White Robed ChiefWhite Robed Chief
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
After watching Zhao Tianxing leave, He Shu and the other two disciples went over to Chu Li. They were extremely elated.
Zhang Ya, the fat man danced happily and laughed. “You’re going to the inner cliff, you’re going to the inner cliff!”
Chu Li remained a calm face as he shook his head. “I haven’t passed the Challenge Stage.”
“Junior Brother Lu, you’ve defeated Senior Brother Zhao Tianxing, who can defeat you now? You’ll succeed for sure!” Zhang Ya was excited. “Oh, the inner cliff! The inner cliff! Oh, the inner cliff, the inner cliff!”
Chu Li remarked, “The inner cliff isn’t that great. There won’t be much freedom.”
“If you want freedom, just master your martial arts. Without profound martial arts, you won’t get freedom anywhere you go, doesn’t matter if you’re dead or alive!” He Shu shook his head and chuckled. “Junior Brother Lu, why don’t you seem happy at all?”
Chu Li replied, “This is normal, it’s nothing to be happy about.”
“Haha.” He Shu laughed out loud. “Nice, I like your spirit!”
Sun Jia smiled. “Junior Brother Lu, wait for us in the inner cliff. We’ll make our way there too.”
Chu Li nodded.
Zhang Ya quickly waved his hand. “No, no. Senior Brother Sun, I won’t be able to get in. I can’t defeat Senior Brother Zhao!”
“Look at you, you’re hopeless!” Sun Jia said snappily.
Zhang Ya mentioned, “One must plant one’s feet on solid ground. I’m content with being in the outer cliff, it’s just impossible for me to enter the inner cliff. I will not make myself suffer by having this wishful thinking. Whether it’s the inner cliff or the outer cliff, the most important thing is to be happy about it.”
“No wonder you’re so fat!” Sun Jia scoffed.
Chu Li saluted them with his fists before he returned to his house to cultivate the Fillip Swift Thunder.
Although Chu Li had managed to counter the Dancing Crane Technique without using Fillip Swift Thunder, he knew that it would be useful during crucial moments. Owing to his deep understanding of Petrifying Finger, it was easier for him to cultivate Fillip Swift Thunder.
The next morning, just as Chu Li had finished cultivating the whole cycle of Fillip Swift Thunder from the first level to the sixth level, Lu Zhengjun arrived at his house. “Let’s go to the Challenge Stage.”
Challenge Stage was located below the easternmost precipice on the island.
The precipice was like a sword that was pointed diagonally at the sky. It was more than two hundred meters tall, which was nearly the height of a sixty-story building. It towered so high that it could cover the Sun.
A round-shaped stage was built under the precipice, which was normally used for worship purposes.
Ascending from the outer cliff to the inner cliff was an important matter that must be announced to the ancestors, thus the challenge was held there.
More than five hundred people had gathered around the stage at the moment and it was shocking for Chu Li.
He did not expect Green Deer Cliff to have so many disciples as he thought that he would be able to count the disciples. After all, they had never shown themselves to the world.
Almost all of the disciples present were young men and middle-aged men, whereby the elders only occupied a small percentage of the crowd.
Chu Li noticed that Green Deer Cliff’s disciples somehow had a recipe for eternal youth. Even when they were more than a hundred years old, they looked like they were in their thirties. Only those who were at least two hundred years old had white hair. As for those who were more than three hundred years old, they rarely showed up, thus Chu Li did not get a chance to see them.
A white-haired elder stood on the stage to announce that an outer cliff disciple was going to enter the inner cliff, which was an occasion that should be celebrated. The elder stressed that as long as Chu Li succeeded in the challenge, he would be the first person in a hundred years to enter the inner cliff from the outer cliff, and he would be a role model to all in Green Deer Cliff. As an elder of Green Deer Cliff, he always wished Chu Li the best from the bottom of his heart.
After that, Chu Li went on the stage and looked at the crowd around him. He gave everyone a fist salute before he said, “I appreciate your guidance, Senior Brothers!”
At one glance, he noticed that he had already battled most of the young disciples.
A brief moment later, a tall and thin young man fluttered onto the stage but he was injured by Chu Li on the shoulder after a few hits.
Later, nobody dared to challenge him anymore. It was entirely different from what everyone had expected as it was not as lively as the disciples present were not there to challenge him, but to help him pass the challenge.
The white-haired elder went on stage again. He reminded, “Dear disciples, let me remind you of the rules. If Xiao Lu enters the inner cliff, you won’t get your salary for a year, and you’ll lose a year’s supply of drugs. Think properly!”
The other disciples looked at him helplessly.
They could tell that Honorable Master Ning had assumed that they were helping Chu Li, and was letting him succeed on purpose because of Master’s Junior Lu. The truth was that most of the disciples were already aware of Chu Li’s Great Heaven-deriving Sword Technique and knew that they were no match for him.
Even with other mystical arts, they could not counter his Great Heaven-deriving Sword Technique. Since Zhao Tianxing had also been defeated, there was no point for the other disciples to waste their time.
“From now on, all of you will come up the stage one by one to fight Xiao Lu!” Ning Caiyi instructed, “Zhao Tianxing, you first!”
Zhao Tianxing gave him a fist salute. “Honorable Master Zu, I just fought with him yesterday and I’ve been injured.”
He pointed at his right shoulder to show Honorable Master Zu that he could not fight.
“You really lost to Xiao Lu?”
“Yes, his Great Heaven-deriving Sword Technique is so exquisite that I couldn’t defeat him.”
“Were you being careless?”
Zhao Tianxing shook his head. “I really couldn’t defeat him. Honorable Master Ning, you can take a look at his sword technique. Junior Brother Xu, you should try.”
A handsome young man leaped onto the stage to meet Chu Li.
Ning Caiyi took a look at Chu Li, then at Zhao Tianxing. He frowned without saying a word.
In terms of cultivation level, Chu Li was inferior to Zhao Tianxing. If it was not because of the fact that Chu Li had cultivated the Great Heaven-deriving Sword, Ning Caiyi would suspect that Zhao Tianxing had lost to Chu Li on purpose to fulfill Lu Guangdi’s wish.
Evidently, the ancestors of Green Deer Cliff took precautions to prevent that from happening.
On the stage, Junior Brother Xu faced Chu Li’s sword technique with his fist and his palm. Through the combination of Nature Restoration Manifestation and Great Heaven-deriving Sword, Chu Li forced Junior Brother Xu to perform the Dancing Crane Technique after twenty hits. Nevertheless, since Junior Brother Xu’s Dancing Crane Technique was not at a level of attainment that was on par with Zhao Tianxing’s, Chu Li soon injured him on his shoulder.
Ning Caiyi was surprised. He turned to look at Lu Zhengjun who stood in a corner quietly. He thought to himself, ‘Lu Zhengjun’s illegitimate son is really a genius. He’s the first person in a hundred years to have cultivated Great Heaven-deriving Sword to this extent.
‘No wonder Zhao Tianxing and the others were defeated. It’s really hard to win someone with this level of attainment in Great Heaven-deriving Sword.’
Subsequently, over a hundred young disciples went on stage to fight Chu Li one by one.
Without a break in between, Chu Li fought all of them. His Great Heaven-deriving Sword became more violent such that he went from defeating the disciples with twenty hits to using just three hits.
From morning to noon when the Sun was right above their heads, Chu Li had completed the challenge.
“The next stage is Conscience Hall.” Ning Caiyi fluttered to the stage, then instructed, “All top ten disciples, make your way to Conscience Hall!”
“Yes,” Zhao Tianxing and the others responded.
They knew that they were asked to go to Conscience Hall to answer if they had allowed Chu Li to win on purpose. If there were no problems, Lu Guangdi would become an inner cliff disciple!
So, Chu Li followed the rest to the bottom of the cliff before they traveled all the way up through their Light-body Technique. Though the cliff covered in moss was slippery, it did not stop them from ascending.
With that, they arrived at the top where a little thatched cottage could be seen surrounded by several rocks.
The old little thatched cottage looked like it was going to be blown away at any time.
Led by Ning Caiyi, eleven people paced toward the little thatched cottage. Ning Caiyi called out, “Master’s Junior Hua, they’re here.”
“Come in.” A loud voice was heard.
Chu Li and the others entered to find a bright and warm interior as if they entered a different world.
An elder with white hair and a youthful complexion was seen sitting on the wooden floor. He had a round face with red cheeks, and eyes so sharp that he could see through a person’s heart.
“Master’s Junior Hua, this is Lu Guangdi who has just entered the inner cliff,” Ning Caiyi introduced.
“Mm, has it been a hundred years?” Master’s Junior Hua asked gently.
Honorable Master Ning nodded.
“Xiao Lu, take a seat.” Master’s Junior Hua pointed at a cattail hassock opposite him.
When he looked at Chu Li meaningfully, Chu Li had a sudden thought to escape as he felt that something was off.