Chapter 68 Worry About Yourself!

"Hoo, I finally made it to the top," Yue Jang exclaimed, as he reached the summit of the ancient ruin. He sat down, panting heavily, and muttered to himself. Then he turned his gaze downwards, looking at the endless ladder that stretched below him.

"There's a heaven and earth difference between me and you, Su Chen," he muttered,with a confident tone. "Once I obtain the fire emperor's inheritance, I'll soar like a dragon with power beyond your wildest imagination." He said with unwavering confidence, his eyes shining with determination.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Yideng said, his senses on high alert.

"What do you mean? We were the first ones here, so we passed the trial. It doesn't matter if someone else comes," Yue Jang replied, confused.

"That's not what I'm talking about. As soon as we arrived, I couldn't sense the presence of the fire emperor's inheritance. And the old man who announced the trial hasn't shown up yet," Yideng explained.

Yue Jang smirked, "Who are you calling old man? Aren't you both from the same generation?"

Yideng retorted, "Yes, but he has a higher cultivation realm than me. You know how it is - the higher the cultivation, the more respect they get."

Yue Jang chuckled, "Ah, I see. So that's why you look like a young man while he looks like an ancient sage."

Yideng rolled his eyes, "Very funny. But on a serious note, something feels off. I can't sense the fire emperor's inheritance and the old man who announced the trial hasn't shown up yet."

Yue Jang's expression turned serious as he listened to Yideng's concerns. He swept his gaze around the hall, taking in the intricate carvings on the walls, but saw nothing that could explain the absence of the fire emperor's inheritance or the old man who had announced the trial. "I have cleared the trial, where are you, senior?" he called out loudly, but there was no response. Without wasting any time, he began his search.

As Yue Jang explored the ruins, he meticulously searched for any trace of the fire emperor's inheritance. His search eventually led him to a room, but he was immediately halted by Yideng's warning, "There's a formation ahead! Stop right there." Yue Jang heeded the warning and took a step back, preventing himself from entering the room.

He quickly stepped back, carefully examining the room to see if he could spot the formation.

The room was dimly lit, and it took a moment for Yue Jang's eyes to adjust to the darkness. As he peered inside, he noticed that the room was filled with strange symbols etched into the walls and floor. They glowed faintly.

"Is this formation dangerous?" Yue Jang asked.

Yideng's eyes widened with excitement, "I didn't expect the fire emperor to be proficient in formations as well. It seems like you will have the chance to learn formation from his inheritance. That's why I couldn't sense it before. And to answer your question, this formation must be a low grade one."

Yue Jang scoffed at the mention of a low grade formation, "Why are you so excited about it then?"

Yideng grinned, "It's not a low grade formation from your lower realm. This is from an upper world, and judging from its complex layout, it surpasses normal low grade formations."

Yue Jang's confusion deepened as he pondered their situation. "I see, but what about the old man who announced the trial? Why hasn't he shown himself yet? Is he a fake, pretending to be the fire emperor and trying to trick us into breaking the formation?" Yue Jang suspected that once they broke the formation, the imposter would reveal himself and attempt to steal the inheritance or worse, try to kill them both.

Yideng shook his head. "No, I can sense the fire emperor's spirit was here. But why did it suddenly disappear? That's what confuses me." Despite his certainty about the fire emperor's presence, Yideng couldn't help but wonder where the spirit had gone.

Yue Jang turned to Yideng with a serious expression, "Can you break the formation?"

Yideng replied with a hint of pride in his voice, "Of course, breaking this formation will be a piece of cake for me."

Impatient, Yue Jang prodded, "Then what are you waiting for?"

However, Yideng's response was not what he expected. "Hey! I'm your master, show some respect," he said, his tone filled with anger. He was frustrated that Yue Jang was treating him like a common servant.

Yue Jang quickly apologized, "My apologies, dear Master. Please break the formation quickly. We don't have much time left before the secret realm closes and sends us out."

Yideng grumbled, "Hmph, we'll discuss your manners later," and emerged from the Soul Binding Ring to approach the formation. He began to expertly break the formation, determined to succeed.

….

"Hey, isn't that Su Chen?" one of the cultivators whispered.

The other nodded. "Wasn't he competing with the Young Master earlier?"

They observed as Su Chen writhed in pain near the sixth ladder.

"This is a good opportunity," one of them said with a sly smirk, and they exchanged a knowing look.

The group of disciples belonged to Yue Jang's faction. They stood in front of Su Chen, the leader of the opposing faction, who was currently vulnerable and weak. Seeing such an opportunity, only a fool would say no.

However, they couldn't kill Su Chen as the old man overseeing the trial had specifically said that when a cultivator is climbing the ladder, they couldn't kill that cultivator. Even if they were given the chance, they couldn't do it because Su Chen's cultivation base was much higher than theirs. But they could seriously injure him in his current state.

"I'll attack him first," one of the disciples stepped forward and announced.

"I'll attack him first," one of the disciples stepped forward and announced.

His teammates clicked their tongues hearing his words. They all wanted to attack first while Su Chen's guard was down. They knew that if the first attack was successful, the attacker would ultimately receive the most rewards and praises from Yue Jang and the great elder for seriously injuring a top pillar of the opposing faction.

The disciple who stepped forward had the highest cultivation base of the 3rd stage Core Formation Realm. His teammates knew that if he was successful in his first attack, he would get most of the rewards and praises from Yue Jang and the great elder.

As he advanced with his sword towards Su Chen, his teammates remained silent, giving him no indication of disapproval. He sneered, relishing the opportunity to injure a top member of the opposing faction. Su Chen was still writhing on the ground, clutching his head and gritting his teeth.

But just as his sword was about to strike, he sensed a killing intent from behind. "Why do you want to deal with me? Don't you know my cultivation…..?" He turned around, ready to defend himself against his treacherous teammates, but was taken aback when he saw that the attacker was not one of them. Instead, it was a stranger dressed in the robes of the Blood Fang Sect.

Clank! The sound of swords meeting echoed through the air as sparks flew. The attacker was shocked to see that his opponent's cultivation was only at the 8th stage Innate Realm.

"Why is a Blood Fang Sect disciple here?" he demanded, attempting to strike again.

"None of your business," Wang Chen replied, swinging his Thunderbolt Blade sword in a deadly arc.

"Damn it! Guys, help me deal with him!" he yelled, turning to his teammates for assistance as he struggled to block the thunder slash. He realized that the opponent was using a high-grade weapon and he was having a hard time keeping up.

"Worry about yourself," Wang Chen sneered as he unleashed another thunder slash.

"Huh?" Confused by Wang Chen's words, he glanced over at his teammates and was shocked to see over fifteen opponents fighting them.

He realized they were struggling on their own. Taking advantage of the distraction, Wang Chen unleashed a more powerful thunder slash against him.

He came back to his senses just in time to see a powerful attack coming towards him. It was too late to block and counter-attack, so he decided to take it head on, resulting in serious damage.

Coughing blood onto the ground, he flew several feet away from Wang Chen's feet.

The injured cultivator cried out in agony, clutching his chest as blood flowed from his wounds. Despite his injuries, he tried to stand up, only to be met with another thunder slash that inflicted even more damage. He was now too weak to continue fighting, and as Wang Chen approached him, he smiled and taunted him, "You can't kill me."

Wang Chen raised an eyebrow in confusion, "What are you talking about?"

The cultivator's smug expression was because as he remembered the rule that no one can kill a fellow cultivator on the ladder. "The old man taking the trial said that...," he trailed off as Wang Chen delivered a powerful punch to his face, silencing him.

"What in the world are you talking about? I arrived here after eliminating all the disciples from your faction who were climbing the ladder," Wang Chen said.

"How is that even possible?" Hearing Wang Chen's words, the cultivator began to feel a sense of unease. If Wang Chen was telling the truth, it meant that many important disciples, ranging from the Innate Realm to the Core Formation Realm 1st to 2nd stage, had been killed. But he didn't have time to dwell on that thought, as he was now facing a serious threat to his own life.

"Senior, senior, help me! This guy is trying to kill me!" he pleaded, shouting as loudly as he could, hoping that senior would come to his rescue.