"Big brother, you're amazing!"
Seeing Shi Hao's confident expression, Shi Qingfeng's eyes were filled with admiration.
At this moment, Shi Hao suddenly remembered something important.
He quickly pulled Shi Qingfeng aside and secretly stuffed the Genius Token Xia Youyu had given him into Shi Qingfeng's hand.
"Qingfeng, take this token to the people of the Heaven-Mending Pavilion later. They'll let you enter directly—you won't need to take the assessment like everyone else!"
Shi Qingfeng was stunned as he held the token.
"Then what about you, big brother?"
Shi Hao patted his chest confidently.
"Of course I'll take the assessment myself. You know me—I hate taking shortcuts the most. Shortcuts mean missing out on training opportunities."
Hearing this, Shi Qingfeng finally accepted the token.
Just then—
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Earth-shaking sword cries suddenly erupted from the celestial horse carriage.
The sword sounds swept across the sky, forcing all the cultivators present for the assessment to retreat several steps.
Immediately after, countless sword shadows surged out of the carriage, swept upward by overwhelming sword intent like a raging tide.
In the blink of an eye, they condensed into a colossal ten-thousand-foot-long dragon, formed entirely of sword light.
The sword dragon opened its mouth and let out a deafening roar toward the gates of the Heaven-Mending Pavilion!
Terrifying sword intent spread instantly, alarming the Pavilion Master and numerous elders inside.
Moments later—
Streaks of light shot out from the Heaven-Mending Pavilion and arrived at the mountain gate.
But before everyone's horrified eyes—
the massive sword dragon suddenly disintegrated.
Countless sword shadows fell like rain, landing upon the ground.
They transformed into endless green grass leaves, covering the entire mountain gate plaza and every stone step of the Heaven-Mending Pavilion.
These grass leaves were not condensed sword energy—
they were real grass, radiating pure vitality.
"Sword energy materializing reality… creating something from nothing…"
The Pavilion Master's pupils contracted sharply.
"This person's swordsmanship has already reached perfection!"
He immediately led Elder Mu Yan and the others toward the celestial carriage.
The gathered cultivators were stunned.
They never expected the Pavilion Master and so many elders to personally come out and greet someone.
"Fellow Daoist, today is the day our Heaven-Mending Pavilion recruits disciples. May I ask what brings you here?"
The Pavilion Master clasped his fists toward the carriage, his expression solemn.
The sword intent released earlier carried an aura no weaker than his own—he couldn't afford to be careless.
Elder Mu Yan and Elder Xiong Fei stood behind him, silent but alert.
"Sorry," a hearty laugh came from inside the carriage.
"I just had a sudden enlightenment in swordsmanship and accidentally leaked my sword aura. I didn't mean to disturb everyone."
The curtain lifted.
A handsome young man stepped out.
"It's Zhu Chen!"
Hidden in the crowd, Shi Hao muttered in surprise.
"No wonder that voice sounded familiar—it's him!"
"Is that the Zhu Chen you always talk about, big brother?"
Shi Qingfeng looked at Zhu Chen curiously.
Last time Shi Hao brought him back to Stone Village, Zhu Chen had been in another world.
Everything he knew about Zhu Chen came from Shi Hao.
"Yes," Shi Hao crossed his arms and struck a pose.
"Don't you think he's just as handsome as me?"
Shi Qingfeng glanced at Shi Hao's dirty beggar clothes and answered honestly:
"Big brother, I think he's much more handsome than you. At least he isn't this dirty."
"Hmph! You have no taste!"
Shi Hao rolled his eyes, then explained quickly,
"I'm disguised, okay? I caused too much trouble in the Void God Realm last time. If I didn't disguise myself, I'd be fighting people nonstop—and then I couldn't cultivate peacefully with you."
…
"Young friend," the Pavilion Master asked solemnly,
"Was that sword energy just now released by you?"
He was clearly shocked.
Though cultivators could preserve youth after reaching a certain realm,
the youthful vitality of this young man could not be faked.
His true age was undoubtedly very young.
It was hard to believe that sword intent powerful enough to shake the Pavilion had come from him.
"Yes," Zhu Chen nodded calmly.
To prove it, he casually pointed a finger.
A sword beam shot out instantly, piercing a massive hole through a cliff wall a thousand meters away.
Sensing that familiar sword intent,
the Pavilion Master and Elder Mu Yan were utterly shocked.
"May I ask… what is your current cultivation realm?"
Elder Mu Yan stepped forward, asking the question everyone wanted answered.
"Inscription Realm," Zhu Chen replied calmly.
His tone was relaxed, as if stating something trivial.
But his words stunned everyone.
"What?! Inscription Realm?!"
"He's younger than me—I've only opened one cave heaven!"
"No way. He must be Blood Transformation at best!"
"If he's really Inscription Realm, wouldn't he be on par with the Pavilion elders?"
"He's bluffing! He must be using a treasure!"
"But his aura really feels like Inscription Realm…"
"What if he's hiding his cultivation with an artifact?"
"That must be it. He's using tricks to avoid the entrance exam!"
"Stay away from people like him in the future!"
"That's right. Taking shortcuts means no future!"
No one believed Zhu Chen had reached the Inscription Realm at such a young age.
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