The space distorted, and the group finally returned to that scarlet environment, as if immersed in a sea of blood. Immediately, everyone felt the pressure of the infernal laws on their bodies, with their meridians being completely restrained.
Langrum noticed a tremor near her and turned astonished, then saw Loeus writhing in pain, his eyes seeming like death was touching him. Soon, a chubby hand touched his head, and he felt a bit of life returning to his body. Obviously, it was Bruno. The whale then put Ruri on the ground; although not much better internally, her expression was gentle on the surface, as if this pressure caused no fear in her.
"The two young ones are already at a level capable of training their mental and physical resistance here. I just protected them enough not to die, but they will experience torture on many different levels. Have fun, and don’t fall behind." The whale concluded with a sarcastic smile.
Ruri took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and, in a few seconds, opened them. Despite trembling, indicating her agony, she remained calm and stood by the whale, holding his hand. Meanwhile, Loeus collapsed to his knees, trying to control himself from screaming in the face of extreme torturous pain.
Langrum’s expression changed, showing an emotion never seen before by anyone, leaving Almin astonished. It didn’t take five seconds for Loeus’s lips to curve, and a faint murmur of lamentation escaped. Langrum threatened to help him, but the whale stopped her. "Do not hurt his honor even more; he must manage on his own. He won’t die, and as you said, he’s almost an adult." Langrum froze, and her eyes trembled.
"He must be able to stand on his own, not be a burden to anyone. Just be his support, not the one who sustains him." Alm concluded as Langrum looked distressed.
The whale then calmly directed his words to the young man writhing on his knees. "We’re here waiting, Loeus. Take the time you need to get up." Everyone fell silent; this struggle was his alone, and no one doubted that he would succeed.
The group was taken, as promised, to a location north of the second level, where the older disciples wouldn’t be crazy to attack. Minutes passed, and they just stood there waiting. Ruri breathed deeply but showed no apparent change; Loeus, only after nearly an hour of great effort, managed to stand with a twisted face and eyes wet with tears of pain that refused to stop.
Langrum quickly helped him when he got up and held his hand with an indecipherable expression. The whale then waved contentedly at him, and Ruri beside him smiled, speaking calmly. "Don’t feel bad; on my first time here, I almost died in the first second. You did much better."
Loeus nodded at those kind words, and a subtle relief passed through his eyes. Ruri then turned calmly.
’What a lie, she had a much lower cultivation and almost no protection from us. She doesn’t have to lower herself.’ Alm grumbled mentally.
’She’s just encouraging him and doesn’t need to prove anything to anyone; learn from her to be considerate.’ Bruno responded, and Alm just grumbled again.
To no one’s surprise, they walked south in silence. When they were a few meters from crossing the border, they stopped, and the whale spoke.
"As punishment for the earlier arrogance in the village, you will have to work. I’ve already located ten more powerful infernal beasts on this second level, all between the seventh and ninth level of the Foundation Establishment Realm. I won’t waste time in this place. Langrum, Almin, and Loeus, you have three hours to kill them and meet us at the exit to the third level."
Almin and Langrum were frozen by this madness but didn’t retort; the internal error and humiliation for their previous failures were a thorn in their minds. Alm’s ability to locate those he wanted in this environment was extreme; he easily felt their location on this level now that they had a much higher cultivation. Almin and Langrum couldn’t use QI, but their perception didn’t decrease either; it only increased.
So, they transferred the location of all the beasts to Almin and turned around, entering the southern region with Ruri.
Almin and Langrum stood still for a few seconds, trying to digest that, but soon clenched their fists in motivation. They weren’t weak, and with teamwork, they could defeat these beasts quickly. Langrum had a physique capable of fighting; Almin had prepared many recovery pills and some with its own fire QI for attack. Loeus was Langrum’s responsibility to protect, and it would be a good experience for him. Almin took the lead, and they ran towards the nearest beast.
The whale and Ruri walked calmly, identifying the serious glances of the elders in their direction from a distance. There were about twenty of them, really monitoring and preventing the disciples from the south from causing a massacre. But there were three elders near them who were clearly focused on them from a distance and not on the others.
’What a disappointment; they could attack us directly and save our time. With our physical cultivation and them not being able to use QI, we would easily kill them all.’ Alm commented lightly. Indeed, in this environment, the higher cultivation of those elders would make no difference to Alm and Bruno.
Bruno then spoke with a sigh. ’It will be very problematic to invade the third level with them monitoring us. They will surely follow us, and we won’t be able to cultivate properly by going to the fourth level. If we attract more attention than we already have, even the patriarch will focus on us, and our lives will be on the line.’
’They certainly want to attack us, but they were intimidated by the patriarch acting against the elders before. But... everything that happens in here stays in here.’ Alm commented sinisterly. ’They just need some incentive to move.’
’Given the arrogance of those disciples earlier, the high elders must have chosen the elders for this test carefully. If we start massacring the disciples, the elders will come to their aid.’ Bruno spoke without caring about their lives. They were all evil cultivators, and these disciples must have massacred so many innocents that it couldn’t be counted; killing them was even good for the world.
While they discussed, Ruri gripped their hands firmly, lost in thought. She had already asked for punishment for her previous actions from the whale, but they only said it would come later. Clearly, this training was not a punishment, as Loeus had executed their orders perfectly before.
"Master, I also deserve punishment," Ruri murmured.
"Hm? That red-haired woman disrespected you earlier, and you managed to humiliate her for it. Have you understood why never to underestimate someone, even if they are weak?" the whale spoke lightly, and she nodded regretfully.
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"Langrum is very proud, and Almin is too self-deprecating; that’s why I sent them to do something as punishment. I trust you, knowing that my disciple is smart and her resolve won’t be affected by a mistake," Bruno spoke calmly.
Ruri trembled a bit joyfully; her master trusted her. But now she felt the pressure of having to live up to his expectations, and that only fueled her. Bruno already knew a bit about her personality, and as she was new and still forming, they were trying to shape her not to be influenced by her mistakes but to learn from them.
’Different people, different approaches,’ Bruno spoke mentally without Ruri hearing; he was communicating with her while Alm focused on the environment. Seconds passed, and soon, Alm’s silence intrigued him.
’Something is wrong,’ Alm said seriously. ’Something emerged in this world from the south... and I can feel a great concentration of infernal and Yin laws.’
’What? Are infernal beasts coming from another level? Is that possible?’ Bruno muttered thoughtfully.
Alm focused, and soon, a conviction came to him. ’The infernal beasts are not alive; they are just runes. But... I clearly sense the presence of a soul and life. No doubt, they are demons!’