Chapter 207: Chapter 207: Junjie’s Style
In the end, one thousand three hundred and twenty-six people passed the first round and all of them stood on the solitary island at the center of the Heart Inquiry Lake.
"The second round, move onto Heart Inquiry Tower."
Following the instructions of Master Honest and Daoist Xuhuai, the head of the Asura Mansion announced loudly.
The Heart Inquiry Tower is the three-story building standing on the lone island. Behind the tower, there is a narrow path connecting to a bamboo water walkway. The end of the walkway is the silhouette of the main peak of the heroic mountain in the distance.
In other words, as long as you pass the challenge of the Heart Inquiry Tower, you can smoothly enter the heroic mountain.
Just like in the first round, everyone entered the Heart Inquiry Tower in turn according to their cultivation, ten at a time. The first to go in were the nine Qi Absorption Fourth Tier talents and a Qi Absorption Fifth Tier talent.
Within less than ten seconds, three hurriedly ran out, their faces filled with deep terror.
"Ghost, there’s a ghost in the tower."
A youth emerged disheveled, his face pale.
Fifteen seconds later, another four ran out. The remaining three appeared on the walkway behind the Heart Inquiry Tower, glanced at the crowd, and went straight ahead towards heroic mountain without looking back.
"It’s just a small building, I’d like to see what mystery it holds."
"Heart Inquiry, isn’t it a test of mind? Simple."
Batch after batch went in, every talent confident, but the ones really passing the test were not many.
Through observation, Shi Xiaole found that the passing rate of the second round had nothing to do with the level of cultivation.
Some who only had a Qi Absorption Fifth Tier passed with no change in complexion. Some who had a Qi Absorption Sixth Tier came running out in a panic after a while, looking extremely disheveled. After much thought, this round must have something to do with the mind.
Soon, it was Shi Xiaole’s turn.
Interestingly among the ten, that young man with odd pupils was also there. Seeing Shi Xiaole, he grinned at him.
The ten began to walk in.
Both feet stepped on the first floor of the Heart Inquiry Tower, Shi Xiaole’s vision turned completely dark. Ghostly wails and wolf howls, the sound of swords and knives rubbing against each other sprang up, accompanied by gusts of cold wind, as if someone was hiding around you with ill intent.
Many people had guessed that this round was about mental strain, so instinctively they ignored all this and moved forward with internal power.
Thunk!
One amongst the ten suddenly had his arm chopped off by a knife. Blood spewed out, horrifying him into screaming and hastily fighting back without caring for anything else.
But there were more and more enemies, each stab aimed for his vital points. He couldn’t stand the dread and turned tail to run. Escaping from the Heart Inquiry Tower, he found his limbs intact.
"Even if they know it’s fake, how many can ignore the fear of death when the feeling is incredibly real?"
A faint voice sounded.
As time passed, four were successively eliminated.
That young man with eerie pupils, however, had already made it to the second floor effortlessly.
"Your Illusionary Heart Sect disciple is extraordinary. When it comes to Pupil Skills, he should be the best in this round."
On the third floor of Heart Inquiry Tower, two elders sat. The elder on the left who was currently working his skill spoke.
Being a well-known master of illusion in Qingxue State, the only one who could glide so freely in the illusion he had set up was this one.
"Hehe, Mo Ye’s Spirit-breaking Great Method reached perfection last year. Indeed, he is a once-in-several-decades genius of our Illusionary Heart Sect."
The elder from the Illusionary Heart Sect on the right laughed.
"Already reached perfection?"
The elder on the left was surprised.
Even though the Illusionary Heart Sect wasn’t a top sect in Qingxue State, it was a shining example among first-rate sects, especially its second-tier low-grade Pupil Skill — Spirit-breaking Great Method, which was mysteriously terrifying.
It was said that this year is full of talented people, but now it seems that with Mo Ye’s mastery of Pupil Skills, breaking into the top twenty might not be out of the question.
The elder on the left was about to speak again when he had a sudden start. At this moment, he noticed the second person making it to the second floor.
What could he say? If Mo Ye could see through his low-grade illusion because he was proficient in the Spirit-breaking Great Method, then he had some difficulty figuring out the young boy who was now ascending the tower.
It’s not that the young lad’s rank was too high, but the approach he adopted was rather terrifying.
Without using internal power, without using Pupil Skills, he simply walked right up.
There were only two ways to resist illusion: one was through Pupil Skills or illusion skills to beat it head-on, the other was to strengthen the mind defensive with internal power.
Shi Xiaole’s case obviously wasn’t the former, so it could only be the latter.
However, the elder could not imagine how strong a mind was required for this young man to face the illusion he created so leisurely.
Unfathomable.
These four words sprung up in the elder’s mind in an instant.
"Elder Dong, what happened?"
The elder of the Illusionary Heart Sect asked.
"Nothing."
Elder Dong hid the information about Shi Xiaole.
They say good teachers are hard to find, but finding a satisfactory disciple is anything but easy. Those with a strong spirit like Shi Xiaole are naturally meant to cultivate illusion skills.
Elder Dong could see that the opponent did not have any illusion skill aura on him, which meant he was an uncut jade. He could not let the Illusionary Heart Sect take a liking to this material.
Elder Dong smiled delightfully, noted Shi Xiaole’s appearance, and planned to contact him after the competition ends.
"You actually came out so quickly."
On the Ling Water Walkway, Mo Ye looked at Shi Xiaole, who was just a few steps behind him, in astonishment.
"You’re quite fast too."
Shi Xiaole answered indifferently.
In fact, from the moment he entered the Heart Inquiry Tower, Shi Xiaole noticed someone spying on him, so he deliberately slowed down his pace. If he had been free to display his abilities, he would have passed the tests much sooner.
"You’re quite amusing. I’m suddenly looking forward to our head-on showdown."
Experts in illusory techniques usually have sharper instincts than ordinary people. In Mo Ye’s opinion, Shi Xiaole should be one of the few dark horses in this tournament.
As the afternoon arrived, the second round ended.
Out of 1,326 contestants, 723 successfully passed. Surprisingly, the success rate exceeded 50%.
Shi Xiaole was taken aback momentarily but soon understood.
Yes, he had been observing mostly the tests of individuals at the fifth and sixth tiers of Qi Absorption, certainly he could not judge overall success rate based on those.
It’s often said that reaching the seventh tier of Qi Absorption is a watershed. Young rising stars at this realm show not only excellent martial arts aptitude but also holistic excellence, and it’s reasonable for them to have a stronger spirit.
"The mountain climb starts now. No attacking or infighting is allowed midway through the climb. Those who fail to reach the top of the Heroic Spirit Peak in half a 2-hour period will be eliminated."
A voice timely echoed out.
Clang!
Meanwhile, a remote, majestic, endless bell ring resounded from atop the Heroic Spirit peak; it was the Heroic Spirit Bell.
Everyone was filled with excitement. Without any hesitation, they activated their movement skills and started towards the peak, which was 12,000 meters high.
"Hahaha, I’ll take the lead."
Among the seven hundred or so figures, one man spread his arms like an eagle and leapt ahead, rising over forty-five meters in one bound. His black cloak whistled in the wind behind him before he disappeared from sight.
"That’s ’Little Hawk King’ Bai Zhanmei, who ranked thirteenth in the last tournament."
Many people raised their eyebrows.
Lightness skill greatly bolster a martial artist’s combat strength. In the last martial arts tournament, Bai Zhanmei was considered one of the toughest competitors. In this tournament, he was likely to be even more formidable.
"It doesn’t matter who it is. This time, no one can stand in my way."
Bang!
A stone block weighing over a thousand kilos was obliterated by a barehanded punch. The one who did it was stepping into the air, ascending on each crumbling stone piece. This spectacle left many spectators stunned.
"That’s ’Iron-hearted God Fist’ Fang Shenwu, senior student of the Divine Fist Clan. He ranked second in the last tournament and is one of the four ’Heaven Kings’ this time."
Those who recognized him shouted aloud.
In this tournament, four participants had reached the ninth tier of Qi Absorption, thus, some troublemakers were calling them the four ’Heaven Kings’ to indicate that they were out of the reach of others and were the most formidable among the contestants.
A silhouette, as graceful as a falling petal and as light as a falling leaf, ascended with the wind, her feet touching not a speck of dust. Her speed was even faster than ’Little-Hawk King’ Bai Zhanmei, and her posture was extremely elegant and grand.
"’Flying Flower Chasing Moon’ Ye Liushuang. One of the four Heaven Kings. She ranked fifth in the last tournament."
Compliments from the ground below followed her, but she didn’t look back.
Somewhere else, a young man dressed in patched clothes was walking up the steep rock wall, his feet sticking to it like a gecko. His body was parallel to the ground, and he was passing group after group of people.
"’Qi Dominator of Long River’ Lin Gaofei, one of the four Heaven Kings. He ranked third in the last tournament."
Many people were still processing what was happening when they suddenly felt a terrifying, awe-inspiring presence. In the face of this imposing aura, they didn’t even dare to breathe loudly.
That was a young man with long hair that reached his waist. His impressive figure and extraordinary aura made him the center of everyone’s attention. Anyone who stood before him would seemed dim-ended and overshadowed.
The dangerous cliffs under his feet were like flat ground to him, presenting no obstacles whatsoever.
Both those who recognized him and those who didn’t could easily say his name.
’Cold-faced Asura’ Yuan Zong. He was ranked first in the last tournament and is the head of the four Heaven Kings this time.
"So strong! I feel that the strength of these four is not just one level, but two or three levels higher than the rest of us."
A young rising star at the seventh tier of Qi Absorption was quivering.
The younger one breaks through, the more potential they have, and the stronger they are compared to others at the same realm. The four Heaven Kings, being at the ninth tier of Qi Absorption, were already a head above the rest. Considering their own strengths, it was almost impossible for others to challenge them.
While many people felt a sense of awe and accepted the gap between them and the four Heaven Kings, some were silently gathering their strength.
"What ’Four Heaven Kings’? No one knows who will win without a fight."
This was a man carrying swords on his back. He had the sharpness of a sword and the solidity of a blade, a combination that gave an aura of unstoppable momentum.
He was one of the eight individuals at the eighth tier of Qi Absorption from the eight main factions of Qingxue State, representing Twin Absolute Palace. Known as ’Wild Blade Chaotic Sword,’ he was ranked eighteenth in the previous tournament.
Roar!
The sound of a dragon’s chant resounded. Someone was crossing mountains and ridges, with the long sword at their side an inch away from the scabbard, emitting an unparalleled cold glow.
He was one of the four young swordsman from Qingxue State, ’Wandering Dragon Swordsman’ Yue Tianlin.
Not far from Yue Tianlin, another person remained calm and unfathomable, seeming to cut the very air his figure passed, ruthlessly dividing it in two.
He was one of the four young swordsman from Qingxue State, ’Death Claiming Swift Sword’ Guan Duli.
Shi Xiaole, with these thoughts, could not help but be filled with a profound sense of time. It occurred to him that when he had first crossed into this world, he had heard rumors about Yue Tianlin and Guan Duli in the Huajian Sect. In a blink of an eye, two years had passed, and now he was competing against them.
With a surge of ambition, Shi Xiaole whisked away with the wind, his figure disappearing in a flash of green.
"Who is that?"
"God, what a brilliant Flying Skill!"
Many people stood stunned, not even catching a clear glimpse of his figure.
"This is getting more and more exciting."
Among those overtaken, a man dressed in white from head to toe, having white hair and white shoes, gave a faint smile at the sight and leisurely trailed behind the crowd.
He was ’Ice and Snow Swordsman’ Xue Changqing, one of the four young swordsman.
