Chapter 8: The Unveiling of a Prodigy

Fifty disciples stood in five neat rows upon the platform. Elder Mu, Shui Jingxuan’s instructor, stood before them with his hands clasped behind his back, his expression stern.

He announced the rules in a deep, resonant voice.

“First, no weapons are permitted during the fight. Second, no fatalities are allowed. Third, anyone knocked off the arena will be eliminated. Fourth, those who concede will be eliminated.”

“Now, remember these rules,” he concluded. “The competition may begin.”

Elder Mu, known for his straightforward nature and dislike of idle chatter, finished speaking and leaped gracefully onto a massive boulder beside the arena. From this elevated vantage point, he could observe the disciples’ performance.

Likewise, the other nine elders ascended to their own perches, watching with keen interest.

The children in the arena did not immediately spring into action after their instructor departed. Instead, they adopted offensive and defensive stances, slowly shuffling out of their formations.

Each found a spot they deemed advantageous, quietly observing their surroundings and selecting potential targets.

The once orderly ranks had now dissolved into a chaotic sprawl, and the atmosphere in the arena grew taut, bristling with unspoken challenge.

Yet, no one made the first move; they held their breath, seemingly awaiting an unspoken signal.

“This kind of free-for-all demands not only superb martial skill but also a keen mind and sharp senses,” one elder remarked, satisfied that the children hadn’t rushed in blindly.

“The children who can distinguish themselves in such a melee are undoubtedly exceptionally talented. Look at them—though full of fighting spirit, they observe their opponents before striking, showing clear calculation. Excellent! A promising start!”

“Indeed, this batch of children truly surpasses previous ones in both skill and intellect,”

Elder Mu affirmed, nodding in agreement. His eyes, however, remained fixed on the arena, missing no subtle shift. Suddenly, he leaned slightly forward, a surprised “Oh?” escaping his lips.

At the same moment of his astonishment, an elder beside him also noticed the anomaly. Pointing towards the arena, he spoke,

“That child is peculiar. Everyone else moved out of formation to find a strategic position, yet he hasn’t stirred from start to finish. Could it be that he knows he is too weak and has given up already?”

True to their words, Shui Jingxuan stood motionlessly in his original spot, his hands clasped behind his back.

Beside him, Azhuang looked utterly bewildered, baring his teeth and glaring menacingly at the surrounding disciples who eyed them with predatory intent.

“I don’t recall this child; I wonder about his strength,” Elder Mu mused, a faint smile playing on his lips. He pointed a finger towards Shui Jingxuan.

“But I doubt he intends to give up. Observe his expression—is he not remarkably composed? He carries himself with the demeanor of a true master.”

From their distant vantage point, the other elders found it rather amusing to see such an adorable, jade-like child attempting to project the mature composure of a grandmaster, and they chuckled.

One playfully teased, “This child is truly charming, and his appearance is quite endearing. It would be a pity if he were to get badly hurt.”

As they discussed, the tension in the arena below reached its breaking point, poised to erupt at any moment.

Surrounded by over forty individuals radiating murderous intent, Shui Jingxuan felt no anxiety. Instead, the scene struck him as profoundly familiar.

In his previous life, was this not precisely how the zombies attacked? They often moved in hundreds, even thousands, creating a vast and overwhelming spectacle.

The images of battles from his past life merged with the scene before him, and a surge of primal energy coursed through Shui Jingxuan. He let out a low chuckle, his eyes flashing with a chilling glint.

As his aura emanated, a tall, burly boy who had been watching him intently for a long time finally moved.

He charged forward, his fist raised, aiming a swift, brutal strike at Shui Jingxuan, his face contorted with ferocity, clearly intending to incapacitate him in a single blow.

Azhuang’s heart seized with panic at the sight. He moved to intercept, intending to shield Shui Jingxuan, but a small tug from Shui Jingxuan’s hand pulled him behind him.

Azhuang stumbled back a dozen steps before finally regaining his balance.

Harrowed, Azhuang stared in disbelief. He had never imagined Axi possessed such immense strength.

Though slow-witted and often struggling to keep up with martial arts training, his innate divine strength usually ensured no one among his peers dared to provoke him. Yet, today, Axi had casually yanked him aside and thrown him a considerable distance.

Even as Azhuang reeled in shock, Axi had already moved to meet the approaching fist head-on.

Just as the blow was about to connect with his head, he shifted his feet, sidestepping with uncanny speed to the burly boy’s flank. His elbow shot up, the tip striking forcefully against the boy’s temple.

The two figures passed each other in a blur. Shui Jingxuan stood steady, while the burly boy collapsed to the ground with a thud, his eyes rolled back, unconscious.

Had Shui Jingxuan not restrained his internal energy, knowing he could not kill, and used only two-tenths of his strength, the boy’s life would have been forfeit.

Shui Jingxuan’s body, transformed by his supernatural abilities, possessed strength, speed, heightened senses, and resilience far beyond ordinary humans.

Even without internal energy, he was akin to a human weapon—hardly something these half-grown children could contend with.

“Don’t lie around obstructing the way if you’ve lost. Get down!” Seeing his opponent unconscious and unable to leave the stage independently, Shui Jingxuan turned.

A light kick from his toe effortlessly sent the nearly hundred-jin boy tumbling off the arena, where he was caught by the spectators below.

A ripple of astonishment swept through the crowd. No one had expected the slender child to be so skilled, possessing such immense strength.

The elders on the massive boulders were equally stunned into silence, holding their breath as they collectively focused on the small child’s every move.

Shui Jingxuan’s decisive action immediately signaled to his fellow disciples on stage that he was their most formidable opponent today—one who must be eliminated!

The thought had barely crossed their minds when six individuals spontaneously joined forces, launching a fierce assault on Shui Jingxuan.

Shui Jingxuan offered a faint smile, then leaped nimbly into the air, evading the first opponent’s powerful five-clawed strike aimed at his heart.

He landed behind the man, his hand held vertically like a blade, and chopped towards the back of his neck.

Before the man could retract his five-clawed attack, he collapsed, unconscious.

Shui Jingxuan pursed his lips, turned, and, with fingers pressed together, delivered the same strike towards the second opponent who had approached.

The man quickly raised his arms to protect his head and neck, but Shui Jingxuan had already shifted his momentum, changing his move. His left hand clenched into a fist, striking heavily into the man’s abdomen.

Spewing white foam, the man crumpled to his knees, his features contorted in pain. He curled into a ball, clutching his stomach, unable to rise again.

Leaping high once more, Shui Jingxuan delivered a series of rapid kicks, sending three more opponents sprawling and groaning on the ground.

The last remaining opponent’s face was etched with terror, and he instinctively wanted to retreat, but it was too late. His fist landed in Shui Jingxuan’s right palm, and his wrist was simultaneously seized by Shui Jingxuan’s left hand.

With a powerful twist, Shui Jingxuan pulled him forward, then flung him with immense force, sending him flying off the arena. Only when he landed on the ground did he realize his right arm had been dislocated, leaving him unable to move.

This series of attacks was executed with fluid precision, the movements flowing like water—both elegant and ruthless, utterly spectacular.

In just two breaths, he had completely defeated seven formidable opponents, drawing a storm of cheers from below the stage.

The ten elders observing from the mountain rock wore solemn expressions. Elder Mu clenched his fist, barely suppressing his internal excitement, and whispered,

“This child possesses truly extraordinary talent! He makes simple moves appear infinitely varied and powerful. He’s not much inferior to the Wolf Girl!”

The other elders offered no reply, their gazes fixed even more intently on the situation within the arena.

Deterred by Shui Jingxuan’s thunderous display, no one dared to approach or provoke him again. As he moved, a wide circle of empty space formed around him, everyone retreating from his path.

They had initially assumed the slender child was a lamb among wolves, but upon closer inspection, they realized he was a tiger among the sheep.

No one dared to target him anymore, instead turning their attacks on others. The vast arena erupted into a tumultuous free-for-all, while Shui Jingxuan, an unconcerned spectator, stood idle.

Since no one bothered him, Shui Jingxuan did not actively engage. With his hands clasped behind his back, he leisurely watched the unfolding spectacle from the edge of the arena.

Azhuang, however, was not so fortunate. As one of the stronger disciples in this group, he faced numerous coordinated attacks.

By now, he was struggling to fend them off, being forced step by step towards the edge of the arena.

One disciple seized an opening, kicking Azhuang in the abdomen, forcing him back several paces and sending him tumbling towards the edge of the fighting platform.

“Get back up here!” Shui Jingxuan, who had been keeping an eye on Azhuang, rushed over with incredible speed. With a flick of his foot, he hooked the hundred-jin Azhuang from the edge of the platform and hurled him towards his attackers.

“I can only ensure you don’t fall off the stage,” Shui Jingxuan declared, his voice laced with a chilling intensity as he stood with his hands behind his back. “If you want to win, then fight with all your might!”

Azhuang, who had been on the verge of falling off, was violently kicked back onto the stage, flattening one of his attackers.

Hearing Shui Jingxuan’s stern reprimand, a surge of courage filled him. He rose to his feet and charged directly into his assailants, his face etched with fierce determination.

Azhuang possessed natural divine strength and an incredibly robust physique. When his brute force was unleashed, few could withstand him.

He quickly dealt with those who had attacked him earlier, but immediately found himself targeted by another group. As long as the final ten were not selected, this fierce struggle would never end.

Azhuang sustained continuous injuries and was forced off the arena several times, only to be forcefully hooked back on by Shui Jingxuan. He was truly miserable, left with no choice but to fight with all his might, charging forward relentlessly.

Beyond simply pulling Azhuang back onto the arena, Shui Jingxuan would also lend a hand, kicking those who were forced to the edge off the platform. He hoped this would bring the tedious free-for-all to a quicker end.

Soon, some of the disciples caught on, giving Shui Jingxuan, that harbinger of misfortune, a wide berth. Seeing that Azhuang, that brute, was clearly allied with him, they abandoned their attacks on Azhuang as well.

Thus, Azhuang, bruised, sweating profusely, and on the verge of collapse, finally got a chance to breathe.

He staggered over to his junior brother’s side and plopped down, meditating to heal his injuries. His relaxed and composed demeanor drew envious and resentful glances from his struggling peers in the melee.

‘If only I had known this small, slender junior brother was so formidable, I would have curried favor with him like that brute,’ some regretted internally. ‘Perhaps I, too, could have secured a spot as an inner disciple today.’

After a brief meditation to circulate his energy, Azhuang felt somewhat better. He rose to his feet, gazing at his junior brother with fervent admiration, a guileless smile on his face.

“Axi, you saved me so many times today! Thank you! You’re much stronger than me. From now on, I’ll listen to you. Just say the word if you need anything.”

In Azhuang’s eyes, they were brothers, and mutual assistance was a given. However, the deeply ingrained belief in ‘strength as paramount’ meant that Shui Jingxuan naturally became his acknowledged leader.

Shui Jingxuan glanced at the earnest Azhuang and nodded, accepting his first subordinate within the sect. He genuinely appreciated simple-minded, loyal individuals like Azhuang and was willing to keep them close.

As for treacherous people like Liu Hui from his previous life, he wanted nothing to do with them.

During their brief exchange, only ten individuals remained on the stage. Elder Mu descended, landing in the center of the arena, and loudly declared the competition over.

Aside from Azhuang and Shui Jingxuan, the other eight couldn’t help but let out long sighs of relief, their expressions unburdened.

Some even dropped to their knees with a thud, gasping for air, looking as if they had narrowly escaped death. They were utterly exhausted and could not have continued fighting.

Elder Mu surveyed the eight disciples—their clothes torn, bodies drenched in sweat, and covered in wounds. Then he looked at Shui Jingxuan, who remained clean, tidy, and composed, a glint of admiration flashing in his eyes.

He nodded slightly. “The ten of you will be my disciples from this day forward. Go and collect your inner disciple tokens and robes.”

The ten filed out of the arena. Elder Mu watched Shui Jingxuan’s retreating back for a long time before leaping down from the high platform and walking towards the injured disciples who had been set aside during the competition.

“What is the situation?” Elder Mu inquired of an elder in charge of treatment.

“Aside from those struck down by that young child, whose injuries are more severe, the rest are minor and require no treatment.”

The elder pointed towards the dozen or so unconscious individuals in the corner.

“These are all the ones that child knocked out. Except for one with an abdominal injury and another with a dislocated arm, the rest suffered heavy blows to the head, leading to unconsciousness.

They will likely need several months to recover after waking. That child’s strikes were particularly ruthless, and he seems to have a peculiar fondness for attacking the head. How interesting!”

Unbeknownst to them, this was a combat habit Shui Jingxuan had developed while fighting zombies in the apocalypse. After all, zombies couldn’t be killed without a headshot.

Elder Mu nodded.

“Our people were slaughtered by the Han and Manchu. These children will be our warriors in the future; how can they not be ruthless in their strikes? This child is excellent!

He has only studied martial arts for two years, merely laying down some foundations, yet he can unleash such power from the simplest moves, effortlessly defeating dozens of people by himself.

His talent is truly extraordinary. For tomorrow’s competition, I intend to invite the Sect Master to observe him.

This child possesses exceptional comprehension and is a martial arts prodigy; I fear he might be wasted under my tutelage.”

The elder nodded in agreement. Thus, the two men sealed Shui Jingxuan’s future.