Some things were easier understood than done. One often realized how terrifying some things were when they faced difficulties.
For example, Yue Zhongtian wanted to rely on his Earth Dipper cultivation to face and withstand Lin Xun’s attack head-on.
However, he underestimated the terror of Lin Xun’s attack. It was only for a brief moment but Yue Zhongtian felt like a sacred mountain was crushing him. His bones cracked and his face twisted. He felt every inch of his skin was about to explode.
In everyone’s eyes, Yue Zhongtian was like a leaf flowing against the current or a mayfly trying to shake a giant tree. He seemed incredibly tiny and would collapse any moment.
Many people were stunned and speechless. They couldn’t imagine how terrifying Lin Xun’s attack had to be to make a top Earth Dipper Stage cultivator look so distressed!
Boom!
Under countless gazes, Yue Zhongtian vomited a mouthful of blood and was suddenly lifted into the air.
He rotated.
He leapt.
He closed his eyes—Then, with a thud, he smashed into the ground dozens of feet away from the arena. He twitched and trembled like he had gone crazy and couldn’t get back up!
The audience fell silent. All eyes were fixed on Yue Zhongtian, unable to believe what they saw.
In one move, Yue Zhongtian was defeated and sent flying out of the arena!
Who would believe that?
The cultivators in the examination zone couldn’t help but gasp. The scene struck a chill into their hearts.
Too fierce!
How did Lin Xun do that?
It doesn’t make sense that even the Shifting Cloud Light Art and someone at the Earth Dipper Stage couldn’t block his attack!
“That boy must have used a secret ancient art. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have such unbelievable power.” A cold glint flashed in Liu Wujun’s eyes and his voice contained a hint of surprise. He seemed amazed by Lin Xun’s performance.
The other influential figures couldn’t compose themselves. They had already witnessed the duel between Lin Xun and Huang Jianchen and had already thought that Lin Xun possessed astonishing strength then. Yet, compared to then, Lin Xun’s strength was much more terrifying now.
It was a strength unheard of in a Human Dipper Stage teenager!
“Haha, Yue Zhongtian has shot himself in the foot. Not only did he lose the bet, but he was also eliminated from the exam and lost ten thousand gold coins to Lin Xun. He has completely destroyed his reputation.” Du Dongtu chuckled.
“That boy is arrogant and considers everyone beneath him. It’s not a bad thing for him to experience failure. Fortunately, he’s only sixteen years old and he can sign up for the provincial exam next year,” Wei Lingzhen remarked. As the principal of Haze Academy, he knew well what kind of person Yue Zhongtian was.
Soon, an uproar broke the stunned silence.
“Damn it. Lin Xun is too strong. He defeated Tan Long with one blade attack and he blasted Yue Zhongtian across the air with just one punch!”
“Hey, what’s even more abnormal is that Lin Xun is only at the Human Dipper Stage yet he can already defeat opponents at a higher cultivation level than him. Compared to him, the so-called talented geniuses are not worth mentioning.”
“As they say, however strong you are, there is always someone stronger. There’s always a taller mountain. Lin Xun’s performance perfectly shows what a true genius is!”
Amid the discussion, Lin Xun walked down the arena and came to stand next to Yue Zhongtian as he lay on the ground, “See, I already reminded you, but you didn’t listen. Whom can you blame now that you have lost?”
Yue Zhongtian’s face was deathly pale but his eyes were filled with anger and bitterness from the defeat. He trembled with fury at Lin Xun’s mocking remarks. “You...are going too far!”
Lin Xun smiled. “Too far? You’re wrong! I’m just giving you a taste of your own medicine. I didn’t annoy you but you deliberately provoked me. Do you think I’m very broad-minded and wouldn’t mind it?”
Yue Zhongtian’s expression dramatically changed. Only then did he realize that Lin Xun did all that to get revenge.
Isn’t this guy too vengeful and petty?
He has already won and become the center of attention while I have lost face and my reputation. I have already suffered such a tragic outcome yet he still wants to get revenge. He is too vengeful!
“Don’t be so angry. You should be thankful that you are in the provincial exam, otherwise, your outcome would be much worse. Oh, by the way, remember to send me ten thousand gold coins when the exam is over!” Lin Xun patted him on the shoulder with a smile and returned to the examination zone.
As Yue Zhongtian watched Lin Xun leave, his expression changed indefinitely. In the end, he sighed out loud. He knew that he had made a mistake. He should have never schemed against a ruthless and fierce person like Lin Xun.
……
Lin Xun had ended the duel and the absurd bet with his Mountain Smashing attack.
That was the first time he showed the world the Nine Heavenshaking Destruction Art and caused a huge sensation. All the cultivators couldn’t help but marvel at the power of the art.
The audience changed their view of Lin Xun once again. They perhaps looked down on Lin Xun for promoting Golden Jade Hall, but now, even if they did look down on him, they had to keep their opinion to themselves.
This was absolute power!
When a person had proved their strength, it would inadvertently affect many people’s views. This was one of the reasons why many cultivators were obsessed and crazy about power.
As Lin Xun returned to the examination zone, many cultivators looked at him with strange gazes. It was as though they were staring at a fierce beast.
That was normal. After defeating Huang Jianchen, Lin Xun had soared to fame in Haze City and became one of the most dazzling youngsters and also the opponent no one wanted to face in the provincial examination.
The first and second rounds of the provincial examination had completely demonstrated the terror of Lin Xun’s strength.
Whoever dared to underestimate Lin Xun had something wrong with their head.
Even Xue Shaolin, Yu Wenjing, Le Zhiyou and Yun Zitong, who were top Heaven Dipper cultivators, began to pay attention to Lin Xun.
So what if Lin Xun possessed the strength of the Human Dipper Stage? His performance in the two battles had already demonstrated that he was a demon-like youngster. His strength couldn't be measured by his cultivation level!
……
Lin Xun stood in the examination zone, ignoring the strange gazes around him and analyzed the battle just now.
If I had used Star-Gather, I also could have defeated my opponent, but I would have exposed my trump card.
The Nine Heavenshaking Destruction Art was different. Lin Xun’s grasp of the secret art had only reached the Inkling Realm and he could at most display around one-tenth of its true power.
Therefore, even if he had exposed the fact that he knew such a secret art, cultivators without knowledge of such an art wouldn’t be able to determine its true power.
As Lin Xun pondered, he swept his eyes around the arenas.
He didn’t leave right away because the third round would begin shortly after the second.
The third round was called the Six-Person Battle. In other words, cultivators would be divided into groups of six and fight in the arena. The last cultivator standing would be able to successfully pass and enter the final round of examination.
There was no time limit in the Six-Person Battle, nor was it against the rules for cultivators to fight in groups.
However, after careful thought, one would realize that the Six-Person battle was brutal. Anything could happen in a melee of six people and candidates had to be on constant guard against cultivators ganging upon them.
Lin Xun had a feeling that the people in his group would no doubt join hands to get rid of him first!
There was nothing he could do about that. His performance in the first two rounds was too striking and he was now regarded as a fierce beast. Of course, he would become everyone’s target.
Time flew by and night fell. The second round of examination finally came to an end.
A total of 1,400 people had been eliminated in the second round and only 1,200 people remained!
Those who failed were recruited by the major clans and sects.
Those who passed became even more dazzling and the third round of examination was about to commence.
After the first two rounds, the number of Human Dipper cultivators had sharply dropped but the number of cultivators in the Earth Dipper and Heaven Dipper Stage remained roughly the same.
Of course, if Yue Zhongtian wasn’t so unlucky to face Lin Xun in the second round, he would have successfully entered the third round.
The cultivators able to participate in the third round were no doubt the elites among the elites!
Lin Xun found that Qi Yunxiao and Yuan Shu had been eliminated in the second round.
He was most surprised to see that Lian Fei had made it through to the third round!
It had been two years since they last saw each other, and Lian Fei had grown much stronger. This was evident by the fact that he was able to make it to the third round of examination.
Most importantly, Lian Fei was also at the Human Dipper Stage!
“It seems that Yao Tuohai had put a lot of effort in training him in the past two years. Only that could explain his achievements,” Lin Xun said thoughtfully.
On the first day he came to Haze City, he learned that Lian Fei was the son-in-law of the great cultivator Yao Tuohai and that he had formed a second-grade aeth power reservoir when he broke through to the Human Dipper Stage.
Lian Fei’s current strength and achievements had to be closely related to Yao Tuohai.
Thinking of Yao Tuohai sent intense murderous intent surging in Lin Xun’s mind. Yao Tuohai had almost killed him and Xia Zhi during the district examination in Donglin City!