couple of days, isn’t it a perfect
illustration of this rule? People used to challenge us no matter where we went.
And now? Everyone who sees Brother Chen dare not even look at us. This is the
change brought by strength!”
Fatty Xuan had become an old, lonely man as he despaired,
“But you guys also know that I’m a fatty that no one takes seriously. Training
is a luxury for me. I’ve only reached this step because my old man beat it into
me with his fists and feet…”
Fatty became more dejected as he spoke. Although he was
ordinarily high spirited and looked like a complete dandy, he had a side to him
that no one else could see, a fragile side.
His body size and weight had brought many troubles for him
that others didn’t have. It also brought for him discrimination and mockery
that no one else would understand.
Inwardly sensitive, fatty had always cared a lot about this,
but he had to pretend that he didn’t care at all. He learned to self deprecate
and to joke about himself.
Except, he had met Jiang Chen when he arrived at the capital
for the Hidden Dragon Trials. He had met the only person in this world who
didn’t discriminate against him and even called him brother.
At that moment, fatty Xuan had felt that Jiang Chen was his
confidant - his brother for the rest of his life, and someone that fatty Xuan
would die for.
“Brother Chen do you know? When I first arrived at the
capital, I tried very hard to assimilate into the world of the other heirs. But
I was faced with their discrimination and mockery no matter where I went. You…
you were the first one who called me fatty without a jeering smile on your
face. In that moment, I decided that I would listen to whatever you said for
the rest of my life!”
Fatty Xuan swiped fiercely at his red eyes when he stopped
at this point. “Brother Chen, you were right just now. If we didn’t have a good
father, what right would we have to loaf around, to act crazily? Besides, to
ensure that my descendants have the ability to be a dandy, I must keep this
dukedom!”
A resolute desire that would cause others to straighten with
seriousness appeared for the first time in Fatty Xuan’s eyes.
Chapter 34: Secret of the Nine Laughing Oceans
Jiang Chen still felt some loyalty and friendship towards
the two best friends that his prior self had left behind. Besides, these two
had something in common in that their hearts were trustworthy and that they
were staunch people.
This point suited Jiang Chen’s taste quite well. This was
also a marked, foundational difference between fatty Xuan and Hubing Yue versus
Yang Zong.
Jiang Chen could see that fatty Xuan’s potential was
average, and that there wasn’t the requisite tenacity and fierceness to be
found on him that practitioners needed.
It was perhaps possible in the short term, but it was
impossible for fatty Xuan to maintain a mindset of ‘till death will I cease’ on
the path of martial dao.
Hubing Yue, on the other hand, concealed a heart of martial
dao with strong fortitude beneath his honest exterior.
Jiang Chen knew what to expect with this round of
judgements.
He raised his glass, “Both of you have long since treated
me, Jiang Chen, as your big brother. Therefore, as your big brother I will say
these words today, if you will believe me. Well, no matter if your life’s goal
is to seek wealth and riches, or to pursue martial dao -- I can help you
achieve them.
However, the caveat is is that you remain my brothers -
unchanging brothers for a lifetime.”
Jiang Chen was extremely serious when he spoke these words.
These two were absolutely his brothers right now, but, time could change much.
What he needed was eternal and unchanging loyalty.
“Brother Chen, I, fatty Xuan, have only one thing to say.
The fat on my body is all yours. Whenever you tire of tasting the delicacies
from land and sea and want to try human meat, then come carve it from my body.
If I can’t trust you, then I can trust no one!” Fatty Xuan’s brow didn’t even
crease.
“Brother Chen, I’m not the best with words but I’ve always
felt that you’re a good big brother, a big brother worthy of me to follow.”
Hubing Yue also expressed himself.
“Alright. We’re brothers. For life.” Jiang Chen nodded.
“Let’s stop here today. Remember, come here again after the Hidden Dragon
Trials. I’ll give you a little surprise.”
Jiang Chen also needed to consider what to do with these two
people, and how to help them in a way that wasn’t over the top but in a way
that was curiously effective for them.
Being too over the top would inevitably catch others’ eyes
and incite unnecessary trouble.
Being too stingy might lead to less than ideal
effectiveness. Then the help he rendered was the same as not giving any at all.
This needed to be personally tailored and some time was
needed to muse over it.
It is said that it’s hard to clap with one hand. In any
world, one is always powerless towards some things when relying only on the
power of one. Sooner or later, it would be imperative to cultivate some others.
Jiang Chen did not remain idle after sending off his two
best friends. He went directly into the secret training room and shut his doors
for training.
The six hours that he’d spent in the sword aura room during
the day had helped him comprehend and gain much. When he had been confronting
the 32 fold sword aura in the room, the five meridians true qi and five
meridians in his body had been repeatedly forged, impacted, bathed, and
attacked until they metamorphosed…
Jiang Chen had unwittingly ascended to six meridians true qi
during that battle.
This was also his biggest gain in that battle.
“I can feel that my battle strength has risen at least two
or three times after entering six meridians true qi.” Jiang Chen sensed the
changes in his body. He could feel that his life signs had been strengthened by
a level, and had changed a lot from how he had been when he first entered - it
was as if he had been reborn.
“The battle with Yan Yiming today also obliquely illustrated
a few of my current problems. Although I won, it was a victory gained through
trickery.” Jiang Chen analyzed that battle and had some reflections on the
gains and losses of it.
Firstly, Jiang Chen had been disadvantaged in terms of
martial arts techniques. The previous Jiang Chen had been exceedingly slipshod
when practicing the family’s martial dao techniques. The only one that he’d
truly put some effort into practicing was the jack of all trades “Eastern
Amethyst Qi”, and this was because the Hidden Dragon Trials would test it. If
this wasn’t the case, he probably wouldn’t have practiced it either.
To think that he would still be using the accompany martial
arts techniques of “Eastern Amethyst Qi” to combat foes since coming to this
world, one had to admit that Jiang Chen would have to herald in a new
generation in the field of martial arts techniques.
Jiang Chen familiarized himself with the Jiang family’s
hereditary martial dao methods. Its name was the “Vast Waves Method” and it was
a method that combined training qi and martial arts techniques.
“Vast Waves Method” was a middle-grade martial dao method
and it could be practiced to nine meridians true qi. This was also its upper
limit.
The accompany martial arts techniques were “Wave Breaker”
and “Sea God Fist”.
This “Vast Waves Method” counted as one of the aces of the
Jiang family martial dao methods.
“Indeed a poorer family.” Jiang Chen smiled wryly. “This
world’s wudao ranking seems to be divided into five great degrees of ‘common’,
‘spirit’, ‘saint’, ‘earth’ and ‘heaven’. These five great degrees are then
divided into minor ranks of ‘inferior’, ‘middle’, ‘upper’, and ‘supreme’ rank.
To sum it up, a martial dao method that is common degree, middle rank is a
second grade from the bottom. And this kind of grade is an ace method of the
family clan.”
Jiang Chen had to lament that the starting point of his
reincarnation was indeed a bit low.
Of course, out of all methods under heaven, as long as a
method was able to be ranked, that was still something.
A great many practitioners practiced ordinary methods that
couldn’t even be ranked.
The so called common degree method was actually an
exceedingly precious martial dao classic in a nation such as the Eastern
Kingdom.
What caused Jiang Chen to not know whether he should laugh
or cry was that his previous self had practiced this “Vast Waves Method” since
he was small, but had only just achieved the minor achievement realm.
“How lazy could this fellow have been to practice the family
clan’s prized method to this level of accomplishment? Were his thoughts really
not on training at all?”
In terms of technique training, minor achievement was but
the first step. Skillful, perfection, flawless and great perfection followed
thereafter, and there was even a legendary realm.
Minor achievement meant one was just getting started.
“The upper limit of “Vast Waves Method” was training only to
nine meridians true qi. No wonder father’s training has halted at nine
meridians true qi. It looks like restrictions in methods were indeed sufficient
for a genius to become a mediocre talent within this world.”
A duke’s prized clan method only went up to nine meridians
true qi at the highest. Any further meant reaching the limits. One had to say,
this was a practitioner’s sorrow.
“Ask not how high the heavens are, I ride the waves myself?
Wait a moment…” Jiang Chen suddenly had a sense of deja vu when he read the
first line in “Vast Waves Method”. “Could it be that I’ve seen this “Vast Waves
Method” before somewhere?”
But that couldn’t be the case. Logically speaking, it would
be impossible for an inferior method like the “Vast Waves Method” to enter the
Tianlang Library. That was the library of the Celestial Emperor, how could it
record such a low level method?
But, Jiang Chen truly did have an impression of those two
lines.
He exerted great effort in searching through his memories
and suddenly, a method of “Secret of the Nine Laughing Oceans” surfaced in his
mind.
I made one dream through nine lifetimes and dried the vast
oceans with one laugh. Ask not how high the heavens are, I ride the waves
myself.
Suddenly, many recollections regarding the “Secret of the
Nine Laughing Oceans” poured out from Jiang Chen’s memories in the span of a
moment.
Although this “Secret of the Nine Laughing Oceans” was also
not enough to even garner a glance from those on high, Jiang Chen remembered
this method because he had been moved by the story behind the practitioner who
had created this method when he perused it.
This person had reincarnated nine times for just one glimpse
of the girl in his dreams. But he had waited until the seas had dried up and
the rocks had rotted away, and this finally proved to be unattainable. He had
quickly awakened to the truth, but realized that he had already missed the law
of heaven. He therefore lamented that “ask not how high the heavens are, I ride
the waves myself”.
Although “Secret of the Nine Laughing Oceans” was also not
enough to be called a method of the law of heaven, but it was a great many
times stronger than the “Vast Waves Method”.
The mysteries ensconced inside were at least a hundred times
more than the “Vast Waves Method”.
And, this “Vast Waves Method” was obviously an offshoot of
the “Secret of the Nine Laughing Oceans”. But it had reduced to an exceedingly
mediocre method by the time it had been passed onto the Jiang family clan.
Of a common origin!
“Indeed, destiny naturally plays a hand somewhere. Since
this “Secret of the Nine Laughing Oceans” is destined for me, then I shall
practice it.”
Jiang Chen had previously searched for a method with great
effort, but had never found one suitable for this body.
And now, the Jiang family’s prized method had lead to the
“Secret of the Nine Laughing Oceans”, what was this if not fate?
Jiang Chen’s heart was much more at ease after he had
decided on a method.
There were many accompanying martial arts techniques within
the “Secret of the Nine Laughing Oceans”, but Jiang Chen still decided to focus
on the two techniques “Wave Breaker” and “Sea God Fist” that were of the same
origin for the time being.
But these two wudao techniques naturally had different
names, respectively “Vast Ocean Current Splitter” and “Divine Aeons Fist”.
Martial dao method, martial arts technique, all were selected.
Jiang Chen was in an excellent mood. After all, the
“Amethyst Eastern Qi” was someone else’s method. There always lacked a sense of
belonging when he practiced it.
Jiang Chen knew that he had made the right choice when he
started familiarizing himself with this method. The moment that this method
starting circulating in his body, the acupoints and meridians within his body
almost started resonating together.
Every acupoint emitted a light and rich rhythmic pulse, and
his meridians thrummed slightly when they opened and closed.
“Meridian resonance? Acupoint resonance? This is the highest
degree of endorsement that a body will show towards a method!” Jiang Chen was
delighted.
“Indeed, a family’s own method is the best.” Jiang Chen
thought carefully and understood. Many families valued bloodline heritage when
it came to training in martial dao, and many clans emphasized not sharing
methods with outsiders. In reality, this was a type of tradition, and a type of
agreement between bloodline and method.
Only the suitable is the best.
Jiang Chen thought through this point and thereby understood
this principle.
“Perhaps my mind is filled with all the methods under the
heavens, but those are not suitable for the current stage me. Ultimately, right
now I am but a common practitioner with six meridians true qi. My mindset
should stress this life’s training and not the prior life’s experiences.”
The experiences of the prior life could bring all sorts of
good fortune and pave the road for him, and even let him take shortcuts.
But training would still have to rely on this life’s body to
step over obstacles and embark on the challenge to reach the peak, one step at
a time. This was irreplaceable by any experience.
He started to circulate his true qi, circulating the true qi
of vast waves within his body. Jiang Chen’s meridians became like the lesser
dragons frolicking in the waves of the vast sea, at their hearts’ content.
“Vast waves true qi still lacks a bit of fierceness. It
looks like the true qi within my body requires further forging in order to
truly train some actual results out of the true qi of vast waves.”
After a night of starvation training, it was readily
apparent Jiang Chen’s grasp over vast waves true qi was quite adept. However,
it was uncertain how much stronger it was than when he’d practiced Amethyst
Eastern Qi.
However, due to the short training period, fierceness was
obviously lacking within the vast waves true qi. If dominance was lacking, then
this method would be taken down a few notches.
“Fierceness is not something to be gained from closed door
training.” Jiang Chen thought carefully and sighed in dissatisfaction. “Looks
like, it’s almost time to experience the outside world, once the time is
right.”
Chapter 35: You Won’t Die if You Don’t Seek Death
The repressed, bone-deep, wild nature of Jiang Chen’s past
and present life came abruptly roaring out uncontainably when he had the idea
of traveling a bit in the outside world.
Of course, this travel wasn’t something that Jiang Chen
could arbitrarily decide.
First, he had to pass the Hidden Dragon Trials before
leaving. Otherwise, leaving the capital without permission meant forfeiting the
Trials.
The Trials were Jiang Chen’s first major objective upon
arriving in this world - there was no way he would give up.
For one, he had to fight for his father’s right to continue
holding the dukedom.
In addition, the great undercurrent of power that had formed
in the capital left Jiang Chen with no avenues of retreat - he had to fight!
Jiang Chen woke up early the next morning and went for a
round of practice in the manor’s practice field. He had prepared to pay a visit
to the Hall of Healing when he saw that the sun had risen to the height of
three connecting bamboo segments.
He had signed a contract with the Hall of Healing and
naturally wouldn’t break his appointment.
Except, he didn’t have time to set foot outside before fatty
Xuan and Hubing Yue came hurriedly rushing in. Their faces looked like the sky
was caving in.
“Brother Chen, why are you acting like nothing is going on?”
fatty Xuan almost dashed into the door with a rolling posture, and came out at
the very start with this question when he saw Jiang Chen.
“What about me?” Jiang Chen was baffled.
“Brother Chen, something major has happened!” A sense of
anxiety also pervaded throughout Hubing Yue’s clumsy honesty, a type of anxiety
that accompanied the sky caving in.
“What?” Jiang Chen felt that the expressions on these two
weren’t a joke.
“Brother Chen, you didn’t pass your foundational exams!”
Fatty Xuan was almost to the point of tears in his worry. “Brother Chen, you
lectured us yesterday, how…”
“Didn’t pass? Impossible!” Jiang Chen shook his head
resolutely. He was firm, that was absolutely impossible. “You guys also saw my
exams.”
“We saw it alright, you passed the first and second exams.
However, you didn’t pass the third exam.”
The third exam, the theory exam, but that was one that no
bystanders could watch.
“I didn’t pass the theory exam?” Jiang Chen thought back and
resolutely shook his head. “I still don’t believe it. I wouldn’t have erred on
a single one of the rote memorization portions. It was enough to guarantee
passing. I also felt that I elaborated quite well in the creative portion,
unless the examiner was blind.”
Fatty Xuan was like an ant on a hot pan in his haste and he
kept pacing around in circles.
“No, no. Brother Chen we can’t sit still in the face of such
adversary such as this. Didn’t you get strike up a relationship with Princess
Gouyu? Hurry and enter the palace to request that the princess think of
something. This matter will be irredeemable when the final results are
announced!”
According to the rules of the foundational exams, if one of
the three foundational exams had yet to be passed before the deadline, that
meant the candidate hadn’t passed the exams.
If the foundational exams weren’t passed, then the candidate
had no qualifications to participate in the Hidden Dragon Trials afterwards.
Therefore, there was naturally nothing to speak of when it
came to retaining the dukedom.
Although Jiang Chen was a bit dumbfounded, he didn’t panic.
As he was lost in thought, the duke of Jiang Han also trotted out quickly from
the manor. He had obviously also just received the news.
“Chen’er, you…” Jiang Feng walked towards Jiang chen.
“Father, I feel that something must be amiss here. The only
thing I can guarantee is that there is no way my answers wouldn’t’ve passed the
exam.”
Jiang Chen’s tone was quite firm with no room for doubt.
Jiang Feng had originally wanted to console his son, but
blanked for a moment upon hearing his words. His eyebrow crooked, “Then this is
to say that someone is conniving against our Jiang family!”
“Damn, daring to do something even to the Hidden Dragon
Trials, is this not giving the royal family face? No, Brother Chen, we can’t
let them get away with this!”
“Right, we must thoroughly investigate. We must understand
why if we are to die!”
Jiang Chen spread out his hands, “I must get to the bottom
of this. Father, stay within the manor and avoid throwing ourselves into
disarray. Your son will go to the Trials testing site to look up my answer
scroll. If it truly was my fault, then I, Jiang Chen, am not someone who cannot
take a loss.”
He paused, and his words turned in another direction as his
tone hardened. “But if I learn of someone being up to no good, then they have
very successfully infuriated me this time.”
The news of Jiang Chen not passing the foundational exams
quickly spread like a plague throughout the capital. Some felt it was
unimaginable when they recalled how formidable Jiang Chen had been in the first
two exams, whereas others gloated over misery.
Of course, even more people took a wait-and-see attitude.
Those with even a little bit of brains could sniff out the undercurrents of
conflict and could hear the bloodthirsty sounds of armored cavalry in this.
When Jiang Chen had arrived at the Trials testing site, it
was already packed to the brim with people who were all waiting to see the
show!
“I want to check my answer scroll!” Jiang Chen was
straightforward.
There was nothing for Jiang Chen to be low key about, now
that someone had taken their bullying to his face.
“Check your answer scroll? According to the rules, you only
have the right to apply for such after three days.” The eyebrows of the
official in charge quirked slightly and he didn’t even raise his head. His
voice was lazy, as if he was almost about to die.
“I want to check it now!” Jiang Chen said diffidently.
“Who do you think you are? Checking it because you say so?
On what basis?”
“On this basis!” Jiang Chen’s palm slapped down hard on the
table, and the dragon medallion representing the royal family actually embedded
itself on that metallic table, leaving a big, easily noticeable mark.
“What?” The official in charge immediately woke up upon
seeing this item. He frantically stood up and left a panicked and battered
sentence behind. “Please wait here, I will inform my superiors.”
With the engraved dragon medallion beating a path, this
meant he had Eastern Lu’s imperial decree within the Trials testing ground. All
difficulties became but floating clouds in front of royal power.
Finally, a middle aged organizer called Organizer Ma
arrived.
“Young duke Jiang, according to the rules, a three day
period are requisite before an application can be made for checking your answer
scroll. However, since you have a royal token, you do indeed possess the
qualification for special treatment. Let’s do it this way, wait a moment while
I pull up your answer scroll. In addition, checking scrolls needs to be
conducted under the personal supervision of our main organizer. Now, since our
Lord Du has not yet arrived, you may need to wait.”
“No need to wait, I will personally supervise.” At the
moment, a crisp and sonorous female voice traveled in from outside.
Heads turned and saw that it was Princess Gouyu, dressed in
leather and boasting of a body so sexy that it would cause nosebleeds.
A royal princess and royal token appearing all at once in
the Trials testing site. This immediately caused the site’s atmosphere to
become fervently excited.
Everyone knew that Princess Gouyu ordinarily didn’t give
much heed to the affairs of the Hidden Dragon Trials. She would only control it
remotely sometimes and occasionally tell Du Ruhai to give a report.
Princess Gouyu was the main organizer - the first in charge,
in name. But, it had always been Du Ruhai in charge of these matters. It
wouldn’t be unrealistic to say that Du Ruhai was shutting out the heavens with
one hand.
Except, no one had thought that the normally aloof Princess
Gouyu would descend personally today.
“What? Can it be that even I, who ranks as the number one
main organizer, has no authority to decide upon the matters of the Hidden
Dragon Trials?”
A frosty expression materialized on Princess Gouyu’s face.
Organizer Ma’s forehead sweated and he didn’t even dare
breathe. He immediately went to pull Jiang Chen’s answer scroll.
After going through the process, the four answer scrolls
were finally unfurled one by one. Scroll checking commenced under the witness
of several examiner authority figures.
“This isn’t my answer scroll!” Jiang Chen shook his head
with a cold smile after flicking his first glance.
Organizer Ma shifted his gaze to the officials from the
various subjects who were in charge of reading the exams. He asked, “You were
the ones who graded these answer scrolls. Take a look and see if these are the
ones that Jiang Chen handed in.”
The officials all took a look and said, “These were indeed
the answer scrolls that we graded. Look at these answers, unbearable mistakes
and omissions, answers irrelevant to the question, completely nonsensical
responses. We really couldn’t pass him with these kinds of answer scrolls.”
The various subject officials had been chosen to read exams
naturally because they had authority, possessed integrity, and were able to
garner acceptance from others.
Bystanders’ first opinion was that Jiang Chen’s answer
scrolls were indeed quite terrible after hearing the officials’ words.
Princess Gouyu’s phoenix eyes made a quick movement as she
looked towards Jiang Chen.
“Don’t look at me. These idiotic answer scrolls definitely
didn’t come from me. You’re the main organizer of the Hidden Dragon Trials, you
take care of it.”
Princess Gouyu inwardly ground her teeth. Would it kill you,
you brat, to speak a bit more smoothly? She would have to take a slight turning
point and make a bigger fuss out of this matter in order to create some room to
maneuver.
“Everyone has their own explanation of this matter. As the
organizer, I cannot be partial to any side. How about this, let’s have Jiang
Chen take the exam again right now?” Princess Gouyu’s proposal was born out of
compromise.
The various subject officials didn’t care either way. It was
just reading the scrolls again.
However, someone didn’t agree.
“Princess, this must be avoided at all costs. The ancestors
laid down the law that no makeups can be taken if the exams were not passed
after the deadline. The princess is the main organizer and a royal princess.
How can the writs of the forefathers be abolished for a mere heir of a duke?”
It’d been said that he wasn’t here yet, but Du Ruhai had
appeared in the nick of time.
“Du Ruhai…” Jiang Chen faintly guessed at something when he
saw Du Ruhai’s face.
“Jiang Chen, you disregard law and discipline, greatly
disturb the Trials testing site, your crimes are heinous!”
“Breaker of rules, tempting the princess into chaos, scheming
to abolish the writs of the forefathers, you’re a traitor!”
“You’re a mere heir to a duke, how dare you!”
Du Ruhai’s words sprayed one after another and one large hat
of crimes after another was buckled onto Jiang Chen’s head.
The former’s nose had almost traveled to Jiang Chen’s
vicinity.
At this moment, an incredible scene happened!
Jiang Chen’s arm whirled as he viciously flung a slap onto
Du Ruhai’s face.
“Jiang Chen, do not be reckless!” Princess Gouyu spoke
hastily.
But, a burning, stinging big slap had landed solidly on Du
Ruhai’s face. A bright red mountain formed by five fingers was imprinted on Du
Ruhai’s face, appearing all the more conspicuous due to his grim, darkened
face.
“Du Ruhai, I’ve warned you not to mess with me. But, you are
indeed incorrigible. One won’t die if he doesn’t seek death. Since you seek
death, I, Jiang Chen, will gratify you!”
“Come, I want you to accompany me to the Aurum Imperial
Hall. I want to confront you in front of His Majesty. If my answer scroll is
wrong, then I will docilely hand over the dukedom. If someone is playing a
trick, then Du Ruhai, the head on your shoulders is mine!”
Jiang Chen completely ignored the complete shambles that the
scene had fallen into, completely ignored those gobsmacked expressions as he
strode out like the shooting stars, speeding straight towards the Aurum
Imperial Hall.
Leaving behind a site full of a dumbfounded - utterly
transfixed - crowd of people.
Princess Gouyu was expressionless as she too left swiftly,
leaving Du Ruhai with no time to even squeeze out tears if he’d wanted to cry.
“Oh heavens! This Jiang father and son want to rebel!
Beating up the organizer of the Hidden Dragon Trials, greatly disturbing the
Trials testing site, abolishing the writs of the forefathers! I too want to
present my case to His Majesty in the Aurum Imperial Hall. This official seat
will seek the annihilation of the Jiang family clan!” Du Ruhai’s expression was
beyond grim!
