Zhang Ruochen was assigned into the first of the Half-Saint groups. There were 60 Saints in his group, each of whom were elite men with cultivation exceeding the Dawn State of the Heaven Realm.
Moreover, all of them came from well-connected families.
Some were the descendants of the powerful Saint families, some the young masters of Suzerains, and others the children of imperial court officials.
The first group, also known as the “absolute Elite Group”, was composed of the 60 highest-ranked novices in the Sword Technique Department.
Duanmu Xingling was also assigned to the first group.
As for Huang Yanchen, she had ranked slightly lower after the three rounds of assessment. She was placed in the second group.
At the moment, everyone from the first group was gathered in an open martial-arts arena, standing neatly. They seemed youthful and energetic.
The men outnumbered the women; there were 38 men and 22 women.
“Look! It’s Zhang Ruochen, the young king of the new generation. It is said that few people are able to withstand three of his moves. If anyone survives ten of his attacks, he or she becomes famous overnight.”
“Is he really as strong as the rumors say?”
A glamorous woman with a pair of dragon horns on her head was gazing at Zhang Ruochen with doubt. She could not understand why he was so legendary.
Her name was Ao Xinyan, and she was a Divine Dragon half-human. She had a half-dragon body, meaning she had both the blood of human beings and the blood of the Dragon tribe. At the age of 24, her martial cultivation had reached the Final State of the Heaven Realm.
She had entered the first group in third place, next only to Zhang Ruochen and Duanmu Xingling.
However, it did not mean that Ao Xinyan was weaker than Zhang Ruochen or Duanmu Xingling. She just hadn’t accumulated as many military merits as them during her experience in the Five Elements Primitive World.
Ao Xinyan had a perfect body. She had subtle curves and snow-white skin. Her head was dotted with colorful glazes and crystals. Even without running exercises, the mist between heaven and earth converged around her, making her appear infinitely pure like a holy jade lotus.
“Zhang Ruochen defeated the Sword Sanctum’s Lu Fantian in eleven strikes, and the Orange Star Emissary of the Black Market Excellence Hall in ten. Don’t you know that? That’s quite the difficult achievement, even for his counterpart Luo Shuihan, a Saintly Being.”
“Zhang Ruochen will definitely be the Group Leader of the first group. And from now on, he is not only a benchmark to fight against, but also an example to learn from.”
The crowd was still bustling.
Ao Xinyan sniffed at this. A hint of cold sparkled in her eyes.
She had never seen Zhang Ruochen in battle before. She had no idea what his real power was.
But, she definitely believed in her own strength.
She had grown up never losing to her peers. Not even once. It was out of the question that she would show respect to them.
Over the years, in the Saint Academy, the Group Leader of the first group in the Sword Technique Department represented the highest level of disciples in their generation. Also, they had the opportunity to compete for the glorious position, “Young Master” of the Martial Market Bank.
The young master of the Martial Market Bank had a very high status and power. It was equivalent to that of the Demonic Son or the Saintess of the Moon Worship Demonic Sect. The young master dealt with worldly affairs on behalf of the Martial Market Bank.
Every season, the battle over Group Leader of the first group in the Sword Technique Department was always unprecedentedly fierce. Many people fought vigorously for the position.
This year, Zhang Ruochen completely outshone the other geniuses. No one dared to volunteer for the Group Leader.
However, there was one exception. Of course, it was Ao Xinyan.
Ao Xinyan walked up to Zhang Ruochen, puffing out her plump chest and raising her white chin. There was a callousness in her beautiful eyes. “Zhang Ruochen, if you want to be the Group Leader, you have to beat me first.” She said.
Zhang Ruochen raised his head and stared at her.
It was true that Ao Xinyan possessed surpassing beauty. She had refined features and a voluptuous figure. In particular, the white skin exposed outside her clothes was as silky and supple as a nephrite.
Of course, Zhang Ruochen looked at her without carnal desire, only appreciation. “I have never said that I wanted to be the Group Leader. If you are interested, just go for it. I will never compete with you,” he said.
Ao Xinyan sneered. “We all know the Group Leader of the first group has to be the strongest Saint. In other words, I can only be the Group Leader if I defeat you first. Enough talk, Zhang Ruochen! If you’re a real man, draw your sword and fight with me.”
“Today is the first day of school. I don’t want to cause trouble,” Zhang Ruochen responded.
If it they hadn’t been meeting the lecturer of the first group, Zhang Ruochen would have already gone to the Pavilion of Book Collection. He would never stay here, wasting time.
“Admit it, you just don’t have the guts to fight with me! You are afraid of losing to me and losing the opportunity to be the Group Leader,” Ao Xinyan jeered, aiming to enrage him.
“You’re right, junior sister apprentice Ao. He must be afraid of failure. That’s why he won’t fight with you.” A meddlesome woman said in a voice dripping with mockery.
Zhang Ruochen looked in the direction of the voice. It was another beautiful woman. She was a disciple of Saint Xi Gentry, Xi Yunxi.
Zhang Ruochen had once played against her on the Stairway to Heaven.
She was an eminent God’s favored daughter. She had a sanctified left hand and strong power. She could not be underestimated.
Zhang Ruochen was not surprised at all to see her here.
A male Saint stood beside her. His eyes were glittering with a gleam of light. “In the Divine Dragon half-human clan, Ao Xinyan is regarded as an once-in-a-century Genius. Her cultivation is very powerful, she even defeated a Monk in the Fish-dragon Realm.” He laughed. “Maybe Zhang Ruochen really isn’t as good as her.”
He was also a successor to a powerful Saint family. Perhaps he was one of her suitors, for he stood really close to her.
Ao Xinyan gave a short, derisive laugh. “The so-called king of the new generation is nothing but a coward. How disappointing!”
“Whatever!” Zhang Ruochen responded indifferently.
Ao Xinyan had wanted to provoke him with her words. Unexpectedly, he ignored her completely and had no intention of fighting.
“Since you won’t fight with me, from now on, you can’t call yourself the king of the new generation in public,” Ao Xinyan said.
Zhang Ruochen responded, “I never claimed to be the king of the new generation.”
Ao Xinyan glared. She was getting angry.
BANG! She suddenly shook her fingers, mobilized her Genuine Qi and pulled out the Bluewater Dragon Patterned Sword. She whammed the sword towards his heart.
She had failed trying to force him to attack mentally. She had no choice but to irritate him physically.
She was going to compete with Zhang Ruochen today. Only by overcoming him, could she become the Group Leader.
SNAP!
A translucent strength flew from a distance and hit the Bluewater Dragon Patterned Sword.
It was so strong that the sword vibrated violently, causing her fingers to go numb. Like she had hit a curtain of light, she bounced back.
“Who?” Ao Xinyan huffed grimly.
SWISH!
Above the crowd, a strong white light emanated. It formed into a light column that dropped down connecting the heaven to the earth.
An 10-centimeter woman in red fell from the sky.
She levitated two meters from the ground with a Five-colored Auspicious Cloud under her feet. She exuded a sacred aura all over her body.
It was the Demi-saint Lingshu. Zhang Ruochen had met her before.
“Half-Saint.”
All the Saints present knelt down on one knee, respectfully bowing to salute the Demi-saint Lingshu.
A Half-Saint was a kind of existence separate from mortals.
Even Monks in the Fish-dragon Realm needed to kneel and salute when encountering Half-Saints, not to mention these Saints.
“Half-Saint.”
When Ao Xinyan realized it was actually the Half-Saint, she was shocked. She immediately knelt on one knee and stopped challenging Zhang Ruochen.
Demi-saint Lingshu gazed at the 60 Saints. “From now on, you are the Saints of the Half-Saint group of the Sword Technique Department. And I am your lecturer. You can call me Master Lingshu, or Demi-saint Lingshu.”
“Yes, Master Lingshu,” all the disciples shouted together.
Many of them were excited. From now on they would be Half-Saint students.
She continued, “Half-Saint groups are different from Fish-dragon Realm groups. Saints who make it to Half-Saint groups are the elite of the elite. You are the most outstanding people in the entire Eastern Region. Therefore, I won’t do a step-by-step guide. It is more necessary for you to perceive and practice yourself. Of course, if you come across something intractable, you can always come to me.”
“As Saints in the first group, you must be strict with yourselves.”
“I have only two requirements for you. First, you must enter the top 200 of the Heaven Board within five years. Secondly, your cultivation must break through the Fish-dragon Realm within ten years. Those who cannot make it will be kicked out of the group.”
BOOM!
Her words delivered a shocking blow that woke the Saints up completely.
Demi-saint Lingshu’s two requirements were abnormally difficult.
The truth was, it was already extremely difficult to enter the top 200 on the Heaven Board, let alone to do it within five years.
Five years was either too short or too long.
Demi-saint Lingshu turned a blind eye to their anxious reactions. “Five years, it’s long enough for you to fight into the top 200 of the Heaven Board. You have two choices. You can either go to the Coliseum of the Martial Market and challenge the top 200 masters on the Heaven Board. Or you can go to the Battlefield of the Primitive World and accumulate sufficient military merits. So choose.”
“Of course, my requirements to the Group Leader will be more stringent. This person must enter the top 10 within three years. If you fail, I will find a replacement.” She looked out over the Saints.
“Now, I want to know, who wants to be the Group Leader?”