The elders and clan master would only choose to promote qualified nucleus disciples.
Wutian’s stellar rise was the first in the Yan Clan.
He also learned that as strong as the Yan Clan might seem to be, it was beset by enemies from within and without. People like Zhao He was a case in point.
Armed with the demonic manual, the Fire Cloud Clan had become stronger, and they were expected to wage vengeance on behalf of their founder. What made things even worse was, the Skysun Sect the Jade Maiden Sect from the Yingyang River had been eyeing to attack the Yan Clan. Things were not looking good for them.
The Yingyang River, located outside Redsun Mountains, was home to these two super massive sects.
The two of the grandmasters whom Kong Lingzi had killed back then were the founders of these two sects. They had since made their missions to seek revenge on and wipe out the Yan Clan.
While Wutian and Han Tian were talking, they were also carefully observing what was happening in front of them.
These genius teens were the pride of their respective families and villagers. Each of them had extraordinary skill and dealing with the demonic beasts along the way was just a walk in the park.
They were unstoppable and had killed countless vicious beasts.
The test that Chi Yanzi arranged was very simple. So none of them wanted to get hurt. Because if they could not even pass a test as simple as this, how were they supposed to hold their heads high. It would be the biggest humiliation.
Those demon beasts were trembling with fear seeing the coming of these people. They avoided these humans like a plague, fleeing as quickly and far as they could.
Those demonic beasts were scratching their heads. Mount Scorpius had been staying serene for years. Human encroachment was rare. But in the past few days, the humans had been flocking into the area.
Not only that, these humans were equipped with extraordinary strength. Especially the two humans and one beast that arrived a month ago were incredibly vicious. They came into the valley of the demonic wolves and killed the Fire Scorpion of the forbidden land. That caused demonic beasts like them living in fear every day.
Who were supposed to be the demonic beasts and who were supposed to be the humans? They were starting to get confused.
“Aren’t they the two vicious humans we saw last time?”
Seeing Wutian and Han Tian coming into their territory as if taking a stroll in their own backyard, a few demonic beasts ran for their dear lives.
News spread like a plague, and in just a few moments, those demonic beasts on the outskirts learned that the vicious humans were coming. They howled and ran quickly.
“Run! Those two vicious humans have come again!”
“They are even more vicious and inhuman than us, the demonic beasts!
Wutian and Han Tian looked at each other and could not understand a bit of what those beasts said. If Shishi were here and interpreting the beast language for them, they would not have been so cool, calm, and collected. They would surely slaughter all of the demonic beasts for being called vicious and inhuman. Did they look like demonic beasts?
“What’s going on? There is no sign of any demonic beasts!”
Zhang Ting, the yellow-dress girl, frowned and scanned the surroundings with her big round eyes. Earlier, those demonic beasts had come out in flocks. Now, not even a shadow of them could be seen.
The teen in white wrapped his hand around the jaw. “Could it be that they knew how badass we are, so they have fled. Or is it because I am too good-looking?” said the teen narcissistically.
“Come on!”
Before his voice trailed off, everyone shot him a scornful look.
“Who do you think you are that the demonic beasts find you pleasing to their eyes?”
“Shameless dude. Look at yourself in the mirror; you look like a wild boar. I suggest you kill yourself by throwing yourself against the wall.”
After walking away from the catastrophe earlier, they knew they had been lucky. Since then, they were getting along well and even poking fun at each other.
“Isn’t this better for us? We can reach Ironstone without any incidents. Let’s speed up, everyone.”
They were moving fast toward Ironstone, their laughter heard throughout the forest.
“I can’t believe that he is so narcissistic. Oh my gosh!” said Han Tian, not realizing that he outdid that guy by a factor of ten.
Wutian shook his head. He knew he needed to bear with Han Tian and get used to it.
A thought suddenly came to mind, and he approached Han Tian with an evil look in his eyes.
“What are you doing, Yan Yangzi?”
Seeing that something was not right, Han Tian stepped back and threw up his hands. “We have been through thick and thin, walking the valley of the demonic wolves, battling the Fire and the Primordial Scorpions, getting the egg, and joining hands to defeat Huoshi. For the sake of all that, let us bury our hatchet. Besides, I didn’t have much choice back then. You know that!”
Wutian’s face impassive, and struck out a punch.
Han Tian spun around and quickly ran as if his butt was fire, disappearing from sight.
Wutian lifted a rock and weighed it in his hand. He then caught up with Han Tian and smashed the rock on his head. Han Tian cried out in pain instantly as a bump filled with blood grew on his head.
Of course, Wutian did not use lethal force. He just wanted Han Tian to experience how it felt to get attacked from behind. He wanted an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
“Darn you!” Han Tian jumped up and down with anger. He took out the iron rock from his Mustard Pouch and charged at Wutian.
When Wutian saw the weapon that Han Tian had used to knock him out last time, he was even angrier. He charged at Han Tian with no more self-restraint.
Two hours later, the dozens of genius teens arrived at the town gate of Ironstone. The test held in the town was over, and those who were disqualified had left the scene. The remaining candidates, over a hundred of them, were sitting cross-legged on the platform, healing themselves with the vital energy.
Their clothes were tattered. Wounds were all over their bodies. Their faces had swelled, and they had poor energy and blood circulations. By the looks of them, a brutal combat must have happened here before.
Those newly arrived genius teens felt lucky. Each year during the Yan Clan recruitment test, the first round of tests was always a free-for-all, which was no secret to them. So deep down inside, they were thanking the Fire Cloud Clan. Otherwise, after such a chaotic combat, even if they won, they would have barely emerged in one piece. It would not be so easy as they were now.
“Here you all are!”
On the platform, a girl in red dress stopped out of the crowd and studied those teens and nodded her eyes with a smile. “Not half bad! Fifty-one of you has passed the test. Step aside now.”
The girl was around twenty, face pinky as if she had put on a makeup, her steps light and graceful. She possessed a special air.
Standing behind her were five young men and women, all about twenty. The males were smart-looking, and the females were beautiful and graceful. It was a sight to behold when looking from afar.
All five of them were dressed in red with a shiny ‘Yan’ embroidery on their chest. They were the nucleus disciples of the Yan Clan, responsible for this test campaign.
The teens cupped their hands and thanked the lady in red before stepping to one side. They looked with envy at the attire of the few figures on the platform, imagining they were dressed in those red robes one day.
It was customary for different classes of disciples to dress differently in the clan.
Registered disciples usually were dressed in white robes, intern in green, nucleus in red, canonized in black, and direct in purple. It was a symbol of position and also a motivation. Anyone who wanted to move up in the clan and be respected would have to work hard in cultivation.
“Who is it?” The girl in red suddenly shouted.
She was looking into the distance. Her aura suddenly changed as a murderous air burst out of her. Her hair fluttered along with her robe, looking as if a goddess of war reincarnated.
At almost the same time, the five men and women behind her had readied themselves as an invisible air burst out of them and swept out in all directions, blowing dust away from the platform which instantly looked like a piece of mirror, and uprooting grass one hundred feet in the vicinity.
Loud collision was heard in the distance. Visibility was poor as earth and dust were blown into the air. All they saw were two shadows battling it out with each other, and they were fast approaching.
“This is the test site of the Yan Clan, friends. Please leave now. Or else, we will have to use force.” The girl in red shouted.
But there was no response. All she heard was the collision sound of rocks as the two came toward this direction in lightning speed, kicking up earth and grass in air and dust blocking out the sun.
Those nucleus disciples looked grave. Judging by the energy of these two persons, they knew they could not hold a candle to these two persons. Probably these two persons were even more powerful than the direct disciples of the clan.
“Step back, everyone!” The girl in red shouted.
The one hundred or so people quickly got to their feet. Together with the dozens of genius teens, they all stayed behind the few nucleus disciples and watched on curiously.
A crowd of rubberneckers had gathered outside the town gate.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you two.” The girl lunged forward, stepping over the ground and grass as if she was walking on air. Her movement was graceful like a beautiful butterfly.
“Calm down, my clan sister. Friendly here.”
Right down, a forceful voice came. The girl in red and others were jolted and their Essence elixirs crumpled.
“It’s Han Tian!” Zhang Ting, the girl in yellow, screwed up her nose.
“I know now. No wonder there has been no demonic beasts along the way. Apparently he was secretly helping them,” said a young man in white.
“The guy fighting him must be the nerd, the new disciple of the great elder.”
Those disciples coming from Mount Scorpius got a big smile on their faces. They rushed out to welcome the two.
But those disciples who did not go to Mount Scorpius were wondering who the heck they were.
Those genius teens started to explain, telling of how Wutian killed the Fire Cloud men and saved them.
Everyone listened in awe and felt sorry at the same time. It was really ridiculous for a Reborn-period teenager to wipe out the entire army of the invading force of the Fire Cloud Clan. But his death was really untimely.
The fix nucleus disciples were sweating profusely, quietly shocked at seeing the two fighting each other like two vicious beasts. The battle was so brutal that even the ground shook. But the good thing was, they were not enemies.
At the same time, they were also wondering: Whose direct disciple was he?
“Yan Yangzi. Could you please stop already? I have apologized. What more do you want?” A roar was heard as the dust storm was getting close.
“Yan Yangzi?”
The six nucleus disciples were stunned at hearing the ‘zi’ suffix. This was too incredible.
But then, they were suspicious. No one had ever heard of Yan Yangzi. Was it a new title? It did not seem right. Every time there was a conferment, it was big news. Everyone in the clan knew it. Could this one be a fake?
The six of them looked at each other, on high alert and were ready for combat.
“My clan brothers and sisters, don’t doubt it. They are the real deals,” said the young man in white.
“They are hitting each other with rock and brick!” Zhang Ting laughed, bending over.
The dust storm was just a thousand feet away, and everyone started to see the situation inside.
“It is really! Look, bumps have popped up on Han Tian’s head, as if they are going to burst! But Yan Yangzi has none. That’s weird!”
“So much for a direct disciple, huh?”
The dozens of geniuses burst into laughter. Some who were more restrained cupped their mouths, trying hard not to laugh.
At last, they could not hold back anymore and everyone started to laugh their heads off.
But the six nucleus disciples were different, their faces solemn. As long as they had not seen the token, they would let down their guards—they had never met these two people before.