Chapter 33: The trial begins!
Grand Myriad Mountain Range.
The area was located in the extreme south of the vast land, filled with countless mountains and treacherous waters occupied by demons and evil spirits.
The deeper one went, the more terrifying the creatures living there became. It was a location listed as a forbidding area for humans.
Even an immortal elder with profound cultivation wouldn’t dare to enter the deeper regions, only tread around the outer reaches himself.
—
"Attack!"
"Youluo Heart Art Shadow Killing Formation!"
"Be careful from behind!"
"Form a formation! Quickly form a formation!"
The group from Youluo Temple had just entered the Grand Myriad Mountain Range when they were attacked by demonic beasts.
It was a ma.s.sive, colorful, sharp-toothed tiger. Its body was as tall as a bull. A pair of enormous fangs bared out of its gaping mouth, its tail waving behind it like a menacing steel whip.
The Sharp-toothed Tiger’s strength was equivalent to a cultivator at the middle to late-Qi Refining Realm.
Unlike normal tigers, they aren’t solitary but like to work together in packs.
This behavior caused a great deal of trouble for the Youluo Temple disciples. In the beginning, they managed to work together to kill a few tigers, but soon enough the pack managed to scatter them. Under the constant frenzied attacks by the demon beasts, they barely endured.
Li Ran laid on his flying sword and lazily yawned.
He was there to lead the trial not to work as a nanny. He wouldn’t bother to interfere unless someone was about to die.
"Oh?" Observing the battlefield, a pet.i.te figure attracted his attention.
Lu Xinran was gliding through the beasts as fast as a ghost. The sharp-toothed Tigers’ slow movement was utterly unable to harm her at all.
Instead, she inflicted terrifying wounds on their bodies while pa.s.sing them.
In just three breaths of time, she easily finished one of the beasts off.
"Good. You’ve grown a lot more than before." Li Ran nodded.
Even though Lu Xinran’s battle talent proved to be formidable, this advantage didn’t hold for long. The demonic tigers quickly noticed this troublesome adversary and made her their main focus. The five remaining beasts roared madly, their ferocity covering the heavens.
She immediately felt threatened. Transforming her shadow into a shield, she managed to block four of the creatures’ attacks but the last managed to break through her defenses.
Roar!
The beast’s red eyes filled with greed as it opened its b.l.o.o.d.y mouth and rushed at her. Its foul-smelling saliva almost dripped onto her body.
"It"s over!" Lu Xinran was terrified.
It was already too late to use any techniques.
Just as the tiger was about to bite down on her, a flower appeared in front of her revealing a tall figure standing between her and the beast.
"That"s enough. Come here." Following the indifferent voice, the tiger instantly exploded into a rain of blood.
Li Ran"s entire body was covered in silver light. Like a meteor that appeared in the morning sky, he swept into the group of demon beasts,
Roar!
Accompanied by an ear-piercing howl, all the demonic tigers were torn apart by silver light in a few short breaths.
A red shimmer spread out and blood and gore flew everywhere. The tragic scene appeared similar to a painting of h.e.l.l itself!
Hovering above the carnage Li Ran’s white robes and black hair fluttered in the soft breeze. There was not even a trace of blood anywhere on his body.
Upon the sudden change, many of the disciples stared blankly, unable to return to their senses for a long time
Seeing that quite a few disciples had already lost their lives, Li Ran said indifferently, "Everyone, check your injuries, treat them, and we’ll leave in an hour."
Afterward, he leaped back onto the flying sword and lazily basked in the sun.
Lu Xinran was the first to react. She looked at him gratefully before organizing the disciples to regroup.
"Sheng Zi is so handsome!"
"One thing to say is that he is truly handsome!"
"Did you see him clearly? In that instant, all the demonic tigers died!"
"Too powerful!"
"Sheng Zi isn’t as cold as the rumors say~"
The disciples looked up to Li Ran and discussed in a low voice.
A male disciple covered his bleeding arm and snorted, "In order to be handsome, he waited until the last moment to attack! If he got rid of the demon beasts earlier, we wouldn"t have suffered like this!"
Clearly, he was dissatisfied.
Lu Xinran gave him a cold look. "Do you think you"re here to travel? This is a real battle. In a real battle, casualties are unavoidable!
"If Sheng Zi clears all obstacles, what is the point of this trial?"
"But…" The male disciple still wanted to quibble.
"Sheng Zi saved our lives, so we should be grateful. If I hear this again, I"ll make you leave the trial!" Lu Xinran"s att.i.tude was unyielding to the extreme.
The others also cast unfriendly gazes. The male disciple shook his head and did not dare to speak again.
—
Waiting for the disciples to wrap up their wounds and gather the demon bones needed for the mission, the team continued to set off.
Li Ran followed behind unhurriedly.
"Sheng Zi!" Lu Xinran approached him, holding a red fruit in her tender hand.
"This is the Cloud Spirit Fruit. Eat it to quench your thirst."
"I"m not thirsty." Li Ran did not raise his eyelids.
"Alright…" Lu Xinran said seriously, "Thank you for saving me. Otherwise, I would’ve really died there."
Li Ran said indifferently, "No need. This is the responsibility of the leader."
"Heh heh, actually, I know that although Sheng Zi looks cold, Sheng Zi’s actually a very warm person," Lu Xinran said with a red face.
"Ah?" Li Ran was stunned.
"You only attacked at the end to allow us to increase our actual combat experience, right? I’m sure of it!" Lu Xinran clenched her pink fist and said firmly, "We will definitely support you. We will live up to your expectations!"
Li Ran was momentarily speechless. "……"
Who has expectations from you? Did this chick misunderstand something?