Dual Cultivation

"Are you sure it's okay for you to be doing this?" Fang Zhelan asked Fang Xiaoru after their mother left the place. "I only left the family because of their neglect and bullying, but you are a different story. Being one of the top geniuses within the family, you are throwing away something most people in this world would kill to obtain."

"It's fine," she calmly responded. "There is no longer anything I can learn from them, and I never liked the atmosphere there anyway."

"By the way, when can I take the disciple examination?" she then asked.

"We can do it right now," said Su Yang.

Sometime later, Su Yang brought Fang Xiaoru to the examination area with Fang Zhelan and Liu Lanzhi watching in the background.

"Do you think she'll pass?" Fang Zhelan asked Liu Lanzhi.

"As the genius of the Fang Family, her talent is definitely the real deal, but I cannot say for certain that she'll pass the exam, as the most challenging test for her in this exam would be the Demon Heart Pill exam, which does not care for one's talent but their Dao Heart instead."

Meanwhile, on the first stage, Fang Xiaoru touched the Bone Age Totem and the Spiritual Totem.

"Twenty-one years old, 1st level Earth Spirit Realm."

After passing the first exam, she walked to the second stage.

Once she was prepared, Su Yang crushed the Demon Heart Pill.

"..."

Fang Zhelan watched nervously as Fang Xiaoru sat in the middle of the red mist.

Five seconds passed without any issues.

Ten seconds later, Fang Xiaoru's body began to tremble.

On the twentieth second mark, a line of blood dripped from her nose.

"This is…" Fang Zhelan showed a worried expression.

If Fang Xiaoru fails the examination, she would have no choice but to return to the Fang Family. But after what happened today, who knows what their mother might do to her if she returns.

Twenty-five seconds into the exam, both of her nostrils were running with blood.

However, Fang Xiaoru did not give up, and Su Yang also did not try to stop her.

Twenty-six seconds… twenty-seven… twenty-eight… twenty-nine seconds…

Right as the timer hit the thirty seconds mark, Su Yang waved his sleeves, causing the red mist to instantly disperse.

*Cough*

Fang Xiaoru coughed up a mouthful of blood immediately afterward.

"Did… did I pass the exam?" she asked him in an exhausted voice.

"Yes, you did." Su Yang nodded, and he continued, "However, you barely passed. If you had to endure it for another second or two, you would've died."

A few moments later, Fang Xiaoru went on the third stage and mixed some of the blood on her lips into the bowl of water, and everyone there watched as the pure water turned deep red.

"Congratulations, you have passed the third exam, and now you get to fight me. With that being said, I won't fight an injured woman, even if it's just a friendly spar, so I will give you some time to recover your strength before we spar." Su Yang said before tossing her a few spirit stones.

Fang Xiaoru accepted the spirit stones and immediately started absorbing the spiritual energy within the spirit stones to recover her strength.

While Fang Xiaoru recovered her strength, Fang Zhelan approached him and asked, "Since she passed all three examinations, does this make her a disciple of the Profound Blossom Sect?"

Su Yang nodded and said, "Not only is she incredibly talented, but she also has the determination. While her Dao Heart needs some work, once she is properly trained, she'll without doubt become a powerful figure in this world. Even without the Profound Blossom Sect, she could reach the level of Lord Xie."

"She's that talented?" Fang Zhelan looked at him with wide eyes, as Su Yang rarely gives out such high praises to anyone.

He nodded and said, "Out of all of the disciples in this Sect, only Yan Yan is above her in terms of talent. The Fang Family probably doesn't know the true extent of her talents, or else they wouldn't have given up on her so easily."

Sometime later, once Fang Xiaoru finished recovering her strength, she approached the fourth stage.

"I won't move until you attack me first." Su Yang said to her. "And there's no need to hold back. Hit me with everything you've got."

Fang Xiaoru nodded, and she began to accumulate her spiritual energy in one area — her right hand.

"T-That's…!" Fang Zhelan immediately recognized this technique and expressed surprise.

"What kind of technique is that?" Liu Lanzhi asked her out of curiosity.

"That's the 'Sublime Mountain Fist', Fang Family's hereditary technique, and it's one of their strongest one. Rumors say it has the power to destroy an entire mountain with a single punch if practiced to perfection. If the Fang Family allowed her to learn that technique, they must've really treasured her talent," she explained.

"Using your strongest technique as your first attack, at least you have some sense." Su Yang said with a calm smile on his face.

A few moments later, Fang Xiaoru rushed at Su Yang with her fists flying towards his face.

An enormous pressure suddenly bore down on Su Yang's body, making it feel as though he was carrying a mountain on his back.

And right as Fang Xiaoru released the energy in her fist, the platform she was standing on shattered into many pieces.

"Haaaaaa!"

Fang Xiaoru shouted loudly as she punched at Su Yang.

Su Yang remained smiling and casually raised his hands to catch Fang Xiaoru's fist with his bare palms.

Boom!

A powerful ripple that was strong enough to push Fang Zhelan and Liu Lanzhi a few steps back was created from the impact, yet Su Yang remained standing in the same spot with a smile on his face.

"No way…" Fang Xiaoru stared at her fist with a dazed look on her face, seemingly in shock that Su Yang managed to stop her martial technique so effortlessly.