by Translator: BornToBe; Author: Ordinary Magician (平凡魔术师); Licensed From: 17k
However, Gu Yang was still brave, and sometimes he only narrowly avoided being struck in his vitals. If he was about to be struck in a vital spot, the trial would determine that he was about to die and would transport him out.
The current Gu Yang was covered in blood, but his gaze was still sharp. He wasn’t panicking at all. His spear was still steady.
“What a terrifying will. Even in such a hopeless scenario, he hasn’t given up. Anyone else would have long since crumbled.”
The original devil race’s disciples were watching with shock. It had already been another hour. Gu Yang’s will was amazing. They knew what it represented for Gu Yang to still be fighting. He was currently in a hopeless battle, and it was practically torture.
BOOM!
Suddenly, Gu Yang’s spear went flying, and the fake Gu Yang’s spear pressed against the real Gu Yang’s head. However, at that moment, the Devil Blood Pool transported Gu Yang out.
Li Qi and Song Mingyuan immediately went to support him. He was pale and barely able to stand. He had used up all his energy but had still been defeated.
“Guo Ran, I’ll give you a chance to show off in the greatest way possible in all of history. Do you want it?” Long Chen suddenly sent a message to Guo Ran.
Chapter 1933 Guo Ran’s Performance
“Sorry… to disappoint everyone…” Gu Yang barely had the energy to speak.
“Is something wrong with this trial? The real Gu Yang is exhausted, but the fake one isn’t even breathing hard. The difference is too great,” questioned Li Qi.
Gu Yang hadn’t made any mistakes from the start. Even while suppressed, he hadn’t given up a single chance to counterattack, but he was still defeated.
“In truth, the fake Gu Yang also doesn’t have much energy. It’s just that the fake won’t act weak,” explained Yue Xiaoqian. “Gu Yang, you’re very amazing to have lasted a full four hours. I’m ashamed of my own time.”
Yue Xiaoqian’s best record was only half an incense stick’s time longer than Gu Yang, and that was after she had challenged the Devil Blood Pool several times. She had plenty of experience, while this was Gu Yang’s first time.
Suddenly, at this time, Guo Ran walked over with his chest puffed out, patting Gu Yang on the shoulder. “It’s fine, don’t be depressed. If you’ve been defeated, then leave it to me.”
“You.”
Everyone looked at Guo Ran with confusion. They even suspected that this Guo Ran was a fake.
When they encountered any trial, Guo Ran would dodge it if he could. The Guo Ran that always rolled on the ground begging for release could also say something so heroic?
“It seems you’ve all misunderstood me. Do you really think I’m a coward? You question my bravery in challenging the Devil Blood Pool?” sighed Guo Ran.
“No… I don’t question your bravery in challenging the Devil Blood Pool…” Li Qi shook his head.
“Hehe, that’s right.” Guo Ran nodded.
“... I question whether you have any bravery at all.”
“What the…”
Guo Ran almost coughed up blood. He loudly said, “I’ll tell you the truth. Before, I was intentionally acting cowardly. Do you know why?”
Everyone shook their heads, looking at Guo Ran suspiciously. Why was it that today’s Guo Ran was like a different person? Had he been possessed?
Guo Ran heroically announced, “Alright, then I’ll tell you. I acted cowardly for boss. In my heart, boss is like a god. As they say, the sky cannot have two suns, and the people cannot have two masters. I don’t want my light to overshadow boss…”
“Guo Ran, Guo Ran. As your brother, I’m not trying to criticize you, but don’t you think you’re bragging a bit too hard? Do you even believe yourself? Ask your own conscience if you believe it,” said Song Mingyuan.
“Ah, well when you put it that way…”
Guo Ran suddenly felt that things had taken a turn, and that if he continued, he would be exposed. He glanced at Long Chen who was looking at him contemptuously. Spiritually, he scolded, “Stop messing around. If you don’t have that skill, don’t force it. There’s no need for this. Just start your display.”
Guo Ran cleared his throat and said, “Alright, I won’t joke. Gu Yang’s defeat is because he lacked one thing. Inside his heart, he didn’t feel confident in definitely winning. Why? Because he was facing himself. If he was facing anyone else, anyone from the Corrupt path, the ancient races, the Xuan Beasts, even if they were equally matched in power, I believe that Gu Yang would definitely win. Why? Because he has no other choice but to beat them. Defeat would signify death, and death would implicate the lives of even more of his brothers. A person can go all-out against others, but going all-out against themselves? That’s the most monstrous aspect of the Devil Blood Pool. It creates a duplicate of yourself, which makes you feel like it’s unfathomable. It sees through your techniques, making you feel helpless. The lack of confidence you feel is the main problem. The duplicate of the Devil Blood Pool will immediately use a warmed-up one-hundred-percent-power attack. That’s actually a psychological blow. Using an attack that surpasses common sense will leave a shadow on your heart. A voice will repeat in the depths of your heart that you cannot possibly defeat your opponent. The moment that shadow appears, you’ll already be defeated. Gu Yang only had any chance of defeating himself in the first hour. After that, as he grew weary, the shadow on his heart only expanded, and the effort of continuing to fight against that shadow exhausted more energy. That’s why the fake Gu Yang seemed to still possess energy, but the real Gu Yang couldn’t last any longer.”
After hearing all this, everyone’s expressions changed. Guo Ran was previously only capable of saying some big nonsensical words, but now his words were all reasonable.
“In truth, you’ve been fooled by my outer appearance. I’m actually a very low-key person, but today, I’ll show you my true self. Brothers, just prepare yourselves. I don’t want my display to cause the whole world to know my great name. I want to maintain my original heart.” Guo Ran stepped forward bravely toward the Devil Blood Pool. “I’ll show you just how you should defeat yourself and your heart-devil. Keep a close watch on my movements. I’ll trouble sister Xiaoqian to activate the trial for me.”
Everyone looked at each other, feeling like today’s Guo Ran was very odd. Yue Xiaoqian looked at Long Chen and he helplessly nodded.
Guo Ran had ended up adding some of his own poser spice into the plan that they had discussed, resulting in people not fully believing him.
Guo Ran’s figure vanished, reappearing in a giant bubble within the Devil Blood Pool. He was standing atop an ancient martial stage, just like Gu Yang had.
Guo Ran summoned his armor. Only his face was revealed. He had just appeared when another figure slowly condensed from blood mist not far from him. That figure was identical to Guo Ran, with even that wretched smile being the same.
Long Chen couldn’t help shaking his head. Even if you gave a monkey imperial robes, it wouldn’t look like a prince. This kind of poser style didn’t suit Guo Ran. He looked out of place, making Long Chen even regret appointing Guo Ran as the main character of this display.
“Everyone, watch closely!” shouted Guo Ran. His face also became covered in his golden armor.
Suddenly, the opposing Guo Ran slashed its sabers. It was incredibly quick, like a golden bolt of lightning.
The sudden burst of power came without any warning, none whatsoever, and its power instantly reached the pinnacle.
BOOM!
Guo Ran raised his own sabers to block, only to be sent flying. He tumbled back, looking even worse off than Gu Yang.
Guo Ran stabbed his sabers into the martial stage, creating two large cuts. He barely stabilized himself before the fake Guo Ran charged over. A pair of golden wings appeared on its back, and its sabers rapidly spun as it charged over.
“How powerful!”
Although the duplicate Guo Ran was using the same tech
niques as Guo Ran, its battle style was different. It was fiercer.
Guo Ran was forced back, but his power began to rise bit by bit. Suddenly, with a cry, the fake Guo Ran came to a stop and was then forced back by Guo Ran. The two of them both retreated at the same time.
“After blocking the first wave of attacks, raise your power to your peak. Whether the other side is your enemy or yourself, crush them!”
Guo Ran went on the offense, facing his opponent’s attacks with his own. Two golden monstrosities were clashing crazily. Their colliding weapons and mechanisms were like thunder, while their bodies were like golden lightning.
“Do you still remember what boss said? If you want to get stronger, you need to find a reason to get stronger. Why do you want to be strong? Have you already forgotten? It’s to protect those we cherish in our hearts. No matter who our opponent is, even if it’s a god or devil, they can’t be allowed to take away the people we love. Our lives aren’t our own. If they want to kill us, then they want to harm our beloved. Even if we’re facing ourselves, we have to erupt with our fury. Roar and proclaim that we are undefeatable!”
Guo Ran shouted as he fought. His voice contained a metallic sound to it. The current Guo Ran seemed to have been possessed by Long Chen, having a kind of domineering air to look down on the nine heavens.
He crazily attacked his opponent, but the two of them were equally matched. Neither side was able to suppress the other.
“Erase the fear and apprehensions inside your heart. Don’t be suppressed by your opponent. This is just the first step. In this kind of state, you’ll simply be fighting over who runs out of energy first. You’ll only have a fifty percent chance of winning. However, what we want isn’t fifty percent but a one hundred percent chance of winning! At this time, we have to fight with our true power. We are the great Dragonblood warriors, the number one legion of the Martial Heaven Continent. We have our own pride. Each day, we have to do everything we can to get stronger. We’re stronger than we were yesterday, we’re stronger than we were an hour ago, we’re stronger than we were a minute ago. We have to be stronger than we were a blink ago. As for our opponent, it’s just a replicated version that won’t get stronger. We get stronger with each breath, so tell me, what reason do you have to not win? Kill!”
Guo Ran’s sabers suddenly blazed with light. He seemed to go crazy, unleashing a tempest of attacks.
His aura gradually rose even higher, and his armor grew brighter. He seemed to be undergoing some kind of transformation, and he was actually constantly forcing his opponent back.
“So that’s how!” Li Qi clenched his fist, feeling his blood heating up. He wanted to go try this trial right now.
Continuous rumbling rang out as Guo Ran went all-out. His opponent was constantly knocked back.
The distant experts of the original devil race were staring with shock, their own blood heating up. In the past, they had felt too much reverence for the Devil Blood Pool, and the idea that the only thing they could do was last longer against it had become a deep-rooted belief. They had stopped believing that they could defeat themselves. Now that Guo Ran was showing them the way, their minds became clear. They saw an unprecedented world for themselves.
“No matter who it is, those who block me will die!”
Guo Ran roared and slammed his sabers together. His opponent, who was still reeling from the previous blow, had its neck severed by Guo Ran’s dual sabers.
Chapter 1934 The Formidable Dragonblood Legion
BOOM!
Guo Ran’s opponent’s head was severed. However, at that moment, the martial stage vanished and Guo Ran was transported out.
Guo Ran’s armor disappeared, revealing himself. The current Guo Ran was covered in sweat, but he was filled with excitement.
“Hahaha, brothers, I can only help you out this much. As for whether or not you understood, it’s… it’s all up to you.” Guo Ran’s legs failed him, and he almost collapsed. Although his fight had lasted less than an hour, he was exhausted. He needed Li Qi to go support him.
After placing Guo Ran in a chair, Li Qi praised him. “Guo Ran, I’m fully convinced. So you were actually hiding your true self so well.”
“Don’t worry about it. Brothers, go out and fight. No matter who is in your way, crush them!” Guo Ran forced himself to shout despite his lack of energy.
Following that, the Dragonblood warriors charged into the Devil Blood Pool one by one. Yue Xiaoqian activated the automatic trial mechanism, so now anyone that entered the Devil Blood Pool would automatically be drawn into their own trial.
One martial stage appeared after another, and furious roars rang out as the Dragonblood warriors went all-out. Their battle intent was fully ignited by Guo Ran.
Looking from the Dragonblood warriors fighting to the original devil race’s experts that couldn’t help but look at him worshipfully, Guo Ran felt like all his pores had been fully opened. He felt like he might ascend at any moment. This feeling was indescribable.
“Boss, you treat me too good. This is my greatest moment.” Guo Ran looked at Long Chen worshipfully.
“What happened? Why was it so difficult?” asked Long Chen. The two of them were speaking spiritually to prevent others from hearing.
“Boss, it was my mistake. I forgot to remove some of the mechanisms. I almost ended up screwing myself,” said Guo Ran.
The plan had been for Guo Ran to remove some of the hidden parts of his armor, weakening it. When the Devil Blood Pool duplicated him, his armor would still be missing those parts. Since Guo Ran’s armor was a physical object, it couldn’t duplicate what had been lost. After the duplication, Guo Ran could simply add the portions that hadn’t been duplicated.
The Devil Blood Pool was for normal experts, but Guo Ran was too special and could easily trick it to pass.
It was just that Guo Ran had been so focused on showing off that rather than taking off the seven parts he had planned, he had gotten caught up in his words that he had forgotten the last three parts.
As a result, the duplicated Guo Ran was only a bit weaker than his true self. Fortunately, he had still managed to beat it.
Hearing this, Long Chen sighed, “I find that showing off is the only motivation that can make you go all-out. Normally, you would have definitely lost.”
“I think the same way. So showing off is the thing that can stimulate my potential. I really admire myself.” Guo Ran nodded.
Long Chen glanced at him without saying anything. After succeeding in showing off, he would become even more of a show-off in the future. However, that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Each person pursued different things. What worked for others might not work for someone else.
“However, boss, will this really work? Those duplicates are too powerful. Facing myself gave me a weird feeling that made fighting very difficult,” said Guo Ran worriedly.
“That’s because your will isn’t strong enough. Don’t think others are like you. Do you think others live off of showing off like you?” said Long Chen disdainfully.
BOOM!
Yue Zifeng was the first to return. He had already succeeded in defeating his opponent.
Those disciples of the original devil race were shocked. It had only been a minute, but Yue Zifeng had already won.
After being transported out, Yue Zifeng didn’t hesitate. He entered the Devil Blood Pool again, once more appearing outside in under a minute.
Now the original devil race’s experts’ eyes almost popped out of their heads. Yue Zifeng was practically a monster.
Just as they were shocked, Yue Zifeng entered the Devil Blood Pool and returned once again.
“I’ve completed your mission.” Yue Zifeng smiled.
Long Chen nodded. The will of a sword cultivator was truly terrifying. Their will was concentrated in their sword, and they had to possess an undefeatable will to control an undefeatable sword.
Even without Guo Ran’s display, Yue Zifeng would have passed the Devil Blo
od Pool. Sword cultivators were madmen, or they wouldn’t be able to devote their hearts purely to the sword.
The original devil race’s disciples had never seen anything like this. Furthermore, this was just one of the Dragonblood Legion’s captains. Now they understood why the Dragonblood Legion was called the Martial Heaven Continent’s number one legion. They were monstrous.
At this time, Li Qi also returned, however, he was covered in blood and was panting. Although he won, he had paid a price.
“Hahaha, satisfying, really… satisfying.” Li Qi laughed. Although he was short of breath, he was still smiling.
Yue Xiaoqian also returned. At some point, she had also entered. Her shoulder was bleeding, but she was smiling delightedly.
“Long Chen, I finally beat it!” exclaimed Yue Xiaoqian, holding Long Chen’s hand.
“I knew you would be able to figure it out with just some pointers. But next time, be careful. If you get injured here, I’ll get hurt here.” Long Chen pointed to Yue Xiaoqian’s shoulder and then his own heart. Although he knew being injured in battle was unavoidable, he still felt some pain.
“Yes, I’ll pay more attention in the future.” Yue Xiaoqian blushed slightly, looking down. But she was happy inside.
Another person returned. Long Chen jumped in shock. “Little miss, just what are you up to?!”
It was Tang Wan-er. She was now covered in blood, and even her face was covered in cuts. Although they rapidly healed, the blood remained.
“Hehe, I won.” Tang Wan-er made a victorious gesture and an adorable face.
Long Chen suddenly hugged Tang Wan-er, startling her. She knew Long Chen was distressed by her current appearance.
“You don’t need to pass the trial. Your wind blades are like a whirlwind of thousands of blades. It’s too bloody,” said Long Chen.
“No, I am also a member of the Dragonblood Legion. I’m not going to become deadweight. Don’t worry, I’ll look after myself. Getting a bit injured will just toughen me up.” Tang Wan-er held Long Chen’s face in her hands.