Chapter 29

Chapter 29: I’m a Person of Principle, I Don’t Argue with Idiots

“You!”

Shen Mingchao scrambled to his feet, roaring:

“Commoner! If I don’t exterminate your entire clan, my name isn’t Shen Mingchao!”

Sang Nian rolled her eyes, her tone utterly calm: “Oh, I’m so scared.”

Shen Mingchao stomped his feet:

“You dare to talk to me like that? I’m a prince! And a legitimate one at that!”

Sang Nian clicked her tongue, “Forget it, I’m a person of principle, I don’t argue with idiots.”

With that, she didn’t wait for him to react, dragging Xie Chenzhou to the side.

Almost everyone was secretly watching the commotion here. Because of the incident in the square, many people had a grudge against Shen Mingchao. Seeing him get a taste of his own medicine, they all burst into laughter.

Shen Mingchao’s face gradually turned the color of pig liver.

He drew the long whip from his waist and strode towards Sang Nian menacingly:

“This isn’t over, you…”

Before he could finish, he met Xie Chenzhou’s emotionless gaze. For some reason, a chill shot down his spine.

He had seen the same look in his father’s eyes.

It was… the look of someone looking at a dead person.

Shen Mingchao swallowed hard and said fiercely:

“You’ll regret this!”

He turned and left.

The laughter grew louder.

Shen Mingchao gritted his teeth, determined to leave as quickly as possible. He took out the flying artifact he had prepared beforehand.

“Heh, you lowly commoners, just stay here obediently.”

He hopped onto the artifact, soared into the air towards the mountain cliff on the other side, “This prince is the first one to pass this stage.”

The crowd sneered in response, not bothering to reply, all of them with expressions of anticipation for a good show.

The next moment, a high-pitched shriek tore through the sky, and several black-feathered hawks swooped down, targeting Shen Mingchao on the flying artifact.

Shen Mingchao looked terrified: “Help! Save me!”

No one paid him any attention.

Under the hawks’ repeated attacks, Shen Mingchao couldn’t hold on for long. He turned pale and fell from the artifact, crashing straight into the clouds below the cliff.

His screams echoed, lingering for a long time.

Falling off the cliff would directly teleport him back to the square, he wouldn’t actually die, but the process and feeling of the uncontrolled fall were real.

“They knew they couldn’t fly over using artifacts, otherwise they would be attacked by the black-feathered hawks, but no one reminded Shen Mingchao.”

Outside the screen, the Second Elder frowned slightly: “Isn’t that a bit cold-hearted?”

The Grand Elder didn’t care: “They’re competitors, isn’t it good to have one less opponent?”

Second Elder: “Although, but…”

“Stop with the ‘although, but’,” the Grand Elder said gruffly. “He got what he deserved. If he had just reined himself in a bit, he wouldn’t have ended up like this.”

The other elders agreed:

“You’re right.”

The Second Elder could only drop the subject.

“But seeing those black-feathered hawks today reminds me of some interesting old stories.” The Fifth Elder chuckled.

Everyone curiously asked: “What stories?”

The Second Elder guessed what he was about to say and frantically winked at him, signaling him not to continue.

The Fifth Elder was oblivious, laughing loudly:

“Do you remember that selection thirty years ago?”

“That girl Jing Xian, because a black-feathered hawk pecked at her, she actually plucked all their feathers. They held a grudge for many years, and whenever they got the chance, they wanted to get revenge on her.”

Everyone burst into laughter:

“How could we forget? After they were bald, they went to the old Sect Master every day, demanding that he put their feathers back on, otherwise, they would eat the rabbits the old Sect Master raised.”

Everyone was laughing, but finally they saw the Second Elder’s signal and realized something. They glanced at the direction where Yan Yuan was sitting, and they all shut their mouths in unison.

Yan Yuan seemed not to hear their voices, still sitting in the same posture, like a stone statue.

The cheerful atmosphere was gone. The Second Elder coughed lightly:

“Let’s continue watching these kids take the test.”

Everyone quickly agreed.

By the cliff.

Without Shen Mingchao constantly calling people “commoners,” Sang Nian’s mood improved considerably.

As the book said, she stood in front of an inconspicuous stone sculpture of a crane by the cliff and casually pressed its head.

The sculpture shook.

Suddenly, two beams of light flew out from the crane’s beak, transforming into floating stone steps of different heights, extending all the way to the mountain cliff on the other side.

“There’s no shortcut to get across, you have to go this way.” Sang Nian said to Xie Chenzhou.

The others came over and looked at the steps.

“Such a small stone slab, floating in the air, can it really hold a person’s weight?” They questioned.

“It’s fine to go one by one,” Sang Nian said. “The black-feathered hawks won’t attack you on these steps.”

They were still hesitant.

Xie Chenzhou tapped his toes, leaped onto the stone steps.

Everyone gasped softly, watching him intently.

He walked backwards onto another stone slab, steadily moving towards the other side, as if walking on flat ground.

The black-feathered hawks circled him in the air, but they didn’t attack.

After successfully reaching the other side of the cliff, he nodded slightly to Sang Nian as a signal.

The crowd erupted: “It really works!”

Next was Sang Nian.

The cliff was a thousand feet below. It was impossible to say she wasn’t afraid. Sang Nian took a deep breath.

Just as she was about to step onto the stone steps, a girl pushed her aside, saying urgently:

“Let me go first! I want to be second!”

Sang Nian hadn’t quite gotten her mental state ready yet, and she was happy to be last, so she quickly stepped aside.

Walking on the stone steps was far from as easy as Xie Chenzhou made it look.

The girl carefully stepped onto a stone slab, but for some reason, her face changed, and her steps became incredibly… strange.

Sang Nian’s heart sank.

The next moment, the stone slab swayed left and right, the girl slipped, and she screamed as she fell off the cliff.

Sang Nian’s suspended heart finally sank.

The rest of the people stepped onto the stone steps one by one.

Some succeeded, but more failed.

Finally, only Sang Nian was left on this side of the cliff.

Xie Chenzhou was waiting for her on the other side.

She took a deep breath, lowered her body, reached for the nearest stone slab, and slowly moved onto it.

Good, this is a good start.

Sang Nian encouraged herself, not daring to look down, and struggled to crawl forward.

Soon, she knew what those who had fallen off the cliff had experienced—

From an outsider’s perspective, the stone slabs were just a few inches wide. But from her perspective, they stretched endlessly.

It seemed like there was nothing left in the world except this narrow, suspended path that seemed to stretch on forever.

Even time seemed to be frozen. No matter how long she walked, from an outsider’s perspective, it was just a blink of an eye.

And the distance between the mountains was about twenty meters. There were hundreds of these stone slabs.

Once you had a thought of giving up, the stone slab would start to shake violently, throwing anyone on it off.

This stage tested perseverance and determination.

Sang Nian understood the point of the test and continued to crawl, grunting.

Not long after, her strength was exhausted, and her palms were raw from the rough stone surface, bleeding slightly.

She was worried that she would slip, so she stopped, lowered her head, and searched for healing pills.

The black-feathered hawks were circling in the clouds.

Suddenly, for some reason, they began to shriek in unison.

Sang Nian was startled.

The next second, they swooped down fiercely, their emerald green eyes filled with anger.

Sang Nian was caught off guard and hit by a wing, her head buzzing.

Didn’t they say the black-feathered hawks wouldn’t attack people on the stone steps?

What’s going on???

Not just her, everyone was surprised by the black-feathered hawks’ sudden frenzy.

Outside the screen.

The Second Elder said anxiously, “What’s going on?”

The Grand Elder was equally puzzled:

“In all these years, I’ve never seen them act like this. It’s like they have a grudge against her.”

“Could they have eaten something wrong?” The Fifth Elder guessed.

“Whatever the reason, let’s go save this girl.”

The Seventh Elder looked worried:

“If this continues, the black-feathered hawks will probably tear her to shreds.”

The Second Elder couldn’t sit still anymore, “I’ll go!”

“The sect rules state that no one can interfere with the selection. If you go, she will be considered a failure and will have no connection to the Xiaoyao Sect.” The Fourth Elder said coldly.

“Human life is at stake.” The Second Elder was furious. “Fourth Elder, can you put aside your stinking rules from the Discipline Hall for a moment?”

The Fourth Elder’s tone was calm:

“If she jumps off the stone steps, the teleportation array will send her back to the square. She won’t be in any danger.”

“It’s just that she will also be disqualified and unable to become a disciple of the Xiaoyao Sect.”

The Grand Elder stopped the Second Elder:

“He’s right. Wait and see. We have so many people here, we won’t let this girl die.”

Hearing this, the Second Elder could only reluctantly suppress his anger, nervously looking at the screen.

On the stone steps.

The black-feathered hawks’ claws were sharp as steel nails. Sang Nian had nowhere to hide, and she was hit by two claws.

She was in so much pain that she broke out in a cold sweat, almost thinking she had been torn apart.

By the cliff, Xie Chenzhou frowned, picked up a stone, and threw it with force.

One black-feathered hawk fell to the ground, but it quickly flapped its wings and flew back up.

It swooped down at Xie Chenzhou.

Xie Chenzhou’s cultivation was sealed, and he fought it with his bare hands. For a while, he even seemed to have the upper hand.

Seeing this, another black-feathered hawk immediately rushed to help.

With two fewer black-feathered hawks, Sang Nian’s pressure was immediately reduced.

She stabilized her body, took out the sword she had bought with a lot of money, and swung it wildly at the remaining black-feathered hawk:

“I’m warning you, this sword is made of meteorite from outer space, it’s unbreakable…”

Before she could finish, the black-feathered hawk’s eyes showed a hint of human-like mockery. It snatched the sword with a claw and tossed it into its mouth.

Crunching sound.

Sang Nian: “…”

Damn it, she was scammed by a fake seller again.