Free Web NovelChapter 1781 - You Dare?!
An uproar swept through the crowd as soon as those words fell. Deep smiles immediately spread across the faces of many mentors, for it seemed that Lu Baoguo and the others had arrived well prepared.
Bai Jingye, Nangong Shan, and several other mentors stood silently in the distance, observing the scene.
They had suffered tremendous losses during the class assessment, yet they still had not found an opportunity to settle their debt with Liu Wuxie. Now, seeing so many people surrounding and pressuring him naturally filled them with satisfaction.
Lu Baoguo and the other mentors had threatened to make their disciples withdraw, intending to force the upper echelons to compromise.
A cold glint flickered through Ye Linghan's eyes. She clearly had not anticipated that they would resort to such a despicable method. The five classes had over a thousand students combined, and if they collectively withdrew, the Azure Flame Dao Hall would suffer a massive loss.
"That's right! This is the only courtyard we recognize! If you refuse to allow us to attend classes here, we'll all withdraw!" More students who had failed to secure a place through the lottery stepped forward and began stirring up trouble.
The momentum intensified further as the number of people echoing the threat swelled from a thousand to several thousand. Since they could not benefit, they refused to let anyone else benefit either.
Yi Zhong and the others anxiously paced in circles, powerless to do anything. Even Ye Linghan unconsciously shifted her gaze toward Liu Wuxie, waiting for him to make a decision.
On the opposite side of the Southern Lake, Zuo Yang and several upper echelons had appeared and were silently watching the situation develop.
"Should we intervene?" Zuo Yang asked the elder beside him. After all, the decision to vacate the Southern Lake's courtyards for Liu Wuxie's class had come from the upper echelons.
"There's no hurry. This is the first problem we've placed before him. If he can't even resolve the matter concerning this courtyard, he won't deserve to use the courtyards," the elder calmly replied.
Clearly, the upper echelons had tacitly permitted Lu Baoguo and the other mentors to act, intending to use them to test Liu Wuxie's ability.
Provocative shouts erupted one after another, and the number of students threatening to withdraw from the Azure Flame Dao Hall continued to snowball.
As more students hurried over, especially those who had previously lost to Liu Wuxie, they joined the crowd and added their voices to the threat of withdrawal.
"Get lost!"
"Get lost!"
The voices thundered in unison, completely drowning out Xiang Rulong and the other students.
"You want to return here and attend classes? Fine!" Liu Wuxie suddenly declared, the faint mockery curling at the corner of his lips, silencing every voice in protest.
Thousands of eyes instantly fixed upon Liu Wuxie.
"You've agreed to let us attend classes here?" the students standing behind Lu Baoguo asked with malicious smiles as they started walking toward the courtyard.
If so many people forced their way inside, they would instantly overwhelm the courtyards. Since they could not possess them, they naturally refused to let Liu Wuxie have them either. Once they destroyed the buildings, they wanted to see how Liu Wuxie could possibly continue teaching there.
"There are five classes here, corresponding to alchemy, talisman, spiritual array, blacksmithing, and martial cultivation. I will present five questions. Anyone who solves them may enter and study here. Otherwise, leave this place immediately," Liu Wuxie proclaimed, his booming voice carrying far enough to reach everyone's ears.
Resolving this problem through martial force would only make him fall into their trap. The other party was deliberately provoking him, clearly hoping to seize the opportunity to destroy this place.
As the saying went, the law did not punish the masses. Even if the upper echelons launched an investigation afterward, they would not hold any single person responsible. However, how could Liu Wuxie possibly fall for their ploy so easily?
"Why should we listen to you?" the students clamored as they continued pushing their way inside.
"Those qualified to study in the Southern Lake's courtyards are all top prodigies of the Azure Flame Dao Hall. Don't tell me you lack even this much confidence. Or are you merely a group of mediocrities who know nothing but how to cause trouble?" Liu Wuxie asked, his sharp response carrying two distinct meanings.
The public recognized the Southern Lake's courtyards as the finest region among the intermediate classes, and every student who qualified to study there ranked among the top prodigies.
If they lacked even the confidence to answer the questions Liu Wuxie set, would that not prove they were merely mediocre students, unworthy of enjoying such an excellent environment?
He had thrown the problem straight back at the students. Whether they dared to accept his challenge or not, either choice would leave them uncomfortable. If they accepted, they might stumble into Liu Wuxie's trap. Yet if they refused, they would effectively admit that they were nothing more than mediocrities unworthy of the study environment here.
Liu Wuxie's objective was simple. If they wished to enter the courtyards, they first had to prove their talent.
"Liu Wuxie, ask your questions. I'd like to see just how you intend to stop us!"
The students present took immense pride in their talent, with each of them believing that they possessed exceptional gifts. Furthermore, with so many people gathered, they were convinced that someone among them would surely solve Liu Wuxie's questions.
Liu Wuxie strode toward the gate, drew a dagger, and began carving words into the stone wall. Within only a few breaths, he had inscribed five questions corresponding to alchemy, martial cultivation, spiritual arrays, blacksmithing, and talisman. Anyone capable of solving even one question would earn the right to study in the courtyard.
"These five questions are open to everyone in the Azure Flame Dao Hall. Anyone who answers them can study here, and I will treat everyone equally. Otherwise, leave and stop disturbing our lessons in the future," Liu Wuxie declared.
He turned around, directing his words not only at Lu Baoguo and the others but also at every other student gathered there. His declaration served as a warning.
Ke Yuan and Gong An promptly stepped forward to inspect the five questions. Although each one appeared simple at first glance, profound mysteries lay hidden within them. As Ke Yuan specialized in alchemy, his gaze immediately shifted toward the third question, a problem that had plagued him for a long time.
The question itself seemed straightforward. How could one remove the toxins from the Treasure Orchid Flower while refining the Seven Rainbow Pill?
This problem had baffled countless people, including Ke Yuan himself.
Ke Yuan challenged, "Liu Wuxie, even you can't solve this question. Since you asked it, you should be able to answer it too."
The surrounding alchemists leaned closer to examine it. Gathering beside Ke Yuan, they studied the question before shaking their heads in agreement.
"You claim the question does not count simply because you cannot solve it? Is this how you teach others?" Liu Wuxie asked with a mocking smile.
Ke Yuan's face reddened fiercely upon hearing Liu Wuxie's words. He was an alchemist mentor who had taught countless students, yet Liu Wuxie's response struck him like a resounding slap across the face, leaving him utterly humiliated.
"Liu Wuxie, all you're doing is spouting nonsense! Why don't you solve the question for me, then?" Ke Yuan retorted. He remained adamant that the question had no answer and that Liu Wuxie had deliberately devised it to make things difficult for everyone.
"I will personally verify all five questions," Liu Wuxie replied. Rather than continuing to argue with Ke Yuan, he turned his attention toward the other mentors.
"How can the power of the Nine-Palace Eight-Sword Array be increased after removing one sword? How could that possibly be done?" Zhongsun Wen asked as he approached the stone wall.
He harbored no ill will toward Liu Wuxie and had only come because Lu Baoguo and the other mentors had forcibly dragged him here. Pure curiosity about the questions carved into the wall had prompted him to step forward.
Liu Wuxie responded with nothing more than a smile, allowing them to continue reading.
Repeatedly shaking his head, Lu Baoguo exclaimed, "Repairing a damaged immortal artifact with only one rune? How could that possibly work?!" As a grandmaster blacksmith, he believed his blacksmithing skills had reached heights that few others could surpass.
Qian Gu frowned as he examined the fourth question and asked, "How can the Yin and Yang talismans be combined?"
As a talisman mentor, he naturally doubted that such a possibility existed. However, unlike the others, he did not shout out and dismiss the question.
Since ancient times, yin and yang had always repelled each other, making it impossible to merge the two opposing elements. Qian Gu could only shake his head, convinced that Liu Wuxie had grown far too arrogant.
Only Gong An silently studied the first question. It was exceedingly unusual, for it took the form of a picture depicting a person raising a sword toward the sky and emanating immense pressure.
The longer Gong An stared at it, the deeper his shock became. His entire mind sank into the image, leaving him barely able to tear his gaze away. He sensed that if he continued staring at it, his cultivation would suffer deviation.
Time slipped by in silence. Liu Wuxie showed no urgency to press them and merely allowed them to keep attempting to solve the questions.
The five mentors scratched their heads in frustration, while the students remained utterly baffled. Forget solving the five questions; they had never even heard of such things. Only now did they realize how ignorant they had been.
"Liu Wuxie, none of us can solve them. You can announce the answers now," Gong An said, eager to learn the answers to all five questions.
"I will announce the correct answers in four hours," Liu Wuxie said before returning to the courtyard, instructing them to come back in four hours.
"He wouldn't run away within those four hours, would he?" someone asked.
No one believed Liu Wuxie could answer the five questions, so they assumed he was merely stalling for time before making his escape.
"We'll surround this place and see where he can run."
The students encircled the courtyard so tightly that they left no room for even a single ant to crawl out.
Ye Linghan followed Liu Wuxie anxiously and asked, "Wuxie, what should we do now?"
After everything that had happened, Ye Linghan felt guilty that she could not help shoulder Liu Wuxie's burden.
"Help me set up a spiritual array," Liu Wuxie said as he crossed the courtyard and entered the cultivation ground, forbidding anyone else from entering.
Xiang Rulong guarded the gate alongside the other students and mentors, preventing anyone from entering. Both sides immediately fell into a stalemate as time slowly passed.
Liu Wuxie sent a golden bean into Ye Linghan's soul sea and entrusted her with setting up the spiritual array. Meanwhile, he began inscribing with both hands, gathering yin-attributed energy in his left hand and yang-attributed energy in his right. The two opposing forces clashed violently, yet it took him only fifteen minutes to form a Yin-Yang Talisman.
After completing the inscription, Liu Wuxie entered the alchemy chamber and spent only an hour producing a pill. It was a Seven Rainbow Pill that contained no toxins whatsoever. Thereafter, he took another fifteen minutes to inscribe a repair rune.
By that point, Ye Linghan had nearly completed the spiritual array. Following Liu Wuxie's instructions, she removed one sword before setting up the Nine-Palace Eight-Sword Array.
With that, they completed everything well before the allotted four hours had elapsed.
"Let's go!" Liu Wuxie said.
The two of them returned to the gate.
The instant everyone saw Liu Wuxie emerge, Lu Baoguo and the others hurriedly swarmed around him.
Everyone began pressing Liu Wuxie. "Liu Wuxie, hurry up and reveal the answers already!"
"You've all forced me into a corner. If I reveal the correct answers, what will you do then?" Liu Wuxie asked, murderous intent surging in his heart. He was determined to teach them a lesson.
His question instantly rendered Lu Baoguo and the other mentors speechless.
"Liu Wuxie, what exactly are you trying to say?" Qian Gu asked anxiously, desperate to discover whether the yin and yang talismans could truly be combined.
"It's simple. If I reveal the correct answers to the questions on the wall, all of you will immediately leave the Azure Flame Dao Hall and never serve as mentors again," Liu Wuxie stated. A powerful aura erupted from him, causing many at the lower levels of High Immortal to tremble in fear. With that overwhelming aura enveloping him, he resembled an ancient god of war.
"Liu Wuxie, how dare you?!" Lu Baoguo roared. He had served as a mentor in the Azure Flame Dao Hall for decades and possessed considerable status. Although he could still survive after leaving the Azure Flame Dao Hall, he would never again live as freely as he did now.
"What's wrong? Are all of you afraid?" Liu Wuxie asked mockingly as his icy gaze swept across the mentors.
Zhongsun Wen remained silent, just as he had from the very beginning.
No one had anticipated such a forceful counterattack from Liu Wuxie, who now seemed like an entirely different person from before.
