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--- Chapter 275 ---
"Trial?" Xiao Yixian held Han Yuan's arm.
Han Yuan glanced at Xiao Yixian and smiled faintly, "Don't worry, I will be fine."
"Don't you know that your brother is the strongest?"
'Brother, you're always like this,' Xiao Yixian pressed her cherry lips in frustration.
She wasn't afraid that he couldn't pass.
No, she was afraid that he couldn't hold back!
The Three-Headed Meteor Dragon gazed at Han Yuan deeply, "Strongest, huh? Young people sure are hot-blooded, but this is fine."
"First, let's move from this place."
After saying that, a crimson light engulfed both Han Yuan and the Three-Headed Meteor Dragon, making them vanish from everyone's sight.
"What happened? Where is Xiao Yuan?" Yafei gasped in awe because it happened too abruptly.
Gu Xun'er frowned slightly, "Ling Ying..."
"Yes, miss. It's probably a teleportation array," Ling Ying replied with a solemn look. "As expected of the Misty Mountain Sage's inheritance, it's not simple."
"Sister Medusa, is brother going to be alright?" asked Qing Lin while shaking Queen Medusa's hand.
Queen Medusa smiled, "You heard him earlier. He's not lying, to me, he truly is the strongest."
"Mm!" Qing Lin's eyes gleamed slightly as she nodded in agreement. She believed in her brother, one hundred, no, one thousand percent.
Hai Bodong crossed his arms and stared at the Silver Ape King, "Hmm, that's weird. If that dragon needs to bring the kid away for trial, doesn't that mean you also hold the same responsibility?"
Silver Ape King narrowed his eyes at Hai Bodong, feeling a mysterious yet cold power from him, and then chuckled, "That's true, but different from us, Old Dragon is responsible for True Inheritance of Misty Mountain."
"I'm responsible for the Inheritance of Misty Mountain's Subsidiary Force, Mount Guardian Pavilion."
"Mount Guardian Pavilion's duty is to protect the Misty Mountain Range, and in addition, we cultivated raw force to the peak."
"I can see that your talents are quite impressive, and I don't mind giving you a trial to this inheritance. Are you interested?"
"Old Ape, you're still as shameless as always, you asked them, but didn't explain my force, too." The Golden Moth Empress said with an unpleasant tone. "Hmph, you and Old Dragon look down on me too much."
The giant moth gazed down on Han Yuan's group, appreciating the fact that there were more females than males. "Girls, I see that all of you are very talented, and you may choose the second subsidiary force of Misty Mountain Force, Misty Sword Pavilion."
"While this inheritance wasn't as rich as Mount Guardian Pavilion, we possess a secret art and monument that has been passed by the Misty Mountain Sage herself."
"Once you comprehend it, your strength will soar significantly."
Silver Ape King helplessly shrugged, "Hey, Lady Moth, my Misty Guardian Pavilion can also make them stronger!"
"What do you guys think?" asked Gu Xun'er. "Both inheritances possess their merits, and choosing either of them wouldn't be disadvantageous to any of us."
"I chose Misty Sword Pavilion." Xiao Yian replied immediately.
"Me too," Yafei clenched her hand. "I wanted to be stronger."
"What about you, Qing Lin?"
Qing Lin furrowed her eyebrow and asked, "Senior Moth, does Hidden Sword Pavilion teach swordmanship?"
"Of course, we also teach other arts of weapons, but our swordmanship legacy is the best one." The Golden Moth Empress replied warmly to Qing Lin, sensing that this child's talent is very high.
Qing Lin decided, "Then, I will choose Misty Sword Pavilion."
"I will choose Misty Guardian Pavilion," said Queen Medusa, making the others raise their eyebrows.
"Are you sure?" Gu Xun'er found Queen Medusa's decision confusing.
Queen Medusa nodded, "I am not very fond of using weapons. I like fighting with raw power."
"Hahaha, that's great, girl. You're indeed right, nothing is more satisfying than crushing anything on your path with raw power." Silver Ape King laughed excitedly.
Hai Bodong doesn't want to lose, "I wanted to choose Misty Guardian Pavilion, too."
"Miss..." Ling Ying was troubled. Honestly, he should have stayed with Gu Xun'er, but he felt Misty Guardian Pavilion was more suitable for him.
"Choose what you think is the most suitable, Ling Ying. It is your chance, and I wouldn't hold you back from it." Gu Xun'er shook her head gently and then smiled.
She owed Ling Ying a lot. If not for her, Ling Ying could have reached the Dou Ancestor (Dou Zong) Realm many years ago, but due to his duty as her bodyguard, his potential stagnated.
Ling Ying nodded solemnly, "Then, I will choose Misty Guardian Pavilion's trial."
Silver Ape King smiled, "I see that you already possess the spirit of a guardian, not bad."
"Well, then, stand before me. I will bring you guys to the trial site."
"Stand before me, too, girls." Golden Moth Empress mimicked.
Queen Medusa, Hai Bodong, and Ling Ying stood before the Silver Ape King as a blinding silver light made them vanish.
Xiao Yixian, Gu Xun'er, Yafei, and Qing Lin stood before the Golden Moth Empress as a blinding golden light made them vanish.
The entire mountain range suddenly became dead silent, leaving three glowing peaks.
---
---
After being taken away by the crimson light, Han Yuan discovered himself standing in a small pond surrounded by a cave wall.
He looked around and spotted a middle-aged, bearded man in a crimson robe, sitting with his hands on his thighs.
"Senior, is this the trial ground?" Han Yuan asked casually.
Yes, the middle-aged bearded man is none other than the Three-Headed Meteor Dragon who has changed into his human form. He nodded at Han Yuan and replied, "You may refer to me as Old Dragon. I am used to being called such by Old Ape and Lady Moth."
"Honestly, we never expected someone to find the Misty Mountain Range in our lives. We already accepted this fact."
"But it seems fate has a different idea."
'Yeah, fate.' Han Yuan inwardly chuckled. "I think so, too."
"So, what is my trial?"
"This place doesn't seem to be simple. The surrounding area gave me a weird feeling, as if we were in an enclosed space."
"This pond also radiated with such a pure spatial power, perhaps a condensation of it?"
Old Dragon raised his eyebrow, "Impressive, you actually could tell?"
"Not bad, young man."
"We are currently deep in the core area of Misty Mountain Range, more specifically, the deep underground cave."
Old Dragon rubbed his beard, "The pond you're currently in is called Dim Star Pond, also known as Void's Dew Pond. And you're right, it is indeed the condensation of purest spatial power, but much gentler and safer for one to have contact with."
"It is also your main objective to pass this trial."
He smiled playfully, "It can be said to be difficult, but also not."
"Senior Old Dragon, are you planning to bully me. That's not very senior-like of you." Han Yuan's mouth twitched, but he decided to play along.
"Hehe, aren't you the strongest?" Old Dragon responded in return. "The trial shouldn't be difficult for you."
"..." Han Yuan.
I was bragging, okay?
"Fine, bring it on." He sighed, raising his arms in defeat.
Old Dragon laughed, "Haha, that's the spirit, young man!"
"The content of your trial is actually simple, I didn't lie about this, as all you need is to keep the Void's Dew Pond pure as long as possible under the invasion of my Dou Qi and Soul Force."
"The catch is, you may only use the barrier-making method, which means using the Dou Technique is out of question."
"As the inheritor of Misty Mountain Sage, you can't be weak at making barriers, right?"
"Let's start!" Without further ado, Old Dragon released his Dou Qi and Soul Force, causing the cave to shake violently.
BOOM!
Han Yuan frowned and felt the surrounding energy of heaven and earth set ablaze by Old Dragon's Dou Qi, and his Soul Force was just so terrifying that even a bit of it could invade the Void's Dew Pond.
'No Dou Techniques, huh?' He smiled inwardly.
'Old Man, you might trouble others, but not me.'
BOOM!
Han Yuan's spiritual power burst out, repelling Old Dragon's forces and keeping the Void's Dew Pond steady.
"Oh?" Old Dragon was stunned. He didn't expect Han Yuan to possess such a strong and massive Soul Force.
Two forces clashed fiercely in the small cave, almost making it crumble, but never actually breaking it.
Under Old Dragon's already stunned gaze, Han Yuan infused not only his Five Elemental Dou Qi, but also Wind and Thunder Dou Qi, creating a seven-layered shape like seven-colored flower petals.
"T-This is..."
"How could your Dou Qi possess seven attributes?"
Han Yuan smiled innocently, "Ah, this? Junior is just lucky."
'Damn, how lucky can you be to cultivate seven-attributed Dou Qi?' Old Dragon was speechless. 'And this barrier, the elemental power actually didn't clash with each other, and instead mutually reinforced each other, creating five, no, seven small circulations and then producing one great manifestation.'
'He has mastered barrier making to this degree...'
'I am afraid his talent is not far from Lord Wu, or even equal.'
'Heh, I am curious how long he could last.' Old Dragon pressed even further.
What Old Dragon did not know was that he was going to regret this confidence of his soon.
The cave shook violently again, but no matter how much he pressed, the barrier Han Yuan made didn't budge.
"How is this even possible?" Old Dragon was shocked.
At first, he can break the first layer of seven-colored petals. Yet, the more time passed, the petals actually recovered as if Han Yuan possessed an endless amount of Dou Qi, and to top that off, his attack gradually became useless.
Let alone breaking Han Yuan's abnormal barrier, Old Dragon can't even crack it anymore after seven attempts. That means Han Yuan adapted to the pressure and continuously fortified his barrier in just seven shots.
'Monster, what the hell is this? Is this even humanly possible?' Old Dragon doesn't think common sense works like this.
Han Yuan laughed, "Phew, you're not holding back at all, Senior."
"But now, it's this junior's time to counterattack, right?"
"..."
"Eh?"
Caught off guard, Old Dragon suddenly sensed overwhelming momentum from Han Yuan's barrier. The surrounding energy of heaven and earth suddenly betrayed him, attacking him instead.
BOOM!
Not only that, but the spatial power also isolated the Old Dragon, making him feel helpless.
No matter how Old Dragon tries to break out of this situation, Han Yuan constantly updates his barrier and fixes the loophole.
Like a turtle trapped in a jar.
And this lasted for a while until the Old Dragon sprawled on the ground, begging for mercy with tears in his eyes.
"No more, please, junior, show mercy..."
Looking at how miserable Old Dragon was, Han Yuan shook his head and said, "How disappointing, senior. I thought the trial would be more challenging."
"Well, I guess, I still have to thank you for helping me test and improve my new barrier Rho Aias."
"..." Old Dragon felt like dying.
'What happened when we were staying in the Misty Mountain Range?'
'Has the outside world become so ridiculous that someone like this guy could be born?'
'Arrrgh, for heaven's sake, this world is unfair!'
Han Yuan didn't know he was making his trial tester have a mental breakdown.
All he knew was that his new technique was working right.
'Old Dragon, what a nice guy.' Han Yuan thought, satisfied.