Chapter 649: Trial of Frost I
The mountain base was right up ahead, and thanks to my speed it would take me less than an hour to get there.
As I was looking around, I had to admit, that I thought I"d be the fastest of the bunch. But it seems obvious that the difference in cultivation is pretty obvious. Cultivators who should be at the Void Shattering and Origin realm are already climbing the mountain. I was far from the first. But it wasn"t something to be worried about. This wasn"t a race to see who reaches the peak first.
My s.h.i.+p went up the mountain with ease, bypa.s.sing many cultivators who were stunned at the sight.
And the reason why I wasn"t the first soon became obvious. Many of the cultivators who were ahead of me were all cultivators who cultivated Yang Qi, and throwing them in an environment full of suck qi would only help them more to gain an advantage.
As for cultivators who used Yin Qi, they were the last of the bunch. Since the environment was hostile to them and their cultivation, they would have to use more of their personal Qi to preserve themselves and then fly forward.
However, as all things, this is but a race, and those who came first here, might not have the same advantage in the next part.
The trip to the top of the mountain was not without trouble. Many cultivates tried to sabotage the others. And I stood out like a sore thumb. Everyone wanted to take down the flying s.h.i.+p and take it for themselves.
After all, who would want to use their own power when they can use tools.
Sadly for them, even if by some miracle they managed to take the s.h.i.+p. No one would be able to drive it. After all, I"m not using a flying treasure, but a flying vehicle.
A cultivator stood in front of the s.h.i.+p"s path, waiting for me to stop for them.
"Get down, and hand over that s.h.i.+-"
His words were left stuck in his throat as two shots from my railguns devastated the rest of his body.
Why should I care about someone trying to rob me?
I continued forward. And with that display the other cultivators on the mountain decided that it would be a good idea to leave the man with the deadly s.h.i.+p alone.
The hour mark ended and I was at the peak of the mountain.
There was a small teleportation platform on it. And a dais that needed a man to insert their arm in to allow them access to the second part of this race.
I saw a couple cultivators using the dais so I figured out that much.
I climbed out of the s.h.i.+p and pulled it inside my Poison G.o.d"s book storage. Then went up to scan my bracelet. Once my bracelet was confirmed to have finished my mandatory quest of eliminating my target, the teleportation gate opened up for me.
As I stood in and was being teleported a man jumped into the mountain peak area.
Our eyes met for a second. And a look of surprise was painted on both our faces.
The man"s hair was broiling with an eternal flame and his eyes were redder than rubies He looked at me as if he had seen a ghost.
And just as he was about to speak, the teleportation sequence ended and I was pulled out of the gate into the new region.
Looking around me, I could see nothing but a vast and empty terrain, ever extending white, and blood biting frost.
A frost region, completely different from the hot lands we were in.
The ground around me was once again a pentagonal platform that had a barrier surrounding it. Stopping the frost from penetrating through it.
"Please hold for now, take this time to rest. The second part of the race will start when everyone arrives."
The message from my bracelet stated.
I guess one would think it unfair that we have to wait for everyone. But I think it"s the other way around for most cultivators. This gives cultivators more time to rest and recover, as for those who were slower they"ll have to push themselves even harder without rest through this terrain.
The problem is, that would be the case if I was a normal cultivator. After all, I have yet to even exhaust myself.
I sighed as I sat down waiting for the other partic.i.p.ants to finish up.
***
"Many cultivators have already made it to the second part, Eccentric Long, what do you think of this area?"
"After a Yang filled region a Yin filled region. A very interesting choice of biomes. This will help see who are the true and mighty cultivators. Especially since everyone is forced to wait.
This will give those who have earned first place time to recuperate, but will still pressure those who have come in last. Yet, cultivators who are proficient in ice and Yin Qi will be more advantageous in this area and will be able to gain even more ground recouping on their delay of the first region."
"I do think so as well, however, from the look on the cultivator Du Shen"s face, he seems to be annoyed by this outcome."
"He muse have expected it. Especially since he didn"t even exhaust himself yet, he is being forced to wait even though he was one of the first to arrive to the finish line. However, life is not fair, and he although is annoyed isn"t really complaining about it like the others," Eccentric Long said as he pointed at the more "vigorous" looking cultivators who were also stuck waiting.
"Do you think that this area will prove difficult for cultivator Du Shen? He is currently one of the favorites for the crowd."
"We have seen the machinery he is using. And I would a.s.sume that if he created that, he already has enough ability to make it an all-terrain machine. So I doubt the frost will be an issue. Although frost and baleful Yin Qi is harmful to metal as it makes it brittle and easier to break. Du Shen"s extensive craftsmans.h.i.+p must have aided him in coming up with measures against this.
We will just have to wait and see."
After a while the announcer picked up his voice and said, "GOOD! It seems that the final partic.i.p.ant had arrived and now we can proceed to the next part!" he said.
"In front of you, and as you can all see, is an ever so extending field of ice. There is no designated goal to reach, but to proceed to the next area, you must clear an objective.
Your objective is very simple, there are five flags of different colors spread all over this tundra. Your goal is simple you will need to obtain a specific number of flags to proceed forward. In front of you, you will have an option of choosing which flag to collect.
The first option, is a hundred white flags. These can be easily obtained by either defeating some of the weak demonic beasts living in the tundra. Which is simple enough but takes a long time since the presence of beasts is rare and also there are just too many of you."
The commentator stated. Seemingly trying to dismay people from doing this.
"The Second color is Red. This one is even more simple. You can only obtain a red flag by killing other partic.i.p.ants. And you need ten of them," the commentator said with a grin up his face.
"Third color! You can obtain this by retrieving one of the few relics hidden inside the caverns. Once you choose this selection, you will be given a map to three locations where you can retrieve these artifacts. Using the three artifacts will help you escape this region and go to the next part."
"Fourth Color! Purple flag. This one, you can only obtain by going to the designated spot in the map. Cultivators must demonstrate their mastery over the law of frost. You will be guided by the compa.s.s to a location where the law of ice is at its peak. Do be warned.
To challenge the Purple flag is something that only those who have absolute certainty of their mastery of the law of frost. The chances of survival are less than thousands of a percent!"
"As for the final color..." The commentator paused, holding the crowd in suspense. "It is a secret," he announced with a knowing smile, sending a thrill of antic.i.p.ation through the audience.
The crowd fell silent, their hearts pounding with excitement. The commentator understood that the intrigue surrounding the fifth flag would drive cultivators to seek out the challenge for themselves.
"HOWEVER!"
The commentator added. "As a way of making the challenges slightly more… survivable. The Eight Suns have concluded that if the cultivators were to go on about choosing flags randomly a huge ma.s.sacre will occur and it will ruin the vibe of the tournament. Although the option of giving random flags to each partic.i.p.ant was suggested. It may be unfair to some cultivators.
So, you have the right to choose one flag, and change it once, and only once!"
"SO CHALLENGERS! PICK AND CHOOSE WHICH FLAG WILL IT BE!"
The commentator"s words finished and in front of each cultivator partic.i.p.ating five small holographic flags appeared in front of them with a summarized mission of what they had to do.
All eyes were focused however on one person. A man wearing purple robes embroidered with gold. A young man of pale skin and emerald eyes that seemed to peer into the solemnity of the world itself.
His hand didn"t hesitate one bit before it grabbed the black flag.
A look of surprise appeared on the cultivator"s face as he read the content of the flag"s secret mission. But then, a very mischievous smirk appeared on his face soon after. A devilish grin of a person who seemed to have hit the jackpot instead of what should have been a man looking at doom itself.