Chapter 290 - Clearing the Four Tests

What the hell?

Lu Tianzi felt the corner of his lips twitch wildly.

Just a moment ago, the Vermilion Bird had still been filled with bloodl.u.s.t, directing an overwhelming amount of killing intent towards him.

Yet right after he decided to resist with all his strength, the Vermilion Bird suddenly turned around and started flying away.

Had he not been paying attention, Lu Tianzi would surely have thought that the Vermilion Bird was toying with him.

However, Lu Tianzi had clearly captured the fear in its eyes just before it turned away.

It's actually afraid of me?

Lu Tianzi blinked blankly, his head filled with a sense of bewilderment.

No matter how he looked at it, he was surely the weaker one of the two. Even after summoning all of his strength, there was little chance that he would be able to last more than twenty blows before succ.u.mbing to the Vermilion Bird.

Yet the other party was actually afraid?

At this point, the only reason that Lu Tianzi could think of was his beastial bloodline.

Even though his beastial bloddline was lacking in terms of quantity, Lu Tianzi had absolute confidence when it came to its quality.

Back then during the Battle at Rockfall Plain, the beasts on the field immediately cowered in fear when he activated his beastial bloodline.

So there was certainly the possibility that this Vermilion Bird was exhibiting the same reaction right now.

But for his beastial bloodline to be capable of actually making an ancient beast like the Vermilion Bird cower, just what kind of existence was that six winged griffin?

Wait a minute…

Wasn't this test supposed to be about him challenging the Vermilion Bird?

In that case, what was going to happen to him if the Vermilion Bird refused to fight?

Could it be that he would never be able to clear the test then?

Shit!

He can't let the Vermilion Bird get away!

The Vermilion Bird was not slow by any measure. By now, it was already only a small silhouette in the horizon.

Flap-!

Not wanting to lose sight of it, Lu Tianzi hurriedly took to the sky and gave chase.

After Lu Tianzi broke through to the Origin Core realm, he had gained the ability of flight. With a powerful flap, the single wing from his beastial bloodline transformation propelled him forward, and Lu Tianzi tore through the sky at an incredible speed.

However, it was still not enough.

The Vermilion Bird was truly deserving of its name as an ancient beast. No matter how Lu Tianzi tried, he simply could not reduce the distance between them.

In fact, having noticed him chasing after it, the Vermilion Bird actually further increased its speed, and the gap between them only continued to widen over time!

After around half an hour worth of chasing, Lu Tianzi finally gave up.

With a sigh of helplessness, Lu Tianzi landed back down on the sand below.

This chase was going nowhere, and the Vermilion bird did not seem to have any intentions of stopping either.

Since that was the case, he might as well look for another way to clear the test.

But what other methods could there be?

For the past half an hour, he had seen nothing but the desert stretching out endlessly in all directions. There was simply nothing that seemed even remotely close to being a possible solution!

Lu Tianzi felt a headache coming on.

Once he activated his beastial bloodline, the Vermilion Bird would refuse to fight.

But if he did not activate his beastial bloodline, he would not stand even one hundredth of a chance against the Vermilion Bird.

Could it be that he was destined not to pass this test?

At this point, a familiar voice sounded out in his head. "Well done. You pass."

This was the voice of the same young man whom he had treated in the earlier test.

"Hmm?" Lu Tianzi blinked blankly.

He passed?

Is this a joke?

Right then, his vision started to darken, to the point where all he could see was complete darkness.

Even before Lu Tianzi opened his eyes, he could already feel that his surroundings had changed, and it was no longer the hot and arid desert.

His eyes slowly opened to the dark and cooling environment of the ancient tomb chamber. Just like before, he was standing before the engraving of the Vermilion Bird.

In his head, the engraving of the Vermilion Bird seemed to have lost its l.u.s.tre. The awe-inspiring feeling that he had gotten from it earlier had now vanished without a trace.

It seemed like he really passed the test.

But why?

"How is it?" Nanlan Qianxue asked. "Did you fail?"

"I don't know about others, but I seem to have passed this test a little too easily," Lu Tianzi replied.

"Yeah right. What a braggart," Nanlan Qianxue laughed.

"It might sound weird, but I actually mean it," Lu Tianzi insisted.

"Sure, sure," Nanlan Qianxue shrugged.

Lu Tianzi looked at her speechlessly before deciding to drop the topic. "In any case, Elder Ximo is right. The test might be quite difficult for you, but there's no harm trying if you wish."

"I will give it a pass," Nanlan Qianxue shook her head.

She had already gone through a test earlier, and it was completely meaningless to her.

It was not just this ancient tomb, but she simply had had enough of all the tests and obstacles and demonstrations, or basically everything here on Wondertrap Mountain!

Seeing the indifferent look on her face, Lu Tianzi could not help but let out a smile. "All right then."

Lu Tianzi walked over to another pillar, this one engraved with the picture of the White Tiger. Without hesitation, he sank his perception within.

Time to find out if things would pan out the same way as it did with the Vermilion Bird!

Just like before, his vision blacked out the moment his perception connected with the engraving.

When his sight returned, he found himself standing in a cave. The ground and cave walls were greyed with traces of metal ores, and countless stalagmites reached down from the ceiling.

It was dark, but not dark enough to hinder his vision.

Even in this environment, he could still make out the shadow of a beast slowly creeping over. But even if he had not been able to, the light from the beast's eyes would work just fine as a warning.

Grrr-!

The deep growl of the large cat confirmed Lu Tianzi's suspicions.

There was no doubt about it.

It had to be the ancient White Tiger.

Here goes!

Lu Tianzi drove his origin core and Spiritual Essence, channelling all his Essence energy to his fists.

The White Tiger continued approaching, and its growl grew even louder.

Just as the White Tiger was getting close enough and ready to pounce, Lu Tianzi activated his beastial bloodline, completing his beastial bloodline transformation.

Almost at the very same moment, the White Tiger halted its steps.

Just like the Vermilion Bird from before, instead of engaging him in combat, the White Tiger simply turned around and hurried off.

As expected, the White Tiger was daunted by his beastial bloodline!

This time, Lu Tianzi did not bother giving chase.

Even if he caught up to it, it was unlikely that he would be able to defeat the White Tiger. That being the case, he might as well just wait and see if the same thing from before would happen again.

An hour passed.

Two hours passed.

Three hours passed.

By the fourth hour, Lu Tianzi was starting to feel uncomfortable.

Previously, he had passed the test slightly after giving up the chase, which was why he chose not to chase after the White Tiger this time.

But this was taking far too long.

Should he have at least pretended to chase after the White Tiger for a bit?

Actually, was it too late to try giving chase now?

Just as Lu Tianzi was about to start moving, he heard a familiar voice in his head.

"Well done. You pass."

It was the voice of the same young man from before, heralding the start of his exit from the virtual world.

Hmm?

It worked in the end?

Even after returning to the ancient tomb, Lu Tianzi still remained in a state of confusion. He simply could not figure out the reason behind why he was passing the tests without doing a thing.

"You took longer this time," Nanlan Qianxue spoke while walking over to him.

While Lu Tianzi was trapped in the virtual world, Nanlan Qianxue naturally did not just stand beside him doing nothing. As hardworking as she was, she took the time to meditate instead.

"Yeah…" Lu Tianzi answered half-heartedly, his thoughts still on the tests from before.

"What? Stumped this time?" Nanlan Qianxue asked teasingly after seeing how distracted he was.

"Yeah," Lu Tianzi sighed. "I am wondering how I passed."

Nanlan Qianxue rolled her eyes in response, walking back to a corner to continue with her meditation.

Lu Tianzi did not know whether to laugh or cry.

Even he did not fully understand what was going on, so he naturally did not know how to explain things to Nanlan Qianxue.

In order to understand more, there was only one thing he could do – try the other tests!

Lu Tianzi quickly moved on to the next pillar, and then the next.

Be it the Azure Dragon or the Black Tortoise, everything happened just as before.

The moment he activated his beastial bloodline, the other party would immediately turn tail and run. After waiting for a while, Lu Tianzi would hear the same voice from before telling him that he had passed the test.

The only difference was the amount of time it took.

For the Azure Dragon, it took just below an hour before he passed the test.

But for the Black Tortoise, he actually had to wait for a full three days!

He was almost going crazy by the end of the first day. If not for the first three tests serving as a form of assurance, he would have already given up waiting and chased after the Black Tortoise.

By then, Lu Tianzi finally understood.

It was the speed at which they moved.

There was probably some mechanism in place to detect the fact that the beasts had escaped. Considering what had happened, the beasts might be required to move a certain distance from him before they were considered to have won the battle.

As for what would happen if someone was able to outrun and escape from the beasts, especially the slow Black Tortoise, Lu Tianzi had no idea.

But it was unlikely that such an obvious loophole would exist. More than likely, it would only work if the beasts were the ones that ran.

In any case, he really lucked out with his beastial bloodline!

Lu Tianzi's vision returned, and he was back in the ancient tomb once more.

Looking around, he could see that the number of people in the chamber had only increased. The elders of the Healer Circle and Wuye Mingxuan were all still around as well.

At the same time, Lu Tianzi now had a strange feeling in his head. It was as though the ancient tomb itself was giving him instructions, telling him where to go next.

It seemed that he had really managed to complete the test here just like that. Since that was the case, there was no longer any reason to stay.

"Let's go, Qianxue. I'm done here," Lu Tianzi walked over to Nanlan Qianxue.

"You are already done?" Nanlan Qianxue opened her eyes in surprise.

"Yeah," Lu Tianzi nodded with a smile.

Nanlan Qianxue smiled in return before getting to her feet. "All right then. Let's go."

"He's already done? Does that mean he already passed the test?"

"But he has only been here for three days!"

Lu Tianzi and Nanlan Qianxue had conversed normally instead of using voice conveyance. Therefore, everyone in the chamber easily picked up on their conversation.

"How is that even possible? I'm sure he is just bluffing in front of the girl."

"That's true. Even those with a higher cultivation level have to rest in between tests, and that is not even enough to ensure a pass. He is not only at the First Origin Cycle, but he also walked around looking at the pillars without even resting in between. How is it possible for him to have passed the test?"

"Everyone, it is fine as long as we know in our hearts. There is no need to spell out the obvious and embarrass others," Xiquan Chong immediately grabbed the opportunity to chime in. "After all, it is only normal for some people to want to leave after realising that there is no hope of passing."

Lu Tianzi let out a helpless sigh.

He really could not be bothered with these people anymore.

Before he left, Lu Tianzi took a quick glance towards Wuye Mingxuan, and could not help but let out a dry laugh.

While everyone was here trying to pass the test, Wuye Mingxuan was actually painting right now!

It seemed that he had gotten some inspiration after seeing the engravings of the Four Symbols, and had included the four ancient beasts as elements of his work.

Lu Tianzi truly could not comprehend the thoughts of this Wuye Mingxuan…

But there was not need to either.

After all, they might not even meet each other again.

"Let's just go."

"Mm," Nanlan Qianxue nodded.

Lu Tianzi grabbed Nanlan Qianxue's hand and walked out of the chamber, down a passageway that many had taken to get here earlier.

They walked on for almost an hour, following the directions in Lu Tianzi's head.

And then they stepped right through a piece of rock wall, entering a brand new chamber.

This time, unlike the chamber earlier, there was not a single person to be seen.