Ji Fanchen and the others were speechless.
"Ye Feng, weren't you acting all high and mighty before? Damn, why are you acting like a coward today?" Zhang Yun was filled with resentment and stomped his feet in anger.
"Young Master Ji, look at this coward..." Zhao Feihong was also gritting his teeth in hatred, turning to Ji Fanchen behind him.
Ji Fanchen was equally frustrated by Ye Feng's attitude, but even he couldn't act too recklessly on such an occasion today. He could only suppress his anger, wave his hand, and sneer coldly:
"Hmph! Let him pass. I want to see what kind of results this little bastard can achieve today! Ye Feng, don't think this is over. You better pray that I don't encounter you in the final combat assessment, or I'll make you regret being born in this world!"
Zhang and Zhao reluctantly stepped aside.
Ye Feng walked through the crowd with a calm expression. However, as he passed by Ji Fanchen, he paused slightly and said in a calm tone:
"In the combat assessment, the one who should be praying not to meet me is you."
With that, he walked straight toward the Tianyun Qi-Testing Tablet, leaving Ji Fanchen's mouth twitching in anger as he turned and slammed his identity token on the registration desk.
"Register me. I'm going to crush this little bastard from the very first round of the assessment!"
The crowd gathered around noisily.
Ye Feng's disdainful arrogance and Ji Fanchen's domineering attitude made today's drama even more entertaining.
The discussions among the people grew louder:
"That Ye Feng, he looks so confident~~"
"Confident? I think he's just scared, not daring to take on Ji Fanchen's challenge, right?"
"Hard to say, look at his eyes, he doesn't seem to care about Ji Fanchen at all. Maybe he really has some hidden cards?"
"Whether he does or not, we'll see in the upcoming tests. It's starting, it's starting, Ye Feng is about to begin the first round of testing!"
Nearly two thousand curious onlookers gathered under the Tianyun Qi-Testing Tablet, standing on tiptoe to watch Ye Feng beneath the massive stone tablet.
A nearby inner disciple had completed the registration and nodded to Ye Feng, saying, "Outer disciple Ye Feng, the first item of the inner gate assessment—Profound Qi Attribute Test, begin."
Profound Qi Attribute is a martial artist's innate martial talent. Generally, a martial artist's profound qi is white, belonging to ordinary profound qi. However, some exceptionally gifted martial artists are born with a dantian containing a Five Elements Profound Root, allowing them to cultivate more powerful Five Elements Profound Arts in the future. Naturally, they receive greater favor and cultivation from the Tianyun Sect.
The Tianyun Qi-Testing Tablet possesses the ability to discern a martial artist's profound qi attribute. As long as Ye Feng injects his profound qi into the tablet, the corresponding result will appear, directly affecting his final score in the inner gate assessment.
Ye Feng was confident in his golden profound qi.
Under the watchful eyes of thousands, he walked to the Qi-Testing Tablet, extended one hand, and slowly placed it on the massive black stone tablet.
He didn't intend to hide his strength. On the contrary, having fallen behind for eight years, he urgently needed to prove his talent to make the Tianyun Sect allocate all its resources for his cultivation, accelerating his progress. Thus, he immediately channeled the golden profound qi within him into the tablet.
Swish.
The profound qi entered the tablet silently.
Everyone held their breath, waiting for several seconds, but nothing happened.
Hmm?
What's going on?
The Tianyun Qi-Testing Tablet showed no reaction at all?
He channeled the golden profound qi again, even causing faint golden light to emanate from his body. Yet, strangely, the Qi-Testing Tablet remained as still as a meditating monk. Only after half a minute did a faint white spiritual light bloom at the top, quickly fading away.
"Outer disciple Ye Feng, Profound Qi Attribute, Ordinary Grade-Two, next!"
The inner disciple beside him announced the result, causing an uproar in the crowd.
"Tch~~ I thought this Ye Feng had some skills, but in the end, he's just a Grade-Two ordinary profound qi. What a letdown!"
"Strange, that guy clearly had golden spiritual light, so why is it still ordinary profound qi?"
"What's so special about golden light? Someone once had rainbow spiritual light, and it was useless. The Qi-Testing Tablet hasn't made a mistake in thousands of years. This Ye Feng is just putting on a show."
People shook their heads, feeling disappointed in Ye Feng.
Meanwhile, Ji Fanchen and his group burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! Ye Feng, you trash, I thought you had some potential, but you're just a waste who broke through to the One-Vein Profound Realm after eight years. You're still a loser, hahaha!"
On the other side, Zhao Feihong laughed obnoxiously, spitting at Ye Feng as he approached the Qi-Testing Tablet:
"Bah! Brat, watch this. Even though I can't beat you now, my profound qi attribute is much stronger than yours!!"
Swish.
With that, Zhao Feihong channeled his profound qi into the tablet. In an instant, a small green whirlwind formed at the top of the Qi-Testing Tablet, weak but clearly indicating the uniqueness of his profound qi.
"Outer disciple Zhao Feihong, Profound Qi Attribute, Wood Attribute Grade-Two, next."
Wow!
Zhao Feihong's profound qi is wood attribute!
The crowd was slightly surprised.
Variant profound qi is rare among martial artists. Among the over a thousand disciples participating in the assessment today, no more than a hundred possess it. The one-in-ten chance instantly elevated Zhao Feihong's status in the eyes of the crowd.
"Hmph! See that, Ye Feng!" Zhao Feihong boasted arrogantly, as if he had already avenged himself against Ye Feng: "Just wait, once I enter the inner gate and cultivate wood attribute profound arts, I'll crush you within a year... Hey, damn it, why are you walking away again!"
In the distance, Ye Feng had already turned and walked toward the second test, not taking Zhao Feihong's words to heart.
He wondered to himself, "Something's not right. The golden profound qi clearly has great power, so why didn't the Qi-Testing Tablet react? Could it be that even the Qi-Testing Tablet can't detect the nature of this golden profound qi? This is quite strange..."
Ye Feng couldn't understand, and neither could anyone else. Little did they know, at the moment Ye Feng channeled the golden profound qi into the Qi-Testing Tablet, on one of the seven main peaks of Tianyun, Cloud-Falling Peak, a figure in a dilapidated palace suddenly raised its head.
"What? The Qi-Testing Tablet showed a reaction?"
The figure vanished from its original spot, rushing out of the hall at a speed as fast as a fleeting light.
***
Boom!
Meanwhile, as Ye Feng turned and hadn't walked far, the Qi-Testing Tablet suddenly erupted with a blazing red flame. The towering firelight soared four to five meters high, like a giant torch burning above the stone tablet, illuminating the faces of thousands of disciples around.
"Outer disciple, Ji Fanchen, Profound Qi Attribute, Fire Attribute Grade-One!!"
The announcement triggered a wave of exclamations.
"Wow!!"
"This seems to be the most powerful variant attribute profound qi this year!"
"Young Master Ji truly lives up to his name. No wonder the Ji Family invests so much in him. He's truly impressive!"
The crowd's praise surged like a tide, causing Ji Fanchen and his followers to beam with pride.
However, what the crowd didn't notice was that the inner disciples responsible for the assessment showed little surprise, even a hint of disappointment.
Is Ji Fanchen really the strongest this year?
Sigh, in the past, there were at least a dozen Grade-One variant profound qi each year, and Senior Brother Li even had an exceptional profound qi spiritual body. But now, a single Grade-One profound qi makes these newcomers so thrilled?
Tianyun Sect... is truly declining year by year...
"Hahahaha!" Over there, Zhang Yun and the others, oblivious to the situation, laughed heartily, praising Ji Fanchen to the skies and shouting at Ye Feng's distant figure:
"Hey, Ye Feng, do you see what a true genius looks like? Our Young Master Ji has Fire Attribute Grade-One profound qi, while you're just a Grade-Two ordinary trash. How dare you challenge Young Master Ji? Kneel and admit defeat already! Hahaha!"
Many nodded in agreement, feeling that Ye Feng's gap with Ji Fanchen was widening, making it impossible to compare. Admitting defeat early might leave him some room for maneuver.
Amidst the sighs and disappointed gazes, Ye Feng didn't look back and continued walking toward another crowded area on the square—the second test, the Profound Qi Power Test.
"Senior Brother, I'm Ye Feng, here for the second assessment."
Ye Feng handed over his token, and as the disciple in front registered him, he glanced at a two-meter-tall white rectangular stone block nearby.
The Profound Qi Stone, a traditional tool for testing the power of profound qi. Martial artists channel their strongest profound qi and strike it, with the depth of penetration as the measurement standard.
In Tianyun Sect's history, there was once an extraordinary genius who, during the inner gate test, struck the stone, penetrating to the elbow, causing a sensation throughout the sect and becoming a legendary figure.
In recent years, it's rare for anyone to penetrate more than half a foot during the inner gate test. Even the most talented genius of the past decade, Li Huayu, only achieved eight inches, a peak that others could only look up to.
Ye Feng approached the Profound Qi Stone.
After the previous attribute test, the crowd's view of Ye Feng had changed, with less expectation and more disdain.
After all, having the ability to challenge Ji Fanchen was considered impressive, but if he was just a waste, it was a joke.
Just as Ye Feng was about to begin the test, Zhao Feihong's arrogant voice suddenly rang out from behind.
"Stop, Ye Feng!!"
These guys just won't quit!
Ye Feng paused slightly, a hint of impatience in his eyes.
Behind him, Zhao Feihong and Zhang Yun flanked Ji Fanchen, striding over with mocking expressions:
"Ye Feng, Young Master Ji was giving you face by waiting for you, but you're too much of a coward. How can we let you go first? Step aside and let us go first!!"
"Senior Brother, is this allowed?" Ye Feng looked at the inner disciple beside him.
"Who goes first doesn't matter. You people should hurry up and test, stop wasting time!"
The inner disciple glanced at Ye Feng, his tone indifferent. Clearly, Ye Feng's earlier behavior had greatly lowered his impression, and no one was willing to support him anymore.
Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan