Sea Trials

Initially, the refining technique only contained some profound and mysterious text, with no memory related to this aspect. Luo Zheng could only explore it slowly on his own.

Finally, Luo Zheng's consciousness settled on the front of the giant furnace. Of the nine dragon sculptures, only the Azure Dragon had awakened, its indifferent gaze looking down at him, revealing the supreme majesty of the dragon race.

Remembering how his soul had almost collapsed and disintegrated under the Azure Dragon's gaze, Luo Zheng still felt a lingering fear.

Since his soul had been tempered in the giant furnace, its strength had significantly increased.

Now, being watched by the Azure Dragon, he could still feel immense pressure. His soul consciousness was suppressed by a huge oppressive force, a feeling like his physical body was being crushed under a mountain, heavy and suffocating.

His soul was strong enough to withstand the Azure Dragon's gaze, but how could he communicate with it?

Facing this terrifying Azure Dragon, Luo Zheng felt as insignificant as a speck of dust. He tried to approach the Azure Dragon sculpture, but he found that the closer he got, the heavier his soul felt, and a thousand thoughts in his mind seemed to tell him: Run!

I'll risk it! Luo Zheng mustered his courage and, in one go, controlled his soul to rush forward. The closer he got to the Azure Dragon statue, the greater the spatial pressure he felt ahead. His speed became slower and slower, like walking through thick mud.

The intense oppressive force emanating from the Azure Dragon made Luo Zheng's teeth chatter uncontrollably. Even biting down hard couldn't suppress the urge to retreat.

But Luo Zheng's eyes flickered with determination. It was this courage that made him forge ahead, finally resisting the oppressive force of the Azure Dragon's gaze, successfully approaching, and reaching out to touch one of the Azure Dragon's whiskers.

After a while, the Azure Dragon let out a soft dragon roar from its mouth. The giant furnace slowly began to rotate, and a wisp of black fire separated from the calm black flames within the furnace and drifted outwards.

"Success!"

Indeed, this giant furnace had its own consciousness and could communicate with Luo Zheng.

Although Luo Zheng wasn't sure if this consciousness belonged to the furnace itself or the Azure Dragon, he had indeed successfully communicated this time and summoned a wisp of black fire.

In the inn room, Luo Zheng's eyes suddenly opened. Almost simultaneously, that tiny wisp of black fire leaped out from between his eyebrows and circled in the air.

This wisp of black fire seemed to have no power. Luo Zheng couldn't even feel the heat it emitted.

But he dared not underestimate this wisp of black fire.

The Karma Fire Sword, a High-Grade Profound Artifact, had been refined by Xie Lang's second-grade True Fire for so long and was only heated red, not destroyed. Yet, this wisp of black fire had melted the Karma Fire Sword into molten iron essence in the blink of an eye.

Such power completely exceeded Luo Zheng's understanding. He couldn't even evaluate the power of the black fire.

It was a pity he couldn't control this black fire. If he could use this black fire against enemies, he would be invincible.

This black fire quickly discovered the blood-colored hammer in front of Luo Zheng's eyes. After locking onto its direction, it coiled towards the blood-colored hammer.

This blood-colored hammer was a Mid-Grade Profound Artifact. Compared to the Karma Fire Sword, this blood-colored hammer was a full grade lower, but a hammer was much larger than a sword. He wondered how much molten iron essence it could refine and if it could light up a Dragon Scale.

Under the black fire's refining, the blood-colored hammer was like a candle meeting a flame. It was almost instantly melted by the black fire, turning into a drop of molten iron essence.

"One... one drop? Only one drop!"

Such a large Mid-Grade Profound Artifact was actually refined into just one drop of molten iron essence? Luo Zheng's mouth hung open, and he even stammered when he spoke.

Although the grade of this blood-colored hammer was not as high as the Karma Fire Sword, its size was much larger than the Karma Fire Sword. It was impossible for it to only refine one drop of molten iron essence...

Thinking of this, Luo Zheng hardened his heart and took out several other Profound Artifacts from his Sumeru Ring. These Profound Artifacts were either Mid-Grade or Low-Grade. He might as well refine them all together.

That wisp of black fire was also not ambiguous. It swept away those few Profound Artifacts in no time.

The result was also not optimistic. Mid-Grade Profound Artifacts could still refine one drop of molten iron essence, but the molten iron essence refined from those few Low-Grade Profound Artifacts was simply unbearable to look at, not much bigger than a speck of dust. Luo Zheng had to widen his eyes to see them.

After refining the Profound Artifacts in the Sumeru Ring, all the molten iron essence gathered together, and he finally managed to collect five drops of molten iron essence.

Finally, the black fire coiled around these five drops of molten iron essence and entered his mind.

Luo Zheng closely watched every movement in his mind. When the black fire sent the five drops of molten iron essence into the Azure Dragon's mouth, the Azure Dragon sculpture trembled for a while, and the second Dragon Scale began to flicker with blue light, as if it was about to be lit up.

"It worked?" Luo Zheng's heart was filled with excitement. The power of the Dragon Scales, if borrowed, could truly enhance his strength.

However, the blue light on the Dragon Scale flickered twice, and then the light slowly dimmed...

Seeing this scene, Luo Zheng's expression changed. Did it really require six drops of molten iron essence to activate the Dragon Scale?

But just as the blue light on the Dragon Scale dimmed, there was a sudden turn of events. The entire Dragon Scale suddenly lit up, emitting a green glow that was quite beautiful.

Luo Zheng's heart finally relaxed. It seemed that only five drops of molten iron essence were needed to activate a Dragon Scale.

At the same time, he immediately felt a surge of power pouring into every part of his body. He subconsciously clenched his fists, feeling much stronger all over. This feeling of abundant power almost made him want to scream.

After a while, Luo Zheng's excited heart finally calmed down. Lighting up two Dragon Scales was certainly good, but at this stage, Luo Zheng's strength needed to grow as quickly as possible. If he could continuously light up a few more Dragon Scales, he could probably send someone like Luo Peiran flying with a single punch!

But he had already refined all the Profound Artifacts he had. Where could he find more?

Although he had hundreds of Square Crystal Stones, the price of a Profound Artifact would definitely not be cheap. At most, he could buy one or two Low-Grade Profound Artifacts, but what use would that be?

Just then, he set his sights on the damaged flying knife.

Even though that flying knife was so damaged, the aura emanating from it was still so astonishing. Its grade would definitely not be low.

He thought about it for a moment and suppressed the urge to refine the flying knife. If this flying knife was truly extraordinary, it would be too uneconomical to refine it casually.

It was better to wait and see. The first thing to consider now was entering the Azure Cloud Sect.

After sorting out his emotions, Luo Zheng closed his eyes and began to rest. The Sea Trials were tomorrow. Although the content of the Sea Trials was said to be just running, according to Mo Can, it shouldn't be that simple.

Early the next morning, Luo Zheng washed up and headed towards the Azure Cloud Sect.

When he registered yesterday, he hadn't seen many people, but today, he saw that the not-so-spacious entrance of the Azure Cloud Sect was already a sea of people.

There were those on horseback, those on foot, and those riding in Flying Carriages.

So many people surrounded the not-so-spacious Azure Cloud Sect gate, making it impenetrable.

Luo Zheng made a rough estimate, and there were no less than ten thousand people.

No wonder the Azure Cloud Sect held Sea Trials every month. These monthly Sea Trials actually had over ten thousand participants. If you counted the number of applicants for the entire year, it would be over a hundred thousand. Even with the Azure Cloud Sect's deep foundation, dealing with this many people would likely be a headache.

No matter where it was, when there were too many people, it became chaotic and noisy.

Luo Zheng stood at the back of the crowd, his face devoid of expression, waiting quietly.

After a while, a Flying Carriage sped out from within the Azure Cloud Sect's gate. Standing on the Flying Carriage was a White-Bearded Old Man.

After the White-Bearded Old Man appeared, he took a breath, then spoke in a steady voice: "All applicants, please enter the sect in an orderly manner to participate in the sect's Sea Trials. Do not make loud noises or shout. Violators will have their examination qualifications revoked directly, be expelled, and will be forbidden from applying to the Azure Cloud Sect for life."

The White-Bearded Old Man's voice wasn't loud, but it was very strange, as if it was ringing in everyone's ears. All ten thousand people present heard it clearly.

After the White-Bearded Old Man finished speaking, the scene immediately became quiet. No one dared to make a sound. Over ten thousand people were as silent as gold. You could even hear a pin drop on the ground.

Having their examination qualifications revoked and being expelled was a small matter; they could just come back next month. But being forbidden from applying to the Azure Cloud Sect in the future was a big problem.

As the largest sect in the Empire and a holy land for cultivation, although there were a few small sects within the Burning Heaven Empire, they couldn't be compared with the Azure Cloud Sect in terms of scale or talent. If one was banned by the Azure Cloud Sect, it meant their future in this life was over.

All the candidates participating in the Sea Trials understood the weight of these words, and no one dared to speak further.

Over ten thousand people entered the Azure Cloud Sect's gate one after another, following the path within the sect. After walking for a while and turning a corner, they arrived at a huge square.

Around the square, several Flying Carriages were suspended. Those people were maintaining order during the Sea Trials.

After all the participants in the Sea Trials were standing in the square, the White-Bearded Old Man appeared at the front of the square again. They heard him say: "Presumably, many of the people who applied for the Sea Trials this month already know the rules of the Sea Trials. However, I will still repeat them. Run straight from this square forward, regardless of whether you are in the Bone Refining Realm, Viscera Refining Realm, or Marrow Refining Realm. Keep running until the jade pendant on your chest changes color. Only then will you have passed the Sea Trials and be qualified to participate in the Azure Cloud Sect's entrance examination."

The rules were indeed very simple. There was no requirement for running speed, nor was there a requirement to achieve a certain ranking. As long as they ran a certain distance and changed the color of the jade pendant, they would pass. After remembering the rules, Luo Zheng looked towards the path at the front of the square.

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