Chapter 4009 A True Trial by Fire
The sea of fire was endless, filled with intense raging flames. If an ordinary person were to come here, it would definitely be hell on earth for them.
However, for flame cultivators, it was heaven. After Yu Qingxuan and the others came out of the gate, they let out cheers.
The Vermilion Bird Empire’s disciples possessed very pure flame energy, a mark of the imperial family’s bloodline.
Thus, when they arrived here, there was no need for them to even do anything. Their manifestations automatically appeared to start absorbing the flames.
“Their manifestations can even be strengthened once more. The Vermilion Bird’s inheritance is truly enviable.” Long Chen couldn’t help sighing inside when he saw Zhu Yunwen and the others’ manifestations growing.
It was no wonder the Vermilion Bird Empire dared to make such a big play. They had the necessary power. However, they also made sure to keep things secret, or the other eight empires would never give them the time to grow through this trial.
“Finally, we can relax!”
They immersed themselves within the flames, their bodies feeling incomparably comfortable and relaxed. It was like they were warriors that had fought for many years and could finally lay down on their bed and sleep. That comfortable feeling couldn’t be described with words.
However, that person had barely finished speaking when a flame arrow suddenly pierced his shoulder, causing all of their nerves to tense back up.
“What’s going on?!”
Startled cries rang out. They didn’t know what was going on as that flame arrow came out of nowhere. That person didn’t even know where he was shot from.
“AH!”
Suddenly, another scream rang out. A flame arrow pierced another person’s leg and then vanished back into the void. There was no way to track it.
Upon seeing this, everyone’s expression changed. These flame arrows were incomparably sharp, and their bodies couldn’t block them. Furthermore, they were silent and impossible to track.
Just as everyone was bewildered, Long Chen closed his eyes and spread his divine sense. He noticed that his divine sense was suppressed to a range of just a few meters in this space.
With his divine sense spread, Long Chen could ‘see’ that it was like he was surrounded by water. The flame fluctuations were like flowing water: waves layering on top of each other, waves crashing against each other, and waves building on top of each other.
Suddenly, Long Chen’s hand snapped out.
The void quivered and a three-foot-long flame arrow was caught in his grasp.
Seeing this, everyone let out startled cries. Long Chen had actually caught the flame arrow. However, just as he caught it, it dissipated like gas, vanishing without a trace.
“Brother Long, how did you do that?” asked Zhu Yunwen.
“I spread my divine sense and managed to grasp some clues,” said Long Chen.
“Spreading divine sense? What? Why can’t I spread my divine sense?” asked Zhu Yunwen. He turned to Yu Qingxuan. “Qingxuan, can you do it?”
“I can only spread it seven meters before it’s suppressed,” said Yu Qingxuan.
Everyone was startled by this. “Then why can’t we do it at all?”
Just then, another person was struck by an arrow. As a result, all the disciples quivered fearfully. No matter how strong they were, invisible attacks were still frightening.
Yu Qingxuan also didn’t know why she could and they couldn’t. She then looked at Long Chen. Long Chen thought about it and said, “Perhaps it is because the two of us are alchemists. Our spiritual perception is a bit stronger than others. But that isn’t the crux of the problem. This trial must have its own goal. The first to third levels tempered your physical bodies and bloodlines. The fourth to sixth levels raised your combat experience and fighting skills. This seventh level must be tempering some kind of energy. Furthermore, this energy must be something that everyone has. Don’t panic. This first step definitely gives some buffer room. It won’t be fatal. You all saw that the arrows weren’t striking anywhere fatal. So, there’s no need to worry about your head suddenly being pierced just yet.”
Hearing that, everyone relaxed quite a bit. Just as Long Chen said, if those arrows avoided their vital parts, there was not that much to be afraid of.
They couldn’t help being ashamed of themselves. Despite both being in the Immortal King realm, even ignoring their actual power, just this judgment and reaction speed was something that they couldn’t keep up with.
What they particularly admired about Long Chen was that no matter what the environment or circumstance was, he could always maintain his cool and confidence.
Long Chen continued, “Originally, this trial included a mental component, one that tested the mettle of your heart, your ability to notice things, as well as your ability to control your fear of the unknown. I shouldn’t have said anything in that case, but time is too pressing, so I will give everyone a reminder. This is a place of flame energy, so the power it is testing must be related to flames. Perhaps try drawing in the flame energy through your manifestation or your core flame. See if you can merge with these flames to see through its essence. However, I don’t know if the trial is to block the arrows or to dodge them. We’ll have to figure it out ourselves.”
Zhu Yunwen and the others slapped their legs. Of course. Within the sea of fire, the trial definitely had something to do with flames. They had actually been too afraid of these unknown arrows to even think of this simple principle.
Hence, they cursed themselves for being fools. They all thought themselves smart during normal times, but now they were like fools. Their heads were so slow.
With Long Chen’s reminder, they began to circulate their flame energy, using the fluctuations of their manifestation and core flame to sense the surrounding flames.
An imperial disciple suddenly dodged to the side but was still struck through the shoulder by flames. However, he still cried out in delight.
“I saw it! I saw it! I could sense the surrounding fluctuations with my core flame!”
POW!
Suddenly, Zhu Yifeng’s fist struck an arrow just as it appeared, causing him to feel ecstatic.
“Success! So that’s how it works!”
After finding out the crux of the trial, the imperial disciples were delighted. They felt even more admiration for Long Chen. Everything became simple in front of him.
Long Chen nodded. “This is a test of spiritual perception and reaction. It is the most important thing on the battlefield, something that all top experts must possess. It is what allows you to instinctively find the best move in the middle of danger, like a chaotic battle. Within a chaotic battle, all the techniques, strategies, the martial patterns that you’ve learned, they’re all nonsense. Battle instincts are the most important thing. As long as your spiritual perception is strong enough, even if your head doesn’t react fast enough, your body will automatically make the most correct decision. If you can pass this part, you will be reborn as true warriors. Your combat power will no longer lag behind.”
Upon hearing that, everyone’s blood heated up. Previously, Long Chen had said that they were unable to draw out their full power in combat, that they were at most unleashing ten to twenty percent of their power.
On that day, Long Chen had managed to capture Weng Tianyao and beat back a three-flower Divine Venerate. However, that hadn’t been the result of some overwhelming power. He had done it easily and simply.
That was a display of his combat experience. With Long Chen’s encouragement, even Zhu Yunwen, Yu Qianxue, and the others felt their blood heating up.
“Let’s go to the next step!”
Long Chen then waved his hand, leading everyone forward.
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