Chapter 50

Chapter 50: Seventh Peak

However, when God’s fragmented face opened its eyes, its pupils were cross-shaped.

Meanwhile, this illusory eye had a vertical pupil.

And the difference between their power was like that of a firefly compared to the blazing sun. God’s eyes could instantly cause a place to become a forbidden area, while this illusory eye could only form a deterrent and shake the mind.

Of course, the drop of blood that formed the illusory eye had already been diluted countless times. Presumable, if the blood was pure, its power would be extremely terrifying.

But in any case, even if the real eye appeared, it was still worlds apart from the fragmented face of God.

Even so, Xu Qing was still extremely shocked. The shock to his body was one thing, but the thing that caused waves in his mind was this matter that seemed to be outside his comprehension.

"Could it be that the Seven Blood Pupils can already take flesh and blood from God?"

“No, that’s impossible… the two feel the same, but they’re obviously not the same. Then could it be that there are existences similar to God in this world?”

This guess made Xu Qing’s breathing hasten. As he stared at the illusory eye on the marble boulder, he felt a strong desire to know more about this world.

At the same time, as the pressure mounted, the testees spurted blood one after another. Most of them couldn’t hold on and had to be swept away by the horse-faced cultivator.

Soon, only three people were left.

Zhou Qingpeng wasn’t in this group. Among the three were Li Zimei and an unremarkable young man. Although the young man wasn’t dressed like a scavenger, his clothes were very plain. He had obviously come from a small town.

And now, he had clearly reached the limit of perseverance, quickly spitting up blood and being forced to retire. Soon after him, Li Zimei also had to give up.

As for the last of the three, it was naturally Xu Qing.

Naturally, he could just fake his willpower.

But this time, in front of this aloof existence similar to God, Xu Qing didn’t want to fake it.

He instinctively didn't want to succumb to this opponent.

So he stared at the illusory eye. His whole body was tense, and his heart was beating unprecedentedly violently as he mustered his will to stand up to the illusory eye.

“I struggled and survived even when the fragmented face of God looked at me. How could I succumb to the pressure of some drop of diluted blood!”

Xu Qing’s eyes slowly turned bloodshot, and his body trembled. His flesh and blood seemed to be screaming, but the strong will he had honed in the slums and the jungle forbidden area allowed him to firmly suppress the tearing feeling.

At that moment, he was the only one still persevering in the entire square. All the testees around were shocked, and they looked at Xu Qing with astonishment in their eyes.

Even the horse-faced middle-aged man and the other two proctors looked at Xu Qing with surprised expressions.

Xu Qing had persevered for a long time.

And in this year’s round of testing, after over a month, there were only three people who had persisted as long as Xu Qing.

"I don't know if this kid can withstand the final waver."

“So far, no one this year has fully withstood everything.”

As the three middle-aged cultivators chatted via sound transmission, most of the golden liquid on the marble boulder had already dissipated. However… just as it was about to disappear completely, the illusory eye suddenly moved. Its unfocused gaze suddenly concentrated and locked on to Xu Qing.

At that moment, an even more terrifying pressure washed over Xu Qing, as if a god was trying to force him into submission with an overwhelming roar.

Xu Qing’s whole body trembled violently. His head slowly bowed as if a mountain was pressing down on it.

The three middle-aged cultivators focused and watched carefully.

As he bowed his head, Xu Qing’s body trembled even more violently. Finally, he slowly raised his head back up. Veins bulged out on his forehead, and his bloodshot eyes revealed a chilling wolf-like gaze that contained an unyielding nature.

The moment he looked into the illusory eye, his seventh-level Sea and Mountain Art automatically activated, and the pitch-black Chief Shadow quickly manifested behind him.

The Chief Shadow was a dozen meters tall, and its whole body was pitch-black. Its head had a pair of spiral horns, and its eyes were purple. Suddenly, its mouth opened and it let out a silent roar toward the illusory eye.

Roar!

Xu Qing also let out a roar, finally making eye contact with the illusory eye on the marble boulder.

In the next moment, his whole body shook, and his mind felt like he’d just taken a heavy hammer blow to the head. He spurted out blood and the Chief Shadow behind him dissipated, but at the same time, the illusory eye on the marble boulder also faded and finally disappeared.

Everything was over.

Xu Qing panted heavily as he forcefully endured the sharp pain in his head. After a while, he struggled to stand up, wiping away the blood at the corners of his mouth and clasping his fists toward the three middle-aged cultivators who were looking at him deeply. Then he turned and silently stepped aside.

All around the square, those testees who couldn’t hold on looked at Xu Qing as if he was a monster. There was disbelief and horror on their faces.

"Qi and Bl… Qi and Blood Form a Shadow? This is the symbol of the peak of body refinement, comparable to the peak of Qi Condensation!” Someone’s voice rang out uncertainly.

The next moment, gasps echoed one after another.

However, Xu Qing just stood silently with his eyes closed. He felt that the pain in his mind was slowly receding and his perception seemed to be growing more powerful.

This was just like forging. After repeated tempering, a sharp edge would finally be revealed.

In fact, this second test… was indeed designed to grant this sort of blessing. It was just that those who could obtain it were very rare.

Xu Qing was startled. After careful inspection, he discovered that his perception had become much sharper than before and his will was more tenacious. Although he actually couldn’t prove the latter, he instinctively felt that it was the case.

“Very good!” The three middle-aged cultivators proctoring the test all looked at Xu Qing with appreciation, and the horse-faced cultivator even nodded at him.

“Your name is Xu Qing, right? Those who can withstand the entirety of the second test will have their spirit improve substantially. By using the blood of a divinity lifeform as a whetstone, their willpower will become incomparably tenacious!”

"Divinity lifeform?" Xu Qing looked at the horse-faced cultivator.

The horse-faced man didn’t explain, looking away and falling silent. At that moment, the third test began.

The proctor of the third test was the final middle-aged man of the trio.

He had a round face and small eyes, but his gaze was very sharp. After stepping forward, he scanned the crowd of testees and spoke lightly.

“The third test tests your actual combat prowess. Enter the illusory array and fight mutated beasts.”

Speaking to this point, the round-faced middle-aged man turned to Xu Qing.

“Xu Qing, you don’t need to participate. Your body refinement is at the level of Qi and Blood Form a Shadow, already possessing the combat prowess of peak Qi Condensation. To you, participating in the third test is completely pointless. You pass.”

As he spoke, the other testees were envious, but they didn’t dare speak up. The Chief Shadow that appeared behind Xu Qing just now had utterly cowed them.

"Thank you, Senior." Xu Qing lowered his head, cupping his fists and bowing deeply.

He wasn’t good with words, but he knew that he must be polite in the face of kindness.

Soon, the third test began. Seeing the other testees stepping up one after another, Xu Qing simply sat down cross-legged to recuperate. By the end of the third test, his spirit had mostly recovered.

During this process, Xu Qing realized that his perception seemed to have more than doubled.

More specifically, it had improved to the point that he could easily sense the movements of wind and rustling of grass within a certain range. This made his heartbeat speed up and his eyes revealed a bright light.

“To think that sharpening the will is so rewarding… When I return, I have to try controlling the shadow again. It should be much easier now.”

As Xu Qing was lost in thought, the third test quickly concluded.

Everyone returned to their original places, nervously waiting for the results. Xu Qing also stood up and looked at the three middle-aged cultivators, who seemed to be talking it over with each other.

"It's a pity that the First Peak requires a specific token..." Xu Qing looked down at the token in his hand. He didn’t know which peak he would be assigned to enter.

Soon, the test results were announced. Among the more than sixty testees, a little less than half had been eliminated.

Those who had been eliminated all went pale and were told that they had to leave Seven Blood Pupils within two hours. After two hours was up, the array would slaughter them.

When he heard that they would be slaughtered, Xu Qing’s pupils contracted. The eliminated testees had extremely bitter expressions on their faces.

But leaving wasn’t the only option.

If they had enough spirit stones to buy contribution points, they could still live in the main city. However, the cost would be the same as that for civilians; 30 spirit coins or 30 contribution points per day.

As for the disciples who passed the test, although they also had to pay 30 contribution points a day, they had the additional right to buy cultivation resources form Seven Blood Pupils.

Xu Qing was a little confused by all this, not really understanding, but he believed that he would be able to figure it out quickly.

Soon, the horse-faced cultivator started to announce the successful testees and the peaks they would belong to.

"Zhen Han, First Peak."

"Zhao Chungang, Third Peak."

"Zhou Qingpeng, Seventh Peak."

…

Among them, five people were chosen for the First Peak, three people were chosen for the Seventh Peak, and the remaining five peaks mostly got six or seven people each.

As the horse-faced cultivator’s voice rang out again and again, Xu Qing waited silently, listening for him name.

Soon, Xu Qing raised his head and looked over.

"Xu Qing, Seventh Peak."

After the horse-faced cultivator finally said Xu Qing’s name, he glanced at the young men and women in front of him and spoke lightly.

“Those of you who passed the test will each be rewarded with 1,000 contribution points. The one who ranked first this time is Xu Qing, and he’ll be rewarded with 10,000 contribution points.”

Xu Qing heaved a sigh of relief, feeling that the Seventh Peak wasn’t bad either. At the same time, he was shocked by his reward.

If one contribution point was equivalent to one spirit coin, 10,000 contribution points were 10,000 spirit coins. If converted to spirit stones, it was 10 spirit stones.

“So many!” Xu Qing was a little surprised.

Once the horse-faced cultivator finished speaking, he pulled out a jade slip. Soon after, Xu Qing felt his token vibrate. When he looked down, the pattern on the front of the token changed, turning into the number 10,000.

But soon, the number changed and became 9,999.

Xu Qing narrowed his eyes.

The other disciples who had passed the test also noticed the change in their tokens, and each of them seemed to feel emotional. Soon, the horse-faced cultivator started sending them away in batches.

The round-faced cultivator walked over to Xu Qing, glancing at his token and revealing a smile.

“No need to keep looking. I’ll tell you about it later.”

As he spoke, he called out to the other disciples who were chosen for the Seventh Peak, bringing them and Xu Qing and walking up the mountain road that led to the Seventh Peak.

“Let’s go, I’ll take you into the Seventh Peak’s mountain gate. Cherish this chance, because it might be the only time you get to go up the mountain!”

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