Chapter 144 – What Did You Do in Your Past Life (1/2)

A punch, it was once again, only a single punch. Without any sort of form, ignoring any sort of tool and without any manifestation of True Essence, only raw strength and speed; what was this?

It had to be known that Orthodox Academy didn’t used to be like this. In the past, both teachers and students alike were transcendent in their cultivation arts; their actions were unworldly, filled with the flair of those who followed the Dao.

This year, with the academy once again accepting new students, it embodied a lot for the older members of the Orthodoxy; they had thought that a period of over a decade, was only akin to a speck of dust within the endless sands of time and that many things remained unchanged.

As long as Orthodox Academy returned, they would once again be able to see its past visage. Who then, could have guessed, that the current academy was no longer the one they had in their thoughts; even though Xuan Yuan Po and Chen Chang Sheng had managed to obtain victory, Orthodox Academy’s old demeanour was no longer present.

Having such thoughts, what that clergyman and the other examiners within the Tower of Purging Dust currently felt, was understandably a little complicated.

Suspended mid-air, within the Hall of Zhao Wen, was a mirror, its lower right corner was decorated with the image of several leaves.

The mirror displayed an image of the Tower of Purging Dust; everyone gathered within the hall were observing the image of Chen Chang Sheng’s fading back as he left the tower, looking at that slowly closing door, they couldn’t stop themselves from having the same feelings.

Prince Chen Liu; Mo Yu; His Eminence, Mei Li Sha; the principals and Bishops of the Ivy League schools; the military representatives, Xue Xing Chuan and Xu Shi Ji; His Grace, Zhou Tong, who was sitting by himself in a corner; several representatives from some sects of the South; at this moment, a lot of important figures were present.

They were all currently looking towards the principal of Heavenly Academy, Mao Qiu Yu, his student had just lost miserably by the hand of Chen Chang Sheng, some of them recognised the oil paper umbrella as to being the one Mao Qiu Yu had carried with him in his younger years, when he journeyed across the continent.

They thought to themselves that his current mood must be terrible; yet, it was different from what they thought, his face didn’t show any anger, but was calm.

Seeing nothing upon Mao Qiu Yu’s face, their gazes unconsciously switched to His Eminence, The Archbishop, but they found that His Eminence’s eyes remained closed, as if he were asleep; this was naturally a display of confidence towards Chen Chang Sheng and Orthodox Academy.

Previously, some thought that this confidence would turn into a farce, but who could have guessed that Chen Chang Sheng would attain such a clean victory in his first match, causing them to worry that they might themselves become the farcical party.

Whether the examiners at the Tower of Purging Dust or the important figures in the Hall of Zhao Wen that were observing via the mirror, they were all surprised by Chen Chang Sheng’s performance; they couldn’t understand, this youth from Orthodox Academy had only completed his Purification a short time ago and his True Essence capacity was very ordinary, yet, why did he possess such an astonishing amount of strength?

“His strength has nothing to do with his True Essence capacity, it should either be due to an extremely flawless Purification, or he has managed to have some sort of extraordinary encounter over the past few days; that is a pure and absolute strength.”

Ranked second amongst the Divine Generals on the continent, Xue Xing Chuan was someone that has experienced countless battles, his understanding of strength was especially profound; seeing the puzzled expressions of everyone present, he calmly explained.

When he said those words he gave a glance towards the Archbishop, a Purification that approached perfection was very rare, while an extraordinary encounter could hardly be called “extraordinary” if it happened often; in his mind, no matter how Chen Chang Sheng had obtained this pure and absolute strength, it had to be something bestowed upon him by His Eminence, The Archbishop.

However, for Chen Chang Sheng to be able to accept and incorporate this bestowal was not something easily achieved. Xue Xing Chuan looked towards the expressionless Xu Shi Ji on his left and thought to himself: “This kind of son-in-law, though lacking in comparison to Qiu Shan Jun, is still fairly adequate.”

As Her Divine Majesty’s two most trusted Divine Generals within the military, he wondered whether if he should advise Xu Shi Ji a little, at a more convenient time.

Chen Chang Sheng’s display of unexpected strength caused the hall to quieten down, once Xue Xing Chuan finished his words, no one said anything else for a long while, until finally, Mo Yu’s cold voice broke the silence.

“You won’t get very far by relying upon strength alone.”

The hall was once again silent, everyone knew that her words were true – without reaching the appropriate level and realm, without sufficient True Essence, even with a greater strength, it could only be effective in low level battles; upon meeting a higher level, a higher realm, it would be directly crushed.

If Chen Chang Sheng didn’t have any other methods available, he could definitely be unable to reach the end of the Duelling Stage and might very well lose in the next round.

…..

…..

That mournful howl transmitted out of the Tower of Purging Dust.

All of the examinees present immediately had a change to their expressions, not knowing what was happening within the tower.

Gou Han Shi and Tian Hai Sheng Xue’s had stern faces, it was evident that these two young experts who had already achieved Ethereal Opening, had a clearer perception of what was happening.

Not long after, the tower’s door once again opened and Chen Chang Sheng walked out, all that could be seen was that his right foot was bare, his boot having disappeared, making him look rather haggard; apart from this, he didn’t show any signs of having had a hard battle, as if he had only entered the tower for a brief stroll.

The area was silent, none of the examinees said anything, the mood was complex; their gazes followed his movement, staring as he walked down the stone steps, all the way to the woodlands.

“You did it,” Tang Thirty-Six extended his hand and pat him on the shoulder in praise.

Xuan Yuan Po looked at him without saying a word, his eyes full of respect.

Su Mo Yu thought to himself, even though the student from Heavenly Academy was of an ordinary level and couldn’t have been considered strong – if he himself was to battle, he would have also had an easy victory – it would have been difficult to win as fast as Chen Chang Sheng had; it seems the conjecturing some of his peers had done before the Grand Examination were correct, Chen Chang Sheng had been hiding his ability all along.

Luo Luo laughed happily, the sound of her laughter rang out clearly, like the ringing of a silver bell.