When Bei Dongshi placed his hand upon the orb, the eyes of everyone focused upon him, curious to see what this young man who was wrapped in mystery would manifest.
However, this ti the glow was not rely bright... but was blazing! A deep and pure crimson light erged that swallowed the other colors around it then dyed half the arena in blood-red radiance.
The uproar that followed was instant and deafening.
"R–Red?!"
"Is that... is that actually red?!"
"Impossible! I thought only the Twin Monsters would—"
On the high platform, several middle layer sect elders shot to their feet unconsciously, their composure cracking for the first ti, and even the Path Saints narrowed their eyes sharply as they sat up in their seats.
Only Ming Yue remained seated, but the smile on his lips had beco razor-thin.
The Desolate Hell Path Saint Zhen Mingshen slowly turned their head toward Hall Master Yan Moqing, their expression unreadable.
"You really hid this one deep." They said in a low tone. (Author’s note: Rember, Zhen Mingshen is a genderless being, neither he nor she.)
Yan Moqing’s cold face didn’t change, but a flicker of satisfaction passed through her eyes. "He hid himself, we didn’t contribute much."
Bei Dongshi’s blindfolded face remained indifferent as he withdrew his hand, the red light gradually receding, and turned his head slightly, glancing straight toward where Li Ling sat.
Even without direct eye contact, Li Ling felt as if he were being stared at by a pair of scorching pupils.
For the first ti since the test began, Li Ling’s eyelids lifted fully, and his dark blue pupils t the blank band of cloth across Bei Dongshi’s gaze.
"Oh? Interesting." Li Ling’s lips curved slightly.
Bei Dongshi tilted his head slightly, as if acknowledging the silent exchange, then turned away.
’So you’re the one who’s warped fate enough to even attract the attention of the underworld? Let’s see which of us the heavens hate more.’ The young man thought, the faintest ripple of curiosity stirring beneath his usual detachnt.
He descended the steps in silence, the crowd still buzzing wildly as the implications sank in.
Three soul grades above yellow... one orange, and now a red that no one had even dared to dream of except for soone like Li Ling himself.
Imdiately, the narrative focus of the tournant shifted in the minds of many spectators in that instant.
It wasn’t just about Li Ling anymore, as there were clearly other monsters lurking in the lower sect’s depths.
Yet, in the very next breath, that thought was banished.
"Next person, Bai Yegui!"
The na was like a lit match thrown into an oil bucket, stirring up the flas of passion in the spectators.
"The second of the Twin Monsters of the Lower Six Paths!"
"He fought Li Ling to a draw back then!"
"Back then they were equals... I wonder how they compare now?"
A slender figure rose calmly from among the Hungry Ghost Path disciples. Bai Yegui’s appearance was the opposite of Shi Gaolin’s solid martial presence; he was pale, with smooth, almost delicate features that would not have seed out of place on a scholar.
His short white hair was ssy as usual, and his eyes were narrow, dark, and faintly sunken, lending him a slightly eerie charm.
The fellow walked toward the orb without haste, his steps light as the hem of his robe barely stirred. The arena’s volu dropped not because no one was excited, but because people were holding their breath.
This was the one who had stood equal to Li Ling in the early days, trading blows until both were drenched in blood, the clash that had birthed the title ’Twin Monsters of the Lower Six Paths’.
This of course, beca less relevant after Li Ling monstrous feat of destroying five markets in a row from the righteous sect and comprehending three rules in the third realm breakthrough, even calling down heavenly tribulation.
Bai Yegui reached the pedestal and finally turned his head slightly, his line of sight drifting to the side.
Up in the stands, more than a few people noticed the subtle change in Li Ling’s posture.
His hand left his cheek and his back straightened by a slight amount. Those dark blue eyes, which had remained half-lidded and indifferent through every other test, now focused fully on the stage.
Bai Yegui’s lips twitched upward, and whether it was in satisfaction or amusent, even he wasn’t sure.
"So you can still be bothered to look at , huh? Good! I’d hate to think I was only a fleeting mory in your life!" He thought, his blood boiling.
Bai Yegui sucked in a deep breath and placed his hand on the orb.
WHOOSH!
The light that burst forth this ti was not weaker than Bei Dongshi’s! In fact, it was slightly richer and heavier, like thick blood wine poured across the firmant.
Even the Pure Soul Orb humd faintly, its surface trembling as if struggling to contain the reading.
For a brief mont, the arena was stunned into complete silence... then all hell broke loose!
"Red again?!"
"The second of the Twin Monsters is also red!"
"So it wasn’t just his roots and comprehension... his soul talent is peak tier as well?!"
Even the middle layer sect elders who had just sat down found themselves half-rising again, faces dark and agitated.
"This is... this batch... what sort of little monsters have we raised?" One of them muttered with a hint of fear.
"Can we really contain them if they grow? Can they match the Heavenly Mandate Dao Child?" Another asked with a shake of their head, foreseeing cloudy days ahead.
On the pedestal, Bai Yegui stared at the red glow reflected in his own eyes, then slowly withdrew his hand.
He didn’t look at the elders, his peers, or the sea of sect disciples. He imdiately turned his head and let his gaze collide with Li Ling’s.
Li Ling smiled, and it wasn’t the usual playful and mocking curve he gave most people, but sothing sharper and slightly more genuine.
"Not bad." He praised audibly.
’As expected of the protagonist huh?’ Li Ling thought to himself inwardly, feeling that things might beco unpredictable when the elimination rounds started.
Bai Yegui exhaled deeply through his nose, sothing in his chest loosening and tightening at the sa ti.
’Don’t patronize Li Ling! I’ll drag you down with or stand beside you, I refuse to be left behind!’ The pale young man thought fiercely.
With that, he turned and walked back down, ignoring the hands that reached out to clap his shoulder as well as the questions flung his way.
The Divine Deva Overseer allowed the crowd a few more breaths to chatter about what just occurred, then raised his hand and pressed down, his Fourth Realm aura suppressing the noise from the lower sect area which were the loudest.
"Next person..."
He glanced at his list, then blinked once before continuing with a hint of strangeness in his tone.
"...Li Ling!"
Imdiately, the entire crowd seed to reach a peak, as everyone leaned forward in their seats, gripping their armrests tightly enough to break it where it not made of superior materials. The falsely smiling Ming Yue, especially shifted his posture, his eyes narrowing as he focused intently on what was about to happen.
Path Saints, Path Elders, Path Ascenders, Path Controllers, Core Disciples, True Inheritors, Grand Elders, Path Lords and even Path Walkers, everyone was akin to a mortal watching the climax mont of a drama play, completely riveted in the mont and unable to even muster any interest in anything else.
Li Ling smiled and stood up, dusting himself off dramatically before taking a single step and teleporting before the Pure Soul Orb, sothing which made the eyes of those in the Upper Sect narrow. Earlier he had opened a portal to the tournant grounds with so strange power that they couldn’t identify and even now, none could necessarily see through his thod for achieving this, but were sure that it was a result of a daoist art.
Bai Yegui’s lips twitched because he knew exactly which daoist art could do this and what it required, so he had long known that Li Ling at least had a Void Touched Physique. With his own background in mind, compared with Li Ling’s, Bai Yegui felt that their eting was fated and truly took the title ’Twin Monsters of the Lower Six Paths’ very seriously.
Now was the mont of truth, where he would see whether the fellow could match his pace in the middle layer. A Void Touched Physique basically half guaranteed that Li Ling would slide into Void Refinent, but the three major realms before that would mostly be decided by this soul test!
Li Ling reached out slowly with his right hand, pressing it atop the pure soul orb just as all eyes focused upon it with bated breaths.
WHOOOSH!
Imdiately the Pure Soul Orb reacted and revealed the long awaited results, which were sothing no one could have expected nor predicted!
Reviews
All reviews (0)