Chapter 142: The Battle Hall

Realizing what had happened, Yang Ze immediately understood that he had fallen into Ning Teng’s trap. Ning Teng must have used some method just now to compel him to speak the absolute truth.

Looking back at Ning Teng, Yang Ze caught the faint smile lingering on the elder's face.

"Don't be angry. This matter was a spur-of-the-moment decision by Elder Xie and myself, so we wanted to put you to a test. Moreover, what we tested this time was not your strength, but your heart."

"My heart?" Hearing Ning Teng's words, Yang Ze knitted his brows.

"Elder Xie has already told me about your strength, so I naturally didn't need to test that. But I needed to test whether your character and resolve are up to standard, whether you are strong enough, and whether you understand gratitude.

Bringing you to the peak of Qingyang Peak and making you walk across the suspended stone bridge was to prove that your heart is strong enough. If you hadn't crossed it this time, you wouldn't have died, but you would have lost your qualification to enter the Battle Hall.

As for my subsequent questioning, it was all to probe whether you are a person who knows how to repay kindness. Elder Xie has given so much for you; if you didn't even have a shred of gratitude in your heart, you wouldn't be worthy of becoming a part of the Battle Hall.

The martial academy cannot possibly waste effort cultivating a disciple who does not know how to repay kindness and might leave the academy at any moment. Do you understand?" Ning Teng said solemnly.

Ordinarily, registered disciples who successfully broke through and entered the outer sect only needed to register. However, Yang Ze had attracted the attention of these two elders, which was why such a trial had been arranged.

"Disciple understands the elder's words, but there is still one thing I do not understand: what on earth is the Battle Hall?" Yang Ze still had no idea what the Battle Hall, which Ning Teng had repeatedly mentioned, was all about.

Hearing this, Ning Teng furrowed his brow slightly. He had not expected Yang Ze to know nothing at all about these matters. Yet, recalling that Yang Ze had managed to cultivate to the first-grade Bone Tempering realm in a mere three months, which was already an extraordinary feat, expecting him to have learned so many other things simultaneously was clearly unrealistic.

His heart softened a little at that thought.

"Within the Misty Martial Academy, the outer sect already holds a fairly high status. Unlike registered disciples, who receive little attention within the academy, every outer sect disciple is a true disciple of the academy and not to be taken lightly.

Furthermore, every outer sect disciple is a martial artist who has stepped into the graded realms. Although the martial dao flourishes across the vast lands of the Nine Provinces, the majority of people remain trapped within secular martial dao, and the proportion of those who can genuinely touch the graded martial dao is quite small.

Our Misty Martial Academy is the stabilizing force of the entire Qingzhou. Occupying such a position may seem glamorous, but in reality, we face countless enemies. The imperial court, the provincial governor's estate, other stabilizing forces, and various factions within the Qingzhou pugilistic world all have the potential to become our enemies.

Under such circumstances, our martial academy naturally cannot sit and wait for our doom. Therefore, we need the Battle Hall. The Battle Hall is the sharp sword we wield outward; whenever conflicts arise outside, this sword of the Battle Hall must be unsheathed to annihilate our enemies," Ning Teng said, his face carrying a stern aura.

Yang Ze maintained a calm expression, but his mind was racing. It seemed that for the Misty Martial Academy to stand as one of the four great martial academies, the Battle Hall had made contributions that could not go unmentioned over the years.

Yet, wanting to join such a place surely could not be an easy task.

Pausing for a moment, Ning Teng continued, "The Battle Hall faces numerous enemies, so besides inner sect disciples with profound cultivation, outer sect disciples like you also have the opportunity to join the Battle Hall.

As long as one has entered the graded martial dao, one's strength is already much greater than that of ordinary people, which is sufficient to handle many tasks. However, because the position of the Battle Hall is so crucial, not just anyone can join."

"Joining the Battle Hall requires loyalty and strength?" Sensing Ning Teng's probing gaze, Yang Ze voiced his thought.

"That's right. Loyalty is paramount. The Battle Hall is a sharp sword of the martial academy and must possess absolute loyalty to the academy to be qualified to join. This sword must never harm the martial academy.

However, for a sword to deal effective blows against the enemy, it must also be sharp enough. Therefore, there are strict requirements regarding the strength of those who wish to join.

To join the Battle Hall, it is not required that your strength must reach a specific realm, but your strength must be superior to martial artists of the same tier.

This time, Elder Xie vouched for you, proving that your strength surpasses that of ordinary early-stage Bone Tempering realm practitioners, which is why he was able to secure a quota for the Battle Hall for you. Otherwise, if you wanted to join the Battle Hall, you would have had to wait for next year's selection, and that selection would not be as favorable as today's, which allowed you to cross the suspended stone bridge."

Ning Teng explained everything in detail. However, another thought occurred to Yang Ze, who then said, "The Battle Hall faces enemies from all directions. This disciple believes these enemies will likely not show us mercy just because we come from the Misty Martial Academy. Therefore, once we join the Battle Hall, it means our lives may be threatened.

Since we are taking the risk of losing our lives to join the Battle Hall, the academy shouldn't expect us to do so without giving us any benefits, right?"

Hearing this, Ning Teng chuckled. Yang Ze was truly still Yang Ze; whatever he thought about always revolved around his own interests, completely unlike those young registered disciples who were easily sweet-talked into voluntarily joining the Battle Hall after hearing just a few words.

"Joining the Battle Hall naturally comes with tangible benefits. First, although you are still an outer sect disciple, because you are a Battle Hall disciple, your status and standing will be higher than those of other outer sect disciples.

Second, because your status and standing are higher than others, the treatment you enjoy will naturally differ from ordinary outer sect disciples.

An ordinary outer sect disciple receives a monthly stipend of thirty taels of silver, three medium-grade Nourishing Qi Pills, one top-grade Nourishing Qi Pill, and one Bone Tempering Pill.

A Battle Hall disciple receives a monthly stipend of fifty taels of silver, five medium-grade Nourishing Qi Pills, three third-grade Nourishing Qi Pills, and three Bone Tempering Pills, along with one free opportunity each month to make rubbings of martial arts manuals in the Scripture Pavilion.

And these are merely the superficial differences. In reality, the benefits a Battle Hall disciple can enjoy cannot be fully described in a few words. The missions in the Battle Hall offer far richer rewards, and the instructors specifically assigned to guide disciples in the Battle Hall are simply incomparable to the instructors in the outer sect."

Ning Teng explained to Yang Ze, who fell silent upon hearing this.

Regarding the instructors, the Misty Martial Academy was a martial academy rather than a traditional sect. Therefore, there were many instructors within the academy responsible for teaching outer sect disciples various martial knowledge, not limited solely to martial cultivation.

Every outer sect disciple was required to choose and study under an instructor; this was a mandatory rule within the Misty Martial Academy. Now, however, it seemed that once one joined the Battle Hall, they would no longer be bound by this regulation.

After weighing the pros and cons, Yang Ze immediately made his decision: to join the Battle Hall.

Seeing Yang Ze agree to join, Ning Teng smiled and stroked his beard, saying, "I knew you wouldn't let me down. You have struggled and survived in the pugilistic world, unlike these well-protected disciples who lack worldly experience. In the Battle Hall, you will definitely carve out your own prestige."

Ning Teng said confidently. The more he looked at Yang Ze, the more he was reminded of that incident he had heard of previously.

"Come, I'll take you to the Battle Hall." Waving his sleeve, Ning Teng enveloped Yang Ze's body with his Qi and grabbed him, flying downward toward Hengyun Peak.

Seized by Ning Teng, Yang Ze inwardly grumbled. Did all these elders love grabbing people so directly? Whenever disagreement arose, they would just grab him and fly away.

Thoughts were just thoughts, and Yang Ze certainly wouldn't voice them aloud. What if the elder got angry and dropped him right then and there?

Racing rapidly through Hengyun Peak, Yang Ze couldn't even clearly make out the surrounding scenery before he was dropped in front of a grand hall.

A plaque hung above the grand hall, bearing the two characters "Battle Hall." Beneath the plaque, four disciples stood silently in place, the cultivation auras emanating from all four of them firmly at the first-grade Bone Tempering realm.

The moment they saw Ning Teng's figure descending from the sky, the four gate-guarding disciples were startled. Hengyun Peak was not a place where just any elder could fly at will.

Hurrying forward, they began to salute Ning Teng.

Ning Teng paid no mind to this. If not for the immensely deep foundations behind the Battle Hall, he would have charged straight in. After exchanging a brief greeting, Ning Teng took a step forward and entered the Battle Hall.

As soon as he stepped inside, a red-faced man in his fifties, dressed in the robes of a Misty Martial Academy elder, walked forward and blocked Ning Teng's path.

"Xiao Boyuan of the Battle Hall pays respects to the Outer Sect Chief Elder," Xiao Boyuan said, cupping his fists.

"Elder Xiao is too polite. I've come today to deliver someone to you," Ning Teng said, pushing Yang Ze forward.

"Early-stage Bone Tempering realm. Judging by his aura, he couldn't have broken through long ago. Is this person Yang Ze?" Xiao Boyuan swept a glance over Yang Ze, making Yang Ze feel as though his entire body had been seen through completely.

"He is Yang Ze. I am responsible for delivering him to the Battle Hall; the rest is up to you to sort out," Ning Teng said.

"Elder Ning, you won't even help him sort out his status and leave it all to me? Oh well, I'll help you out this once," Xiao Boyuan said somewhat helplessly.

"I've been out of seclusion for less than three days, and there are far too many unresolved matters piled up, making it truly impossible to spare the time to deal with this. I must trouble Elder Xiao," Ning Teng said with a smile, turning as if to leave.

"Yang Ze, the person before you is Elder Xiao Boyuan of the Outer Sect Battle Hall. Do not underestimate him; his cultivation has already reached the late stage of the fifth-grade Qi Sea realm, making him a true expert. If you encounter any unsolvable troubles in the future, you can seek him out, and he will help you." Following this sound transmission, Ning Teng vanished from sight.

After Ning Teng departed, Xiao Boyuan led Yang Ze deeper into the grand hall. However, before the two of them had walked even a few steps, two powerful auras surged toward the heavens from the opposite side of the grand hall and collided violently. Even across a considerable distance, Yang Ze could distinctly feel the impact of those auras.