“I congratulate all those who made it here,” Selly Willis spoke aloud while standing in the center of the lake. The crocodiles tried to attack her, but the heat given off by her feet kept them away.Her ponytail and cool appearance attracted many young male disciples. Some even secretly salivated at her, wondering how someone could look so charming even when she wasn’t trying.“Over 60,000 people failed to reach here, and more than half of those that failed had perished in the Whispering Woods,” Selly continued. “Let’s hope their souls rest in peace.“Now then, let’s talk about more important things. Those of you who are afraid to go to the next round can back out, but if you’re still motivated to win, then cross this lake to start the third round, which is just to cross the forest full of traps with your lives intact, but with the condition that you can’t kill your fellow competitors in this round. And of course, you have only until the sun goes away.”“What? The third round?” Many
Though everyone crossed the lake, Melita from the Honeywell sect was still standing on the side of the Whispering Woods. Why didn’t her sect members not reach there yet? Did they give up, or did they die? Even after she brought them half-way through the Whispering Woods?Instead of going forward, she turned back toward the Whispering Woods and dashed forth. “I hope they’re alright.”Meanwhile, Fabby and Edgar were following Betty.“I don’t think this is the right time for us to be doing this,” he said.“She killed Gray and walked away free,” Fabby resolutely said. “I will show her there’ll be consequences for every action.”“Yeah, but shouldn’t saving our energy be our priority?” Edgar was looking around. There were thick and tall trees, and the terrain and atmosphere felt pretty similar to the Whispering Woods, excluding the blood bees and the eerie noises. “We don’t know what dangers lie ahead of us in this round.”“It won’t take long to defeat her.”Edgar sighed. “Should I do it?”
“That woman must have been using the light-footed technique, so it made her vulnerable against a strong wind that wasn’t cutting but pushing type,” Edgar talked with his sister as they kept jogging through the woods. “That’s why she got thrown far out of that windy zone and got stuck between trees.”“You are right. We should be careful before we use any moves as they could very well end up putting us in a more difficult situation.”“She said her name was Betty,” Edgar wondered. “What if someone tries to take advantage of Betty’s situation and abuses her?“Well,” Fabby replied in a low voice. “I sensed some masters watching from a distance, so I’m sure they wouldn’t allow a female to be raped now, would they?”“What if the masters themselves get tempted?”Fabby’s heart skipped upon hearing Edgar’s question. “L-Let’s hope that doesn’t happen. It’s highly unlikely that multiple masters would lose their conscience after seeing a pretty little ass.”“Well, you never know.”Fabby didn’t say
Leo just reached the Pumpkin zone with his juniors, but they were too afraid to enter this place. “Can’t we just go around this region?” one of them asked. Leo shook his head. “On the left side, you have a poisonous pond, and on the right side, you have the Thorn Gap.” “Can’t we cross the Thorn Gap?” He shook his head even more. “Even I won’t have an easy time there.” “What? Is that place that dangerous?” “Not just dangerous but also ruthless,” Leo explained. “You will have roses that will climb you and pierce you with their thorns, and their leaves will soak in your blood. And then there are those berries that will spit poisonous gasses and make you go crazy. And that’s just the tip of it. That place is packed with traps of all kinds designed to test your limits. Unless you’re at a certain level, you cannot cope with the pressure that place puts on you.” “Even inner disciples can’t?” “Well, it depends.” At the Thorn Gap. The vines of rose attacked Edgar and Fabby. He kept cu
“Be careful! Those thorny slugs will drink your blood very fast!”“And those water vines will pull you underwater and choke you to death!”Tenzai, Azar, and Liam stopped at a yellow lake, which looked like it was boiling. And they could see trying to cross it over boats.“Hell Lake…” Tenzai gritted his teeth. “If we fall, we’re goners. How the hell are we supposed to cross this lake?”“I can manage the flames,” Azar said, “but those slugs can spit water, so if they gang up, I won’t be of much help.”“The real problem is the vines,” Liam opined. “We won’t be able to use our strength if those things bind our limbs.”“At least they’re not attacking the boats, so we might have a chance,” Tenzai said. Just then he saw a figure hopping on different boats and reaching the other side.“What a speedy foot technique!” Liam was greatly impressed by it. “Even though the boats are in disorder, she managed to use them as her footing. Who the hell is she?”“If I’m correct, she’s Chace,” said Tenzai.
“I think we can escape from this, Eddie.” She said, and her words reached his ears even through all the madness he was experiencing.“HOW?” he bore all the pain and yelled at her. “TELL ME NOW!”“We’re in a field of thorn drive that’s responding to our movements,” she shouted through her pain. “Try to feel the drive with your skin, take it inward, and you’ll see its nature.” She jumped and landed five steps ahead, but this time the drive didn’t attack her. “Look, you can avoid the traps this way. We have to figure out the spots that are spared out in this field. There’s no other way.”“Then do it!” “Huh? I can’t do it alone,” Fabby’s abdomen hurt like anything every time she said a word. “I don’t think I can last much longer. You should learn to figure this out yourself, or we’ll both be trapped here until we lose our blood and die.”Edgar’s body was being pierced by the needle-like energy attacking from all directions, even from under his feet. Sometimes it was so vicious it threw h
When Edgar woke up, he found himself in a tent. The first thought that came to him was that he failed, and it disappointed him greatly.He glanced to his right. Fabby was sitting on the chair and was reading a book. His bad mood disappeared pretty quickly seeing her so immersed in reading. When she was a slave she had to teach him how to write secretly. She always wanted to read a lot of books, and now seeing her reading a book really bloomed happiness in his heart.“What book are you reading?” he asked.“You woke up! Finally!” she sighed, snapping the book shut. “It’s been 20 hours.”“I slept that long?”“After you were healed by a master.”“Oh, who healed me?” Edgar curiously asked.“Someone called Evan Dregs. A master of the Red Roses sect. He said you suffered 210 broken bones on your body. If you had kept going longer, you would have died.” Her expression was slightly serious.Edgar’s mouth turned down. ”I was just… giving it my best.”She faintly smiled. “That’s why we passed.”
The evergreat sect members that reached the fourth round all gathered under a banyan tree. What pleasantly shocked them was that there was not just the patriarch but also Great Elder Pandaar who watched over the skill hall, and also Grandmaster Mocha and Master Selly present there.Pandora snapped his fingers. A sound barrier formed all around them. When the winds hit the barrier, it lit up into flames and thereby screened everything that was happening inside so outsiders couldn’t easily see what was happening. The flames made a sort of burning music and made it extremely hard for anyone who tried to eavesdrop.“76 members. It’s not even half the number we usually get in this tournament during this stage,” Dusual said, “but it’s okay. What matters more is that we’re still in this competition. Things will get tough from the next round, but don’t be afraid. Give it everything you got. Use your drive well, and it will help you in most cases. Now, Great Elder will give you all a little le