"You can sleep?"
Zhang Jiuxiao was dumbfounded by Zhang Xuan's words.
What he wanted to know was how to become a member of the Elite Division, so he wanted to hear the other party's explanation … What did that have to do with being able to sleep?
"That's right. Not everyone can sleep for three days straight!"
Zhang Xuan replied with an indomitable look of loneliness on his face.
To be honest, he really didn't want to sleep for three days straight.
He had been shocked when he first woke up, but thinking about it, he felt that it was worth it.
Otherwise, even if he was awake, he would have had nothing to do. There were simply too many flaws in the Divine Eyes of the Ninth Netherworld, making it impossible for him to cultivate them. Furthermore, Sage Kui was deeply affected by his words. Rather than feeling awkward while awake, he might as well sleep a little longer to recuperate.
Thus, being able to sleep was also a blessing in itself.
"You slept for three days straight?" Zhang Jiuxiao's body swayed, and he looked as if he had seen a ghost. "Zhang Shi, what you mean to say is that … when you challenged the Mountain Gate, you didn't just challenge the various tests but … slept for three days straight?"
"Indeed. I didn't think that I would be able to sleep for so long …"
Zhang Xuan replied with a bitter smile.
"To sleep for three days straight and become a member of the Elite Division …"
Swallowing a mouthful of saliva, Zhang Jiuxiao felt as if he was going insane.
As soon as he entered the Mountain Gate, he had been trying his best to showcase his strength, not daring to rest for even a moment. Yet, the young man before him slept for three days straight and became a member of the Elite Division … Was there a need to be so exaggerated?
"Well done!"
"That was beautiful!"
"Third Young Master Xue, well done …"
Just as Zhang Jiuxiao was about to explode from shock, he suddenly heard excited cheers from the crowd. Raising his head, he saw that the results of the duel had already appeared on the stage.
Zhao Qi, who had come to challenge Zhang Xuan, was bound tightly by a golden thread. He was unable to move at all, as if a cocoon.
Xue Ning's Golden Silk Thread might have been useless against Zhang Xuan, but it was simply too powerful against others. Even though Zhao Qi wasn't weak, he was still unable to withstand it.
"I admit defeat!"
Zhao Qi said with a dejected look on his face.
He had thought that as long as he was lucky, he would be able to emerge victorious. However, from the looks of it, the Mountain Gate was indeed a fair trial. It wasn't something that someone like him could question.
"I'm willing to accept the punishment!"
After undoing the Golden Silk Slash, Zhao Qi left without saying anything else.
"Is there anyone else who is willing to challenge?"
Seeing that the first match had come to an end, Elder Liu Yu smiled and continued.
"Let me do it! I want to challenge the last place of the elite class, Zhang Xuan! "
With a loud shout, a figure leaped onto the high platform.
"It's Meng Fanxing, ranked 52nd!"
"He's a descendant of the Sage Meng Clan. Even though his bloodline is only at Tier-2, his cultivation has already reached Half-Grand Dominion realm!"
"He must be unconvinced by Zhang Xuan, who is only at the Primordial Soul realm!"
"That's right. When the challenge competition started, I felt that it was normal for this Zhang Xuan to be challenged. Not only is his cultivation low, but he is also the last place in the elite class. It would be strange if others didn't covet him!"
"Right, I just heard a piece of news. I'm not sure if it's true or not, but it's said that Zhang Xuan didn't even manage to get into the top five hundred previously. Yet, when the jade tablet refreshed for the last time, he somehow ended up at the very end of the Elite Division. In other words … he gained ten thousand points out of nowhere!"
"An increase of more than ten thousand? You cheated, right? "
"I don't know about that …"
…
Hearing that someone was going to challenge Zhang Xuan, a commotion broke out amidst the crowd.
Amidst the crowd, Zhang Qian was so excited that his eyes reddened.
News of what had happened in the Hall of Results had already spread, and quite a few people had already heard of it. Everyone was curious to see just what kind of trump card Zhang Xuan had that allowed him to become a student of the Elite Division.
Elder Liu, Elder Han Zhu, and the others also turned their gazes over to Zhang Xuan, curious to see how he would perform.
"You want to challenge me? Sure! "
Not expecting to be challenged, Zhang Xuan shook his head and walked up to the high platform.
Even though he had always wanted to keep a low profile and avoid trouble, he wasn't a coward either. If the other party wanted to cause him trouble, he would have to see if his fist was strong enough.
"May I know what Zhang Shi's test is? Feel free to speak, and I'll challenge you according to it!"
Meng Fanxing harrumphed coldly.
"I just woke up, so I don't feel like sleeping yet … Forget it, I don't want to cause any trouble. Just make your move!"
Recalling his own test, Zhang Xuan shook his head and replied.
He had slept for three days and three nights, and it had barely been an hour since he woke up. If he were to sleep in a duel, he would surely lose. Besides, no one would be willing to watch such a duel, so it was better for him to just do what Xue Ning had done earlier.
It would save him some trouble as well.
"Make my move? You want to compete with me in terms of strength? "Meng Fanxing looked at Zhang Xuan as if he was looking at a fool.
He is a Half-Grand Dominion realm expert whereas you are only a Primordial Spirit realm pinnacle cultivator … You want to compete with me?
Are you still dreaming?
"Un."
Zhang Xuan nodded.
"Very well. I'll suppress my cultivation to your level," Meng Fanxing said.
Meng Fanxing swiftly lowered his cultivation to Primordial Spirit realm pinnacle in the blink of an eye. He raised his palm and gestured for Zhang Xuan to begin. "Let's begin!"
"Alright!"
Zhang Xuan nodded.
In truth, it didn't really matter to him whether the other party suppressed his cultivation or not, but since the other party had already done so, there was no need for him to waste his breath. With a swift leap, he appeared right before the other party and raised his palm to grab the latter.
"You …"
Seeing this palm strike, Meng Fanxing felt as if the world around him was being crushed by the other party's palm. His surroundings were completely sealed, making it impossible for him to escape at all.
In an instant, his breathing hastened, and his face reddened in agitation.
However, before the palm strike could even reach him, Zhang Xuan suddenly retracted his palm.
The speed of the attack and the retraction was so fast that it looked like a feint to those watching. There was no finesse to it at all.
Nevertheless, it was as if Meng Fanxing had been struck squarely by the other party's attack. His mind immediately went blank, and his body swayed weakly as if he was drunk. Padah! He collapsed to the ground.
He had fainted.
"This …"
"What happened? I didn't sense any zhenqi fluctuations at all. Why would Meng Fanxing faint? "
"I'm not too sure either. All I saw was Zhang Xuan feinting with his palm …"
The crowd beneath the dueling ring stared at one another in bewilderment, unable to comprehend what was going on.
There was nothing fancy about Zhang Xuan's earlier attack, and there wasn't the slightest ripple of zhenqi in it either. Yet, Meng Fanxing didn't even try to dodge such an attack before fainting … What in the world was going on?
Even though there was no lack of Seven Star master teachers among them, they couldn't help but be perplexed.
"What a formidable palm strike!"
Contrary to the bewilderment of the crowd, Elder Liu narrowed his eyes in astonishment.
As a Saint 8-dan expert, his eye of discernment was extraordinary, and he immediately noticed that something was amiss.
"Even though the palm strike appears to be a physical attack, it's actually an assault on one's soul, making one feel as if there's nothing one can do to stop it. Under the immense pressure, one's consciousness would be pushed to its limits, and when the pressure is abruptly withdrawn, it could very well cause one's brain to run out of blood and fall unconscious on the spot!"
Elder Han Zhu nodded in agreement as he explained with a look of disbelief on his face. "It's just like how most ordinary people don't fall to their deaths from jumping off a building. Instead, they die from fright before they land on the ground. That palm strike of Zhang Xuan's uses a similar method as well, but there's no surge of zhenqi in it at all. To knock out a person with just a casual palm strike … How precise must one's control over one's strength and one's opponent's strength be in order to achieve such a feat? "
Even if he suppressed his cultivation to Primordial Spirit realm pinnacle, it would still be difficult for him to pull off such a feat.
"Indeed. It seems like there's nothing wrong with the Mountain Gate examination!"
Elder Liu nodded in agreement.
Previously, he had still harbored some doubts about the young man before him, thinking that it was all due to luck. However, from the looks of it, there was no such thing as luck in the Mountain Gate examination.
"I've lost …"
Waking up, Meng Fanxing's face reddened in agitation.
He had no idea what kind of attack the other party had used, but he was knocked out in a single move. Just the thought of it left him embarrassed.
"It's fine."
Zhang Xuan chuckled softly.
"I'm willing to accept the punishment …"
Knowing that his defeat was already over, Meng Fanxing gritted his teeth.
"There's no need for that. We're all students of the Sanctum of Sages, so it's normal for us to spar with one another. I only managed to win because I had you suppress your cultivation. If you had used your full strength, it would have been difficult for me to defeat you. So … strictly speaking, you can't say that you've lost to me. "
Zhang Xuan replied with a smile.
His ranking was determined by Sage Kui, so it was only natural for the other party to be unconvinced. After all, there was no need for him to be punished.
"Zhang Shi is truly magnanimous. It's no wonder why you were able to become a student of the Elite Division. I'm truly impressed!"
Meng Fanxing clasped his fist in admiration.
To be able to be so magnanimous despite being doubted by others, this was something that he couldn't possibly match up to.
"You're too polite."
Zhang Xuan nodded. Just as he was about to leave the dueling platform, a voice suddenly sounded.
"Wait a moment … I'm not convinced either. I would like to test Zhang Shi's strength as well!"
Turning around, Zhang Xuan saw a familiar face walking up the dueling platform.
It was Zhang Qian, who had been knocked to the ground by a single palm strike!
"That fellow … didn't see through my strength?"
Not expecting the other party to challenge him as well, Zhang Xuan was taken aback.
It was one thing if the other party had never fought before, but the other party hadn't even been able to withstand a single palm strike from him. Yet, the other party wanted to challenge him once more. Was the humiliation from the previous time wasn't enough?
"It's Zhang Qian … Didn't he lose previously?"
"Indeed. I don't understand either. Why would he challenge him? Could it be that he's not convinced?"
"Could it be that … he has some kind of trump card that he hasn't used yet?"
"He's ranked 51st, so it's only natural that he's not convinced that Zhang Qian has taken his spot!"
…
Those below the dueling platform who knew that the two of them had fought before were also perplexed by the situation.
It was just three days ago that the other party had been pummeled, and he couldn't even withstand a single blow from the other party. Yet, the other party was charging up the dueling platform at this very moment.
"You still want to challenge me to a duel?"
Seeing the other party walking up to him, Zhang Xuan looked at him with a sympathetic expression.
"That's right. However, since you're from the Elite Division and you've defeated me once, surely you won't force me to suppress my cultivation, right? "
Zhang Qian harrumphed.
"There's no need for you to suppress your cultivation!" Zhang Xuan nodded.
"Very well. Let's begin then."
Zhang Qian harrumphed coldly as he released the energy in his body. His aura swiftly surged into the clouds.
"Half-Grand Dominion realm? No wonder … "
Feeling the other party's aura, Zhang Xuan was stunned for a moment before widening his eyes in realization.
It was no wonder the other party dared to challenge him despite his loss. It turned out that the other party had managed to raise his cultivation to Half-Grand Dominion realm within the past three days!
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