by M. Q. Kajack
She was wearing an arrogant smile on her face, even so, it didn’t affect the charm of her sexy and slender figure. She could be described with one word: perfect. She had the right to be proud and arrogant, as her name was Wei Beiyu, the princess of the South Country and the only daughter of the its king. She was the reason the Sect Trials started one month earlier than it was supposed to.
The core members of the sects were frowning. Based on their previous experiences, a number of disciples should already be out by now. It had been over a week already, so why had nobody exited?
No one in the crowd dared to say a word. They could see the core members’ displeased faces, and as most of them weren’t dumb, they figured that something was clearly wrong. Crack a joke? Who would dare utter a word? Piss off a Nascent Soul and you’d be dead for sure.
Fortunately, nobody had to break this unbearable silence as the portal did the job with its subtle vibrating sound. As fast as lightning, a figure was shot out of the portal and sent crashing to the ground. It was a muscular young man, with blood all over his body. The impact hurt him and his wounds got even worse, yet the young man on the floor laughed hard.
“Fuck them! That was great!” yelled the bloody young man.
The crowd was stupefied. Fuck them? That was great? This man was almost dead, but he could still utter that kind of words and even laugh. What the hell happened? They recognized him as a disciple from the Berserk Mountain Sect. Youths who passed the test and joined the Berserk Mountain Sect were amazed as their eyes lit up. What an amazing endurance!
A core member from the Berserk Mountain Sect appeared next to the bloody youth and gave him a pill to heal his wounds.
“What happened?”
It was true that the Ancient Ruins’ tests were hard but the state of that man was beyond normal. Before the young man could answer his senior brother, several more figures were thrown out crashing to the floor, their state similar to the man who first appeared. Upon landing, instead of screaming in pain, they were madly laughing.
“Shit! Amazing, it was totally worth it.”
“Did you see that? Fuck! Senior Brother took ten of them down!”
“War! War! War!”
The other core members from their respective sects frowned even more. Something clearly went wrong! The sects’ newcomers were dumbfounded... their seniors’ injuries were way too serious.
“Berserk Mountain disciples, help your fellow brothers, tend to their wounds. I have already informed the elders,” yelled the commanding Berserk Mountain core disciple.
A few seconds later, disciples from the Light Sect started to appear from the portal. They weren’t as heavily wounded as the Berserk Mountain participants, but they were also laughing. Amidst their laughs and yells, Li Qi’s name could be heard.
The crowd was thrown once more into chaos. The Light Sect’s core disciple also ordered the younger disciples to start tending to the newcomers’ wounds. Everyone was doing their best, trying to help and stabilize the chaotic situation. All of the Light Sect and Berserk Mountain disciples who attended the test besides Chu Xian and Li Qi were also thrown out of the Ancient Ruins almost at the same time!
What the hell happened?
The situation worsened. Dozens of young girls were teleported out; many of them had scars all over their faces and were missing too much hair. Some didn’t even have clothes on and the only thing preventing the crowd from lustfully staring at their bodies were the wounds covering their bodies. The state of those girls was far worse than any of the disciples of the other sects.
The girls looked as if their purities had been taken by some beasts, and their crying faces were enough for the crowd to be enraged. The new disciples from the Moon Lake Sect trembled—this test was too savage. Finally, a naked girl kneeling on the floor snapped out of her trance and started laughing like a maniac.
“We did it... We did it!”
A furious figure descended from the skies and embraced the poor girl. It was a petite young woman with a scar on her face. “I demand an explanation! Who the fuck did this?”
“They managed to breakthrough! They did it!” shouted a wounded disciple from the Moon Lake Sect.
When the voice echoed in the air, every disciple that got out of the Ancient Ruins started to laugh.
The Berserk Mountain sect disciples were already in a better shape after taking pills and getting healed by their members.
“We did it! We beat the other four countries!” a tall and handsome man covered in bandages shouted, opening his wounds all over again.
The rest of the wounded sect members cheered. It was a feat to fight and win a chaotic battle when they were outnumbered by the thousands.
“What happened?” the Moon Lake Core disciple asked again.
“I can explain everything, Senior Sister,” a new voice said out of nowhere.
“Xiao Wu!”
A petite young girl without any injury stood next to the portal. The stunned crowd turned their heads to face her. They needed an explanation. This was beyond crazy for them.
“Xiao Wu, please explain. What happened? How come everyone is in this terrible state?”
“The moment we entered the Ancient Ruins, we appeared in a common zone. However, apart from us, there were also sect disciples from the other countries in the common zone to take the test!” Xiao Wu went silent after this short explanation.
“How can this be?” the Berserk Mountain Core disciple exclaimed.
“I don’t know. The Ancient Ruins didn’t explain anything to us as to how this happened at all. We faced the test with the rest of them. The first test was awful. Everyone from the South Country ended in the bottom, and we didn’t do well at all.”
At this point, everyone clenched their fists. They were last! This was a wound every citizen from the South Country had. Since ancient times, no matter what it was, the South Country always ended last.
“On the second test, we faced a weird test filled with many questions. I figured out a sequence on the test and shared it with others. Li Qi, Chu Xian, You Ye and I managed to get on the top spots followed by the rest of our sect members. On the third test, everything changed...” Xiao Wu’s voice trembled. In her mind, there was a handsome youth with pale skin and long black hair standing on top of a pile of bodies.
“We thought we were teleported to the third test. The four of us found a youth with two wounded women whose ages were over the Ancient Ruins rules. We figured out that they were the puppet guides for this test, so we tried to hide them from the rest. We wanted to take advantage of those puppets so our country could win another test, perhaps we could even eliminate them. Li Qi devised a plan with all our country’s sect members. Unfortunately, the Dark Wood Sect allied with Lu Xin from the Central Country’s Righteous Sect! The members from the Berserk Mountain Sect charged through the other countries’ sects, killing and annihilating everyone on their way. The Light Sect members covered the holes in the formation to allow Li Qi, Chu Xian, You Ye and the puppet guide to find a way out. The Moon Lake disciples were the last line of defense, as they used Reflection on the enemy,” Xiao Wu explained.
The crowd stood there with their mouths open. Three sects fighting against seventeen? It was total madness! It was war! Now, they understood why these badly wounded youths kept laughing like maniacs.
Fuck! They succeeded! They totally forgot about the Dark Wood Sect’s betrayal, about how the Ancient Ruins went crazy and gathered every sect from the continent in the same trial. For once, these young men and women in front of them had brought glory for their poor South Country.
“Where are those bastards from the Dark Wood Sect?”
“Fuck them! They betrayed us!
“Hang them!”
The crowd started to realize the severity of the issue. The Dark Wood Sect had betrayed their country.
The Dark Wood disciples frowned. This was a bad sign. Everyone was glaring at them. If the crowd were to attack, they would be killed wi
thout a doubt as they were totally outnumbered.
“Shut up!”
An imposing aura subdued the crowd. A black-haired old man descended from the skies. Following him were two more old men and one stunning women whose beauty was almost on par with Wei Beiyu. That long and dazzling long golden hair along with that bold and sexy figure could take one’s breath away. The woman looked in her early thirties and she was wearing a red armor. The armor accentuated her ample bosom and perky butt. Evidently lacking refined grace, the woman showed her wild nature, arousing every man’s desire to push her on a bed. This woman was well known in all the South Country. She was the woman of the man who stood against the whole continent—You Ye’s mother.
“Xiao Wu, where is You Ye?” she asked with a worried face.
“You Jin! Do you think now is the time to care about your own daughter? Where are the Dark Wood Sect’s disciples? I don’t care about any shitty alliance. There are no rules inside, everyone can do whatever they want, and no one is to blame them for that!!” the old man who calmed the crowd with his aura shouted. It had to be known that he was an Elder of the Dark Wood Sect.
You Jin clenched her teeth. It was true; people doing the test were not bound to any rule, just survival. The Ancient Ruins had too many weird tests for you to care about your fellow disciples, so your only priority was to uncover any new piece of information you could find and survive.
“Every disciple from the Dark Wood Sect has been killed,” Xiao Wu said.
She had just dropped a huge bomb.
“What are you talking about? Talk clearly!” the old man from the Dark Wood Sect yelled, grabbing Xiao Wu’s throat.
“Old Yi! Calm down!” the old man from the Light Sect shouted.
Before anyone else could react, You Jin took out two swords, one in each hand, and charged towards Old Yi. The Light Sect’s old man then protected Xiao Wu just in time and earned enough time for You Jin to attack. Old Yi had no other choice but to avoid the fatal attack as they were both at the Nascent Soul stage.
“Are you guys going to start an internal strife in the South Country?” Old Yi exclaimed.
“No! But you should calm down,” the old man from the Light Sect answered. “Now, little girl, please explain what happened afterwards.”
Xiao Wu struggled. Everyone was focused on this girl who held all the answers.
“We were mistaken. The Puppet Guides we previously got were not puppets, but a rogue cultivator and his companions—”
“That’s impossible.” This time, it was the Berserk Mountain’s Elder who talked. “We examined every person who passed through the portal, and there was no room for mistake!”
Xiao Wu shook her head. “This boy entered through other means. He was teleported in through an array. Both women were his maids and they had gotten severely wounded after the teleportation, that they almost died in the process. After the battle, our group escaped until Lu Xin caught up to us with her butterfly...”
“Then how did you escape? Where is You Ye? Lu Xin is acknowledged as an incredible genius. You shouldn’t be able to escape her.” You Jin was getting nervous. Where was her daughter?
“Well... Lu Xin was sent flying by a slap from the boy we mistook as the Puppet Guide.”
“Excuse me?” You Jin was stunned, as were the others. They knew who Lu Xin was and how much effort the Central Country had spent in training her.
Some of those in the crowd started to discuss, explaining the situation to those who didn’t know who Lu Xin was.
“Who is this youth you met? Could he be a disciple from the Central Country? Perhaps you didn’t know him, so he lied...” the Light Sect’s old man asked.
“That’s not possible. Xiao Wu has a bloodline that can detect if someone is lying.” Then, You Jin demanded, “Tell us who this young man is.”
“This... can I not reply to these questions? I don’t want to disclose his personal information.”
Xiao Wu was trying to protect Ye Bai in her own ways. She knew that she had to give the sects information or it would end badly for her if the disciples took too long to exit. However, she also didn’t want to expose him like that.
“Sure thing, you don’t need to reply. I would just use Soul Search on you.” Old Yi was walking towards Xiao Wu with a wicked smile on his face. “Don’t worry, there is only a 90% chance you will become a vegetable—”
“No!” Xiao Wu paled, remembering that Dark Wood Sect was famous for their extreme and weird torture techniques.
“Xiao Wu, the situation is too important this time. Many things seem to have gone wrong with the Ancient Ruins. I’m afraid you cannot protect your friend. You need to talk as this concerns all of us.” You Jin tried to comfort her so she could talk. After a few more persuasion, the young girl finally relented.
“H-His name is Ye Bai. He really is a rogue cultivator who got teleported in the way I explained. He’s an orphan, too... and yes, he slapped Lu Xin like a fly on his path.”
“So, this Ye Bai guy is quite strong. Even though the tower is strict with its rules, since he didn’t enter through the same means, it seems the rules didn’t apply to him. Something must have gone awry with the Ancient Ruins. That should be why all the sects ended being mixed up on the same floor. Perhaps the rules changed, and Core Foundation cultivators can now enter the first floor...” the Light Sect’s old man muttered more to himself than to Xiao Wu.
“It’s not like that,” Xiao Wu replied.
“What would a young girl like you know? The Ancient Ruins is more complicated than what you can understand.” The Light Sect’s old man was dissatisfied with the girl’s attitude. Daring to contradict him! What would a little girl know? “If you can reach the Nascent Soul stage, you will understand—”
“Ye Bai is only at Qi Refining 5th Rank...”
Everyone turned to look at Xiao Wu, stunned. For a brief second, no one talked or breathed, and the entire crowd was buried under silence.
“He is a body cultivator—his body is stronger than his Qi,” Xiao Wu pointed out with a proud face. She had just slapped this smart ass elder from the Light Sect.
The Elder from the Light Sect reddened out of shame.
“You Jin! Your disciple better tell no lies, or she would have to face the consequences!” shouted the enraged Elder.
“Don’t worry she cannot lie, at best she can only hide the truth or not answer at all. That’s the kind of curse she bears with her bloodline,” You Jin replied. Then, she turned to face the girl again. “Xiao Wu, do you have more information on this boy? You must know that the Body Cultivation path has been forgotten since ancient times. Barely any people can upgrade their bodies unless they find a good chance.”
“Sorry, Elder You, I honestly don’t know anything more than what Ye Bai explained to us.”
“Enough with the chit-chat,” said the Elder from the Berserk Mountain Sect. “The boy is probably someone who found some Ancient Remains and got a fortunate encounter. It happens from time to time. There is no need to be so surprised.”
“Old Jiang is right. Now, can you please explain what followed after?”
Xiao Wu got stunned. Since the first time she met Ye Bai, she thought he was someone great with incredible secrets. Never the thought of Ye Bai increasing his body cultivation thanks to a fortuitous encounter crossed her mind. So that was it, he got so full of himself with his body cultivation. Body cultivation was lost! Not even the people in the Central Country could do anything about it. At most, they could use massive resources to increase it a little bit. That guy was crazy, daring to offend every sect in the continent. She was feeling better now that she knew that she had done the right thing. He was just a guy with a fortuitous encounter.
“What followed after was a Death Game—you had to pick either the life side or the death side, where the life side had to survive, and the other one had to kill. During that game, around 30% of us were killed. Afterwards, we were transported to another big room. What followe
d was a massacre.”
“Girl, I’m starting to get tired. Get to the point! Where are the disciples of the Dark Wood Sect?” Old Yi shouted. He was clearly about to lose his patience again.
“I told you already! They are all dead,” Xiao Wu said, her body shivering.
“What happened?” the Elder from the Light Sect asked while scratching his beard.
“The fourth test is what happened. The tokens were rendered useless in that big room. There was also a strange rule, a force preventing people from killing each other. The force will reflect the attack you made back to you. Since Ye Bai slapped Lu Xin, the other guys took advantage of this rule, luring Ye Bai to attack—”
“Tsk. What did I say? This guy took advantage of his fortuitous encounter and got lured into a trap. What a waste... so what happened after he got killed?” the Elder from the Light Sect pressed.
“They all got killed,” said Xiao Wu with a solemn face.
“I already told you that he got killed... Eh? What did you just say?” The Elder’s hands were trembling.
“Ye Bai killed them all...”
The crowd felt like their minds were hit by thunder. Only one guy killed them all? The crowd stood there, speechless. A young man stood against seventeen sects? What kind of fucking feat was that?
The Light Sect’s Elder coughed blood and paled.
“Ye Bai is a body cultivator. No one could stand or dodge a hit from him. Even the reflected force did nothing to his body... Everyone mocked him and laughed when Lu Xin set him up, so he erased them. He reduced them to a pile of scattered flesh. The only one who remained alive was Lu Xin because she managed to escape.” Xiao Wu was hugging herself. She was remembering that brutal look and the murder scene Ye Bai created.
“That was satisfying! So, refreshing!” Chu Xian laughed.
“Indeed, it seems that this time, you gained no small advantage. You bastard broke through!” Li Qi said, laughing.