Chapter Thirteen: The Three Styles of Lei Yun

  With three days left before the Outer Gate test, Xiao Chen entered the Concentrated Spirit Mirror ahead of time. For the next three days, Xiao Chen spent his days practicing swordplay in the courtyard and his nights cultivating his soul under the starlight.

  Moreover, even Ximen Wudi, the first disciple of the famous sect, was defeated by Xiao Chen. From then on, no one dared to trouble Xiao Chen again, so he lived a peaceful life, spending every day cultivating and practicing.

  Due to the Starry War Body's upgrade requiring a huge amount of energy, Xiao Chen's cultivation over the past three days had not made any progress, still stuck at the first layer of the Concentrated Spirit.

  To enter the Jing Shen Double Heaven, a second vortex must be condensed in the Dan Tian, while the Xing Chen War Body condenses the vortex requires too much heavenly and earthly yuan qi...

  However, in these three days, Xiao Chen's swordsmanship has made rapid progress under the guidance of Ye Liu Xing. The Blood-Drinking Sword Technique from the West Gate family and the Devouring Clouds and Concealing Sun Sword Technique, combined with Ye Liu Xing's three moves, have gradually become perfect through Xiao Chen's efforts and Ye Liu Xing's timely pointers.

  In the courtyard, Xiao Chen held a sword in his hand, true energy poured into it, the sword light flashed, one sword stabbed out, the air exploded with a loud noise, the extreme light flashed by, as fast as wind and thunder. Turning his waist to fly the sword, slanting and shooting out, just like when fishing, swinging the rod, wonderful to the extreme, afterwards the sword's momentum connected without any gaps, swallowing clouds and covering the sun, cloudy and foggy, covering the sun with a red dot, suddenly appearing with a loud noise, just like bursting blood beads.

  The true energy surges, the sword technique is sometimes like a sudden stormy rain, thunder and lightning rushing forward, and sometimes it's like the clouds and mist in the mountains, changing unpredictably, leaving no trace. Sometimes the sword technique turns, but it's as if an ordinary person who doesn't understand sword techniques is practicing, yet that sword momentum is clever and strange, stabbing out from an angle that people can't anticipate...

  From morning till night, Xiao Chen only felt that the true energy in his dantian was boiling, emitting a 'gurgling' sound like bubbling water.

  Sheathed his sword and stood up, Xiao Chen's Qi flowed into his Dan Tian, he withdrew his true energy and opened his eyes once again.

  "Not bad, in these three days, your swordsmanship has made rapid progress. The Ximen family's Blowing Blood Sword Method and the Swallowing Clouds and Concealing the Sun Sword Method that I taught you have been fully integrated. Now, the sword method you are currently displaying can no longer be called the Swallowing Clouds and Concealing the Sun Sword Method. It has completely broken away from the category of basic sword methods and is already considered a high-level sword method among mortals. You should give this new sword method a name yourself."

  Xiao Chen stood up with his sword after sheathing it, and Ye Liu Xing's voice echoed in his mind at a moderate pace.

  "Could it be that they are actually considered high-level sword techniques among the ordinary ranks?!" Xiao Chen heard this and was overjoyed, also slightly surprised, even he himself had not expected that he would create a set of high-level sword techniques among the ordinary ranks.

  "What's it called?" Xiao Chen pondered, "This sword technique combines the West Gate Blowing Blood Sword Technique's fast and unbeatable way, also has the Yun Jian Sect's Swallowing Clouds and Concealing the Sun Sword's ethereal and transcendent air, and also includes the three moves of sword intent taught by Flowing Star sister. En... let's just call it Lei Yun San Shi."

  "The sword comes out like wind and thunder, changing like clouds and fog, three moves two styles, for the people and for the king." Ye Liu Xing tasted the name that Xiao Chen had taken, then said: "This name is quite good, it doesn't humiliate this young lady's three-move sword path, let's just use this name."

  "En." Xiao Chen nodded and said with great joy: "Tomorrow is the day of the test, I'm really looking forward to it!"

  "There's nothing to expect, your gaze should be set further away. The Out Cloud Sword Sect is just a small plot of land that can't even provide you with sufficient cultivation resources, and they wouldn't spare so many resources for your cultivation either. Your gaze should be placed outside the sect." However, Ye Liu Xing looked down on the outer sect disciples, not putting the Out Cloud Sword Sect in his eyes at all.

  Xiao Chen also felt that Ye Liu Xing was right, as a Starry Sky War Body, even if the Yun Jian Sect gave him all the heavenly treasures to cultivate, it would still be impossible to support himself.

  "But for now, I don't want to leave the Yuyun Sword Sect yet," said Xiao Chen.

  "Is it because of Ling Shuiyan that little girl or because of the person who poisoned you?" Ye Liu Xing guessed.

  Xiao Chen fell silent for a moment before saying, "Both are true."

  Xiao Chen had been practicing his sword for a whole day. At this moment, the sky was already dark and it was time to have dinner. Xiao Chen also brought his tableware to the cafeteria to get some food to eat.

  When the bright moon is in the sky and the stars are scattered all over, Xiao Chen begins to cultivate the 99th Soul Refining Technique. At present, Xiao Chen has already reached the second stage, Soul Refining.

  The starlight and moonlight were absorbed by Xiao Chen, refining his spirit. In the room, Xiao Chen's head was surrounded by a rolling tide of starlight that changed unpredictably, sometimes hiding and sometimes scattering, entering and exiting through his seven apertures, refining his spirit and making it clearer and more pure, without any impurities, and his thinking became even faster.

  A night's time was spent in such cultivation...

  On the second day, early in the morning, the entire Ichiyou Sword Sect's registered disciple area was shrouded in a series of urgent bell tolls. The bell tolls were stirring and announced that the test for the registered disciples had begun.

  All registered disciples in the disciple zone have finished washing and dressing up, advancing towards the testing location in the outer gate area.

  None of his named disciples stayed behind; they all set out.

  The qualification for entering the outer gate is the condensation of the spiritual realm, but there is one type of person who does not fall within this category, namely those who possess a martial body. Some people's martial bodies awaken late, while others awaken early, so every time they are tested, the sect will test all registered disciples to avoid missing those whose martial bodies have not yet awakened during the previous test.

  The assessment of outer disciples is no less than that of inner disciples, and the outer door test is equally strict. The four types of disciples - outer, inner, elite, and core - are the foundation of a sect, while nominal disciples are just the logistics team of the sect, not an important class of disciples at all. As long as Yunjian Sword Sect wants to recruit, they can be found everywhere.

  This time, there were three thousand registered disciples, under the leadership of the sect's examiner, who went to the outer gate test site in a mighty and majestic manner.

  Named disciples' area to outer gate area needs to cross a valley and climb up the peak where the outer gate is located.

  This is the first heavy test of entering the outer gate.

  The mountain road is rugged and treacherous, some of the disciples who are not very determined have already given up halfway, while others with lower cultivation but firm willpower continue to persevere, even if their palms and soles are worn out.

  Xiao Chen saw his past self in these people, his past self was unable to break through the Qi Refining Boundary no matter what, but he had climbed towards the Outer Sect testing grounds year after year, relying on his strong willpower. His belly, palms, and soles were all ground into blisters, that kind of pain, Xiao Chen deeply understood.

  So this time, Xiao Chen, who climbed the outer gate mountain peak with ease, saw that those determined but not highly cultivated disciples would also lend a hand, but it was just a drop in the bucket and couldn't be perfect.

  The examiner saw it in his eyes, but didn't say much.

  After a long time, the crowd finally arrived at the outer gate test area. The number of registered disciples had been reduced from three thousand to just over three hundred. Most of them had chosen to give up. Among these three hundred disciples, most were drenched in sweat, as if they had just crawled out of a river.

  Under the leadership of the examiner, these three hundred disciples began to walk towards the test site, preparing for the final test.

  The final test of the outer gate is an extremely strict test, examining the president's old will to rise to the dragon gate, examining wit, root bone, cultivation, and age. There is no room for human feelings here, everything is based on real ability.

  Under these four tests, there are very few people who can pass all of them. Among the more than 300 people, it's already not bad if three or four can make it.

  More than three thousand disciples, only three or four can be screened out, a ratio of one in a thousand, and this is still the outer gate. When it comes to the inner gate, elite, core and other disciple tests, the screening ratio will be even more cruel. It can be said that true geniuses are all in the core disciple area.

  Xiao Chen felt that this Yun Jian Sect's selection list was even more cruel than the college entrance examination!

  The elder in charge of this assessment was still the elder of the Examination Hall, with extremely high cultivation. Each and every one of them had a serious expression, their eyes gleaming brightly as if they could see through to one's bones with just one glance.

  With the arrival of Xiaochen and other named disciples, the test began immediately.

  An old man with a grey long gown and whiskers, his eyes gleaming like electricity, scanned the more than three hundred disciples one by one before emotionlessly saying: "Rise, Dragon Gate!"

  Upon hearing this, the other four deans of the examination hall all had a solemn expression on their faces as they walked down from their seats and arrived at the outer gate square. They sat cross-legged in a huge five-pointed array on the square.

  Five people sat down on the five corners, and then the true yuan burst out. Each of them made a mysterious handprint, and as the handprints of these five elders were continuously made, a series of magical breaths burst forth from their bodies, seemingly communicating with some unknown existence. The entire outer gate's peak was trembling, like an earthquake.

  Rumble...

  The mountain peaks shook violently, as if a massive object was about to emerge from the ground. All of the named disciples stared intently at this scene.

  More than 300 named disciples were all excited, the Dragon Gate was unearthed, this was an exciting and thrilling moment. They had been working hard to cultivate, just for today, to be able to cross the Dragon Gate and truly step into the Yun Jian Sect.

  Xiao Chen only felt that the moment this test arrived, his mood was just like during the college entrance exams. In another world, the college entrance exams were for getting into a good university, while today's test was to wash away the name of waste and become an outer sect disciple.

  As the dragon gate slowly emerged from the earth, Xiao Chen also became excited, clenching his fists tightly, this was his chance!

  Ten years of accumulation, just for today's leap over the Dragon Gate!

  Boom!

  With a loud rumble, four massive stone pillars rose from the center of the square in front of the outer gate, each one as thick as three people embracing. On top of the pillars, dragons soared with divine majesty, vivid and lifelike, shining with a jade-like luster that illuminated the entire square, radiating an aura for miles around.

  Under the divine light, the mighty dragon's power burst forth, and for a moment, the thrilling dragon's roar echoed through the sky, causing all the named disciples to be excited, looking up at the pillar that pierced the sky, their hearts filled with indescribable excitement.