Chapter Twenty-Five: The Youth Trial Tournament at Skywind Mountain Begins

Qin Lang reached out and caught Yun’er, taking her soft, boneless hand in his own as he walked toward Ye Keqing.

Having shared ten years of hardships, Qin Lang had long regarded Yun’er as family. In his heart, she was infinitely more important than Ye Keqing, and he would never give Ye Keqing a chance to belittle her.

Unable to pull her hand away from Qin Lang’s grasp, Yun’er could only let him lead her along. However, being held by him in such a public setting caused a shy blush to spread across her delicate face, and her heart began to flutter like a trapped deer.

Seeing Qin Lang’s actions, a flash of imperceptible coldness crossed Ye Keqing’s beautiful eyes.

"That’s great, you must protect me when the trial begins!" Qin Lang responded with a smile. Since Ye Keqing was still keeping up her facade, Qin Lang saw no reason to tear off the mask just yet.

Stealing another person’s Martial Soul was a taboo on the Lingwu Continent; once discovered, one would be hunted down by all the warriors across the land. Consequently, secret techniques for stealing Martial Souls were extremely rare and practically lost to history. Qin Lang was curious how Ye Keqing had obtained such a technique and what methods she would eventually use against him.

"Shameless!"
"He’s actually asking a beauty to protect him so blatantly!"
"He’s a disgrace to all men!"

Qin Lang’s words predictably caused the surrounding youths to roll their eyes. The fact that he would take the initiative to ask a girl for protection made him a truly bizarre character.

Qin Lang seemed not to hear their remarks at all. Standing between Yun’er and Ye Keqing with a smug expression on his face, he looked so pleased with himself that the surrounding youths could hardly wait to rush over and beat him to a pulp.

In the crowd, Huang Bo watched Qin Lang, who was flanked by the two beauties, with a look of disdain in his eyes. Just because he was surrounded by beautiful women, did he have to be so conceited? On the Lingwu Continent, martial strength was paramount; without sufficient power, one had no fortune to enjoy such beauties. Once Ye Keqing entered one of the top ten sects, her horizons would broaden, and after seeing the vast world, she would surely break off her engagement with a loser like him sooner or later. Only someone like himself, the top talent among the younger generation in Qingfeng Town, was worthy of a peerless beauty like Ye Keqing.

Qin Jian watched Qin Lang from afar, feeling extremely displeased. Qin Lang was the former young patriarch of the Qin family, and he had some past grievances with him. If Qin Lang became stronger than him, wouldn’t he compete for the position of young patriarch? The only thing that consoled Qin Jian was that his current strength was at the ninth level of Martial Apprentice, while Qin Lang was only at the seventh. As long as he performed well in this trial, he would certainly be selected by a sect, gain massive resources, grow rapidly, and suppress Qin Lang in strength forever.

"Young Miss, I sense the aura of a Heavenly Ice Flower coming from that young girl," a gray-robed elder whispered to the white-clad Xue Qianyao in the crowd.

"Even our Lanyue Tower couldn't find a Heavenly Ice Flower; I never expected Qin Lang to actually find one. To find such a flower with only the strength of a seventh-level Martial Apprentice is not something an ordinary apprentice could achieve. I am looking forward to seeing Qin Lang’s performance in this trial," Xue Qianyao’s eyes brightened.

"He only has the strength of a seventh-level Martial Apprentice. Among the youths participating in the trial, he is merely middle-to-low tier; he may not even qualify to enter a sect, so how could he possibly have a good performance?" The gray-robed elder shook his head, unimpressed.

"Then let us wait and see," Xue Qianyao smiled noncommittally and cast her gaze toward Yun’er. "Awakening a Martial Soul requires a Heavenly Ice Flower... such a unique constitution... could it be that this little beauty is that..." A rumor circulating among the powerful forces of the Zongheng Empire crossed her mind, and a look of deep dread appeared in her beautiful eyes.

"Quiet!" Just then, an elder leaped onto the high platform in the center of the massive square. He was the host of this Tianfeng Mountain Youth Trial. As his deep, resonant voice echoed, the previously noisy square instantly fell silent. Everyone gazed at him with burning anticipation.

"The rules for this Tianfeng Mountain Youth Trial are the same as in the past. Each participant will receive a wristband. Once worn, it will record the strength and number of the demonic beasts you slay. The competition lasts for thirty days. Whoever slays the most beasts and possesses the greatest strength will be ranked highest. Of course, you may leave Tianfeng Mountain during the competition, but you must never return! You must return here on the final day; anyone who fails to arrive on time will be considered in violation of the rules and disqualified from the rankings."

After briefly introducing the rules and having the wristbands distributed to the youths, the elder turned to look at the ten representatives of the top sects seated at the highest level of the square. Receiving their nod, the elder turned back, scanned the massive crowd, and announced loudly, "The Qingfeng Town Tianfeng Mountain Youth Trial, begin!"

As soon as the words left his lips, the impatient youths surged forward, racing into Tianfeng Mountain.

"Young Master, good luck!" Watching his back as he disappeared into the flow of people, Yun’er clenched her small hands, her cherry lips parting to whisper as she looked on with expectation.

Over a thousand youths were participating, but only the top one hundred would be selected by the sects. With a rejection rate of over ninety percent, the cruelty of this trial was evident. Even more brutal was the fact that at least five hundred youths perished in Tianfeng Mountain each time, a death rate as high as fifty percent. Yet, the temptation of the massive cultivation resources offered by the sects made these youths flock there regardless of the danger.

"Brother Qin Lang, the demonic beasts here are too few and too weak. Let us head deeper into Tianfeng Mountain. The beasts there are much stronger, and that way, we can kill enough powerful ones to rank higher," Ye Keqing suggested as soon as they entered the mountain.

Qin Lang sneered inwardly. Surely, the depths of Tianfeng Mountain were not only home to stronger beasts but were also sparsely populated, making it more convenient for you, Ye Keqing, to make your move against me, right?

However, Qin Lang had no intention of refusing her suggestion. He now possessed the strength of a ninth-level Martial Apprentice, held dual Martial Souls, and had mastered the profound-grade low-tier martial technique "Eightfold Waves" as well as the "Dragon-Roaming Step." Facing Ye Keqing, who was a first-level Martial Artist, he had at least absolute self-preservation strength.

"Alright, I’ll listen to you," Qin Lang said, a trace of imperceptible mockery curling his lips as he nodded and walked side-by-side with her.

*Swish, swish, swish.*

They walked together, their footsteps crunching on the thick layer of fallen leaves in the forest. Suddenly, two streaks of green light, like flashes of lightning, lunged from a branch hanging above them!

*Sizzle!*

Two jets of venom shot toward them like arrows, moving with incredible speed.

"It’s a first-level demonic beast, the Green Arrow Snake!" Ye Keqing’s expression changed. She abruptly drew her sword to block the incoming venom and lunged forward at one of the snakes.

The Green Arrow Snake was among the weakest of the first-level beasts, comparable only to a sixth-level human Martial Apprentice. However, it was exceptionally skilled at hiding and launching sneak attacks. Once struck by its venom, one would suffer from a potent toxin, causing paralysis and a massive drop in combat ability; even a true Martial Artist could be easily killed by it.

With his dual Martial Souls, Qin Lang’s perception was incredibly sharp; he had detected the two hidden snakes long ago! Furthermore, he had noticed that Ye Keqing had also gripped her sword discreetly, ready for battle at any moment. In other words, she had also detected them but had chosen not to warn him.

"Trying to test my strength with Green Arrow Snakes, are you?" Qin Lang sneered in his heart. He shifted his footing, easily dodging the venom. His sword left its sheath, a flash of cold light struck accurately at the snake’s "seven-inch" vital point, slicing it in two!

*Ding!*

After killing the snake, a faint aura of the beast flowed into his wristband, and the number on it changed from zero to one.

Beside him, Ye Keqing, who had already finished her own fight, saw Qin Lang easily kill the snake in a single strike, and her willow-leaf eyebrows lifted ever so slightly.