Chapter 21: Chapter 21

Jiang Wentian raised his thick grey eyebrows. Although he hadn’t seen anyone during this time, he knew everything that happened in the Southwind Ridge.

“This kiddo wants to show that he has enough talent, but is he pushing himself too hard?”

Jiang Wentian was pretty fond of this grandson. However, to put the big picture into consideration, the east courtyard wasn’t powerful enough to take the responsibility of the Jiang Mansion for the moment. If he entrusted them with the position of the lord of the mansion recklessly, it would only bring the Jiangs to ruin.

That was why he didn’t stop the west courtyard from merging with the east.

On this day he had to make a decision.

At the moment, Jiang Chen loosened his fingers and let the arrow fly.

The moment the arrow left the bowstring, the Bow of the Lost Souls was vibrating due to the great force.

Pah!

Soon people heard the cracking sound of the porcelain bottle, but it was so far away that no one was sure whether it really smashed into pieces. A guy in the late stage of the Gathering Yuan State went to verify the result.

Not only was the record broken, but he shot the arrow much farther than Jiang Feng and Jin Jie.

“Gosh, Jiang Chen! How did you make it?” Jiang Lu ran over with excitement and admiration.

“Easy,” Jiang Chen answered her and looked at Jiang Feng and Jin Jie, who were already speechless.

Not far away, Meng Fei, who came to challenge Jiang Chen, was shocked too. But in no way would he admit that Jiang Chen was better than him. He sneered, “The Southwind Ridge invented this thing for self-entertainment. Who knows how accurate it is?”

“Yeah, you might achieve three thousand steps,” his apprentice sister, Liu Fei, said.

“Certainly.”

Meng Fei nodded without any hesitation. He was also considering taking a try, but he wasn’t very sure of himself, so he didn’t want to risk it.

“It’s only two thousand steps. That means that it’s not very difficult. I can do that, too. If you are really good, try to shoot the farthest target located three thousand steps away.” Jin Jie was reluctant to admit her defeat. She was challenging Jiang Chen.

Jiang Chen glanced at the porcelain bottle that was three thousand steps away, which he had to squint to see, no bigger than a black spot.

“All right.”

Jiang Chen placed another arrow on his bow and aimed at the porcelain bottle.

When one drew the string of the Bow of the Lost Souls, the force he gathered wasn’t his genuine yuan, but the so-called strength of the soul. It was like filling a well with an infinite amount of water.

The more you filled in, the greater the force was, and the farther the arrow reached.

Jiang Chen didn’t feel tired at all when he was shooting the porcelain bottle that was two thousand steps away. This meant that he could reach farther.

He once again loosened his fingers and the arrow flew out like a mustang out of control.

Many people stood up, doubting whether the target would be hit.

Pah!

However, they heard the cracking sound once again.

Seeing this, Meng Fei totally gave up his intention to try.

Jiang Chen smiled and handed the bow to Jin Jie. He said, “Won’t you try the second arrow as well? Now, go ahead.”

“Hum, these are only toys for children. Do you really take them so seriously?” Jin Jie finally asked.

Her words provoked dissatisfaction among the disciples of the Jiang Mansion. Even Jiang Feng couldn’t defend her any more.

As to whether the bow of the lost souls counted or not, the Jiang Mansion drew the conclusion from decades of experience. All of those who got the best results in the annual evaluation would achieve something greater in the next few years.

It was obvious that Jin Jie just didn’t want to say uncle, but it was really annoying.

Suddenly, Murong Feng from the Swordquest School stood up and said, “Lord Jiang, thank you for your hospitality. I have an iron sword here. It’s the Skyquest Sword of the Swordquest School. It has some locks in it and can examine one’s talent in swordsmanship or martial arts techniques. The more you can draw the sword out of the sheath, the greater your talent is. We can use it to see the talent of the Jiangs’ young generation.”

“It sounds great. We can use it to verify the value of the bow of the lost souls.” When she heard that thing was from the Swordquest School, Jin Jie totally changed her attitude.

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“Thank you. We really appreciate your suggestion.”

Jiang Wentian gave it a thought and concluded that the Swordquest School meant well, so he took her suggestion pleasantly.

“You are welcome. The Swordquest School can use it repeatedly, so it won’t cause us any loss.” Murong Feng glanced at Jiang Chen while speaking.

She said, “I am also curious about the potential of the young generation of Jiangs. Anyone who can draw two-thirds of the Skyquest Sword out of the sheath satisfies one of the requirements to be a disciple of the Swordquest School.”

“What?!”

Even Meng Fei walked over, interested to try the Skyquest Sword, not to mention numerous other disciples of the Jiangs.

But there were only two Skyquest Swords, so there were even fewer chances to try than in the case of the bow of the lost souls.

“This is a test tool of the Swordquest School. Do you dare try it?” Jin Jie, with a provocative expression, turned around to look over to Jiang Chen.

“You are so childish. If this time you lose again, how will you excuse yourself?”

“That is absolutely impossible!” Jin Jie stared at him and shouted angrily.

“Are you sure?” Jiang Chen smiled noncommittally.

Jin Jie was provoked by him. She came forward in a rude manner, pushed away the first disciple who was trying to draw the sword, and put her hand on the handle of the sword.

Before the disciple who was pushed away by her could complain, Jin Jie had already started to exert her force.

The sheath of the ordinary-looking Skyquest Sword seemed attached to the sword. She was dragging the sword little by little instead of drawing it.

Jin Jie’s face flushed with exertion, but only a bit of the sword was dragged out. She was dragging slower and slower and finally stopped when half of the blade was out.

Jin Jie shouted and relaxed her grip. The blade retracted into the sheath right away.

“Did I draw out two-thirds of the sword?” Jin Jie hastened to ask.

“Yes. You’ve satisfied one of the requirements to be the disciple of the Swordquest School. If you’re interested, you can continue with the other tests. If anyone can draw the whole sword out, they can join our school right away.” Murong Feng said with smile.

This result was good enough for Jin Jie. If it were so easy to join, the Swordquest School wouldn’t be the Swordquest School.

Her arrogance showed again on her face. She looked to Jiang Chen and shouted, “Now, do you dare compete with me?”

“Why not?”

Jiang Chen smiled and came forward quickly. He extended his hands to grab the handle of the iron sword.

The scene ignited everyone’s excitement, especially people from the Jiang Mansion.

Jiang Chen had done so well with the bow of the lost souls. If he failed to draw out the Skyquest Sword, it would mean the test with the Bow of the Lost Souls wasn’t accurate at all.

For the outsiders there, of course the Swordquest School had more credibility than the Jiang Mansion. And it was natural for them to trust the test tool of the Swordquest School.

Jiang Chen couldn’t afford any failure. He grabbed the handle with his left hand and started to exert his force.

The Skyquest Sword that seemed to weigh half a ton in others’ hands looked different in his. The sword was drawn out of the sheath quickly and smoothly.

There was no obstruction at all in the whole process. It happened so fast that when everyone came to themselves, the Skyquest Sword was already in Jiang Chen’s hand.

“Eh, what’s this?” It was even surprising for Jiang Chen himself.

“It’s out?!”

It was the first time for the people of the area to see the blade of the Skyquest Sword. Not only the onlookers, but also the two disciples of the Swordquest School, were astonished.

“You just said that if anyone could draw out the Skyquest Sword entirely, he could be a disciple of the Swordquest School, didn’t you?”

“That’s right.” Murong Feng nodded and kept looking at Jiang Chen.

“Jiang Chen, how old are you?” Li Lie asked.

“Sixteen.”

“You can become a disciple of the Swordquest School. Are you interested in joining us?” Murong Feng offered him the olive branch, and smiled.