Oh!
Everyone exclaimed when they heard Sect Master Liu's name and the anger momentarily vanished from their eyes. Even if they were upset, it would be stupid to offend two personal disciples of the strongest expert in the Heaven Realm. Instead, they became more curious and interested, especially after hearing Young Master Bai's words.
It was obvious that the two had a beef with each other as the Shorty Bai wouldn't go out of his way to challenge Xuefeng. Too bad, no one really cared about their conflict. As long as they could benefit from it, everyone would be happy.
How often would anyone get a chance to compare their strength with Cultivators of such status? If they happened to be stronger than the two personal disciples, wouldn't that mean they could also join the House of Dragons in the future? It would be an amazing flex as well, so who would want to miss it?
All eyes were on Xuefeng when he finally showed some reaction, smiling at the shorty Bai.
"Thank you for the introduction. I would do the same for you, but I already forgot who you are," Xuefeng replied with a shrug. "I will just call you Shorty."
Pfft…
The crowd snickered. The exchange was getting more and more interesting. The two definitely had a feud between each other! To everyone's surprise, Shorty Bai didn't get angry at all but instead embraced his imperfections.
"Sure! You can call me Shorty Bai! I'm proud of my height and my beautiful hair!" Shorty Bai called out while brushing through his blond hair.
"Hahaha!"
The crowd couldn't handle it anymore and burst out laughing. The sheer act wasn't that funny but the smug on his face showing he wasn't lying at all was what cracked them up.
When it came to Xuefeng, he gazed at Tianshi with his own smile, showing he won.
'See?! I knew its not just me!' Xuefeng called out in his mind to which Tianshi only pursed her lips, still resisting her own urges.
'If I was him, I would also accept myself. It's not like we can completely alter our looks. This is how we were born, so we can only learn how to accept it. If he focused on his appearance then he would not enjoy his life and it seems he knows it. There is always another person in this world who will like the way you are just like I love my dummy Xuefeng,' Tianshi explained her point of view. 'But I still don't like how petty he is and challenge you repeatedly just cause you laughed. It seems like he still cares about how people view him. He is just hiding it well.'
'I think so too. He started going after me after just a single laugh,' Xuefeng agreed before giving her a subtle hug, rubbing her side with his thumb. 'Thank you for staying so down to earth and keeping me in check.'
'Of course. Always,' Tianshi nodded lovingly, leaning against his arm. 'You are my husband. Forever.'
"Anyway," Xuefeng began out loud as he looked at the stage and the frowning Trainer. "I just came here so I have no idea what the Qualifier looks like. Before I take part in the test, I will take a look at others first."
He then nodded respectfully at the Trainer and apologized, "Sir, I'm sorry for disturbing the Qualification Test. Please continue."
"Mhmm, as expected of Sect Master Liu's disciple. At least you are sensible," the Trainer nodded back. "I will forgive you this time."
'To think the Trainer in the Qualifier would be a Celestial Stage Cultivator while pretending to be an Immortal Stage one. I think something sketchy is going on,' Ming pointed out suddenly, causing Xuefeng to observe the Trainer closely.
The Trainer didn't even notice as he focused back at the Participant on the stage. As the tournament had the limit of thirty years, all participants were young, mostly in their twenties.
"You can continue. Right now, the lowest ranking to qualify is around six hundred thousand units. I suggest crossing one or two million to be safely qualified," the Trainer advised.
"Yes!" the young man on the stage exclaimed excitedly and stared at the black wall in front of him. He pulled out his sword from the Storage Ring and it immediately shone with Water Qi, giving out a blue-colored aura.
"Aaaa!" the youngster shouted loudly to hype himself up and rushed at the wall with his sword by his side. He aimed the tip at the wall and after gathering enough power, he stabbed the wall.
Thud.
Compared to all the explosions from the other stages, this one was quite boring, only giving out a single dull sound. But, contrary to everyone's expectations, the counter next to the wall just kept going up.
Five hundred thousand…
One million…
One million and five hundred thousand…
"Not bad. One million and five hundred fifty-five thousand Units," the Trainer praised as he noted down the youngster's name on the memory slip. "Even though your Art is quite weak, your Water Qi is refined to a Sixth stage, am I right?"
"Yes, Sir!"
"Do you have any other stronger Offensive Arts?" the Trainer questioned.
"No, Sir! I only managed to buy this one. I used all the other Water Element Upgrade Fragments I found to refine my Qi!" the youngster replied honestly.
"Mhmm," the Trainer nodded as he rubbed his short, classy beard while scanning the youngster in front of him. He looked like he just stepped into his thirties yet the clear maturity coming out from his voice and demeanor was too weird. Even Xuefeng noticed something was sketchy about him.
'Do you think he altered his appearance?' Xuefeng guessed.
'It's possible but I doubt it. He just advanced to the Celestial Stage in his thirties and his appearance stayed this way for a long time. He is using a Spirit Artefact to contain his Soul Pressure which makes him look like he is an Immortal Stage Cultivator,' Ming replied with her thoughts to which Ling added, 'He might be a high ranked expert overseeing the Qualifier or maybe one of the top experts looking for a Disciple. What is a better place to find one than here?'
Xuefeng didn't comment on that as the Trainer suddenly pulled out a palm-sized memory slip and passed it to the youngster.
"This Sword Art should better for you. You should go home and test it. I hope you can master it before the tournament starts. You have two days," the Trainer said with a smile. "Don't disappoint me."
Ahh!
The crowd instantly exploded with chatter as jealous gazes fell on the youngster. Everyone knew that Offensive Arts were extremely expensive. To get a hand on one, you could either buy one for tens of Upgrade Fragments or join a Sect, yet the youngster was getting a Sword Art for nothing. Even if he sold it after the Qualifier, he would be rich within seconds.
The boy was literally speechless, his eyes unable to believe it but when he touched the memory slip, he quickly bowed. "Thank you, Sir! I will not disappoint you!"
"Good. You should get one of the spots with your score so focus on mastering the new art now," the Trainer nodded in approval and ignored him, turning to the crowd. "Next!"
Shorty Bai seemed to be waiting for that moment as he immediately fired at Xuefeng.
"Young Master Xuefeng? Are you ready to show us your strength? I think everyone is waiting for that. We all want to see if there will be a new record for the Qualifier round. Shouldn't that be easy for Sect Master Liu's disciple?"
"Actually, I want to watch some more, so anyone who wants can go ahead. If I attempt the test, I would be leaving right after so I would prefer to watch more," Xuefeng replied with a shrug but Shorty Bai didn't give up.
"Come on! Will Young Master Xuefeng make everyone wait like this?" Shorty Bai questioned before turning to the crowd. "Do we want to see Young Master Xuefeng go first?!"
Instantly, people began to chant.
"Go first!"
"Go first!"
"Go first!"
Xuefeng had to admit that Shorty Bai knew how to manipulate the crowd.
'Don't worry, I'm almost done with my calculations. Just touch the wall beforehand so I can know how old the rock is. After we are done, it should crumble with just a bit of strength,' Ming informed just in the right time, giving him more freedom.
"I honestly don't mind, but," Xuefeng paused as he sighed. "I just worry that I might destroy this wall and everyone will have to move to another stage. Wouldn't it be a pain for you all?"
The way he talked, it felt as if he was doing them a favor. The crowd, Shorty Bai and even the Trainer was taken aback.
"Hahaha, I'm willing to bet all my money you can't even crack it!" Shorty Bai called out as he burst out laughing. Others wanted to laugh as well but knowing Xuefeng's status, they only chuckled.
Xuefeng raised his eyebrows when he heard the proposal, extremely tempted.
"Okay, deal. How much is it in Upgrade Fragments? I am willing to bet however much you want with Sect Master Liu as my backing," Xuefeng announced, making Shorty Bai freeze.
"You serious? I'm in! I can bet a thousand Upgrade Fragments that you can't break the wall!" Shorty Bai called out boldly.
"I thought I can't crack it? Are you scared to lose?" Xuefeng bantered.
"I changed my mind. You have to break it else it doesn't count," Shorty Bai replied with a shrug.
Before Xuefeng could say anything else, the Trainer snapped at them, "Stop wasting time! We don't have all day."
He glared at the Shorty Bai and then turned to Xuefeng, his black pupils sharp as if he tried to see through his body.
"You are Liu Xuefeng, right? Come up on stage now," the Trainer ordered. "If you can break the wall, I will add another thousand Upgrade Fragments as your reward and make sure Young Master Bai keeps his promise."
"Haha, alright!" Xuefeng agreed eagerly and turned to Tianshi, kissing her for goodbye. "Wait for me, I will be back soon."
He smiled and suddenly Golden Wings burst from his back.
"You will regret betting with me."