Chapter 2171: The Exit
The cold gleam of blades and swords reflected on Lin Feng's face, icy and chilling. Lin Feng lifted his head, and Lou Lanyu saw a pair of frozen pupils—cold, indifferent, hollow, devoid of any emotion.
A sword appeared in Lin Feng's hand, a black sword, filled with the aura of darkness. He took one of the items in his hand and threw it into his mouth, swallowing it directly. It was a demonic core.
"Crack." The sound of chewing rang out. Seeing Lin Feng's eyes, Lou Lanyu's heart couldn't help but tremble slightly, as if a trace of unease had arisen. Those eyes were so cold that they even made him feel a hint of fear.
"Attack." A terrifying sword intent appeared on Lou Lanyu's blade, along with a Flame Will, wildly swirling around the sword. On the other side, his junior brother's icy blade glow carried a freezing aura. The two seemed to cultivate completely opposite forces, yet used the same techniques. They held blades, but executed sword forms. A cold wind swept through the void.
"Whoosh!" Both of their bodies moved at the same time, one in front and one behind, slashing toward Lin Feng simultaneously. Before the blades and swords even arrived, the power of slaughter had already descended.
Lin Feng's feet also moved. Dragging the dark sword, he stepped forward, his entire body like the wind. The sword shot out like a willow leaf dancing, soft and gentle, yet ethereal and directionless. This sword seemed to have no discernible trajectory, no clear direction. A dark sword scar appeared in the void.
Lou Lanyu's sword stopped. His movements also halted, his entire body as if frozen in place. Lin Feng stood right beside him. Suddenly, blood gushed from Lou Lanyu's waist. His body snapped cleanly into two halves. With a look of despair, his lips seemed to twitch slightly, and then he turned into a beam of light, vanishing from the spot.
"How is that possible?" His junior brother's face turned pale, the hand holding his blade trembling slightly. He watched as Lin Feng slowly turned around, his icy gaze locking onto him, sending a shiver through his heart. His feet involuntarily stepped back. He was a genius of the Sword Valley of Divine Thunder City; he didn't want to be kicked off the stage of the Nine Heavens Assembly like this. Worse, he might even fall here permanently.
"Essence, Wind Essence. How could he be faster than me and my senior brother?" His expression was ugly. Lin Feng, holding the dark sword, slowly walked forward. The hand gripping the blade trembled more and more violently. Finally, Lin Feng's body moved again. His blade also slashed out at the same instant, leaving a brilliant blade scar in the void. But it didn't even touch the corner of Lin Feng's robe. Like Lou Lanyu, despair filled his eyes, and in the end, he vanished from the spot.
On the ground, a crisp sound rang out. There lay a sword and a blade—the weapons dropped by Lou Lanyu and his junior brother.
"Who said the Nine Heavens Assembly had to be about the most spectacular clashes? Who ever thought that the Fate Temple would bring us back to the starting point? It's not so spectacular, but still so thrilling. Perhaps the ones eliminated inadvertently are the most renowned geniuses." The people standing on the ground thought to themselves. Lin Feng glanced at them, and the dark sword in his hand disappeared. A key appeared in his palm. He extended his divine sense into it. After a moment, as if understanding something, Lin Feng stepped forward, heading toward a fork in the Mysterious City, ignoring the others.
After Lin Feng left, the terrifying thumping sounds once again vibrated across the ground.
"What's going on?"
"Demonic fire aura. That demonic light has appeared again. Another demonic lion." The crowd's pupils contracted. It seemed that now that they were here, they had to hunt down a demonic beast to know the way forward. Some among them secretly regretted this. It appeared the Fate Temple had arranged everything long ago. If their strength wasn't sufficient but they still broke through the beast forest to get here, they might still die under the iron hooves of the demonic lion. Only by hunting one down could they proceed. And if they had cultivated to a certain level in the beast forest before coming, the round of elimination would probably have already ended by then. Therefore, only the elite could have the chance to keep moving forward.
"We have to join forces," one person said. Now, only three of them remained.
"Even if we kill the demonic lion, how do we split the spoils?" another questioned. Even if the three of them joined forces to kill the demonic lion, only one could obtain the item.
"We'll have to rely on luck. Whoever kills it should get it. If we split up, all three of us will probably die under the demonic lion's hooves, and none of us will survive."
"Alright, let's attack." The three understood this, so they prepared to fight the demonic lion to the death. As for the outcome, Lin Feng could no longer know. At this moment, he had reached the end of a branching path. There, a closed door stood. Lin Feng took out the key and offered it up. The key inserted into the groove of the door, and in an instant, the door opened. Lin Feng stepped inside.
As Lin Feng entered this door, Divine Thunder's First Lord, Hua Qingfeng, had already completed his final battle in this trial ground. At this moment, he stood on a battle platform shrouded in a halo, his expression calm. Across from him, one person had been completely crushed by him, but instead of disappearing, he retreated back into a distant halo.
In the void above, a dazzling light poured down, landing on Hua Qingfeng. Instantly, his body vanished from the halo-covered battle platform.
Outside, Hua Qingfeng's body stirred slightly. His eyes suddenly snapped open, a sharp gleam flashing within. He was out.
"Hua Qingfeng is awake." Many eyes were fixed on him. On the stone pillar above Hua Qingfeng's head, a brilliant light shone, marked with the number one.
"Congratulations. For now, you will hold the first position and handle the subsequent assembly," the Prophet said to Hua Qingfeng. Hua Qingfeng's expression remained calm as he nodded slightly. The first round of assessment in the Nine Heavens Assembly could eliminate quite a few people. Moreover, it would establish a temporary ranking. The first to emerge would be placed in the first seat.
"The strength of Divine Thunder's First Lord is truly terrifying. Does this prophesy that he will become the number one of this Nine Heavens Assembly? Who can pull him down from the first seat?" The crowd sighed inwardly. True geniuses could endure any trial. Even starting from zero, they would still be the most dazzling ones.
The crowd had been watching this Nine Heavens Assembly for some time now. Even though everyone's strength had become very weak, no one was willing to look away. Even the people of Divine Thunder City were the same, their eyes fixed on the projection. They wanted to see clearly who would be the most brilliant among them.
After Lin Feng walked through that door, he saw four doors before him. Each door had shining words above it. The first door was for cultivation techniques, the second for divine abilities, the third for weapons, and the fourth for battle trials.
Without any hesitation, Lin Feng stepped into the last door—the battle trial.
One terrifying fierce beast after another appeared before him, causing Lin Feng's expression to stiffen. They were all demonic beasts at the demonic sovereign level. Cultivation techniques, divine abilities, and weapons could all be obtained directly, but this battle trial was likely the most dangerous choice. Those pairs of eyes stared at him, making him feel a chill run down his spine.
His palm moved slightly. Dark light gathered, and in his palm, the dark sword appeared again. At the same time, his pupils once again turned a deathly gray, extremely cold.
"Whoosh!" His body like the wind, Lin Feng moved, charging toward the first beast. It was an ancient ape. It roared, and a terrifying sound wave essence attacked directly, making Lin Feng feel as if his eardrums had gone deaf. At the same time, the ancient ape's massive claws smashed toward Lin Feng's body, shaking the void.
Above the void, a terrifying great roc spat out blade after blade of wind, sealing off Lin Feng's escape routes.
Shifting his steps, light as a swallow, Lin Feng once again turned into a willow leaf, pushing Wind Essence to its limit. At the same time, those dark eyes seemed to see through everything, as if the opponent's movements were slowing down.
"Boom!" The ancient ape's fist punched through. Lin Feng tilted his head slightly, and a fierce friction sensation made his cheek burn. His sword slanted into the ancient ape's throat. Lin Feng's hand wrapped around the ape's arm and struck out fiercely, driving the dark sword straight through its throat. At that moment, a terrifying claw in the void grabbed at Lin Feng's head.
Lin Feng leaned forward, grabbing the dark sword that had pierced the ancient ape's throat, and twisted violently, throwing himself downward. At the same time, his face was directly facing the diving great roc.
A wind sword exploded upward, severing the great roc's claws. A line of blood appeared on its belly. It shrieked and soared back into the air.
Lin Feng stood up. Around him, one terrifying beast after another encircled him, making his expression extremely grave. The pressure was immense.
Two days later, Lin Feng, dragging his tattered clothes and covered in wounds, walked out of this trial path and stepped into a door. The next moment, he felt a halo envelop him. Then his body slowly rose, appearing on a massive circular plaza. Many people were there, each one shrouded in a beam of light descending from the void, their expressions solemn. In the center of the crowd was a halo-covered battle platform, illuminated by a beam of light. On it, two people were engaged in a fierce battle.
"It seems I didn't arrive early. Many people are already here." Lin Feng's gaze swept over the figures shrouded in halos. Many had already arrived. He had been relatively fast in the alliance just now. If he had been any later, he would probably have fallen even further behind.