Chapter 132: The Arrogant Disciples of the Imperial City
“Brother Li, Brother Li, over here!” Zhang Dabao waved to Li Jiansan from within the packed crowd.
“Make way, make way!”
With his plump body, Zhang Dabao shoved through the throng, panting heavily as he reached Li Jiansan.
“Brother Li, I thought you weren’t coming.”
“The freshman assembly requires us to sign in. Let’s go do that first.”
“All right.” Li Jiansan nodded.
At the center of the martial arena stood a massive black stone tablet, its surface covered with thousands of dazzling names. Li Jiansan took out his identity token. The instant it touched the tablet, a faint radiance flashed across its surface, and Li Jiansan’s name appeared upon it.
This black stone tablet could sense the identity tokens of Azure Dragon Academy. It was incredibly ancient and was said to have existed since the academy was founded.
“Done.” Zhang Dabao soon finished signing in as well.
Afterward, Li Jiansan and Zhang Dabao followed the directions on their identity tokens to their assigned positions.
Hum!
A moment later, five beams of light shot out from the Hall of the Dean.
When the radiance faded, five figures stood before the hall.
The instant they appeared, all sound in the arena vanished, leaving it eerily silent.
An old man in a blue robe with white hair stood on the far left and spoke in a leisurely, ancient voice:
“First of all, congratulations on successfully passing Azure Dragon Academy’s examination and becoming members of the academy.”
“Good grief, that man is ancient. His hair’s already completely white.”
The moment Zhang Dabao saw the white-haired elder step forward, his expression fell.
“Don’t tell me all the elders in our academy are old men like that?”
Li Jiansan glanced at him. “What? You’re unhappy about it?”
“Of course. Look at them—all a bunch of decrepit old men. What kind of strength could they possibly have?”
Li Jiansan said indifferently, “The older their qualifications, the more resources they command. Naturally, their cultivation isn’t weak either.”
After hearing this, Zhang Dabao nodded, though he looked only half-convinced.
Above the Hall of the Dean, the white-haired elder continued, “I am the Grand Steward of Azure Dragon Academy’s Outer Court, responsible for the outer disciples.”
“The best class in the Outer Court is Class A, taught by Elder Liu Yan. I hear he is a renowned martial expert. As for the worst, that would be Class D, taught by an elder named Wu Jiang, who is at the ninth level of the Foundation Establishment realm...”
“What? An elder only at the ninth level of Foundation Establishment? He’s even weaker than some core disciples. Amitabha, I pray they don’t assign me to Class D.”
Amid the surrounding discussions, Li Jiansan learned that Azure Dragon Academy’s Outer Court was divided into Classes A, B, C, and D. Class A was the best, while Class D was the worst.
“Heh. Why didn’t Azure Dragon Academy bother screening its recruits this year? The ones they admitted are all a bunch of commoners, dragging down the academy’s standards. It seems these pieces of trash can only be left for Class D.”
A sharp, grating voice came from behind the Grand Steward.
Normally, Azure Dragon Academy recruited from throughout the Kingdom of Jiang. Most of its disciples were nobles from the Imperial City, or at the very least members of influential clans with a certain status.
Still, some disciples came from other powers beyond the Imperial City.
In the eyes of the noble disciples, these people naturally became the “commoners” they so contemptuously referred to.
Thus, at the freshman assembly, the disciples from the Imperial City were seated toward the front, while those from other powers were relegated to the very back.
“Liu Yan, what do you mean by that?”
One of the five figures, a burly middle-aged man, spoke furiously.
Liu Yan’s expression remained calm, a trace of mockery at the corners of his mouth.
“Oh, I nearly forgot. Without these commoners, Elder Wu Jiang’s Class D probably wouldn’t have anyone to recruit. But I don’t mean anything by it. I simply think your disciples are all trash!”
“How dare you insult my disciples?”
Elder Wu Jiang’s face turned livid, especially when Liu Yan said that his disciples were all trash. His expression became even uglier.
How could he not be enraged by such words?
It was not only Liu Yan. The disciples from the other powers in the arena also began to burn with anger.
“That’s going too far! He actually described us so contemptuously!”
“Exactly! We all passed the academy’s examination and earned the right to enter Azure Dragon Academy. Why do they act so superior, belittling us as commoners?”
“Exactly! I refuse to accept this!”
Hearing the uproar below, Liu Yan sneered.
“Heh. If you commoners refuse to accept it, you may challenge any disciple from the Imperial City. If anyone manages to win, I’ll give him a bottle of Three-Flower Body-Tempering Pills.”
“Three-Flower Body-Tempering Pills!”
At Liu Yan’s words, many people trembled and cried out in astonishment.
Body-Tempering Pills had the effect of refining the body and could greatly enhance a martial artist’s physical strength.
To understand Body-Tempering Pills, one first had to understand the levels of physical cultivation. Unlike one’s cultivation realm, the physical body was divided into nine stages. The first stage was the weakest, while the ninth was the strongest. Once one reached the peak of the ninth stage, one’s physical body could rival the legendary special constitutions.
Body-Tempering Pills, which could refine the physical body, were therefore highly coveted by martial artists.
A Three-Flower Body-Tempering Pill could directly raise a martial artist’s physical cultivation by one stage.
It could forcibly elevate the strength of a martial artist’s body by an entire level. Such a pill was the stuff of everyone’s dreams—enough to drive people mad with desire.
At that moment, everyone stared at Liu Yan with blazing eyes.
Yet for a long while, no one dared step forward.
The disciples of the Imperial City possessed advantages others could never hope to match. From childhood, they had practiced profound martial arts and cultivation techniques, and they enjoyed access to every kind of resource. Whether in cultivation or martial skill, they held an enormous edge over disciples from other powers.
“Hahaha! It really is the nature of commoners to cower. None of you even dares enter the arena...”
Liu Yan swept his gaze over the silent crowd at the back. Seeing that no one moved, he burst into laughter.
But before he could finish, an extremely discordant voice rang out from a corner of the martial arena.
“Li Jiansan challenges the disciples of the Imperial City!”
“Any one of you may come forward!”
Li Jiansan’s brazen declaration echoed through everyone’s minds.
This commoner intended to challenge every disciple recruited from the Imperial City, the whole lot of them, the moment he stepped forward. What astonishing arrogance!
“Which of you will go first?”
From an inconspicuous corner at the rear of the crowd, a young man slowly stepped out. His robes snapped loudly in the wind.
This commoner actually dared challenge the disciples of the Imperial City—and allowed any one of them to fight him!
What audacity!
“What an arrogant brat. I’ll see what you’re made of.”
A burly young martial artist emerged from the crowd and looked at Li Jiansan coldly.
Seeing the tension between them, Zhang Dabao shouted, “Brother Li, beat him senseless! Don’t hold back on my account!”
Everyone was stunned.
What did this have to do with him?
After a pause, Li Jiansan said calmly, “Make your move.”
“Damn you! How dare you look down on me like that? I’ll make you kneel and beg for mercy!”
The young martial artist let out a furious roar. The true essence within his body rumbled explosively. As he stamped on the ground, streaks of fire gathered around his fist. The flames grew increasingly fierce, gradually taking the form of a terrifying fire serpent.
One of the elders’ expressions shifted slightly.
“This boy is Zhang Chong. I examined him yesterday. His true essence is exceptionally vigorous, and his martial foundation is clearly solid. He has also cultivated one of his martial techniques to the mastery stage. Among those of the same realm, there are probably very few who can defeat him.”
“Indeed. It seems the outcome will be decided in a single move.”
After hearing the elder’s words, everyone’s expressions changed slightly. As expected of a disciple from the Imperial City—his strength was truly formidable.
“Boom!”
Zhang Chong threw his fist forward. The fire serpent shot through the air at incredible speed, rushing toward Li Jiansan’s chest.
Bang!
As the muffled impact rang out, a figure was sent flying and crashed heavily to the ground.