Chapter 103: The White Python Transforms into an Invincible Heavenly Dragon; the Young Man Takes First Place in the Literary Examination [Please Vote Monthly Tickets]

Qin Hua'an never believed he would be defeated in a spiritual confrontation; the thought had never crossed his mind.

He had been waiting for this palace examination for a long time. He possessed absolute confidence that he would surpass everyone, ascend to the pinnacle, claim the title of top scholar, and finally hold his head high in front of his father.

He had waited too long and prepared too thoroughly for this day.

From the moment he discovered his exceptional talent for cultivation, he had longed for this day. He wanted his father to look at him properly, to cherish him, and to stop looking at him with disgust or ignoring him simply because his birth mother was a maidservant.

But today, when a mountain of ink appeared before his eyes, shattering his spiritual pool of thunder, cleaving through the rain of ink that filled the sky, and threatening to split the first-grade divine-refining treasure, the Map of Mountains and Rivers, Qin Hua'an’s unwavering faith began to falter. Deep within his heart, a trace of fear sprouted, and then this fear began to ravenously devour his conviction.

He could not block this mountain that was being wielded like a sword!

"This... what is this?" Qin Hua'an whispered, his voice filled with bewilderment as he stared at the mountain.

A visualization?

Was An Le’s visualization not the Sword Waterfall? Since when did a mountain appear within the Sword Waterfall?

Everyone in Lin'an knew that the spiritual refinement technique An Le practiced was taught by Hua Jiebing of the Lin Estate, and was derived from the "Sword Waterfall" of the Heart-Sword Guanyin, the signature technique of the Ganye Temple.

Yet now, An Le had manifested a spiritual attack that had nothing to do with a sword waterfall.

A green mountain, like a pillar supporting the heavens, descended, entwined with the invincible aura of a white python with horns!

Qin Hua'an clearly felt his "Zuowang" (Sitting in Oblivion) spirit being frozen at that moment, as if... time itself had been severed!

"No!"

"I cannot be defeated in the very first literary test!"

Qin Hua'an’s spirit suddenly erupted with a brilliant radiance. The hazy light of his Zuowang spirit, which stood behind him, swept out toward the mountain that the boy’s spirit had grabbed and brought down with a crushing force.

The mountain was like a sword—one whose tip could not be seen—a pillar supporting the world, wielded by a boy whose spirit acted like a god, smashing it down into the mortal realm.

Qin Hua'an had expected his Zuowang spirit to be invincible in this literary test. After dealing with An Le, he planned to suppress Ye Wenxi, Sima Pudu, Wang Qilin, and the other true rivals of this year’s palace examination.

Yet, he unexpectedly discovered that this first opponent might be the one to cause his downfall.

He was Qin Hua'an! The third-ranked on the Lesser Saint List!

BOOM!

To reach the Zuowang stage, one must sever the nightmares of the past that keep one down, like the rainbow that appears after a storm. The Zuowang radiance comes from this, and the denser the radiance, the greater the chance of breaking through to the sixth realm—commonly known as the "Radiant Ascent to the Sixth Realm."

The leap from the fifth to the sixth realm is a true threshold, far more daunting than the transition from fetal respiration to becoming ethereal. Countless spiritual cultivators are stuck at this stage; it is a realm that has crushed the spirit of many.

This Zuowang radiance is also an incredibly powerful means of mental attack. The Zuowang realm is an extraordinary stage, and the disparities between practitioners can be vast. Some have a radiance of only one zhang, others ten zhang, and there are even those whose radiance can reach a hundred zhang!

The Zuowang radiance represents potential, talent, and a gift from the heavens.

Qin Hua'an was truly unwilling to use his radiance to clash with this spiritual mountain, but he could not bear to lose the literary test, so he had no choice but to gamble.

The radiance swept against the green mountain, but the expected melting of ice and snow did not occur. His peerless Zuowang radiance could not even scratch the object manifested by a fourth-realm spirit.

Then, before Qin Hua'an’s disbelieving eyes, the Zuowang radiance shattered bit by bit. He could feel the radiance that illuminated his spirit fading away. That light, which should have carried him to the sixth realm, was crushed as easily as a fragile sheet of ice beneath the weight of the green mountain.

Qin Hua'an’s spirit was blasted away. The radiance behind him dimmed instantly, shrinking from nearly nine zhang to less than one.

But Qin Hua'an had no time for regret. The surging river water was cleaved apart, and the solitary boat was shattered. The entire river seemed to have been split by a single sword, carving a chasm that refused to heal.

Qin Hua'an’s weakened spirit watched, then turned and fled into the distance without looking back.

Escape!

The only son of the proud Chancellor Qin no longer chose to engage in a spiritual duel; he chose to run.

An Le, wielding such a manifestation, was simply an unbeatable existence in this literary test.

The invincible aura, the green mountain, and the invisible sword intent that seemed to freeze time...

Forget about crushing him!

At this moment, Qin Hua'an scoffed at his father’s instructions to stop An Le from reaching the top three of the palace examination.

This third-ranked prodigy on the Lesser Saint List... after losing eight zhang of his spiritual radiance, he fled in a panic like a beaten dog, trampling over the river water in a desperate rush.

The river in the Map of Mountains and Rivers slowly closed.

An Le stood on the solitary boat, feeling the restless water. The green mountain hovered behind him, entwined with the invincible aura and the invisible future sword intent. Although it was far from the true mountain within the Bamboo Sword Green Mountain, this simulated manifestation already possessed immense power.

It seemed to be a spiritual visualization even more powerful than the Sword Waterfall!

At this moment, An Le seemed to see something—ancient and profound scriptures beginning to emerge upon the green mountain. It was as if it were an ancient spiritual refinement method! However, these scriptures were blurred, veiled in mist. He would need to devote more effort to visualization to pierce through it.

An Le retracted his gaze and looked toward the fleeing Qin Hua'an.

He took a step, walking across the waves of the river. Each step he took on the water exploded into ripples resembling lotus flowers; he was truly "bringing forth lotus flowers with every step."

At this moment, inside the Map of Mountains and Rivers, a bizarre scene unfolded.

Qin Hua'an, third on the Lesser Saint List, was fleeing in disgrace, being hunted by An Le, who was ranked eighth...

...

In front of the Tianxuan Palace.

Silence reigned. The gazes of countless cultivators were fixed upon the Map of Mountains and Rivers, where they could clearly see two ink-colored figures galloping across the five-thousand-mile Great Dragon River.

One was fleeing, the other was hunting!

The one fleeing was Qin Hua'an, and his spiritual radiance had dimmed to less than one zhang.

What... what had happened?

Because they were viewing the scene through the Map, they didn't know the specifics. They only saw a mountain appear, then Qin Hua'an’s ink-colored thunder pool was shattered, his radiance swept out and crumbled inch by inch, until only a sliver remained.

No one knew what that green mountain was, not even the many experts within the Tianxuan Palace.

Of course, not everyone was confused. Li Youan had guessed something. Because he had seen that mountain once before. In front of the precipice on Mount Fusong, when the boy had grasped the future sword intent, the green mountain phenomenon had appeared. Even Li Youan felt that mountain was beyond his reach.

"The phenomenon within the Bamboo Sword Green Mountain... An Le visualized the green mountain phenomenon, making his spirit exceptionally strong. He happened to be able to manifest it within the Map, hence the mountain descending like a sword."

Li Youan laughed. This literary test was no longer in doubt. An Le, who had visualized the future sword intent of the green mountain, was like a child holding a sharp sword capable of cutting iron like mud in a fight among children; he was naturally invincible.

And Li Youan was not the only one who saw this.

On the high imperial throne of the Tianxuan Palace, the Emperor of the Zhao family sat, his body leaning slightly forward. His deep, fiery gaze seemed to pierce through the palace and land on the Map of Mountains and Rivers in the white jade square.

With the Map active, no one present dared to use their spirits, fearing their interference would be absorbed by the Map and disrupt the test.

"Royal Uncle’s Green Mountain Sword... a sword full of secrets, even praised by the Old Sword Saint of the Sword Pool Palace in Shu."

"A pity. The Old Royal Uncle gave it away. It no longer belongs to our Zhao family."

"However, the Old Royal Uncle... his time is running out."

The Emperor of the Zhao family leaned back in his chair, his eyes somewhat ethereal, his jade-white fingers tapping gently on the armrest.

"And my time is running out, too."

The atmosphere in the Tianxuan Palace was somewhat peculiar. Many eyes fell on Chancellor Qin, whose lips were pressed into a thin line. Everyone knew the purpose of Qin Hua'an seeking out An Le the moment he entered the Map, but no one had expected such a completely inverted outcome.

A faint laugh, disregarding the Chancellor’s face, echoed through the Tianxuan Palace. Lady Hua covered her mouth, emitting a light, unbridled laugh that sounded like an oriole in an empty valley, echoing between the dragon pillars that supported the magnificent palace.

She had no intention of giving the Chancellor any face. In fact, she was pleasantly surprised. When the literary test began, she realized An Le might face interference from Qin Hua'an. She had never expected that inside the Map, An Le would be hunting Qin Hua'an’s spirit.

Qin Lishi’s expression grew increasingly ugly. Lady Hua’s mocking laughter made his face as cold as frost. It was a loss of face and dignity, yet Qin Lishi had never imagined such a situation.

On the white jade dais in front of the Tianxuan Palace, the Second Master looked solemn and stern.

His spirit controlled the Map of Mountains and Rivers. The Map was spread out over a hundred meters, with each section of the landscape isolated. Integrating spirits into the Map was like being drawn into a world of ink and wash. Therefore, maintaining this first-grade spiritual treasure required a significant expenditure of spirit.

The three masters of the Academy were the top spiritual experts of Great Zhao, and the Second Master was one of them; his spiritual cultivation was naturally not weak. A ninth-realm spirit was enough to easily support the Map, and those inside were merely youngsters who hadn't even reached the sixth realm. The Second Master should have been relaxed.

But just now, his expression had shifted. His spirit, anchoring the Map, could clearly feel a sharp, piercing sword intent that felt as if it wanted to soar into the sky and slash the Map open.

In that instant, his spirit felt like a dam breaking, and he had to expend massive amounts of mental energy to forcibly stabilize the Map, preventing that power from breaking through. To suppress that power, he had expended so much mental energy that it was nearly comparable to suppressing a ninth-realm spiritual cultivator!

That was the green mountain sword intent of Zhao Huangting!

"As expected of a sword from legend, stained with the blood of heavenly immortals."

"Even a blurred visualization of the green mountain is arrogant and domineering enough to nearly break a first-grade spiritual treasure!"

Pang Ji, the Second Master, couldn't help but sigh, his gaze falling on the boy sitting cross-legged on the white jade square, filled with complexity.

The result of this literary test was no longer in doubt.

...

It wasn't just those in the Tianxuan Palace who were surprised. Inside the Map of Mountains and Rivers, many other candidates were also shocked. Especially those who had been randomly placed on the same river; they all had strange expressions.

They knew Qin Hua'an, and they knew An Le. But to see An Le hunting Qin Hua'an... it felt like a fantasy.

In terms of spiritual strength, how could Qin Hua'an, at the peak of the fifth realm, be hunted?

Being "in the midst of the mountain," they had no idea how An Le had crushed Qin Hua'an’s spirit.

Qin Hua'an’s spirit was severely weakened, his radiance reduced to a mere sliver, and he was fleeing frantically across the river. Yet An Le continued to hunt him relentlessly.

An Le’s powerful spiritual energy allowed him to stay in a state of constant acceleration, steadily closing the distance. His heavy, vast spirit had no fear of this pursuit.

Seeing the distance closing, Qin Hua'an felt an immense crisis. In the Map, on the five-thousand-mile Great Dragon River, ink-colored storms raged. Qin Hua'an kept fleeing, but he felt a mysterious force within the Map pulling him and An Le closer.

As the spirits who had met, their energies were recorded by the Map, and one of them had to be eliminated. Qin Hua'an only wanted to delay, hoping more people would be eliminated first so his score would be higher, giving him a chance to recover in the martial test.

His heart was filled with unwillingness. He knew that if he were eliminated too early, he would lose his qualification to compete for the top scholar.

But after fleeing in disgrace like a stray dog for a while, Qin Hua'an stopped. Although his Dao heart was not as soft as tofu, if he continued to be hunted, his spirit would be eroded bit by bit, while An Le’s invincible aura would only grow stronger!

BOOM!

Qin Hua'an’s spirit stopped fleeing. Ink-colored thunder arcs surged, the thunder pool churned, and he whipped his Zuowang radiance toward An Le’s spirit, trying to sweep it away!

An Le watched Qin Hua'an’s counter-attack. Without a moment’s hesitation, he pushed his palms to the sides. The water of the Great Dragon River exploded, and the rising water columns merged together, gradually forming the shadow of a green mountain again.

It crushed down ruthlessly. Qin Hua'an’s spirit was too fragile before the visualized green mountain, like a porcelain doll covered in cracks. Finally, it was completely shattered by the mental sword intent emitted by An Le’s flicking finger!

Qin Hua'an’s spirit was destroyed, and filled with unwillingness, it vanished from the Map.

The river flowed gently; the entire Map was silent. Many spirits floated nearby, shocked by what they had just seen.

Qin Hua'an, the favorite to be top scholar, had been destroyed less than half an hour after the Map was opened. This meant his score for the literary test would likely be at the bottom!

The battle for the top scholar was over for Qin Hua'an; he had been eliminated early!

The candidates who regained their senses did not hesitate and immediately turned to flee. While An Le’s spirit stood on the river, seemingly lost in contemplation, they ran. No one wanted to encounter An Le, and those with strong spirits began frantically searching for weaker ones to eliminate quickly, the only way to gain more points. Even if they eventually encountered An Le, they wouldn't have to worry about receiving a low score due to being eliminated too early.

...

On the white jade square.

Qin Hua'an, the first to enter the Map, opened his eyes and immediately spat out a mouthful of blood. The bright red blood looked startling on the clean white bricks of the square.

He stared blankly at the blood he had spat out, his mind spinning. He looked around; other candidates were sitting cross-legged, their spirits still competing in the Map.

And he... he was already out.

Was he... the first to be eliminated?!

A peak fifth-realm "Sitting in Oblivion" cultivator, the first to be eliminated in the literary test?!

Even though he had expected it, when it actually happened, his heart ached. Proud as he was, wanting to perform well in front of the Chancellor, his mentality was truly shaken.

Strange gazes from the scholars who hadn't entered the palace examination swept over him. Although no one laughed, the gazes felt like needles to Qin Hua'an.

Furthermore, the gazes cast from the Tianxuan Palace made his heart tremble with shame. He had disappointed his father.

But the green mountain An Le had visualized truly made him feel powerless. He had tried his best to flee, yet he couldn't escape. He could feel his spirit was currently unstable; the Zuowang radiance shattered by the green mountain had yet to recover. To fully recover, it would take at least a month.

He covered his face with his hand. Before the examination, his ambition had been surging, but now that the literary test had just ended, his ambition was in tatters.

He had completely lost the chance to compete for the top scholar.

With a bottom-tier literary score... even if he took first in the martial test, he had no chance of placing in the top two overall.

All that awaited him was the next imperial examination.

...

Inside the Map of Mountains and Rivers.

An Le sat on the solitary boat. The world became quiet; no other candidate’s spirit dared to try and engage him.

Having destroyed Qin Hua'an’s spirit, An Le clearly felt a special energy beginning to surge within the Map, tempering his spirit.

"Ride the normality of heaven and earth, control the transformations of the six qi, and roam the infinite."

A mysterious feeling welled up in An Le’s heart. The "Map of Mountains and Rivers" was a first-grade spiritual treasure. Since the Academy had brought it out for this examination, it was naturally not just a simple testing ground.

After shattering Qin Hua'an’s spirit, An Le felt the feedback the Map gave him, which made the green mountain and future sword intent he visualized become increasingly profound.

An Le was delighted. As his mind intertwined, the green mountain appeared within the Map. An Le stared at it, utilizing the feedback from the Map to begin a serious visualization.

The mist around the green mountain seemed to grow thinner; ancient, brilliant scriptures began to emerge upon it. An Le’s eyes gleamed as his mind surged, beginning to visualize, read, and memorize the contents of these scriptures.

An Le was comfortable in his visualization, but the Second Master, who was controlling the Map, felt his spirit being massively drained. The green mountain within the Map was constantly absorbing his spiritual power.

However, the Second Master could not show he was being drained. As the Second Master of the Academy and the representative for the literary test, he had to maintain the Academy’s dignity.

Feeling the consumption of his spirit growing, the Second Master could only suffer in silence. Meanwhile, he secretly accelerated the collisions between the other candidates in the Map, making them end the test faster.

At this moment, inside the Map, the river was calm, without a ripple. An Le sat like a king, visualizing the green mountain and memorizing the ancient texts, wanting to acquire the spiritual refinement method presented on the mountain. He did not seek out opponents, and no opponents came to seek him.

Having crushed Qin Hua'an, An Le had already become a terrifying existence.

Even Wang Qilin and Zhong Taohua, who had fallen on the same river as An Le, had no impulse to collide with him. They turned their targets to other candidates, finding their spirits to crush.

They whipped their Zuowang radiance, searching for opponents on the Great Dragon River. Soon, all other candidates on the river were crushed by their spirits.

But the two still did not seek out An Le, instead colliding with each other on the river. It was a well-matched spiritual confrontation, and in the end, the "Qilin Child" of the Wang family proved slightly better.

The river rippled slightly, and ink-colored rain fell from the high sky, between the misty mountains and water.

A mountain peak hung in the sky. A solitary boat drifted slightly on the river.

Suddenly, ripples hit the surface of the river one after another, striking the solitary boat and spreading out.

Wang Qilin’s Zuowang radiance was vast, and he walked step by step from the mist rising on the river. He had defeated other candidates and his spirit had grown much stronger through visualization. Now, his fighting spirit was high, sweeping across the river like a ball of fire.

He looked at An Le, who was sitting on the solitary boat.

The fact that there was no radiance behind An Le’s spirit made Wang Qilin’s eyes flicker.

"I am curious how you defeated Qin Hua'an’s spirit."

"Now, only you and I remain on the five-thousand-mile Great Dragon River. Please, let me experience it."

Wang Qilin said seriously.

The next moment, his spirit surged, and his radiance swept out like a peacock spreading its tail. Not only that, but flames erupted on the river, and dense tides of fire charged toward An Le.

An Le sat on the solitary boat and slowly opened his eyes. The countless ink-colored raindrops falling from the sky froze in place.

Looking at the battle-ready Wang Qilin, An Le did not insist on fighting with the Sword Waterfall. Instead, he flicked his finger against the visualized green mountain in front of him.

"As you wish."

As soon as the words fell, the green mountain tilted and slashed down with a boom.

The fire tides were instantly extinguished. The Great Dragon River was split apart again, and along with it, Wang Qilin’s spirit, which looked like a god under the support of his radiance, was also cleaved.

...

In front of the Tianxuan Palace, on the white jade square.

Wang Qilin opened his eyes in terror, his gaze snapping toward the white-clad boy sitting cross-legged not far away.

Inside the Map of Mountains and Rivers, An Le’s spirit slowly walked out. His vast mental energy diffused and finally, under the eyes of all, returned to his Niwan Palace. His sword furnace clanged, and his sword intent surged.

In the mountains of the Map, Ye Wenxi and others were still engaged in spiritual combat.

But An Le had already cleared the river of other candidates, becoming the first to exit the Map.

This meant that An Le had become the champion of the literary test without any doubt!

Once his spirit returned to his body, An Le opened his eyes. It was as if a dragon’s roar exploded. The white python with horns that had been coiled around him suddenly soared upward, winding and roaring above the boy’s head. The python’s horns grew more prominent, and beneath its belly, dragon claws emerged.

Majestic and awe-inspiring, it coiled in the sky above the white jade square!

The invincible aura he had been nurturing all along had finally... turned the white python into a Heavenly Dragon!

An Le stood up. His white clothes were like snow, and his waist was filled with surging sword intent.

With the Green Mountain and Ink Pool swords at his waist, he faced the brilliant Tianxuan Palace under the sunlight.

He took a step forward. This step was the beginning of an unstoppable legend.

His gaze rose, passing over the white jade dais and the civil and military officials.

He looked calmly at the cold-faced Chancellor Qin standing in the palace.

The breeze seemed to carry two words from the boy’s lips along with his gaze.

"Is that it?"