Among the crowd, those with the most complicated feelings were none other than the Four Beauties of Qingcheng, Ouyang Xue and the others.
The Four Beauties of Qingcheng had come to his door to break off their engagements because Jiang Jichen's Spirit Cultivation was crippled. This incident had turned Jiang Jichen from the number one young genius of Cyan Moon City into its number one laughingstock.
As for Ouyang Xue, the message she had sent back to the Five Spirits Sect had now spread throughout Cyan Moon City. It was practically common knowledge. Because of it, the designated successor disciple had been changed from Jiang Jichen to Murong Qingshu.
What she said may have been true, and her actions were understandable. After all, no Sect would let someone whose Spirit Cultivation was crippled be its successor disciple.
However, it was also a fact that this "cripple" who she claimed couldn't practice Spirit Cultivation had just defeated the very successor disciple her Sect had just announced!
Now, no one could bring themselves to laugh, let alone utter a word of mockery. As they watched the young man in the arena, they only felt a suffocating pressure and an even greater sense of the gap between them.
Even crippled, that young man was someone they could never hope to defeat!
In just seven punches, Murong Qingshu was defeated, without a shred of ability to fight back.
At that moment, everyone felt that the name at the top of the youth rankings had become incredibly jarring. It was like a vicious slap across the faces of Murong Qingshu and everyone else who had mocked Jiang Jichen.
Han Qing looked smug. He swept a provocative gaze over the crowd and boomed, "Does anyone else dare to fight the number one youth?"
"What, has Cyan Moon City run out of people? Can't even cough up two thousand First-Grade Spirit Condensing Pills? You're all too poor!"
Hearing Han Qing's words, the group of young masters was speechless, their faces flushed with shame and anger. To be mocked for being poor by a commoner Martial Cultivator... this was too much.
But two thousand First-Grade Spirit Condensing Pills was indeed not something the Mortal Warrior Cultivators below the Seventh Level present could afford. Such a sum could only be produced by the geniuses from the major Noble Families who were above the Seventh-level Mortal Warrior Realm, and there were only a dozen or so such people in all of Cyan Moon City.
"You, from the Murong Family! Go back and ask that Eighth-Level Mortal of yours if he dares to accept a challenge from the number one youth, Jiang Jichen!"
"And you! Tell that snotty brat from the Shen Family that the number one young genius, Jiang Jichen, has challenged him. Tell him to get his Spirit Pills ready."
"Hey, you with the green hat. Yes, you, Green Hat Bro! Tell your master Jiang Jichen only needs three palm strikes to beat him!"
...
Han Qing's big mouth was completely tactless. His words were vicious and insidious, and he had pretty much offended every young genius from every major Noble Family in Cyan Moon City. The people he mentioned were all a few years older than Jiang Jichen. They were famous young geniuses from a few years back who were now powerful young experts of eighteen or nineteen, with Cultivation between the Eighth and Ninth Level Mortal Realms. Some might have even already stepped into the Innate Realm.
In an instant, Jiang Jichen and Han Qing had become the enemies of every noble scion in the city. Their eyes filled with fury, and they looked ready to swarm and kill the two of them.
Jiang Jichen's hair stood on end. 'These noble scions are nothing to worry about,' he thought, 'but if their Protectors make a move, we'll be in for a miserable end.'
The Protectors of those young masters all had Cultivation above the Ninth Level Mortal Realm. They were far beyond what the current Jiang Jichen could handle.
However, Han Qing was completely oblivious and continued, "Tell your young miss that the number one youth, Jiang Jichen, is invincible in Body Refining, unstoppable in his divine might, and defeated Murong in seven punches! He's a rare and excellent son-in-law. Tell her to prepare ten thousand Spirit Pills, a thousand Spirit Ginsengs, a hundred Spirit Grasses, ten cubes of Spirit Stones, and one Spirit Weapon as a betrothal gift. With that, she can just about make a formal marriage proposal..."
The Commandery Princess's personal maid's pretty face turned cold, and she looked about to explode. At her side was a House General at the Middle Stage of the Ninth-level Mortal Warrior realm.
Jiang Jichen didn't hesitate for another second. He kicked Han Qing unconscious and started dragging him away. He was afraid that if they stayed even a second longer, the crowd would erupt. The two of them would likely die without a proper burial.
Dragging Han Qing's stiff body, Jiang Jichen was just about to leap off the high platform when a beautiful, tall woman suddenly appeared before him.
"Miss Ouyang, are you perhaps looking to avenge your fellow disciple and fight this cripple?"
"If so, please prepare two thousand Condensing Spirit Pills first!"
Looking at the beautiful, deep-minded woman before him, a playful smile touched Jiang Jichen's lips.
She was an Eighth-level Mortal Realm Cultivator who could condense a cyan Spiritual Power Line. Her combat prowess was extraordinary, not to mention she was a disciple of the Five Spirits Sect. Her perspective and foundation were far beyond what Murong Qingshu could compare to.
Ouyang Xue couldn't deny that the young man before her was very charismatic. Furthermore, his talent was the highest she had ever seen in her life. His combat awareness and worldly wisdom were also beyond his peers. But in the end, he was a cripple who couldn't practice Spirit Cultivation, stuck at Level 9 Body Warrior. 'Perhaps,' she thought, 'he'll be trapped in Cyan Moon City for the rest of his life, growing old and dying here, never knowing how vast and wide the outside world truly is?'
At this thought, a trace of pity rose in her heart.
This pity had nothing to do with kindness. It was simply the baseless sympathy someone standing on higher ground might feel for a frog in a well.
With that, her impulse to attack finally subsided. Instead, she smiled serenely and said, "I just wanted to tell you, Young Master, that in seven days, the triennial Moonlight Trial Competition will begin. I hope you won't miss it. I'm very much looking forward to Young Master Jichen's performance in the competition!"
Ouyang Xue's words stirred something in Jiang Jichen, and an idea instantly formed in his mind.
The Moonlight Trial Competition was a trial organized by Cyan Moon City's Heavenly Sword Alliance. The participants were all Cultivators under the age of twenty-five. Anyone older than that, or whose Cultivation exceeded the Innate Third Layer, was not allowed to participate.
The rankings were divided into a youth group and a young adult group. The youth group was for those under eighteen, while the young adult group was for those between eighteen and twenty-five.
The higher the rank, the richer the rewards. After all, the Heavenly Sword Alliance was never stingy. For example, a previous first-place winner once received an Innate Realm-Breaking Pill—a Spirit Pill even veteran Innate Sixth Layer Cultivators would covet. This pill could allow a Cultivator below the Innate Seventh Layer to break through a "First Heaven." In other words, if you were at the Innate Sixth Layer Great Perfection Realm, taking this pill would allow you to break through to the Innate Seventh Layer.
One must understand that on the path of a Cultivator, the further one goes, the harder it becomes. This was especially true for the Innate Tenth Realm, where each layer was like a separate heaven. Many Innate Realm Cultivators might get stuck at a certain layer, unable to advance an inch for the rest of their lives. But with an Innate Realm-Breaking Pill, they could advance another "heaven."
How could such a pill not make people's eyes red with envy?
Therefore, young Cultivators flocked to every Moonlight Trial Competition, scrambling to participate. There was never a shortage of contestants.
The criteria for judging the trial was the killing of Spirit Beasts in the Moonlight Forest. The final rankings were determined by the grade and quantity of Spirit Beast Inner Cores collected.
Jiang Jichen wasn't very interested in the Moonlight Trial Competition itself, but he was very interested in the Moonlight Forest. From the memories of his current life, he knew the Moonlight Forest was mysterious. Even powerful Cultivators at the Innate Seventh Layer only dared to operate on the fringes of its central region, not daring to venture deep into its heart. It was said that only Grandmasters at the Innate Tenth Heaven could brave the depths of the Moonlight Forest, yet even they would never dare enter its absolute center.
Over the long years, countless powerful Cultivators above the Innate Seventh Layer had entered the depths of the Moonlight Forest, never to return.
There were even rumors of Grandmaster Cultivators at the Innate Tenth Realm having perished there.
It was a terrifying place, yet it was also filled with endless cultivation treasures: precious old herbs, rare Spirit Beasts, high-grade ores, priceless refining materials... it had everything.
Therefore, the Moonlight Forest never lacked for adventurers.
Jiang Jichen's heart was moved, but he also knew that without sufficient strength to protect himself, entering would be a one-way trip to death. Therefore, he had to increase his strength as quickly as possible.
"Thank you for the reminder, Miss Ouyang. I'll consider it. Of course, if Miss Ouyang agrees to enter the moonlight with me, to enjoy the boundless autumn moonlit night, with the heavens as our blanket and the earth as our bed, to spend a night of spring breeze together... then I would absolutely not refuse!"
Jiang Jichen said, his gaze burning as it landed on Ouyang Xue.
Ouyang Xue's voice was soft and gentle. "Young Master Jiang, if you can surpass me in either Body Cultivation or Spirit Cultivation within a year, forget one night of spring breeze. What would be wrong with serving by your side forever!"
"Of course, if you can't surpass me, how about you spend the rest of your life as my stable boy?"
At Ouyang Xue's words, the crowd was stunned. They couldn't believe she and Jiang Jichen had made such a heaven-shaking wager in just a few sentences.
One wanted the young miss of the Ouyang Family, a successor disciple of the Five Spirits Sect, to be his personal handmaiden; the other wanted the former number one young genius of Cyan Moon City to be her stable boy.
Both of them were incredibly ambitious. But was it possible for Jiang Jichen to surpass Ouyang Xue in either Body Cultivation or Spirit Cultivation within a year?
Absolutely impossible!
That was what everyone was thinking.
In a year, Ouyang Xue would surely have stepped into the Innate First Realm.
As for Jiang Jichen, his Spirit Cultivation was crippled, making it impossible for him to practice it again in this life. And with the Body Refining Dao broken, even with his astonishing talent, he could only stop at the Body Warrior Ninth Level Realm. What's more, there was no way he could reach the Body Warrior Ninth Level Realm within a year!
No matter how you looked at it, it was a bet he was guaranteed to lose. They figured that as long as Jiang Jichen wasn't stupid or crazy—if he had any sense at all—he would never agree to it.
At this, Jiang Jichen just smiled, his face full of cheer. He didn't say a word, simply picked up Han Qing's stiff body, walked off the stage, and headed toward the Bronze Five-Star Cultivation Field.
'He really doesn't dare to accept!'
Everyone thought the same thing as they watched Jiang Jichen's retreating back.
Even Ouyang Xue was certain that Jiang Jichen wouldn't agree to such a no-win bet. She had only proposed it so as not to appear weak-willed in front of him.
A Cultivator cultivates the mind, but also values their aura!
However, just as Jiang Jichen reached the highest step of the Cultivation Arena, he abruptly turned around. His aura was as profound as an abyss and as steadfast as a mountain as he looked down upon the crowd and declared, "Since it is Miss Ouyang's request, how could I possibly refuse?"
"There's no need for a year. In three months, Miss Ouyang, you can come and serve me well!"
His voice was like a great bell, echoing between heaven and earth. No one had imagined that Jiang Jichen would actually accept, let alone make such a confident and domineering declaration.
Under the astonished gazes of the crowd, Jiang Jichen's figure vanished into the Cultivation Arena.