Chapter 128 – My Innate Sacred Body and Unmatched Talent

“Crack——”

Xiao Mubai’s two arms snapped like twigs, followed by his shoulders…

His entire body seemed to fold inward violently.

He passed out halfway through, and by the time Lu Yuan let go,

he was already lying limply on the ground, as limp as a noodle.

His arms, along with his collapsed shoulders, were crossed over his chest. The level B protective suit he wore shimmered like fish scales under the light, albeit a bit wrinkled…

But he looked rather peaceful and serene.

“At least he’s not dead…”

Noticing that Xiao Mubai was still breathing, Lu Yuan let out a sigh of relief.

He had deliberately switched from using boxing power to palm power, adjusting his move and pulling back his strength at the last moment, fearing he might accidentally kill Xiao Mubai.

After all, it was just an assessment; there was no deep-seated hatred between them. Killing someone would weigh heavily on his conscience, and he wouldn’t be able to explain it once they left the assessment room.

Besides, who could say no to Lin Zhiqin’s constant watchful eyes? He had to tread carefully.

After dealing with Xiao Mubai,

Lu Yuan turned around, still in the state of lv2 special exertion activated.

As he moved,

the five people standing not far away couldn’t help but tremble violently.

Lu Yuan saw five faces completely frozen in shock.

Pale and bloodless, as if someone had knocked them out repeatedly.

For a moment, he felt a pang of reluctance.

“Next…”

Lu Yuan took a deep breath, slowly twisted his wrist, producing a series of explosive bone-cracking sounds.

With a hint of pity, he softly said, “It’s your turn now.”

His deep voice echoed in the empty assessment room, like the prelude to a nightmare.

The five muscular men with crew cuts began to shake uncontrollably in unison.

Fear spread from the depths of their hearts to their faces, eyes… like wild grass growing frantically.

…

“Boom!”

Another dull thud.

A bulge appeared on the door of the assessment room facing the courtyard.

The sound of conversation in the courtyard had disappeared at some point, and no one was speaking anymore.

The sounds of making tea, pouring tea, and drinking tea continued, but everyone’s attention was focused on the direction of the assessment room.

“Second Senior Brother has indeed hidden a lot.”

The short-haired woman said softly, her expression slightly serious, “This is not the kind of power that can be produced by ordinary organ training, not even with Crane Power… Xiao Mubai’s talent and strength are much greater than what we see on the surface. No wonder Second Senior Brother has high hopes for him.”

Lin Zhiqin nodded, his expression more complicated.

The stronger Xiao Mubai’s performance was, the more worried he became about Lu Yuan, whom he had personally sent in.

No matter how others judged him, he always believed that Lu Yuan had extraordinary talent.

Regardless of all his achievements in martial arts practice, the sheer focus and dedication that Lu Yuan possessed was something that was rare.

Such a good martial arts prospect, even if he couldn’t catch the teacher’s eye, he didn’t want Lu Yuan to die prematurely due to his own recklessness and rashness.

“Bang!”

Another dull thud, and another bulge appeared on the steel door of the assessment room.

This one seemed to strike Lin Zhiqin’s heart as well.

A sense of unexplainable panic, fear, and guilt surged through his chest.

The last time he felt like this was over a decade ago when he secretly let that person go.

But back then, he always felt he hadn’t done anything wrong. This time, however, he was beginning to regret it.

What if…

What if something happened to Lu Yuan…

What if he ended up with a lifelong injury?

How would he explain it to Lu Yuan’s parents? How would he explain it to himself?

He was just a seventeen-year-old senior high school student…

Lin Zhiqin reached for the teacup on the table, wanting to drink some tea to calm his nerves.

But just as he lifted the cup, another particularly loud thud echoed in his ears.

“Boom!”

Lin Zhiqin’s hand trembled slightly, causing some tea to spill out of the cup.

Then he heard the short-haired woman’s calm yet slightly emotional voice.

“It’s almost over…”

Lin Zhiqin quickly looked up, glancing at the closed door of the assessment room.

He couldn’t help but turn to the side.

He saw several of his fellow disciples had also stopped what they were doing, their faces expressionless, all staring in the direction of the assessment room door.

The only exception was the Second Senior Brother of the crane style, who sat alone at a table. His eyes were exceptionally bright, and there seemed to be an almost imperceptible smile at the corners of his mouth.

It was as if… he was anticipating something.

…

“Bang——”

Lu Yuan casually kicked the young man with the short beard in the stomach.

The latter flew like a tennis ball struck with force, soaring over ten meters before embedding into the steel-plated wall with a “thud.”

There were already three similar “murals” on the walls around the venue.

This was the fourth.

“And now…”

Lu Yuan slowly turned, facing the only other person standing in the room besides himself.

“It’s your turn.”

This was the round-faced boy from the group of five candidates, who looked very amiable and harmless on the outside.

Of course, at this moment, he was trembling all over with fear, his face pale, lips bloodless, his entire body almost curling into a ball.

When Lu Yuan defeated the second member of the group of five, he had already exited the lv2 special exertion state.

Now, he stood as a tall, handsome young man.

But to the lone surviving round-faced boy, he still appeared as terrifying as a devil.

Lu Yuan, with a calm expression, walked slowly toward the last round-faced boy.

The invisible pressure surged from all directions like a tide, making the boy’s body tremble even more violently.

Soon enough,

Lu Yuan reached him.

And at that moment,

the round-faced boy, who had previously shown an expression of extreme fear, suddenly had a flash of viciousness on his face. His hands, which had been hidden in his sleeves, shot out like snakes.

He threw a handful of pale yellow powder toward Lu Yuan’s face.

Lu Yuan, who had been controlling the scene with his mental power, had already noticed this concealed tactic.

As soon as the boy made his move, Lu Yuan’s arm followed suit, casually waving. The gale force from his powerful arm blew away the premeditated poison powder completely.

The round-faced boy, in despair, threw a punch as a final move, but Lu Yuan effortlessly caught it in his hand.

Feeling the irresistible, terrifying power coming from Lu Yuan’s slender, fair hand, the round-faced boy finally gave up all resistance.

“Wait!”

The round-faced boy glanced at Lu Yuan’s hand, which was already close to his neck, took a deep breath, and quickly said, “I have one last question! I can’t let go without knowing the answer!”

“Hmm?”

Lu Yuan was momentarily stunned, then nodded cheerfully, “Go ahead.”

“It’s just…”

The round-faced boy looked around the room, then gritted his teeth and said, “During your fight with them, I poisoned you at least twenty-three times. There’s no way you could have avoided all of them perfectly. Why are you completely fine?!”

His eyes were fixed intently on Lu Yuan, with a strange persistence.

Quickly, a large hand grabbed his neck, lifting him off the ground.

“The answer is simple.”

Lu Yuan looked calmly into the boy’s eyes, watching his face turn red from suffocation.

He spoke lightly, “I have a divine constitution, an unmatched talent… Do you really think a few jin of poison could take me down?”

As he finished speaking, an unprecedented confidence surged through Lu Yuan.

As the boy’s expression shifted from stunned to a humiliated anger at being toyed with, Lu Yuan discreetly swallowed the antidote pill that had been melting under his tongue.

Then, with a powerful fling of his arm,

“Whoosh——” “Bang!” The round-faced boy joined the others as a mural on the wall.

He was joking. With a constitution score of 17 points, plus the antidote pill given by Lin Zhiqin, it would be strange if he was affected by these ordinary poisons.

“Clap, clap——”

With everything settled, Lu Yuan dusted off his hands and clothes.

Then he began to look around for the exit switch.

It was quite obvious.

He found it immediately.

It was a palm-sized “crane” relief sculpture.

Lu Yuan walked over and placed his hand on the relief sculpture, pressing down firmly.

He pressed until it was flush with the wall, then silently counted to thirty-three seconds.

“Click, click, click——”

The sound of mechanical gears turning echoed from within the wall in front of him.

The steel door they had entered through began to slowly slide open to either side.

Lu Yuan moved toward the spot where light was streaming in.

He thought to himself—

Alright, a wave of shock is about to hit the battlefield…

…

“Click, click——”

The steel door gradually opened on both sides.

“Swish——”

Lin Zhiqin couldn’t wait any longer. He suddenly stood up from his seat, his face serious, filled with a certain urgency and anxiety.

“It seems you really care about that kid named Lu Yuan. I’ve only seen you like this before when Momo was sick…”

The short-haired woman remarked with some emotion as she also stood up.

Lin Zhiqin gave a brief “Hmm,” not saying much more.

He just wanted the assessment to end immediately so he could rush in and check on Lu Yuan’s condition.

The other direct disciples at the remaining tables also stood up one by one, most of their faces showing little emotion.

This battle had ended much faster than any of them had anticipated.

The incense that had been lit at the beginning of the assessment had only burned a short segment, no more than fifteen minutes in total.

Almost everyone was intensely focused on the opening door.

Only the Second Senior Brother, with his black hair and rosy complexion that made his age indiscernible, remained seated calmly.

A pot of tea was brewing on the table in front of him.

He hadn’t even glanced in the direction of the assessment room door, his attention solely on the tea stove in front of him.

It was as if the flickering orange flame in the small stove was more important to him than the results of this assessment.

Or perhaps…

He was already certain of the outcome and saw no need to verify it with his eyes.

“Clack——clack——”

The clear sound of footsteps echoed from the empty assessment room.

The person walking had a steady gait, indicating a stable breath and ample strength, showing no signs of exhaustion from a hard-fought battle.

The Second Senior Brother, who had been staring at the tea stove, inexplicably chuckled lightly and reached out a finger to gently stir the flame.

His entire aura seemed even more relaxed.

The other direct disciples’ expressions turned somewhat grim, while the short-haired woman maintained a calm demeanor.

Lin Zhiqin, however, grew increasingly anxious.

Finally…

The silhouette of the person walking out of the assessment room was fully revealed to everyone.

And when they saw who it was, everyone who had been staring at the assessment room door…

In that instant.

It was as if they had all been struck by an arrow.

Their pupils contracted sharply, their movements, expressions… even their breathing, all froze.

The scene fell into an eerie stillness.

Perhaps sensing the irregularity in the heartbeats and breathing around him, the Second Senior Brother, who was seated by the tea stove, frowned.

He turned to look over.

In the next second.

The composure and confidence on his face, the feeling of having everything under control, vanished without a trace.

“Smash!”

The tea stove beside him exploded for no apparent reason.

He slowly stood up from the stone bench, his face expressionless as he looked at the doorway of the assessment room, where a lone figure had appeared.

A fair-skinned, tall, and handsome young man.

He was wearing a simple white T-shirt and black casual pants.

He looked just like any ordinary senior high school student.

As he stood at the doorway, he found the sunlight outside too glaring and used his hand to shield his eyes.

“…Lu Yuan?!”

Lin Zhiqin blinked, repeatedly.

His face, frozen in shock, was filled with confusion and disbelief.

He wondered if he was seeing things, or perhaps dreaming.

In this fierce, turbulent direct disciple assessment… Lu Yuan, who had come just to make up the numbers, was the first to walk out.

Did he win?!

The short-haired woman beside Lin Zhiqin was also stunned.

Her mouth slightly open, as if she wanted to say something, but completely at a loss for words.

“This is impossible!”

After a brief silence, one of the direct disciples finally voiced their shock and disbelief.

With a cold shout, he dashed across the courtyard toward the assessment room like the wind.

However, one figure moved even faster.

Yet, at the final step before the courtyard, he was stopped by someone.

Liu Si, with a respectful demeanor, stood in front of the Second Senior Brother, slightly bowed, and softly said, “The master wishes to meet the new direct disciple immediately… Please understand, Second Master.”

After speaking, he also cupped his hands and bowed slightly to the others.

“Please understand, everyone. I need to take the new direct disciple over first, and then you can go in to check.”

The aura around the Second Senior Brother fluctuated violently, causing the leaves of the surrounding flowers, bamboo, and orchids to rustle.

Finally.

Everything calmed down.

He nodded and calmly clasped his hands behind his back.

Liu Si expressed his sincere thanks, then gestured for Lu Yuan to follow.

As Lu Yuan lifted his foot, he felt scrutinizing and skeptical gazes piercing into him like knives, making his exposed skin ache slightly.

He frowned slightly, then straightened his posture even more.

Under his calm facade, his thoughts were churning violently—Keep looking? Keep looking and sooner or later, it’ll be your turn! Every single one of you, I’ll crush you all…

The afternoon sunlight slanted through the courtyard eaves, casting a faint golden glow on Lu Yuan.

It was as if he was carrying a sharp golden sword on his back, the light stinging the eyes of everyone watching his silhouette at that moment…