Soul Emperor Martial God

"Huh." Xiao Yi touched his nose, slightly embarrassed.

"As far as I know, Purple Flame hasn't even taken part in the Sky-splitting Sword Sect's examination," Qin Feiyang said with a look of regret.

"I've heard his name on the lips of several Demon Hunters during my travels outside; he's well-regarded," Lin Jin added.

"Some Demon Hunters, when facing danger and happen to encounter him, he would lend a hand."

"I've heard that many people are looking for him now. Hundred Martial City Treasure Trading Company, Young Master Wuyou from Shadow Tower, Bai Bingxue from the Bai Family, and so on," Tie Niu said in a deep voice.

"However, since he's not here, there's no one in the forest to suppress Lei Zhan."

"Hmm," Qin Feiyang responded gravely, "Lei Zhan is famously ruthless. Though not heartless, he is quick-tempered and prone to fighting at the slightest disagreement."

"If we encounter him, we'd better run."

Lin Jin nodded and looked earnestly at Qin Feiyang, saying, "If we run into Lei Zhan, Qin Feiyang, you better transform into a hawk and carry us away."

Qin Feiyang's face took on a strange expression. For the past half-month, these two had never stopped persuading him to transform into a hawk.

...

Days went by one after another.

Xiao Yi and his companions had only engaged in a few scattered battles over these days, as it was hard to find martial artists.

Small teams were hiding; large groups were doing the same.

Both sides were waiting for the last day. Before then, no one wanted, nor hoped for other conflicts, preferring to make complete preparations.

The leaders of the big gangs, all geniuses on the Northern Mountain Ranking, were well-known, with extraordinary strength and shrewd minds.

Besides wanting the top ten rewards, they also hoped their subordinates would pass the examination.

In this way, once they became disciples of the Sky-splitting Sword Sect, their subordinates would become a significant aid to them in the future.

As for the smaller teams, they too, were prepared to give their all on the final day to score higher points.

In short, everyone had their plans.

.....

Before long, ten days had passed.

Today was the last day of the assessment.

The atmosphere in the forest suddenly became eerie. Eerily quiet, it was frightening.

No birds flew, no animals called, and even the wind seemed to have paused.

In the very center of the forest, a dozen large gangs each occupied a direction, eyeing each other, yet silent.

No one dared to make the first move, or even utter a sound, only sending out their aura to probe each other.

The auras of thousands of martial artists quickly coalesced into a powerful surge.

It was this aura that made every bird and beast within ten miles shiver, gasping for breath.

And at the periphery of these large gangs, there were small teams huddled together, afraid of being attacked by the larger groups. Reader support at M*VLEM*PYR made this translation possible.

Yet, they all showed an eager willingness for a vigorous battle.

Among them was Xiao Yi's party of five.

The oppressive and silent atmosphere continued to standoff, gradually making the martial artists present restless.

After a while, Guu Changfeng was the first to step out into battle.

His movement immediately made the other thousands of martial artists focus sharply on him.

"Gentlemen, no rush," Guu Changfeng said out loud, "Now, only we remain in the forest, and naturally, the final battle must begin."

"However, it would be regrettable if some people tried to fish in troubled waters."

As he spoke, his gaze turned to the small teams at the edge, saying coldly, "Before we clash, perhaps we should clean them up first."

At the same time, Zhao Buqun also stepped into battle, saying, "Young Master Changfeng is right. Those small teams still here have quite a few points."

If Guu Changfeng had been the only one to suggest it, leaders of the other groups would certainly not have acted.

But with Zhao Buqun echoing the sentiment, the other groups began to contemplate.

"I agree," a leader of one of the gangs stood up.

"Let's go with Young Master Changfeng and Young Master Bu Qun."

"What Young Master Changfeng and Young Master Bu Qun have said makes perfect sense."

"...."

One after another, the leaders stood up to express their agreement.

When two geniuses ranked 14th and 15th on the Northern Mountain Ranking spoke at the same time, naturally no one objected.

On the side of the smaller teams, everyone's face suddenly turned ugly.

"Despicable."

"These villains have banded together."

"Let's fight them."

The Martial Artists of the small teams, each one of them proud and haughty, showed angry faces and a fierce desire to battle.

Seeing this, Guu Changfeng sneered, "Humph, a bunch of ants still daring to resist, kill them."

"Okay," a group of leaders responded, and more than two thousand Martial Artists moved at the same time.

Currently, there are less than three thousand Martial Artists left in the forest.

The large gangs comprised over two thousand of them, while the smaller teams had fewer than a thousand, at most around eight hundred.

From the perspective of numbers, the smaller teams were clearly at a disadvantage.

However, those willing to join the large gangs were those who could not pass the assessment on their own strength, at most reaching Innate Fourth Layer or Fifth Layer.

Most of the small teams consisted of individuals with decent strength, capable of hoping to pass the assessment on their own. Many were at Innate Sixth Layer, and there were no small number of those at Innate Seventh Layer and Eighth Layer.

Like Hua Jian Hee Jian, Burrowing Rat Hee Cang, and Demon Hunter Wang Hu, who had been defeated by Xiao Yi and his companions earlier, each had astonishing combat power.

Many among them had enough Cultivation to establish a large gang from the start but simply disdained to do so.

Therefore, the smaller teams generally had higher strength.

This battle, who would win and who would lose, was not yet certain.

The fight broke out instantaneously, and the Martial Artists from both sides had already clashed.

A melee involving thousands of people was both tumultuous and chaotic.

A dozen leaders did not take action, just watched confidently. In their view, their subordinates could easily win with their numerical advantage.

On the other side, Xiao Yi's gaze sharpened as he observed calmly before speaking in a deep voice, "On the large gangs' side, only Guu Changfeng and Zhao Buqun are at Innate Ninth Layer."

"The other leaders are all ranked after the 19th on the Northern Mountain Ranking, uniformly at Innate Eighth Layer."

"Leave Guu Changfeng and Zhao Buqun to me, the rest of the leaders are yours."

Since the enemy had the advantage in numbers, it would be better to first target their king.

"Alright, apart from Guu Changfeng and Zhao Buqun, I don't even care about the others," Qin Feiyang said confidently, straightening his clothes and leaping gracefully towards the other leaders.

"This guy always loves to show off, but after all, he is ranked 16th on the Northern Mountain Ranking, so it's natural he doesn't take other leaders seriously," Lin Jin laughed and also targeted the other leaders.

"Xiao Yi, leave Guu Changfeng and Zhao Buqun to you. Teach those two scoundrels a good lesson."

Without knowing when, Hua Jian Hee Jian and Burrowing Rat Hee Cang, among others, had already taken their stand behind Xiao Yi, spoke up, and then made their moves in an instant.

Hua Jian Hee Jian, ranked 17th on the Northern Mountain Ranking.

Xiao Yi nodded, then instructed Tie Niu and Liu Yanran beside him, "Yanran, you are not strong in combat, just stay where you are and use the willow fluff to disrupt the enemy."

"Tie Niu, you have outstanding defensive capabilities, protect Yanran well."

"Okay," Tie Niu answered earnestly.

As one after another powerful Martial Artist took action, the leaders were also forced to engage.

Seeing this, Guu Changfeng and Zhao Buqun were just about to help, when a haughty figure blocked their path.

"Your opponent is me," said Xiao Yi coldly, with a Purple Cloud Iron Sword spread out in front of the two men.

With his sword, those two would dream in vain of joining any other fights.