Volume One: The Youngest Among Three Hundred Chapter Sixty-Four: The Arrival of Wealth

The man’s name was Song Jiu, heir to the Bai Long Manor, the most powerful sect in the martial world. From a young age, his brilliance shone fiercely among his peers, and now he possessed the strength of a mid-fourth rank Mountain-Opening Realm cultivator.

At first, he responded swiftly to the commotion, but upon recognizing the speaker as Chen Chang’an, his demeanor turned indifferent and dismissive. “You? I made it quite clear just now. Those who could threaten me have all been struck by the Shadow-Fixing Darts.”

“In other words, anyone not hit by the darts is nothing but a worthless weakling. Even if you all rush me at once, it would be futile.”

“Hmph, how arrogant!”

“Yeah, if we all swarm you, your own mother wouldn’t recognize you after we’re done.”

The martial artists who hadn’t been struck by the Shadow-Fixing Darts initially thought Song Jiu had missed, or perhaps their luck was simply good, so they were smug. They hadn’t expected it was merely disdain.

His words were unambiguous—an open provocation.

Eight of them clenched their fists with a crack, each unleashing their own techniques and weapons, attacking from every angle.

“You don’t seem to believe me,” Song Jiu remarked, lips curled in a faint smile. He left afterimages where he stood, and in the blink of an eye, appeared before the foremost attacker, gently pushing with his palm.

“Smack!”

The man fell instantly.

“Smack!”

Before anyone could react, another fell.

The sound of bodies hitting the ground came one after another. From start to finish, less than six seconds passed. All eight lay sprawled, suffering only minor numbness and pain, unharmed. Evidently, Song Jiu’s control was precise and ingenious.

Dust on the ground rose in circles as Song Jiu landed lightly, hands clasped behind his back. “If the Black-Clad Guards hadn’t forbidden causing casualties, you’d all be corpses now.”

“I said, those who can still move are merely useless. Would you like another try?”

The scene was dead silent. No one spoke. Song Jiu’s speed was such that none had seen his moves. How could they fight back?

Ruan Jingchu tried to forcefully break the Shadow-Fixing Darts’ binding with her own Mountain-Opening Realm cultivation, but after several failed attempts, only her stamina and inner strength were drained.

“Hmph!”

Song Jiu sneered, turning to Chen Chang’an. “What about you? Do you still want to try?”

Chen Chang’an didn’t answer. Instead, he walked up to a martial artist immobilized by the dart and drew his sword, the blade gleaming as he pointed it forward.

Ruan Jingchu was clearly taken aback by his stubbornness, and warned loudly, “Chen Chang’an, you’re only at the peak of the Body-Training Realm. You haven’t even touched the threshold of the Soul-Refining Realm. You can’t possibly beat him!”

“Don’t waste your strength!”

With a deep breath, Chen Chang’an swept his sword, releasing a faint blue arc of sword energy that traveled seven or eight meters before fading away. He spoke boldly, “Whether I can win or not—only fighting will tell!”

All the martial artists were shocked. Wasn’t he only at the Body-Training Realm? How could he release sword energy? That was something only those who had awakened innate techniques or reached the Mountain-Opening Realm could do!

Even Ruan Jingchu was astounded. If she could move, she would surely be rubbing her eyes in disbelief.

Ye Lin exclaimed in disbelief, “Am I blind, or are you?”

Song Jiu’s brows furrowed, his attitude becoming more serious. It made no sense—a man who had just broken through the Body-Training Realm, not yet entered the Soul-Refining Realm, could wield sword energy?

“Interesting,” he murmured.

Chen Chang’an met his gaze. “The Black-Clad Guards have a rule: causing casualties leads to immediate elimination. So a death match would be to neither of our benefit. Let’s duel one-on-one. These coins—whoever wins, takes them.”

“How laughable. You, a Body-Training cultivator, think you can trouble me? Well, I’m bored anyway, so I’ll play along.”

With a swift movement, he drew a sword to his hand with his internal energy. “Come, whoever drops their sword first loses.”

Before the word “lose” had finished escaping his lips, he launched himself at Chen Chang’an with blinding speed.

Ruan Jingchu’s pretty face twisted like she’d tasted bitter melon. In her eyes, the gap between them was three major realms; victory or defeat should be obvious.

Yet, the next moment, her face unfurled in shock, her clear eyes reflecting Chen Chang’an blocking Song Jiu’s attack head-on.

“That... that sword—so cunning and tricky, but he blocked it?” she couldn’t help but marvel.

Ahead, Song Jiu’s brow twitched. “Fascinating. Under my third-rank Opening Technique, no one has ever resisted this sword. You are the exception!”

---

Chen Chang’an waggled his brows. “Was it difficult? I found it quite easy.”

“It certainly was easy.” Song Jiu spoke with a hint of contempt. His left hand gathered energy and struck at Chen Chang’an’s face, careful to restrain his strength—after all, he couldn’t violate the assessment’s rules.

Chen Chang’an met him with a technique of his own, his middle and index fingers forming a sword shape, launching forward with the Immortal-Slaying Heart Method to counter Song Jiu’s palm.

“Bang!”

“Bang! Bang!”

Bursts of energy exploded, masculine forces clashing and producing layers of mist.

Chen Chang’an dazzled everyone again.

Was he really only at the Body-Training Realm?

The peak of Body-Training Realm matching the Mountain-Opening Realm?

This world felt utterly unreal!

Chang’an’s tactics ran deep; might as well head back to the countryside!

Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?

Ye Lin was dumbfounded. “I suspect he was pretending all along…”

Song Jiu, retreating step by step, felt his arms grow numb and his spine break out in cold sweat.

Unlike the others’ shock, he felt regret. He should never have excluded Chen Chang’an from the Shadow-Fixing Darts at the start.

“Damn it!”

Song Jiu steadied himself, then aimed his sword at Chen Chang’an once more.

This time, Chen Chang’an abandoned his fingers, channeling the Immortal-Slaying Heart Method through his iron sword.

“Rip!”

“Whoosh!”

Both kicked off, charging at each other, drawing a straight line through swirling dust. At a distance of barely five meters, they leapt almost simultaneously.

Two arcs crossed at the peak, exchanging swords as they landed in each other’s place.

Same posture, same silhouette.

But Chen Chang’an’s clothes were torn, his sword still in hand.

Song Jiu’s clothes remained intact, but his hand was empty.

Ruan Jingchu was ecstatic, stumbling over her words in shock. “Chen... Chen Chang’an actually... really won, knocking the sword from Song Jiu’s hand!”

Her mind drifted to that day at the entrance of Fragrant Pavilion—had she not intervened, could he have dealt with Liu Yingfeng just as easily?

“My penchant for wielding my sword to help others may have been... unnecessary!” she mused.

Ye Lin’s teeth chattered. “With strength like this, do I even need to establish myself first when joining the Black-Clad Guards?”

A genuine doubt arose.

At the back of the martial artists, Liu Yingfeng looked on with envy and relief. “Good thing I withdrew at Fragrant Pavilion that day. As expected, he deserves to be the Princess’s friend.”

“Compared to him, Lord Ye of the Ministry of Justice is far weaker.”

Song Jiu’s meridians twitched violently, veins bulging on his forehead, unable to accept that as a Mountain-Opening cultivator, he’d been disarmed by a mere Body-Training novice.

Absurd, laughable... yet it had happened.

“Very well. I held back to avoid causing harm, while you gave it your all. But all you managed was knocking the sword from my hand!” Song Jiu forced himself to speak calmly, suppressing his frustration.

Chen Chang’an scoffed inwardly.

Others breathed a sigh of relief, murmuring in agreement that Song Jiu must have held back to comply with the Black-Clad Guards’ rules.

Chen Chang’an, on the other hand, knew the gap was vast and surely used his full strength from the start.

If the result was Chen Chang’an’s ten parts against Song Jiu’s two or three, it was not so surprising.

Ye Lin felt a bit better.

---

Ruan Jingchu nodded lightly in acceptance, but stubbornly remarked, “No matter what, Song Jiu, you lost, didn’t you?”

Song Jiu slowly turned. “Yes, I lost. But the coins... are still mine.”

Before he finished, nine stones around Chen Chang’an rose mysteriously into the air, as if alive, hovering around him. Their shadows, cast by sunlight, formed nine black dots that outlined Chen Chang’an’s silhouette.

Song Jiu smiled. “That spot was where I stood just now. The stones are imbued with my aura, which is essentially spiritual energy, so I can control them. This technique is called ‘Fixing Shadows with Shadows.’”

“Chen Chang’an, you’re still too inexperienced to compete with me.”

With that, he flashed before Wen Jin, ripping off her outer garment and threatening coldly, “Open the storage space holding the coins, or I’ll strip you naked before everyone.”

“You… you…” Wen Jin’s eyes brimmed with tears, biting her lip in humiliation and fear. For a young woman, chastity and shame were unbearable.

Ruan Jingchu cursed, “Song Jiu, you’re the son of Bai Long Manor’s master, yet you behave so shamelessly!”

Song Jiu replied indifferently, “I only care about the assessment and joining the Black-Clad Guards—nothing else matters.”

“The rules only forbid causing casualties during the contest, not removing clothing.”

“Rip!”

He turned fierce, tearing off Wen Jin’s skirt, exposing her undergarments. Martial artists nearby cast greedy, lecherous gazes her way.

Ah, the rotten nature of men.

“Ah!” Wen Jin screamed, helplessly turning to Ruan Jingchu for help. “Sister Ruan!”

Ruan Jingchu was furious yet helpless, closing her eyes in despair. “Open it!”

“I’m sorry, Sister Ruan, Sister Lan!”

Wen Jin meekly complied, opening a gap in her storage space with her thoughts.

“Hahaha!” Song Jiu laughed aloud. “Excellent, excellent! Now that I have your coins, I’ll search the forest for more. This time, I’ll surely take first place in the assessment.”

“Of course, don’t be too discouraged. With so many groups likely without coins, if everyone ends up tied for last, they can’t eliminate all of you.”

“Brother Song is so mighty!”

“Indeed, Brother Song is the best!”

The three teammates assigned by lot grinned from ear to ear, rushing forward to curry favor.

Song Jiu was pleased, smiling at them. “Yes, being in my group is your luck.”

“Yes! Yes! Yes!”

“It’s a blessing, Brother Song!”

After stowing away the seven hundred coins from Wen Jin’s storage, Song Jiu instructed his teammates, “Search the others for any extras. Then we’ll head to the forest for more. As for them, let them bask in the sun atop the peak.”

“Yes!”

His teammates moved to comply.

“Wait!” Chen Chang’an called out.

Song Jiu turned, impatience growing. “What, still trying to resist?”

Chen Chang’an countered, “You said the stones around me carry your aura, so you can control them?”

“Yes,” Song Jiu replied.

Chen Chang’an’s voice rose, “If that’s the case, then all the coins on Qinghua Mountain are mine. You can’t take them!”

“What do you mean?” Song Jiu was on edge, noticing that at this moment, Chen Chang’an’s eyes burned with confidence, almost radiating light.

“No special meaning.”

Chen Chang’an gave him a brief answer, then invoked a secret technique he’d learned from Peach Blossom at Fragrant Pavilion, calling out toward the lush expanse below Qinghua Mountain, “Money, come!”

“Money, come!”