NABC Chapter 27 The Trial Comes to an End
Chapter 27 The Trial Comes to an End
The moment Lin Chen and Qin Mo stepped out of the forbidden area, the outside world had already undergone a complete upheaval.
The sky remained unchanged, the purple light dissipated, and the forbidden area was once again shrouded in black mist. The stone gate remained tightly shut, as if nothing had ever happened. Only the lingering turbulent spiritual energy in the air silently testified to that breathtaking experience.
"There's only one day left in the trial." Qin Mo looked up at the sky, his tone urgent. "We must hurry."
Lin Chen nodded.
Having escaped the dimensional chasm, his heart felt heavy, yet also imbued with an unwavering resolve.
Mission, Dimensional Ascension, Fifty Years...
Many thoughts surged in his mind, but he quickly suppressed them.
The only priority right now is to complete the trial as soon as possible and get into the top ten.
The two retraced their steps and soon found themselves in a completely new territory.
This is the western plain of the secret realm, where, according to Zhao Yuanzhen, many spiritual herbs are gathered. After a day of fierce fighting and dramatic changes in the forbidden area, most of the trial disciples had already evacuated, leaving this area desolate and empty.
But Lin Chen's goal was never the elixir.
It is an integral.
"There are people ahead," Qin Mo warned in a low voice.
Lin Chen looked in the direction of the sound and saw two disciples in blue robes squatting on the ground behind the rock, furtively fiddling with something.
Upon closer inspection, it turned out the two were dividing up the spoils.
Scattered on the ground were piles of spiritual herbs and demon beast cores, clearly looted from other disciples.
"Hand over the points." Lin Chen's tone was icy, devoid of any emotion.
The two looked up abruptly and saw Lin Chen and Qin Mo; their expressions changed drastically.
"You, you are...?"
"Those two monsters from the outer sect?" another person recognized Lin Chen and exclaimed in surprise, "Didn't you run away?"
Lin Chen was too lazy to waste words.
His figure flashed suddenly, and his short sword was drawn.
"Time slows down".
The two disciples only felt a blur before their eyes before Lin Chen appeared behind them.
"Clatter".
The two identity tokens fell to the ground with a thud.
Lin Chen bent down to pick it up, and with a light touch of his fingertips, the points were instantly transferred.
All the points of the two unlucky guys were transferred to his name.
"You..." One of them came to his senses and was about to retaliate when Qin Mo's afterimage appeared and three blades of light accurately slashed at his wrist.
"Bang! Bang!"
The two were thrown back and crashed heavily to the ground.
"Get lost." Lin Chen said coldly, "If you dare to steal other people's points again, it won't be as easy as just confiscating the points."
The two looked at each other in bewilderment, then scrambled and fled in panic.
Lin Chen and Qin Mo swept through the enemy lines.
The combination of time slowing and afterimage movement made the two almost invincible in the secret realm.
They encountered several waves of disciples attempting to plunder, but retaliated against them all; they encountered several groups of demonic beasts, but killed them all; and they even found a few high-level spiritual herbs that had been overlooked.
Points are accumulating rapidly.
Three hours later, Lin Chen's points exceeded three thousand.
"Three thousand two hundred and seventy-one, currently ranked fifth," Qin Mo announced in a deep voice.
"And you?"
"Two thousand four hundred and fifty-three, ranked tenth."
Lin Chen nodded slightly.
Although Qin Mo's points were not as high as his, tenth place was enough for him to enter the inner sect.
If he himself makes it into the top five!
Such an achievement is enough to amaze the entire Qingyun Sect.
Just then, a sudden commotion arose in the distance.
"Look! What's that!"
"It's Senior Brother Xiao Yan!"
"How could he have become like this!"
Lin Chen looked up.
In the distance, a figure slowly descended.
It was in human form, yet it was definitely not human.
His body was engulfed in crimson flames, his skin cracked, revealing dark red muscles beneath; his eyes were no longer human eyes, but two blazing flames, radiating a chilling aura of madness.
Xiao Yan.
It is no longer what it used to be.
"He... has lost control." Qin Mo's voice was strained. "His fire elemental root has completely gone berserk, corrupting his physical body and mind."
Lin Chen frowned.
He recalled Shi Ying's words: thirty years ago, that genius who cultivated fire-based techniques eventually went mad due to the loss of control over his spiritual root.
Xiao Yan is repeating the same mistakes.
"Can it be restored?" Lin Chen asked.
"Unknown." Qin Mo shook his head. "There are only two possible outcomes for a spiritual root going out of control: one, it will be devoured by power and turn into a monster; two..."
He paused.
"Actively fuse with spiritual roots to control even greater power."
Which path will he choose?
"I don't know." Qin Mo gazed at the descending figure. "But if the wrong choice is made, the Qingyun Sect will surely be thrown into chaos."
Xiao Yan landed in the center of the plain.
His appearance triggered widespread panic.
The trial disciples scattered and fled, with only a handful of inner disciples daring to stop and watch.
Zhao Yuanzhen was among them.
He hovered in mid-air, his face ashen, staring intently at Xiao Yan.
"Xiao Yan!" he roared, "Are you insane!"
The figure engulfed in flames slowly raised its head.
A strange smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"Senior Brother Zhao..." His voice was hoarse and strained, like metal rubbing against stone, "You're wrong."
"I'm not crazy."
"I have never been so clear-headed."
He raised his hand, and crimson flames gathered in his palm.
"Dimensional Pill... I've successfully refined it."
Zhao Yuanzhen's pupils suddenly contracted.
"What?!"
"Just now..." Xiao Yan's voice was filled with a morbid fanaticism, "when the forbidden area opened, I absorbed the power of the dimensional rift..."
"The missing parts have been filled in."
"My fire elemental root... is no longer top-grade."
The flames in his eyes burned even more violently.
"It's... a divine product!"
Lin Chen's heart sank.
Divine-grade Fire Spirit Root.
The legendary grade. Since the founding of the Qingyun Sect, only one person has possessed a divine-grade spiritual root, and that person is the sect's founder.
If Xiao Yan truly masters a divine-grade spiritual root...
"He's going to betray the sect," Qin Mo whispered.
Lin Chen nodded.
Those who possess divine-grade spiritual roots will never submit to others. Xiao Yan will definitely leave the Qingyun Sect to pursue a wider world.
His departure will take away the Qingyun Sect's century-long fortune.
"We can't let him leave," Lin Chen said in a deep voice.
"You think you can stop him?" Qin Mo smiled wryly. "He has a divine-grade fire spirit root and is at least at the Core Formation Realm. Even if we join forces, we are no match for him."
Lin Chen remained silent.
Qin Mo's words were true.
With their current cultivation levels, the two were simply powerless to stop them.
At that moment, an ancient voice resounded from the sky.
"Xiao Yan!"
Everyone looked up.
An elderly man in white robes appeared in the sky at some unknown time. He had a lean face and an otherworldly temperament. A faint spiritual light surrounded him, which was the exclusive aura of a Nascent Soul Realm expert.
"Grandmaster!" Zhao Yuanzhen exclaimed in surprise and quickly bowed in respect.
Xiao Yan, the fiery figure, also looked up at the old man.
"Grandmaster Shen," the voice said with a hint of sarcasm, "you've come too."
"Let go of your obsession." Shen Qingluan's voice was calm yet authoritative. "A divine-grade spiritual root is indeed precious, but with your temperament, you are not yet capable of controlling it."
"He will surely go astray and become possessed."
Xiao Yan laughed wildly.
His laughter was maniacal, like the roar of a ferocious beast.
"Mind and nature? Grandmaster, you want to talk to me about mind and nature?"
Where were you when I sought power?
Where were you when I was bullied by my senior brothers?
"When I was alone, curled up in a corner, licking my wounds."
The voice suddenly rose in pitch.
"Where are you?!"
Crimson flames erupted from his body, shooting straight into the sky.
"Now I have power!"
"I no longer have to be at the mercy of others!"
"Anyone who dares to stop me, I will kill them!!"
Flames swept across the heavens and earth.
Shen Qingluan sighed softly.
"Stubborn to the end."
He raised his hand, and a beam of clear light burst forth from his fingertips, heading straight for Xiao Yan.
Xiao Yan roared as he charged forward.
The two forces collided in mid-air, unleashing a deafening roar.
A surge of spiritual energy swept across the entire plain, causing all the disciples to stagger and fall.
Lin Chen activated his spiritual power to protect himself and Qin Mo, barely managing to stabilize his body.
This is the difference between the Nascent Soul Realm and the Core Formation Realm.
Even though Xiao Yan possessed a divine-grade spiritual root, the gap between his cultivation levels remained insurmountable.
But Xiao Yan did not back down.
He burned his life essence and clashed wildly with Shen Qingluan.
"I won't lose!" His eyes were filled with fanatical obsession. "I won't lose!!"
"If I can win, I'm willing to sacrifice everything!!"
The fierce battle lasted for fifteen minutes.
In the end, Xiao Yan was defeated.
Shen Qingluan struck his chest with a palm, extinguishing all the flames within him.
Xiao Yan's body fell from the sky and crashed heavily to the ground.
His skin was dark red, and his body was cracked in many places, indicating that he had suffered severe injuries.
"Take him away," Shen Qingluan ordered Zhao Yuanzhen. "Lock him in the Confinement Cliff and await further instructions."
"Yes."
Two inner disciples stepped forward, lifted Xiao Yan up, and carried him away.
Shen Qingluan turned around, her gaze sweeping over all the surviving trial disciples.
"The trial is over." The voice resounded in everyone's ears. "Everyone, return to your sect immediately."
One day later.
Qingyun Sect, Martial Arts Arena.
All the disciples who participated in the trial gathered here, waiting for the final results to be announced.
Lin Chen stood calmly among the crowd.
Standing beside him was Qin Mo.
"Nervous?" Qin Mo asked.
"No," Lin Chen replied.
He remained completely unmoved.
Regardless of the outcome, he has achieved what he sought—a clue to his mother, the truth about the dimensional ruler, and a clear path forward.
These are far more valuable than rankings.
But if we can achieve excellent results...
"The trial results are now announced," Zhao Yuanzhen's voice rang out.
"Tenth place: Qin Mo".
A stir ran through the crowd. Qin Mo nodded expressionlessly, but Lin Chen caught a glimpse of a slight smile playing at the corners of his eyes.
Ninth place: Li Qingyun.
"Eighth place: Chou Tien-cheng"
"Seventh place: Lin...Chen!"
Zhao Yuanzhen paused for a moment.
Lin Chen was taken aback.
Seventh place?
He should be at least in the top five.
"Although Lin Chen ranked fifth in points, he trespassed into the forbidden area and violated the trial rules. He will have 1,000 points deducted, and his final score will be seventh." Zhao Yuanzhen said coldly.
Lin Chen did not refute.
Rules are rules, and forbidden areas are restricted areas; no one may enter without permission.
Deducting points is only fair.
But seventh place...
"Not bad," Qin Mo said in a low voice, "At least we'll be in the top ten."
Lin Chen nodded.
That's right, in the top ten.
He was thus able to enter the inner gate.
"The top three will now be announced," Zhao Yuanzhen's voice rang out again.
Third place: Bai Yutang.
Second place: Zhang Tianba.
First Place: Lin Yuan
Zhao Yuanzhen's gaze swept across the crowd, finally settling on one spot.
What?
Lin Chen suddenly looked up.
Lin Yuan?
This name! The exact same name as his father?
"Who is Lin Yuan?" Zhao Yuanzhen asked, frowning.
The crowd parted automatically, and a young man in blue slowly walked out.
She has delicate features, a gentle temperament, and seems harmless.
But the moment Lin Chen saw him, he felt a familiar aura.
That was his father's scent.
"Greetings, fellow disciples." The young man smiled slightly. "I am Lin Yuan, a newly recruited outer disciple of the Qingyun Sect."
His gaze met Lin Chen's.
In that instant, Lin Chen caught a fleeting glint in his eyes.
That is the light of the guardian of time.
It's exactly the same as the mark between his eyebrows.
"Father..." Lin Chen murmured to himself.
wrong.
Not the father.
Is it his younger brother?