Secular Immortal of the Nine Realms - Chapter 144
Chapter 144: Who Dares to Steal My Disciple?!
The other imperial offspring stepped forward for the spirit assessment.
Some managed to evoke three tolls, but there were also those who failed to evoke a single toll at all. In the end, of the thirty people or so, only the Sixth Princess managed to evoke four tolls.
This poured cold water over the crowd’s enthusiasm. They thought that the other imperial offspring should at least be of medium cultivation talent, considering how Xia Yu was able to evoke seven tolls, but to think only the Sixth Princess met the mark…
In contrast, this showed just how rare Xia Yu’s cultivation talent was, which prompted the crowd to look at him in awe. It was the same type of gaze that Fang Chen had received back then.
Xia Yu had never enjoyed such treatment, and his heart swelled up with pride.
He looked at Fang Chen once more, and coincidentally, the latter looked back at him too. However, Fang Chen’s gaze was as placid as ever, so much so that he seemed to see a hint of disdain and hostility in it too.
The first one I’ll kill is you once I become a powerful cultivator, Xia Yu sneered in his mind.
For some reason, he hated Fang Chen’s gaze. It irked him how the latter acted the same as before despite having become blind.
The Sixth Princess, who had evoked four tolls, was taken in by Immortal Aunt Firecloud. No one competed with her as they knew that there would be more people with medium cultivation talent to come.
No one took in any of the other imperial offspring who evoked three tolls, so they could only trudge to their previous positions with lowered heads. Their mothers looked a little rueful.
The Sixth Princess was a few years younger than Fang Chen. As she was walking past him, she suddenly turned over and said, “Xia Imperial Duke, it was thanks to you that I didn’t have to marry Longdu’s Zhou Xiu. I would have missed this opportunity if so.”
Her words should have been relaying gratitude, but they were spoken with a lofty tone. The surrounding officials frowned.
“You’re too polite, Your Highness. The path of immortality is a tough one. May we meet again,” Fang Chen replied with a smile.
The Sixth Princess chuckled. “We might, if Xia Imperial Duke possesses cultivation talent too.”
With that, she took her place beside Immortal Aunt Firecloud.
“Old Ancestor, Xia Imperial Duke is a highly talented martial artist. I believe he should have decent aptitude as a cultivator too,” the Great Xia’s emperor suddenly spoke up.
Xia Yun turned to Fang Chen and said, “Come here for your spirit assessment.”
The crowd looked at Fang Chen with curiosity-filled eyes. Fang Chen was Great Xia’s number one expert, so they couldn’t help but wonder how many tolls he would evoke. Would it be more than Xia Yu?
Xia Yu also stared at Fang Chen with conflicted eyes. On the one hand, he didn’t want him to undergo the spirit assessment and benefit from this opportunity, but on the other hand, he also wanted him to go through it so as to prove his superiority.
It looks like they don’t know that he’s already a cultivator. Jinnan and the others are unable to see through him too. I wouldn’t have known better myself if not for Clearlotus telling me either. The treasure he’s using to conceal his aura must be formidable, Abbess Moonchaser thought with a smile.
She had no intention of telling others that Fang Chen was a cultivator, as the latter was going to face off with the Blood Spirit Cultist soon. It would be detrimental to reveal his aces in advance.
With such a thought in mind, Abbess Moonchaser casually cast her glance at the thousands of people gathered in the vicinity.
Amidst the crowd was a grandfather-grandson duo. The young grandson had a glazed look in his eyes, whereas the old grandfather looked excited by the festivity. There were many of such people among the crowd, so they didn’t particularly catch anyone’s attention.
“I’ll pass. I don’t intend to walk the path of immortality,” Fang Chen said after some thought.
He was not worried about his lacking talent, but he didn’t think there was a need for him to go through this as he had already chosen to join the Three Thousand Dao Gate. That was a sect far stronger than any others here.
Fang Chen’s rejection further sparked the crowd’s curiosity.
Xia Yu interjected with a smile, “Imperial Duke Fang, you are the only transcendental-grade duke in our Great Xia, as well as our number one expert. This is a rare opportunity, so I hope you won’t miss it. Perhaps, you could join me in the South Heaven Sect.”
Quite a few people voiced their agreement too. There were even officials who urged him to undergo the spirit assessment.
Minister of Justice Jiang Yushu and the Fifth King exchanged gazes. They didn’t say a word as they reserved their concerns. They knew that Fang Chen’s position in Great Xia would plummet if his cultivation talent proved to be lacking today.
Many would take this opportunity to take him down.
The attention was suddenly all on Fang Chen. In the end, even the empress also spoke up, “Chen’er, why don’t you give it a try.”
“Aunt, I doubt that I am suited for cultivation,” Fang Chen shook his head as he said. However, he stood up and began making his way toward the Spirit Gauging Bell. “But since you’re the one asking me, the least I can do is to give it a try.”
Excitement rippled across the crowd.
Xia Yu was both excited and worried. His hands wouldn’t stop trembling.
“Hm? He seems to be blind?” Elder Jinnan remarked.
“That appears to be the case.” Immortal Aunt Firecloud and the others nodded.
Elder Jinnan frowned. “His blindness will disadvantage him as a cultivator even if he’s talented.”
Xia Yu’s heart was put at ease upon hearing those words. He looked at Fang Chen gloatingly.
“I bet Imperial Duke Fang possesses superior cultivation talent.”
“But what will happen to Great Xia if Imperial Duke Fang becomes a cultivator? Who’ll suppress those Greenpine scums?”
“Why are you still afraid of Greenpine scums? After today, the people of Greenpine will have to take a detour around us!”
“That’s true! Hahaha!”
Such murmurs could be heard from the crowd.
An old man lightly patted a child’s head and asked, “My good grandson, he is Fang Chen?”
“…Mm.” The child nodded with a dazed expression.
The old man had heard that name from one of Zhou Yizeng’s transmissions. This person had played a critical role as to why Zhou Yizeng was able to procure six Blood Spirit Divine Pills from Great Xia.
With such a thought in mind, the old man’s smile deepened. But at the same time, he found it a pity that he couldn’t continue using Great Xia as a pill cauldron anymore.
Under everyone’s gaze, Fang Chen walked up to the Spirit Gauging Bell.
“Strike the bell with your fist. Don’t use your inner ki,” Xia Yun instructed.
Fang Chen nodded. He was also curious to know what his aptitude was, though his guess was that it should be inferior. With this thought in mind, he gathered his strength in his fist and struck the Spirit Gauging Bell.
He felt a surge of spirit ki flowing into his body from the Spirit Gauging Bell. It circulated within his body before attempting to return to the Spirit Gauging Bell, only to dissipate before it could do so.
This meant that the Spirit Gauging Bell wouldn’t even reverberate.
“I guess I’m unable to evoke even a toll from the Spirit Gauging Bell.” Fang Chen shook his head with a bitter smile. Perhaps I wouldn’t have any talent as a cultivator at all if not for the encounter I had at the Three Realms Mountain.
The crowd fell silent too.
This… Not even a single toll?
Xia Yu was just about to say something when a loud reverberation suddenly echoed from the Spirit Gauging Bell. Not only so, but slight cracks also appeared on the artifact’s surface too.
Dong!
Everyone was stunned. This doesn’t seem right.
Even Elder Jinnan was taken aback.
Fang Chen was startled too. A surge of energy suddenly flowed out of his body and struck the Spirit Gauging Bell. He had never noticed such a surge of energy in him before.
A silhouette manifested above the Spirit Gauging Bell, and a furious bellow ensued, “Who dares to steal my disciple?!”
A terrifying aura rippled from this silhouette. All of the cultivators present, including Abbess Moonchaser, collapsed to the ground under its suppression.
The mortals were unfazed, but there was an old man amidst the crowd who fell to the ground with eyes filled with disbelief.
