Rise of the Sword Son-in-Law

Chapter 547: Identity Exposed

"He went in! He’s actually going to take the trial!" a disciple exclaimed in surprise.

"Didn’t you see him defeat Luo Yong’an? What’s so surprising about him taking the trial?" another disciple immediately responded.

"Speaking of which, how did Wang Tao suddenly become so powerful? Could it be that he’s been hiding his skills all along? When he defeated Brother Luo just now, it seemed like he didn’t even use his full strength," the previous disciple quickly said.

The other disciples around shook their heads.

It truly was strange how Wang Tao had suddenly become so powerful.

"Sister Ling’er, has Wang Tao been hiding his skills all this time? Do you know?" a plain-looking female disciple asked Zhao Ling’er.

"He never told me anything, and when I sparred with him before, he was far inferior to me. As for whether he’s been hiding his skills, I’m not very clear," Zhao Ling’er replied.

"Then it’s very strange. If he’s so powerful, why didn’t he show his strength when you wanted to call off the engagement?" said the plain-looking female disciple.

"You mean, this person is not Wang Tao?" Zhao Ling’er seemed to understand the other female disciple’s idea, saying in astonishment.

"It’s possible. His attitude towards you has changed so much, don’t you find it odd?" the plain-looking female disciple said.

"Indeed, it’s very strange. The way Wang Tao looked at me before and now are completely different; he might really not be Wang Tao," Zhao Ling’er said.

"Hmph, daring to impersonate a disciple of our Fire Divine Palace, no matter who he is, he’s as good as dead," the plain-looking female disciple said with a cold snort.

The same thought also emerged in Luo Yong’an’s mind.

Li Qingyi, however, frowned slightly, a trace of worry flickering in her eyes.

As Xu Ping’an stepped into the forbidden area, two old men stood side by side on a distant palace, watching this place.

Both men exuded an extraordinary presence, with Dao Laws seemingly suppressing the air around them.

This meant that the strength of these two people was at least above the Tenth Rank.

"Elder Hong, who do you think this person is?" one of the old men, with white and grey beard, asked with a smile.

"This person is most likely that Xu Ping’an who caused a stir in the Heavenly Star Palace, but I didn’t expect him to have such audacity to impersonate a disciple of our Fire Divine Palace and even dare to take part in our trial," the other elder, with long white eyebrows, said with a chuckle.

"If Elder Hong has guessed his identity, why not stop him and even let him take part in the forbidden trial?" the white and grey-bearded elder asked anxiously.

"What’s the rush? Do you really think he can pass the Divine Flame Hall’s trial? No one has passed this trial for thousands of years; it’s certainly not something he can get through," the white-eyebrowed elder said with a smile.

"That’s true, but what if he really does make it through?" the grey-bearded elder said.

"If he truly passes the trial and receives the inheritance of the Divine Flame Hall, it would mean he possesses the makings of an Immortal Emperor. We might as well try to win him over. If we can truly make him a disciple of our Fire Divine Palace, wouldn’t our sect gain another powerful figure in the future?" the white-eyebrowed elder said.

"But the Defying Heaven Alliance has issued a kill order. If he’s really Xu Ping’an, we must kill him," the grey-bearded elder said with a frown.

"If he takes the Divine Flame Hall’s inheritance, then he is Wang Tao, not any Xu Ping’an. He would be a disciple of our Fire Divine Palace," said the white-eyebrowed elder.

Hearing this, the grey-bearded elder understood.

It was a case of the prince being replaced with a cat.

As long as Xu Ping’an could really get through the Divine Flame Hall’s forbidden trial, he would be Wang Tao.

Even if the Defying Heaven Alliance blamed them, they would have no recourse.

"What if he’s unwilling? I’ve heard he’s very arrogant; he even rejected the Defying Heaven Alliance’s attempts to win him over," said the grey-bearded elder.

"Then eliminate him. If he cannot be of use to us, naturally we cannot afford to nurture a threat," the white-haired elder said.

"However, even if his talents are good, the chances of him getting through the Divine Flame Hall’s trial are slim," the grey-bearded elder said with a smile.

"Then he only has one path—death," said the white-eyebrowed elder, looking in the direction of the Divine Flame Hall with a hint of fierceness in his eyes.

The grey-bearded elder also nodded, a trace of amusement in his eyes.

...

Xu Ping’an was unaware of all this; at that moment, he had already entered a palace.

Inside the grand hall, there stood a Divine Beast Vermilion Bird with strength at the Ninth Rank First Layer Realm.

"Cheep!"

The Divine Beast Vermilion Bird let out a loud chirping cry, and a powerful unbeatable aura of flames emanated from its body.

"This is the first challenge? Straight away with the Divine Beast Vermilion Bird? Although it’s only at the Ninth Rank First Layer, its strength must be at least at the Ninth Rank Third Layer Peak," Xu Ping’an muttered to himself.

He was somewhat surprised by the formidable nature of the Divine Flame Hall’s trial.

This was just the first challenge; no wonder these geniuses found it difficult to get through.

"Perfect, I can use this opportunity to hone my strength," Xu Ping’an said to himself.

The next moment, he confronted the fiery Vermilion Bird.

He didn’t use any True Yuan, relying solely on his Physical Strength to fight.

His Physical Body’s cultivation had reached the Peak of the Eighth Rank First Layer Realm.

The True Power within him had already condensed into a force of True Power.

With a dragon’s roar, he threw a punch, infinite in power.

Even the Vermilion Bird was no match for him, and soon, Xu Ping’an tore it in half with his bare hands.

The Vermilion Bird vanished, and Xu Ping’an was transported to the Second Layer.

The second challenge was still a fight, but the opponent had changed to a Divine Beast Zhu Yan at the Ninth Rank Second Layer Realm.

A Ninth Rank Second Layer Realm Divine Beast Zhu Yan was directly comparable to the Peak of the Ninth Rank Fourth Layer Realm.

Xu Ping’an fought against it with his Physical Strength, and after trading blows for a full ten moves, Xu Ping’an landed a punch and killed it.

With that, Xu Ping’an passed the second challenge and entered the third.

Outside, everyone’s eyes were glued to the stele.

When they saw the number on the stele jump to three, they all wore expressions of surprise.

"So quick? He took less than the time of burning one stick of incense to get through the first two challenges," someone exclaimed in surprise.

Luo Yong’an and Xie Jizong also wore faces of astonishment.

They had both passed the trials and knew well the difficulty of these challenges.

The fact that Xu Ping’an had so quickly passed the first two challenges meant his strength was definitely not ordinary.

Suddenly, both of them felt a sense of pressure.

Li Qingyi was slightly astonished as well.

"Ping’an Junior Brother, I wonder how many challenges you can get through," Li Qingyi muttered to herself.

She too felt it was unlikely for Xu Ping’an to get through all thirty-six challenges.

It wasn’t that she didn’t believe in Xu Ping’an, but the trial of the Divine Flame Hall was simply too formidable.

To pass all the challenges, one’s strength had to be close to the Tenth Rank.