Chapter 54: The Sect Master's Daughter? Charge in Anyway!

Xiao Xuanzhen had no idea what Chen Yi was thinking, otherwise she would probably have the urge to tear him limb from limb.

She glanced at the skeptical, youthful boys and girls, and curled her lips inwardly.

If they possessed the "Cloud-like Elixir Qi" talent as well, they would naturally receive the same preferential treatment as the Flower Fairy.

If they lacked it, they would simply have to honestly endure three moves from her, with her realm suppressed.

Especially Chen Yi, who bore the moniker of "Little Sword Immortal"—since he claimed to be a martial arts prodigy, he needed to possess strength that matched such a title.

Merely achieving initial mastery in the Sword Dao was far from enough!

"Next, Du Yanqing."

The Heir of the Prince of Zhenbei paused for a moment before taking a deep breath and patting Du Yan with a feigned casualness.

"Watch closely and see how your elder brother passes the examination."

"You'd better!" Although worried, Du Yan refused to lose the verbal sparring match.

"His Highness the Heir will definitely have no problem." The chubby boy Wang Yongnian wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Of course."

With that, Du Yanqing smiled and stepped out of the crowd.

Lin Xueru looked at his retreating back, tugged on Chen Yi's sleeve, and asked softly, "Brother Heir will pass, right?"

"There shouldn't be much of a problem." Chen Yi nodded slightly.

Aside from the Flower Fairy, during Xiao Xuanzhen's subsequent two examinations, she had kept her strength strictly within the prescribed limits.

The reason the previous two candidates were eliminated was entirely because they had been disoriented by Xiao Xuanzhen's footwork, leaving them no time to evade the vital strikes or rely on luck to defend themselves.

While such simple footwork and palm techniques were not entirely negligible for Du Yanqing, dealing with them was by no means a difficult task.

One must remember that back at the Xingwu Academy, Chen Yi had frequently engaged in sparring matches with Du Yanqing and the others.

Although he had not used his full strength, the sword techniques and movement skills he employed were equally formidable, just a fraction superior to theirs.

Therefore, as long as Xiao Xuanzhen did not deliberately target him, Du Yanqing would definitely pass this test.

"Get ready." Seeing Du Yanqing stand before her, Xiao Xuanzhen said lightly, "I'm coming."

The moment her voice fell, her figure flickered like a ghost. With a slight pause of her feet, by the time her footsteps became clear, she had already appeared on Du Yanqing's right.

So fast!

By the time Du Yanqing caught a glimpse of her figure out of the corner of his eye, it was already too late to dodge, and he could only raise his arms to block.

Thud.

A solid palm strike landed squarely on his elbow, sending a numbness through his entire arm.

"One move."

Before Du Yanqing could feel any relief, he saw Xiao Xuanzhen move again.

This time, the speed was even greater, and the angle of the palm technique was even trickier, yet he managed to barely block it once more.

"Two moves."

"Three moves!"

Thud!

With the landing of the third palm strike, Du Yanqing was sent flying sideways, only managing to steady himself after taking several steps back.

"Hah..."

Du Yanqing's face scrunched up in pain, both of his arms slightly numb, and his left arm—which had taken the brunt of two palm strikes—trembled incessantly.

Xiao Xuanzhen stood still, appraising the wincing Du Yanqing and silently giving him a rating of "not bad."

This examination seemed simple, but in reality, the three moves she used each had a different focus.

The first palm strike concealed the user within intricate footwork, making it difficult to pinpoint her location if one was not paying close attention; this tested eyesight.

The second palm strike pressed the advantage with a direct, straight-line attack carrying immense force; this tested the stability of one's stance.

As for the third palm strike, after shattering the defensive posture, it tested their application of true essence.

If one could promptly determine the landing point of her palm strike and circulate true essence to resist, one could survive her third palm.

"Congratulations, Junior Brother, you have passed the examination."

Disregarding the pain in his body, Du Yanqing managed to raise his arms, cup his fists, and bow. "Thank you, Senior... Senior Sister."

"That's wonderful!"

By this point, Du Yan, Wang Yongnian, Wei Letian, and the others could also see that Xiao Xuanzhen had been entirely earnest during this third test.

As for the Flower Fairy, they naturally attributed her exemption to her innate "Cloud-like Elixir Qi" talent, rather than any aptitude meant for enhancing martial combat.

Thus, they finally understood the reason behind Xiao Xuanzhen's differential treatment.

"Do you believe me now?" Du Yanqing blinked at Du Yan and grinned widely.

"Hurry up and close your mouth, stop smiling. You look uglier than if you were crying."

Du Yan rolled her eyes at him, but as she turned around, a faint smile bloomed across her delicate face.

With her elder brother having successfully passed the examination, she needed to work harder as well.

Subsequently, having figured out Xiao Xuanzhen's intentions, Wei Letian and the others who had yet to take the examination raised their vigilance to the utmost.

Clinging to the philosophy of "seeking no merit, but seeking to avoid mistakes," they passed the examination one after another.

Even Wang Yongnian and Hua Youxiang, whose innate talents were only mediocre, made it through without mishap.

Meanwhile, Hua Yourong, who possessed the same Dao of Elixir talent as the Flower Fairy, received special attention from Xiao Xuanzhen.

She barely scraped by before being told to stand with the others who had passed the examination.

It was worth mentioning that Lin Xueru had passed the examination in the exact same manner.

This left everyone present feeling somewhat puzzled, secretly speculating whether she too possessed some special bloodline.

Only Chen Yi curled his lips inwardly, increasingly convinced that Xiao Xuanzhen must definitely have some sort of mental quirk.

It was somewhat understandable for the Hua sisters to possess special talents, but Lin Xueru receiving preferential treatment definitely wasn't due to any special bloodline.

It was just that he hadn't yet found the evidence to prove it.

However, with the examination progressing to this point, the crowd had no leisure to dwell on it, and all eyes turned to Chen Yi, whom Xiao Xuanzhen had kept until the very last.

"Brother Yi, you'll definitely be fine!" Du Yanqing pumped his fist in encouragement.

For once, Du Yan did not refute him, nodding instead. "Indeed, it will look much better than your barely scraping through."

"Big Brother Yi, I'll wait for you right here." Lin Xueru's bright, wide eyes remained fixed on Chen Yi without blinking.

Wei Letian and the rest of the successful candidates, though silent, all wore looks of absolute confidence.

With a relaxed expression, Chen Yi waved at them and walked over to stand opposite Xiao Xuanzhen, secretly pondering how to persuade her to agree to a duel.

After all, the requirement of the [Counter-Attack Quest] was for him to defeat Xiao Xuanzhen, not merely to pass the examination.

At that moment, looking at Chen Yi, Xiao Xuanzhen did not immediately begin the examination like she had with the others. Instead, she asked:

"I heard that you previously defeated Senior Sister Ning using only your sword technique?"

Hearing this, Ning Xue, who had been watching from not far away for quite some time, froze in surprise. Just as she was about to interrupt the examination, she heard Chen Yi reply with a smile:

"That was simply Senior Ning showing leniency towards me—it was merely a stroke of good luck."

"However, if it's Senior Sister you we are talking about, even without any restrictions on sword technique, I believe the one who wins in the end should still be me."

Gasp!

Hearing such an overt provocation from Chen Yi, Du Yanqing and the others—who had all suffered a few palm strikes earlier—couldn't help drawing in sharp breaths of cold air.

Brother Yi, stop joking around, this is the entrance examination!

If anything goes wrong, it will be a lifelong regret!

Even that bold barbarian youth, who had been humbled into obedience after taking three palm strikes from Xiao Xuanzhen, couldn't help breaking out in a cold sweat over Chen Yi's audacity.

"Are youths from the Central Plains all this terrifying?"

Lin Xueru shrank her neck in tension, casting a cautious glance toward the senior sister in charge of the examination, hoping she wouldn't grow angry with Big Brother Yi.

To everyone's surprise, Xiao Xuanzhen actually burst out laughing.

"Since the 'Little Sword Immortal' has such aspirations, then for this third test, I shall grant your wish."

"No restrictions on cultivation realm or techniques, continuing until one person is defeated—only then will the examination conclude. How about it?"

"My thoughts exactly." Chen Yi nodded.

He had been fretting over how to bring it up; he never expected a pillow to be handed to him just as he grew drowsy, and naturally, he would not let such an opportunity slip by.

Otherwise, who knew how long he would have to wait the next time he wanted to duel Xiao Xuanzhen?

As for her identity as the Sect Master's daughter?

Before the reward of attaining mastery in the Sword Dao, that was completely negligible.

Just go for it!