The elder''s loud cry made the stands fall silent. Many were rubbing their ears, notquiteunderstanding if they had misheard or if the examiner hadsimplycalled out the wrong grade.


    "The elder didn''t make a mistake, did he? I heard the word ''jadeite'' correctly, right? Haha, I must be dreaming, pinchme...OW! I said pinch, not hit!"


    "Jadeite... how many years has it been since such talents have appeared among the younger generation?"


    "The Heavens have blessed the Heavenly Sword Sect!"


    After a brief pause, the noise returned. Many elders were breathing heavily with excitement. They could not fail to understand that the appearance of a genius like Xie Qing could be a turning point for the sect.


    It wasnot onlyabout attractiveness in the eyes of young talentsbut alsoa potential increase in the average level of disciples!


    "Amazing! The Four Great Competitions havebeen postponeduntil next year...finally, our sect will show everyone a miracle!" many elders joyfully shouted.


    The reaction of themaincourtyard disciples was slightly sour. A young manwho wasmuch younger than them had received such wonderful andamazingresults, so they, as seniors, hapletelylost their authority.


    As for the reaction of the leading figures, such as Lian Lin, it was more calm than the others. Although this still amazed the girl, she was prepared for such a result.


    "Considering that he has the legacy of two main swordsmen in history... it''s no wonder that he has reached such a level of understanding," Lian Lin thought. She yawned and looked at Xie Qing, who stood proudly alone on the podium: "There''s the bastard. Acting like he''s someone important, but he''s probably already ready to jump for joy."


    Lian Lin smiled and rolled her eyes, reading her younger brother''s mood. And, in general, she was right.


    "Jadeite!"


    Xie Qing had been preparing for this day for a very long time. He had not slept at night and had trained to strengthen his understanding. It was not easy to reach this level by just reading books.


    Practice was needed!Every night,in any weather, his sword shook the air with piercing strikes.His fingerswere coveredwith calluses, but in the end, he achieved sess!


    "Finally!"


    Even the most excellent genius, without effort,will be nothing but garbage.Climbing to the top of the mountain, one must be careful not to be carried away by the wind.


    Lian Lin pursed her lips and sighed. Unconsciously, a smile appeared on her face, which did not look as carefree and sleepy as usual.


    Rather, this smile gave her a certain adult charm.


    "Well done".


    \\*\\*\\*


    Although one could admire Xie Qing''s resultsforever, this was still an exam.It was necessaryto immediately return to the schedule and appoint the next stage.


    The participants looked dejected, clearly having lost their fighting spirit. They no longer hoped to have a chance to shine on this exam.It can be saidthat the scene with Xie Qing was too overwhelming for them.


    "Sigh. Nowtheywill probably doubt themselves," thought the elder examiner, and then looked at Xie Qing, who had looked indifferent from theverybeginning - as if it didn''t matter to him: "He is both a blessing and a curse.He will be hatedout ofenvy,but respected for his strength.Thisis the eternal curse of geniuses."


    When you see someone more sessful than you several times...it makes you feel difort. And when he is younger than youbyseveral times, it causes envy.


    Neen years old.It seemed thatin the world of cultivation, this was still like a child, but now this child was standing on the stage and blinding everyone around him.


    "Well, let''s see what the future holds," thought the elder and shook her head, then announced out loud: "The secondstage of the exambegins. Youhave toshow your best technique and make this mannequin turn dark yellow!"


    The audience stirred with interest, eagerly awaiting the performance. It was this round that weeded out those who were unskilled in sword techniques.


    "Finally, an interesting show!"


    "I wonder what this genius will show this time..."


    "I''m even afraid to imagine. I hopehedoesn''t cut the arena in half..."


    "Hahaha, that''s impossible... uh..."


    "Bastard, you raised the red g!"


    Ignoring the overly excited audience, theelderexaminer took a token in her hand with the names of the participants. She thought for a moment and called out the first name:


    "Li Jun,e on stage!"


    "Okay".


    Step by step, a tall man walked onto the stage. He had long chestnut hair and gray eyes. He looked handsome, tall, and muscr.


    "This is Li Jun from the Li family! He is considered one of the strongest disciples of the inner courtyard!"


    "Oh? He exudes the aura of a cultivator at the fifth stage of Core Formation! Amazing!"


    "True! Moreover, his Master is the famous swordsman Elder Chen Lu!"


    "Looking forward to the results!"


    The mannequin was broughtonto the stage. It was two meters tall, looked quite simr to a human, and although it had no facial features,this mannequin was consideredhigh-ss. It adjusted to the level of thedisciple


    Many can forget, but themannequinhad the following levels of damage:


    Light green: weak, a small scratch.


    Dark green: a minor wound.


    Light yellow: deep wound.


    Dark yellow: serious injury.


    Light orange: almost fatal wound.


    Dark orange: fatal wound.


    And so, Li Jun found himself in front of themannequin. He drew his sword from itsscabbard.


    "This is... the Bright Moon de! One of the precious swords of the Li family!"


    "Just think, they gave this sword to him! Now it will definitely be fun!"


    The Bright Moon de. It was afairlyold sword in terms of history. The de had a silver color that shone brightly. The handlewas madeof ancient wood, which yielded only to immortal stone.


    The peculiarity of this sword was its strength and sharpness. In addition, it strengthened attacks performed from the Sword Aura every time.


    "Li Jun... alright, you can attack whenit''sconvenient for you".


    The man nodded and took a deep breath. He stepped back two steps with his leftfoot,and two steps to the left with his right foot. He leaned his torso forward at 45 degrees. He held the sword with both hands at waist level, at arm''s length.


    "Fuuuh..."


    Taking a deep breath, Li Jun''s eyes lit up. He gripped the handletighter,and then muttered:


    "Blessing of the Moon Goddess!"


    The elder squinted from the bright silver light. In the vision of each, an image of the moon appeared.


    Soon, the de, which was the source of the light,easilyand without problems collided with the head of themannequin.


    Boom!


    A muffled explosion sounded, and two small cracks appeared under Li Jun''s feet. He clenched his teeth and swallowed blood, suppressing the recoil with his Qi.


    For a split second, silencehung,until themannequinbegan to change color.


    First, it was light green, and then it darkened. Thenlightyellow, which did notst long and also darkened.


    And so, the mannequin turned light orange. The mannequin was still swayingandthe light orange in ces darkened, but in the end, returned to its usual state - light orange.


    "What a pity..." Li Jun muttered with a sigh.


    Indeed. The audience sighed disappointedly. Even though the light orangecolorwas a good result...it was still a pity that Li Jun could not achieve higher results.


    Nevertheless, the audience still weed his achievements with loud apuse. The result was already quite good.


    "This is a good result. You have a great future ahead of you, young man!" praised the elder.


    "Thank you," Li Jun bowed and stepped back from the stage.


    The next was Bai Lan from the Bai family. He looked proud and arrogant, walking forward with his nose in the air.


    "This is Bai Lan... an arrogant bastard. Since his older brother Bai Baiwas killed, he has be even more insolent."


    "What did you expect? The Bai family is an ancient family who were subjects of the Golden Emperor in ancient times. They have history behind them and power."


    "Pfft, my cat shit on their history! Just a family of arrogant and greedy idiots!"


    The Bai family had high control over spiritual items such as weapons, as well as a high share in the sale of pills and medicinal herbs.


    If it were not for the fact that Yu Longfeng strictly regards the concentration of control over any industry on one hand, the Bai family would-be monopolists.


    Bai Lan was not deaf and heard all the mockery directed at him. Even though hewas oveewith righteous anger, those who sat on the tribune were not pitiful boys from the backyard, so to insult them was more expensive than himself.


    He took a deep breath and wiped his forehead, on which a vein had popped out.


    "Calm down, calm down. Don''t listen to these lower beings, theydon''t understand the greatness of the mountains and the height of the Heavens!"


    Having calmed down, Bai Lan waited for the signal from the elder and then drew his sword.


    "This is..."


    "The Crimson Devil de... what a terrible and disgusting de!"


    The Crimson Devil de had a dark red color as ifblood.


    The de was 80 centimeterslong,andhad terrible serrations, which, when hitting thebody of the enemy, would reduce the chance of survival.


    Such swordswere mostlyconsideredforbidden because they were more often than not endowed withspecialcharms.


    "Hm..."


    Bai Lan smiled. He acquired this sword twenty years ago on the ck market. In addition to the fact that it hadspecialcharms for strength and sharpness, it also had holes for poison on the tips of the serrations.


    Ifthis weaponwasusedin a real battle, the enemy''s chance of survival wouldbe halved.


    "Silence!" came the loud cry of the chief elder, who, frowning, looked at the stands: "As long as the sword does not possess devilish Qi, it will be considered suitable for the exam! Andnowdon''t interfere!"


    Thishad a good effect. Everyone fell silent, waiting for the beginning of Bai Lan''s test.