Martial Arts Overlord

The young woman beside him found Li Qing’s arrogance distasteful. Her small nose wrinkled as she said, "Li Qing, don’t be too confident. I heard that Luo Feng challenged Duanmu Yu, with their duel set for tomorrow. Since he’s willing to disregard Duanmu Yu, he must have some extraordinary qualities!"

"You believe such rumors?" Li Qing cast a sidelong glance, smiling at the young woman beside him. "Young Master Duanmu was a well-known figure on last year’s Winged Tiger List, ranking within the top one hundred of the entire academy! A mere student from the Silver Moon class wants to challenge Young Master Duanmu? I don’t know who started such a brainless rumor."

The others also laughed, agreeing it was just a baseless rumor.

Li Qing glanced at Luo Feng, smiled faintly, and flicked his fingers towards the young woman beside him. "Actions speak louder than words. Just wait until I defeat Luo Feng, then you’ll understand."

Faced with Li Qing’s undisguised mockery, the young woman pursed her lips. She wanted to retort but couldn’t find the words, so she just hmphed and fell silent.

"The third round of the assessment begins. Who wants to go first?" the assessing elder asked, his gaze falling on Lin Yu and Luo Feng.

"I’ll go first," Lin Yu declared, stepping forward.

The first challenger gets to pick their opponent, allowing them to avoid stronger individuals. This assessment determined whether one could become an Inner Court disciple; there was no room for pleasantries.

Luo Feng, however, was unconcerned. He had already observed them. The ten Inner Court disciples opposite him were all at the initial stage of the God Bravery Realm in their cultivation. Even if there were slight differences in their strength, they weren’t significant. Besides, he didn’t care who his opponent was. With his strength, even if all ten attacked him simultaneously, he could win quickly.

The assessing elder said to Lin Yu, "Choose your opponent."

Lin Yu nodded, walked to the center of the hall, and scanned the ten Inner Court disciples one by one. His gaze finally settled on the short-haired young woman who had argued with Li Qing earlier.

The short-haired young woman stepped forward, drawing two willow-leaf sabers from her waist. She looked at Lin Yu calmly. "I won’t hold back. Are you ready?"

Lin Yu also drew his longsword, cupped his fist towards the short-haired young woman opposite him, and said, "Senior Sister, please guide me!"

"Defend yourself!"

She attacked first, lunging at Lin Yu. Her petite figure spun rapidly, her twin sabers unleashing myriad cold gleams that transformed into a frigid sun wheel, hurtling towards Lin Yu.

"Sun Snow Saber Technique!"

The sharp shriek of blades slicing through the air resounded throughout the hall. The twin sabers roiled the air, causing everyone’s robes to flutter.

Lin Yu’s expression was serious, his movements unflustered. With a flick of his wrist, a cascade of cold light erupted. His longsword instantly became three, thrusting out to perfectly intercept the icy sun wheel.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

Sword and sabers clashed, striking dozens of times in an instant. The flying sparks illuminated the entire hall.

The two figures separated on contact. Lin Yu retreated nearly ten steps before steadying himself, while the short-haired young woman fell back only a single step. With a sharp cry, she lunged forward again, her chilling aura preceding her as her twin sabers swept towards Lin Yu.

Lin Yu’s body suddenly bent slightly, then snapped straight like a taut bow. A sound like a vibrating bowstring emanated from within him. His figure flashed to the side, evading the young woman’s twin sabers, and he immediately counterattacked from a different angle.

Surprised by Lin Yu’s swift reaction, the short-haired young woman raised her eyebrows in approval. "Good!"

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

Flashes of saber light danced wildly. The short-haired young woman wielded her twin willow-leaf sabers with impeccable defense, forcing the attacking Lin Yu to retreat hastily under the pressure of the dazzling blades.

The two exchanged blows. Although Lin Yu was consistently suppressed, his mastery of the Light Martial Art, Shadow of Bow Step, was considerable. Despite the young woman’s fierce attacks, she couldn’t defeat him quickly.

In no time, they had exchanged ten moves.

"Lin Yu, you’ve passed the assessment. Congratulations on becoming an Inner Court disciple."

The assessing elder waved his hand. An invisible pressure immediately enveloped the two combatants, forcing them both back several steps.

Excitement gleamed in Lin Yu’s eyes. He cupped his fist towards the short-haired young woman beside him. "Thank you for going easy on me, Senior Sister."

Becoming an Inner Court disciple allowed one to choose a Yellow Grade, High-Rank Martial Art to cultivate. In the future, they could also accept academy missions, earn contribution points, and with enough points, even exchange them for Yellow Grade, Peak-Rank Martial Arts and various Spirit Pills! This offered immeasurable benefits to one’s power progression.

The short-haired young woman sheathed her sabers and said to Lin Yu, "No need to thank me. Your Shadow of Bow Step is well-practiced. I truly couldn’t have defeated you within ten moves."

With Lin Yu having passed the assessment, the assessing elder turned to Luo Feng and smiled. "Luo Feng, it’s your turn."

Having witnessed Luo Feng’s skill in Light Martial Arts, the assessing elder wasn’t worried about him failing the assessment. He was merely curious if Luo Feng could, like Duanmu Yu from last year and Li Heshan from this year, defeat an Inner Court disciple in the assessment to successfully advance.

"Luo Feng, our strengths are quite similar among us ten. How about I be your opponent?"

Hearing the assessing elder’s words, the Inner Court disciple named Li Qing stood up, looking down at Luo Feng condescendingly.

Luo Feng glanced at Li Qing. After a flicker in his eyes, he turned to the assessing elder beside him. "Elder, may I challenge other Inner Court disciples instead?"

"Other Inner Court disciples?"

The assessing elder looked at Luo Feng, pondered for a moment, and said, "According to academy regulations, as long as you can withstand ten moves from an Inner Court disciple, you can be successfully promoted. Therefore, your suggestion isn’t impossible."

"However, why do you want to challenge other Inner Court disciples? These ten are closest to your strength level. If you’re worried they are too strong and you won’t pass the Inner Court assessment, I can tell you that choosing others will only make it more difficult." The assessing elder gestured towards Li Qing and the others.

"I’m not worried about failing the assessment. If I were to truly challenge them, even if all ten attacked at once, they would be no match for me," Luo Feng said indifferently, shaking his head.

"Hmph! All ten of us are no match for you? Brat, you’re too arrogant! Do you dare to exchange a few moves with me?" Li Qing roared in anger upon hearing this, glaring coldly at Luo Feng.

"You’re not convinced?"

Luo Feng looked at Li Qing. In the next instant, his figure suddenly vanished from the hall, reappearing abruptly in front of Li Qing.

"AH!"

A figure suddenly materialized before him. Li Qing stumbled back several steps in fright. Realizing it was Luo Feng, his face flushed crimson, and he glared. "What do you mean by this?"

Luo Feng looked at Li Qing, raised an eyebrow slightly, and said calmly, "Nothing much. I just wanted to tell you that defeating you would be a matter of an instant. If you really want to fight, I don’t mind."

The other Inner Court disciples, who had initially been displeased by Luo Feng’s words, felt their dissatisfaction vanish upon witnessing his speed.

His tone suddenly turning sharp, Luo Feng smiled at Li Qing. "However, let me make this clear: if you fight me, you best be prepared to lie in bed for several months."

Feeling the oppressive pressure in Luo Feng’s words, Li Qing’s face turned pale.

What’s with this brat? I’m actually afraid of him! How ridiculous!

Ashamed and enraged, Li Qing recalled Luo Feng’s ghost-like speed and didn’t dare to provoke him further. He merely scoffed, "Hmph, we’ll talk after you actually become an Inner Court disciple!"

The assessing elder watched all this without intervening. Competition among disciples could stimulate their growth, and the academy had always tacitly approved of it.

Looking at Luo Feng, the elder’s anticipation grew. He asked, "So, who do you plan to challenge?"

"Duanmu Yu," Luo Feng stated calmly.

"WHAT?!"

The moment his words fell, gasps echoed throughout the hall. Including Li Qing, all the Inner Court disciples present stared at Luo Feng in disbelief. Only the short-haired young woman had a faint smile, as if she had expected this.

"You want to challenge Duanmu Yu?" The assessing elder was also startled by Luo Feng’s answer.

Luo Feng nodded.

"A month ago, Duanmu Yu and I made an agreement to duel at the Martial Arts Arena tomorrow. If I cannot defeat him, then there will be no place for me in this Purple Sun Academy. Whether I become an Inner Court disciple or not will no longer matter."

The elder pondered for a moment and finally nodded. "Postponing an assessment is unprecedented. As the assessing elder, I shouldn’t agree to this. However, since you and Duanmu Yu have a prior agreement, I will make an exception this one time. I approve your request to postpone the assessment!"

Duanmu Yu is a one-in-ten-thousand talent. The elder was also looking forward to tomorrow’s duel; perhaps the academy could discover an exceptional prodigy.

Luo Feng was unaware of the elder’s thoughts and said gratefully, "Thank you, Elder."

The elder nodded, a grave expression in his eyes. "I must remind you, Duanmu Yu broke through to the seventh stage of the Essence Storage Realm a few days ago. Although as the assessing elder, I shouldn’t meddle, I still have to say this: your chances of winning against Duanmu Yu are no more than thirty percent. I advise you to reconsider this duel."

"Thank you for your kind intentions, Elder. I have my own plans," Luo Feng replied with a calm smile.

Seeing Luo Feng’s composure, the elder paused for a moment, then chuckled. "Haha, it seems I was indeed being meddlesome. Regardless of victory or defeat tomorrow, with such a mindset and diligent cultivation, your future accomplishments will surely be significant."

"Elder, you flatter me."

"Flattery or not, becoming an expert requires one’s own hard work. Otherwise, no matter how talented, one can only become mediocre. In my decades at the academy, I’ve seen many astonishingly brilliant talents gradually fade into obscurity. I hope you won’t be the next."

With that, the elder waved his hand. "Alright, that concludes today’s Inner Court advancement assessment. Lin Yu, come with me; I’ll take you to register. The rest of you are dismissed."

After speaking, the assessing elder led Lin Yu out of the assessment hall, and Luo Feng departed as well.

Long after the three had departed, the ten Inner Court disciples began to discuss in low voices.

"I can’t believe the rumors were true! Luo Feng is actually challenging Young Master Duanmu! Tomorrow will be quite a show!"

"Young Master Duanmu is already an expert at the seventh stage of the Essence Storage Realm. I wonder what Luo Feng is relying on."

Li Qing, having lost face earlier, snorted coldly. "Hmph, what can he possibly rely on? If you ask me, he’s all talk! How could he possibly be Young Master Duanmu’s opponent?"

The others looked at Li Qing, disdain evident deep in their eyes. Luo Feng’s Qinggong was evident to all. Even if they exhausted themselves, they couldn’t hope to match it. There were likely few in the entire academy who could compare. If such skill was considered nothing, then what did that make them?

The disciples exchanged glances and departed one after another, leaving Li Qing standing there, stunned.