Volume 1, Chapter 7: Passing the Three Trials

The reputation of the Taixuan Sacred Land is about to be completely ruined!

"Liu Dongyue..."

The Grand Elder of the Taixuan Sacred Land stared at the back of Liu Dongyue in the Water-Moon Mirror, his teeth grinding in hatred. Where did this ancestor pop out from? Where did he get those bizarre spiritual treasures? And that Vajra Talisman—who on earth drew it? To think it could withstand the fourth layer of the Ninth Grade's Pangu Axe Technique!

"Investigate him!" the Grand Elder roared. "Find out where this fellow named Liu Dongyue came from."

"Yes!" His subordinates hurried off to investigate.

"You three, make sure you properly 'greet' this Liu Dongyue!" The Grand Elder then transmitted this message to the three disciples overseeing the trial.

Mount Baikul.

There was a disciple stationed at the foot, the waist, and the summit of the mountain. They had been sitting in meditation, but upon hearing the Grand Elder's transmission, they all opened their eyes, expressions of confusion on their faces.

Who was Liu Dongyue? Wasn't their junior brother, Lu Tianxing, supposed to be the one coming? Although they were all disciples of the Taixuan Sacred Land, their cultivation far surpassed Lu Tianxing's; all three of them had transcended the Ninth Grade and reached the Transcendence Realm. They were considered elites within the Sacred Land.

The original script was for Lu Tianxing to arrive, for the three of them to go easy on him, let him pass the trial to the summit, and then present him with the Prajna Axe in front of everyone. No one expected it wouldn't be Lu Tianxing.

The elder had previously given instructions: if an accident occurred and someone other than Lu Tianxing showed up, they were to deal with him ruthlessly. He was absolutely not to be allowed to obtain the Prajna Axe.

On the plaza of the Taixuan Sacred Land, the various sects present were stunned that the first place in the final trial had been taken by an unknown disciple, and one who was merely at the Fifth Grade.

How ironic! The Taixuan Sacred Land had suffered a massive loss of face today. Everyone secretly gloated, eager to see the Sacred Land humiliate itself to the very end. Meanwhile, the Taixuan Sacred Land hurriedly sent people to the Wind-Sand Valley to deliver clothes to Lu Tianxing.

At the same time, Liu Dongyue had already reached the foot of Mount Baikul. He was exceptionally excited; he never expected that he would take first place in the trial.

At the foot of the mountain, a Taixuan disciple was already waiting. Leaning against an ancient tree, he caught sight of Liu Dongyue approaching and froze. The boy was wearing tattered Taoist robes, and judging by his Qi, he was only at the Fifth Grade. How could such a cultivation level have taken first place? Was this a joke?

"You're the one in first place?" the disciple asked, looking Liu Dongyue up and down.

"Yes, Senior Brother. I am here for the trial," Liu Dongyue said, still struggling to contain his excitement.

"Hah," the disciple sneered. "Fine, let the trial begin. According to the rules, I will suppress my cultivation to match yours. You strike first, and after three moves, I will counter."

"Then, Senior Brother, forgive me," Liu Dongyue said, cupping his hands in a salute.

"We'll see who needs forgiveness. Go ahead and give it your all, Junior Brother," the disciple laughed.

Liu Dongyue knew he couldn't actually compete with a Taixuan disciple; that would be suicide. His only reliance was the Seven Treasure Gourd. Its functions were shameless, but they worked! If he stripped someone clean, they wouldn't have the nerve to keep fighting in front of everyone while swinging their "sausages" in the wind, right?

"Absorb!"

With a loud shout, the Seven Treasure Gourd emitted a brilliant green light. The disciple was taken aback; he hadn't expected Liu Dongyue to use a spiritual treasure right from the start.

"How ridiculous. I haven't even drawn a weapon, what can your gourd possibly—ah!" Before he could finish, the disciple felt his clothes rip apart, and his trousers were sucked into the gourd. In the blink of an eye, he looked like a peeled egg.

"This is outrageous!"
"You little thief, how dare you humiliate me!"
"Don't you run!"
"Stop right there!"

Liu Dongyue ignored him. He let the disciple hide in the bushes and hurl insults; it was all just background noise. He had heard so many curses today that his ears had grown callouses. A few more insults wouldn't make him lose a piece of flesh.

"Kid, I'll remember you!"

...

At the waist of the mountain, the second disciple was even more incredulous. A mere Fifth Grader had taken first place and managed to climb up from the foot of the mountain?

"Junior Brother Ma Heng is a total waste, unable to deal with a Fifth Grader."
"Kid, you go first. By the rules, I give you three moves."
"Haha, the Seven Treasure Gourd? What use is that against me? Even without a weapon, I can crush you with my bare fists."
"What the hell! You shameless brat, what is that thing?"
"Get back here! If you have the guts, give me back my clothes and let's fight!"
"Don't pretend you can't hear me, you shameless bastard!"

Back at the Taixuan Sacred Land plaza, everyone was stunned. What kind of spiritual treasure was that? It was terrifyingly effective. Many of them actually wanted one now. It was the ultimate artifact for humiliation! Though, it was a bit immoral and indecent.

The faces of the Taixuan Sacred Land elders were as black as the soles of shoes.

"Grand Elder, if even Gu Yanzhi in the final stage loses, what will we do? The Prajna Axe..." one high-ranking member said with a grim expression.

The Grand Elder stared fixedly at the mirror, saying nothing. That was the Prajna Axe, which the Lord of the Taixuan Sacred Land had gone to great lengths to acquire. If they handed it over to an outsider, the Sacred Land would truly lose all its dignity.

"Regardless, he must not pass this final stage!" A dark glint flashed in the Grand Elder's eyes. "Gu Yanzhi, you must not lose face for the Taixuan Sacred Land in this stage!" he transmitted to the summit.

On a blue stone at the peak, a young man was lying down, sipping wine from a cup. Hearing the transmission, he gave a disdainful smile and shook his head. "Don't worry, Grand Elder. I, Gu Yanzhi, will certainly not bring shame to the Taixuan Sacred Land."

With that, he reached out, and a massive boulder nearby shattered. From within it, a battle axe shimmering with cold silver light flew into his hand. The axe hummed, its sharpness seemingly capable of cleaving mountains and rivers.

"That is the Prajna Axe!" The crowd outside couldn't help but be moved. It was a divine weapon from the Divine Weapon Rankings. Even those who didn't use axes were tempted to abandon their own weapons to master the axe. Holding such a weapon would increase one's strength far beyond a simple increment. Such treasures were rare and could only be found in powerful organizations like the Taixuan Sacred Land. It was ranked within the top fifty of the Divine Weapon Rankings.

"Good, use the Prajna Axe to deal with him!" the Grand Elder nodded in approval. He wasn't sure if Liu Dongyue still had that Vajra Talisman, but even if he did, it didn't matter. Gu Yanzhi was a Transcendence Realm master; with the Prajna Axe in hand, he could cleave through any talisman! Besides, the rules didn't say a Taixuan disciple couldn't use the axe.

Under the gaze of the masses, Liu Dongyue finally reached the summit.

"Oh?" Gu Yanzhi saw him and smiled. "Fifth Grade?"

"Yes," Liu Dongyue nodded, cupping his hands. "Senior Brother, are you the examiner for the final stage?"

"Correct," Gu Yanzhi said slowly. "I saw your battles with Junior Brothers Ma Heng and Xu Yun from here. I must say, your Seven Treasure Gourd is quite interesting."

Liu Dongyue frowned. This man had seen the gourd and remained so calm; he clearly had a plan. This was troublesome. Had he reached the final stage only to fail here?

"Well then, Senior Brother, let's not waste time. Shall we begin?" Liu Dongyue asked cautiously. "The previous rule was that I get three moves first. That won't change, will it?"

"Naturally not. The Taixuan Sacred Land keeps its word," Gu Yanzhi said, chin held high with pride.

"Very well." Liu Dongyue took a deep breath and lifted the gourd.

But at that moment, a smirk appeared on Gu Yanzhi's lips. He took a step forward, and to the shock and bewilderment of everyone, Gu Yanzhi knelt directly before Liu Dongyue and held the Prajna Axe high above his head.

"I concede. The Prajna Axe is yours."

"Pfft!" The Grand Elder of the Taixuan Sacred Land spewed a mouthful of old blood. That brat had just surrendered! Everyone else was completely dumbfounded. What was happening? Even Liu Dongyue was stunned—he hadn't even made a move yet!

Liu Dongyue looked blankly at the Prajna Axe before him and picked it up. It felt warm to the touch. Gu Yanzhi stood up, laughed, and walked away. He had seen clearly from the summit how Ma Heng and Xu Yun had been stripped bare, hiding in the bushes while exposing their backsides to curse—it was humiliating. Gu Yanzhi cared about his reputation; he wasn't going to go streaking. Since the Grand Elder had warned him not to lose face, he decided to hand over the axe; otherwise, being stripped naked would be an even greater disgrace.

As Liu Dongyue took the Prajna Axe, the trial officially ended, and the light of teleportation arrays appeared beneath everyone's feet. Moments later, everyone was back on the plaza of the Taixuan Sacred Land.

All eyes were fixed on Liu Dongyue. He felt a complex mix of gazes—envy, jealousy, hatred, murderous intent, dissatisfaction, defiance, and fear...