Chapter 346 346. BLAZING BOULDERS

A big countdown floated before the 25 cultivators while they gazed at the blazing light below them.

They had been teleported to the peak of the mountain but were facing a path that led downwards.

Two black pillars shining with many red lines looked to be the starting line and if they crossed it their time would start.

Noah took a deep breath while he waited for the two minutes countdown to end. It was practically a race at this point, only that many challenges filled the path to the mountains foot.

Noah felt confident in his ability, but he couldn't determine how fast he would finish until he laid eyes on the obstacles. He had a hint that there would be more down there than fire.

More than halfway through the countdown everyone already had their minds in a calm and focused state. Their eyes set on the starting line before them while many of them wielded their weapons. Noah wasn't one of them, but he was always prepared.

The countdown felt to last hours, but it eventually ended. A loud buzzer sounded signaling the beginning of the event.

Noah took a deep breath sucking a huge portion of air before storing it in his lungs. His knees bent a bit while the others had already begun their dash. However, when his figure moved, he created a powerful gust of wind that lifted some from their feet sending them flying and raising a cloud of snow.

The world around Noah turned into a series of white blurs with vague figures, but he didn't care about them, that event had become personal.

His figure blurred down the spiraling path that led to the first burning area of the mountain.

Noah sighted fire in the distance, but he didn't stop. Heck, he increased his movement speed to zoom into the burning land area.

Not more than three seconds down his linear path, the first obstacle appeared before him.

A huge portion of the mountain path looked to have been shaved off leaving a gap in the road.

Noah had to come to an abrupt halt to stop himself from plunging downwards to what could be his death.

The heat in the environment was intense enough for him to feel warm, and he knew it would increase the more he stood there.

Holding his breath due to the sheer heat the air in the surroundings carried, Noah wondered how such an environment could even be created.

Unfortunately, he pushed that topic to the back of his mind and took a few steps backward.

Scanning the area with difficulty, he had to place his arm in front of his eyes to even see anything past a few meters from his figure, but even that was adequate.

Everything was burning, except the ground beneath him, but even that had turned charred.

'I guess this is what hell would look like,' Noah thought concluding that he couldn't take footing on the mountain's wall due to the flames that danced on it.

Only jumping could help him, but the gap between the two paths was about 20m in length. It was a long jump, but he saw no way out.

Crouching a bit, he shot forward without further thought. At the edge of the path, he compressed the force in his knees and leaped forward with a mighty bang.

'Am I gonna make it!' he screamed inwardly while his figure formed an arc in the air. The heat of the environment struck his figure but he remained too focused on not missing his landing.

'I'm not gonna make it!' he cursed as panic filled his mind, but he suddenly changed his mind mid-way.

His feet landed on the tip of the broken path and he had to crouch and roll away since it showed signs of breaking off. And it did.

'I did it!' he gave a sigh of relief inwardly, however his expression flickered when he saw that his actions had caused a portion of the opposite path to break off creating an even wider gap.

In that instant, Noah saw someone burst out of the flames that clouded the mountains path. Unfortunately, the individual had noticed the gap too late and plunged downwards with a scream.

'Sorry,' Noah apologized before sprinting again. The man's scream had alerted the others and they had time to stop before the broken path, but Noah was nowhere to be seen.

Needless to say many of them thought it had been him, and that put his guild-mates in a grim mood.

Noah continued on his sprint but this time he remained more careful than the first. He crossed a few more broken paths in less than a minute, and began to doubt that they were natural.

Things soon changed a bit after three minutes into the countdown. Noah had reached a lower elevation and new obstacles appeared in his sight.

Burning boulders were lined up in front of him and released searing heat, so much so that Noah felt his attire begin to heat up and the tips of his sleeves caught fire.

Taking a few step back as the heat had started to make him sweat, Noah let out a soft breath. Thanks to his breathing control he could maintain the same breath he had taken on the peak of the mountain.

However, there was still a limit to how much he could conserve in that heat. Lack of oxygen would most likely lower their health before even the obstacles eliminated them.

His vitals were still excellent on the holographic screen, but that was only because he had spent most of his time there holding his breath and running about. He believed the others would be having difficulties.

Closing his eyes for a bit, Noah prepared to unleash his best on the blazing rocks before him. They created a perfect blockade, and he considered jumping them, but he feared there could be broken paths on his way.

His figure shot forward distorting the flames in the environment due to the sheer velocity he was capable of.

Noah unleashed the first form on the boulder before him, and a spectacular explosion that sent flaming bits of rocks and a serious heat blast flying everywhere occurred, but his movements were quick enough to bypass most of the rocks.

Only most.

Bits of rocks smashed into Noah's figure, but they made no effect on him, but the same couldn't be said for the heat blast.

Most of his sleeves turned to ash when the blast washed over him with no way for him to dodge.

Thankfully he was mostly fine. But he understood that if things continued like that he would be naked in minutes. Fortunately he had a series of attires prepared for such a situation.

Noah's attacks didn't stop as he simply continued to move forward and explosions continued to shake the environment. The boulders were big and sturdy, but his fists turned them intro piles of rubble.

Noah had become an unstoppable force packing shocking power, one that didn't hesitate to turn the obstacles before him into dust.