Chapter 7: Tremor

On the top floor of one of the towering black towers of the Scarlet Dragon Pavilion, an elderly man with white hair and a long beard sat casually before a tea table. Leisurely sipping tea, he was reading a recently acquired intelligence report.

"The one from the Martial Arena was actually assassinated by an enemy?" The old man shook his head in quiet dismay. "Too careless. With his strength, a few more years of cultivation would have allowed him to pass the first level of the Dragon-Seeking Tower. Such a pity."

The Scarlet Dragon Pavilion gathered talents from across the land but never intervened in their growth.

That is to say, no matter what hardships these talents faced—even if it was known that one would be secretly assassinated—the Pavilion would not interfere.

The man from the Martial Arena mentioned by the old man was a prodigy who had already surpassed the tenth level of the True Martial Tower in the True Martial Realm. The Pavilion had kept an eye on his progress, but unfortunately, before his power fully matured, he was assassinated.

Suddenly, hurried footsteps echoed. A black-clad steward appeared before the old man.

"Supervisor, the person currently challenging the True Martial Tower has just passed the eighth level," the steward reported.

"Hmm?" The old man furrowed his brow.

Passing the eighth level was hardly newsworthy. The steward, having served him for years, surely knew his temperament.

"Supervisor, the overseer stationed at the True Martial Pavilion says this person is very likely to pass the twelfth level!" the steward continued.

"What did you say?" The old man's eyes widened in shock.

Passing the tenth level of the True Martial Pavilion already qualified as a top-tier prodigy, worthy of the Pavilion’s ‘Yellow Rank’ token.

Passing the twelfth level?

Such talent in skill would be among the very finest in the Tianyan Empire. Few in a single province could achieve this, and none in Yongning Prefecture had ever reached it in the current era.

This was said by the overseer stationed at the Pavilion.

Though slightly lower in rank and strength than the old man, the overseer had exceptional insight. If he claimed it was highly probable that the challenger would pass the twelfth level, then it was almost certain.

"Go and see for yourself."

The old man rose immediately.

Beneath the True Martial Pavilion’s tower, many practitioners of the True Martial Realm still gathered.

"That person just passed the eighth level?" Su Yuning, standing among the crowd, gazed up at the eight lit tower lamps above. Each lamp represented the completion of a level.

"But he clearly took longer than I did to pass the eighth level. It seems that was his limit. As for the ninth, he probably has no chance," Su Yuning thought to himself.

At that moment—whoosh!

A figure suddenly shot out from the top of another tower and hovered in the air, looking down on the entire True Martial Pavilion.

"Walking on air—a Void-Breaking Realm expert!"

"That’s Yuan Qing, the supervisor of the Scarlet Dragon Pavilion."

"What’s happening inside the True Martial Pavilion that it has drawn Yuan Qing himself?"

Chaos erupted beneath the Pavilion.

"What’s going on?" Su Yuning frowned.

In the Tianyan Empire, a Scarlet Dragon Pavilion supervisor in a prefecture held a status comparable to that of the prefectural governor—one of the highest-ranking figures in Yongning Prefecture.

Such a distinguished person rarely appeared publicly. Even those who passed the tenth level of the Pavilion rarely received his personal attention.

Yet now...

"Yuan Qing clearly came for the True Martial Pavilion. Could it be because of the challenger? Impossible, he hasn't even passed the ninth level yet," Su Yuning mused with a puzzled expression.

Above, the white-haired Yuan Qing stood with arms crossed, surveying the tower below, taking in every detail.

Inside the ninth-level space of the True Martial Tower, a young man dressed in black and wearing a bamboo hat was battling ten silver spear-wielding war automatons.

The True Martial Pavilion’s trials involved fighting these war automatons—ten per level—with their spear skills growing more refined and coordinated at each level.

Their strength matched the challengers from the first level onward.

By the ninth level, their spear techniques were formidable. Even many peak-level Sea-Transforming Realm experts would struggle against ten war automatons working in unison.

Yet Su Xin’s movements were ghost-like, appearing in every corner of the battlefield.

His seemingly casual sword strikes were extraordinarily precise, effortlessly countering the automatons’ deadly spear techniques.

"This is... too easy!" Yuan Qing’s eyes widened in amazement.

Now he understood why the overseer believed Su Xin had a strong chance of passing the twelfth level.

His footwork and swordsmanship were fused perfectly, leaving almost no flaws.

Those ten war automatons, capable of excellent spear techniques, were like infants wielding firewood sticks in his hands.

"Not even on the same level! This kid is simply toying with the automatons," Yuan Qing thought.

In truth, from the sixth level onward, Su Xin had been ‘playing’ with the war automatons. He never exerted much swordsmanship, casually striking and still easily defeating them.

Soon, he passed the ninth level, then the tenth and eleventh.

Though the spear skills of the automatons increased significantly on those levels—especially the eleventh, where each automaton’s skill nearly equaled that of a peak Sea-Transforming Realm expert—the combined assault was terrifying.

Yet Su Xin remained calm, breezily passing the eleventh level.

"Effortless mastery... his understanding of swordsmanship has reached such heights?" Yuan Qing marveled.

At the twelfth level, the automatons’ strength rose again, and Su Xin finally began to apply genuine sword techniques.

When he did, his strikes swept through all ten automatons like a devastating tidal wave, passing the twelfth level.

At the thirteenth, each automaton’s spear skill surpassed 99% of Sea-Transforming Realm experts. Their speed was astonishing, and they effectively trapped Su Xin, leaving no escape.

Only then did Su Xin fight at full strength.

His long sword moved as one with his body, casting sweeping sword shadows like immense mountains, blocking the onslaught of spears.

"Hunyuan Sword Technique!" Yuan Qing raised his eyebrows sharply.

Watching this scene, he thought, "Among the many sword techniques of the Su family, the Hunyuan Sword Technique is renowned as the ultimate defense. Could he be a member of the Su family?"

But just as the thought arose, he dismissed it.

"No, that can’t be."

He fixed his gaze on Su Xin battling the automatons.

The swordsmanship Su Xin just displayed was indeed strikingly similar to the Su family’s Hunyuan Sword Technique. When executed, it felt like an immovable mountain standing firm against a storm of attacks—a technique focused on defense.

Yet now, as Su Xin wielded his sword, it wasn’t a steadfast mountain but a massive grinding wheel, crushing the automatons with brutal force.

He passed the thirteenth level.

At the fourteenth level, Su Xin completely unleashed his power.

His swordsmanship no longer adhered to fixed moves but became unpredictable and mysterious—sometimes a thunderous strike, sometimes a sly assassin’s fatal stab, or a flash so swift it was impossible to see.

The ten automatons launched a frenzied spear assault, but none could withstand his fearsome swordplay.

After a fierce battle, he passed the fourteenth level!

"Has he... already taken that next step?" Yuan Qing’s shock was beyond words. His gaze upon Su Xin was like that of a monster beholding an aberration.

"The war automatons of the fourteenth level already match average Void-Breaking Realm experts in skill. Ten together are almost impossible to defeat by skill alone. This kid, barely an eighth-level True Martial Realm cultivator, has passed the fourteenth level!"

"Eighth-level True Martial Realm, yet his skill surpasses ordinary Void-Breaking Realm experts? What kind of ancient monster trained such a terrifying prodigy!"

"He’s about to attempt the fifteenth level—the final level of the True Martial Pavilion. Could it be…"

Yuan Qing watched with anticipation.

But unfortunately, at the fifteenth level, Su Xin only briefly engaged the ten automatons before withdrawing from the battlefield.

"The fifteenth level is far more difficult than the fourteenth. If I recklessly unleash my strongest strike, I might have a chance to pass. But that move is too conspicuous; if I use it, my identity might be exposed."

"Besides, to pass the fifteenth level by skill alone in the True Martial Realm would be earth-shattering. Not just Yongning Prefecture, but the entire Tianyan Empire would be shaken. I’m still too weak; better not draw such attention."

Su Xin was clear-headed.

Soon, he exited the True Martial Pavilion, having ultimately passed the fourteenth level but stopped at the fifteenth!