Chapter 2: The Sword Trial Enters the Sect

  The next morning, nearly two hundred young men gathered in the school's martial arts square. Although it was a short training day, their formation and lineup were quite strict, standing upright on both sides of the three high platforms, quietly waiting for the final test, the sword dispatch trial.

  "Bang"

  "Dong", "Dong"

  ……

  "The first match, Yang Xuan vs Zhang Hong!"

  "Round two, Hua Wu versus Bai Jingjing!"

  ……

  As the war drums sounded, the final test for the young men who wanted to join the gang officially began. Then, under the announcement of the old man in charge of the sword trial platform, one by one, the named boys successively climbed onto the three platforms.

  "Round 18, Wang Kun vs Luo Zhen!"

  Suddenly, a nomination sounded, and Luo Zhuo responded by leaving the team and stepping onto the third high platform in the middle of the field.

  "Please instruct me, Wang Qun!"

  "Please instruct me, I'm all ears!"

  "Let's start!"

  Along with Luo Zhan, another 12 or 13-year-old boy also climbed onto the third high platform. After a brief exchange of greetings, at the judge's command, the three high platforms in the arena immediately entered a state of mutual attack.

  "entrust"

  "entrust", "entrust"

  ……

  For a moment, the sound of wooden swords clashing filled the air, simple basic sword techniques entwined in a way that was hard to unravel, exciting the young onlookers below who cheered from time to time.

  However, compared to the sword trials on the first and second platforms, the sword fight on the third platform was not that impressive. As soon as the judge's voice fell, Luo Zhan's wooden sword had already struck his opponent's chest with incredible speed.

  "Hmm, in this game, Luo Zhan wins!"

  Gazing at Luo Zhan for a moment, the slightly surprised judge nodded lightly and then, after uttering a sound of acknowledgement, began to write down his verdict with swift strokes.

  "Thank you, referee!"

  He cupped his hands in a gesture of gratitude and then, without hesitation, Luo Zhen sprang into action, leaping down from the four-foot-high platform and disappearing into the crowd, leaving behind a young man with his head bowed, lost in thought, staring at a white scar on his chest.

  Next, time slowly passed until nearly noon when Luo Zhan welcomed the second sword trial. However, this time's opponent was a little girl of about ten years old.

  "In this place, I should admit defeat!"

  Looking at a distance of about ten feet away, compared to himself still two years younger little girl, Luo Zhen involuntarily felt speechless for a moment, after thinking for a while, he directly conceded defeat with a fist bump.

  Three games and two wins, Luo Zhan was confident of taking the third game. At this moment, it's better to push the boat with the current and let the opponent, a young girl, have a chance to turn her fate around if she can squeeze into the door.

  "Hmph, this young lady doesn't need your courtesy, take a look at my sword!"

  However, faced with Luo Zhan's courtesy, the little girl who was nearly half a head shorter than Luo Zhan showed no gratitude at all. With her small mouth slightly open, she let out a cold hum and clear scolding, then raised her sword and stabbed.

  "entrust", "entrust entrust entrust", "entrust entrust"

  In an instant, the two wooden swords clashed rapidly, leaving a string of clear "tong" sounds. Suddenly, Luo Zhan swung his sword with great force, parrying his opponent's attacking sword and retreating two steps back. His eyes narrowed in surprise.

  "So fast!"

  After witnessing the little girl's fencing speed, Luo Zhan couldn't help but be surprised. It is known that the realm of martial arts is divided into six major levels: Initial Understanding, Glimpsing the Gate, Entering the Hall, Merging and Penetrating, Furnace Fire Pure, and Reaching the Summit.

  Lu Zhancheng had practiced Taiji Sword in his previous life and admired Yang Guo's "Xuan Tie Hua Jian". He had a good understanding of the basic sword moves, having already reached the stage of "initial comprehension".

  At this point, after more than a dozen days of contemplation and diligent practice, Luo Zhan's basic swordsmanship had already made great strides to the level of "catching a glimpse of the doorway". Even so, Luo Zhan, who was exerting himself to sweep away the wooden sword of the little girl in front of him, suddenly felt an unshakeable sense of certainty that he would definitely win. How could this situation not make Luo Zhan's heart tremble with surprise?

  "Hmph, dare to underestimate me? You know better now? But next, I'll use three times the strength!"

  Looking at Luo Zhen's astonished face, the little girl seemed to be very happy, and after a tender shout, she spun the hilt of her sword again, and its speed suddenly increased by 30%, like a stormy rain, with swift stabs and slashes.

  "entrust", "entrust"

  "Bang......"

  As the true strength of the little girl in front of him was revealed, Luo Zhan, who did not want to exchange injuries for death, finally could not hold back and was stabbed in the chest by the little girl with one sword, ending this round of fighting.

  "Hmm, not bad, Rui'er's swordsmanship has improved again!"

  In the distance, under a large tree, a middle-aged man in brocade clothes gently stroked his sparse beard, gazing at the distant fighting arena, nodding slightly, with an extremely satisfied expression.

  "Congratulations, Master Mù Táng! With Miss's talent, she will surely inherit the master's unparalleled swordsmanship in the future!"

  The middle-aged man in the brocade clothes had a great complexion, and the bald-headed big man beside him immediately clasped his hands to congratulate him, with a look of pride on his face.

  "Hmm, Brother Teng has done a good job. In just over ten days, he has managed to train a new disciple with decent swordsmanship for our sect. This is indeed a rare achievement."

  Upon hearing the words of the bald-headed big Han, the middle-aged man in brocade clothes turned his gaze and stared at the young man who had just lost the game for a moment. After nodding slightly, he praised him with flattering words. For a while, both of them were extremely pleased.

  ————————————————————————————————

  In the late afternoon, the selection of "Nujiang Gang" disciples came to an end. Out of nearly two hundred young people, only one hundred and twenty were selected into the "Nujiang Gang", while the true inner disciple status that does not require doing chores will be revealed three months later.

  "This is the legendary internal skill formula!"

  Holding the blue booklet with the first three layers of the "Puyang Jue" in his hands, Luo Zhan couldn't wait to flip through it. Although the "Puyang Jue" was only a third-rate technique, Luo Zhan still couldn't resist its charm.

  "Internal power" is the foundation of all martial arts. Without internal strength, most martial arts cannot display their true power and are like flowery fists and embroidered legs, having no real power to speak of.

  Once the inner power is infused, ordinary martial arts moves can also be vigorous and powerful, capable of opening steles and splitting stones. Moreover, some moves are complex yet simple, clever yet clumsy, and with just a raise of the hand or a kick of the foot, they possess immense power.

  This is also the sorrow of martial artists in the 21st century, where spiritual energy is scarce. Although there are great masters who can practice internal strength according to ancient methods, few can attain greatness.

  "Master, it's time for dinner."

  Suddenly, a loud and urgent call came from the bed opposite, reminding Luo Zhu that he had been mesmerized by watching the Pu Yang Jue technique and it was already late.

  Following Luo Zhen's instructions, Luo Tong, who had launched a swift and fierce attack in the sword-testing arena, naturally passed the final test without any mishaps and joined the ranks of new disciples in the "Nujiang Gang" along with Luo Zhen.

  But when it came to arranging accommodations, the bald-headed man surprisingly arranged a spacious and bright room for the two of them. To put this in perspective, other entry-level disciples had to squeeze four people into one room.

  As a result, except for Luo Zhen's heart having some guesses, others were mostly confused and mistakenly thought that Luo Zhen and the bald man had a close relationship. At this, Luo Zhen sneered in his heart and did not explain.

  "Wow, time flies!"

  Luozhen, who had memorized the first three layers of Pu Yang Jue in the Blue Book, heard the call and raised his head to glance at the infinite beauty of the sunset outside the window. He stretched lazily and stood up.