The Nine Cauldrons
chapter-80

In the morning, the glow from the sun scattered across the entire school ground.

However, the six thousand Black Armored Soldiers were like a deep, icy cold, pitch-black swamp, causing the entire school ground to feel eerie. As they walked, the three hundred people, who were initially engaging in fervent discussion, became quiet. With the current atmosphere, no one dared to speak a word.

"Hm?" Teng Qingshan felt as though a boulder was pressing down on his chest. He adjusted his breathing slightly and regained his composure.

"I'm not afraid of anyone in the Black Armored Army. However, when all six thousand of them are together, their aura suppresses me even when they are still far away." Teng Qingshan remained silent as well and followed the group as they headed for the school grounds. They walked along the pavement laid with limestone.

When three hundred over of them entered the school ground——

Quite a number of the six thousand Black Armored Soldiers turned their heads. Some of them looked towards the three hundred new members with gazes of confidence, while some of them looked at the three hundred new members with gazes of provocation.

To be able to become a member of the Black Armored Army was something that was worth being proud of.

"Haha..." A loud hearty laughter suddenly rang above the school ground. In the distance, four men and women dressed in black long robes walked in a row to the front of the school ground. The one who laughed was one of the old men dressed in black.

The old man dressed in black had an aquiline nose, silvery-white hair, and a sharp gaze.

"Qingfeng, I heard that there are nine First Rated Warriors in this year's entrance exam?" The old man with silver hair and was dressed in black said from afar. "I wonder how many out of these nine would be able to take up the eight Centurion vacancies in our Black Armored Army. If none of them can claim the position, it'd be interesting."

The middle-aged man in a gray robe who had been leading Teng Qingshan and the others all this while bowed slightly and said with a smile, "Second Martial Uncle, there are some amazing nine First Rated Warriors this time. You'll have to tell the Centurions under you to watch out."

The four people in black robes walked alongside each other. Besides the silver-haired elder dressed in a black robe, there were three other people, two men, and one lady. One of the two men was nine Chi tall and had a very muscular body. His face seemed to have a metallic glow as if it was forged from metal.

The other man had a height of close to eight Chi. He appeared to be slightly younger and had a sharp gaze. As his gaze landed on the Black Armored Army, all the troops could not help but lower their heads, afraid of meeting his gaze.

As for the only lady out of the four, as she was wearing black robes, no one could tell how her figure was. However, she had a height of over seven Chi (1.75 meters). This height was already considered to be very tall amongst ladies. She was fair-skinned and had an ice-cold gaze as sharp as a blade, causing others to be extremely wary of her.

"Junior Martial Brother, although the ones representing out Black Armored Army are the eight weakest Centurions, they aren't existences which those First Rated Warriors will be able to defeat easily." The tallest strong man with a height of nine Chi spoke out in a loud voice and his voice resonating in his chest.

At this moment, four black-robed people walked up to the platform on the school ground.

There were five chairs placed on the platform and the four people in black robes took their seats on each side, leaving the seat in the center vacant.

"Paying respect to the Commanders!" Suddenly, a deep voice rang out from among the Black Armored Army.

Suddenly, swoosh!

All six thousand members of the Black Armored Army uniformly knelt down on one knee. The clashing sound of their heavy armor was ear-piercing. All six thousand of them shouted at the same time, "Paying respect to the Commanders!" However, out of the six thousand people, several tens of people who stood at the edge only bowed slightly without going down to their knees.

"Rise." The one who spoke was that silver-haired old man in a black robe.

All six thousand members of the Black Armored Army stood up at the same time.

"The four of them..." Teng Qingshan observed the four people in black robes carefully. "They should be the four Commanders of the Black Armored Army! They are the true top-notch Postliminary experts that ordinary First Rated Warriors were no match against."

A hint of battle intent surged in Teng Qingshan's heart.

Lifting up a ten thousand Jin boulder was a limit!

Upon reaching this limit, one would be considered a First Rated Warrior and would be considered to be at the 'Pinnacle of the Postliminary Realm'. However, as long as one had a good inner strength cultivation manual and cultivated for several decades, it wouldn't be difficult for he or she to reach the pinnacle of the Postliminary Realm. This also resulted in there being too many experts at the pinnacle of the Postliminary Realm in this world!

The three brothers of the Iron Mountain Gang's Wang Clan were all experts who have reached the pinnacle of the Postliminary Realm!

The same went for Master Hong Si!

That 'Li Yanshan' who had been killed by Teng Qingshan was also an expert who has reached the pinnacle of the Postliminary Realm!

There were so many of them in just a small Yi City and there were even more within sects.

There were nine First Rated Warriors who had taken the sect's entrance examination this time around! Through this, one could imagine the number of experts who had reached the Postliminary Realm on the Land of the Nine Prefectures. However, not all experts who had reached the Postliminary Realm possessed the exact same capabilities and power as some people practiced unique inner strength cultivation method and some had extremely talented skills.

Some could unleash an explosive strength of several ten thousand Jin instantly!

For example, although Teng Qingshan had not reached the Innate Realm and was only considered a powerful Postliminary Expert, he had the ability to easily kill a group of First Rated Warriors.

"The highest position in the Black Armored Army is the Commander! I wonder how strong they are when compared to me." Teng Qingshan did not dare to be too arrogant.

After all, the Land of the Nine Prefectures had a history of several thousand years. There exist people with great mastery in the use of the inner strength. For example, that 'Master Hong Si' from the White Horse Gang had once fended off Teng Qingshan's 'stones.' It was very difficult to tell what skills the four Commanders, who were even more powerful than Master Hong Si, possessed.

******

During this brief moment of contemplation, three other silhouettes appeared from the distance. The four Commanders of the Black Armored Army who sat high up on the platform immediately got to their feet, bowed slightly, and said, "Paying respect to the Sovereign!"

"Paying respect to the Sovereign!" The middle-aged man in a gray robe and the several dozen members that stood on the extreme edge of the Black Armored Army also bowed.

"Paying respect to the Sovereign!" All other six thousand members of the Black Armored Army knelt down on one of their knees.

Out of the three, the middle-aged man in the lead was wearing a white long robe and had faint smile on his face. His skin was fair and clean and as he walked on the path, he appeared as if he was floating in the air. A young man and young lady stood on his right and left. That young man was wearing green embroidered clothes. He was constantly looking everywhere, as though he was up to some tricks.

That young lady was wearing a light yellow satin clothes that fluttered in the wind. She looked just like an ethereal fairy, without a hint of impurity in her eyes. The corner of her lips curved into a faint smile, and as she walked, she exuded a unique charm that attracted many.

A fairy who had descended from the heavens?

"What a beautiful lady." Even with Teng Qingshan's temperament, his heart skipped a beat when he saw this young lady.

Teng Qinghu and the others were all completely dumbstruck.

The middle-aged man in a white robe walked up with the young man and lady. He sat on the chair in the center while the young man and lady stood behind him.

The white-robed middle-aged man exchanged a few casual words with the four Commanders and then turned toward the Black Armored Army. He smiled and said, "Everyone, rise!"

"Thank you, Sovereign."

This person was the person with absolute authority within the Jiangning County. He was the Sovereign of Gui Yuan Sect——Zhuge Yuanhong!

"The Black Armored Army of Gui yuan Sect will recruit powerful experts once every half a year! This time around, there are a total of nine First Rated Warriors and thirty-eight Second Rated Warriors. What astonished me most is that... one of the First Rated Warrior is only sixteen years old!"

When Zhuge Yuanhong said this, the Black Armored Soldiers could not help but start to murmur among themselves, despite having a good military discipline.

"Sixteen years old? How is that possible?"

"A genius that's like our Young Sovereign?"

...

"Hmph," the cold-looking young man, who was one of the five seated on the platform, snorted and the Black Armored Army immediately became silent.

Zhuge Yuanhong smiled and said, "Second Martial Uncle, you'll preside the contention for the position of the Centurion."

"Yes, Sovereign." The silver-haired black-robed old man immediately stood up, looked down and said in a loud voice, "Our six thousand Black Armored Soldiers are divided into four troops and there are a total of sixty Centurions! Every half a year, the two weakest out of the fifteen Centurions in each troop would be removed from their positions!"

"A total of eight Centurions from all four troops will go up against the nine First Rated Warriors to fight for the eight Centurion positions." The black-robed elder's words caused the three hundred over people to begin discussing softly among themselves.

Teng Qingshan also finally understood the rules for the contention of the Centurion positions.

The current eight weakest Centurions would be fighting against the nine First Rated Warriors for the eight spots.

"Seventeen people will be fighting for the eight Centurion positions. Those who failed will immediately become sergeants!" The black-robed old man said coldly to the people below. "Niu Zhan! Hong Xingyang! Xia Shuo! Situ Ning..." The black-robed old man called out eight names in one breath.

"The eight of you, handover your Cyan Treading-in-Snow Horses and Hematite Heavy Armor." the old man said coldly.

Immediately, the eight people, who stood at the edge of the six thousand Black Armored Army, all walked out with a precious horse and a set of dark red heavy armor placed on the horse. The expressions on the eight individuals' faces were unpleasant. It was obvious that they felt embarrassed.

"The nine First Rated Warriors, come forth as well." The black-robed old man ordered.

"Go on, go join those eight Centurions." The gray-robed middle-aged man immediately urged Teng Qingshan and the others.

The cool Gong Yangqing, mischievous Wu Man, Teng Qingshan who had the Reincarnation Spear on his back... The nine First Rated Warriors walked up before the Black Armored Army and stood next to eight other Centurions.

"The eight of them are the weakest amongst sixty Centurions!" The black-robed old man looked toward Teng Qingshan and the other eight people. "However, not many of you can win against them! It is impossible to become the Centurion of the Black Armored Army if you don't have some kind of capability."

Amongst the First Rated Warriors, which of them did not display a hint of arrogance?

Who would admit their defeat without a fight?

Teng Qingshan and the others remained silent. All night of them looked towards the eight Centurion with a glint of battle intent.

"The competition is very simple!" The black-robed old man said in a loud voice. "On the school grounds, there are eight arenas that have been set up. Niu Zhan, Hong Xingyan, and the other six Centurions will stand in an arena. The nine of you can challenge them. If you were to win, you'll take their spots in the arena. If you fail, you can still challenge another person! The seventeen of you each have two chances to challenge! When the challenge is over, the eight individuals that manage to stay in the arena will become the eight Centurions!"

"Remember, you mustn't harm each other's lives during the challenge. Those who intentionally kill will die!" the black-robed old man said coldly.

There were many experts present and it would be easy to tell if one had killed intentionally.

"Alright, Niu Zhan, the eight of you can head up to the arenas." The black-robed elder ordered. At this moment, the eight Centurions were observing the nine First Rated Warriors as they walked toward the eight arenas.

However, Teng Qingshan's gaze landed on that strong man who seemed to have the figure of a black bear.

It was because…

He was someone familiar!

It was that Black Armored Army's Centurion 'Xia Shuo,' the one who had done an act of justice at the Canvass Lunar Restaurant.

"Brother Xia." Teng Qingshan said and smiled as he walked over.

"You are..." Xia Shuo's eyes suddenly popped wide open. "You're that young man at the Canvass Lunar Restaurant two days ago... You're a First Rated Warrior?"