Chapter 120: Is He Really That Powerful?

Like the image left behind in the Spatial Bright Lake, using the Sword Intent Projection also consumed his divine energy—or, more precisely, his soul energy.

For the past two days, Xiao Nan had gone nowhere. Aside from tempering his body and spirit, he had devoted every remaining moment to wrestling with the Sword Intent Projection.

With energy flowing out and none coming in, the golden patterns of light covering his body had nearly been exhausted.

Fortunately, he had broken through and successfully grasped the technique.

Otherwise, if he wanted to master the sword intent in one sustained effort, he would have had to leave the city and hunt wolves to replenish his energy.

That would have been far too wasteful of time.

Besides, who knew whether the Wolf King was still waiting nearby on the Ten-Mile Meadow?

It was more than a little dangerous.

……

Daylight had fully broken.

After washing up, Xiao Nan bought breakfast as usual. When he returned, he found the little girl already seated at the dining table, waiting for him.

“Mom, hurry up! Breakfast is ready.”

Xiao Bei rushed over like a gust of wind to take the bags from him. She peeked inside and exclaimed, “There’s my favorite pork floss, and tofu pudding too… Xiao Nan, how did you know I wanted to eat this today?”

Seeing the blissful expression on the little girl’s face, Xiao Nan could not help smiling. He reached out and ruffled her fuzzy hair.

“Go wash your hands.”

In truth, he had simply wanted to eat it himself. He had just happened to guess correctly.

The family gathered around the table in high spirits.

Tan Qiuyi and Xiao Bei tacitly avoided mentioning today’s trial.

Over the past two days, they had seen Xiao Nan shut himself in his room and train bitterly. They were afraid that asking too many questions would only put even more pressure on him.

In other families, parents might ask their children whether they were confident, tell them what they ought to do, and repeatedly offer reminders and advice.

Tan Qiuyi would never do that.

After the three martial examinations, she had come to believe completely that her son could deal with anything.

……

The television was on, and the clear voice of the morning news announcer drifted beside them, seeming both close and distant.

As Xiao Bei ate, she suddenly stopped and stared blankly at the screen.

“…At three o’clock yesterday afternoon, an incident occurred at Bright Lake Square. Fortunately, Li Shaohua, a graduating senior from Yuanjiang No. 1 High School, was present. He slew the tiger-headed barbarian that had suddenly burst onto the scene, preventing a greater tragedy…”

Xiao Nan turned toward the screen as well.

Li Shaohua’s figure flashed forward like lightning, his sword sweeping horizontally. The red-eyed, tiger-headed barbarian across from him roared and swung its claws, but its arm and head were cleaved cleanly in two.

Li Shaohua turned around, a smug smile on his face.

He lifted a hand and brushed the beads of blood from his blade. Sunlight fell across his features, gilding them with a golden sheen.

“…Everyone knows how vicious and cruel the tiger barbarians are, but many may not understand just how powerful these beast barbarians truly are. According to reliable sources, their strength generally reaches the peak of the Tendon Tempering stage, within the second martial rank…

“Yuanjiang No. 1 High School follows an elite-education model and has achieved remarkable results. As a third-year student, Li Shaohua was able to slay a tiger barbarian with ease. We can now say with certainty that, in this year’s provincial capital examination, admission to a prestigious school should be virtually guaranteed for him…”

Was this an attempt to build momentum?

Xiao Nan stared at the news in a daze.

The school had only just announced that the student who ranked first in the trial would be allowed to train in the Void Crystal Chamber, and Li Shaohua had immediately produced such a major news story—moreover, in full view of a crowd.

What struck Xiao Nan as most peculiar was the footage itself.

The angle was masterful, and the lighting was excellent.

It displayed Li Shaohua’s heroic bearing and formidable swordsmanship to perfection.

The report was already a rerun. It must have been broadcast the previous evening as well; the Xiao family simply had not turned on the television and therefore knew nothing about it.

The senior administrators of Yuanjiang No. 1 High School were probably in a difficult position now.

With strength like Li Shaohua’s, if they denied him the chance to train in the Void Crystal Chamber, someone would surely come forward and accuse the school of unfairness.

So soon after the scandal involving Lin An’guo, such public accusations carried considerable weight.

“First, he’s using public opinion to seize the moral high ground and drag popular sentiment along with him. Then he’ll rely on overwhelming strength to secure the trial results and turn the matter into an accomplished fact.”

Xiao Nan narrowed his eyes.

“It seems Li Shaohua wants the Void Crystal Chamber even more desperately than we thought.”

The only question was what other tricks the Li family would play during the trial.

His brows drew together slightly.

“Li Shaohua is in your class too, right? He’s so strong…” Xiao Bei’s eyes sparkled as she watched.

“Eat your breakfast. Your brother is stronger. Li Shaohua, Li Dahu—whatever his name is, he wouldn’t stand a chance against one of my hands.”

Seeing the look on Xiao Bei’s face, Xiao Nan felt his temper flare. He reached across with his chopsticks and lightly tapped her on the head.

The little girl ducked, but did not get angry. Then she suddenly remembered something, her eyes widening as she asked anxiously, “I heard someone say that the person who comes first in Yuanjiang No. 1 High School’s trial gets a huge reward. Something about crystal-stone cultivation. You’re not planning to compete with him, are you, Xiao Nan?”

“Who told you that?” Xiao Nan asked, somewhat surprised, though he did not dwell on it.

Yuanjiang City was large when one considered its size, yet small enough to resemble a single village. Any news, old or new, would spread through the streets in no time.

The incident of Lin An’guo being driven to suicide had already caused a tremendous uproar. Even Tan Qiuyi was considering whether Xiao Bei should apply to Yuanjiang No. 1 High School in the future, or attend high school in another city instead.

Thinking of the Li family’s actions and Li Shaohua’s killing of the barbarian, Xiao Nan became more cautious.

His opponent was far stronger than he had imagined.

When he had fought the bear barbarian and fox barbarian that day, he had learned clearly that these barbarians might look clumsy, but they were by no means weak.

“If I were fighting that tiger barbarian, could I kill it so effortlessly?”

Xiao Nan was uncertain.

His strength had indeed improved. He was far stronger than he had been when he had risked his life to kill the bear barbarian, but he was still nowhere near the point where he could slay a second-rank beast barbarian with such ease.

Unless he used the new sword-intent technique he had learned.

Yet from Li Shaohua’s attack, it was obvious that he had not used his ultimate move.

He had simply relied on speed and strength, crushing his opponent head-on in a direct confrontation.

It had looked almost like a performance.

Was the Li family’s Crouching Dragon Sword really that powerful?

Xiao Nan was puzzled, but his fighting spirit had been quietly stirred.

The opportunity to train in the Void Crystal Chamber was exceedingly rare—an encounter that could only be called a stroke of destiny. He absolutely could not let it slip away.

……

Xiao Nan arrived at the school gate five minutes early. More than seventy students who had passed the blood-qi examination were already nearly all there.

A school bus stood beside the gate. Its body was sturdy and appeared extraordinarily heavy.

Several burly men in security uniforms sat inside, firearms at their sides, their eyes closed as they rested.

They were leaving the city for the wilderness, where savage beasts might be encountered along the way. The additional protection was simply a precaution against the unforeseen.

A short while later, Sun Zhongli, Tang Zhixuan, and the notarization officials from the Department of Education appeared at the school entrance. After a few brief words, they ordered everyone to set out.

Xiao Nan listened closely to the surrounding students’ discussions. More than half of them were talking about Li Shaohua’s strength. Hardly anyone seemed concerned about why Xiong Bing had not come.

“I wonder what that big fellow told the school. Did he leave any message?”

Xiao Nan speculated that many things might have happened during the two days he had spent training in seclusion—things he simply knew nothing about.

When Sun Zhongli cast him an assessing yet encouraging look, Xiao Nan nodded.

He understood that Principal Sun wanted him to give everything he had and fight for a place in the Void Crystal Chamber.

It went without saying that the Li family’s publicity campaign had placed considerable pressure on him.

Tang Zhixuan instructed the students to check their equipment and offered everyone a few words of encouragement. When she reached Xiao Nan, however, she gave him no lengthy reminders. She merely said quietly, “Be careful. If the situation becomes untenable, withdraw immediately.”

“I understand.”

Xiao Nan nodded.

……

Nothing happened along the way. They followed the main road, passed through Whitefang Forest, and soon arrived without incident at a broad, open area.

The mountain peaks here had been leveled, the trees had withered and died, and the ground was scorched black.

Steel structures stood everywhere.

Rows upon rows of menacing artillery barrels pointed obliquely toward the sky.

From somewhere far in the distance came intermittent shouts, probably the sound of soldiers undergoing training.

The entire base was under tight defense. As soon as the school bus entered, a military vehicle took the lead.

Someone came forward, verified everyone’s identities, and then guided them deeper into the base.

After passing another checkpoint, they entered a silver-white steel building. They had not gone far before a large gate appeared ahead.

A middle-aged soldier with lightly graying temples was waiting nearby. When he saw Sun Zhongli, he smiled and said, “Principal Sun, you have more than seventy promising candidates this year—over ten more than last year. Very impressive.”

“Commander Wang, we’ll be imposing on you again this time. Most of these students have never experienced actual combat…”

“Selecting talent for the nation is a duty I cannot shirk.” Wang Yuanzhi’s smile was gentle, and he seemed extremely easygoing.

Xiao Nan, however, sensed a cold, murderous aura emanating from him.

The man was smiling, but he was not truly smiling. He was merely putting on an expression.

The blood and qi within his body were vast and magnificent. As he passed by, Xiao Nan felt his own blood and qi faintly suppressed.

He had never sensed anything like it, not even from Su Yuqing or Li Yuanchen.