Against The Heavens

There were three more platforms of ice spread out in the area, each one carrying one of the disciples that had pa.s.sed the first trial of the rank-up test. They were all sitting with crossed legs, their expression lax and bored as they swept the water around them with somewhat sleepy gazes.

They were currently taking part in the second trial of the rank-up test, following the orders of the brown-haired girl, Han Fen. The mission she had received was to kill off a colony of Three-Finned Locusts that had invaded this lake, robbing a nearby city that focused on fishing and harvesting seplants a major source of incoming.

As for why Li Yang and the three others were sitting on these platforms of ice, that was because they were in charge of preventing any of the locusts from escaping. Everyone else was already in the lake, sweeping through it and killing any locust that they came across, neatly wiping them out.

There were a few of the locusts who had reached the early stage of the Immortal Rebirth realm, but none of the disciples that had pa.s.sed the first trial were weak, so the mission was practically a cake walk. Hence, the four which had been a.s.signed this duty of preventing any locusts from escaping were bored out of their minds.

But there was nothing they could do, Han Fen, Elder Su, and the white-robed elder were sitting on a flying carriage that floated above the lake, keeping a close eye on the situation. As she was the one undertaking the trial right now, Han Fen was forbidden from taking part in the mission, this was a test of her leadership skills after all.

As he was sweeping the water with his eyes, the surface of the water about three kilometers away from Li Yang exploded outwards, several small Three-Finned Locusts jumping out of the water. Three-Finned Locusts looked like deep-blue locusts that had a round tail with three fins, almost like a strange mace. They had wing-like things on their back, but they couldn"t actually fly, the wings were only there to increase their speed underwater.

Li Yang turned his gaze onto the eight locusts that were trying to flee from the slaughter at the bottom of the lake. He leisurely stretched out his arm and pointed at them, an azure bolt of light streaking out from his finger and roaring through the air. The lightning didn"t aim for the locusts, hitting one of the countless drops of water that they had thrown into the air. The lightning then propagated at a rapid pace, spreading out from waterdrop to waterdrop, forming a net of lightning that surrounded the locusts.

Li Yang then clenched his hand and caused the net of lightning to shrink and cling to the locusts, electrifying them and overloading their brains, causing them to shut down. These locusts were amongst the weakest of the ones living in the lake, they had only been able to escape the slaughter for now because the other disciples didn"t see a need to chase them, leaving them to Li Yang and the others. After dealing with the locusts, Li Yang turned his gaze back onto the surrounding water, letting out a light sigh.

"Can"t they finish up a bit faster?"

Li Yang"s wish did not come to pa.s.s, the other disciples spending an entire three days at the bottom of the lake, giving it several sweeps to make sure they didn"t miss any locusts. The could only stay at the bottom of the lake for so long because one of the disciples could use the law of water, allowing them to stay beneath the surface for far longer than others of their cultivation would normally be able to.

After the other disciples resurfaced and reported that they were done, Han Fen turned towards Elder Su and awaited her judgment. Elder Su swept the entire lake with her completely white eyes, nodding her head after a short moment of silence.

"The mission has been completed. All the locusts have been dealt with and there have only been a few minor injuries. If there are no problems with your ability to follow orders in the upcoming missions, you will be considered to have pa.s.sed the rank-up test and will become an inner disciple."

The second trial wasn"t all about leadership, it was also a test to see how well you were at following orders, accepting that others might boss you around at times. After all, there were times where the clan would give the inner disciples missions and would require them to follow strict orders. Han Fen pumped her fist into the air after receiving the clear, already a.s.sured that she would become an inner disciple.

Elder Su swiped her interspatial ring and took out another scroll, tossing it to the disciple who was in charge of giving orders for the next mission, a blue-haired man by the name of Xie Min. Li Yang and the other disciples also gave the contents of the mission a quick read-over, guessing at what roles they would be given. After everyone had read the contents of the mission, the white-robed elder, Elder Mujin, used his law of s.p.a.ce to bring them all to the location of the next mission.

Li Yang and the other disciples continued to complete the missions given to them, some taking longer than others. Even if some of the missions were somewhat hard, with the strength of these disciples there was no need to worry about the missions not getting finished, the only worry was how flawlessly they could complete the missions.

And finally, a month after the rank-up test started, Li Yang was handed the scroll that contained the details of the mission he was in charge of. The mission was to exterminate a clan of bandits that had taken up residence in a mountain they had turned into a maze of caves and caverns. The bandits had kidnapped quite a few people from surrounding villages and cities, so they also had to rescue all the hostages that were still alive. Li Yang was thankful that it was a fairly standard mission, as it would make it easier to come up with a way to clear it in the best possible fashion.

A silver light surrounded all the disciples, Elder Mujin bringing them to the location of the mission. They arrived in the air a few kilometers away from the mountain where the bandits had taken up residence, a craggy mountain that almost resembled a flickering flame. The mountain was about 15 kilometers high and about six kilometers wide, meaning that there was plenty of s.p.a.ce inside it for the bandits, plenty of places where they could have carved entrances and exits.

The mountain was surrounded by a small pine forest that was only a few kilometers in size, a circle of smaller mountains surrounding the entire area. Li Yang swept his eyes around the entire area, calmly observing and examining it as he started to plan on how to complete the mission. The other disciples quietly waited for Li Yang to give his orders. They didn"t underestimate Li Yang because of his age or low cultivation, each of them had seen his strength, they would have to be dumb to underestimate him. After spending a bit of time thinking, Li Yang turned his eyes onto a gray-haired female disciple, Bai Wei.

"Senior Sister Wei, can you approach the mountain from underground and give the entire thing a scan? I want to know where all the caves and tunnels are located. Senior Brother Zhong, I want you to approach the mountain from the air and scan it as well. Find all the entrances and exits that they can use to flee."

One of Bai Wei"s laws was the law of earth, she could easily dig a tunnel and scan the structure of the mountain, finding any hollow areas that might exist. The blonde Xing Zhong could use the law of wind, allowing him to fly above the mountain and feel where the wind entered the mountain, mapping any place that might be used to enter or exit the mountain.

They both nodded their heads and set about completing the tasks they had been given, Bai Wei dropping to the ground and using her law of earth to dig into the earth. While she did that, Xing Zhong flew higher into the air and started to approach the mountain, making sure that there were no sentries or scouts in the area that might see him.

Three hours later, both of them returned to Li Yang, delivering their reports. They had checked everything thrice, which was why it had taken them so long. The inside of the mountain was indeed a maze, countless tunnels and caverns filling it up, some which were filled with traps or lead to dead ends, prepared for invaders.

Li Yang rubbed his chin slightly, wondering how he should deal with the situation. Were it not for the fact that he had to rescue the kidnapped people, he would have just had the disciples set up several arrays and turn the entire mountain into rubble, finishing it nice and quickly. After giving it a bit more thought, he gave a light clap and spoke up.

"Alright, this is how we"ll do it. Senior Sister Wei, I want you to bring Senior Brother Liguo and Senior Brother Shiwu to rescue the hostages. Senior Brother Shiwu will be in charge of locating the hostages, you will dig an escape tunnel for them, and Senior Brother Liguo will be in charge of taking care of any wounds they might have. Once you have brought all the hostages out, collapse the tunnels you created."

Zi Shiwu specialized in the law of lightning, allowing him to use a scouting technique similar to Li Yang"s, allowing him to discover who the hostages were. Chen Liguo, on the other hand, specialized in the law of water and the law of restoration, he was well-suited to healing any wounds that the hostages might have. The three disciples nodded their heads, Li Yang turning to Xing Zhong.

"After that, Senior Brother Zhong I want you to show Senior Sister Xuefeng and Senior Brother Lei where the various entrances are located. Collapse all but two of the entrances, making sure that no one can ever use those entrances again. Just to be safe, use Senior Sister Xuefeng"s law of distortion to warp not only the stone but also the Qi around the entrances. The warping doesn"t have to last forever, only for around an hour."

The law of distortion was a rather strange and unique one, with no one quite sure where they should rank it. It could distort and warp things, some powerful cultivators even able to twist other peoples laws into such distorted shapes that they were no longer able to properly control them. It was incredibly weird and powerful if one managed to master it, but no one really knew how to even go about gaining insight into it, making it one of the rarer laws that Li Yang had ever encountered. After Xing Zhong and the two others nodded their heads, Li Yang started addressing everyone at once, his calm and cold eyes locked on the distant mountain.

"Once there are only two entrances left, split into these two groups, nine in one and eight in the other, and take up positions in front of the two entrances. Then I want you to muster as much fire as you can and flood it into the tunnels, filling every single cave and cavern with smoke. Then collapse the final two entrances and seal them up, we"ll suffocate the bandits and turn this mountain into their burial ground."