Chu Yunhai stood within his square, having already exhausted every ounce of strength as he struggled to hold on.
The arrow rain was no longer as gentle or slow as it had been at the start.
After repeated increases in speed and intensity, its scale had multiplied severalfold. Arrows filled the sky in dense, overlapping layers, leaving not the slightest gap.
They flew so fast that only blurred afterimages remained, their piercing whistles roaring through the air and making everyone's eardrums tremble.
Their angles were even more treacherous: weaving above and below, ambushing from either side, sweeping along the ground, and diving from overhead. They sealed off every avenue of escape, making the trial several times harder than its initial stage.
Such an intense trial placed a tremendous drain on blood and qi, mental energy, and physical strength.
Chu Yunhai had stalled at the peak Qi-Devouring Realm, and his cultivation reserves were limited. He had only lasted this long by scrambling to dodge and stubbornly holding on.
Prolonged tension and constant exertion had exhausted him in both body and mind, overdrawn his blood and qi, and left him like an arrow at the end of its flight.
His arms ached and tingled, his breathing came fast and uneven, and sweat streamed from his forehead, dripping steadily off his jaw. Excessive mental strain had even blurred his vision slightly and slowed his reactions, making every block and dodge difficult.
Under that extreme tension, flaws appeared one after another. He could no longer evade every arrow perfectly.
Without realizing it, he had acquired three glaring white dust marks on his robes: one on his left shoulder, one at his waist, and one on his cuff. He stood right on the brink of elimination. One more hit would end his run in this