"Hahaha..."
Wei Ziping laughed heartily, as if he had just told the funniest joke.
Although no one joined in his laughter, he did not mind, as he believed he was speaking the truth.
Ji Li and Wen Rou, upon hearing Wei Ziping's evaluation of Mu Jinyu, were so angry that their eyes turned red and they clenched their teeth tightly.
The crowd's expressions changed subtly, feeling that Wei Ziping's words were a bit too much and arrogant.
However, deep down, few thought that Wei Ziping was wrong, thinking he was deliberately belittling Mu Jinyu.
Because they also believed that Mu Jinyu's results, while unlikely to be as bad as Wei Ziping said, probably wouldn't reach seven cauldrons seven bells or eight cauldrons eight bells.
Mu Jinyu's feat of defeating Wei Qingfeng with one sword stroke was already widely known within the Inner Gate.
Everyone present knew that Mu Jinyu's biggest reliance in defeating Wei Qingfeng so easily was Elder Lin Feng's Sacred Wood Branch.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have nearly killed Wei Qingfeng with one sword strike.
But in a strength test, external objects, martial techniques, spells, and divine skills were not allowed. Given these restrictions, and it being Mu Jinyu's first test, the chances of him achieving Yun Ge's level were really low.
"Junior Brother Mu, that's just how he is, don't take it to heart," Yun Ge said, worried that Mu Jinyu would be too provoked to go through with the test and instead confront Wei Ziping.
Mu Jinyu glanced at him and shook his head, "Brother Yun need not worry, I won't stoop to the level of such a fool. That would be too undignified."
Then, Mu Jinyu went to comfort Wen Rou and Ji Li, "You don't need to be so angry. Don't take clowns like him seriously. The more you react, the happier they get. If you ignore him, he himself will find it meaningless."
"Hmm," Wen Rou and Ji Li responded, turning their heads away, ignoring Wei Ziping.
Although Mu Jinyu did not speak loudly, he did not lower his voice either, so Wei Ziping still heard his words.
Instantly, the smile on Wei Ziping's face disappeared, his eyes bulged, and his expression became fierce.
He glared at Mu Jinyu, "You call me a clown, not convinced? Well, then come on up. I'd like to see if you can make all the cauldrons and bells ring like me. If you can't, hmph, you'll see what happens in our match later..."
Mu Jinyu didn't even acknowledge Wei Ziping, just told Yun Ge and Wen Rou he was going ahead, and leisurely walked towards the bell and cauldron area!
Wei Ziping's face turned extremely dark.
He felt that Mu Jinyu, merely third on the List of Outstanding Talents and at the eighth layer of the Divine Transformation Realm, actually dared to ignore him!
'He doesn't know his place. Let's see how he handles this!' he thought.
Chen Qiuqiao, whose mindset had been falling apart, suddenly felt a strange excitement when he saw Wei Ziping confront Mu Jinyu.
He really wanted to see Mu Jinyu make a fool of himself, mocked by the crowd.
If that happened, not only would Mu Jinyu be utterly disgraced, but he would also be beaten up by Wei Ziping in the real combat test later! What a satisfying scene that would be!
Chen Qiuqiao's twisted thoughts hoped that Mu Jinyu, like himself, would perform poorly due to this being his first Bell Cauldron Test.
Mu Jinyu didn't know Chen Qiuqiao's thoughts, and even if he did, he wouldn't care.
He quickly walked to the Examiner Elder, standing on the red line.
The Examiner Elder came back to his senses, looking at Mu Jinyu with a slightly complex expression.
Originally, even if Mu Jinyu's test results were not great, it wouldn't be a big deal, since it was his first Bell Cauldron Test, and performing poorly would be normal.
But after Wei Ziping's words, if Mu Jinyu failed to achieve eight cauldrons eight bells, it would damage his reputation in the Heavenly Sword Faction.
'Alas, I hope he's not affected by this.'
"When you're ready, you can start," the Examiner Elder said to Mu Jinyu.
Mu Jinyu nodded slightly, not speaking. He then took a deep breath, True Yuan continuously accumulating, and punched towards the first cauldron ten meters ahead!
This full-force display made Wei Ziping secretly shake his head, looking disdainful.
He and Yun Ge had just tested with a casual punch. Who needed this much effort?
It seemed as if putting in full effort would make his results better.
"Boom boom boom!!"
"Ding ding ding!!"
However, in the next second, as the bell and cauldron sounds echoed, Wei Ziping's disdainful expression instantly froze.
The nine massive cauldrons and ancient bells, arranged a meter apart, all shook violently with Mu Jinyu's punch, producing a continuous, loud sound!
Mu Jinyu's punch didn't just sequentially ring some bells and cauldrons, with the Qi Force extending afterward to ring the others weakly.
He made all nine cauldrons and nine bells produce the loudest, most intense crashing sound at once!
The nine massive cauldrons trembled constantly in place, occasionally bouncing, shattering many ground tiles.
The nine hanging ancient bells swung violently, as if someone was tirelessly hammering them. They looked like they might soon fall from their stands.
"Hiss!"
"Now that's really the cauldrons and bells ringing together!!"
"What a magnificent scene, what an intense sound. This is truly bell and cauldron ringing, deafening!"
"Yes, it turns out these Bell and Cauldron treasures can also purify the heart. When rung together, I feel a lot of the malice in my heart dissipating..."
Originally hesitant due to Wei Ziping's intimidation, the crowd, as the intense bell and cauldron sounds rang out, did not find it harsh or unbearable but felt their minds being cleansed repeatedly by the sounds!
They began to exclaim, ignoring Wei Ziping's now-black-as-a-pot-bottom face.
"How could this be?!"
Wei Ziping, seeing the scene before him, far more shocking than what he had caused, looked as if he had eaten something foul.
Even he couldn't help but feel that Mu Jinyu's display was the true bell and cauldron ringing, and what he had done earlier was nothing.
This left Wei Ziping feeling deeply frustrated and defeated!
"Crack crack crack..."
The crowd vaguely heard a cracking sound amidst the bell and cauldron vibrations.
"What is that sound?!"
The crowd was puzzled.
"Oh my god, look, the cauldrons... are cracking!"
Someone sharp-eyed saw that the nine cauldrons seemed unable to withstand Mu Jinyu's punch, as the intense vibrations caused fine cracks to appear on the instruments.
This meant the nine treasured cauldrons and bells were about to explode?!
"Boom!!"
Just as that disciple exclaimed, the nine bells and cauldrons exploded!