Martial Arts Overlord

When Hu Yitian saw Luo Feng and Bing Ruolan appear, he had initially assumed they would suffer the same fate as him.

He never would have guessed that the two of them had actually killed Qin Tai and Xu Huan. In his surprise, he couldn’t resist peeking into the stone chamber earlier. The fragments of Mysterious Essence Iron scattered across the floor and the sharp saber marks on the surrounding walls gave him quite a shock. Hu Yitian considered himself a master of the saber arts as well. However, upon seeing those saber marks, a chilling sensation crept up his spine. So, when he suddenly heard that the person responsible for these marks was merely an Outer Court student from the Purple Sun School, he felt somewhat dazed.

Hu Yitian, his eyes flickering slightly, looked at Luo Feng and said with a smile, "So that’s how it is. I’ve heard that the Purple Sun School’s Challenge King Competition this year had a major upset. The Challenge King’s Golden Seat was taken by a student from the Silver Moon class. I didn’t expect to witness it with my own eyes today."

Luo Feng merely smiled, not responding.

Hu Yitian tugged the reins and declared loudly, "My friends, I, Hu Yitian, will engrave the kindness of saving my life today in my heart and will surely repay you generously in the future. If you ever encounter trouble, feel free to seek me out in the Cold Cloud Valley."

Saying that, just as Hu Yitian was about to leave, he suddenly seemed to remember something. He lifted his sleeve, removed an unremarkable black bracelet from his wrist, and casually tossed it to Luo Feng.

"Take this bracelet. It should be useful to you."

Luo Feng accepted the bracelet and asked, "What is this?"

Hu Yitian shook his head and replied, "I’m not sure either. I obtained it by chance during an experiential training trip. Wearing it can help calm one’s mind. I presume you’re practicing the Sky Slayer Saber Technique of the Purple Sun School. I’m unclear why you haven’t been consumed and driven mad by the Evil Qi. However, my father did mention that the Sky Slayer Saber Technique originates from the West Desert Demon Realm. You should still be careful."

Luo Feng gazed at the bracelet, his eyes brightening slightly.

When he broke through to the fifth level of the Sky Slayer Saber Technique, he did feel a bloodthirsty desire stirring within him. Although it hadn’t reached the point of losing his sanity and turning into a madman solely driven by slaughter, Luo Feng had indeed realized the inherent danger of the Sky Slayer Saber Technique. This mysterious bracelet, capable of calming the mind, was like sending charcoal in snowy weather—a truly timely aid.

"Thank you!"

Luo Feng put the bracelet away and looked up at Hu Yitian with gratitude.

Hu Yitian waved his hand and said, "I still need to rush back to the Cold Cloud Valley, so farewell for now. We shall meet again!"

With a tug of the reins and a long cry, Hu Yitian galloped his horse down the mountain.

Bing Ruolan watched Hu Yitian’s retreating figure, her beautiful eyes shimmering. She turned to Luo Feng with a captivating smile and said, "Luo Feng, by saving Hu Yitian this time, you’ve done a great favor for the Hu Family of the Cold Cloud Valley. This will definitely bring you immense benefits in the future."

The Hu Family from the Cold Cloud Valley was one of the top powers in the Flowing Cloud Region. With Hu Yitian being the eldest son of the Hu Family, this favor was no trivial matter!

Luo Feng shook his head and gazed down the mountain. "I didn’t save him expecting any reward. However, he is straightforward in his dealings and worth befriending."

Most of the people in Sky Wolf Camp had already left by this point. Luo Feng ordered the remaining bandits to set fire to the entire Sky Wolf Camp, burning it to the ground.

Flames surged to the sky, and the infamous Sky Wolf Camp was reduced to ashes in moments.

Only five days remained until Luo Feng completed his three years at the Purple Sun School. Having dealt with the affairs of Sky Wolf Camp, they wasted no time and galloped on horseback directly back to the school.

Instead of the Fire Cloud Horses they had brought from Panlong City, they rode two Dark Cloud Treasure Horses found in the stronghold.

Dark Cloud Treasure Horses possessed Innate Divine Strength and could see in the dark. Capable of traveling two thousand miles in a single day, they galloped as fast as wind and lightning, the scenery blurring past them.

「Five days later.」

Luo Feng and Bing Ruolan were in the plaza outside the Purple Sun School.

Bing Ruolan needed to report the completion of the Sky Wolf Camp mission, and today was Luo Feng’s last chance to take the Inner Courtyard examination. Naturally, they couldn’t afford a moment’s delay.

After stabling their horses, they headed towards the Inner Courtyard of the Purple Sun School together.

The place for submitting mission reports and taking the Inner Courtyard student examination was the school’s Extreme Sun Great Hall.

The Extreme Sun Great Hall was bustling with people, mostly Inner Courtyard students.

Many of them bore bloodstains, a chilling killing intent faintly emanating from them. Their gazes were terrifying; they had clearly just returned from missions.

When the two arrived at the entrance of the Great Hall, they didn’t attract any attention.

Reaching the entrance of the Extreme Sun Great Hall, Bing Ruolan looked at Luo Feng with her beautiful eyes, the corners of her rosy lips curving up slightly as she said with a light smile, "Luo Feng, I’m going to submit the mission. Good luck!"

Luo Feng managed a faint smile. "If I can’t even pass the examination, then probably no one in the entire school could."

"That’s true," Bing Ruolan mused, a pair of dimples appearing on her cheeks as she chuckled.

When she took the Inner Courtyard examination, her cultivation was only at the mid-stage of the Fifth Level, yet she passed, albeit with some scares. Luo Feng’s current strength was many times greater than hers had been back then; there was indeed no need to worry.

After bidding farewell to Bing Ruolan, Luo Feng walked towards the side hall where the Inner Courtyard promotion examination was conducted.

Compared to the bustling Extreme Sun Great Hall, this side hall was quite deserted, with only a few people present.

In the side hall, three Inner Courtyard students were in charge of records. Seeing Luo Feng arrive, one of them couldn’t help but say, "I don’t know what’s going on these days. Why are so many people taking the Inner Courtyard examination? This is already the ninth one today."

"After the last Challenge King Competition, the school increased the rewards. Many people reaped significant benefits and advanced their cultivation, resulting in a large number entering the Inner Courtyard. Seeing this, other Outer Court students probably couldn’t sit still anymore and want to try their luck."

"Hmph! Do they think the Inner Courtyard examination is that simple? Yesterday, all four students who took it failed, wasting five hundred taels of silver for nothing. I’m afraid today will be the same. What a futile effort!..."

Luo Feng walked to the registration window and said, "I’m here for the Inner Courtyard promotion examination."

"The registration fee is five hundred taels," an Inner Courtyard student tapped the counter and said indifferently.

Luo Feng nodded, casually took out a silver note for five hundred taels, and handed it over.

"Name, class."

After collecting the registration fee, the Inner Courtyard student who had spoken asked lazily.

"Silver Moon class, Luo Feng."

SWISH!

As soon as Luo Feng’s voice fell, the gazes of the three students immediately snapped towards him, their expressions suddenly becoming extremely complex.

"Are you Luo Feng, the one who won the Challenge King’s Golden Seat?" one of the Inner Courtyard students couldn’t help but ask.

"Indeed."

"Then how dare you come back?" The Inner Courtyard student who had spoken first blurted out his thoughts.

Luo Feng was taken aback and retorted, "Why wouldn’t I dare to come back?"

"AHEM..."

The Inner Courtyard student, realizing his slip of the tongue, coughed and said to Luo Feng, "The examination site is just behind the Great Hall. Go on in. I hope your promotion goes smoothly."

Luo Feng glanced at the three individuals with their strange expressions, paid them no mind, and walked straight in.

"TSK TSK, I didn’t expect this Luo Feng to actually dare to come back. He really isn’t afraid of death..." As soon as Luo Feng’s figure disappeared, the Inner Courtyard student who had just spoken shook his head and said with regret.

The person beside him nodded in agreement.

"He made a month-long pact with Duanmu Yu a month ago and then disappeared from the school the next day. I thought he had run away out of fear. That wouldn’t have been surprising. Duanmu Yu’s strength ranks among the top hundred in the entire Inner Courtyard, while Luo Feng... well, their abilities are worlds apart—one is in the heavens, the other on earth. So, it would have been understandable if he’d fled. I just didn’t expect him to actually come back..."

"There are always people in this world who won’t turn back unless they hit a wall. He’ll probably regret this decision tomorrow," a person who hadn’t spoken until now, arms crossed, said coldly.

Luo Feng entered the examination hall.

The hall was very spacious, with thirty-six white jade pillars standing in rows in the middle, carved with lifelike dragons and phoenixes.

In the center of the hall, there was a huge, crimson-red block of alloy, five meters long and two meters high. Even from a distance, it exuded a heavy, oppressive feeling.

Luo Feng had heard from Bing Ruolan that this was the first part of the Inner Courtyard promotion examination.

Whether it was the Purple Sun School or other institutions, one had to pass an examination to become an Inner Courtyard student.

The first requirement for the examination was to reach the Iron Bone Realm, but merely achieving this cultivation level was not enough.

After all, even with the same cultivation level, strength varied from person to person, and combat power could be vastly different.

The promotion examination was established to prevent the unqualified from slipping through, ensuring that students didn’t solely focus on raising their cultivation level while neglecting the development of practical combat experience.

The first part of the Purple Sun School’s promotion examination required participants to use a weapon from those provided in the hall to leave a three-inch deep mark on the Red Gold Alloy Block in the center of the hall.

Those who succeeded could proceed to the next round of the examination; those who failed to leave a mark were deemed unqualified to become Inner Courtyard students and would be eliminated.

"Are you a student here for the Inner Courtyard promotion examination?" a middle-aged proctor standing at the entrance of the hall asked upon seeing Luo Feng.

Luo Feng nodded.

"Why are you so late? Hurry up and get in line!" The middle-aged proctor waved his hand.

At this moment, eight people were already lined up in the hall waiting for the examination. Luo Feng stood at the end of the line.

Before long, the presiding elder walked into the hall and stopped in front of the Red Gold Alloy Block.

"The Inner Courtyard promotion examination begins now! I don’t care what your cultivation level is; as long as you cannot leave a three-inch deep mark on this Red Gold Alloy Block, you are not qualified to become an Inner Courtyard student! You can only use weapons selected from here."

The presiding elder pointed to a nearby rack of weapons.

Luo Feng glanced at the various weapons on the rack and couldn’t help but curl his lip.

On the weapon rack, there were sabers, spears, swords, halberds, bows, hammers... all eighteen kinds of weapons were present. However, their quality was exceedingly ordinary, the most common mass-produced items found in outside weapon shops, incomparable to his Tiger Soul Saber.

After making the announcement, the presiding elder took out a registration scroll from his sleeve and read aloud, "The examination begins! First, Huang Yi!"

The square-faced youth at the front of the line walked out.

He selected a twelve-foot long spear from the weapon rack and slowly walked towards the Red Gold Alloy Block. When he was fifteen paces away, he suddenly accelerated. Holding the spear, he leaped like a tiger. A brilliant flourish erupted from his spear tip as he fiercely stabbed at the Red Gold Alloy Block. The spear whistled through the air with immense power.

CLANG!

The long spear struck the Red Gold Alloy Block fiercely, creating a loud sound. The spear tip left a mark on the block, but it penetrated only an inch deep and could go no further!

The square-faced youth, however, was sent flying more than ten meters by the rebound force from the spear, landing awkwardly on the ground.

The presiding elder glanced at the Red Gold Alloy Block and announced indifferently, "Spear mark, one inch deep! Unqualified! Next, Li Zhongtian."

Hearing this, the square-faced youth, who had just sat up from the ground, his face paling, slumped back down with a THUMP.