Following the first guillotine blade, the rest began falling one after another, a metal clamor filling the air. “Get ready. The one-minute countdown begins now.” Without giving Tang Wulin and the others even a moment to digest the situation, Shen Yi began counting down.
The gears of Tang Wulin"s mind began turning. “We need to cross through the guillotine gates within thirty seconds. The shortest path has six gates… Gu Yue, test the power of the guillotine blades.”
Having a cool head was essential to pa.s.sing such trials.
While Xie Xie was eager to speed through the gates, Xu Xiaoyan stared at them pale-faced.
Gu Yue was just as calm as usual, and following Tang Wulin"s order, she held out her hand and turned her palm to the sky. Blue light condensed in her hand, forming a two-meter long icicle that she shot through the bottom of the guillotine.
Clang!
The guillotine blade fell, instantly turning most of the icicle into a fine powder while splitting the thickest part of it into two.
“The descent of one blade produces about three thousand kilograms of force,” Gu Yue announced. Her precise a.n.a.lysis was only possible because of her spiritual connection with the elements.
“Can you do it?” Tang Wulin asked.
“I can protect one person,” Gu Yue responded.
“How about you, Xie Xie?”
Leaping from the ground, Xie Xie said, “I"m fine.”
Just as Tang Wulin was about the state their plan, Gu Yue said, “How about I protect Xu Xiaoyan and you carry me on your back. It shouldn"t be a problem with your physical strength. Xie Xie can then follow right behind us. That should work.”
Tang Wulin considered it for a moment. The plan he thought up would have Gu Yue and Xie Xie pa.s.s through the gates by themselves while he carried Xu Xiaoyan. It was the most logical plan. Gu Yue"s arrangement would also work, but he felt that there was something strange about it, so he eyed her suspiciously.
A slight blush appeared on Gu Yue"s face, but she quickly returned to normal.
“Ten... nine... eight...”
Shen Yi had begun the final countdown. They only had a few seconds left before the trial started.
Tang Wulin sucked in a deep breath. There was no time left to change the plan. Gu Yue approached his back and quickly mounted him. With a wave of her hand, green lights enveloped Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, and Xu Xiaoyan.
Paralyzed by fear, she just stared at the guillotines.
“Xiaoyan, don"t be afraid,” Gu Yue said. “You go first. I"ll use the earth element to hold the guillotine blades up and we"ll follow right behind you. All you have to do is run through quickly.”
Xu Xiaoyan clenched her jaw and nodded.
“Three... two... one... begin!”
With Shen Yi"s declaration, the third trial began.
Gu Yue chanted quietly, her hands raised toward the sky. She only managed to stay pressed close to Tang Wulin"s back by using her legs. They straddled his waist tightly, his hands gripping the flesh of her thighs. A yellow light flashed as a stone pillar shot up underneath the first gate.
Clang!
The blade hurtled into the stone pillar, cras.h.i.+ng against it. The pillar shook as cracks webbed throughout its stone.
“Quickly!” Gu Yue shouted.
In that instant, Xu Xiaoyan"s eyes became resolute. After all these years together, she had come to completely trust in her teammates. She leaned forward and dashed through the first gate, joining Xie Xie who had flashed through it earlier.
With Gu Yue clinging to his back, Tang Wulin went through last. However, right when he pa.s.sed directly underneath the guillotine, the stone pillar suddenly collapsed.
The gigantic guillotine blade plunged downward!
Gu Yue shut her eyes tightly, arms wrapped tightly around Tang Wulin"s neck as if she had no intention of leaving him.
Her heart was racing, probably because of the tense situation.
Tang Wulin, however, only felt her drawing closer to him, her arms and legs wrapped around his neck and waist.
Faced with the incoming blade, Tang Wulin showed neither fear nor joy.
Isn"t this just three thousand kilograms of force? And it has even been weakened by the stone pillar.
Tang Wulin raised his right hand, his blood roaring as his golden dragon claw appeared. He thrust his arm above him, struck the enormous blade...
...and held it aloft.
From her position on the sidelines, Shen Yi was dumbstruck
She had witnessed countless students face this trial in the past. Each and every one of them approached it differently, yet this was the first time she had seen someone brazenly grab the blade!
That blade weighs over a thousand kilograms! With gravity added to that, that should"ve been over three thousand kilograms of force!
He can"t...
Shen Yi nearly shut her eyes subconsciously. She was afraid of the b.l.o.o.d.y scene she antic.i.p.ated.
But... of course that didn"t happen.
Clang!
Tang Wulin easily caught the blade, only squatting a bit to compensate for the force.
“Up!” he shouted, his right arm filling with strength as fiercely pushed it up. Holding it high in the air, he stepped through the first gate with Gu Yue on his back.
“Boss, are you even human!?” Xie Xie stared at Tang Wulin in horror.
On the other hand, shock showed in Xu Xiaoyan"s eyes, forcing her fear into the back seat.
“Gu Yue, you don"t need to do anything else. I can do this by myself.”
Now that he had experienced the strength of the guillotine himself, Tang Wulin was confident. He walked toward the second gate with large strides.
As the blade dropped, he held up his hand once more and grabbed it. He pushed the blade back up, letting Xu Xiaoyan and Xie Xie pa.s.s through before him and Gu Yue.
Tang Wulin and his golden dragon claw treated the dreaded guillotine blades like toys. He held up each and every one of them easily.
The four of them soon pa.s.sed through six gates, the shortest distance possible.
Shen Yi was speechless.
This kid is looking more and more like a monster! This trial was supposed to test their ability to adapt, their reaction times, and their courage!
Against such terrifying guillotines, with only a minute to plan, the ability to adapt quickly was essential to pa.s.sing the trial. Furthermore, such adaptability could only be founded in courage.
Many students who had what it took to pa.s.s the trial relied on things such as speed and strength. However, the enormous guillotines struck fear into these examinees who were under fifteen years old, leaving many of them too scared to move even an inch.
For the students of cla.s.s zero, this trial had been exceptionally easy, but for most examinees, it was the hardest trial of them all!
With their time limited and their courage tested, many could not make it through the trial within the time limit.
Even if examinees were the elite of the elites that major cities recommended, the first trial eliminated a majority of them because their spiritual power was usually just too weak. In comparison, most examinees pa.s.sed the second trial since it was a simple battle. As for the third trial, over half of the remaining examinees were usually weeded out due to their lack of courage in the face of death.
Examinees would normally go through the gates one at a time since they usually couldn"t formulate a plan of cooperation in the one minute given. Furthermore, there was the question of whether their courage, adaptability, and judgement were up to par. It was only because Tang Wulin possessed all of these qualities in excess that the third trial was so easy for his team.
In such a trial, Tang Wulin single-handedly dealt with everything! The trial"s difficulty had never crossed his mind. The entire time, he just focused on pa.s.sing.
His courage wasn"t even tested here. Even if it were, he had never lacked it. If he had, then he wouldn"t have been able to decisively s.h.i.+eld Gu Yue from a soul fusion skill with his own body.
As for the rest of his team, they rode his coattails to the finish line.
It was as if he were a propping up the heavens.
Shen Yi called out their final time. “Fourteen seconds!”
Tang Wulin swung his arm a bit, flexing his shoulder as he withdrew his claw and his hand returned to normal.
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