Baby with Daoist Monarch System

Chapter 867: Chapter 382: Clearing Method (2)

Suddenly feeling a wave of scorching heat, Xu Ran had no time to look down. He instinctively leaped toward a wooden stake to the side.

Tap---

One of his feet landed on a stake three meters away. Although the foot on the stake was very steady, his upper body, with no support at all, was swaying nonstop, rocking left and right as if he would fall the very next moment.

"Hoo!"

A moment later, Xu Ran’s swaying body finally stabilized. Because right beneath his feet was blazing magma, in such a short time his small face had been baked bright red, and sweat kept beading on his forehead.

"Decent reaction, but your lower base is way too unstable. If you keep this up, I’m afraid you won’t last a stick of incense before you fall and get swallowed by the magma!"

The bald man stood motionless on his own stake, sneering as he spoke.

Indeed.

Compared to the bald man’s state at this moment, Xu Ran’s condition was a world apart.

Right now the bald man was like a pine tree whose roots had sunk deep into the earth. No matter how fierce the wind and rain, they couldn’t shake him in the slightest.

And Xu Ran?

He was like a blade of grass shivering in a gale, his foundation terribly unstable, as if the wind would crush him flat and sweep him into the sky at any moment.

Right after the bald man finished speaking—

The magma under Xu Ran’s feet started bubbling again. The next instant, a spout of magma like an arrow shot upward with a sudden burst, its speed extremely fast, like Lightning.

Xu Ran’s reaction was just as quick. The instant that magma arrowhead showed, he sprang up and landed on another wooden stake.

Same as before, one foot stood on the stake, his upper body swaying nonstop, about to topple at any time.

"Oh!" The bald man’s voice rang out again. "Forgot to tell you something."

"The magma down below will time its eruptions to how long you stay on a stake!"

"About two breaths. If you don’t move from one stake to another within those two breaths, the magma that erupts will melt you completely!"

"And don’t think your Great Success [Innate Saint’s Sacred Body] can withstand it. If it could, you wouldn’t have moved on instinct just now!"

The bald man knew the Great Success [Innate Saint’s Sacred Body] very well, and he also knew that all of Xu Ran’s movements just now had been subconscious.

Hearing the bald man’s words, Xu Ran frowned slightly. Before he could think it through, the temperature under his feet rose again, and the next moment Xu Ran immediately moved to another wooden stake.

Going on like this was not a solution.

Moreover.

For this trial stage, the bald man wasn’t going to give him any guidance. Otherwise he wouldn’t just stand there watching quietly, only stating a few rules.

If he wanted to clear this trial stage, he would have to rely entirely on himself.

Right now, not only did he have to figure out a way to clear this level, he also had to keep moving nonstop. Otherwise, one careless moment and he’d be completely melted by the magma erupting below.

Not only that.

He also had to ensure that every landing was perfect, with no accidents. If he fell into the magma below, there would be no way out either.

"How on earth am I supposed to clear this trial stage?"

Xu Ran muttered under his breath, but his footwork didn’t pause. He once again leaped onto another wooden stake.

At this moment, he hadn’t mastered any Leg Technique at all. He was purely relying on instinct to pick his landing points. His upper body still kept wobbling, with no way to fix it.

"Can I go back and take a look?"

A sudden thought came to Xu Ran. He turned his head and looked back—his face instantly darkened.

The stake he had just jumped from had already vanished, gone without a trace.

It seemed that each wooden stake could only be stood on once, and after that he had to find a new stake.

In other words, the amount of time he could spend in this trial stage was limited.

Once all the stakes here completely disappeared and he had no foothold left, he would fall straight into the magma and die all the same.

How exactly was he supposed to clear this trial stage?

Xu Ran’s mind kept churning.

Just as a thread of thought formed, the sudden rise of heat from below would interrupt his thinking, forcing him to leap out and land on another stake.

In such a short time, the densely packed stakes from moments ago were already reduced by a third.

Give it a bit longer; if the stakes completely vanished and Xu Ran still hadn’t found a solution, he would truly be finished.

"No!"

Landing on a stake again, Xu Ran shook his head. "I can’t keep going like this!!"

"I have to find another way!"

Xu Ran looked around, carefully observing the surroundings, only to find that aside from the sheer walls all around, there was nothing suspicious.

"Where is it?"

At this moment, Xu Ran was getting anxious inside.

All of a sudden—

A jet of flames shot up violently from below.

"Not good!"

Xu Ran had been distracted for a moment and didn’t react in time. Only when the flames were about to hit him did he leap away.

His reaction was extremely fast, but still a beat too late.

The arrow-like blast of fire suddenly expanded just before reaching him.

Xu Ran had originally dodged it, but as the flames ballooned, stray tongues of fire spread out; a few licks of flame brushed against his ankle.

Sizzle---

The sound of cloth burning echoed in the Dueling Arena.

The fabric around his ankle where the stray flames had touched was burned away completely, revealing Xu Ran’s bare feet.

His originally snow-white ankle was now charred pitch-black by the splattering fire, as if badly scorched.

"Tss!!"

The instant the flames splashed onto his ankle, an extreme burning sensation erupted from that spot and swept through his whole body.

From head to toe he felt as if he’d been thrown into boiling oil, the pain unbearable.

Tap----

Although his ankle had been splashed by the flames, Xu Ran’s body still landed firmly on the stake.

After so many dodges, Xu Ran’s footwork had already improved somewhat. His upper body, which had been swaying so wildly before, was still shaking now, but the range of movement was much smaller.

"That’s not right!"

As soon as Xu Ran landed on the stake, he instantly sensed something off.

"What’s with this sudden improvement?"

Perplexity flashed across Xu Ran’s face.

Admittedly, after dodging the flames from below again and again and flying from stake to stake, his footwork had improved a bit.

But all of that added together still didn’t add up to the huge leap he’d just made.

"Could it be that, at the brink of life and death, my Leg Technique gets a massive boost?"

Xu Ran started to speculate. Normally, breakthroughs only happened under immense danger—only in situations that threatened one’s life could one break shackles and step into another realm.

Those flames had almost swallowed him just now; that definitely counted as a life-and-death moment.

"No."

After thinking for a bit, Xu Ran shook his head and denied his own guess.

"The Nine-Layered Giant Tower’s trials can’t be completely without hints!"

Xu Ran grew more certain of this and began to recall carefully how he’d gone through the first trial.

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration streaked through his mind. Xu Ran’s eyes snapped open, his gaze filled with confidence.

"So that’s how it is!"

The bald man, who had been watching Xu Ran the whole time, saw this look on his face and widened his eyes, a bit puzzled.

Had he really found a way to clear the trial?

He didn’t know.

But it was very possible.

After all, Xu Ran’s talent was ridiculously high. It wouldn’t be surprising if he really had figured it out.

The three people outside the Dueling Arena saw Xu Ran’s expression and aura undergo an earth-shaking change all of a sudden, and they were a bit confused.

"What’s going on? What happened to him? Why is he suddenly so confident?"

They had heard what the bald man said as well.

With their current Leg Technique, passing this trial stage wouldn’t be difficult.

But Xu Ran hadn’t learned any Leg Technique at all. For him, clearing it was extraordinarily difficult.

Could it be that he really did find a way to pass?