Chapter 1 A Slap in the Face

Since the last time they witnessed the battle between Chen Xiao and Liu Wuji, Chen Xiao had become a godlike figure in the eyes of Duan San and Xiao Li.

However, Gongsun Yi and the others felt that Duan San overestimated his nephew.

Even a martial spirit like Shi Qi was no match for a single finger from Chen Xiao, so what made Duan San's nephew so special?

Upon hearing his Third Uncle's words, Duan Haoze sneered dismissively.

"Heh heh, Third Uncle, I understand you want to teach me a lesson, but using someone like that to scare me is just boring… How about this, I'll exchange a couple of moves with this guy to see if he's really as powerful as you say!"

Duan Haoze provocatively looked at Chen Xiao, "Hey, kid, do you dare to exchange a couple of moves with me and let me see what your strength really is!"

*Pa!*

Before Duan Haoze could finish speaking, Duan San slapped him hard across the face.

"You ignorant fool, how dare you provoke Mr. Chen! Are you courting death?"

As Duan San spoke, he frantically winked at his nephew.

Duan San's slap appeared to be a punishment, but in reality, he was saving his nephew's life!

However, Duan Haoze completely failed to understand his Third Uncle's good intentions. He covered his face and stared at his Third Uncle in disbelief.

"Third Uncle, you hit me? I've grown up this much, and even my dad wouldn't dare to lay a finger on me. What right do you have to hit me?"

Duan San was about to be driven mad by his foolish nephew. He glared and scolded, "You ignorant fool, my older brother is reluctant to hit you, but I'm not. If you dare to be unreasonable again, get off this mountain immediately!"

Duan Haoze was so angry that he was panting heavily. He didn't dare to do anything to his Third Uncle, but he glared at Chen Xiao with resentment.

*Clang—*

Just then, a loud gong sound suddenly came from the front of the plaza. The sound was so heavy that it was like a sound from beyond the heavens, circling in the air and lingering for a long time.

The martial artists in the plaza instantly surrounded the direction from which the sound came.

Looking out, they saw a huge bronze gong hanging in front of the Hall of Gods.

The bronze gong was more than one person tall, and next to it stood four envoys from the Hall of Gods. One of them held a mallet in his hand and struck the bronze gong heavily again.

*Clang—*

The sound of the gong seemed to strike directly into everyone's hearts.

"Let's go take a look too."

Chen Xiao said, and then stepped forward, walking towards the front. The others immediately followed.

Duan San deliberately lagged behind, grabbed his nephew's arm, and warned in a low voice, "Duan Haoze, let me tell you, even if you poked a hole in the sky, I could help you patch it up. But you must never offend Mr. Chen, otherwise, you won't even know how you died!"

"I know."

Duan Haoze responded, but he was still covering his face, his eyes full of resentment.

Duan San shook his head helplessly. Anyway, he had said what he needed to say. If Duan Haoze continued to be blind and offend Chen Xiao, then he could only wish him good luck.

*Clang—*

After the third sound of the gong, the envoy who struck the gong raised his voice and said, "Silence!"

The sound was deafening, and the plaza instantly became silent.

Seeing that everyone was no longer clamoring, the envoy who struck the gong said loudly, "Fellow martial artists, welcome to the Hall of Gods. The purpose of the martial arts conference held by the Hall of Gods this time is to discover and cultivate potential martial artists."

"This gong is called the Zhentian Gong (Heaven-Shaking Gong), and it can identify the potential of martial artists. Now, please everyone prepare yourselves, line up, and come forward to strike the Zhentian Gong in turn. Martial artists whose potential is qualified can go to the Hall of Gods!"

"In addition, martial artists ranked in the top fifty of the Heavenly Ranking can go directly to the Hall of Gods without taking the test. Time is tight, so the test officially begins now!"

As the envoy who struck the gong finished speaking, a group of martial artists lined up one after another, waiting to be tested.

With the envoys of the Hall of Gods maintaining order, no martial artist dared to cut in line.

Moreover, everyone had a chance to be tested, so there was no need to rush.

Chen Xiao and the others arrived late and could only line up at the end of the queue.

Gongsun Yi, Duan San, and Lu Datou were all in the top fifty of the Heavenly Ranking and could directly enter the Hall of Gods.

However, in order to accompany Chen Xiao and the others, they did not leave early.

"Master, what exactly is this Zhentian Gong?"

Lin Zicong scratched his head and asked.

"Didn't the envoy just say that this Zhentian Gong is a tool for testing the potential of martial artists? It identifies the potential of martial artists based on the size, tone, and timbre of the gong sound."

Gongsun Yi explained.

"Is it that magical? Is this thing accurate?"

Lin Zicong questioned.

"This is the treasure of the Hall of Gods, do you think it's accurate?"

Gongsun Yi directly hit his disciple's head.

Then he introduced that, according to the gong sound, the potential of martial artists can be divided into four grades: Heaven, Earth, Xuan, and Huang, and each grade is further divided into four levels: A, B, C, and D.

Every martial artist who has ever been on the Heavenly Ranking has struck the Zhentian Gong to test their potential. Gongsun Yi's potential is Heaven grade D, which is already considered not low.

Because some martial artists ranked in the top ten of the Heavenly Ranking may not have Heaven grade potential.

Duan San added that among the Four Absolutes of the Heavenly Ranking, one martial artist's potential value reached Heaven grade A. He asked everyone to guess who it was.

Without thinking, everyone said it was Xiao Tianze.

But Duan San shook his head, "Xiao Tianze and I, as well as Yang Potian, are the same. We only have Heaven grade B potential values."

Lin Zicong immediately asked, "Then who is the Heaven grade A?"

Everyone looked at him with a foolish expression before he realized, "Oh… I know, it's Senior Lu Datou!"

Even Chen Xiao didn't expect that among the Four Absolutes of the Heavenly Ranking, the one with the highest potential value was actually the most carefree Lu Datou.

Lu Datou smiled sheepishly, "If you ask me, this Zhentian Gong isn't very accurate. If my potential value is really the highest, then why is my strength ranked last?"

Among the current Four Absolutes of the Heavenly Ranking, except for Lu Datou, the other three have already become Divine Realm martial artists.

Looking at it this way, the Zhentian Gong is indeed not very accurate.

As soon as Lu Datou finished speaking, Duan San rolled his eyes at him, "If you went to fewer brothels, your strength would have surpassed Xiao Tianze long ago!"

"…"

Lu Datou glared at him, but was speechless.

He could only mutter to himself: Don't you understand the principle of not exposing people's weaknesses? You're so old, you've lived your years in vain!

Duan Haoze on the side was eager to try. He felt that his opportunity had come. He believed in his talent and believed that his potential value would definitely kill everyone else.

He couldn't wait to strike that damn broken gong!

At this time, the first martial artist to be tested was already in place. The envoy who struck the gong handed him the mallet. He took it tremblingly, constantly licking his lips, looking extremely nervous.

The envoy who struck the gong signaled that he could start. He closed his eyes and swung his arms around, striking the Zhentian Gong.

The mallet landed heavily on the Zhentian Gong, but the Zhentian Gong was silent and unresponsive…