You Almost Hurt Me

The young cultivator sidled up to Daoist Fufeng and whispered, "Brother Daoist Fufeng, I haven't offended you or yours, and neither has the Bao family." Daoist Fufeng coughed a few times and could only feign ignorance, saying, "Calm yourself. Just watch, and all will be clear." Fidgeting with unease, the young cultivator could only watch as Wei Yuan charged all the way north. To the two Confucian scholars, however, this was an unexpected delight, and both turned a blind eye to the karmic destiny secret art Wei Yuan had suddenly displayed. Every prominent clan had its own karmic destiny secret art. Among them, the Bao family's Oblivion of Fleeting Years was particularly renowned, capable of causing Bao Yun's strength to surge explosively in an instant. Since Li Zhi had already secured his place at the Four Sages Academy, he undoubtedly knew the Departure Chapter. It was not just Li Zhi and Bao Yun either; many scions of great clans on the field possessed karmic destiny secret arts. If one were truly to be pedantic about it, at least twenty or thirty could probably be ferreted out. Thus, all the evaluators knew in their hearts that this matter was simply beyond investigating. In the northern center army, the girl in the primrose-yellow dress watched the sand table, calculating the time. "If Li Zhi still doesn't come in fifteen minutes, we attack!" Before her voice had faded, several grains of sand suddenly trickled down from the miniature hills on the sand table before her! The girl raised her head and said serenely, "This Li Zhi does have some skill after all. He actually came." The crowd around the girl all looked toward the south. Every one of them was calm and composed; not a single person showed fear. Unlike Li Zhi, these people had already banded together before the unified examination, unlike Li Zhi, who had only begun gathering a following after entering the dormitories. They also had absolute faith in Bao Yun. Bao Yun deploying her flanks was precisely meant to force Li Zhi's main force into a decisive battle, so they could finish off their opponents in a single stroke, wrap up the exam early, and go home to drink. The crowd gazed into the distance for a moment. What appeared at the edge of their vision was not an army in yellow robes, but a moving mountain of flesh. Wei Yuan urged his boar up a small knoll. Standing on high ground, he looked across the distance at the neatly arrayed battle formation ahead, seeing only a sea of azure armor. In the illusory realm, once each person chose their weapons and armor, the colors were applied automatically, leaving no confusion about faction. Everyone in the azure battle formation also saw the yellow heavy armor on Wei Yuan. Bao Yun stared at Wei Yuan in bewilderment and asked, "Who is this?" Everyone shook their heads blankly. They had known all of Li Zhi's key lieutenants before the martial test, yet not a single soul knew who this pig rider before them was. While the crowd hesitated, Wei Yuan did not pause. Looking at the tight, orderly battle formation before him, another wisp of black silk slipped into the wild boar's body. The boar's bulk swelled visibly once more, the white vapor snorting from its snout growing faster and thicker until it gathered into a great cloud of mist, shrouding Wei Yuan within. With a thought, Wei Yuan raised his spear and pointed forward. The wild boar immediately threw its head back and howled, its earth-shaking roar echoing throughout the entire illusory realm! A bloody crimson hue swiftly spread across the boar's two tusks, and the plumes of snorted white vapor were tinged with threads of red. Lowering its head, it charged toward the battle formation, trailing roiling clouds of mist! The battle formation had originally been neat and orderly, and those ranked within it had been full of confidence. But this formation was meant to counter Li Zhi, not a mountain-sized wild boar. Only when a boar weighing over ten thousand jin charged full tilt straight toward them did they understand fear—that was simply beyond mortal power to withstand! Those in the center of the first rank tossed aside their weapons and turned to run. The examinees in the two ranks behind them were caught completely off guard, and by the time they tried to flee, it was already too late. The wild boar slammed into the battle formation with a tremendous crash. With a flick of its multi-foot tusks, it launched several examinees into the air. Flying through midair, before they could even struggle, spear shadows flickered before their eyes, and they vanished into rays of light. The battle formation originally prepared to meet a full-scale assault from Li Zhi's entire army was gouged clean through by Wei Yuan in a single charge. Having carved his way out of the formation, Wei Yuan clamped his legs together. The wild boar planted its four hooves into the earth like pillars, yet its bulk still skidded forward over a hundred feet under the tremendous momentum. Its four hooves scraped the ground so fiercely they nearly sparked before it finally managed to wheel around. By now, a wide avenue had been plowed straight through the center of the azure formation, and several more beams of white light rose from the dirt in succession. Several youths surged out from beside Bao Yun and lunged toward Wei Yuan. One of them shouted, "Don't be afraid! Join forces and slay that beast first!" Faint glows rose from the youths' bodies as they sprinted like lightning, clearly all wielding karmic destiny secret arts. Just as the wild boar hauled its immense frame around, before it could gather momentum and unleash its strength, the youths were already upon it. Leaping into the air, they brought all manner of weapons crashing down toward the boar. Now that both sides were utilizing karmic destiny secret arts, Wei Yuan's divine sense stirred, immediately sensing the karmic destiny upon them. Under the sympathetic resonance of destiny, Wei Yuan felt that the three youths before him were like candle flames in the wind, each puny and frail. In Wei Yuan's eyes, their movements also slowed to a snail's crawl. Suspended in midair with no way to shift or dodge, they were practically the best possible targets. Leveling his spear, Wei Yuan thrust. One strike, one kill. In the blink of an eye, every youth vanished into rays of light. Wei Yuan slowly withdrew his spear, his gaze falling upon the remnants of the battle formation. Seeing Wei Yuan look their way, the examinees of the azure formation suddenly shattered and scattered in flight. Wei Yuan looked up and saw the young men and women standing atop the slope. Leveling his spear forward, he pointed it from afar at the girl standing in the middle. "Insolence!" An exceptionally dashing youth beside the girl flared with rage. Stepping forward, he barked, "I'll teach him some manners!" Bao Yun said softly, "Be careful, Brother Xu." The youth said haughtily, "No matter! A mere barbarian—capturing him will be as easy as turning my hand!" The youth clearly possessed a karmic destiny secret art as well. Two clusters of purple fire ignited in his eyes, and purple flames surged over his body. His speed abruptly multiplied several times over, charging toward Wei Yuan like a purple fire dragon. He leaped into the air and shouted mid-flight, "Barbarian, take my sword!" Wei Yuan watched the purple-flame youth crawling sluggishly through the air and thrust his spear straight into his chest. The youth had leaped dozens of feet, his sword shining like a cold star, yet while the blade's tip was still several feet from Wei Yuan's throat, it could advance no further. The youth slowly lowered his head and saw that Wei Yuan's spear had pierced through his chest at some unknown moment, its two crossbar branches catching his body and preventing him from moving forward. He strained his arm with all his might, but the three-foot sword only inched two inches forward, unable to touch Wei Yuan no matter how he tried. Wei Yuan swung the great spear in a midair circle and whipped it forcefully. The youth slammed like a shooting star into the crowd atop the slope, whereupon three beams of white light rose simultaneously. The girl sighed faintly. Raising a longsword with her two small hands, she prepared to step forward herself. At this moment, the youth behind her—holding a sword in his arms, his beauty rivaling that of a girl—caught hold of her and said, "It seems Brother Xu wasn't of much use." The girl said, "But Brother Xu did his best! It's fine, I'll do it myself." She tugged hard twice, yet failed to break free of the boy's grip. Holding her fast, the boy chuckled softly and said, "That Brother Xu of yours truly is brave. But fighting and killing just isn't suited for him. I'll handle it." "Hmph, I can do it too!" The girl struggled forward. "There's no need for you." The boy pulled the girl behind him with a tug and said, "To borrow a phrase from your Brother Xu: a mere barbarian—won't capturing him be as easy as turning my hand?" The boy drew his sword. Pure qi rose around him, making him look like an immortal attendant child as he flew toward Wei Yuan at an unhurried pace. Watching the boy's receding back, the girl suddenly called out, "Brother... Xiaoyu, please be careful!" The boy laughed out loud. The pure qi surged three feet higher in an instant. Pointing his sword at Wei Yuan, he shouted, "Three Thousand Lotuses!" Wei Yuan felt his vision blur. The boy's figure abruptly vanished, leaving only blossom after blossom of azure lotuses in his sight. Those azure lotuses shot forth like lightning, bombarding Wei Yuan one after another and kicking up vast sheets of azure rain of fire. Wei Yuan had no time to parry at all; in that split second, he had no idea how many sword strikes had hit him! A massive pillar of light rose. Amidst the azure rain of fire, the wild boar dissolved into light and vanished. When the lotuses dispersed, the boy reappeared, floating before Wei Yuan with his sword cradled in his arms. His clear pupils gazed toward the distant sky, completely disregarding Wei Yuan's presence. The boy's soft, clear voice rang out: "Seeing as you didn't fall immediately after taking my Three Thousand Lotuses, if your score turns out poorly after the exam, I'll gift you a spot in a blessed land. Very well, you may go in peace." The boy closed his eyes slightly, waited a few breaths, and then opened them—only to see Wei Yuan still standing right where he was, having not dissolved into light at all. Wei Yuan looked down at himself. Countless rice-grain-sized indentations and shallow scratches covered the plates of his heavy armor, all traces left behind by that Three Thousand Lotuses strike just now. Wei Yuan estimated the size of the dents and the depth of the scratches, then said earnestly, "You almost hurt me." The boy's small face grew paler and paler. His long hair drifted gently, his small mouth puckered down involuntarily, and all color gradually drained from his lips.