Chapter 104: Life and Death Platform
The Life and Death Platform was a white stone platform thirty meters high, nine zhang square, built from polished ten-thousand-jin boulders stacked together.
Below the Life and Death Platform, dense, sharp iron spikes were planted. Each spike was two meters long, and some still had traces of blood on their tips.
If a martial artist fell from the Life and Death Platform, even if they weren't crushed to death, they would be impaled by the iron spikes.
Therefore, once someone stepped onto the Life and Death Platform, life and death had to be decided—there was no escape even if they wanted to flee.
Feng Zhilin was very confident in his strength and had already stepped onto the Life and Death Platform first.
He stood tall and proud in the center of the platform, looking heroic and spirited. His gaze swept across the audience, landing on the beautiful female disciples in the stands, and he revealed a calm, confident smile.
In this battle, he had absolute faith in victory.
"Elder Brother Nine, you must be careful!" Zhang Shaochu tightly gripped Zhang Ruochen's hand, his eyes filled with worry.
Zhang Ruochen smiled. "It's nothing. It's just Feng Zhilin."
"Zhang Ruochen!"
Zi Qian walked out from among the many disciples, dressed in white martial attire. A belt was tied around her slender waist, accentuating her delicate and graceful figure.
The surrounding disciples all stared wide-eyed. They hadn't expected that among the Yunwu Commandery disciples there was such a beautiful woman, one who could rival even the three demonesses without any difference.
The crowd involuntarily made way, surrounding Zi Qian like stars around the moon.
Zi Qian walked up to Zhang Ruochen, stared deeply at him without any emotional fluctuation, and said, "I was also involved in killing Feng Zhiyi. Let me take your place in the duel with Feng Zhilin."
Zhang Ruochen looked at Zi Qian and sensed a strange aura from her.
"Have you reached the Mysterious Extreme Realm Middle Position?" Zhang Ruochen's eyes lit up.
Zi Qian nodded. "That's right."
Zhang Ruochen wasn't surprised. After all, Zi Qian possessed a Saint bloodline, and with the two thousand merit points she had earned as a reward, she could exchange for a large amount of high-level cultivation resources at the Martial Market Academy.
With her talent and abundant resources, breaking through to the Mysterious Extreme Realm Middle Position within a month wasn't too exaggerated.
After all, Zhang Ruochen had only consumed spirit meat without deliberately cultivating techniques, spending all his time on martial skills, and still broke through in just over a month.
Zhang Ruochen and Zi Qian's greatest advantage was that they never lacked cultivation resources.
"Congratulations!"
Zhang Ruochen continued, "But Feng Zhilin and I have already agreed to fight on the Life and Death Platform. You're too late. You can challenge him another time."
A flicker of surprise passed through Zi Qian's eyes. She spoke again, "Zhang Ruochen, are you confident you can defeat Feng Zhilin?"
"It shouldn't be difficult," Zhang Ruochen said with a smile.
Hearing Zhang Ruochen's words, the martial artists from the Four Directions Commandery standing nearby all cursed inwardly, "Arrogant fool!"
"Just wait and see! Zhang Ruochen thinks defeating Nie Xuan, Wang Lang, and Qing Haitian is impressive, but he doesn't know that none of them could withstand even one move from Feng Zhilin."
"Once he's on the Life and Death Platform, Zhang Ruochen will definitely regret it."
In the distance, Elder Xie saw Zhang Ruochen step onto the Life and Death Platform step by step and grew anxious. He was about to use his movement technique to stop Zhang Ruochen.
If Zhang Ruochen stepped onto the Life and Death Platform, it would be too late.
Just then, a silver shadow flashed past Elder Xie and pressed a hand on his shoulder.
"Elder Situ, what are you doing?" Elder Xie's eyes shot out cold light, extremely furious.
Elder Situ kept his hand on Elder Xie's shoulder, preventing him from rushing over, and laughed, "Elder Xie, calm down. It's just a duel between two juniors. Why do you need to interfere?"
Elder Xie looked at Zhang Ruochen, who was about to step onto the Life and Death Platform, and grew even more anxious. "Don't you know that Zhang Ruochen is the fourth genius in the West Courtyard's history to pass the third layer, second level of the Martial Tower? If he's killed by Feng Zhilin on the Life and Death Platform, what a tremendous loss that would be for the West Courtyard?"
Elder Situ's smile faded, and he snorted coldly, "So what if he's talented? During the first round of the academy exam, he killed nearly a hundred examinees, causing the academy to lose so many talents. At such a young age, he's already so bloodthirsty. Once he becomes a strong cultivator, won't he cause even more slaughter? The Martial Market Academy doesn't need such a genius."
Elder Xie said, "Elder Situ, did you personally witness Zhang Ruochen killing people?"
"Of course, someone saw it with their own eyes."
Elder Situ's expression turned cold, and he continued, "Besides, Zhang Ruochen killed Feng Zhilin's own younger brother. Doesn't Feng Zhilin have the right to avenge his brother?"
Another elder also approached, not wanting Elder Xie and Elder Situ to clash too fiercely, so he advised, "Elder Xie, we are just elders of the academy, responsible for teaching. As for the grudges between disciples, we should try not to get involved. If elders have to solve every problem for them, it will only make these disciples dependent, which won't benefit them."
Elder Situ laughed, "Elder Huo is right. Since Zhang Ruochen is a genius, he should be tempered more. If he can't even get past Feng Zhilin, it only proves he doesn't have the fate to become a strong cultivator."
If it were any other time, hearing Elder Situ's words, Elder Xie might have believed them.
But now, Zhang Ruochen was about to duel Feng Zhilin on the Life and Death Platform, almost certainly doomed to die. What tempering was there to speak of?
At this moment, Zhang Ruochen had already stepped onto the platform and stood opposite Feng Zhilin.
Elder Xie gritted his teeth, glared angrily at Elder Situ, but ultimately didn't let his fury explode. After all, Elder Situ's cultivation was above his; if they fought, he would definitely lose.
Now, he could only hope that Zhang Ruochen would somehow survive, though the hope was slim.
Elder Situ watched Elder Xie shake his sleeves and walk toward the stands, a mocking smile appearing on his old face. Then, he turned his gaze back to the Life and Death Platform, his smile growing even more pleased.
Whether Zhang Ruochen was a top genius didn't matter much to him, because Zhang Ruochen wasn't brought to the West Courtyard by him, nor was he his personal disciple. So, even if Zhang Ruochen died on the Life and Death Platform, it would only be his own misfortune.
"Thank you, Elder Situ!"
Prince Huoxing emerged from the night, bowing respectfully to Elder Situ.
Then, he handed a purple-gold box to Elder Situ, smiling, "This is a Heavenly Cloud Pill that my father sent to you, Elder. I hope it can help your cultivation reach a higher level."
Elder Situ took the purple-gold box, opened it a crack, and a strong medicinal fragrance immediately wafted out.
A smile appeared on Elder Situ's face as he put away the purple-gold box. "It was just a small favor. The Commandery Prince is too kind."
Prince Huoxing smiled. "Eliminating Zhang Ruochen is just a small favor to you, Elder, but to our Four Directions Commandery, it's a huge matter. The Yunwu Commandery already produced a Zhang Tiangui. If Zhang Ruochen also rises, in ten years, among the nine commanderies west of the ridge, who could rival the Yunwu Commandery?"
Elder Situ said, "I am originally a member of the Four Directions Commandery, so it's my duty to help the Commandery Prince clear these potential threats. Since Zhang Ruochen has come to the West Courtyard, I naturally can't let him grow."
Prince Huoxing nodded, looked at the two on the Life and Death Platform, and laughed, "After tonight, there will be no more Zhang Ruochen in the West Courtyard."
Bang! Bang!
The tops of the sixteen bronze pillars around the Life and Death Platform erupted with a series of explosions. Sixteen fireballs ignited in the braziers atop the pillars, illuminating the night.
"You have quite the nerve, actually daring to step onto the Life and Death Platform." Feng Zhilin stared at Zhang Ruochen, a smile appearing on his face.
It clearly wasn't praise but mockery of Zhang Ruochen's foolishness.
Zhang Ruochen stood straight with his hands behind his back, his clothes as white as snow, and laughed, "Why say so much? Let's fight!"
Feng Zhilin's eyes turned cold. "Fine! Since you want to die early, I'll grant your wish."
Both of their gazes simultaneously turned toward the weapon rack at the edge of the Life and Death Platform.
On the weapon rack were various weapons—swords, blades, halberds, spears, whips, staffs, lances... a total of thirty-one types.
Martial artists who stepped onto the Life and Death Platform couldn't bring their own weapons; they could only use the weapons on the platform.
It could be said that whoever grabbed a weapon first would have the advantage.
"Whoosh!"
Feng Zhilin moved first, turning into a white shadow as he charged toward the weapon rack on the Life and Death Platform. He targeted an iron sword placed on the third shelf of the rack and reached out to grab it.
His five fingers closed, but he grasped nothing.
Zhang Ruochen stood beside Feng Zhilin, holding the iron sword in his hand. He lightly tapped it with his finger and said, "There are no inscriptions carved into the sword; it's just an ordinary iron sword. But the material used to forge it isn't bad—it seems to have some real iron mixed in, so it won't break easily."
"You..."
Feng Zhilin stared at Zhang Ruochen, who was right next to him, his face full of shock.
He had clearly moved first to grab the sword, but Zhang Ruochen, who started later, had taken it first.
What did this mean?
It meant Zhang Ruochen's speed was superior to his!
Boom!
The disciples standing in the stands were all stunned by this sight.
"Zhang Ruochen's speed is actually faster than Feng Zhilin's?"
"Daring to step onto the Life and Death Platform, he really does have real skill."
"With Zhang Ruochen's speed, he's almost invincible."
"Not necessarily. If it weren't on the Life and Death Platform, maybe Feng Zhilin really couldn't defeat Zhang Ruochen. But the platform is only nine zhang long. Although Zhang Ruochen has the speed advantage, the space he can dodge is limited. It shouldn't be hard for Feng Zhilin to kill him."
"You've all overlooked the most important point. Zhang Ruochen's cultivation is far lower than Feng Zhilin's, so his true qi reserves are definitely much less. No matter how fast he is, Feng Zhilin can wear him down with his deeper true qi." Prince Huoxing said coldly.
The other disciples also found this reasoning reasonable and nodded one after another.
"A bunch of ignorant people!" Duanmu Xingling lightly shook her head, then glanced at Huang Yanchen and laughed, "Chen Jie, you personally said that if Zhang Ruochen defeats Feng Zhilin, you'll spare his life."
Huang Yanchen stared at the Life and Death Platform and said, "We'll talk about that after he wins."