Ye Tian was running out of energy, and he already had several wounds from the close encounters when the concubines made sneak attacks while he was battling the rest of the guards. He knew he was running out of options and could only think of one way to escape this scene. It was a martial skill he developed with his dad as guidance during their practice battles. Ye Tian named it “Phoenix’s Wrath!”
Many of the guards, including some of the concubines, have surrounded Ye Tian and are now within a spear distance from him. A spear is thrown at Ye Tian, but he leaps with a black flip high off the ground. His eyes are closed, and small flames begin to twirl around him. While in the air, Ye Tian uses another technique to leap higher into the air while twisting. At the peak, he opens his eyes and huge flames surround him . Those below who can see the flames saw the flames shaped like a flying phoenix.
“Phoenix’s Wrath!”
Ye Tian descends like a falling asteroid with the phoenix flames supporting him.
“BOOOMMMMMM!
The ground cracks, flames start spreading on a wider scale engulfing and suffocating many of the guards and a few of the concubines.
“Arrrgh.”
“Ahhh.”
:Help me!”
“Nooooo”
Within the chaos, a shadow quickly leaps away to the roof and away from the scene. It’s Ye Tian, and he continues to dash further and further away using the escape route he created. Many guards from the outer palace start coming inside to see what was going on while Ye Tian sneaks away stealthily all the way to the outer palace. On the way back, he knocks out one of the guards and strips his armors. He wears the armors and appears like one of the guards and continue to walk towards the outside palace gate.He arrives at the scene only to see everything is in chaos. Most of the guards that were guarding this security check point have ran inside. The chaos helps him escape from the scene.
While running further away from the palace, a whirlpool suddenly appeared and sucked him in. Several moments later, Ye Tian arrived at the underground testing ground. Wang Rong looked at Ye Tian pretty pleased. Ye Tian had suffered some wounds but they were not life threatening, which meant the exam have gone pretty smoothly. Wang Rong looked at the judges, but the judges were still discussing on the matter, which caused Wang Rong to frown. How unusual.
“Ye Tian, go tend to your wounds, and rest in that area until you get your results.” Wang Rond said. Ye Tian nodded and took a seat and focused on healing his injuries.
Meanwhile somewhere inside the building with the judges on sight.
“This young man, Ye Tian, where did he come from? From which noble did he hail from?” One judge asked with a trembling face.
“His martial dao are unparalleled….to be accepted by the water and fire element……born to have a great destiny,” another judge whispered.
“What rank should we give him? There has only been one SS rank throughout history. If we give another, many would be shocked and would question our ability to judge future exams,” the last judge proclaimed.
“Yes, but you saw him with your own eyes and senses. He’s only 15, and he’s already at the supreme dao realm! He’s definitely above the S rank!” another judge countered.
“I agree. And besides, he’s the only one who was able to kill the emperor! Not to mention a bunch of other guards along the way. Passing the exam doesn’t require the death of the emperor, but it’s the performance and combat ability that we look for,” the other judge agreed.
“…..Should we ask the chairman before we announced the grade?” the last judge asked with a worried face.
Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.
After a couple of breaths, another voice appeared followed by a figure from the shadows. A middle-aged man with strands of white hair, wearing a red jacket, leg and arm armors, and black boots. Behind his back were two swords with a terrifying aura that could slice a castle in half. He came forward where the light was visible.
“Chairman!” the judges said and saluted him.
The chairman nodded, and said, “Elders, didn’t I tell you just recently to call me by my usual name, Bao Zi. You are my seniors and I won’t forget that.” The judges could only smile. They were already old and weaker than this junior. Besides the name, Bao Zi, is a bit unusual because it literally means bread.
“Anyways, I’ve watched the exam. We should give this boy an SS rank! I will handle any complaints from the others,” Bao Zi concluded.
“But Chairman Bao Zi, if this boy doesn’t have a background, someone will eventually kill him in fear of his limitless potential,” one elder worriedly said since he was truly concerned for Ye Tian.
“Why do you think he deserves an SS rank?” another elder curiously asked.
“Isn’t that simple? You’ve already mentioned it before. But there is one other thing that stood out to me the most. I have battled many strong warriors throughout my life. Some had extraordinary offense, and some had amazing defense, while some had a very powerful martial skill. This boy has something that no one has,” Bao Zi explained.
“What?”
“What is it?”
Bao Zi waited for a moment, then said seriously, “Innate Counter!”
“Innate Counter? What do you mean?” all the judges were puzzled.
“His ability to counter quickly, decisively, and viciously terrifies me! Did you guys not see how he countered the guards and the concubines every time they attacked him, and all of them turned out either dead or seriously injured with just one counter?” Bao Zi said while his hands trembled.
The judges thought about it deeply for a while trying to recount Ye Tian’s battle and comparing their own personal experiences. They finally agreed in unison, “Yes, you’re right. I have definitely overlooked this part. It’s one of the basic foundations that no one has truly mastered!” one judge said.
“Yes, all the martial skills in this world belongs to offensive skills or defensive skills, but I’ve never seen or heard of a counter skills,” another judge concluded.
“Then, do we all agree Ye Tian is the sole SS rank alive?” the last judge said and was ready to make submit the results.
“Elder, before you announce the rank, we need to make a few changes to ensure the safety of Ye Tian,” Bao Zi proposed.
The judges nodded and they talked over on what changes could be made.
Meanwhile, Ye Tian, Wang Rong, and Ma Qian were sitting in the rest area. They were the only ones at the testing ground for the moment. Wang Rong was annoyed because the results has been taking so long. Ma Qian was praying that Ye Tian would get below an S Rank, although he knew this was almost impossible. Friendly jealousy! Ye Tian continued to focus on healing and is almost healed completely.
A book suddenly flies in front of Ye Tian. Ye Tian opens his eyes with curiosity. The book opens to the first page and starts writing, “Ye Tian – SS Rank Assassin/Bounty Hunter.”
Wang Rong looked with her jaws dropped. Her heartbeat went wild. Then she looked at Ma Qian only to feel disdain, then looks back at Ye Tian. This went on for a bit. Ma Qian, on the other hand, felt some joy and disappointment. He really did feel happy that Ye Tian got the SS rank, but was also sad that he was on a lower level than him. What made it worse was Wang Rong! Looking at him and Ye Tian back and forth, but her expressions when looking at the two were so vastly different.
“Ye Tian, the next time you opened this book, your rank will only be shown as an S rank. This is done for safety reasons,” a judge said without appearing. Ma Qian’s face looked like he just gained hope and almost had a smile. But then…
“However, you’re still an SS rank and the only one that exists. Besides you, your friend, Wang Rong, and the judges, no else knows. We highly suggest that you keep this a secret for your own safety. You may now leave and take the book with you,” the elder concluded.
Ma Qian’s face became gloomy again. All hope was lost. But he still admired Ye Tian.
“I understand elder. Please be at ease. I’m not a talkative person anyway,” Ye Tian replied while cupping his hand.
“Come let’s go outside now, and you can start choosing your missions,” Wang Rong said after stabilizing her heartbeat. She looked at Ye Tian and nodded as a form of approval, then looked at Ma Qian with a faceless expression. Ma Qian took out his book and was about to point his S rank, which was considered top of the creme, but before he was able to , Wang Rong turned around and headed outside. Ma Qian almost screamed and needed to let off steam! Never had an S rank be treated like someone unworthy like he was treated by Wang Rong. All three of then went outside towards the mission centre.
What missions will they choose for their first mission?