Spurred on by the Demon Sect’s clamor, the other examinees, not knowing the full story, joined in the jeering.
Amidst the crowd’s uproar, the ten people whose names had been called walked one by one toward the Aoshou Platform.
Li Qingxian wore a placid expression. The few top-ten examinees who had seen him annihilate a Demon Fiend with a single finger also looked calm.
The other top-ten examinees, who had entered later and missed the display of thunder, either had grim faces or furrowed brows.
Soon, the ten of them arrived before the Aoshou Platform and stood in a single line.
Li Qingxian glanced over the ten people: one from Literature Cultivation, two Martial Cultivators, two Daoist Cultivators, two Demon Cultivators, two Evil Cultivators, and finally, himself.
Li Qingxian took a specific look at the one from Literature Cultivation. For someone of that path to reach the top ten at the Lower Grade was surely extraordinary.
The Literature Cultivator sensed Li Qingxian’s gaze and gave a slight nod.
"Now, does anyone wish to challenge Li Qingxian for the position of Aoshou?" the chief examiner’s voice rang out.
The other nine remained silent.
The examinees across the way began to clamor again. Some, even those not from the Demon Sect, joined in the ruckus.
"Fellow examinees, to have our Cyan Cloud stolen by a Fate Master... this year’s class will be a great embarrassment."
"That’s right. This is the Cyan Cloud Examination. No matter how strong his Fate Skills are, they can’t influence a battle."
"Fate Masters can foresee the future and use their Fate Skills in advance to ruin an opponent’s Qi Fortune, winning before the fight even begins. They are indeed formidable. But even an Upper-Grade Fate Master is weaker than other Cultivators in a direct confrontation."
"All of you, from Literature, Martial, Daoist, Demon, and Evil paths—you can’t just bow your heads to this!"
Li Qingxian couldn’t be bothered with them. He cleared his mind and stared straight ahead.
"If no one challenges Li Qingxian, then the position of Aoshou will be decided," the chief examiner announced.
"This student is willing to try!" From among the top ten, an Eighth-Grade Demon Cultivator cupped his fist toward the chief examiner.
The chief examiner nodded. "I have already stated that Li Qingxian’s Daoist Skill is immensely powerful. If you challenge him, you must sign a Life and Death Contract. Should you die here, you will have no one to blame but yourself."
"This student is willing to sign the Life and Death Contract," the Demon Sect examinee said.
"Good."
"And Li Qingxian?"
"This student is willing."
The chief examiner waved his right hand, and a Life and Death Contract flew before the Demon Sect examinee. "Press all five fingers on the left side."
The Demon Sect examinee extended his five fingers and pressed down. Five blood-red prints appeared on the white paper.
The Life and Death Contract then flew before Li Qingxian, who reached out and pressed his hand on the right side.
"The contract is formed, the Life and Death Contract is established. The rules for this match are the same as the previous three: no external items such as Magical Artifacts or Magical Treasures may be used. Everything else is permitted. The winner becomes the Aoshou," the chief examiner declared.
The Demon Cultivator examinee bowed with cupped hands to Li Qingxian and said, "I am Pei Changyun of Demon Transformation Mountain. I ask for your guidance, Brother Li."
When Li Qingxian heard "Demon Transformation Mountain," he gave the other man a deep look.
They were the ones who hunted Jiang Youfei. They were the ones who crippled the Dantians of Zheng Hui and Yur Deping. He had just dealt with one of them, and now another had shown up.
Li Qingxian sighed. "We are of the same class, on the same list. A duel to the death is, all in all, unseemly. What’s more, the Thunder Skill I cultivate is predicated on ferocious, forward momentum; I can’t control its power. Brother Pei, why don’t you reconsider? If you were to die in front of everyone, given the methods of your Demon Transformation Mountain and the Ministry of Justice... you may not be afraid, but I certainly am."
The scene fell silent.
Some people wanted to laugh but didn’t dare. The Demon Cultivators all wore cold expressions.
Pei Changyun snorted. "Brother Li, you’re overthinking it. Every year, if not a thousand, then at least eight hundred from our Demon Sect die in competitions. I’ve never heard of the Demon Sect seeking revenge for it."
"But I have heard of it. I’ve even seen it," Li Qingxian said, looking troubled.
The crowd of Demon Cultivators glared at Li Qingxian, grinding their teeth in frustration. ’You just led an attack on the Ministry of Justice and caused such a huge scene. You’re afraid of *this*?’
Pei Changyun cupped his hands. "I’ll see you in the Grand Arena." After speaking, he walked toward the other end of the Grand Arena.
Li Qingxian raised his voice in feigned helplessness. "Everyone heard that! I didn’t want to fight, but Brother Pei insisted on trying to best me, so I have no choice but to accept. In the Cyan Cloud Examination, the greatest respect you can show an opponent is to go all out. If my hand is too heavy, I ask the members of the Demon Sect not to hunt me down."
One of the Demon Cultivator examinees couldn’t help but shout angrily, "The outcome is not yet decided, so stop your slander! Everyone knows Fate Masters are weak in combat. Don’t try to bluff!"
"Why don’t you come sign a Life and Death Contract and give it a try?" Li Qingxian asked, smiling at that Demon Cultivator.
"You have to become the Aoshou first!" the Demon Cultivator retorted, fierce in appearance but timid inside.
Li Qingxian reached up to straighten his robes, then slowly walked toward the Grand Arena.
Pei Changyun had already reached the southernmost end of the Grand Arena. Li Qingxian stood at the northernmost end, fifty zhang separating the two.
"Please begin," Pei Changyun said pretentiously. He was already covertly circulating his Demonic Skill. His eyes flickered between green and blue, and a faint grey mist drifted from his ears, from which tiny Demon Insects carrying Demon Poison flew out.
The complexions of the crowd changed slightly. Except for the Demon Cultivators and those of Literature Cultivation, many examinees took several steps back.
"Hmph!" The chief examiner snorted softly. With a wave of his right hand, an invisible stream of Literary Qi shot out, encircling the entire Grand Arena and isolating the Demon Poison within.
Li Qingxian held his breath, raised his hand to point at Pei Changyun, and began to recite the very same Opening Qian Curse Thunder he had used against the Demon Fiend.
"...Evil Gods and demonic sprites, should you dare show your scales, Duke Lei shall strike, shattering your forms! May all ghosts be purged, and the human way be safe! As fast as the statutes and ordinances command!"
Hearing the content of Li Qingxian’s Spell, the Demon and Evil Cultivators frowned.
Once the Spell was complete, the phantom of Duke Lei appeared behind Li Qingxian. A violent intent of Divine Sky Thunderbolt swept across heaven and earth. The Low-Grade Demon and Evil Cultivators felt a piercing pain in their eyes and had to turn their heads away.
The Duke Lei phantom struck its Thunder God’s Hammer, and the group of Demon and Evil Cultivators felt their ears ring and their blood and qi churn.
The crowd was aghast. ’What kind of Thunder Skill is this?’
Not far away, Pei Changyun had been channeling his Demonic Skill, but when the Thunder God’s Hammer struck, an invisible Power of Evil-Breaking swept out in all directions. His Qi Meridians trembled, his aura fell into disarray, and the Demon Insects surrounding him fell to the ground.
Panic flared in his heart. He hurriedly looked toward Li Qingxian, only to see a blinding flash of white lightning erupt.
He registered a flash before his eyes, then darkness, and then he could see nothing at all.
In the eyes of the crowd, a bolt of lightning over ten zhang long shot from Li Qingxian’s fingertip. In an instant, it crossed several dozen zhang and slammed into Pei Changyun’s head.
BOOM!
The crowd couldn’t tell if that was the sound of thunder cracking or a head exploding.
They only saw a headless corpse sent flying by the force of the thunderbolt before it collapsed to the ground.
Everyone stared blankly at the scene, not even having finished a blink. A dignified top-ten finisher of the Eighth-Grade Cyan Cloud Examination... ’How was he just dead?’
Li Qingxian flicked a speck of dust from his robes and said, "Fate Masters are weak in combat. What does that have to do with me, Li Qingxian?"
The Demon Cultivators who had previously mocked the combat weakness of Fate Masters now had dark expressions.
Only after a long moment did the others come back to their senses.
Only then did they understand why the chief examiner had named Li Qingxian the Aoshou first, and why they had to sign a Life and Death Contract.
That thunderbolt... forget Eighth Grade, there were few even at the Seventh Grade who could have withstood it.
Cold sweat trickled down the backs of the Demon Cultivators. They were different from other Cultivators; they saw more.
After Pei Changyun died, the Demon Insects and Demon Poison in his body should have spread. But now, his corpse looked no different from that of an ordinary person. This meant that his Demon Insects and Demon Poison had been utterly eradicated.
That thunderbolt not only possessed immense destructive power, but also a terrifying Power of Evil-Breaking.
The Demon Sect Disciples who had been so boisterous before were now clamping their mouths shut.
The Daoist Cultivators looked at Li Qingxian with envy.
"To think the Celestial Cloud Sect was willing to pass on such a Thunder Skill to him. He can use it at a mere Eighth Grade. One side held nothing back in their teaching, and the other lived up to the trust placed in him. Truly a fine tale."
"That Thunder Skill has the power of a Middle Grade technique."
"As expected of an Official Disciple of the Celestial Cloud Sect."
A nearby Literature Cultivator interjected, "Li Qingxian has a foundation in Literature Cultivation. He was personally taught by Mr. Gangfeng."
The Daoist Cultivators all rolled their eyes at him.