Chapter 147: Nine Chimes!

"Let's have a look first..." said Fang Qingyao hesitantly.

"Stop hesitating!” whispered her maidservant. “Haven't you seen that Duke Fang has also joined an immortal sect? If you become a cultivator, you'll have the chance to be with Duke Fang in the future..."

Blushing, Fang Qingyao scolded, "Don’t talk nonsense!"

"You know, Young Lady, Duke Fang hasn't been to the Hall of Compassion for a long time, and whenever I see you, you’re always daydreaming. Hmm, I wonder who’s always on your mind...?" said her maid teasingly.

"Quiet!” Fang Qingyao frantically shut her down and pointed toward the bell. “Look, Fairy Yu is about to start her test!"

All eyes were on Fairy Yu. Like Fang Chen, she was well-known within the capital.

Even the court officials had heard of her. After all, she was the top courtesan of the Jade Immortal Boat.

Standing before the Spiritual Measuring Bell, Fairy Yu cast Fang Chen a glance. Then, she raised her dainty arm and struck the bell with her fist!

Clang!

The Spiritual Measuring Bell rang.

Fairy Yu continued to strike it.

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!

The repeated chimes of the bell filled the plaza.

"Four chimes!"

The crowd got excited! This meant that Fairy Yu had the qualifications to join an immortal sect! She would be a legitimate fairy from here on out!

Several women in the crowd with a background similar to that of Fairy Yu secretly envied her.

Clang!

Clang!

The bell had rung six times so far! The expressions of those in the crowd gradually became solemn.

Jin Nan and the others couldn't help but stare at Fairy Yu. It was impressive that Fairy Yu had managed to get the bell to ring six times; it signified that she was an intermediate talent.

Behind Fire Cloud Immortal, the sixth princess clenched her fists as she looked at Fairy Yu with a grim expression.

How dare that woman surpass me in talent?!

Clang!

The bell chimed again! This meant Fairy Yu was a superior talent!

The plaza fell into an immediate silence. They never expected that the third superior talent would turn out to be Fairy Yu!

"She belongs to our Heavenly Southern Sect," announced Elder Jin Nan instantly.

However, the bell was struck again right afterward.

Clang!

The crowd was dumbfounded.

Eight chimes?

This was the first time the bell had rung eight times for someone since the spiritual measuring began!

Did that mean Fairy Yu was an upper superior talent!?

The farmer who was holding an old mother hen in her arms had an intense look in her eyes. She snapped her head toward Elder Jin Nan and declared, "Jin Nan, she belongs to me. I still need one more closed-door disciple. If you compete with me for her, I'll fight you!"

Daoist Ya and the others exchanged glances.

What a pity.

They were of no match to the Heavenly Southern Sect and the Spirit Beast Valley, so they could only watch this gem fall into someone else's hands.

Elder Jin Nan was shocked. An eight-chime talent was comparable to those two immortal talents who had emerged after the Spiritual Marrow was born in the Flame Empire!

"This girl’s talent is really remarkable," mumbled Fang Chen to himself.

Elder Jin Nan couldn't care less what the farmer wanted.

He immediately started arguing with her. "No, she belongs to our Heavenly Southern Sect!"

As both of them fell into a heated argument, the bell rang once more.

Clang...

Everyone was stunned. Even the two people who had been yelling suddenly froze, their words stuck in their throats. They stared blankly at Fairy Yu.

"N-Nine chimes? In my entire life, I've never seen anyone with a nine-chime talent. How many years has it been since the Flame Empire last produced such a talent? Three hundred years? Five hundred years?" muttered Daoist Ya in utter disbelief.

After a moment of shock, a series of cheers erupted, cutting into the silence. While the commoners didn’t understand such profound principles, they knew that Fairy Yu was from Grand Xia, and that was all that mattered. They were just extremely happy for her and for Grand Xia.

"C-continue..." stammered Ancestor Xia Yu.

"I didn't realize I was so talented,” mumbled Fairy Yu.

Then, she threw another punch, but this time, the spiritual measuring bell did not make any sound.

"Nine is your limit. To be able to make the bell ring nine times, you’re undoubtedly a top talent of this world,” said Elder Jin Nan, rising from his seat. "Young lady, are you willing to join our Heavenly Southern Sect?"

It was then that another voice said, "There’s nothing good about the Heavenly Southern Sect. Come to my Spirit Beast Valley, and I will accept you as my closed-door disciple." It was the farmer. She had stood up from her seat too.

Xia Yu’s gaze was intense.

Seemingly having thought of something, he chimed in, saying, "Fairy Yu, I am also in the Heavenly Southern Sect. If you join us, we can look after one another."

However, Fairy Yu ignored him.

She instead looked over at Fang Chen and asked, "My lord, which sect do you think I’m fit for?"

Everyone was slightly stunned, and their expressions became strange. Xia Yu felt disgusted; he looked at Fairy Yu and Fang Chen as if he had eaten dogshit.

Before Fang Chen could answer, an icy voice beat him to it. "Why ask a mere mortal like him? What does he understand? That said, with your talent, you have the qualifications to join my sect."

Everyone subconsciously turned toward the source of the voice. A woman clad in purple was standing in the void, perched on an immortal sword with a fiery gaze.

She was using sword manipulation...

Once again, everyone was flabbergasted by what they were seeing. They had witnessed many strange things today, but flying using sword manipulation was something they had only heard about in ancient books. It was a totally unexpected sight.

This shocked them more than when they saw Daoist Yun He!

Jin Nan’s face fell. "Fellow Daoist..."

It was possible for all cultivators, with the exception of those at the Foundation-Building Realm, to fly using sword manipulation. Even those at the Qi-Refining Realm could do it, as it depended on the depth of one’s cultivation as well as the quality of one’s flying sword. So, Jin Nan wasn't exactly shocked by this scene.

"Are you talking to me?" the woman in purple asked, glancing at Jin Nan.

At the next moment, a monstrous aura swept out from her body. With a thud, Jin Nan fell to the ground, kneeling. He found himself suddenly planted into the ground due to the unbelievable pressure weighing down on him; he couldn’t move a single muscle!

"Golden Core?!"

The crowd gasped in surprise. They suddenly couldn’t wrap their heads around the situation at all.

It took a while for Jin Nan to react.

His face was pallid as he stuttered, "S-senior..."

"That’s right," the woman in purple said.

She chuckled lightly and retracted her aura. Feeling the pressure disappear, Jin Nan scrambled to his feet.

However, before Jin Nan could speak, the woman continued, "You’re right to say that nine chimes is the limit for that bell. Unfortunately, your spiritual measuring bell isn’t good enough to measure talent accurately. If you’re not even aware of that, please stop misleading others."

After admonishing them, the woman in purple looked at Fairy Yu.

The woman smiled. "Young Lady, would you like to be my disciple?"

Fairy Yu's eyes flickered. She could sense that the woman's cultivation level surpassed that of Jin Nan and the others. However, she still wasn’t sure.

She looked to Fang Chen, who nodded his head in agreement.

Seeing that, Fairy Yu gracefully bowed and replied, "I would."

"Good, then come with me," said the woman in purple.

𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

She waved her hand, and Fairy Yu was immediately enveloped in spiritual energy and transported to the woman’s side. Together, they stepped on the flying sword, leaving everyone amazed at this scene once again.

It was then that Fang Chen clasped his hands and said, "Senior, please wait."

"What's the matter?" asked the woman in purple indifferently.

"I would like to know the name of your sect," requested Fang Chen politely.

"Who are you to ask this?" scoffed the woman.

Just as she was about to leave, Fairy Yu said hurriedly, “Senior, please tell him.”

"You and him are...?”

The woman scrutinized Fairy Yu for a second, then she shook her head slightly. “You’re destined to be a sword immortal. You should not be entangled with mortals.”

The purple-clad woman turned to Jin Nan and the others and said, “I came just to see the birth of the Spiritual Marrow. I only ran into this young lady by coincidence. She is without a doubt the greatest beneficiary of the Spiritual Marrow’s birth. I will only take her. You can have the rest to yourselves. Goodbye.”

With Fairy Yu, the woman transformed her sword into a stream of light, and they soon disappeared into the horizon.

Of course, Jin Nan and the others were unhappy. They felt like they had been robbed and humiliated.