Chapter 693 - The Third Test Part 2

They all watched as Kana began swimming across the gap of lava with wide eyes. They did not understand how she was capable of doing such a thing when it was clear as day that the lava was so hot it would boil your skin off in seconds. But here she was, swimming in it as if she was in a lake or pond.

Kana swam the whole length of the gap before turning around and making her way back. She made sure to swim in a straight line right back to where Fei was standing. "Fei, tell the dog and Zhong to get over here. There is only a narrow channel that we are able to swim in. There are actually pockets of lava which is why the room to me is not that hot. They are small, but if you touch them, you will immediately…"

A scream came from the side, cutting Kana off. It seemed a hopeful disciple jumped into the lava and hit one of those pockets after swimming a few meters. "Or else you will end up like that."

"Okay, I will get them." Fei nodded and ran off to talk to the other two. While she did, Kana yelled out at the others. "Do not be stupid. Wait for me to finish testing before you follow. There are many pockets of lava in the water which will instantly kill you if you jump into them like that fool over there. For now, Everyone line up over here, and after Fei and the rest make it to the other side safely, you can start coming over one at a time. I will guide each and every one of you myself."

Everyone stared at Kana calmly swimming in the lava, unsure if they should trust her or not, but when they saw Fei climbing into the lava where Kana was, they slowly began to line up one by one. Fei nervously kept her head above the lava as she looked at Kana to know what she should do next. Kana pulled her arm and put it around her neck as she said:  "Come, hold on to me. We will go slow."

Fei nodded and slowly swam out with Kana. The two swam at a very slow pace. Kana would continuously ask Fei how she felt. The lava was definitely hot for her, but it was not anything she could not handle. After fifteen minutes, Fei reached the other shore safe and sound. She climbed up and gave Kana a look of gratitude as she lay on the ground soaking wet. Kana smiled and spat out a bit of dragon fire to serve as a campfire to help Fei dry off. 

She then returned to the shore and was about to help Fan Sengya over but seeing the excitement in his eyes, she decided against letting him put his arm around her. As soon as he climbed in the water, she lifted him by the scruff of his shirt and, with all her strength, tossed him flying over the lava and onto the ground on the other side face first with his butt in the air. "Miss Beautiful, that was mean!" Was the only thing you could hear in the silence that followed. 

"I just want it to be known. If you do not want to be treated like that, you better not have other thoughts as I am helping you cross. Also, if any one of you men even thinks of trying to touch me in the process, I will toss you into the nearest lava pool." Kana was firm on this. She did not want other guys touching her. Only Fei got the special treatment because they had become friends. Everyone else had to follow behind her exactly. This also went for Zhong Liuxian. 

No one said a word as Kana began leading people over. One by one, she led them through the narrow stretch they had.  Kana had no idea if there were wider gaps within the lava where fewer pools of actual lava resided or not, but she was not going to test it any time soon.

It took almost an hour to get everyone across. All the hopeful disciples were looking at Kana with eyes full of gratitude. They had felt the heat coming from certain locations and knew Kana was not lying. Not to mention someone already died from hitting a pool of lava. In a short time after two trials, Kana suddenly became their leader. No one dared to move to the next room without Kana giving the order. Kana sat by the fire she made to dry off as she fell into thought about the next room.

"Fei, are you fully dry?" Kana asked.

"Yeah, I am all dry. Do you need me to do something?" Fei was a little happy that it seemed like Kana needed her help.

"Yeah, I am not dry yet. So take the dog with you and head down the tunnel slowly. If you see any danger, quickly head back. If you get to the next area, do not exit the tunnel, just look around and come back to tell me what you see." Kana was hoping to make a plan before going into the next area. If it was the exit, that would be good, but Kana felt like they were going to need to take a few more trials before they passed this test.

"Alright, we will go now." Fei stood up and grabbed Fan Sengya by ear and dragged him along with her, his arms flailing about. "Fei! Why are you pulling my ear! Ouch! I can walk on my own!"

Thirty minutes later, the two came back. Both were shivering away as they walked over to Kana and sat in front of the fire. "Kana, the next room is a room full of ice. The temperature from the room can be felt in the tunnel before you even reach the exit."

"Oh? Then it should not be an illusion. It seems we will need to gather all those who have fire techniques. To try to form a bubble of warmth around everyone." Kana knew the next test was going to be hard. Just seeing the two still shivering even after being away from the room told her just how terrifying the room must be. "To think the trials for qi gathering cultivators for the sect would be this dangerous. But the actual trials are not the dangers themselves but how well we show our camaraderie." 

Kana stood up and looked at the other hopeful disciples, whose gazes all landed on her. "Everyone with fire based techniques needs to gather around me. We will be forming a circle with everyone else in the middle. We will move out in two hours. Try to dry off by then and regain as much strength as you can.. We seem to be in for a hard trial. "