On the martial arts arena, the elder who had just spoken shot a furtive glance at Mu Fan, who had yet to take the stage.
He waved his right hand, and a flash of black light disappeared into the Spirit Brilliance Bell before him.
At that moment, all eyes were on Mu Fan, so no one noticed the elder’s action.
Mu Fan, on the other hand, slowly walked forward and came to a stop before the Spirit Brilliance Bell.
Haaaah…
As he exhaled, a sharp glint flashed in Mu Fan’s eyes, his gaze fixed on the inscriptions on the Spirit Brilliance Bell.
“Hm?”
However, as Mu Fan got a clear look at the inscriptions engraved on the Spirit Brilliance Bell, a look of shocked suspicion flashed across his eyes.
It wasn’t as if he’d never seen a Spirit Brilliance Bell before.
In fact, his master had once used one to test his very own talent.
He saw that the once-distinct inscriptions on the Spirit Brilliance Bell were now much dimmer.
Of course, the change was unnoticeable from a distance.
‘So, this is what they had waiting for me, huh?’
Mu Fan instantly understood.
This sanctimonious elder before him had likely already sided with Feng Yuan.
‘No wonder my token was for the very last spot.’
“Huh?
Why isn’t the Spirit Brilliance Bell reacting at all?”
“Don’t tell me he can’t even make it chime once?”
As the crowd stared at the silent Spirit Brilliance Bell on the martial arts arena, their expressions grew a bit strange.
In the distance, Ying Weiwei and Feng Hao exchanged a look, a flicker of ridicule in their eyes.
‘Today, at this very moment, I will make you understand that there are some people you simply cannot afford to offend.
Even daring to resist is a sin in itself!’
In the pavilion above, Feng Yuan watched this unfold, a cruel, sinister light flashing in his eyes.
What that elder had just done was to seal the Spirit Brilliance Bell.
Even if the person being tested possessed the talent to make it chime nine times, there would be nothing they could do!
‘In that case, there’s no need to deliberately hide my strength anymore.’
A slight smile touched the corners of Mu Fan’s lips.
He had been wondering how to control the Spirit Brilliance Bell’s chimes to avoid causing a commotion, but it seemed that wouldn’t be necessary anymore.
Immediately, the Bone of Creation in Mu Fan’s chest began to stir silently.
Within his Dantian, the Chaos Tripod also began to rapidly absorb and release Spiritual Qi.
CRACK!
Just as the crowd was busy murmuring about Mu Fan, the previously motionless Spirit Brilliance Bell on the arena suddenly trembled violently.
BOOM!
The thunderous sound echoed throughout Wood Source Peak as the Spirit Brilliance Bell on the martial arts arena shattered violently, sending fragments flying in every direction.
SWISH!
SWISH!
SWISH!
The crowd below scrambled to dodge.
Fortunately, a spiritual formation surrounding the arena absorbed some of the blast’s power, so no one was injured.
“What’s going on!”
“How could the Spirit Brilliance Bell explode?”
The crowd stared in astonishment at the figure on the arena, crying out in alarm.
“The Spirit Brilliance Bell wouldn’t just explode for no reason!”
“Could it be that Mu Fan used some kind of trick?”
“What kind of bullshit is that?
The Spirit Brilliance Bell is a Spirit Grade Top-Grade Spiritual Artifact.
You think Mu Fan, at the sixth level of the Spirit Absorption Realm, could destroy it?”
“Then how do you explain this?”
“I don’t know either.”
The elders in the pavilion above cried out in shocked disbelief.
Beside them, Shen Muyao, who had been lounging lazily in her seat just moments before, now stood up with a look of astonishment on her face.
Of everyone present, only Mu Fan remained calm.
The Spirit Brilliance Bell’s explosion was exactly what he had anticipated.
He now possessed the Bone of Creation and the Eye of Chaos, with the Chaos Bell residing within him.
Furthermore, his body had been refined by the Luohou Essence Blood, long ago transforming into a True Demon Physique.
With all these powers combined, how could a mere Spirit Brilliance Bell possibly withstand the full, explosive force of his talent?
‘Damn it, could this Spirit Brilliance Bell have just happened to reach its breaking point?’
On the martial arts arena, the elder, who had been complacently waiting to watch Mu Fan’s downfall, was now filled with shocked suspicion.
He quickly dismissed the thought, however.
Since the founding of the Taiqing Sect, Spirit Brilliance Bells had been decommissioned before, but only because the inscriptions on them had been completely worn away.
“Hmph!
The Spirit Brilliance Bell is destroyed.
Mu Fan’s talent assessment is a failure!”
Composing himself, the elder’s voice boomed like rolling thunder across the entire martial arts arena.
“Tsk, tsk.
You’re still getting eliminated.”
Hearing the announcement, Ying Weiwei’s expression was the very picture of gloating satisfaction.
“Wait!”
However, before Mu Fan could even voice his objection, Shen Muyao, from the pavilion above, fixed her distant gaze upon the elder on the stage, her eyes filled with scrutiny.
“Hm?”
The elder on the stage, having been interrupted in front of everyone, was about to erupt in anger.
But when he turned and saw that the speaker was Shen Muyao, his expression instantly changed.
Seeing the look she was giving him, he immediately grew anxious.
“Mu Yao, do you have an objection?”
The white-bearded elder beside Shen Muyao, whose status was clearly much higher than the other elders, posed the question.
“Of course.
The Spirit Brilliance Bell shattered, but that doesn’t mean Mu Fan’s talent is lacking.
How can we so easily conclude that Mu Fan has failed the assessment?”
Shen Muyao nodded, a sharp gleam flashing in her eyes.
“But…”
The other elders started to voice their objections.
“A sect-wide grand competition cannot be handled so carelessly!”
After saying her piece, Shen Muyao turned her gaze back to the green-robed elder on the stage.
“This…”
Although the green-robed elder was intent on eliminating Mu Fan, he couldn’t help but lose some of his confidence in the face of Shen Muyao’s questioning.
He subtly lifted his gaze, glancing in Feng Yuan’s direction.
“Yeah, the Spirit Brilliance Bell exploding doesn’t necessarily mean Mu Fan’s talent is no good, right?”
“That’s true.
There are plenty of other Spirit Brilliance Bells.
Just let Mu Fan test again.”
The spectators below began to murmur in agreement.
“Fine.
You can test again.”
The green-robed elder knew not to provoke public outrage, so he had no choice but to wave his hand and produce a new Spirit Brilliance Bell, gesturing for Mu Fan to step forward.
“Hmph!”
Seeing this, Mu Fan let out a cold laugh.
Others might not have noticed, but with his Eye of Chaos, he had clearly seen the green-robed elder tamper with the new Spirit Brilliance Bell as well!
‘Fine, I’ll just have to teach you a lesson, then.’
Seeing that the green-robed elder still refused to give up, Mu Fan no longer held back.
A powerful aura erupted from him as he fully activated all of his boons: the Bone of Creation, the Eye of Chaos, the Chaos Tripod, and his True Demon Physique.
In the span of a single breath, the Spirit Brilliance Bell before him exploded once again, right before everyone’s eyes.
“What in the world is going on!”
“This is so strange!
I’ve never heard of a Spirit Brilliance Bell exploding before!”
Everyone present—whether it was the disciples, the elders in the pavilion, or Feng Yuan watching from afar—cried out in shock, all their previous composure utterly shattered!
“I refuse to believe this!”
Now committed to seeing things through to the bitter end, the green-robed elder took out yet another Spirit Brilliance Bell.
“Continue!”
A vein throbbed on the green-robed elder’s forehead as he stared resentfully at Mu Fan.