Chapter 120: Disciple Ranking

If it were a physical strength contest, Cao Zhen admitted he was inferior to Jiang Fan. But when it came to magical arts, Jiang Fan wasn't even fit to carry his shoes!

"Wind and Clouds Overturn the Earth!"

Cao Zhen decisively drew his sword, immediately unleashing his most powerful sword technique. One used fists, the other a sword. One was a good-for-nothing without a spiritual root, while the other was an unrivaled prodigy with a seventh-grade spiritual root. Was there any doubt about the outcome of such a match? Jiang Fan would surely have his fist cut off by a single sword strike, bleeding on the spot.

Some female disciples had already begun to shriek. Some male disciples averted their gaze, unable to watch. A few elders shook their heads slightly. "He clearly excels in physical strength, yet he insists on using his weakness to confront Cao Zhen's strength," they mused. "He's about to learn a painful lesson."

Seeing this, Liu Wenchen immediately roared, "Stop!" He moved to intervene. However, Feng Guchan felt a surge of delight. With a sweep of his sleeve, he struck a punch towards Liu Wenchen, preventing him from separating the two. Liu Wenchen had taken his disciple, so he wanted Liu Wenchen to lose one too! Only then would it be fair!

In a flash, Jiang Fan and Cao Zhen clashed!

To everyone's astonishment, before Cao Zhen's sword could even strike, Jiang Fan's "Startling Dragon Palm" had already landed on his shoulder.

*Crack!*

A crisp breaking sound echoed throughout the entire venue. Immediately after, Cao Zhen was sent flying backward with lightning speed, slamming violently into the stone monument in the square. Under the immense force, the stone monument developed dense, spiderweb-like cracks. Blood flowed not only from Cao Zhen's nose and mouth but also from his eyes. His injuries were quite severe.

In contrast, Jiang Fan remained calm and composed, standing in place. He said coolly, "You disdain being associated with me? Then you'd better first weigh how much you're worth!"

Everyone was stunned. Their gazes gradually turned to shock.

"Elder Li, is *this* what you meant by overdrawing potential?" an elder questioned Li Qingfeng again. Several elders who had missed the chance to recruit Jiang Fan now cast unfriendly looks at Li Qingfeng. "If this is considered overdrawing potential, then what is Cao Zhen? What are the other new prodigies?"

Li Qingfeng's face turned beet red from the questioning. He argued forcefully, "This boy must have received extensive guidance from Sect Leader Gong to have made even this slight progress. Without such strong cultivation going forward, he will certainly make no further improvements."

It could only be said that prejudice is a formidable mountain, easy to form but difficult to move. The elders found this explanation barely plausible. After all, Gong Caiyi genuinely doted on Jiang Fan. Who knew what valuable treasures she might have secretly given him?

Liu Qingxian covered her mouth, suppressing a giggle. *A bunch of fools. They're still completely in the dark.* Jiang Fan was strong not because of external guidance, but because he was inherently powerful.

Glancing at the defeated Cao Zhen, Liu Qingxian patted Jiang Fan's shoulder. "Well done!" she said. "Someone who tries to usurp another man's wife deserves to be treated like this!"

After a moment of stunned silence, Liu Wenchen rushed to check on Cao Zhen. "How are your injuries?" he asked. *This was a seventh-grade spiritual root, after all!*

Unexpectedly, Cao Zhen pushed Liu Wenchen away, gritting his teeth. "Sect Leader Liu doesn't need to concern himself!" He struggled to his feet, looking at the many eyes fixed on him. Remembering his humiliating defeat, he was overcome with shame! He clenched his fists, glaring hatefully at Jiang Fan. "The shame of today, I, Cao Zhen, will surely repay another day! Since your Azure Cloud Sect cannot tolerate me, then I will withdraw from the Azure Cloud Sect! I hope that in the future, you will not regret this!"

He roared, limping towards the mountain gate. Liu Wenchen tried to persuade him to stay several times, but Cao Zhen refused with a flick of his sleeve. Moreover, Cao Zhen came from the Cao family, a martial arts family of considerable influence, so Liu Wenchen couldn't forcefully detain him. In the end, he could only slap his thigh in frustration, watching him leave. A seventh-grade spiritual root was a treasure in any of the nine sects. Yet, the Azure Cloud Sect had let him go.

He turned his head, glaring at Jiang Fan with obvious resentment.

Liu Qingxian pursed her lips and stood in front of Jiang Fan. "What about Jiang Fan? What did he do wrong?" she asked.

The elders also sighed deeply. As observers, they strongly supported Jiang Fan and didn't believe he had done anything excessive. To publicly insult someone's wife, it was fortunate he wasn't beaten to death. However, they also understood Liu Wenchen. As a sect leader and the master of the Sect Leader Peak, facing the aggressive and powerful Grand Elder, how could he not feel resentment at the loss of a seventh-grade spiritual root?

Feng Guchan, having lost his beloved disciple for nothing, was even more furious. He glared hatefully at Jiang Fan. "You're very impressive, aren't you?" he sneered. "Good! In a month, it will be our sect's disciple evaluation! We'll see how long you can keep smiling!" With that, he departed in a rage.

Liu Qingxian's expression slightly changed. She turned to Liu Wenchen. "Father! The disciple evaluation this time will be presided over by Tang Tianlong, the true disciple of Reincarnation Peak! He's at the eighth level of Foundation Establishment. When assessing the ranks, he'll surely use the opportunity to test his strength and attack Jiang Fan."

No matter how formidable Jiang Fan was, wouldn't it be difficult for him to withstand someone at the eighth level of Foundation Establishment? Historically, accidents resulting in injuries, disabilities, or even destroyed Dantians were not uncommon during evaluations. Since Jiang Fan caused the Grand Elder to lose such a beloved disciple, how could his opponent possibly let him off lightly?

Liu Wenchen snorted. "That's what he gets for it." Angrily, he flung his sleeve and left on the spot.

Liu Qingxian immediately grew anxious, regretting having accepted Cao Zhen's challenge in the first place. If she hadn't, today's situation wouldn't have come about.

"No need to worry, Senior Sister," Jiang Fan comforted her. "I'll be careful; it shouldn't be a big problem." He thought, *Isn't there still a month? My cultivation should be able to improve further. Plus, with my movement technique, even if I can't defeat Tang Tianlong, it would be difficult for him to harm me in public.*

However, Liu Qingxian bit her red lip slightly. "You don't understand what the disciple evaluation means," she said. "If your ranking is low, you'll have to leave the Azure Cloud Sect and be assigned to a city under its jurisdiction to serve as a city lord. For example, Ye Jifeng from your Solitary Boat City was once a disciple who failed the evaluation."

"What?" Jiang Fan was startled. The authority for the next evaluation was in the hands of Reincarnation Peak. If they used the excuse of poor performance to forcibly assign him a low rank, wouldn't he be forced to leave? Away from the Azure Cloud Sect, not to mention various resources, even the materials for Foundation Establishment Pills would be hard to find.

This meant that when he underwent Tang Tianlong's test a month later, he had to display impeccable strength, leaving them no justification to give him a low rank. In other words, his strength had to be at least on par with Tang Tianlong's! His opponent was at the eighth level of Foundation Establishment, while he was currently only at the fourth. He had to make significant breakthroughs in both cultivation and cultivation techniques!

Speaking of cultivation techniques, Jiang Fan naturally thought of the reward for placing first in the Ancestor Worship Ceremony. "Senior Sister," he asked, "does my reward still count?" Liu Wenchen had already left without announcing the results.

Liu Qingxian gave a wry smile. "Even if you get an Immortal Scripture, what good will it do?" she said. "A month is too short; you won't be able to cultivate anything significant." In her opinion, this was merely a last-minute effort. Any cultivation technique required a great deal of time and effort to comprehend and master.

What surprised her was that Jiang Fan muttered, "Does the Azure Cloud Sect's scripture pavilion have such a powerful cultivation technique? It takes a whole month just to get started?"