Chapter 33 – The Three-Star Shield

“I don’t think that he has a hidden Spirit Body, or it would have been exposed during the Opening Spirit Ceremony. From what Shi Chuan said, this disciple has a strong mental energy. Because of this attribute, Ruan Senior of the Scriptures Pavilion had him practice the Ghost Spirit Method, since having a strong mental energy is beneficial in practicing that method. Maybe that was why he was so quick in finishing the first level of the Cultivation Method,” Gu Ru Quan said slowly.

“A strong mental energy! If that’s the case, then the question of his training speed can be answered. However, won’t he have huge problems in the future with other Cultivation Methods? Will he have to take the route of the Corpse Refinery Faction?” The nun said with furrowed brows.

“Since he has chosen that Cultivation Method, he has to accept its consequences. However, even though Bai Chong Tian isn’t old, I can tell that he has quite some experience in actual combat and has his own opinions. How about this. We won’t take him under our wings but instead give him some extra resources? Who knows? Maybe we will have ourselves a nice surprise,” said Zhu Ci after musing over the situation.

“I agree with Junior Zhu’s words.” The scholar said.

“Alright, then I will personally meet with this disciple.” The pretty nun paused before nodding in agreement.

After discussing for a short time longer, the nun walked out and continued hosting the competition for disciples under thirty.

…..

After about ten to twelve hours, Liu Ming was completely immersed in watching a frightening fight that was taking place in front of him.

A forty year old disciple was hiding behind a floating ice shield while casting various spells.

Not far from him were two enormous creatures landing hit after hit on each other.

One of them was a thirty foot tall golem that was wielding a giant sword. The other was a pure white skeleton that had black smoke swirling around it. It had green flames dancing in its empty eye sockets, and it wielded two bone saws as baldes.

Both of them were not even trying to avoid each other’s attacks; instead it seemed as if they were trying to flourish their weapons as fast as possible.

In moments, the jet black armor on the golem had become tattered.

However, half of the skeleton’s bones had cracks in them. In addition, half of its head was missing due to a swipe from the golem’s large sword.

At this time, the middle aged disciple behind the ice shield pointed towards the skeleton and muttered a chant.

Instantly, a surprising scene took place.

The black smoke on the skeleton thickened and all the damage it had sustained was repaired quickly enough that it could be watched with the naked eye. In a few seconds, the skeleton was back to its prime.

“Peng, peng!”

The bone blades in the skeleton’s hands furiously hacked forward and shattered the armor on the golem to reveal the Spirit Stone that was firmly embedded in its chest.

With one last attack, the skeleton shattered the Spirit Stone.

Immediately, the golem fell heavily to the ground and did not stand back up again.

Only then did the middle-aged disciple happily wave his hands while dissolving the ice shield in front of him.

Instantly, the skeleton turned around and shrunk as it flew towards the middle aged disciple. In seconds, it was the size of a palm, but still wrapped in black smoke.

“Tsk tsk. The White Demon Skeleton of Senior Xin’s has gotten even stronger. It seems as if it has reached the realm of ‘Hundred Bones’ and even the competition golem can’t last too long against it.”

“Previously, senior Xin’s luck really changed when he got a Spirit Yin Bone and was able to refine that into this demon. If only I had such good luck.”

“So what! No matter how strong this White Demon Skeleton is, Senior Xin is stuck at the Late Apostle level, unable to advance. His age is also above thirty and, like us, he is without much hope of becoming a Spirit Master.”

“That’s right. Back then, Senior Xin was too devoted in refining that demon, and didn’t spend enough time on his own training. If one were to really fight with him, all that would be needed to win is to restrain the movements of the demon and then defeat it’s owner. Senior Xin’s personal combat abilities are still quite weak, and he will probably not be able to become a Core Disciple during the next Large Competition.”

“I never knew that the ‘Spirit Communication Method’ would do so well when paired with Demons. Maybe I should go and practice that spell.”

“Don’t bother. Our faction’s entrance Cultivation Method doesn’t really pair well with the ‘Spirit Communication Method’. Senior Xin had picked the ‘Mysterious Yin Method’ for his Cultivation Method which is why he was able to practice such a spell.”

The disciples on the field chatted among themselves as they discussed their different opinions of Senior Xin.

“Is it really the ‘Spirit Communication Method’ that I have? To be able to control and order demons and ghosts, incredible!” Liu Ming muttered to himself.

Even though Liu Ming had heard about Barbarian Ghost disciples being able to control ghosts and demons, this was the first time he had seen such a display.

He was not the only one, other disciples also looked on with dumbfounded expressions; even the Nine Spiritual Pulse Disciple, Xiao Feng’s eyes shone when the White Demon Skeleton appeared.

This was different from the normal spells like the Wind Blade Technique and the Flame Technique, since Demonic things had a shroud of mystery while in the mortal world.

Although Liu Ming and the other people had prepared themselves beforehand when they heard about the Barbarian Sect, after witnessing it with their own eyes, the impact on them was beyond their expectations.

But because of that, Liu Ming was growing excited about the ‘Spirit Communication Method’ that he had stashed away.

Then, after half a day, when a beefy fellow covered in golden light used one punch to pulverize a golem’s head, the Small Competition was finally over.

The only person who received a ‘good’ grade was Xiao Feng.

There were five people that had a ‘moderate to good’ grade, including Liu Ming, the Senior Xin from before and the eldest disciple, Shi Chuan.

As for Zhu Ling Xin and Gu Mei Shan, they performed ordinarily.

During the competition, Liu Ming never saw Zhu Ling Xin use the totem that she was rumored to have.

In addition, based on the grade received, all of the disciples received different rewards.

For those that had a grade at or below ‘moderate’, they were awarded with three Returning Energy Pills.

This pill would increase Fa Li recovery by a large amount after being taken.

For Liu Ming and the other four disciples that had a ‘moderate to good’ grade, they received a Calming Heart Incense along with the three Returning Energy Pills.

The Calming Heart Incense looked just like any other incense. However, if one were to light it when they were mentally exhausted, it would aid the recovery of their mental energy. In addition, it would have a profound effect when one was trying to understand secret techniques or spells. Thus, its worth was far above the value that of the three Returning Energy Pills.

As for Xiao Feng, he received a Penetrating Spirit Liquid in addition to the Returning Energy Pills and the Calming Heart Incense.

It was said that drinking the Spirit Liquid before a battle could boost one’s Fa Li by twenty percent for an entire hour.

Afterwards, Gu Ru Quan announced the end of the Small Competition and that the disciples could now leave.

Quickly, the disciples bowed towards the three Spirit Masters and flew away on their respective clouds.

Right when Liu Ming was about to leave with the crowd, Zhong Martial Aunt called to him.

“Martial Aunt, do you have any orders?” Even though Liu Ming was confused, he made sure to not show any emotions on his face. Instead, he simply walked forwards and respectfully said.

“You did quite well in the combat event. Were it not for the fact that my Cultivation Method is not a suitable choice for you, I would have been willing to take you on as my personal disciple. Regardless, since you already have some foundation in combat, you can take some time to receive some Contribution Point missions that aren’t too dangerous; they can be found on the second level of the Duty Hall. The importance of Sect Contribution Points is so much more than what you new disciples think. After all, the path of cultivation isn’t as simple as to be found through locking yourself in your room.” The pretty nun said to Liu Ming.

“Thank you for your advice, I will try to follow it.” Hearing this, Liu Ming quickly nodded.

“Is the Bronze Ring your Practitioner Weapon? Its sound wave attack is quite strong; however, it’s probably quite lacking when it comes to defense. How about this, I’ll give you a defensive Practitioner Weapon from my earlier years? Although you cannot use two Practitioner Weapons at once, you can rotate between using them when you need to.” After thinking for a while, the nun took out a palm sized triangular steel plate from her sleeve.

“Thank you for your kindness! This Practitioner Weapon is……” Liu Ming said happily after seeing the Practitioner Weapon.

“This Three-Star Shield is different from most other Practitioner Weapons. It has no offensive capabilities and can only be used for defending. Nevertheless, you will know how to use it once you begin to refine it.” The nun calmly said as she passed the steel plate to Liu Ming.

After Liu Ming received the triangular-shaped, steel-plated Practitioner Weapon, he thanked the nun.

“You can leave now. I expect much from you, do not disappoint me,” The smiling nun said as she turned and left.

After Liu Ming respectfully bowed again, he took a few steps backwards and ascended into the air.

On the cloud, Liu Ming eyes rolled diagonally and he saw that Xiao Feng and Yu Cheng had not left the square and were standing beside Gui Ru Quan and Zhu Chi. Xiao Feng and Yu Cheng’s faces carried a respectful manner for the other two, obviously listening to their advice.

It seemed like he had made the right choice this time to show off some of the results of his training during this Small Competition, otherwise Liu Ming wouldn’t have been one of the disciples that was called to stay behind, and even receiving the defense Practitioner Weapon.

As Liu Ming touched the Three-Star Shield in his sleeve, there was a hint of happiness showing on his face.

Not counting the Standard Glyph Blade, he had long wanted to get a useful Practitioner Weapon.

To the normal disciples, controlling two Practitioner Weapons would be the stuff of dreams, but for Liu Ming, who could divide his consciousness into two, it was an easy thing to do.

With two Practitioner Weapons, Liu Ming could definitely manage to take some easy contribution point quests, just as what Zhong Martial Aunt had said.

After all, Liu Ming would definitely meet some difficulty while training; and because the Dark Bone Method was special, he would not be able to ask Shi Chuan or anyone in the Nine Infant Faction for help. Thus, spending contribution points to enter the Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion to seek answers would be the best solution.

However, before doing this, Liu Ming decided to first train the Soul-Shackling Chains technique that he got from Ruan Martial Uncle.

As Liu Ming was planning his next moves, he subconsciously flew into the courtyard of his dwelling.

Seeing the small tree that was twenty feet high in his courtyard, Liu Ming had a strange smile as he started chanting, and after seven to eight breaths, raised both of his hands.

“Pu, pu” with two sounds, two pure green wind blades shot out from his hands and cut the small tree into three sections.

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