Chapter 1503 (Raw 1483): Road of Trials
With some anticipation and anxiety, Xiao Chen stepped onto the road of trials. He would pass if he reached the end.
Where was the end?
After walking for a while, Xiao Chen found the first set of doors, which had ancient dragon motifs carved on it.
Before he could reach out to push it open, the doors opened by themselves.
The instant the doors parted, a cold wind blew. A large hall lay beyond.
Xiao Chen hesitated for a moment before stepping in. “Dang!” The moment he crossed the threshold, the stone doors immediately fell shut, closing tightly.
After trying to push the doors open again, he found that doing so was impossible. This was a road of trials that only permitted one to go forward and not backward.
Now, Xiao Chen took in the hall before him. Eighteen statues were arranged in a circle encompassing most of the vast space.
One had to go through this circle of eighteen statues to get through this hall.
Xiao Chen had seen many such statues before. As long as someone walked over, these seemingly stiff statues would immediately come to life. One had to defeat them.
The statues before Xiao Chen were neither human nor dragon but some strange beast that he had never seen before. The shape of the beast was unusual, and they looked very ferocious, glaring at him furiously.
The protruding black eyes were very striking.
“Let’s see how strong the first test’s puppet war beasts are!”
Without much thought, Xiao Chen quickly entered the circle, then cautiously faced these strange statues. However, to his surprise, they did not come to life.
Just as he started to wonder, the eyes of the eighteen ferocious beast statues all lit up and glowed with golden light.
Before Xiao Chen could understand what happened, the gazes of the beasts gathered into beams of light shooting towards him.
“Whoosh!”
“That’s really fast!” Xiao Chen exclaimed to himself as he dodged hastily. The beams of light brushed by him.
“Dang!”
A few more beams followed right away. Xiao Chen could not dodge in time and could only draw a Divine Weapon to block.
In the end, the force from the light beam numbed his arm, compelling him to retreat continuously.
“What a strong force!”
The light beams could not be blocked. Xiao Chen realized that this test focused on the trial taker’s Movement Techniques and reaction speed. It was not what he initially expected: defeating these statues.
This made things easier. Eighteen beams of light shot about this tight space. To others, this was extremely difficult, but Xiao Chen was different.
His Fish Dragon Art excelled at dodging in tight spaces, so he put away the Divine Weapon and executed the Fish Dragon Art.
Xiao Chen became like a fish in water, gently wiggling his body as he dodged the many beams of light.
“Rumble…! Rumble…!”
Just as Xiao Chen was about to cross the circle, the statues moved. The light beams shooting out turned even more unpredictable.
Xiao Chen’s initially relaxed expression sank as he entered deep thought.
Clearly, trying to figure out a pattern was just a pipe dream. The real way to clear the test was to cross it in one go.
With that thought, Xiao Chen’s eyes narrowed and fixed on a particular statue.
Just as that statue intercepted Xiao Chen, he gently kicked off the ground. His body changed from that of a fish to a dragon. His originally nimble figure suddenly displayed absolute tyranny.
Xiao Chen overflowed with a berserk force. The Immortal fish shows hundreds of variations, becoming a dragon in one leap.
“Whoosh!”
Xiao Chen, who soared up, moved extremely fast. All the statues raised their heads, and the beams of light became like a net in the air.
However, the light beams struck only Xiao Chen’s afterimages. Just as the statue in front was about to shoot a beam of light, the ferociously advancing Xiao Chen suddenly somersaulted in the air and pushed off the statue’s head, leaping over it.
The instant Xiao Chen made it out of the circle, the statues stopped moving and remained still.
“Clap! Clap! Clap!” Applause resounded, and a handsome middle-aged man walked out from the darkness. Golden light flickered in the depths of his eyes.
“Not bad. You can pass this test by not getting struck ten times. You did not get struck even once and used only one hour to come out. I truly did not expect this.”
Xiao Chen was speechless. If he had known this, he would not have tried so hard.
Performing a cupped-fist salute, Xiao Chen asked, “You are?”
The middle-aged man smiled and said, “When I was alive, I was a cultivator of the Azure Dragon bloodline. After I died, I was attached to the Azure Dragon Palace. I can be considered as half an Item Spirit. I am responsible for the test of the first trial.”
After saying that, the middle-aged man waved his hand grandly, and seven or eight secret manuals and some things that looked like Secret Treasures appeared before him.
“Full marks. This is the reward for you. The secret manuals are Movement Techniques. The others are Innate Profound Tools that enhance Movement Techniques and speed.”
Xiao Chen felt happy that there was such a good thing. “Even before finishing the road of trials, I can get a reward?”
“Of course. You are a person of my Dragon Race. Even if you do not pass the trial, I have to give you some benefits, right?” the middle-aged man said with a smile, appearing very amiable.
So Xiao Chen did not stand on ceremony but picked what he wanted, having already decided.
No matter how good the secret manuals were, Xiao Chen would need some time to cultivate them. However, that Innate Profound Tool thing was different. After refining it, he could immediately use it.
From a long-term perspective, the secret manuals were definitely better. However, what Xiao Chen lacked the most now was time. He did not know when the Demonic Calamity would arrive, and he would no doubt face a lot of trouble during his egress.
“Senior, what is an Innate Profound Tool? Can you explain it to me?” Xiao Chen asked.
The middle-aged man nodded. “Outside the abandoned land, the skill of refining has already developed to its peak. The Secret Treasures of your world are equal to Spiritual Treasures of the outer realm. Above Spiritual Treasures are Profound Tools. Profound Tools can be classified into two types—Acquired and Innate—both of which are separated into three grades.
“Even the most ordinary Innate Profound Tool is more powerful than the Emperor Grade Secret Treasures of the Kunlun Realm. Needless to say, the three Innate Profound Tools before you are much more so.”
Xiao Chen entered deep thought and reached a rough understanding. Then, he chose a pair of wings.
“This is a copy of the Azure Dragon Divine Wings. However, among Innate Profound Tools, it is peak Superior Grade. You have pretty good eyes.”
Extending his hand, the middle-aged man passed the imitation Azure Dragon Divine Wings to Xiao Chen and put away the secret manuals and other Profound Tools.
After Xiao Chen left a Spiritual Mark on the Profound Tool, he started to refine it. Eventually, this pair of imitation Azure Dragon Divine Wings turned into a beam of light and entered his body.
Instantly, it felt like a fire was burning inside him, rampaging everywhere.
Just as Xiao Chen felt uncertain, this fire split into two and moved to his shoulder blades.
He felt an intense pain in his back as if volcanoes were about to erupt there.
After a very long period of suppression, this energy finally broke free. A pair of azure dragon wings burst out from Xiao Chen’s back.
“Whoosh!”
The azure-colored dragon wings flapped gently, and a strong wind blew. Then, Xiao Chen crashed into the ceiling with a loud ‘bang.’
His head met the ceiling with great force, causing him to cry out in pain and fall back down.
The middle-aged man was not surprised. He smiled and said, “While your pair of Azure Dragon Divine Wings is just an imitation, it still possesses exceptional might. Just a gentle flap can bring out the might of a strong wind. If you have an extraordinary flame, you can use this pair of wings to intensify the flame’s might explosively.”
Xiao Chen retracted the Azure Dragon Divine Wings, rejoicing when he heard that. Unexpectedly, aside from increasing his speed, this pair of Azure Dragon Divine Wings still had such an effect. It truly had boundless potential.
“These Azure Dragon Divine Wings still have other effects. You will come to understand them in the future. However, remember this: outside the abandoned land, wing-type Profound Tools are extremely precious. Even if it is just an ordinary Innate Profound Tool, it will cause a huge commotion, so do not carelessly reveal it.”
Xiao Chen nodded and performed a cupped-fist salute. “Many thanks, Senior.”
“You are too polite. Friend, here is a hint. The next trial will test your eyes. Remember: before you go in, do not get distracted. If you have any Eye Techniques that can boost your vision, immediately execute it upon entering. You do not have much time.”
The middle-aged man was rather gracious. He gave Xiao Chen another piece of advice before Xiao Chen left.