38 Two brothers' shock
'I can't believe I just tossed an immortal-grade weapon like that. I would have sold it instead!' Li Chen grumbled inwardly.
He reluctantly averted his gaze from Pig Yun and saw a transparent shield forming above the formation.
"We're already at the end." Tiger Yi was about to jump when he suddenly flashed backwards, grabbed Pig Yun, and leaped out.
The shield sealed the entire place, spanning several hundred meters, locking every cultivator within. To emerge, they would have to fight themselves.
"That was close." Pig Yun held his knees, panting softly.
Li Chen looked at the forest ahead of them. The tree leaves had varying heaps of snow. The trees had good spacing but the snow on the ground was thicker than where they stood.
Lowering his head, he gazed at the jade tag and saw his total points.
Candidate points: 1000
'1000 points! That beast cultivator must have disqualified quite a number before he met us.' Li Chen thought.
Though the number seemed big, he couldn't relax. What made this test more daunting was that there was no defining amount to be qualified for.
He just had to keep getting more and would only stop when he arrived before the finish line.
[Let's go.]
Seeing Li Chen walk away, both men followed him. They walked into the forest and kept turning left and right in case of any sneaky attack.
"If we are allowed to use different artifacts, isn't it unfair to those unable to buy one?" Pig Yun asked.
Tiger Yi turned to him. He knew Pig Yun referred to the artifact the beast Cultivators used to cloak themselves.
"Although artifacts are allowed, they won't be the determining factor. Personal strength and potential are important. Besides, we're being watched so nothing escapes their eyes."
Li Chen's lashes swept up and he blinked. 'I had a feeling they were watching us with something.'
He looked at his jade again, turned the back, and followed the direction of the compass, which pointed to a glowing white dot.
Avoiding large groups, defeating smaller ones, and battling wild beasts, they progressed rapidly, with Pig Yun practically bellowing every time he sighted a 'prey'.
A while later, they arrived in a forest with white trunks and light red leaves. Pig Yun walked up to a tree and plucked a leaf.
"It looks like a maple leaf," he said, caressing the leaf.
[We should not waste time. Let's go…] Li Chen couldn't finish his words when a wild beast approached them.
The female creature was about 1.7 meters tall. She had blue crystal spikes protruding from her back. Her fur was as white as the snow beneath their feet, and her eyes were like blue gems.
Taking a step back, Li Chen drew his eyes to her crystal claws and elongated fangs. 'An Azure-fanged wolf!'
The wolf yawned, clearly informing them that she was hungry and that they looked just right for her lunch.
Pig Yun clutched his axe, his eyes glued to the wild beast.
"She's a 19-star immortal beast. Be careful," Tiger Yi warned. The moment he leaped toward the top of a tree, the azure-fanged wolf bolted toward Li Chen.
Li Chen was about to unsheathe his sword when he recalled one of the azure-fanged wolf's capabilities.
Studying the wolf with piercing scrutiny, he discovered her next movement and acted. As the wild beast lunged into the air, he slid below it and stood up behind it.
'I couldn't do it!' he hissed. Li Chen had planned to unsheath his sword and slice open the wild beast's abdomen but he wasn't fast enough, nor did his mindset and positioning grant him the ability to do it.
SHING—!
Unsheathing his sword, he turned and locked eyes with the wolf, which had nineteen crystal spikes protruding from her back.
GRR—
A low growl rang and her large body flickered. Seeing the beast above him and her claws ready to rip out his head, Li Chen leaned to the right and swung his sword.
SLASH—!
A cut…
SWISH—!
Li Chen used his movement technique to appear at a different spot and a gleaming sword radiance containing his sword intent slashed off the wild beast's tail!
At this moment, Li Chen realized Tiger Yi and Pig Yun were combating two other Azure-fanged wolves.
'So we're in their territory.'
Staring fixedly at the wrathful wolf, who yearned for nothing more than to rip him apart, Li Chen held his sword vertically.
His posture remained straight and his other hand held the sheath.
They maintained eye contact, their auras clashing, before both sides dashed forward. Li Chen spun to his right, avoiding the wolf's fangs.
'Go to rest.' He sighed, his grip tightened, and he decapitated the beast.
It fell to the ground, raising a small amount of snow around her body. He silently watched the corpse disintegrate into glowing particles and sighed.
'I guess I'm soft-hearted. I definitely am, right?'
THUD—!
THUD —!
Reacting to the presence behind him, Li Chen turned back while swinging his sword. This time he wasn't able to gather much energy but his sword intent swooshed out at a crucial moment.
BAM—!
The tiger slammed him against a tree and disintegrated.
"Wow, little brother, your reaction is astonishing." Tiger Yi said, launching sharp wind arcs, which ended the badly wounded beast before him.
The hair on Li Chen's neck stood as he watched Tiger Yi's ruthless act. His casual expression made it even more frightening.
They both turned to Pig Yun. The fat man was embroiled in an intense battle.
"We don't have all day!" Tiger Yi yelled and Pig Yun chuckled.
"This axe Brother Yi gave me is ten times better than my cleavers. I'll switch to using an axe!" He bellowed.
Turning, he saw the wolf fleeing. Her comrades were dead. She had to escape or suffer the same fate.
With a scoff, Pig Yun threw his axe. It curved mid-air and plunged into the wolf's neck!
"Hahaha!"
****
A tall man garbed in black robes and a cloak inspected the gashes on a tree. They were far from their previous spot and would have left here if it weren't for the signs of battle littered around.
[It's a sword mark.] He said this, turning to Tiger Yi and Pig Yun.
"So?" Pig Yun asked.
[It's pretty deep and many trees have different marks. There was a large-scale battle here. This means there are a good number of people ahead of us!]
Their expressions changed. "Let's go. We have to catch up." Tiger Yi replied and they flickered into the distance.
Li Chen heard some violent sounds and his eyes narrowed. He kept guessing what was at their destination until he tapped the last tree and there wasn't any tree to step on any longer.
He was in a vast space and hundreds of cultivators were engaged in a massive battle. Quickly circulating his energy, he evaded a stray arrow and landed.
Not even a second passed and two men ran toward him.
[!!!]
Though shocked, he drew his sword. Pig Yun brandished his axe, while Tiger Yi still looked like a young scholar who disliked bloodshed.
SHING—!
That sound was the last thing his opponents heard and a bright gleam was the last thing they saw.
[Move across.]
Li Chen's words rang, and he leaped into the air, occasionally stepping on people's heads, deflecting arrows, and using offensive techniques while floating!
CLANG—!
CLANG—!
When he noticed an archer targeting him, Li Chen located the position.
"Condensation"!
A swirling ball of light formed mid air and he slashed it. A large arc consumed everything in his targeted area!
The piercing effect of his 3rd-level sword intent killed those who escaped pulverization.
Pig Yun's eyes flew wide open but he wasn't the only one shocked.
In a beautiful garden situated on the floating island, powerful cultivators stared at the circular space that displayed the youths.
Although the elders weren't as powerful as the grand elders, who left after picking their disciples, they were also immortal primals!
Standing beside them were the youths picked by the grand elders. They also watched the screen, which was focused on two youths.
A man garbed in a purple robe.
He held a massive hammer and destroyed both the beast, the cultivators, and the surroundings. His skin was impenetrable to those trying to bring him down.
The second was a skilled, powerful, and tactical archer. The girl had eliminated more cultivators than beasts and she was fast approaching the finish line, just like the purple-robed youth.
Suddenly, the rankings had a drastic change and a name approached the top ten. Not even a second later, he was in the top five!
The screen displayed a massive battle field and everyone watched as a masked man launched several sword radiances in quick succession.
"Do you know him?" Bai Fenxi's eyes narrowed and she turned to Feng Lanxi.
"Not at all." Feng Lanxi shook his head.
"He'll eventually lose to those two. It's clear that the grand elders had no clue of their potential or they wouldn't be there." Tang Wulin scowled.
Lu Feng turned to the beauty beside him. He couldn't help but admire her beauty, rivaling the scene of countless flowers blooming.
Her pink lips tilted upward, and her phoenix eyes twinkled.
'Good.' Xiu Ying said inwardly.
"Do you know him?" Feng Lanxi suddenly asked, startling Lu Feng and causing everyone to look at Xiu Ying.
Dissatisfaction plowed her brows and she scoffed. "You have the balls to speak to me, huh?"
Feng Lanxi smiled awkwardly.
"I remember the white-haired man. I guess they're all with her." Bai Fenxi said.
Unaware of the situation on the floating mountain, Li Chen, Tiger Yi, and Pig Yun finally crossed the battlefield and rushed into the forest.
"Hahaha! Brother Li. You've earned this great one's respect."
SWISH—!
...An arrow pierced through his head.
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