Martial Arrogance Dragon Soul-Chapter 139 - 130: Vertical Cloud Ladder
Gazes converged on Qin Qing from all directions.
A soft smile appeared on Jiang Ruorong’s face as well.
"Junior!"
Jiang Ruorong smiled, her voice as gentle as a breeze caressing gentle waves.
She had never doubted, always believing that Qin Qing would return.
"Senior Sister!"
Qin Qing also smiled and nodded in response.
In fact, that was indeed the case; Qin Qing had already calculated the time well.
He would definitely return to the Martial Arts Ground within the stipulated time, even if his swordsmanship had not made a breakthrough.
"Just now, it seemed someone said I wouldn’t come back?"
"And that... I was a cowardly mouse?"
Qin Qing’s gaze swept towards Pei Zhenshan and Mo Nian.
Pei Zhenshan and Mo Nian immediately felt somewhat embarrassed since, after all, they indeed had spoken ill of him behind his back.
And now, Qin Qing had indeed returned.
"Alright. Wasn’t I just worried that you would affect our entire team of West Courtyard disciples?" Pei Zhenshan said somewhat guiltily.
"That’s right. Qin Qing, since you’ve returned, get ready properly. Keep in mind that you are just a newly promoted disciple. Once the competition starts, be more cautious and don’t make us worry too much about taking care of you!" Mo Nian also said.
"Rest assured!"
The speaker was not Qin Qing, but Jiang Ruorong.
"My junior brother, I will take care of, so don’t bother yourselves. Instead of criticizing Junior Qin here, you would do better to think about how to deal with Gu Fengxian and Xie Jin’an!"
Jiang Ruorong swept a glance at Pei Zhenshan and Mo Nian.
Pei Zhenshan and Mo Nian immediately shrank their necks, revealing a hint of wariness and hesitation.
"Look at the lot of you!" Mo Kong criticized fiercely: "You only know how to create trouble amongst ourselves. Since Qin Qing is a junior brother, you should be more tolerant of him, instead of picking faults. If you have the ability, go and compete with those from the East Campus like Gu Fengxian."
"Understood!" Mo Nian shrugged his shoulders, though inwardly, he did not take it to heart. Compete with Gu Fengxian and the others?
Mo Nian was very clear about his own capabilities. Among the disciples of the West Courtyard, he indeed stood out, but compared to the experts of the East Campus, his chances of winning were pitifully small, to the point that it was virtually impossible.
Pei Zhenshan’s mouth twitched involuntarily. He shared the same thoughts as Mo Nian.
The reason why he had been picking on Qin Qing was not due to any deep-seated enmity with Qin Qing himself, but because of Jiang Ruorong.
However, ever since the last time Qin Qing made him bark like a dog and run around the Great Qian Martial Institute, a feud had essentially been formed between them, and he had been thinking about how to get back at him.
Of course, Pei Zhenshan was not a bad person by nature and did not intend for Qin Qing to pay a heavy price.
"Qin Qing, now that you are back, get ready properly. The first round is about to begin!" Mo Kong said to Qin Qing, and then he spoke to Jiang Ruorong: "Jiang Ruorong, go over the rules of the first round with Qin Qing."
Jiang Ruorong nodded and then informed Qin Qing about the rules of the first round.
"Junior, the first round of the assessment is called the Cloud Ladder. We need to use the ladder to climb from the ground directly to the celestial platform..."
Jiang Ruorong quickly conveyed the rules to Qin Qing.
Next, Elder Mo Kong explained the issues to be aware of in the first round, with the main point being to keep the disciples of the West Courtyard united. This round of assessment was crucial, and the importance of unity was self-evident.
"Does everyone understand?"
Mo Kong asked again.
These older disciples, most of them had already participated in an assessment the previous year, and the content of last year’s assessment was the same as this year’s.
The first round was the Cloud Ladder.
In fact, the Cloud Ladder assessment had been ongoing for nearly a hundred years.
It was a very suitable event for selecting disciples, discerning their strength, and also examining the unity among the disciples.
Additionally, this assessment is extremely thorough in examining one’s natural talent.
It could even be said that the assessment focuses more on talent, rather than cultivation!
"Dong!"
With the resounding toll of an ancient bell.
This meant that the first round of the full academy disciple assessment for both the East and West Courtyards had officially begun.
Disciples from the West Courtyard and East Campus, under the watchful eyes of all, made their way towards the central Martial Arts Ground. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢
The elder hosting this assessment also made his way to the center.
"We shall now draw lots. There are ’A’ and ’B’ lots; the team drawing ’A’ will enter the Stratified Cloud Ladder first."
"In this round of the assessment, there are a total of sixty participants, with thirty disciples each from the East Campus and the West Courtyard participating. The ranking will be determined based on the final results, with the top ten disciples from each team advancing to the next round!"
"As for the rules... during the assessment, the use of any Spiritual Treasure is absolutely prohibited. Everyone, make sure you remember this. Anyone who uses a Spiritual Treasure, for any reason, will be immediately disqualified!"
"Has everyone understood the rules?"
"Understood!" the numerous disciples replied in unison.
Then, under the command of this elder.
The sixty disciples from the East Campus and West Courtyard dispersed towards either side.
The elder took out a Jade Token.
As he activated the Jade Token, suddenly a rainbow light appeared.
"Rumble rumble..."
The void trembled.
Then, before everyone’s eyes, another scene appeared.
It was as if another space had materialized, and in that space, there were ladders of clouds, one rank upon another.
These cloud ladders seemed to be formed from the condensation of clouds.
The cloud ladders were arranged in many irregular patterns, differing in size; some were more solid, while others seemed as if they might dissipate at any moment.
All the cloud ladders stretched upwards, and at the very top was a massive building, akin to a palace.
"Within the designated time, use the cloud ladders to ascend to the Cloud Palace arena above."
"Qin Qing, pay attention to these cloud ladders; they are all different. Some are very stable, but others might collapse at any moment. Moreover... during the ascent, you may also encounter various attacks like wind, fire, lightning, and thunder."
"This method of assessment, climbing the cloud ladder, has been in place for over a hundred years. In these hundred years, many records have been set. The fastest person took only ninety-two breaths to reach the top of the Cloud Palace."
Jiang Ruorong explained in a low voice by Qin Qing’s side.
As Jiang Ruorong was speaking, Mo Kong had already gone on behalf of the West Courtyard Disciples to draw lots with Gu Fengxian.
The result came out, and Gu Fengxian drew the ’A’ lot.
This meant that the East Campus would participate in the Stratified Cloud Ladder assessment before the West Courtyard.
This was different from the bouts involving new disciples.
In the first round of the new disciple bout, the one who reached the destination first in Thousand Mechanism Valley was the victor.
In that round, the new disciples from both the East Campus and West Courtyard entered Thousand Mechanism Valley together for the assessment, so during the process, conflicts could occur between disciples of the two courtyards.
However, the round of the full academy disciple assessment with the Stratified Cloud Ladder is different.
The East Campus and West Courtyard undergo it separately.
Now everyone was eagerly waiting to see how long it would take for those East Campus disciples to reach the top of the Cloud Palace.
Even the Seventh Prince, the Third Prince, and others seated on the distant platform were watching this assessment with great interest...
