Chapter 10: Wind Blades

“Little Martial Uncle, did you do something bad? You didn’t tamper with the artifacts in the Mountain Exam area, did you?” A youth dressed like a Daoist acolyte carried a massive alms bowl. Though called a bowl, it was actually a low-grade defensive artifact. It was supposed to be one of the fifteen artifacts placed in the Mountain Exam, but now, it had ended up in the trash heap of the Refining Peak!

The man addressed as Little Martial Uncle had his waist-length black hair tied half-up. However, the person who tied it must have lacked skill, as a few unruly strands had escaped. He wore a dusty grey robe that looked clean enough, though unfortunately, the defensive arrays originally woven into the fabric had all lost their efficacy.

The youth could not understand. Little Martial Uncle clearly made a fortune from artifact refining, so why did he live such a disheveled life? Moreover, he constantly built his own happiness on playing pranks on others, which was simply infuriating! Well, maybe he only disliked him for the time it took a half-stick of incense to burn. Sometimes, Little Martial Uncle was actually quite nice.

“What do you mean ‘something bad’ and ‘tamper’? You kid really have a way with words! Isn’t my Refining Peak the one responsible for providing the Mountain Exam artifacts? This ugly, oversized bowl is hideous. It has absolutely no aesthetic value. Wouldn’t we be a laughingstock if we put it out there? Besides, why do they need defensive artifacts for an entrance exam? Did they travel all this way just to hide in their shells like turtles?”

The youth grew anxious. “Little Martial Uncle, did you really swap the artifacts? What did you change them to? Do you know-“

“I know, I know. The shadow wall is active, right? The Sect Master is such a nice person, he definitely won’t mind this tiny mistake of mine, right?”

The youth stamped his foot in frustration. “But the elder presiding over the Mountain Exam this time is Elder Zhao Qi of the Discipline Hall! You…” He had been locked up so many times, yet he managed to run straight into him every single time.

The Little Martial Uncle, who usually ran rampant on the Refining Peak, stiffened at the corners of his mouth, his smooth hair practically standing on end. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier!”

“Heaven is my witness, Little Martial Uncle! I’ve said it in your ear eight hundred times!”

“Then you must have said it while I was refining! Little Lu Qiao, you’ve grown quite devious yourself!”

The youth Lu Qiao: Aaaaaah! If I speak to Little Martial Uncle again today, I’m a dog!!!

Having successfully angered his cute little martial nephew, Little Martial Uncle was still a bit worried that Zhao Qi would come looking for trouble later. Thus, he made a rare departure from the Refining Peak, intending to join the crowd at the shadow wall. He had thought it over carefully just now; he hadn’t actually swapped that many artifacts, just replaced the defensive ones. However, the artifacts he put in were only more powerful, not less. Although one of them was also a low-grade item, that was only because the materials themselves were mediocre. With a few minor improvements, it wouldn’t be a problem to use it all the way up to the Nascent Soul stage.

At this thought, Little Martial Uncle couldn’t help but chuckle. He wondered which lucky soul had obtained it. He had actually given that unfinished artifact a nice name: Dingfengbo^[1].

Its function was exactly as the name implied. It could gather all the wind within a one-kilometer radius, and once it accumulated to a certain point, convert it into wind blades. Because it hadn’t been refined yet, its attack pattern was rather simple, and its energy storage speed was somewhat uncontrollable. In other words, when it attacked, it did not distinguish between friend and foe, targeting whoever was nearby.

Sighing, Little Martial Uncle touched his beloved robe. The fact that this robe had become so tattered was largely thanks to that “Dingfengbo.”

Meanwhile, within the Mountain Exam area, Chen Zui had stumbled his way into charging up the “Dingfengbo.” What was more, the more he waved it, the more enthusiastic he became, refusing to listen to anyone’s advice. It was clear he was rather stubborn.

Bian Chunzhou groaned, “I’m done. I can’t persuade him at all. Let him do whatever he wants. Where does he get all this stubborn strength? Why is he trying to compete with an artifact!”

Lately, Wen Xu had been marveling every day at the sheer diversity of cultivators. By comparison, when he was studying in Bizhou Prefecture, he had truly been a frog at the bottom of a well. Just as he was about to offer his friend a few words of comfort, he heard a few strange noises. He didn’t know any martial arts, but a cultivator’s instinct told him he should get down immediately!

He grabbed Bian Chunzhou and rolled on the ground. The next instant, a wind blade whistled past right over their heads.

“Holy crap, what is this?!”

“Quick, dodge!”

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, there’s more! Help! We’re going to be turned into sieves! Chen Zui-i-i-i-i!”

Chen Zui quickly heard his name being screamed in echoes, but distant water could not put out a nearby fire. The two of them could only fend for themselves.

Bian Chunzhou had originally thought that since his cultivation was slightly higher than Wen Xuxu’s, he should- Well, he just needed to focus on keeping himself safe. Wen Xuxu’s ears were sharper than his own eyes.

In truth, Wen Xu hadn’t heard it. Rather, he had… felt it. The sensation was incredibly timely. Before the signal could even reach his brain, his body had already dodged the wind blade based on this feeling.

Just as humans naturally knew how to breathe, he seemed to naturally know how to evade attacks coming from the wind.

Wen Xu analyzed himself briefly, but then… the wind blades’ attacks grew increasingly dense. He was only at the second layer of Qi Condensation. If this continued, he would probably be worn to death.

What should he do? Where on earth were these wind blades coming from?

While Wen Xu and Bian Chunzhou were busily dodging the wind blades in a sorry state, the disheveled big dog Chen Zui was completely free from attack. However, he had already stopped his childish competition with the artifact. This wasn’t because he was tired, but because he realized his two deadweight companions were about to reach their limits.

“You two are really a bit weak.”

Thanks to Chen Zui falling back to defend them in time, the two only suffered minor scrapes and no major injuries. Coincidentally, after Chen Zui stopped competing with the artifact, the density and intensity of the wind blades decreased drastically.

What did this mean? This meant- “That’s the artifact’s attack pattern! Wen Xuxu, Chen Zuizui, we hit the jackpot!”

Bian Chunzhou no longer felt tired. He scrambled up from the ground. Just now, those wind blades had come from all directions, making it difficult for someone of his cultivation level to pinpoint the artifact’s location. But what about Chen Zuizui? “Can you feel where the artifact is?”

“Huh?” Chen Zui scratched his head. “Not really. It’s hidden very well. But I can try again.”

The result of trying again was that Wen Xu and Bian Chunzhou gained new injuries, and their physical strength plummeted. Yet, the artifact’s location remained impossible to determine. Time waited for no one. Should they stubbornly stick to this artifact, or set off to find others?

In truth, none of the three really wanted to leave, though their reasons for staying differed.

Right then, Chen Zui spoke up. “Someone is coming. The cultivation of one of them is roughly on par with mine.”

“Roughly?”

“Of course. At the same cultivation level, I’m confident I can outfight anyone else.”

Wen Xu immediately asked, “Who are the other two Qi Condensation Level Six cultivators in this Mountain Exam?”

“One is Li Zishen, supposedly from a family of growers. The other is Xia Ying, rumored to be the niece of the Langyuan City lord.” Chen Zui had clearly looked into his main competitors.

As the saying goes, speak of the devil. Xia Ying had no grudge against them, so they might have been able to reason with her. But Li Zishen was rumored to be narrow-minded. If Wen Xu hadn’t appeared out of nowhere, Li Zishen would have been first in the preliminary trial. Crossing paths now, especially with a magic tool at stake, meant a fierce battle was likely brewing.

Li Zishen did not disappoint. In fact, he had deliberately asked around to track the direction Wen Xu’s group had taken. Outside, he couldn’t easily make a move without looking petty and intolerant. But during the Mountain Exam, fighting over magic tools and having disputes was perfectly normal. No one would criticize him for it.

Besides, he was at Qi Condensation Level Six, and his three companions were at Levels Four and Five. No matter how they looked at it, they had the upper hand. They had even obtained an offensive magic tool. There was no reason for him not to come and reclaim his pride.

So what if Wen Xu was first in the preliminary trial? It was nothing but a stroke of luck.

“Are you going to leave on your own? Or do we have to throw you out?”

They definitely didn’t come in peace. Bian Chunzhou sized up the disparity in strength between the two sides and felt that today’s exam was going to end badly. But retreating without a fight was simply not Chen Zui’s style. That guy didn’t have a single submissive bone in his body. Bian Chunzhou was willing to swear on his only precious sword that Chen Zui was probably calculating the odds of taking on all four of them by himself.

Help, what should he do? The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

“Leave? Would you really let us walk away so easily?” To Bian Chunzhou’s surprise, the first to speak up provocatively wasn’t Chen Zui, but Wen Xuxu, who usually had the best temper!

Li Zishen cackled. “I never said that. You’re the ones choosing to stay. Do it!”

Without a second word, Chen Zui charged forward alone, saber in hand. He practically had the word “fearless” stamped on his forehead. But in the end, one person couldn’t surround four.

Bian Chunzhou had already raised his low-grade sword. Right at that moment…

The timely wind blades had arrived!

They came without warning, they came silently, they came with magnificent momentum, they came… well, they attacked anyone they saw, completely indiscriminately!

Bian Chunzhou was starting to fall in love with this magic tool. He even found the wind blades rather cute. But why did they stop again?!

Hey, how can you just give up halfway? I was just praising how cute you were!

“Chunzhou, do you trust me?”

Wen Xu suddenly spoke. Bian Chunzhou didn’t hesitate for a second. “Of course I do! You’re my friend!”

“Cover me!”

Because Chen Zui had come to rescue the two deadweights, he could no longer clash with the magic tool, causing the wind blades to weaken. But once Li Zishen’s group of four appeared, the wind blades returned. This meant the magic tool…

The magic tool needed wind to unleash wind blades.

Wind was an invisible, colorless force. It could be incredibly powerful, or it could be extremely weak. Wen Xu had seen gale-force winds tear ancient pines from cliffs, roots and all. He had also seen bitter cold winds sweep through the night, silently taking lives without leaving a trace.

So, where did the wind come from?

Wen Xu stood where Chen Zui had just swung his saber. The area was covered in marks left by the raging whirlwinds. He quietly channeled the meager spiritual energy in his dantian’s sea of qi, thinking…

“Oh, the kid noticed.” Little Martial Uncle clapped happily. Seeing Zhao Qi glaring at him, he shrank his shoulders slightly, but quickly regained his confidence. “This batch has some good prospects. If no one wants this blind one, my Refining Peak will take him!”

Hearing this, Elder Zhan immediately grew anxious. “Who says no one wants him! My Alchemy Peak wants him! First come, first served. He was already reserved by my Alchemy Peak long ago!”