Chapter Fifty-Two: The Impending Fourth Trial

Within the Third Trial!

In a vast, boundless expanse of blinding white, a feeble figure, small as an ant, pressed onward...

Each step the frail silhouette took was met with an overwhelming force, a crushing pressure that bore down relentlessly, stirring tempests around his body!

“Ah!”

A cry, torn straight from his soul, rang out as he was forced to the ground, crushed beneath the invisible weight.

He summoned the Celestial Evolution Art.

“Damn it! If you want me to fall, keep dreaming!” Biting down on his bloodied lip, Chu Qingchen trembled but forced himself upright, refusing to yield.

He drew the energy of the world into himself, letting the vital essence whirl madly beneath his skin to counter the pressing force! Swirls of red energy spun desperately about him, resisting the oppression, and as the pressure eased, the silhouette slowly rose...

“First Art of the Fivefold Blaze: Wolf Condensation!”

With a sharp, resounding cry, Chu Qingchen unleashed his power.

At once, the image of a wolf, forged in living flame, blazed into existence around his wrist, the crimson shape condensing with fierce purpose. As the wolf-shaped flame took form, its scorching aura billowed outward—the fiery imprint on Chu Qingchen’s arm seemed almost sentient, and waves of blazing energy rippled forth. In the blink of an eye, the wolf surged ahead, a crimson specter lunging forward with unstoppable momentum!

With a thunderous crash, the burning wolf, saturated with the wild energy of fire, collided with the wall of pressure. A searing heat exploded outward, and the white stairway above was obliterated by an internal blast, vanishing without a trace!

Next, phantom images of scarlet flame shot through the air like arrows loosed from a taut bow, as furious fires raged below. The spectacle was awe-inspiring.

But suddenly, an endless surge of azure wind swept in, wrapping around him and suspending him midair!

Before he could react, vertigo seized him—a sensation as if the world itself was spinning and shifting. Chu Qingchen’s hard-won triumph was instantly overturned, leaving him drifting, powerless, at the mercy of the storm.

After what felt like an eternity, his feet finally touched solid ground, and relief bloomed quietly in his heart...

...

“Well then, since that’s settled, let’s move on to the fourth trial!” Qingpo said, smiling.

Outwardly all smiles, but inwardly, Qingpo couldn’t help but grumble—such a loss of composure over a single celestial-grade weapon! Clearly, this one was not cut out for great responsibility. But there was little to be done; fate had decreed it so.

“Alright, I’m ready!” Tianming nodded.

“By the way, Qingpo, can you make the next trial a bit more difficult? Not to boast, but these first three were far too easy.” As he stored the Celestial Sword of Destiny in his dimensional space, Tianming seemed to remember something and quickly added his request.

Qingpo was momentarily speechless, recalling how earlier Tianming had been pressed to the ground and mercilessly tormented. Qingpo couldn’t say how Tianming had managed to break through that last ordeal, but he knew it had come at a steep price—likely connected to his current diminished cultivation.

“Brave words! But the fourth trial will not be so easy, and this time, I won’t be helping you. You’ll be on your own. Consider this carefully—if you still had your previous fifth-tier Spirit Void cultivation, you might stand a chance, but now it will be much harder!” Qingpo warned, unable to resist dampening Tianming’s confidence.

“When did you ever help me?” Tianming retorted indignantly. “If anything, you were always finding ways to make things harder for me! My drop in cultivation is proof of that.”

Qingpo fell silent, momentarily at a loss for words. There was some truth in what Tianming said, but Qingpo was not about to admit it, lest Tianming demand compensation. He quickly tried to change the topic.

“Ahem! I now announce the immediate commencement of the fourth trial. There will be a ten-minute waiting period for participants to gather. At present, 3,067 have entered the trial, with 937 currently assembled!” Qingpo declared in a formal tone, as though nothing had happened.

Since Tianming found the earlier trials too easy, Qingpo thought wryly, let’s see how he fares with this one.

“A team challenge?” Tianming asked, surprised.

He remembered Chu Qingchen mentioning something like this. It seemed he would now have to face opponents at the Spirit Void level or above. No wonder Qingpo had warned that his current cultivation would make things much more difficult.

So that was it.

“That’s right. Though it’s called a team challenge, in reality, it’s a survival trial. The setting replicates the Wildwood Forest—inside, anyone could be your enemy. Of course, you can try to form a team, but with your current level, I doubt anyone would want to join you,” Qingpo replied, a hint of satisfaction in his voice.

“One more thing—in this trial, death is real. But you needn’t worry; I’ll be watching over you from the shadows. You can rest easy,” Qingpo added, hoping to prevent Tianming from holding back. After all, there would be no point to the trial if he was too timid.

Tianming scoffed inwardly. “As if I need your protection!”

He kept the thought to himself, wary of tempting fate.

“Who says I have no one? Did you forget who entered with me?” Tianming shot Qingpo a disdainful look. Of everyone in the Celestial Sword Sect, he was closest to Chu Qingchen—his ideal teammate.

“And who else? ...No one?” Qingpo asked, a knowing smile on his lips.

As expected, Tianming had nothing more to say. In truth, Qingpo’s assessment was accurate. Of those still facing the trials, only he and Chu Qingchen remained. Wang Shangshang was likely cultivating somewhere, unconcerned with treasure hunts or leveling up.

“Very well. I won’t leave you at a disadvantage!” Qingpo said kindly. “I’ll put you and your companion together, so you won’t be eliminated before you even find each other. Otherwise, there’d be no show for me to watch.”

Without waiting for Tianming’s reply, Qingpo swept his arm, summoning a whirlwind of blue wind in the clearing.

“At least you have some decency left!” Tianming muttered under his breath.

With that, Tianming leapt from the highest platform to land squarely before Qingpo, both of them turning their eyes to the spinning vortex of wind.