Chapter 56: The Three Dark Horses

  The trial continued, the seventh layer of spiritual pressure spread out. Yuexing Fei and Xue Yuke from Azure Academy passed smoothly, Zhang Fei from Flying Phoenix Academy also passed smoothly. Zheng Kaize, the first person from Chasing Deer Academy, was pushed out. Mu Hao from Little Luo Tian Academy passed smoothly, Ding Zixuan retreated 10 meters but held on, Bai Jian retreated 17 meters and held on, Ye Qing retreated 20 meters and held on.

  Xiaoluo Tian's four-person team had a relatively difficult time, but they also managed to pass through.

  This is really eye-opening, the seventh spiritual pressure is equivalent to seven times the amplitude, and even if they go to observe the Tianyu Stele, they will only gain enlightenment, how can their souls become so strong.

  "I heard that when the Tianwu Stele appeared, the Xiaofeng Spirit Realm brought down the Cloud Spirit Rain." Yu Hua flew over and glanced at Mu Huang and the others, saying lightly: "The Cloud Spirit Rain contains the wonder of nourishing the soul. Now it seems that you few have indeed gained a great benefit."

  "It's no wonder that Yuexiangfei is so well-informed, even about such a secret matter." Mu Huang's face was filled with excitement, he had always regarded Yuexiangfei as his rival, and now more than ever, the gap between them was much smaller, and Mu Huang was confident that he could finally give him a run for his money.

  The eighth layer of spiritual pressure began to spread, and Ding Zixuan, Ye Qing, and Bai Jian were no longer able to hold on, and they were all pushed out. However, they did not lose heart because of this, as being able to withstand the seventh layer was already beyond their expectations.

  Four people are left in the field, Yu Hua Fei, Xue Yi Wen, Zhan Fei and Mu Huang. These four were also the top four in the previous session, and this time they are still very strong. The ninth layer of spiritual pressure spreads out, and all four begin to retreat. Xue Yi Wen retreats thirty meters, Yu Hua Fei does the same, while Zhan Fei is pushed out. Mu Huang holds on until the edge, but in the end is also pushed out.

  "Hmm, does this scene look familiar?" Yuexiang Fei lightly laughed and said: "Every year we try out, it's always just the two of us left."

  "Maybe."

  Xue Ya recently felt very bad, as she was severely hit by Xiang Youzi a few days ago. Even now, her spirit is still very depressed. When the tenth layer of spiritual pressure spread out, she didn't even bother to move her soul resonance, letting the spiritual pressure push her out. The same went for Yu Hua Fei beside her, who didn't struggle at all and was easily pushed out.

  Up to this point, the first stage of the trial has ended. After a day's rest, the second stage of the trial will officially begin. This stage is a test of the apprentice's combat power. The stronger one's cultivation and spiritual skills are, the more powerful their combat power will be. When the trial begins, a light will gather in the center of the square, but it won't be a spiritual pressure, rather an oppressive force. To pass the test, one must stir up their spiritual energy to cast their spiritual skills and dispel the oppressive force.

  The trial of cultivation is conducted in batches, and those who pass will enter the field and wait for the second ordeal.

  The trial is underway, and the academies are showing off their skills. Various spiritual techniques are being showcased, and it's quite impressive. However, most people can pass through the first three stages of pressure, but not the fourth. The trial has now entered its most exciting stage, with only the top students from each academy remaining. Among them, Ye Qing, Ding Zixuan, and Bai Jian are the most eye-catching, known as the biggest dark horses in this trial. In the first stage, they shocked everyone with seven consecutive resonances, and their astonishing combat power in the second stage has caused a commotion throughout the audience.

  Ding Zixuan's cultivation of Lingliu Sifang exploded the entire scene with two major peak stages of Xuanji Zhongpin Spirit Technique, becoming the fifth person to pass the eighth stage of Weiyā pressure after Yu Huafei, Xue Yunkui, Zhan Fei and Mu Haokang.

  Ye Qing, although unable to pass the eighth trial of pressure, with her cultivation of Spiritual Power Three Turns, at the peak stage of Xuan-grade lower-tier spiritual technique "Meteor Fall" and Huang-grade mid-tier spiritual technique "Rainstorm Pear Blossom Needle", she left behind Zheng Kaize, who ranked sixth in the previous session, and Ding Can, who ranked seventh, becoming the first person to pass the seventh trial of pressure.

  Among them, the biggest dark horse is Bai Jian. With his seven-meridian variation spirit power, he managed to withstand the seventh layer of pressure with two major perfect yellow-grade upper-level spirit techniques and the peak stage of Golden Snake Coiling Silk Hand. To know that the seventh layer of pressure is something that even second-turn spirit power apprentices can't pass through, and some third-turn spirit power apprentices also can't pass through. However, Bai Jian passed through it smoothly with his seven-meridian variation spirit power, which makes one marvel at the strength of the variant spirit power.

  Although these three were well-known disciples in their respective colleges before, they all ranked outside the top 20 in the conference trials. However, with the strength they showed this time, they are fully qualified to compete for a spot in the top 10.

  Also worth mentioning is Mu Huang, who ranked fourth in the previous trial. This time, although his performance was mediocre, he passed through with ease every time, and no one knew his true strength. However, considering that Ye Qing and three others made such great progress, it's likely that Mu Huang's combat power is also astonishing, not to mention that he possesses a variant spiritual sea.

  After the second stage trial ended, everyone had more or less understood the strength of each apprentice.

  The first team, feathered flight, Xue Yi Fan, exhibition flight, Mu Huang.

  The second echelon, Ding Zixuan, Ye Qing, Bai Jian, Zheng Kaize, Ding Kun.

  The third echelon, Chi Ming, Ji An, Wan Xiang, Jiang Liang, Lu Zhanming, Wan Liqun.

  This trial has brought joy to some and worry to others. Those who are joyful are naturally Ding Zixuan, Ye Qing, and Bai Jian, the three of whom can be said to have exploded onto the scene, showing off their skills and winning countless praise. Those who are worried are Chi Ming, Ji An, and others, who originally belonged to the second tier in previous trials but have now fallen to the third tier, which is quite regrettable. However, what's even more regrettable is Chen Luo, who was previously considered a dark horse by many people, but unfortunately, his performance in both the first and second stages of the trial was very ordinary, not to mention the top three tiers, he couldn't even make it into the fourth tier.

  Returning to the passenger transport villa, Chen Luo saw Niu Ying's hesitant expression and couldn't help but laugh, asking: "I say, Old Cow, what's wrong with you?"

  "Chen Luo, you didn't go all out during the trial, did you?"

  Others may not know, but Niu Ying knows that Chen Luo can take the upper hand in a one-on-four situation inside the stone room. Even if Ding Zixuan and his team's combat strength has improved dramatically now, Chen Luo might not be able to defeat them, but infiltrating the third echelon should be no problem.

  Chen Luo nodded and replied, "It doesn't mean anything, it's not a central assessment, having some time is better spent practicing."

  The ox demon couldn't understand what was meant by "no fun", what's the point of participating in the trial, it's not like they came to have fun, but for the rich rewards, such as the Revival Spirit Dan, Battle Spirit Treasure, Spirit Beast and many more things worth fighting for, and winning would also bring glory to the academy, how could that be no fun?

  "Butcher Tang must be very angry now, he will..." Niu Wen's words had not finished when he suddenly found that Butcher Tang was already standing at the door of the room, which really scared him, and he quickly greeted him.

  "Niuwen, you get out first." The old butcher's tone was filled with anger.

  "The Dean, actually, it's Chen Luo... " Niu Wen originally wanted to plead for Chen Luo, but was glared back by Tu Lao Tou before he could finish speaking. He looked at Chen Luo and seemed to say, "You're on your own, I won't be able to help you," then left.

  After he left, Chen Luo also sat up from the bed, observing Tu Lao's face and said cautiously: "I did say before that I would do my best and not compete for first place. Tu Lao, you won't go back on your word, will you?"

  "Regret?" Tu Lao's eyebrows rose, saying: "If you don't fight for it, then don't fight for it, our family didn't expect you to fight for it anyway."

  Oh?

  Butcher Lao seemed to have no intention of scolding himself, which made Chen Luo quite surprised. What he didn't expect was that Butcher Lao actually walked over with a smile on his face and said, "It's just a broken meeting, what's there to argue about?"

  "In the third stage of martial arts trial, I will earn some honor for the college." Chen Luo asked tentatively.

  "As long as you're happy, that's all that matters. Our little Jin Gou is only for training apprentices, not for any dogshit glory."

  There's a conspiracy, absolutely a conspiracy. Otherwise, Butcher Lao wouldn't be acting so abnormally. What's even more abnormal is that Butcher Lao actually pulled out a book from his sleeve. Chen Luo took it and looked at it, his eyes widening in surprise as he exclaimed: "Qí Zhēn Huí Yáng Zhèn" (Seven Needle Revival Formation).

  "Didn't you always want this notebook? I happened to find it at home two days ago. Take a look first."

  The Qí Needle Revival Formation is a formation in the Healing Series, which uses spiritual energy as needles and arrays them on the human body. He knew that Butcher Old Man had treasured one for a long time and wanted to take a look, but Butcher Old Man insisted that he exchange something valuable for it. Chen Luo was very frustrated, but he never expected this guy to give it to him for no reason at all.

  "Butcher old man, has your brain been burned?" Chen Luo flipped through the notes and indeed it was genuine, he asked in surprise: "Don't you need me to exchange my precious notes with you?"

  "What are you trading your notebook for? Are we that kind of family? We have good things, but they've always been kept for you, kid. You need to remember one thing: we love you very much."

  Chen Luo felt a chill run down his spine, goosebumps rising all over his body. He looked up at Butcher Lao with a strange gaze, as if he was looking at some kind of monster. No matter how he looked at him, something didn't feel right. With a puzzled expression, he asked: "Butcher Lao, you wouldn't have done something wrong, would you?"

  "Nonsense! Our family is upright and honest, what shameful things would we do?" Old Butcher scolded, patting Chen Luo's head, saying: "Kid, work hard, our family still has other things to attend to."

  Looking at the old butcher's departing back, Chen Luo furrowed his brow in deep thought. He really couldn't understand why the old butcher was suddenly so good to him. The old butcher, who had always been stingy, even gave him his treasured notes unconditionally. Had the sun risen from the west? If someone said the old butcher was a kind person, Chen Luo wouldn't believe it even if he were beaten to death. But what was the old butcher's ulterior motive? He thought for two hours, his head almost exploding, but he still couldn't figure out the reason.

  He shook his head, too lazy to think about it anymore, and began to study his notes seriously. The formation was a very profound and mysterious existence, with various types such as blessing formations, additive formations, curse formations, attack formations, guardian formations, etc. Many formation masters also specialized in one type, but Chen Luo was different. He learned whatever he saw, and wanted to study all kinds of formations, especially the healing series that used spiritual power to mimic needles, which had been his desire for a long time.

  He was so absorbed in his reading that he suddenly heard what sounded like sobbing outside. He closed the book, got out of bed and left the room to find the four apprentices from Xiaojin Gou sitting there looking disheveled, their robes torn and with deep palm prints on their faces. Wang Wei's face was particularly swollen, with five bloody palm prints clearly visible.

  "Who hit?"

  Wang Wei covered his swollen face, sobbing uncontrollably. When he saw Chen Luo, he became even more incoherent with grief. At this time, Yan Xiu and others also rushed over from outside. Seeing Chen Luo, Yan Xiu said: "Today, the Tianqi Wine House is free for all apprentices. Everyone wants to go and get a meal, but it's not easy to get a seat. The people from Zhulu Academy said that they were taking their seats, Wang Wei and others argued with them, but they didn't say anything and beat up Wang Wei and his friends. However, Niu Yan has already run over there, let's see what he says later."

  "Damn it!"

  Chen Luo cursed and was about to leave, but Yan Xiu immediately stopped him and said: "Chen Luo, you can't be impulsive! When we came, Niu Ying specifically instructed us not to tell you this matter, precisely because he was afraid that you would be impulsive. This is the capital, not our Changxin City, we can't afford to cause trouble!"

  "Lao Yan, we don't look for trouble, but when trouble comes, we can't be afraid. Look at those bastards beating Wang Wei to a pulp! Damn it! Let's go! Wang Wei, today they slapped you a few times, I, Chen Luo, will let you slap them back tenfold."

  Chen Luo dragged Wang Wei and walked out, Yan Xiu was about to block again, Chen Luo angrily shouted: "Old Yan, don't stop me again, if you stop me again, I'll turn against you!"

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