Free Web NovelChapter 96: Chapter 96: Entering the Examination Hall
Lu Sangjiu took out a Flying Sword and, with a few SWISHES, chopped down the approaching branches. Her feet, however, didn’t slow in the slightest as she continued to race toward the tree trunk.
The closer she got to the trunk, the more branches whipped toward her.
She sliced through a few of the thicker ones, and blood instantly sprayed all over the ground from within the branches.
The pungent, metallic scent of blood made her wrinkle her nose in disgust.
Behind her, Shen Yuzhao’s terrified screams echoed, but Lu Sangjiu didn’t need to look back to know he was definitely yelling randomly while burning the branches with his Abnormal Fire.
After all, her third senior brother had always been the type to say the most cowardly things while doing the most ruthless deeds. This little bit of trouble was nothing to worry about.
As for Xie Ningyuan, he remained silent the entire time, much to Lu Sangjiu’s satisfaction.
Hacking through branches all the way, she finally reached the trunk and ran straight into it.
For a moment, Xie Ningyuan, who was behind her, suspected the Demon Tree had bewitched her and she was trying to kill herself by running into it.
But when he saw her figure vanish in an instant, understanding dawned on him, and he immediately followed.
Seeing them both go in, Shen Yuzhao, now left alone, grew even more anxious. "Hey, wait for me!"
He quickened his pace, but the thoughtless branches came to block his way again.
Shen Yuzhao was suddenly both anxious and angry, and the Abnormal Fire he threw out was a little uncontrolled. With a WHOOSH, it shot along a branch and directly onto the trunk.
Seeing that more than half the tree had been burned away, Shen Yuzhao jumped in fright, a flash of guilt for his mistake crossing his face.
He hastily retracted his Abnormal Fire and squeezed through the remaining half of the trunk.
The trunk was like a portal. After entering, they arrived in a simple stone chamber.
However, unlike the pitch-black underground palace from before, several Luminous Pearls were set into the walls here, illuminating the stone chamber as if it were day.
In the very center of the chamber stood a stone statue of a young man.
His head was tilted back slightly, a wine gourd held high in his hand, its contents pouring straight into his mouth. Beneath his feet, he stood on a Flying Sword.
The statue was remarkably lifelike, presenting the image of a free-spirited and uninhibited Sword Immortal to the group.
As the three of them were staring at the statue, a man’s voice suddenly rang out.
"Young ones, do you yearn for freedom? Do you crave power? Do you wish to become a great Sword Immortal like me?"
Right off the bat, three soul-searching questions.
Lu Sangjiu’s lips twitched. ’This guy sounds... like a charlatan, doesn’t he?’
’I get the feeling his next line will be: "I have a Sword Manual right here that guarantees you’ll become a Sword Immortal. Not for 998, but for the low price of just 98, you can take it home today! What are you waiting for? Get out your Spirit Stones and buy it now!"’
Unfortunately, what she imagined didn’t happen. After that speech, the stone chamber fell into a deathly silence.
An intangible awkwardness began to spread. Shen Yuzhao couldn’t help but glance at Lu Sangjiu, then at Xie Ningyuan.
Seeing that neither of them intended to answer, he couldn’t take the pressure and finally spoke up tentatively, "I... kinda want to?"
Lu Sangjiu was speechless.
His answer was so half-hearted that it would have been better if he’d said nothing at all. The atmosphere grew even more awkward.
However, it turned out the speaker was far more adaptable to awkwardness than she had imagined.
Even with a reply like that, he was still able to follow up with a booming, passionate declaration, "Excellent! I can already feel your enthusiasm!" freewēbnoveℓ.com
Lu Sangjiu was speechless. ’We’re not enthusiastic at all, thanks.’
A question mark slowly formed in Shen Yuzhao’s mind. He then squeezed out an awkward yet polite smile.
The man wasn’t the least bit discouraged by their lack of enthusiasm and continued with his script.
"Unfortunately, opportunity only favors the prepared, and my inheritance can only be given to one person."
"If you wish to be that one in ten thousand, you must accept my trial... Are you... prepared?"
Lu Sangjiu was speechless. ’Is he still not done?’
Xie Ningyuan’s mouth twitched. He desperately wanted to say something, but since he had promised Lu Sangjiu not to cause trouble, he forced himself to stay quiet.
And so, once again, only Shen Yuzhao was forced to play along. "Ah... um, I guess... I’m ready?"
The speaker continued his passionate spiel, "Excellent! In that case, all candidates, enter the examination hall now!"
Lu Sangjiu thought a new map was about to be unlocked, so she held her breath and waited expectantly.
But after waiting for a long time, nothing happened.
Confused, she looked around again. Still seeing nothing amiss, she couldn’t help but turn to Xie Ningyuan. "Where’s the examination hall?"
Xie Ningyuan had a very innocent expression. "How would I know?"
Lu Sangjiu frowned, thinking they had been tricked. Just as she was about to question it, the voice spoke again.
This time, his tone was completely devoid of its previous passion. Instead, it was tinged with dismissiveness and disdain. "You two are not qualified to enter the examination hall. Just wait here."
Lu Sangjiu froze. A thought suddenly occurred to her, and she quickly turned her head to look at Shen Yuzhao.
Only then did she realize that although Shen Yuzhao was still standing there, his eyes were vacant and lifeless, completely unresponsive to his surroundings.
She was a little surprised, but she could roughly guess that this was probably what "entering the examination hall" meant.
’I wonder what Shen Yuzhao will go through. I hope he can secure the inheritance smoothly before Ye Zhiyao shows up!’
After confirming Shen Yuzhao was all right, Lu Sangjiu looked at the Sword Immortal’s statue with curiosity. "So... you’re not just a pre-recorded script? You’re actually something we can communicate with?"
"Nonsense! How could an existence as incomparably handsome and invincible as I, this Sword Immortal, possibly be fake?"
"This is a wisp of my Divine Sense, left here specifically to wait for a destined person, and also to prevent anyone from exploiting any loopholes."
Lu Sangjiu was speechless.
’Great. Another senior with a big personality.’
"Then before..."
The very distinctive Sword Immortal senior immediately knew what Lu Sangjiu was getting at.
"That was a test I gave you! If you can’t even show basic respect and cooperation, how could you possibly be qualified to enter my examination hall?"
Lu Sangjiu was speechless.
’So, the only reason Xie Ningyuan and I were disqualified from entering the examination hall was because we didn’t play along?’
Xie Ningyuan let out a dry laugh. "No wonder you haven’t found a successor yet."
Finding someone willing to play along with such a foolish script really wouldn’t be easy.
Lu Sangjiu couldn’t agree more. Deciding she had no desire to continue chatting with this strange senior, she simply took out a meditation cushion, placed it in a corner to sit on, and said to Xie Ningyuan, "Let’s just wait here for a bit."
Xie Ningyuan, however, was sizing up their surroundings with great interest. "Are you sure you don’t want to look around? Generally, when an inheritance is given, there are other goodies as well."
"We might not be able to get the inheritance, but if we can find some Spirit Stones or other treasures, it won’t have been a wasted trip."
Lu Sangjiu couldn’t help but roast him. "Is this the new style for Buddhist Practitioners these days?"
Xie Ningyuan replied with a straight face, "My personal actions do not represent the entire community of Buddhist Practitioners. Thank you for your cooperation."
Lu Sangjiu was speechless.
’Fine, you have a point!’
So, she silently put away her cushion, went to Xie Ningyuan’s side, and shamelessly asked, "So, have you found anything?"
