Chapter 684

Chapter 684: Green Field Deer Call

In the Zhori Xiangyu Sect, within the forest on the mountainside.

Lolan Hill stood on a white stone platform, her eyes like black crystal gazing at the new disciples below. However, her mind was preoccupied with other matters.

She had only just joined herself, how did she suddenly find herself here, being scrutinized by everyone, searching for any weakness? Even though her face was veiled, the gaze could still be felt, making her feel uneasy.

Perhaps she should find a reason to bid farewell to Senior Sister Su Ye. What kind of help is this?

At first, she thought it was about registration or guiding, but somehow, Su Ye led her onto the platform, saying she would guide the new juniors.

“Why can’t Senior Sister Su Ye do it herself?” Lolan Hill asked at that time.

Su Ye placed her finger on her chin, looking at a nearby branch. “Because I practice the Dragon Sequence. Fighting is purely about strength, lacking grace, and just throwing people away.”

“Little Jialan is different. Your moves are so exquisite, you can easily handle various opponents, allowing them to showcase their strengths. This way, they won’t feel stifled or frustrated,” Su Ye continued.

It seemed reasonable, but would this carefree senior sister really think so much? Lolan Hill shook her head. It wasn’t a big deal anyway; she didn’t want to waste energy thinking about which cunning old fox was behind this. She might as well treat it as practice and observe the cultivation methods of the East.

While Lolan Hill was pondering, a youth already ascended the stone platform, swinging his saber fiercely like lightning.

The white wooden sword in Lolan Hill’s hand spun gracefully, turning at an odd angle in a flash, and met the youth’s attack.

A faint light streaked past, the saber as cold as ice flew back, embedding itself into the trunk of a giant tree behind. The youth lost balance, stumbled, and fell onto the stone platform, sliding far away.

Pain—pain—pain—

His palm slid across the stone, leaving red marks, and pain surged into his mind, making him grimace. But compared to the slight pain in his hand, he felt a deeper, bone-chilling pain inside.

He failed, he failed in the assessment.

He hadn’t expected to not even block one move, truly embarrassing. Everyone must be laughing at him.

He lowered his head and slowly got up, preparing to quietly leave the stage and escape this humiliating place.

“Cold Frame, passed.” Su Ye’s clear voice echoed through the peaceful forest.

Cold Frame turned around in disbelief. Is this considered passing? Could it be that senior sister pitied me too much? This is wonderful. Senior sister is so good to me. How can I repay her? Sob sob sob…

Though silent, his eyes were brimming with tears, and his throat seemed to suppress a thousand words. He stared blankly at Su Ye. The ponytail in the sunlight, the golden dress, the chestnut hair, all so beautiful.

“Hey you, stop standing there like an idiot. People behind you are waiting,” Su Ye said, turning around and seeing Han Zhen still standing motionless, feeling she had misjudged him. She thought he was a cool guy, but he turned out to be a fool. If she lets him join the sect, will Uncle Master scold her?

“I know, Senior Sister,” Han Zhen’s face turned red, jumping down quickly amidst the laughter of the boys and girls, running off without looking back, ready to escape this place. After all, he valued his reputation.

“Don’t run around, you still need to register later,” Su Ye’s voice sounded from behind, making Han Zhen stop involuntarily. Finally, he faced the tree, standing still.

“I know.”

Seeing the peace restored, Su Ye shook her head and turned back, lightly stepping onto the platform beside Lolan Hill.

“Be a bit gentler, Little Jialan. This isn’t good for scoring. Let the opponent complete their move before defeating them,” Su Ye instructed.

“Alright,” Lolan Hill blinked. You didn’t say that before.

Seeing Lolan Hill understood, Su Ye jumped off the platform again, letting another newcomer step up.

“Wu Feilian.”

A man with a red headband walked up, holding a copper long spear. The spear gleamed like a mirror on the side, seemingly inscribed with some enchantment, heavy and sharp.

Taking a lesson from Han Zhen’s experience, this tall newcomer didn’t dare to be careless. He focused intently on the weak-looking girl before him, gripping the spear tightly with both hands. His arms swelled with blood, scales shimmered over his body, and wisps of white vapor emerged from his collar.

“Huh!”

The burly man cultivating the Dragon Sequence let out a mighty roar that echoed like thunder, charging towards the young lady with his heavy halberd flashing before him, striking at her.

The wooden sword used for defense was directly sliced off by the fierce and heavy blade light, but Lolan希尔 also used this opportunity to dodge the blade light, letting it fall onto the stone platform.

Screech—

The bronze halberd directly plunged into the stone platform, carving out a long and deep scratch, with some fine stone powder shooting outwards, landing on the people watching the battle nearby, causing slight pain.

Looking at this newcomer who had temporarily lost their weapon, Lolan希尔 slightly shook her head. If he could have held back a little more strength and changed tactics more often, he might have been stronger.

A transparent air flow sphere formed in the young lady’s hand, directly shooting towards the hilt of the halberd. The metal trembled as if released from an electric shock, then exploded, sending the burly man flying out of the arena.

“Wu Feilian, passed.” Su Ye’s voice rang again.

With this, many of the new students gradually understood the meaning of Su Ye’s words at the beginning.

[The goal is to last three moves against this white-robed senior sister.] It didn’t mean one had to last three moves to pass; rather, it meant scoring based on performance in the fight. Lasting three moves would likely equate to a full score.

Thus, everyone gradually put aside their worries and began thinking about how to better showcase their own strength, rather than how to defeat the white-robed senior sister.

This way, one after another, the newcomers stepped up to the platform. Many of them were quite skilled in martial arts, which differed from what Lolan希尔 felt in Emanas. There, many of the freshmen hadn’t learned combat before, and some of the noble children were even more delicate.

Perhaps it was due to the differences in the examination methods between the East and West, the girl thought to herself.

In the West, it was through recommendation letters, which were mostly held by the High Nobility. Their children were well protected, and they didn’t need to fight to the death to obtain abundant resources.

But in the East, despite having many factions, there was more competition. Plus, there were many demonic beasts in the East, requiring more combat personnel in many small areas. Therefore, martial spirit was rich, and the requirement for combat skills was higher.

Whoosh—

The white wooden sword swung in the air, a wind scythe flew out obliquely, hitting the disciple holding the bone staff. Unconsciously, another newcomer’s assessment ended, stepping down from the stone platform.

Although not comparable to Lolan希尔, these newcomers were actually quite skilled, so Su Ye didn’t specifically hold back. Ninety-five percent of them passed the assessment, with only two failing. One of them passed through the use of an extraordinary artifact and obtained qualification in the faction, while the other failed due to an improper advancement method, with an unstable core, exhausted potential, and unsuitable for entry.

“Next, Yu Tingyu.” Su Ye made another mark on the register.

“Present.” A tense and youthful voice sounded, and a girl dressed in a white dress with green embroidery walked over, followed by an elder from her faction.

“Senior Aunt Lian Yin?” Su Ye looked at the approaching elder, his voice tinged with surprise. This elder should be napping in the pavilion in the market square, why had she suddenly come? Could this girl be his granddaughter? But she didn’t look like it. Could it be…

Before Su Ye could finish his wild thoughts, Senior Aunt Lian Yin spoke first.

“This child’s cultivation method is quite special, so I brought her here for testing. Let her go up with this little deer beside her.”

“Oh, can it be done like this?” Su Ye could only nod and then let the girl prepare herself.

On the high platform, Lolan希尔 looked at the person and the deer in front of her, feeling somewhat curious. Was this some kind of Beast Tamer class? She had seen something similar before in Emanas. At that time, a girl in the central school building had trained a large sheep, which shone brightly in the competition.

Compared to ordinary brownish deer, this little deer’s fur color was more towards blue-green, with a few white spots, making it more lively. Additionally, there were a few white tufts of hair behind its joints, resembling miniature wings, adding a sense of intimidation.

[Fey Cloud Deer]

Status: Healthy (Synchronized)

Sequence: Nature Sequence 4 · Cloud Pattern Flying Deer (Rating: Rare Silver Grade)

Talent:

Green Deer [Rare]: Can make the land and plants grow wherever it steps (provides certain bonuses to plant-type skills).

Ability:

[Cloud Pattern] (Rare): Can briefly traverse the air, reducing weight and increasing speed slightly.

[Divine Heart] (Perfect): Can perceive the emotions or intentions of familiar living beings and resonate with them.

[Deer Horn] (Excellent): Both horns have been self-strengthened, comparable to extraordinary weapons of the same grade (Silver Grade).

Skill:

[Green Origin Lv.3] (Excellent): Makes the ground underfoot grow plants and allows for some manipulation (influenced by talent, originally Lv.1 → Lv.3).

[Following Wind Lv.2] (Excellent):

(Xiu): Reduces air resistance and provides a slight speed boost. (Affected by ability, originally Lv.1 → Lv.2)

“Here we go, Ziyin,” the girl said, gripping her short staff, with faint spiritual light swirling at its tip.

“Nya~” The little deer raised its head and responded pleasantly, then looked nervously at Lolan Hill with its two black eyes.

Lolan Hill stood motionless, full of interest, waiting for their performance. She saw the girl thrust the short staff onto the ground, while the blue deer also lifted its front hooves, falling down simultaneously.

A pale bluish ripple spread across the ground, and tender green grass sprouted rapidly from the gaps between the white stone slabs, spreading outwards and soon turning the white stage into a verdant one.

Lolan Hill felt a slight itch at her ankle. She glanced down at the tender green tips of grass creeping up along the bottom of her shoe.

She moved slightly, and a tiny whirlwind of air spread out, slicing the grass at her feet into fragments.

Taking advantage of her momentary distraction, the girl and the deer acted. Two swift figures intertwined like spirals, closing in on the young lady from two directions, incredibly fast.

Clang—

Before anyone could react, the wooden sword rested on the deer’s antlers with a distinct sound, then shattered. The left hand skillfully dodged the sweeping short staff, grabbed it, and pulled it away.

By the time everyone came back to their senses, Lolan Hill had already passed by the girl and the deer.

Looking back at the girl, Lolan Hill was slightly surprised.

Although she had blocked the attack, she had to admit that they worked extremely well together. If this were any other newcomer in the morning, they would have likely been knocked down and defeated on the spot. Their combined efforts yielded results greater than the sum of their parts.

“Oh~Σ(っ°Д°;)っ” Seeing Lolan Hill unscathed and easily blocking the move, the girl was even more astonished. This was the first time she had encountered such a formidable opponent.

She crouched slightly, looking again at her senior in the white dress, while the blue deer beside her fidgeted uneasily, sending ripples underfoot.

Lolan Hill extended her hand, lightly flicking it, and a branch was cut by a wind blade, falling from the high treetops above.

Seeing the branch about to fall into her senior’s hands, the girl in the white embroidered dress launched again.

This time, she did not separate from the deer but leaped lightly onto its back. A flash of light passed over both of them, and their speed suddenly increased, barely reaching Lolan Hill before the branch fell.

The deer’s antlers glowed white, sharp as knives, aimed at the young lady, while the short staff behind it was poised to sweep at angles where she might dodge.

Bam—

Like compressed air exploding, gusts filled the stone platform.

Just as the girl and the deer were about to collide with her, Lolan Hill finally activated her defense for the first time. The compressed air shield burst, temporarily buffering the attack, and she used the momentum to avoid it.

Compared to those who hadn’t even touched her clothes, this duo had set a record. Many onlookers cheered for them.

“Two moves!” They encouraged the girl.

The girl named Tingyu rode the blue deer on the stone platform, chasing after Lolan Hill to prevent her from regaining her composure. The grass and plants beneath her feet grew quickly, intertwining to form rings to impede Lolan Hill’s movement.

Watching the duo giving it their all, Lolan Hill blinked. She needed to bring out some of her skills now.

Leaping slightly to avoid the grass at her feet, she ascended into the air during her backward movement. Layers of air currents swirled, and the grass beneath her was shredded by the air currents, flying into the air and circling around her.

In the half-air amidst the forest, the figure in white clothing carried fine green leaves, descending like a celestial being, her finger pointing lightly.

Yu Lingyu, riding on the deer, stared blankly at the figure in the air. Seeing her wave her hand, countless grass blades descended like a violent storm.

The originally green stone platform was scraped clean by these sharp grass blades, and the person and deer on the platform glowed rapidly, then were cut by various small wounds, flipping and flying off the platform.

Fortunately, Lolan Hill stopped in time and supported them with a gust of wind, causing no serious harm.

“Yu Lingyu, you pass,” Su Ye announced, rushing over at this moment. She checked the girl, seeing only minor damage to her clothes, and her concern gradually dissipated.

Jialan really knows how to manage things. What a good child.

As she sighed in relief and helped the girl up, a sobbing sound echoed in her arms.

“Wu wu, it hurts.” Her face, like a pear blossom with rain, lifted, revealing a 16-year-old face streaked with tears.

(End of Chapter)