Zhou Yuan"s shout echoed in the ancient hall. It was as this very moment that the presence less figure atop the Heavenly Sun pillar faintly trembled.
The eyes that had been shut for only G.o.d knew how long slowly opened at this moment.
Boom!
The entire hall began to shudder the instant they opened, as a dreadful Genesis Qi pressure engulfed the place. Under this pressure, even s.p.a.ce itself began to warp and distort.
Zhou Yuan"s expression changed drastically as he stumbled several dozen steps back. He forcibly steadied his body, an incomparably ugly expression on his face as he looked towards the figure.
The pressure from the latter"s body felt as heavy as a mountain.
"Is this the terror of the Heavenly Sun stage?"
Zhou Yuan tightly gritted his teeth as a horrified noise escaped from the crevices between them. In the Cangxuan Sect, elder Shen Taiyuan and the rest were experts at this level, but they usually restrained their presences, giving Zhou Yuan no chance to gauge their might.
But with the figure now beginning to release the full presence of the Heavenly Sun stage, Zhou Yuan finally realized how tiny and weak he was before it.
Under Zhou Yuan"s extremely grim gaze, the figure slowly stood up on the stone pillar. Eyes completely devoid of emotion were cast towards Zhou Yuan, and a cold, empty voice rang out, "Are you the one who wants to challenge me?"
A drop of cold sweat appeared on Zhou Yuan"s forehead as he replied with a forced smile, "Not really."
If it was not because he had been forced, there was no way he would challenge a Heavenly Sun stage expert unless he was tired of living!
However, the figure obviously paid no heed to Zhou Yuan"s answer, because the choice was already fixed once he was activated.
His empty, soulless eyes locked onto Zhou Yuan as his clothes began to flap loudly without any wind. His foot slammed into the ground, causing the entire hall to shake.
Rumble!
The terrifying Genesis Qi pressure grew greater and greater, like a ten thousand ton tsunami that could shatter a mountain, as pulse after pulse hammered against Zhou Yuan"s body.
Crack!
The stone tiles under Zhou Yuan"s feet cracked and shattered, the pressure nearly forcing him to his knees, as eerie creaking noises emanated from his bones.
His expression was a mix of fear and terror, as the Genesis Qi in his body frantically surged out in an attempt to defend against the pressure.
He never imagined that a Heavenly Sun stage expert would not even need to do anything else. Just the pressure alone had nearly extinguished all the fight he had in him.
Even taking a single step forward at this moment was going to be unbelievably difficult, let alone exchanging blows with the Heavenly Sun stage expert under this tremendous pressure.
This trial was basically hopeless!
"Back down."
The figure on the stone pillar looked down from above, its soulless eyes watching Zhou Yuan bitterly struggle.
These words made Zhou Yuan bite down even harder, his fists clenching tightly, as slivers of red slowly appeared in his eyes. He had experienced so many hards.h.i.+ps and tribulations ever since arriving at the Cangxuan Sect.
He had also invested so much blood, sweat and tears in order to become the chief disciple of Saint Genesis Peak, and earn the opportunity to enter the sealed main peak.
Was everything really going to end here?
He refused to accept it!
He lifted his head with great difficulty, and stared at the figure looking down at him from above. His breathing turned deeper and rougher as red colored the whites of his eyes. The Heavenly Sun stage was indeed very terrifying, but even it could not make him willingly give up.
"It doesn"t matter how powerful you are. You may be able to defeat me with a casual flick of your hand, but to make me willingly give up is… IM! POS! SI! BLE!"
As the final syllable was roared, Zhou Yuan pushed against the frightening pressure and took a step forward, causing wounds to tear open on his skin.
However, he paid no heed to them, merely continued to stare at the figure atop the pillar.
Another step, and another step.
The floor beneath his feet cracked and shattered as more and more wounds appeared on his body, eventually covering nearly every inch of his skin. However, Zhou Yuan did not stop, but instead continued his advance towards the stone pillar.
The figure atop the pillar watched him struggle with apathetic eyes, as if looking at an ant, but did not make any move to stop the former.
"Are you not going to attack? Because you feel I"m not worthy?"
"Do you really believe this Genesis Qi pressure can scare me off?"
Zhou Yuan forced out step after step, his blood-drenched body ultimately arriving below the stone pillar. He looked at the figure that was still staring at him with indifference, as a sinister smile appeared from the corners of his mouth.
Though the pressure was terrifying, Zhou Yuan had a certain stubborn pride. If he were to lose his courage even before the other party attacked, he would be shaming all the years of effort he had put in.
"Since you"re so arrogant… let me have a taste of just how powerful the Heavenly Sun stage is!"
His roar resounded in the hall as Zhou Yuan"s feet suddenly arched a little. In the next instant, all the power in his body erupted without any reservation, crus.h.i.+ng the floor below him as his figure charged into the air against the dreadful pressure, heading straight for the figure looking down at him from above.
He was akin to a mad wolf, desperate to give his opponent a few bites even if he died.
Courage and ruthlessness were things that Zhou Yuan had never lacked.
Swoos.h.!.+
He figure soared into the air, ultimately arriving at the top of the pillar.
The eyes of the Heavenly Sun figure faintly rippled at this moment, as a seemingly cruel arc rose from the corners of his lips. The figure slowly raised a hand and aimed it at Zhou Yuan.
An extremely terrifying attack condensed at the center of its palm.
This scene basically spelled despair.
However, only surging red and ferocity could be seen in Zhou Yuan"s eyes. He did not care about the Heavenly Sun figure"s attack, and only wanted to make the latter know that he would lose with dignity even if he failed.
ARGGHHH!
Zhou Yuan roared as he unleashed a ferocious punch. Genesis Qi surged out, accompanied by a sonic boom as it ruthlessly smashed into the outstretched hand of the Heavenly Sun figure.
Even though he knew he would receive a frightening counter attack in the next instant.
However, there were times that he must not back down.
At the very least, he would have forced the Heavenly Sun figure into action, instead of being forced to kneel and losing all of his courage from that Genesis Qi pressure alone.
In the face of despair, the thought of conceding never once crossed Zhou Yuan"s mind. Instead, he only thought of throwing everything he had to tear open a path amidst the crus.h.i.+ng despair.
In this way, even if he failed, he would at least have no regrets.
Thud!
Fist and palm met at this moment.
The entire world seemed to fall silent.
However, while Zhou Yuan was waiting for the terrifying counter attack, he saw the Heavenly Sun figure tremble faintly for a moment, before slowly disintegrating like a shadow under his fist...
The frightening counter he had expected did not appear.
Zhou Yuan"s fist landed on empty air as his body fell onto the top of the stone pillar. His face was filled with confusion as he turned around to look at the still fading figure behind him.
The cruel smile on the Heavenly Sun figure had disappeared, replaced by what appeared to be a look of gratification.
"You"ve pa.s.sed."