Chapter 357 Thoroughly Convinced
“Teacher, the archery skill of this girl is very impressive. She injured three people. Wu Feng’s life and death is still unknown!” Chen Chen stared at Ying Baiwu and his tone was filled with rage. However, there was also unmasked fear on his face. Only by fighting against a genius would one be able to experience how terrifying they were.
They could completely crush opponents at the same level.
If it wasn’t for the fact that they had the superiority in numbers, Chen Chen believed that this young girl could shoot everyone to death alone.
Chen Chen’s words caused his fellow students to feel even more discouraged. The situation now was clear: whoever heads up would definitely be the unlucky one.
“Are you guys still fighting or not? If not, we will be taking our leave!” Lu Zhiruo asked. It was too silly to be stuck here.
The papaya girl merely asked casually and had no intention to mock them. However, when the words entered the opponent’s ears, they felt incomparably embarrassed.
“Let’s go.”
Sun Mo instructed. These students had lost their battle intent. There was no threat now. “Wait!”
Zhen Junyan roared. He moved over with a few leaps and blocked Sun Mo’s path.
“This teacher. The rules of the competition state that teachers cannot act against students!”
Li Ziqi reminded him.
“But I can act against another teacher!”
Zhen Junyan glared at Sun Mo with a ferocious look.
After so many students were injured, although they could use their reserves to stand in, their strength would surely fall by a huge margin. One could say that Chongde’s path of ascending had been severed.
In the worst-case scenario, their school’s grade might even fall.
To these four participating teachers, that was the most humiliating thing ever. Hence, Zhen Junyan merely wanted to get back some face. He wanted to defeat Sun Mo with a crushing victory.
Sun Mo understood Zhen Junyan’s intention. His lips curled. “Do you guys want to come at me together or fight one on one?”
“One on one!”
After Zhen Junyan spoke, he pulled his sword out and rushed toward Sun Mo. He actually wanted everyone to rush at Sun Mo, but he didn’t want to lose face before so many students.
Sun Mo activated Divine Sight and immediately glanced at Zhen Junyan’s data.
21 years old, fifth level of the blood-ignition realm. Cultivation art: A peerless-grade earth-tier art named Golden Snake Sword Art. His skill level is at minor-completion.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Zhen Junyan’s sharp sword stabbed out abruptly. Each strike caused the sound of sonic booms to explode. It was like a poisonous snake speaking. “Teacher, I’ll cheer you on!”
“Kill him!”
“Chongde will win for sure!”
The students called out. They placed their last pride on Zhen Junyan; hence, they cheered especially loudly. “Teacher can win against all enemies!” Lu Zhiruo also started to cheer and shout. They mustn’t lose in terms of their momentum. (Hmph, although you guys have over ten people cheering, it doesn’t matter. At most, I will shout a few more sentences in a louder volume.)
Seeing Sun Mo retreating and focusing on defense, Zhen Junyan felt joy in his heart and heaved a sigh of relief. He could win this battle! Usually speaking, all teachers wanted some face in front of their students. Even if they couldn’t defeat someone, they would make sure to take the initiative. For teachers like Sun Mo who immediately chose to defend, they were either lacking in strength, had no confidence, or were proficient in defense. “Hmph, my Golden Snake Sword Art’s advantage lies in its terrifying attacking prowess. Once you turtled up, you have lost half the battle!” Zhen Junyan coldly smiled. After that, he felt it was about time, and he decided to unleash his ultimate skill.
The earlier he crushed Sun Mo, the more impressive he would appear to be.
Hence, Zhen Junyan’s wrist trembled, and he infused his spirit qi into his sword. Golden Snake Plunders Soul!
Swish
Zhen Junyan’s sword transformed into a golden snake that instantly elongated, dashing past the distance of five meters and piercing toward Sun Mo’s throat.
“What?”
The papaya girl was shocked. Wasn’t this attack a little too bizarre?”
“It’s Teacher Zhen’s ultimate skill, Golden Snake Plunders Soul!”
“He has won!” “For sure. Teacher Zhen depended on this move to win the qualifications to be a participating teacher.” Chongde students cried out in excitement. It was as though they could already see the tragic appearance of Sun Mo’s throat being pierced.
If one wanted to train in quick attacks, their eye-hand coordination must be fast.
Zhen Junyan’s motion perception was naturally very strong. When he attacked, he saw that Sun Mo didn’t move. He immediately relaxed as he knew that he had won.
He would win this battle for sure!
A follow-up move?
There was basically no need to think about it. What remained was for him to enjoy the victory, as well as the looks of worship and applause from the students. Ding! The sword came in contact with Sun Mo’s throat, however, a crisp sound was heard. It was like the sword came in contact with glass. “What?”
Zhen Junyan was badly shocked. Just when he wanted to see clearly, he saw Sun Mo’s weapon swiftly piercing out toward him. This strike was akin to a flying immortal soaring to the heavens. Just when the notion to evade rose in Zhen Junyan’s mind, he already felt an intense pain in his shoulder.
Pu!
Zhen Junyan’s shoulder was stabbed through by Sun Mo’s wooden blade. After that, Sun Mo exerted more force and swung his blade to the side, tossing Zhen Junyan out. Bang!
Zhen Junyan was smashed onto the ground.
“Teacher!”
The students from Chongde were badly shocked and a few of them immediately rushed over.
“Isn..isn’t this a little too impressive?” Cui Yi was stunned. (It was actually an insta-defeat?)
“Go..Golden Snake Sword Art?” A hole appeared on Zhen Junyan’s shoulder. It felt exceedingly painful, but he didn’t care about it. His face was filled with immense shock as he looked at Sun Mo, as well as the wooden blade in Sun Mo’s hands. Compared to Cui Yi, Zhen Junyan who focused his cultivation on the Golden Snake Sword Art could understand more clearly how strong Sun Mo’s sword attack was. Maybe, that realm would be something he would reach in five or ten years. Upon thinking of this, a trace of reluctance and inferiority appeared in Zhen Junyan’s expression. “Wanting to defeat my teacher? You guys are thinking too much!” Li Ziqi mocked. She felt very unhappy when she heard the cheering of these students.
“Weak chicken!”
Ying Baiwu’s evaluation was concise and comprehensive. Cui Yi stood before Zhen Junyan, worried that Sun Mo might attack again. However, it was evident that he was thinking too much. If Sun Mo wanted to kill him, Cui Yi wouldn’t even have the chance to live.
“Your Golden Snake Sword Art has reached minor completion. It’s not bad!”
Sun Mo praised. “Are you insulting me?”
Zhen Junyan glared at Sun Mo. (I’ve practiced it for ten years, but it is still inferior to you.)
“No. I only want to say that if you change to another sword art of a higher-tier, you will have greater accomplishments.”
Sun Mo had used ‘Paying someone back in their own coin’. It was a combination of his judgment, experience, and the proficiency level of his cultivation in this saint-tier art. It naturally would be powerful. Strictly speaking, the might produced by this sword attack wasn’t from the sword technique used. Zhen Junyan was startled. (Are you offering guidance to me?) He felt it to be very ridiculous, but a moment later, a self-mocking look appeared on his face.
(If I can obtain a top-tier sword technique, why would I still practice this?)
Sun Mo immediately knew what Zhen Junyan was thinking just from his expression. Hence, he explained, “If you don’t put in the effort, how do you know it’s impossible? If you feel that by working extremely hard in the Golden Snake Sword Art, you would be able to make up for the difference between it and sword arts of higher tiers, your thinking is completely wrong.” (It’s just like no matter how sharp your sword is, it cannot be compared to a gun.) (A top-grade cultivation art can shift mountains and overturn seas, destroying heaven and earth. Can ordinary cultivation arts do this?)
Zhen Junyan frowned and sank into contemplation. He had really thought like this. He wanted to depend on his hard work to make up for the deficiencies of the Golden Snake Sword Art. “Don’t waste your talent!”
Sun Mo wasn’t showing kindness for nothing. But through the data he saw, he knew that this teacher’s heart wasn’t evil, or he wouldn’t have worried about those injured students.
“My name is Zhen Junyan, I have benefitted from your advice!”
Zhen Junyan clasped his hands. Compared to this teacher, he was indeed not mature enough. Look at Sun Mo, how vast was his heart state? He didn’t even care for bygone enmity. One must know that if the previous sword attack had hit, he would have taken Sun Mo’s life. “Is this the magnanimity of a great teacher?”
Zhen Junyan muttered to himself.
Ding!
Favorable impression points from Zhen Junyan +100. Friendly (100/1,000). “Is this what’s called by ‘using virtue to subdue others’?”
Upon hearing the system notification, Sun Mo turned to Cui Yi. “Do you still want to fight?”
Swish
All the students looked over.
Honestly speaking, Cui Yi no longer wanted to fight. However, he was the group leader and if he shrank back from cowardice before so many students, he wouldn’t be able to lift his head high in his entire life.
“It’s pointless to talk so much. Let our strength determine everything!” Cui Yi brandished his weapon.
In an instant, the two of them started to fight.
The sky was already dark. As Sun Mo didn’t wish to delay anymore, he went all-out. As a result, the students from Chongde managed to see a gorgeous display of attacks. Beauty Yu, Water Dragon Roar, Eighteen Words Order!
Dotting Crimson Lip, Crows Crying at Night, Colors of Autumn!
Sun Mo’s attacks were not only flawless, but they possessed immense might as well. They were so magnificent that the students even forgot to cheer for Cui Yi. Their eyes only contained boundless shock. The four words ‘really want to learn’ rose in their minds a few seconds later.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
In the dark dense forest, every time Sun Mo’s wooden blade hit Cui Yi, a golden page would form above Cui Yi’s head.
After a series of attacks, Sun Mo unleashed an ultimate skill.
Golden Jade Hibiscus!
Before Cui Yi, two gorgeous flowers bloomed. After that, his entire body was struck by the flowers. He felt a pain in his chest and was blasted backward.
Sun Mo then snapped his fingers and the golden pages converged into a book.
Ding! “Congratulations on obtaining an inferior heaven-tier cultivation art – Sky Mountain Twelve Blades. Do you want to learn it?”
“Sure!”
Sun Mo didn’t mind.
Pak! The book transformed into a golden light and shot into Sun Mo’s mind. Ding!
“Congratulations, you have learned Sky Mountain Twelve Blades. Proficiency level: elementary-grade!”
The elementary grade wasn’t bad. This meant that when Sun Mo saw this cultivation art again in the future, he would be able to recognize it immediately and could even use a few moves from it.
“Eh?”
Sun Mo suddenly discovered a blind spot. (If I continue fighting and ‘hunting’ the cultivation arts of others, wouldn’t I be able to understand many cultivation arts and collate them all into an encyclopedia?) “If your knowledge of the cultivation arts is only at the elementary-grade, it wouldn’t be useful.”
The system explained. “I don’t think so. If I know the cultivation art, it means that I know its strengths and weaknesses. It would give me a better idea on how to counter it!”
Sun Mo retorted.
“Please, what you are training in is a saint-tier cultivation art. Do you have to go and counter the low-tier cultivation arts of others? Just slash out with your blade and everything would be solved.”
The system was speechless. It then continued to persuade, “Don’t waste time on these rubbish arts. Let me tell you this, cultivation arts below the saint-tier are all rubbish.”
“Reading ten thousand books cannot be compared to journeying 10,000 miles. There are no disadvantages in me learning them!”
Sun Mo smiled. “In any case, I don’t really need to waste time to learn them, right? I can learn them instantly.”
At most, he could simply purchase time emblems to increase their proficiency levels if he needed to. The students from Chongde didn’t feel surprised when they saw Cui Yi being defeated. Actually, as long as one wasn’t stupid, everyone would have thought that this would be the result. It was just that they had hoped for a miracle to happen. Cui Yi coughed up two mouthfuls of blood and felt very awkward. However, he was much more experienced than Zhen Junyan. “How many times have you ignited your blood?” “Seven times!”
Sun Mo guessed Cui Yi’s thoughts so he didn’t answer truthfully. “How many?”
Cui Yi’s voice turned sharp as disbelief filled his face. It was as though a sharp wooden pole had penetrated his an*s.
As long as Sun Mo was one level higher than him, he could at least save some face. But who knew that Sun Mo’s level was actually so much higher. Cui Yi wanted to say ‘you must be joking, right’, but he suppressed the urge to do so due to rationality. After that, relief appeared on his face, followed by disappointment.
Relief because he lost to someone at the seventh level of blood-ignition; it wasn’t embarrassing. However, he was disappointed because Sun Mo was a genius. As Sun Mo grew older, the disparity between their strengths would only grow wider.
Ding!
Favorable impression points from Cui Yi +30. Neutral (30/100).
Sun Mo glanced at the other two teachers. They turned their heads and evaded his eyes. Right now, they were most afraid of Sun Mo asking, ‘Do you guys still want to fight?’. That would truly be awkward to the death.
Sun Mo’s group departed.
The new student group from Chongde was left behind in a daze.
In the dense forest, the observer in charge of Chongde sighed. “Let alone these students from Chongde, even their teachers have lost their confidence. If there are no unexpected accidents, their ranking would slip this year. This Sun Mo is really powerful!
“Sigh, what you guys should do now is encourage your students!”
The observer took note of the performances of the four teachers. These four didn’t even need to think about working for the Saint Gate in their lifetimes. After he finished recording, the observer gazed in Sun Mo’s direction. That colleague of his was really foolish, why didn’t he choose to follow Sun Mo? He had missed out on such a good show.
Then again, his luck was also not good given that he was attached to Chongde. If he was the one in charge of Sun Mo’s group, he would definitely have many treats for his eye.
Ding!
Favorable impression points from Zou Ze +50. Neutral (50/100). Sun Mo, who was running through the dense forest, didn’t know that these favorable impression points were contributed by the observer because all of Chongde’s students were impressed by him and had contributed quite a lot of points as well.
“Brother Ren, your archery skill is so good. I didn’t expect you to really hit it!” Zhang Jing flattered and was extremely joyful when he looked at the crested ibis in his hand. They had succeeded in capturing this mysterious species of darkness. When they returned, there would surely be rewards.
“Haha!”
Ren Guang laughed loudly. “Speaking of which, it’s fine if the mysterious species of darkness we are supposed to capture is dead, right?” Zhang Jing was worried. In the depths of the forest, behind a large tree, Li Fen panted nervously. “You should follow them. I will go back to make a report. Remember that you have to leave marks along the way, or we won’t be able to find you.” “So annoying!”
If it wasn’t for Xuanyuan Po being pulled back by Li Fen, he wouldn’t hide. But after hearing these words, he couldn’t bear it anymore and directly walked out. “What report? There’s no need to do so!” “Eh, come back here!”
Li Fen was anxious to death. Wasn’t this alerting the enemy to their presence? Sadly, it was too late. Ren Guang and the other four already heard the commotion.
“They are students from the Central Province Academy!” After seeing Xuanyuan Po and Li Fen’s attire, the five students from Haizhou were smiling. Their teachers had said that if they encountered students from the Central Province Academy, there was no need to show mercy. They should directly crush them and there would be huge rewards waiting for them when they returned. “Don’t misunderstand, we are just passing through. Just passing through!” Li Fen did her best to squeeze out a smile. At the same time, she pulled Xuanyuan Po, wanting him to leave.
“Haha, passing through? Our luck today is really good!”
Ren Guang’s lips curled into a smile. He suddenly fitted an arrow and pointed his bow at Xuanyuan Po. “No matter if you guys are passing through or not, since we have encountered each other, there’s no need to think about leaving!”
Ding! Xuanyuan Po knocked the fired arrow aside and rushed toward Ren Guang. “My thoughts exactly!” “What are you doing? The two of us won’t be able to win against them!”
Li Fen panicked. These people were students from Haizhou, and they were very strong. “No need for us two. I alone will be enough!”
Xuanyuan Po’s battle intent surged. From the start to the end, he had never considered Li Fen as a part of their small group’s combat strength.