Chapter 397 - Qin Fens Invincible Divine Dao (1/2)
The sacred martial weekly lecture had been held every week since the establishment of the Sacred Martial Hall. It was also every week’s top priority for many martial artists of the Sacred Martial Hall.
There were all kinds of lecturers from martial artists of various star-classes. One could even choose to listen to the lecture of an eternal-star level martial artist, or perhaps attend the lecture of a fourteen-star level martial artist instead.
Knowing your own limitations was an important thing for martial artists. If one wasn’t even clear about their own abilities and believed that he or she could improve by just attending the strongest lecturers, it would generally end up being counterproductive.
Qin Fen still believed that there should be something unique about a lecture from a fourteen-star martial artist.
Having worn the martial attire, Qin Fen adjusted his clothes on his shoulders before the mirror. He was still nervous about attending the first lecture in the Sacred Martial Hall. It was as if he had returned to his school days.
Next, Qin Fen walked out of his room and made his way downstairs, where he met up with Xue Tian, who had a katana in his arms and a smile on his face. Huang Fengwan and other members of the same building had been waiting downstairs already.
“Everyone is batchmates in the same building.” Huang Fengwan steeped out and explained. “Let’s go together.”
A smile was hanging on Qin Fen’s lips. Everyone would feel a little bit uneasy at any place new for the first time. Huang Fengwan and the other people had also considered this. How could they push off the other side’s good intentions?
“This way.”
Huang Fengwan walked in front of the team. This was also a rule of the Sacred Martial Hall. Each building had a so-called leader. Huang Fengwan had been at the Sacred Martial Hall for the longest; his strength was also good and was also quite popular. Naturally, he became the leader of Building No. One twenty-two.
The Sacred Martial Hall was very big, a lot bigger than the rumors. There were many tall buildings all over the island. But the lecture hall wasn’t in any of these tall buildings. Rather, it was a vacant lot; it lacked any kind of protection from rain and wind. There weren’t any comfortable seats either, only simple stumps. Everything looked so natural.
Is this the lecture hall of the Department of Martial Arts? Qin Fen looked about. Many people had already arrived ahead of schedule. Several dozen front row seats were empty. Many people were already sitting in other places.
“Qin Fen, this way.” Huang Fengwan walked to the stumps in the last rows and beckoned. “This way.”
Qin Fen stood still in his place. He looked at the beckoning Huang Fengwan and then turned his gaze at the seats on the front row. Although everyone, owing to their strength, could hear everything from anywhere, sitting in the front row would give him the opportunity to see the expression of the lecturer clearly, as one could even get inspirations from his expression. So why would he sit in the last row?
Huang Fengwan made his way to Qin Fen quickly and dragged him by his sleeve. “Let’s go, those seats are occupied by the Inner Sacred Martial Hall martial artists already. You might be very strong, but you don’t need to be aggressive…”
Suddenly, the slightly noisy lecture hall calmed down. Everyone’s eyes were focused on the front row seats.
Xue Tian sat down in the front row as if it was nothing. Caesar also sat down on the front row stump like it was nothing. Sky Splitter – Brooks sat down on the left side of Caesar…
All of a sudden, all the young martial artists on Qin Fen’s team, except for Qin Fen, sat down in the front row.
“Old Qin, here! Huang Fengwan, here, here.” Xue Tian turned back and kept on beckoning, “This seat is good! Everyone come over…”
Xue Tian’s loud voice echoed over the quiet lecture hall.
Everyone else sitting on other seats stared blankly at Xue Tian. All of them began to wonder if there was something wrong with these freshmen’s brain! It’s quite obvious from their attire that all of them are basic-type martial artists of Outer Sacred Martial Hall. So, how can they sit in the first row just like that?
Although the Sacred Martial Hall didn’t stipulate that the first row belonged to the martial artists of Inner Sacred Martial hall, the Sacred Martial Hall was a place where strength was revered and naturally, the first row seats belonged to the martial artists of the inner Sacred Martial Hall.
Almost all the previous generations of Sacred Martial Hall martial artists had competed for the right to sit on the front row seats. And in the end, the most powerful Inner Sacred Martial Hall had completely occupied the few front rows. From then on, this had become a hidden rule. But much to everyone’s dismay, some freshmen had broken this rule! Have they not gone through the baptism of glorious tradition?
“Who allowed you to sit there?”
Suddenly, a mighty and soul-shaking voice filled with discontent broke the calmness of the Sacred Martial Hall.
Everyone turned their gazes at the source of the voice out of habit and saw twenty or so people wearing golden-edged jujube-colored martial attire marching over in order.
Walking in the forefront was a young man with brown hair. He wasn’t burly but his body wasn’t smooth either. And the dark iron fan in his hand gave him an air of elegance. An unconcealed pride was overflowing from his body.
This young man’s gate was like that of a dragon and a tiger. The pride and self-confidence emanating from him were in complete harmony. The continuos metal grating sound due to the constant opening and closing of iron fan sounded much like the galloping of iron-hoofed horses on a battlefield.
Inner Sacred Martial Hall martial artists’ attire!
The martial artists, who had long been sitting on the stumps, furrowed their brows slightly as they moved to one side unconsciously, avoiding the Inner Sacred Hall martial artists instinctively as they passed by.
“This guy is Sammartino, a martial artist from Italy.” Huang Fengwan whispered. “He entered the Inner Sacred Martial Hall just three months ago and had already broken through into the nine-star level. He is a very powerful expert among the Inner Sacred Martial Hall freshmen. I heard that his brother had completed the True Inborn Blood Transfusion Rebirth a few years earlier than him and had become a ten-star martial artist. And because of his brother, he had become the disciple of Luciano, a fourteen-star martial artist.”
“Oh!” Without paying attention to Sammartino for even a moment, Qin Fen turned his attention on the group of Inner Sacred Martial Hall martial artists behind him.
There was a particularly tall young man among these twenty or so people. That domineering aura coupled with his black skin was particularly eye-catching.
Mark Zeus! Qin Fen didn’t expect him to be here. He was taken aback by the sight of an old acquaintance from the recruit tournament. Mark Zeus fought with Du Peng to the end and defeated him. To Qin Fen’s surprise, Zeus had also come to the Sacred Martial Hall, and more importantly, had joined the Inner Sacred Martial Hall.
“Oh!?” Qin Fen’s eyes lit up, once more. To his surprise, he found another acquaintance standing next to Mark Zeus. The sexy and beautiful Alice from the State of Africa, who had participated in the group battle in the recruit tournament.
“Old Qin, over here, over here.” Xue Tian beckoned Qin Fen without any care as if he had not heard any provocative words. “This location is pretty good.”
The swaying iron fan in Sammartino’s hand trembled slightly as he glared at Qin Fen with warning and provocation.
Sammartino may not have said anything at this moment, but the crowd had clearly understood the meaning of that warning glared. “If you dare to come forward, you should be prepared to be hospitalized.”
It was quite common for the martial artists of the same batch to duel in the Sacred Martial Hall. If one refused to spar, the opposite party may even come up with even more disgraceful actions. By then, one would be labeled as a coward who didn’t have the courage to even fight just because he or she was afraid of getting injured. Then, even the lecturers would look down upon him or her. It would be quite troublesome.
The corner of Qin Fen’s eyebrow twitched as he sensed Sammartino’s warning gaze. Immediately, he turned his head to another side, looking at other seats as if he didn’t want to meet Sammartino’s gaze.
Hmph! Sammartino sneered. He murmured in his heart, So, it was nothing but a coward. He doesn’t even have the courage to look at my provocative gaze.
Qin Fen sized up a martial artist sitting in the last row cautiously, who was clearly wearing the attire of outer Sacred Martial Hall basic-type martial artist. He seemed an average guy at first glance but he vaguely gave Qin Fen an inexplicable threat.
Strange, it’s really strange. Qin Fen shook his head, again and again. That man was wearing black martial attire and had his long black hair neatly combed to the back of his head. He was more handsome than Lin Liqiang and his eyes were as deep as a bottomless pond. A strange smile hung on his lips as he stared at Qin Fen with interest, resting his chin on one hand. He appeared to be in his early twenties.
After having watched the strange young man for a few seconds, Qin Fen’s true energy started circulating involuntarily. Obviously, there isn’t any hostile or murderous intent in his eyes but he was giving Qin Fen an inexplicable threat! It was like the sitting young man wasn’t an unalarming boy but a wild beast!
Does he really just have the strength of the peak of the eight-star level? Qin Fen wasn’t able to gauge the opposite party’s strength for the second time after entering the Sacred Martial Hall; last time it was Asura, Fenghua Danyun.
Qin Fen shook his head lightly, again and again. It seems the Sacred Martial Hall is truly a place of hidden dragons and crouching tigers. In just two days, I have encountered two unfathomable people.
Clang!
The sound of iron fan unfolding again appeared to contain a bit of provocation and an intent to fight.
Sammartino was already standing before Xue Tian, glaring at the Outer Sacred Martial Hall basic-type martial artists, who had dared to grab their seats.
“Old Qin, here, here…” Xue Tian kept on beckoning Qin Fen.
Qin Fen looked at Huang Fengwan by his side, who had an ugly look on his face before he turned his gaze at his batchmates who had come to attend the lecture. Except for a few people who were gloating many people were looking at Xue Tian with sympathy. There even some people who were glaring Sammartino with hostility.
They were angry but they didn’t dare to speak out.
Qin Fen patted Huang Fengwan’s shoulder before he turned and strode towards Xue Tian. Since it’s an open seat, then naturally, it should be first come first served. Why should these seats be reserved for the Inner Sacred Martial Hall? If it means that only those who are strong can sit there, then, we should not give them up even more so.
Huang Fengwan sighed again and again. I know Sammartino is weaker than Qin Fen and the others but he also has an elder brother, who has even finished True Inborn Blood Transfusion Rebirth. Furthermore, it is rumored that he had already stepped into the twelve-star level. Now, only God knows how powerful he is. If he really makes a move, I’m not sure if Qin Fen and the others will even have the chance.
“Sigh!” Huang Fengwan heaved a sigh as he hastily chased Qin Fen, hoping that he could resolve this with a few words.
“Mark!?”
The sitting Brooks looked up and was surprised to see a comrade from the recruit tournament. The joy of seeing an old friend appeared on his face.
“Sky Splitter!?”
Mark was taken aback at the sight of Brooks. He immediately turned his gaze, confused. Why is Sky Splitter from the recruit tournament an outer Sacred Martial Hall basic-type martial artist? Has his strength stopped advancing?
Outer Sacred Martial Hall basic-type martial artist!? Zeus had never ever dreamt that Brooks would have joined the Sacred Martial Hall like this.
“Inner Sacred Martial Hall!?” Brooks pushed his hat that was covering half his face up and praised with a smile, “Very good.”
A prideful smile immediately appeared on Brooks’ face. Having recuperated after his fight with Du Peng, Mark had grown a lot stronger, once more. Just after enrolling in the Sacred Martial Hall, Mark had applied to join the inner Sacred Martial Hall. And to his surprise, he really did pass and even became the strongest member of inner Sacred Martial Hall.
“Well! Isn’t this the sexy beauty?” Xue Tian glanced across Sammartino and looked directly at Alice; it was the first time he had seen Alice after the recruit tournament. “Hello, do you remember me? Back then, you asked whether I was a man or not.”
Alice nodded as her eyes also flickered with doubt. Why is Xue Tian a basic-type Outer Sacred Martial Hall martial artist? Wasn’t he already an eight-star martial artist during the recruit tournament? Did he stop moving forward because he didn’t have the spirit of a martial artist and his strength was affected?
Mark looked at Brooks for a few seconds. The expression on his face changed quite a few times during this short moment before he shook his large head, again and again. He really did not expect that his competitor from back then had been reduced to a basic-type Outer Sacred Martial Hall martial artist now.
Mark heaved a soft sigh. He may have long known that the road of martial arts was very cruel, a wide gap would appear between his rivals who used to be just as strong as him after a period of time but he really really felt a little bit of loss when he really saw his rivals, who used to be well off previously, thrown far back.
“Mark.” Sammartino’s eyes flickered with a fierce gleam as he spoke in a deterrent tone, “What is it? Do you know these guys?”
Mark was still reeling in from the shock. As he turned his gaze at the nearby Sammartino, he warned himself once more. That’s right! Times are different! Now that Brooks, Solomon, and the others had been left behind, it is not the time to be nostalgic! The goal is to surpass Sammartino, now!
“Yes, I know them.” Mark looked at Brooks, Solomon, and Caesar compassionately. “These are my old acquaintances.”
Alice stepped out from the group and said in a grave tone, “You guys should change your seats. You should not be sitting here.”
Having enrolled in the Sacred Martial Hall a few months earlier, Alice knew very well what it meant to be the freshman of Sacred Martial Hall a few months earlier. It was quite possible to widen the gap between their peers by a huge margin in the blink of an eye.
To this day, Alice was quite confident that she could defeat Qin Fen if she encountered him now, let alone others.
“Change the seats?” Xue Tian looked up at Alice. “Weren’t these seats open? I’m here first, so naturally, I would be taking good seats. You’re late, so naturally, you should be sitting in the back.”
Caesar nodded slightly in agreement. When would have an Emperor given his seat to others?
Clang! As soon as the iron fan folded, the crowd was shaken to the core. The sound of the folding of the iron fan was like the bugle on the battlefield. The fury and battle intent could be heard without any words.