Novel Full Chapter 90: Black Mountain Tigers!
Chapter 90: Black Mountain Tigers!
Rumble. Rumble.
The moment Lan Mu’s words fell, violent energy surged across the ground and through the sky. Waves of power collided like crashing tides, spreading outward in all directions.
Chaos erupted everywhere.
This was no longer a gathering but a brutal struggle for the right to register.
“I have to secure a spot.”
A sharp glint passed through Li Yun’s eyes as he moved forward at an unhurried pace, calm amid the turmoil.
With his current cultivation, he could not guarantee that he would stand at the very peak among the countless young geniuses present. However, claiming a place to register posed no difficulty for him at all.
Even so, Li Yun had no intention of revealing too much of his strength.
This was only the first part of the first round of assessment. There would be another stage to this round and an entire second round after that. Exposing his true power too early would bring no benefit. It was far wiser to remain discreet and ensure everything progressed smoothly.
For Li Yun, entering Martial Ascension Gate was a matter of utmost importance.
Before long, he advanced to within fifty meters of the registration desk.
“Brat, get back!”
A harsh shout suddenly rang out.
In the next instant, several figures tore through the air. Ten burly men descended aggressively, their auras fierce and oppressive.
At their front stood a thickset man with a long, ugly knife scar slashed across his face. His vicious appearance alone was enough to make children cry in fear.
The scarred man fixed Li Yun with a cold stare and snarled, “If anyone is going to register first, it will be us, the Black Mountain Six Tigers. Take a good look at yourself, boy. What kind of nobody do you think you are, daring to stand ahead of us? If you value your life, then get lost and give up your spot.”
“It’s the Black Mountain Six Tigers. Even they showed up for Martial Ascension Gate’s disciple recruitment.”
“Who are the Black Mountain Six Tigers? Are they really that well known?”
“Of course they are. They are infamous bandits from the Great Cloud Kingdom. The eldest through the third brothers are Half Step Xiantian Realm cultivators, while the fourth to the sixth are peak ninth level Body Tempering experts. The six of them once joined forces to kill a first level Xiantian Realm cultivator by fighting above their realm.”
“That terrifying?”
“That is not even the worst part. Their true notoriety comes from how brutal they are.”
“After killing that Xiantian Realm cultivator, they chopped off his limbs, gouged out his eyes, cut out his tongue, and then carved his flesh piece by piece until he died.”
A chill swept through the surrounding crowd as the whispers spread.
—-
The moment the six men appeared, their bodies radiating dense and vicious evil qi, a wave of unrest rippled through the surrounding crowd.
Soon after, someone began recounting the notorious deeds of the Black Mountain Six Tigers. As the stories spread, faces around them drained of color, and fear filled countless eyes. People stared at the six men as if they were not human at all, but six ferocious and terrifying demons walking among mortals.
“Little brother, it’s only a chance to register. It’s really not worth provoking the Black Mountain Six Tigers for this,” someone whispered urgently to Li Yun. “If you lose your life here, that would be far too great a price. You should step aside while you still can.”
Li Yun did not respond.
He merely turned his head and cast an indifferent glance at the Black Mountain Six Tigers before continuing to walk forward, his expression calm and unconcerned.
That attitude instantly darkened the faces of the six men.
“Bastard, how dare you act so arrogantly in front of us!” the scarred leader snarled. “Do you know you are courting death?”
Li Yun’s disregard was like a silent slap across their faces, far more humiliating than open provocation. Fury surged through them, and a chilling killing intent flickered in their eyes.
There was a saying among cultivators that being ignored was more insulting than being struck.
“Brothers, let’s deal with this arrogant brat together,” the scarred man said coldly.
Under ordinary circumstances, facing a young nobody like Li Yun, a single member of the Black Mountain Six Tigers would have been more than enough. However, this was the Martial Ascension Gate’s disciple recruitment assembly, where countless young geniuses had gathered. They could not judge Li Yun’s true strength at a glance.
Because of that, they chose caution.
If they were going to make a move, they would do so together, leaving no room for error.
“Kill!”
The Black Mountain Six Tigers roared in unison. A surge of violent energy mixed with dense evil qi erupted from their massive bodies and rushed into the air, where it fused into a single form. In an instant, a ferocious black tiger took shape, its entire body shrouded in darkness as a thunderous roar echoed outward.
Dong. Dong. Dong.
The moment the black tiger fully condensed, its four massive claws struck forward, trampling the air as it charged straight toward Li Yun. Each step landed with a heavy, muffled boom, like war drums pounding against the heavens.
“That’s the Black Mountain Six Tigers’ signature killing move, the Black Tiger Evil Fist!”
“They once used this very technique together to kill a first-level Xiantian Realm cultivator!”
“That kid is finished!”
“How tragic. Every Martial Ascension Gate recruitment claims a few unlucky lives, but this one did not even get a chance to register.”
“He brought it on himself. Who told him to provoke the Black Mountain Six Tigers?”
Sensing the terrifying pressure radiating from the charging black tiger, the surrounding crowd erupted in shock. Many people looked toward Li Yun with pity and regret, as though they were already witnessing a dead man.
Yet Li Yun seemed completely unaware of the deadly attack behind him. From start to finish, he did not even turn his head. Only when the black tiger closed in and its savage aura sent his robes snapping violently in the wind did he finally speak.
“Scram!”
His voice was calm, almost casual.
Boom!
That single word detonated like a thunderclap. The air trembled violently as visible waves of sound surged outward, slamming into the charging black tiger. Without the slightest resistance, the massive form shattered midair, bursting apart into fragments of dissipating energy.
Pfft. Pfft.
The ferocity vanished from the faces of the Black Mountain Six Tigers, replaced by raw terror and crushing regret. In that instant, they finally understood what kind of monster they had provoked. Their mouths opened as if to speak, but only streams of blood poured out instead. One after another, their bodies fell from the sky.
Li Yun did not spare them a glance. He continued walking forward, his expression calm and unhurried, as if nothing at all had happened.
“Holy crap!”
“Who exactly is this kid? He wiped out all six Black Mountain Tigers in an instant!”
“Are you blind? Was that even a move? He did not lift a finger. He just shouted, and they were finished!”
“Defeating the Black Mountain Six Tigers with a single roar is something even a first-level Xiantian Realm martial artist could not accomplish!”
“This young man is terrifying!”
The crowd stared in stunned silence before erupting into a wave of shocked exclamations.
“With strength like that, he will definitely pass the second round of the assessment. The real question is how high he will rank on the New Disciples Ranking. Crushing the Six Black Mountain Tigers with a single roar should at least put him in contention for the top three, right?” someone said in awe.
“That is impossible,” another person replied while shaking his head. “This year’s recruitment has drawn even more terrifying figures. There is that genius from the Lu family of the Battle Blood Empire, the prodigy from the Zhu family of the Black Dragon Empire, and the heir of the Ye family from the Profound War Empire. Those people are truly peerless monsters. This kid is impressive, but compared to them, he is still lacking.”
“Even so, I think he should be qualified to compete for the top twenty on the New Disciples Ranking,” someone else added.
“New Disciples Ranking? What is that?” Li Yun’s ears twitched slightly when he heard those words, and a trace of curiosity rose in his heart. Still, he did not dwell on it. He simply shook his head and continued walking forward.
After witnessing how easily he dealt with the Black Mountain Six Tigers, no one dared to block his path. The crowd instinctively parted, giving him a wide berth.
Before long, Li Yun arrived at the registration desk. At that point, more than a hundred people had already secured their registration ahead of him.
“Body Tempering Realm, eighth level. Unqualified!”
“Next!”
“Body Tempering Realm, ninth level. Qualified!”
“Next!”
“Xiantian Realm, first level. Qualified!”
“Next!”
…
Li Yun waited in line for about ten minutes before it was finally his turn.
He stepped forward, and the blue-robed deacon sitting nearby slowly opened his eyes. With an indifferent tone, the deacon said, “Register your name and place of origin first, then proceed to the Origin Link Jade Wall for the test.”
“Yes,” Li Yun replied calmly.
After completing the registration as instructed, Li Yun walked straight toward the Origin Link Jade Wall.
Thump.
He struck the jade wall with a single punch, without any unnecessary flourish.
Whoosh.
A soft sound echoed as streams of cyan light began to flow across the surface of the jade wall. The glow gathered at the center, then slowly formed several large cyan characters.
Body Tempering Realm, ninth level.
“How interesting,” Li Yun muttered, a faint look of surprise appearing on his face.
He soon smiled to himself and thought, “Although this thing is quite mystical, it is only suitable for places like this. If someone relied on it alone to judge a martial artist’s strength, they would likely suffer a disastrous misjudgment.”
His thoughts were entirely justified.
On the surface, Li Yun appeared to possess only ninth-level Body Tempering cultivation, yet his true combat power was enough to contend with fourth-level Xiantian Realm experts. If he revealed all of his trump cards, he could even kill such opponents outright.
A martial artist’s true strength could never be determined solely by their cultivation realm. It required a comprehensive assessment that included martial skills, aptitude, battle experience, and countless other factors. After all, true geniuses were capable of crossing realms to kill their enemies and accomplishing feats that defied common sense.
If anyone looked at the result displayed on the Origin Link Jade Wall, saw that Li Yun was only at the ninth level of the Body Tempering Realm, and assumed he was weak and easy to bully, that person would most likely die without ever understanding how it happened.