Chapter 129 – Palace of Flesh

Lu Yuan followed Liu Si along a wooden corridor.

The corridor and floor were made of high-quality teak, brushed with tung oil, and polished with beeswax.

Under the slanting sunlight, they presented a beautiful brown-yellow hue.

It had an ancient charm without appearing outdated.

The edges of the corridor were lined with stones, beyond which was a small stream.

On the stream floated some withered yellow or light green bamboo leaves, which followed the water, tinkling as they flowed away.

Lu Yuan’s mood became calmer in this serene and quiet environment.

After a short while, Liu Si, who was leading the way, stopped at a certain place.

“We’re here.”

Lu Yuan also stopped, his gaze falling on the right side of the corridor.

There was a room, with a large “Crane” character printed on the door, split evenly by the sliding doors.

“The master is waiting for you inside. Go ahead.”

Liu Si smiled and cupped his hands towards Lu Yuan, then quickly walked back the way they came.

Leaving Lu Yuan alone.

Lu Yuan looked at the “Crane” character on the door. He didn’t rush in but first used his Mental Power to probe inside.

However, the room seemed to be much larger than Lu Yuan had anticipated.

With his twelve-meter range of Mental Power, all he could “see” was still the floor.

“The Crane Style sect leader… if I remember correctly, Zhou Ling mentioned him. His name is Liu Daoyuan…”

Standing in front of the “Crane” door, Lu Yuan let his arms hang naturally, his expression calm, silently contemplating.

“There are only two possibilities for Liu Daoyuan wanting to meet me now.”

“One is that he is very pleased with my outstanding performance and wants to praise me in person.”

“The other is that he has doubts about my performance and wants to probe and examine me further in person.”

Lu Yuan had experienced this once before.

When he transmigrated and ranked in the top three in the class during the first Monthly Test.

The head teacher called him to the office, and the first question was whether he had cheated.

This was actually quite normal.

If an otherwise unremarkable student suddenly exhibited abilities far beyond expectations, it would certainly arouse suspicion.

He had already felt a wave of this suspicion when he walked out of the assessment room door just now.

“…Regardless of which possibility it is, it will most likely involve a deeper assessment and examination of my talent and strength.”

“So, what should I do?”

Lu Yuan had faced a similar decision back in school.

There was no need for hesitation now.

“No one can refuse the rise of the sun, and no one can deny the unstoppable arrival of a genius…”

The “Crane” doors in front of him slowly slid open.

“Are you ready? Crane Style sect leader… Liu Daoyuan!”

Lu Yuan took a deep breath and stepped inside.

…

“Tap”

Footsteps echoed.

Even though they had mentally prepared themselves, the direct disciples were still utterly shocked by the impactful scene before them as they stepped into the assessment room.

On the steel-reinforced walls of the assessment room, five candidate disciples were deeply embedded in various positions.

All of them were in a state of shock-induced unconsciousness.

The only one not on the wall had his body twisted and folded in a strange manner, lying quietly on the ground with his eyes closed.

The room looked like it had been ravaged by a ferocious beast, with chaos everywhere.

The ones hanging on the walls and lying on the ground were like the “remnants” chewed up by the beast.

“Is this… all done by that kid?”

Someone muttered.

But soon, they were contradicted.

“Impossible!”

A man in his early thirties stepped forward, his body proportionate and his features well-defined.

He was none other than Qin Feng from Yuan Martial Arts Gym in Jiaoyan City.

“That Lu Yuan…”

Qin Feng glanced at Lin Zhiqin beside him and corrected himself, “Lu Yuan has only been practicing martial arts for three months. Although he has good talent, to achieve this… it’s a fantasy.”

He approached a candidate embedded in the wall nearby.

He reached out and pulled aside the candidate’s shirt to check the injuries.

“There are traces of Crane Power… These people were probably defeated by Xiao Mubai, the candidate recommended by Second Senior Brother.”

Qin Feng’s expression was calm, his tone certain.

“Then who did this to Xiao Mubai?”

Everyone was puzzled, their gazes all focusing on the twisted body of Xiao Mubai lying on the ground.

Xiao Mubai’s injuries were the most severe. At a glance, it was clear that he had multiple serious fractures all over his body and possibly even internal injuries.

His level B protective suit, which had a fish-scale sheen, was particularly eye-catching.

Everyone, upon seeing the protective suit, couldn’t help but glance at the middle-aged man with black hair standing in front of Xiao Mubai, thinking to themselves: Second Senior Brother really went all out.

For this direct disciple assessment, they had all just casually given some small items.

But Second Senior Brother, true to his reputation, went big, gifting a complete level B protective suit.

This suit could allow an ordinary person to withstand a direct collision with a moderately speeding car without injury.

And giving it to someone like Xiao Mubai, who had already reached the Organ Training stage, made it incredibly difficult for an average martial artist to inflict fatal damage on him.

Such an arrangement in this direct disciple assessment was like a senior high school student competing in an elementary school sports event.

But ironically…

Xiao Mubai, the “senior high school student,” was the most severely injured one in the room!

“I have no idea.”

Qin Feng shook his head and looked at the middle-aged man with black hair.

“Second Senior Brother should be able to tell something, right?”

The middle-aged man with black hair, surrounded by everyone’s gaze, withdrew his eyes from Xiao Mubai and said indifferently, “Call Liu Si over to check the surveillance.”

Everyone’s eyes lit up.

But before they could act, Liu Si, who had previously led Lu Yuan away, had already entered the assessment room with some people.

“No need for Second Master to instruct, Liu Si will arrange it now.”

Liu Si waved his hand, and the attendants from Linghexuan immediately set up the equipment to play the projection.

Everything that had happened in the assessment room twenty minutes ago slowly unfolded before everyone’s eyes.

Seven people entered the assessment room, and the door closed behind them.

The five candidates joined forces, with Xiao Mubai becoming the focal point.

Up until the two sides started fighting, everything progressed as everyone had anticipated.

No one showed any change in expression, tacitly ignoring the so-called conspiracies and schemes.

Until…

In the video, Xiao Mubai, trying to break through the five-person siege, perhaps aiming to take out someone in his way, reached out to grab Lu Yuan, who was standing to the side with no presence whatsoever.

“Why… did you have to pick me first…”

In the video, Lu Yuan sighed softly, seemingly just raising his hand slightly.

Then, Xiao Mubai, who had been dominating the scene with his overwhelming presence, suddenly flew out and crashed into the wall.

“Bang!”

The pupils of the direct disciples in front of the screen all contracted.

Then they all turned their heads in unison to look at one person Lin Zhiqin.

Lin Zhiqin’s face, however, was full of bewilderment.

It was clear that he had not anticipated this sudden turn of events at all.

At this point, Xiao Mubai in the video had already stood up, his face showing shame and anger as he launched a second attack on Lu Yuan.

Immediately after…

There was another “bang!”

“You… you have also mastered Crane Power?!”

Xiao Mubai’s voice, distorted by surprise, made the direct disciples watching the video blink rapidly.

Finally, someone couldn’t help but speak up: “Junior Brother Lin, you sure hid this well. How long have you been secretly training this Lu Yuan? You planned to amaze everyone this time, didn’t you?”

“Hidden? I don’t know anything about this either…”

Lin Zhiqin murmured at the screen, as if seeing the tall young man in the video for the first time.

“Don’t know? Hmph.”

Someone sneered.

Even the short-haired woman standing next to Lin Zhiqin’s face turned cold, and she said indifferently, “I didn’t expect Junior Brother Lin to hide this from me too. Very well…”

“Senior Sister…”

Lin Zhiqin opened his mouth, gave a bitter smile, and shook his head, “I didn’t hide anything from you. I only taught Lu Yuan body training techniques a month ago. I checked his progress half a month ago, and he had just achieved some success in Skin Training. Who could have known he would suddenly master Crane Power…”

Everyone frowned, wanting to say something more when a voice suddenly rang out.

“Senior Brother Lin indeed wasn’t lying…”

“I saw Lu Yuan when he applied to the martial arts gym. He really has only been practicing martial arts for three months. When he barely met the standard for an official disciple back then, I was the one who reviewed his application form… Seventeen years old, senior high school student, I’ve seen his ID information too…”

The speaker was Qin Feng.

However, Qin Feng’s expression now seemed incredibly complex.

There was a deep sense of frustration, an unwillingness to admit the truth, but having no choice but to accept it.

His eyes were filled with indescribable shock and disbelief.

“Seventeen years old… three months of martial arts practice… body training techniques taught a month ago…”

Everyone fell silent.

The assessment room suddenly became devoid of any sound.

Only occasional noises from the surveillance video could be heard.

A few seconds later, a deep voice spoke.

“Keep watching.”

It was the middle-aged man with black hair who spoke.

Everyone, with various complex emotions, gave Lin Zhiqin a deep look, then continued to focus on the video in front of them.

At this point, Xiao Mubai in the video was already taking a potion to stimulate his potential, shouting as he delivered a punch using the ultimate true skill of the crane style.

Even with the aid of external forces, everyone had to admit.

At this moment, Xiao Mubai’s strength was already somewhat able to threaten them.

The combination of a potential-stimulating potion and the ultimate true skill in boxing techniques conveyed an astonishing power through the screen.

Next, it was up to Lu Yuan, who had practiced martial arts for three months and mastered Crane Power in one month, to see how he would respond.

As expected, the biggest turning point of this assessment and the truth would be revealed with this punch.

Everyone watched intently as the video played in slow motion.

They saw Lu Yuan lightly leap into the air in the face of Xiao Mubai’s punch.

Then he took a deep breath, and his evenly proportioned, slender physique began to rapidly swell up like a balloon.

Veins bulged prominently, and muscles swelled.

In less than a breath’s time.

The previously fair and handsome-looking Lu Yuan had quietly transformed into the image of a muscular, burly hulk.

His skin turned a dark blue, and his muscles swelled to an exaggerated extent, giving his strong body an unparalleled visual impact through the screen.

“Hiss”

Everyone couldn’t help but gasp.

Their expressions were dazed, as if they were witnessing something incredibly unbelievable.

To the point where even Lu Yuan’s display of the Crane Shadow Float boxing techniques in the subsequent footage seemed less shocking.

The large assessment room fell into an eerie silence in an instant.

Everyone stood still, staring blankly at the video playing on the screen.

It was unclear how much time had passed.

A voice, filled with astonishment, shock, and a certain disbelief, slowly emerged.

“Palace of Flesh…”

“This kid… his talent is the Palace of Flesh!”

“No wonder he could grow to this level in just three months… Xiao Mubai, his defeat is not unjust at all!”

…

“Click…”

Lu Yuan walked into the room.

The lights were off inside, and the light from outside shone in from behind him.

This made the room appear even darker.

Lu Yuan squinted his eyes, scanning the surroundings, but all he saw was a deep, pitch-black emptiness.

He pondered for a moment and then spread his mental power.

He continued to walk forward step by step.

It was unclear what this room was used for, but it was astonishingly large.

Lu Yuan walked dozens of meters before he faintly felt something ahead.

He stopped.

Just as he was about to extend his mental power to investigate…

Suddenly.

Two points of eerie blue light lit up in the darkness ahead, like indicator lights on some kind of machine.

Immediately after, an old voice, like the scraping of a rusty blade, sounded in front of him.

“Come closer… come closer… let me take a good look at you.”