A month of examination was finally over. There had never been an examination which had attracted the attention of many elders as this examination.
It wasnât only in Sinister Sparrow Sect, but also across the whole Yue Country. Numerous pairs of eyes were fixed on Ning Fan now.
They couldnât believe that Ning Fan gained 2 000 000 contribution points in one kill.
They also failed to believe that he could break the record of 2 150 000 contribution points after his continuous killings of Gold Core ghosts.
âSomething must have gone terribly wrong with the Merit Monument. It has to be it!â
Countless of elders were eagerly waiting for Ning Fan outside the Demon Sinister Forest to clear their doubts! They wouldnât believe it unless they saw Ning Fan with their own eyes.
None of them believed that such a heaven defying figure would emerge in this impoverished country.
He was merely a 17-year-old young man with an intermediate Harmonious Spirit realm cultivation. It would be absurd if he could truly kill nearly a thousand of Gold Core ghosts because that meant his sole strength was enough to wipe out the whole Yue Country!
Every disciple who walked out of Demon Sinister Forest alive had the luck to survive. Only 75 out of 160 came out alive.
Several of the deacon disciples that were there to ensure the safety in the forest died.
Leaving the Demon Sinister Forest alive was equal to passing the examination. So, every one of these youths who walked out of the formation light, either male or female, whose clothes had become ragged and with a terrified bloody face, had succeeded in becoming an outer disciple.
To their surprise, they found hundreds of elders, namely Harmonious Spirit and Gold Core elders, waiting bitterly in front of them.
The aura that was emitted from these few hundred old experts was massive and astounding. None of the disciple who came out of the forest could stay calm while facing this huge group of masters.
What has happened? Why is every one of you gathered here?!
Li Zhihuanâs facial expression changed immediately after he got out of the forest.
It struck him by surprise seeing not just the Harmonious Spirit elders of Li Clan, but all the Harmonious Spirit elders of Sinister Sparrow Sect present on the scene. This was absolutely the first time he had witnessed such a scene.
It was even rarer for him to see so many Gold Core elders standing in front of him because there werenât many Gold Core experts in Li Clan.
His senses were in alarm as he headed towards the medicine-receiving section to exchange the spiritual herbs he acquired for contribution points.
âYour name? And how much spiritual herbs have you acquired?â The one who was in-charge of this section was an Outer Sect elder named Meng Zhiqiu. The way he said in his tone showed that he was somewhat absent-minded.
âLi Zhihuan, Iâm offering 200 kilograms of spiritual herbs.â Li Zhihuan replied, looking conceited.
200 kilograms of ten-year-old spiritual herbs was enough to exchange for 10 contribution points. Adding the 91 points which he had obtained through killing ghosts, his total points would exceed one hundred. If it wasnât because of the injury he had gotten from the battles, he was confident that he couldâve gotten even more points.
He also believed that this number of contribution points was enough to gain the attention of the sect.
âMy contribution points perhaps isnât as much as Lu Ziqiao, that guy has a heaven defying item â the Soul Tempering Streamer, but my total point shouldnât be very far away from Ning Fanâs, who merely practices Dual Cultivation.â
Yet, he was surprised when Elder Meng responded only with a nod and by saying the word âNot Badâ coldly, despite him getting a total of 101 contribution points.
Thatâs impossible! My contribution points should be considered as one of the geniusesâ in the records. How could Elder Meng be so indifferent to my achievement?
He felt that his heart slightly tilted off balance, guessing that perhaps Elder Meng didnât have a very good rapport with his Li Clan.
Obviously, Li Zhihuan had misunderstood Elder Meng. After a month of staying inside the Demon Sinister Forest, he surely didnât know that Ning Fanâs name and his 2 150 000 contribution points had already spread all over the country. This explained why Elder Meng wasnât affected by his 101 points at all.
After the registration, he turned and saw Lu Ziqiao coming over for the exchange. The smile on his face wasnât as dull as Li Zhihuanâs.
âI wonder how many points brother Lu obtained.â
âHumph! It will be more than yours of course!â
Lu Ziqiao had always been a haughty youth because he was a once-in-a-century genius, compared to Li Zhihuan who was only a once-in-a-decade genius.Â
He saw the whole scene where Li Zhihuan was treated coldly by Elder Meng and knew that he had only gotten 101 contribution points, which gave him no reason to put him in his eyes.
âName? Grams of your spiritual herbs?â Said Elder Meng in an indifferent tone.
âLu Ziqiao, I have 23 century-old spiritual herbs and a total of 1423 contribution points after killing some ghosts.â
Lu Ziqiao curled his lips, strongly believing that his contribution points was enough to frighten Elder Meng, and the fact that he could harvest century-old spiritual herbs proved that he had entered the Second Region.
He also believed that even the experienced Ning Fan and the Corpse-seizing cultivator, Li Zhiuan wouldnât dare enter the Second Region.
But to his surprise, Elder Meng only widened his eyes for a second when he saw the century-old spiritual herbs. Then, he slightly shook his head and said. âNot bad for getting 1423 contribution points⌠You wouldâve been regarded as the son of the heavens in the previous years. But itâs a pity that the young man is in there this year. Your achievement is going to go unnoticedâŚâ
Elder Mengâs words shivered the heart of Lu Ziqiao and Li Zhihuan.
101 contribution points might not be enough to shock Elder Meng, but how could 1423 contribution points also fail to make an impression in front of Elder Meng? Both of them were clueless about what just happened. Furthermore, they sensed that Elder Meng was implying something in his words. Something about a man who made his 1423 points insignificant. However, who could possibly be so strong enough that he could gain an even higher contribution point than Lu Ziqiao?
As Lu Ziqiao was still lost in his contemplation, a grey-clothed youth with a deathly pale face walked out of the formation caught his eyes.
He somehow remembered who this man was, not because how strong he was, but because of his powerful background.Â
He was Wang Yao. His clan was one of the most powerful clans in the east of Yue Country, named Wang Clan.
Though Lu Ziqiao could feel a faint hint of gloomy Qi from Wang Yao, he felt odd that it stirred up an intense fear inside of him for no reason.
With the cold expression on his face, he moved towards Elder Meng to hand over the spiritual herbs.
âName and your amount of spiritual herbs?â Elder Meng paid a more little attention compared to the previous two, but still not as enthusiastic as he should be.
âWang Yao, offers  five-century-old spiritual herbs. The total contribution points from the killings and the herbs are 31 855.â
His voice was extremely cold, causing many disciples and Harmonious Spirit elders to suck in a breath of cold air.
His achievement was beyond anyoneâs expectation. At the beginning of the month, he only obtained 7 points after barely killing two First Level Vein Opening ghosts.
But on the last day, his contribution points skyrocketed like crazy. No one had any idea of how many Harmonious Spirit ghosts he had killed.
âYou cannot be underestimated! But itâs still not as good as Ning FanâŚâ Elder Meng took a deep breath and said in a more polite tone, he was just a late Harmonious Spirit expert and couldnât ignore the young man who had the strength to kill so many Harmonious Spirit ghosts.
After reporting his harvest, he went to the group of young disciples. His expression was still as cold, as if he wouldnât welcome any conversation at all despite standing beside some Harmonious Spirit experts, but his eyes kept on looking around as though he was looking for someone.
Who is that man? Iâm afraid that the one who could take down my incarnation must at least be a peak Harmonious Spirit expert. And, that man must be one of these young disciples. Wang Yao was certain that his target was just somewhere around.Â
On the other hand, Wang Yaoâs contribution point had shocked Lu Ziqiao and Li Zhihuan enormously.
Lu Ziqiao remembered that Wang Yao was merely a Second Level Vein Opening expert. So how was it possible that he had gained over thirty thousand contribution points? He had to at least kill over hundreds of Harmonious Spirit ghosts in order to achieve this much.
This Wang Yao must have hidden some kind of secret inside of him! What is his actual cultivation base?! His contribution points mustâve drawn so many Harmonious Spirit and Gold Core elders already.
Lu Ziqiao thought that he had found the reason why the were so many elders gathered here, but he found that most of the elders werenât focusing on Wang Yao. Their eyes were looking unblinkingly at the formation light â the entrance to the Demon Sinister Forest, like they were still waiting for someone else.
For a moment, an absurd idea sprouted in his mind.
Could it be there was still someone in the forest who was more powerful than Wang Yao? Otherwise, why werenât these elders paying any attention to Wang Yao?
How much contribution points did this unknown young man get to be greater than Wang Yao?
And who could that young man be?! Â
Could it beâŚhim?!Â
The appearance of a young man in white robe and black cloak emerged in his mind, but he couldnât believe it would be him.
Even if Ning Fan had an exceptional background, he didnât think that the Dual-Cultivation that Ning Fan practiced would make him any stronger than him.
No! It must not be Ning Fan!Â
Lu Ziqiaoâs eyes were now fixed straight at the forest, expecting an absurd truth that he couldnât believe.
Then, after seeing a flash on the formation light, a youth in white robe and black cloak emerged on the scene.
Every step and gesture he made was like a leisurely stroll, accompanied with a lingering charm and his eyes were composed and calm.
Moreover, something strange happened to all their magical swords the instant this youth appeared.
Every one of their swords were quivering lightly, as if the sword itself was feeling excited or intimidated or was quivering in fear.
And now, Elder Meng who had been indifferent to Li Zhihuan, Lu Ziqian and also Wang Yao rose to his seat for the first time. His face was overflowing with excitement. He cupped his fists at Ning Fan and even left his section, moved forwards and welcomed Ning Fan with a smiling face.
âHa-ha! Little friend Ning, I have waited you for quite a while. Do you have any spiritual herbs you want to exchange?â
âThere is none.â Ning Fan smiled faintly, but beside the registration section was a 9 meter ordinary white stone that looked as clean as a mirror shot out a white column of light skywards.
The Medicine Mirror Stone shined! Rumor says that only tremendous amount of millennium-old spiritual herbs would trigger the stone to shine. In other words, Ning Fan must be carrying a huge amount of millennium-old spiritual herbs with him. What kind of massive harvest did this brat have  in Demon Sinister Forest?
Even with all the doubts, he didnât ask Ning Fan. Since Ning Fan refused to offer the spiritual herbs in exchange for points, he turned a blind eye to it and continued respectfully.Â
âSo are you registering your final contribution poinst?â
âYes, thanks elder.â
âThen, I will announce that Ning Fan who has gained 2 150 000 contribution point is now the disciple and the first man in Sinister Sparrow Sect. Sect master has given the order that Ning Fan will be promoted to elder rank the moment he leaves Demon Sinister Forest.â
What?! 2 150 000 contribution point?! And he has been promoted to elder rank?!
Lu Ziqiao staggered a few steps back, staring at Ning Fan in disbelief.
Not just him but also all the other disciples who werenât informed of Ning Fanâs contribution points. They were all gaping like an inanimate statue at Ning Fan, except for Wang Yao whose eyes were glittering coldly. This confirmed the doubts that he had earlier on.
The one who killed my incarnation must be this Ning Fan! Humph! I wonât let him go this time!Â
Note:
This translation originated from wuxiaworld.eu.
If a mistake or mistakes were found in this chapter, feel free to comment below.
Certain name of skills will not be capitalized but italicized.
Some terms are subject to change when better suggestions are selected.