Chapter 743: Fend for Yourself
Lin Feng released his sword aura, which, although it blocked the people around him, also had an effect on himself. Even though it was only an extremely brief moment, for experts of their level, that moment was enough to surpass or even leave someone behind.
From all directions, figures soared into the air. Lin Feng saw many people ahead of him, but he did not panic. He spread out his powerful spiritual sense, enveloping everything around him. The Heavenly Lake was right before his eyes; it would only take two breaths for the people at the front to step onto it.
"Whoosh!"
A soft sound rang out. From the Heavenly Lake, a wisp of white mist sprayed downward. In that instant, the crowd felt a suffocating chill land on them. The cracking sound of ice sealing rang out as the mist scattered downward. The figures soaring through the air were frozen in an instant, their entire bodies turning into ice sculptures.
"Not good." The people below who had not yet touched the icy mist narrowed their eyes and swung their palms out. But the next moment, even the fluctuations of their palm wind were frozen, and their bodies stiffened along with it.
This frosty mist spraying from the Heavenly Lake was too terrifying. The moment it touched you, you would be frozen immediately.
"Sword!" Lin Feng spat out a word, and his sword aura raged, enveloping his body. However, the next moment, the terrifying cold mist froze even the sword aura he had released. No one could escape.
In just one breath, an extremely spectacular scene appeared in the void. Hundreds of figures were all turned into ice sculptures, suspended in the air, as if time itself had stopped.
"The chill of the Heavenly Lake is terrifying." The people below stared stiffly at the spectacular scene in the void.
The mist in the Heavenly Lake finally calmed down. A figure drifted down like an immortal, landing gracefully on the Heavenly Lake. This figure was extremely beautiful, dressed in white like snow. Her appearance made many people below feel as if their breathing had stopped, their gazes carrying a hint of fervor.
The Heavenly Lake Saintess, Tianchi Xue.
So beautiful, even more beautiful than the portraits they had seen. No wonder she was the Heavenly Lake Saintess.
"Crack, crack..." Sounds rang out, the noise of ice sculptures shattering. Those at the very top were slightly stronger and broke free from the ice first, continuing to soar into the air. Their eyes fixed on Tianchi Xue as they stepped toward the Heavenly Lake. In just two or three breaths, they would be able to stand on the lake and behold her beauty.
"Avalanche!"
Tianchi Xue's face was expressionless. She spat out a cold word, and an endless chill of snow surged from her body. This was the Will of Snow.
"Boom, rumble..." Heaven and earth seemed to tremble inexplicably. Countless snow masses collapsed downward, as if a snow mountain had split open, crashing toward the crowd.
"Boom!" One figure, still in a frozen state, was struck directly by the terrifying avalanche. His body was smashed downward, falling sharply instead of rising.
"This is testing the potential they can unleash when facing a crisis." The crowd thought to themselves. Even in this first round of assessment, the element of luck was minimized to the extreme. Speed alone was not enough; one needed true powerful strength to break free from the frozen state in an instant and resist the avalanche's attack at the same time.
"Split!"
"Crack!"
The ice on Lin Feng's body shattered inch by inch and fell away. Watching the figures soaring upward, Lin Feng stomped heavily on the void, using the recoil force to propel himself upward again.
"Boom!" A wave of avalanche intent crashed toward Lin Feng. Lin Feng snorted coldly. A howling wind suddenly erupted, and terrifying sword aura tore through everything. The avalanche intent was shredded before it could even touch him.
"Oh?" Tianchi Xue's gaze happened to fall on Lin Feng. A hint of meaning flashed in her eyes, and she shouted a single word: "Collapse!"
"Boom, rumble!" A terrifying will of snow collapse surged toward Lin Feng, as if sealing off the space above him. This scene made Lin Feng's eyes freeze. Tianchi Xue was deliberately making things difficult for him.
Watching the people around him overtake him and soar upward, if he was delayed any further, he would likely be eliminated in this first round.
"Wind, rise!" Lin Feng spat out a word. A howling sound suddenly erupted. In the void, a fierce gale arose, as if it were the Will of Wind, penetrating everything.
"Enter the Nine Heavens."
He shouted another word, and Lin Feng's figure vanished from the spot, just like the wind, disappearing without a trace. Tianchi Xue only saw a phantom of wind.
"Shriek..." A terrifying sword aura erupted right in front of her, making Tianchi Xue's expression change abruptly. She quickly retreated backward. A fearsome Sword Will slashed through the spot where she had just been standing. Then, a figure slowly appeared there. It was none other than Lin Feng.
Tianchi Xue's gaze stiffened. She stared at Lin Feng with a cold look in her eyes. Lin Feng had dared to release Sword Will at her, forcing her back. How presumptuous.
Figures soared up and landed on the Heavenly Lake one after another. They too had seen the scene of Lin Feng forcing Tianchi Xue back, and their gazes froze.
Who was this person? How dare he be so disrespectful to the Saintess Tianchi Xue? How audacious. What was even more detestable was that he seemed to have no sense of chivalry toward a lady.
Several people stepped forward, surrounding Lin Feng, as if they wanted to stand up for the goddess in their hearts, trapping him in the middle.
Lin Feng's gaze hardened. A cold, sharp light swept over the crowd. Tianchi Xue might still hold a grudge over the previous incident and had secretly schemed against him, showing disrespect first. He wasn't asking anything of Tianchi Xue, so if she schemed against him, he would naturally retaliate.
Tianchi Xue was the goddess and dream lover of many, but that had nothing to do with him.
"Are you looking for death?" one person threatened Lin Feng in a cold voice. Lin Feng's cultivation was only at the Eighth Layer of Profound Martial Realm, while he himself was at the peak of the Eighth Layer. Yet Lin Feng was so arrogant, daring to show disrespect to Tianchi Xue.
"Even if I were looking for death, it wouldn't be your turn. If you want to fight, come at me together. If not, get lost." Lin Feng spat out a cold word. This statement made everyone's eyes freeze. Arrogant. Lin Feng was far too arrogant, as if he looked down on everything, daring to tell them to come at him together.
"Misunderstanding, misunderstanding..." A trembling voice rang out. Huangfu Long squeezed into the middle of the crowd and said to Lin Feng, "Lin Feng, we're friends after all. Tianchi Xue is my future wife. You should at least be a bit tolerant."
Then Huangfu Long looked at Tianchi Xue and said with a foolish smile, "We're family."
"..."
The crowd's eyes froze again, all stunned by Huangfu Long's words. Shameless bastard. Tianchi Xue, his future wife?
Even Tianchi Xue was stunned. A cold gleam flashed in her eyes as she said, "Who is your future wife?"
"Hehe." Huangfu Long awkwardly scratched his head, as if a bit embarrassed, and said in a low voice, "Sooner or later. Anyway, you will definitely be my wife."
"You..." Tianchi Xue's gaze froze. These two were too detestable.
"Xiao Xue, that's enough." At that moment, a voice slowly came over. The old man who had been presiding earlier arrived at the Heavenly Lake and said to the crowd, "Everyone, use your intuition. Those ranked after the top hundred, please leave on your own."
Seeing the old man approach, the crowd stopped arguing. But they all glared coldly at Lin Feng and Huangfu Long, marking these two in their hearts.
Those who stepped onto the Heavenly Lake later showed dejected expressions and left the lake one after another. At their level of strength, their awareness was strong, and the moment they stepped onto the lake, they could easily judge their ranking.
Soon, only a full hundred people remained on the Heavenly Lake, excluding Tianchi Xue.
The old man looked at the remaining crowd and smiled, saying, "The next part is even simpler. The last eight people who can stay on the Heavenly Lake will enter the secret realm."
With that, a sly smile appeared in the old man's eyes as he glanced at Lin Feng and Huangfu Long. These two had good strength and talent, but now they would have to fend for themselves. This was meant to teach the crowd a lesson: don't show off too early; learn to be patient. The same would apply when entering the secret realm.
PS: No flowers today. Requesting flowers.