Chapter 3645: The Trial Begins

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Ding Yan glanced in the direction Duan Ling Tian had gestured and asked, “How did you know?”

“I can sense his gaze is different from the other two teachers,” Duan Ling Tian replied truthfully.

“That’s Teacher Zhu Chun. His wife and the wife of the Third Master of the Zhong clan are friends. For this reason, he’s very close to the Zhong clan. He’s almost like a half-member of the clan,” Ding Yan said.

With this, Duan Ling Tian finally understood why he sensed hostility from Zhu Chun’s gaze.

“Don’t worry. Although he has connections with the Zhong clan, he won’t dare to do anything with Teacher Yu Qian Shan’s presence unless he has a death wish. At most, he’ll reveal your location to the Zhong clan. Even then, it’s unlikely since the clan has Zhong Ke Qi and Zhong He Liang to provide them with this kind of information,” Ding Yan said.

Duan Ling Tian nodded.

At this time, a Voice Transmission rang in Duan Ling Tian’s mind. It was from Hou Qing Ning, a student with a good background who lived in a prominent-grade courtyard.

“Duan Ling Tian. The Zhong clan will definitely use the trial to act against you. Before the trial, I’d spoken to my elders and told them to send some people to the trial grounds so they can protect you if you’re in danger if you’re willing. After all, I don’t wish for you to die. I’d have one less opponent to learn from and lose a chance to improve myself.”

Duan Ling Tian did not expect Hou Qing Ning to make such an arrangement. After all, they had only just met. He had only agreed to exchange insights with Hou Qing Ning after the trial.

“Thank you. However, I think I’ll be able to handle it,” Duan Ling Tian said through Voice Transmission. Although he was rather moved, he still refused Hou Qing Ning. In fact, it would be easier to rely on Hou Qing Ning since he could maintain a low profile. However, with that, he would owe Hou Qing Ning and the force he belonged to a favor. He did not want to owe anyone favors unless it was absolutely necessary. Moreover, he had already come up with a plan. Even if he exposed some of his strength this time, he would make sure not to expose his ‘trump cards’. If he showed more of his strength, the Hidden Fog Sect would place greater importance on him. Although it was important to keep a low profile to avoid jealousy, it was necessary to show his strength once in a while. All he needed to learn was to balance the two.

“Alright,” Hou Qing Ning responded, “I’ll tell them to return then.”

Hou Qing Ning did not persuade Duan Ling Tian to accept his help and easily accepted Duan Ling Tian’s decision.

Duan Ling Tian’s impression of Hou Qing Ning grew even more favorable when he saw how decisive and straightforward Hou Qing Ning was. Moreover, there was no doubt Hou Qing Ning was very generous to make such an offer even if Hou Qing Ning did not fear the Zhong clan.

They continued to fly behind Yu Qian Shan as the scenery sped past them.

After a while, Ding Yan’s Voice Transmission rang in Duan Ling Tian’s ears.

“Duan Ling Tian, we’re about to reach the trial grounds. Remember what I said and follow me.”

“There’s no need for that.” As expected, Duan Ling Tian refused Ding Yan’s offer. If only Ding Yan was like Hou Qing Ning. He had already refused Ding Yan many times, but Ding Yan seemed undeterred. Naturally, he was not displeased. After all, he knew Ding Yan was just trying to help him. He could not tell Ding Yan he was confident about killing a group of advanced G.o.ds. After all, even the most outstanding intermediate G.o.d in the Hidden Fog Sect was not capable of such a feat. It would only sound like he was bragging if he said such words.

“We’re here.” Yu Qian Shan came to a stop above a huge clearing surrounded by forests and mountains. Then, he looked at the students and said, “I’ll issue your Point Tokens now. Don’t forget to claim owners.h.i.+p of your tokens once you obtain them. After claiming owners.h.i.+p, you’ll be bound to your tokens. They’ll disappear if you die. Under normal circ.u.mstances, the Ten Stars trial isn’t life-threatening. You can retreat if you encounter a monster you can’t deal with. If you encounter a dangerous situation such as being surrounded by monsters, you can shatter your toke. I’ll rush over to save you as soon as I can.”

Upon hearing these words, Duan Ling Tian asked Ding Yan through Voice Transmission, puzzled, “If Teacher Yu Qianshan will rush to our aid once we shatter our tokens, why is the Zhong clan so bold to take action during the trial? Aren’t they afraid that I’ll shatter the token?”

Ding Yan shook his head as he replied through Voice Transmission, “You underestimate the Zhong clan. If they’re determined to kill you during the trial, they’ll naturally take all things into consideration. They’ll likely bring a Formation compa.s.s that will hinder the token from alerting Teacher Yu Qian Shan. Moreover, even if they don’t bring a Formation compa.s.s, they can simply ask other students from the Zhong clan to shatter their tokens the moment they act to distract Teacher Yu Qian Shan.”

Ding Yan continued to say, “There’s no way a king-rank force like the Zhong clan would come unprepared. Their goal is to kill you; sacrificing a few of their advanced G.o.ds to achieve their goal is nothing. Who knows they might even send death warriors who had sworn on the Devil Heart’s Blood Oath to be loyal to the clan.”

The Devil Heart’s Blood Oath was taken very seriously in the Realms of G.o.ds. Although it was useless in other places, in the Realms of G.o.ds, they were not to be trifled with. After swearing the Devil Heart’s Blood Oath, one would be linked to the supreme powerhouses. If one broke one’s oath, the supreme houses would send his or her men to hunt the oathbreaker down. Even Supreme G.o.ds could not escape the consequences of breaking a Devil Heart’s Blood Oath.

In cases where the supreme powerhouses’ subordinates were unable to kill their target, one of the supreme powerhouses would personally make a move.

Violating the Devil Heart’s Blood Oath was like trampling on the pride and dignity of the supreme powerhouses. Hence, how could the supreme powerhouses tolerate oathbreakers?

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At this time, Yu Qian Shan raised his hand.

One after another, tokens flew out toward the students. They came to a stop in midair, in front of the students.

After Duan Ling Tian grabbed the token, he did not waste time and claimed owners.h.i.+p of it immediately.

“You can go now.”

As soon as Yu Qian Shan’s voice fell, the Ten Stars students began to scatter in all directions, disappearing into the forests and mountains in just a flash.

The forests were vast, and the mountains were tall. The trial grounds for the Ten Stars students spanned a vast area.

“Duan Ling Tian, I’ll take my leave first,” Hou Qing Ning said before he swooped down toward the forest.

“Let’s go!” Ding Yan said before the duo flew into the forest beneath their feet.

However, when Ding Yan landed, he discovered Duan Ling Tian had vanished into thin air.

“Sh*t!” Ding Yan finally realized Duan Ling Tian had no intention of sticking together at all. He muttered to himself, exasperated, “Isn’t he afraid of death at all?”

Ding Yan did not have many friends in the Hidden Fog Academy. He had regarded Duan Ling Tian as a friend after Duan Ling Tian showed mercy during their battle. Not only did Duan Ling Tian not kill him, but Duan Ling Tian also held back from seriously injuring him.

Ding Yan, who had been without friends for a long time in the academy, was naturally very enthusiastic now that he had found a friend. However, he was unaware that his enthusiasm had overwhelmed Duan Ling Tian. For example, Duan Ling Tian had refused his offers to help many times, but he still did not understand Duan Ling Tian’s thoughts and continued to insist on helping.

…

Meanwhile, Duan Ling Tian could roughly guess that Ding Yan might have a powerful background when Ding Yan kept repeating that he would be safe as long as he stayed by Ding Yan’s side. However, similar to why he refused the others’ help, he did not want to owe Ding Yan a favor. Moreover, he felt that he could solve this problem on his own.

Duan Ling Tian recalled Ding Yan’s words.

“We need to hunt and kill monsters in the trial grounds. After killing the monsters, remember to let your token touch the blood of the monster you kill to obtain points. You also have to do it within a certain time. If the monster’s parts are valuable, you can keep them for yourself. Our speed and techniques of killing various monsters will also be judged during the trial. There are various monsters with various habits. For example, some would only attack when there’s a group of people. There are some that aren’t threatening. Some aren’t worth hunting because it would take too long to kill them.”

Duan Ling Tian had learned quite a lot about the trial from Ding Yan before entering the trial grounds. Hence, he had a rough idea of what to do and what not to do.

…

Meanwhile, in the depths of the forest, figures appeared one after another. All of them moved stealthily, and their leader seemed to be the thin figure standing in the lead.

“I just received Young Master Ke Qi’s message.. Duan Ling Tian has entered the trial grounds.”