GBP Chapter 165 Re-entering the Trial Tower
Chapter 165 Re-entering the Trial Tower
Chapter 165 Re-entering the Trial Tower
The atmosphere at Qingfeng Academy was strange. For several days in a row, the teachers had no interest in teaching. They would always gather together and whisper among themselves, their expressions vivid and indescribably strange.
The students were uneasy about this situation, fearing that something bad might happen to them. After making inquiries, some well-informed students finally learned that someone had destroyed the illusion in the Trial Tower, and the instructors, under the orders of the Dean, were searching for this person.
The news spread like wildfire among the students. According to their simple-minded thinking, damaging property meant compensation, especially something so valuable. Well, not only compensation, but even the loss of cultivation and expulsion were possible consequences.
Xiao Chong was conflicted because the news had also reached his ears.
Should we find the dean and confront him directly? Will the dean, in his fury, expel us from the academy? If we really have to pay compensation, how many spirit stones would it take to appease the dean's anger?
These are all too uncertain.
But should I never enter the Trial Tower again? What about my cultivation then? I gained quite a lot after coming out of the tower last time.
Through fighting the cultivators in the illusion, my skill in controlling the [Soul Arrow] has greatly improved. I can now control my mental power to condense the smallest arrows, and I no longer have to feel like I'm seriously ill after each shot, like before.
Having already benefited greatly from just the first level of trials, would there be even better things waiting for me in the next two levels?
After much deliberation, Xiao Chong decided he couldn't miss this opportunity. Besides, he'd only briefly met a young student that day, and no one else had seen him. He figured it was just a fleeting glance, and the young student wouldn't have paid him any special attention.
As long as we deny it, who will know? At worst, we can just be more careful in the future and try not to break anything inside again.
After avoiding the limelight for a few days, taking advantage of the low crowds at midday, Xiao Chong returned to the Trial Tower.
There's no need to linger on the first floor; let's go straight to the second. With mixed feelings, Xiao Chong stealthily entered the second floor of the tower.
Before them lay a narrow passage, no more than five feet wide. On either side of the wall stood rows of iron figures made of black iron, nine groups on each side, eighteen in total.
At the outermost entrance of the passage stood a stone tablet with a few lines of small characters inscribed on it. Xiao Chong walked forward curiously and saw that it read:
The way of martial arts is the way of taking lives, whether it is taking someone else's life or taking one's own. Therefore, those who practice martial arts learn to take a beating before they learn to strike. This person of Xuan Tie uses Yuan Power as a guide and is activated by a mechanism. He is incredibly fast and has immense strength. Those who pass the eighteenth level can reach the third level.
"So you just want to get beaten up? You've trained yourself to be invulnerable to swords and spears, like an invincible golden bell or iron shirt?"
Recalling the unbearable days at the Xiao family academy when he was beaten with sticks by instructor Xiao Fangzheng every day, Xiao Chong hesitated. But upon further reflection, he found it made perfect sense.
After all, in the martial arts world, how can you avoid getting hurt? This skill of taking a beating may sound incredibly clumsy, but it's a lifesaver in crucial moments. Didn't you see that even legendary figures like Hung Hei-kwun and Fong Sai-yuk had to break through the Eighteen Bronze Men Formation before leaving Shaolin Temple?
There was no time to lose; there was a third level waiting for him ahead, so he should hurry in. Xiao Chong found the activation mechanism, pressed it, and stepped into the Iron Man Formation with a worried expression.
Just as he reached the first iron figure, the figure's eyes suddenly moved, as if it had come to life, and it punched straight at Xiao Chong's chest.
Xiao Chong dodged Iron Man's fist, but Iron Man seemed to have anticipated his move, and quickly lifted his foot, tripping Xiao Chong's leg.
Tripped off balance, Xiao Chong quickly regained his footing. But before he could stand up straight, a sharp pain shot through his back as the iron figure on the wall behind him punched him in the back.
As expected of something forged from Xuan Iron, it was incredibly hard; even someone as physically strong as Xiao Chong couldn't withstand it. Xiao Chong felt a sudden darkness before his eyes and fell headlong into the iron figure that had thrown the punch earlier.
boom! boom! boom!
The iron man showed no mercy and began punching and kicking Xiao Chong, leaving him completely disoriented and unable to tell which way was which.
It hurts! It fucking hurts!
In the chaos, Xiao Chong desperately protected his face with his arms and ran with his head down. However, in his panic, he ended up running right in front of the third and fourth iron men.
These two iron men were faster and more powerful than the previous two. In the blink of an eye, they landed hundreds of punches and kicks on Xiao Chong without missing a single one.
This is going to be the death of me!
Xiao Chong endured the excruciating pain, bent over, and desperately resisted with all his might.
The Iron Man showed no sign of stopping, punching, kicking, elbowing, and kneeing with every strike solid and relentless.
"This kind of approach will get them beaten to death sooner or later! I wonder how those freaks who passed the test before managed to get through." Xiao Chong felt immense respect for his former seniors.
Before he lost consciousness, he struggled to discern directions through his fingers, clutching his head as he quickly retreated. As he passed the first pair of iron men, he was naturally beaten up again.
Having finally escaped the Iron Man's striking range, Xiao Chong felt his stomach churning and rushed to the side to vomit violently until he only vomited water, at which point he felt a little better.
"I was careless! If I hadn't been confused about the situation the first time I entered the formation and been stunned by the Iron Man, I wouldn't have ended up in such a miserable state."
Xiao Chong was somewhat confident in his physical strength.
After resting for a while and regaining some strength, Xiao Chong was sitting on the ground, looking at the Iron Man and considering whether to try again, when a slightly surprised voice suddenly came from behind him.
"Alas, yet another overconfident fool. Although you managed to pass the first level by sheer luck, how can you expect to get through the Iron Man Formation with such brute force? You deserve to be beaten to a pulp!"
The voice belonged to a young man whom Xiao Chong recognized; he was the student who had walked towards him when he broke through the illusion.
But why did the other person say he looked like a pig's head? Xiao Chong touched his face and immediately noticed that his face was swollen and painful to the touch.
Perhaps because of the severe swelling, the young student did not recognize Xiao Chong. After speaking, he walked towards the third level of the trial tower.
"Judging from what he said, is there perhaps another way to get through the Iron Man Formation?"
Despite being called a pig's head, Xiao Chong didn't care. Instead, he asked with a sudden thought, "Excuse me, fellow student, I am Xiao Chong, a new student. May I ask if there are any other techniques for passing the Iron Man Formation?"
"Haven't you learned how to dodge? You only need to..." Hearing Xiao Chong ask him for guidance, the young student stopped and offered to act as the newcomer's mentor.
But after saying just one sentence, his expression suddenly changed, and he asked coldly, "You said your name is... Xiao Chong?"
"Yes, do you recognize me?" Xiao Chong asked curiously.
"You're the one who hit Ma Lusheng? I'm Ma Rulong, Ma Lusheng's fellow townsman. I'm here to challenge you on his behalf!"
The young trainee said coldly.