In one of the nine outer clans of the Lingwu Family, at the Green Sun Branch of the Green Faction’s gathering point outside the city, there was a Mountain of Trials. Both sides of the Mountain of Trials had dozens of steel doors, and outside of the obscured steel doors, there was a vast open field. At that moment, there were a number of people sitting in a row, coolly looking at the Mountain of Trials.
To begin with, there were no sounds of activity on this side of the Mountain of Trials, but half an hour later, the steel doors were gradually pushed open by people. Each and every one’s clothing was disheveled, there were even people whose body had suffered serious injuries, all coming out from inside the tunnel. When they saw the sunshine outside, regardless of how severely injured they were, all of them appeared excited.
At this moment, Huang Feiyang saw that a dozen or more people had already come out. Suddenly, he raised his eyebrows toward a youth who was next to him— a man who was younger than him— and commanded, “You go and give the Canola Grass to those who are seriously hurt, and let them recover. ”
At once, the youth agreed and left to do his bidding.
Only then did Huang Feiyang change his sights to the youth sitting on his other side, and laughed, saying, “Brother Wen, half of the time is already over, isn’t it? This round’s participants are not that bad huh, almost 20 people came out. There were more than 10 people who withdrew, that is to say, only a dozen or so died. ”
Wen Ya glanced over all the people who had already come out and said, “There is only a little time left. When the time is up, immediately lock those doors. At that time, those who did not die will certainly die. The Lingwu Family isn’t to be entered that easily. ”
“Oh! By the way, Brother Huang, that younger brother of yours is pretty good. It looks like he is not at all injured and his achievements should be among the best. Others appear more or less injured. ”
Speaking of Huang Xiang, Huang Feiyang , who was rarely proud, said, “From our childhood, my younger brother’s character has always resembled mine, he is tenacious and hard-working. It is likely that his future accomplishments would almost match mine. ”
Wen Ya nodded his head, muttering to himself for a time, then he said, “Time is almost up, can we lock the gates now and then count the steel hearts?”
Huang Feiyang looked at his younger brother. This time, Huang Xiang turned to face him and gave him a reassuring look so he nodded at him with a smile.
Huang Xiang looked at each and every one of the 20 people who had passed and when he did not find Long Chen’s figure, he frowned and said, “In Yuanyang Citadel, I saw that his physical strength was pretty good, capable of resisting my [Wheel Of Radiance]. It makes no sense that he perished inside without passing the first trial….”
By this time, the Lingwu Family’s men had already begun to seal the steel doors. Huang Xiang grudgingly smiled and said, “Huang Xiang, oh Huang Xiang, you have overestimated others! Your only opponents are the geniuses from the four Inner Factions. A small person from a small area is simply not worthy of you being bothered about him….”
Then Huang Xiang shifted his gaze and kept looking at the experts from Lingwu Family. He did not continue to think about Long Chen.
Apparently he considered Long Chen’s death inside the mountain to be normal.
And at that moment Liu Fengfeng looked everywhere including behind him. When he saw that Long Chen still hadn’t come out, he immediately laughed and mocked, “If you had sensibly withdrawn earlier, all would have been well. But if you died in that place, then you can only blame yourself for not listening to this older brother’s advice. You also cannot blame others for this, I noticed your temper beforehand and knew that you would die inside!”
Thinking of the steel hearts that he had obtained, Liu Fengfeng was very satisfied.
“Altogether, I have 23 steel hearts; that should be sufficient for me to enter the top 10, right?”
Thinking of those terrifying steel golems within the passage, Liu Fengfeng took in an involuntary breath of cold air. If he hadn’t sufficiently prepared in advance, he’d have been finished.
“More than half of my Qi has been used up. In the second trial, I may not have an easy time..…. ”
Liu Fengfeng sized up the surrounding peoples, but he saw that each and everyone appeared as miserable as him. He immediately felt at ease and muttered, “These people and I are more or less in the same boat. I still have a chance!”
At this moment, seeing that each and every one of the steel doors has been locked, Huang Feiyang stood up, preparing to announce the end of the first trial, when all of a sudden, a door which was about to be sealed opened with a bang. The people who were about to seal the door were blown back several steps, and with frustrated expressions they looked inside. They hadn’t anticipated someone would come out at the very last moment.
Making such a forceful entrance suddenly drew everyone’s attention towards the door.
At this moment, a figure became more and more distinct from within the dark tunnel. When they saw that the figure emerging from the tunnel was an unexpected yet unfamiliar young face, they were all stupefied.
However, for Huang Xiang and Liu Fengfeng, they both suffered from a greater shock.
Liu Fengfeng was rather speechless. His head rolled back and forth for a while before he finally accepted the truth.
“He actually lucked out, and managed to escape at the last moment? However, with his abilities, I reckon he wouldn’t have many steel hearts, so there’s nothing great about it even if he came out. ”
He thought that way originally, but seeing that Long Chen was unscathed, he was unable to explain why. Therefore, his brows furrowed as he said, “Could it be that the tunnel he was in did not have as many steel golems?”
Seeing Long Chen come out, Huang Xiang coldly looked at him, but then he thought, “For a person that could withstand my move, he should have a certain level of talent. Since you did not die in there, that is great. After a while, you will know what death is. I hope the steel hearts in your hands can get you into the top 10!”
Just after he came out, looking at the many people gathered, Long Chen was in shock and promptly joined the group as he thought, “Truly frightening! Actually, I’d been so engrossed in fighting that if I were a little slower, it would have ended tragically!”
Long Chen smirked at Huang Xiang’s gaze which was full of murderous intent.
Seeing that Long Chen still dared to face him, Huang Xiang scornfully thought “Is this because I killed your horse? Is that something worth being angry about? After I have killed you, then you will know that the matter previously was insignificant….”
As Long Chen merged into the crowd, people could clearly see his appearance. Still, they lost interest to observe him any further. At that moment, Liu Fengfeng ran over to pat Long Chen on his shoulder as he laughed and said, “Well done lad! Actually, you’ve exceeded my expectations. Coming out alive, is not bad at all. How many steel hearts did you gain?”
Looking at this person, Long Chen could only smile bitterly and shake his head.
Liu Fengfeng, who looked as if he had expected this reply, cheerfully said, “Never mind, even if you didn’t obtain any steel hearts, it is alright. At least, you sustained no injuries. You’ll still have an opportunity at the next Yuandi City’s selection!”
While Liu Fengfeng was harping on, Huang Xiang and Long Chen looked daggers at each other. However, it was seen by Huang Feiyang. Huang Feiyang frowned while staring at Long Chen and muttered, “Does Ah Xiang[1] and this kid have a conflict? Good brat, you’re clearly aware that I am here, yet you still dare to offend a person from my Huang Family. Your guts aren’t small.”
[TL Note[1]: An endearing term – Refers to Huang Xiang]
He’d originally thought to announce that, because of Long Chen’s slight delay, he would lose the qualification to enter the second trial. But before he could, Wen Ya who was beside him, announced, “Well done. Now, all of you please get in a row, and each and everyone shall hand over your steel hearts! ”
As Wen Ya spoke, Huang Feiyang didn’t want to contradict him. Instead, thought to himself, “Never mind, even if you can enter the top 10, I will make you suffer soon. ”
He sat down, and on his desk, he flipped through the registration book to read Long Chen’s profile.
“Long Chen, comes from….. Poplar Town’s Yang Family, a Beast Warrior, in the eighth level of the Dragon Pulse Realm. The Beast Spirit Origin is the Underground Blood Lizard of the Dragon Pulse Realm? It’s only at this level, yet Ah Xiang[1] hasn’t eliminated him. It seems like the cultivation Ah Xiang did for all these years is still lacking. ”
At this time, Wen Ya was already registering the number of steel hearts handed in by each warrior.
“Chen Wenlong, 18 pieces!”
“Qing Xu, 29 pieces!”
“Xiao Yan, 8 pieces!”
About 20 people, one by one, approached Wen Ya and took out the steel hearts within their cosmos pouches. After waiting anxiously for some time, Liu Fengfeng patted Long Chen’s shoulder and said, “You wait here, I will first go to hand over the steel hearts!”
Very quickly, his outcome was announced.
“Liu Fengfeng, 23 hearts!”
Liu Fengfeng proudly came before Long Chen and said excitedly, “So far, my quantity of steel hearts puts me in 9th place! I see that the rest of the people, except for Huang Xiang, were all severely injured. I guess, this time, my total of steel hearts has unexpectedly gotten me a position in the top 10, the heavens are indeed smiling upon me!”
While he spoke, Huang Xiang gave Long Chen a provoking stare, as he walked over to Wen Ya. Looking at the younger brother of his good friend, Wen Ya smiled cheerfully and said, “Are you Huang Xiang? Come, take out your steel hearts, and let us see what you’ve got! ”
Huang Feiyang looked at his younger brother with an indulgent expression, and said, “During my selection, I got 58 steel hearts and our Elder Brother Wen Ya did better than me and retrieved 67 steel hearts. Currently, the highest number of steel hearts is 41. Ah Xiang, do you have any chance to get the first position?”
Huang Xiang confidently laughed and said, “You’ll just have to count them to find out. ”
While laughing, a huge amount of dazzling steel hearts poured out from his Cosmos Pouch. Seeing the rest of the participants gasp, even Wen Ya and Huang Feiyang displayed their approval of him!
Liu Fengfeng paled, and said, “I underestimated Huang Xiang’s ability. The number of steel hearts should be more than 60! This means, that Huang Xiang’s ranking would be 1st, and I will be ranked 10th. However, that is not bad, I can still enter the second trial……”
While Wen Ya was precisely counting, he suddenly laughed and said, “Not bad kid, certainly not bad. 68 steel hearts. He got one more steel heart compared to what I got in the past.”
Huang Feiyang was gratified as he looked at his brother’s accomplishment.
He looked at Huang Xiang and nodded. Just then Huang Xiang opened his mouth to say something, Huang Feiyang looked and saw Long Chen standing not too far behind Huang Xiang, and he immediately understood Huang Xiang’s intention.
Therefore, he nodded.
Then only did Huang Xiang leave. During this time, those who were seriously injured and applied the healing medicines walked over one by one. Not exceeding Liu Fengfeng’s expectations, their achievements seldom exceeded 10 hearts. Looking around, Liu Fengfeng drew back the corners of his mouth in a smile.
“Great, I’m barely in the tenth place, but it was really close……”
Looking at him rejoicing, Long Chen felt the irony as he was the only one left to hand over his steel hearts.
Seeing Long Chen approach Wen Ya, Liu Fengfeng was startled and muttered, “Could it be that this boy was able to obtain some steel hearts?”