15: Xiaozhufeng

Lu Xingchen walked out of the stone chamber, closed the stone door, and continued to climb towards the peak.

Although the gravity was constantly increasing, it didn't put too much pressure on Lu Xingchen; he could be said to be walking with flying steps.

Finally, Lu Xingchen arrived before the Sword Array.

His blood-soaked appearance startled both the Senior Disciples within the Sword Array and the Seven Peak Masters.

"Damn it, this Disciple is too exaggerated! How many Yao Beasts did he kill?"

"I don't know if the blood on him belongs to a Yao Beast or himself."

"Decisive in killing, not afraid of bleeding and sacrifice, he's a good prospect."

"I think he's inflexible and has no intelligence. If he had just walked around the Yao Beasts, he wouldn't have ended up like this."

Lu Xingchen entered the Sword Array, and the final test officially began.

With Lu Xingchen's strength, directly breaking through the Sword Array wouldn't be a big problem.

But he wanted to test the effect of the shadow sword.

So, he deliberately walked towards the edge of the Sword Array, attracting all ten Senior Disciples.

Then, he suddenly threw the shadow sword sheath, tossing it inside the Sect's entrance.

The ten Senior Disciples thought the sheath was a hidden weapon and hastily dodged, not daring to touch it.

By the time they reacted, Lu Xingchen had already activated the Shadow Sword Art and teleported inside the Sect's entrance.

According to the rules, as long as the challenger could step inside the Sect's entrance, the challenge was considered successful.

???

The ten Senior Disciples were all a bit dumbfounded.

He passed just like that?

This kid didn't even really fight them.

How did he do it?

Seeing Lu Xingchen clear the trial in such a bizarre manner, the Seven Peak Masters all had a drastic change in expression, and the Spirit Sword Peak Master's face instantly darkened.

Lu Xingchen walked forward, feeling a little excited.

The effect of this shadow sword was really good; if used properly, it could play a huge role in battle.

Immediately, Lu Xingchen looked at the Seven Peak Masters and found that they were all looking at him with strange eyes.

Perhaps his method of passing was too peculiar.

Yi Hong, the Spirit Sword Peak Master, said in a deep voice, "Lu Xingchen, did you enter the stone chamber at the mountainside?"

Lu Xingchen nodded slightly, not hiding anything.

He would use the Shadow Sword Art frequently in the future, so there was no need to conceal it.

Upon receiving a positive answer, Yi Hong snorted coldly, "My Spirit Sword Peak will not accept a successor of the Shadow Sword Art!"

Hearing this, Lu Xingchen was slightly taken aback.

It seemed Fu Xin and this Spirit Sword Peak Master had a conflict!

Fu Xin had said before that he was once the Spirit Sword Peak Master, so it seemed he had most likely fought with Yi Hong.

Well, there was no choice. A xuan rank intermediate Martial Skill was not something one could obtain anytime, so he couldn't easily give it up.

Since Yi Hong wouldn't take him, he would find other Peak Masters!

Lu Xingchen looked at the other six Peak Masters.

"My Tongtian Peak will not accept a successor of the Shadow Sword Art!"

"My Wind Returning Peak will not accept a successor of the Shadow Sword Art!"

"My Chaoyang Peak will not accept a successor of the Shadow Sword Art!"

"My Luoxia Peak will not accept a successor of the Shadow Sword Art!"

"My Great Bamboo Peak will not accept a successor of the Shadow Sword Art!"

Lu Xingchen: "..."

What on earth did Fu Xin do to incur such widespread resentment?

Lin Wanqing, who was standing behind Yi Hong, was a little worried.

She was only able to reach the finish line first because Lu Xingchen escorted her all the way.

It could be said that he was the true first place overall.

But now she had stolen his thunder, and he was being jointly rejected by several Peak Masters.

For a moment, Lin Wanqing felt very uneasy.

She approached Yi Hong and softly asked, "Peak Master, why won't you accept Lu Xingchen?"

"He is very strong, far above me. If not for his escort, I would never have been able to become first place."

"Accepting him would only benefit Spirit Sword Peak."

Facing this new top Disciple, Yi Hong still showed some respect.

"It seems your relationship with Lu Xingchen is good, to speak up for him like this."

"But unfortunately, since he took Fu Xin's shadow sword, even if he is the top Disciple, I will not accept him."

Lin Wanqing said anxiously, "Why? What exactly did Fu Xin do wrong?"

Yi Hong said coldly, "Enough, Lin Wanqing, this is not for you to ask. Do not challenge my patience!"

Lin Wanqing hesitated for a moment, then retreated.

She was just a new Disciple, with little influence, unable to sway the Peak Master's decision.

Lu Xingchen sighed lightly and looked at the Little Bamboo Peak Master.

She was a charming young woman, but unfortunately, she only had the cultivation of a Five-Star Martial Master.

Such strength, and she could be a Peak Master?

But Lu Xingchen had no other choice; she was the only one who hadn't rejected him.

He had gone through so much to pass the assessment; he couldn't just go down the mountain and get lost, could he?

"I wonder if Peak Master Lin would allow me to enter Little Bamboo Peak?"

Lin Qingzhu smiled slightly and said softly, "You're quite clever, come over to my side!"

Hearing this, Lu Xingchen was overjoyed.

Was Lin Qingzhu really so easy to talk to?

Regardless of her reasons for accepting him, he finally had a place to stay.

"Thank you, Peak Master Lin!"

Lu Xingchen bowed to her and walked behind her.

Yi Hong snorted coldly, not saying anything more.

Although he disliked Lu Xingchen greatly, Lin Qingzhu was not someone to be easily offended.

In the time that followed, other new Disciples arrived at the mountaintop one after another.

Most of them were in a sorry state, covered in blood and dirt.

A day passed quickly.

Out of the more than one thousand people from the five nations who participated in the new Disciple selection, only a little over a hundred ultimately passed the assessment.

Except for the top ten who could freely choose their peak, everyone else could only wait to be assigned.

What surprised Lu Xingchen was that, besides himself, Lin Qingzhu had not recruited a single other new Disciple.

What was going on?

Lu Xingchen suddenly felt like he had boarded a pirate ship.

The new Disciple assessment was complete, and everyone followed their respective Peak Masters back to their main peaks.

The other Peak Masters were all followed by a crowd of people, looking very imposing.

Only Lu Xingchen and Lin Qingzhu looked very lonely.

On the way, Lu Xingchen finally couldn't hold back his curiosity.

"Peak Master, uh, why did you accept me when the other six didn't want me?"

Lin Qingzhu continued walking, saying indifferently, "Because I was very fond of Senior Brother Fu Xin, but unfortunately, I couldn't become his Dao Companion. Since you are his successor, I will help you as much as possible."

Hearing this, Lu Xingchen was greatly surprised.

He hadn't expected such a connection.

It seemed taking the shadow sword wasn't entirely a bad thing!

"Then why are those Peak Masters so hostile towards Senior Fu Xin?" Lu Xingchen continued to ask.

"It's hard to explain clearly to you right now. Roughly, Senior Brother Fu Xin acted impulsively and got into a conflict with the Five Elements Sect, which led to a war between the two Sects and severely weakened the Lingxiao Sect's Origin Qi."

The Five Elements Sect was also a Third-Grade Sect, with strength comparable to the Lingxiao Sect.

"However, I don't think Senior Brother Fu Xin did anything wrong; it's just that his strength wasn't enough. Otherwise, he should have annihilated the entire Five Elements Sect."