Luo Yan

At that moment, Mo Can suddenly stepped out of the crowd and said loudly, "I saw it with my own eyes. Those Aristocratic Clan Disciples came up to provoke trouble, and he was the one who struck Luo Zheng first!"

Mo Can was extremely nervous. As someone from the Imperial Capital, he knew far better than those commoners how terrifying the Scholar Clans were. Even the weakest Scholar Clan possessed a foundation that no ordinary family could compare with. Yet at this moment, Mo Can did not hesitate much.

Seeing Mo Can stand up at a time like this, Luo Zheng felt a surge of emotion, and even a touch of shame. Yesterday, he had nearly caused Mo Can to fail the Sea Trials, yet now Mo Can had come forward to testify on his behalf, openly offending the Wang Family.

With Mo Can taking the lead, the other trial disciples began echoing him one after another.

They hated injustice just as much, but now that Mo Can had stepped forward to shoulder the Wang Family's hatred, they were more than willing to denounce this unfairness.

"That's right! These Aristocratic Clan Disciples are completely unreasonable!"

"They were clearly the ones who struck first!"

"Exactly, exactly!"

The many trial disciples began shouting together. The faces of Wang Hengzhi and the other Aristocratic Clan Disciples immediately darkened. The tall Wang Family Disciple glared fiercely at Mo Can, as if he wanted to swallow him whole.

However, with so many instructors present, they did not dare to attack again.

Instructor Su blinked and said, "Since that's the case, things are quite clear. Since they were the ones who provoked the trouble first, they should be punished. Which peak does the one who struck someone belong to?"

"He's an Inner Sect Disciple from Taiyi Peak." Zhong Ming did not want to get involved in this matter any further, so he could only answer, "I've decided to deduct one hundred points from him as punishment."

"Taiyi Peak? Instructor Xu! Your peak's Inner Sect Disciple caused trouble and struck someone for no reason. According to the Sect Rules, how should he be punished?" Instructor Su clearly did not want to settle the matter so easily. She turned and called out loudly.

Instructor Xu stepped out from among the thirty-three instructors and glanced at the disciple under his peak. "According to the Sect Rules, one thousand points should be deducted!"

The tall Wang Family Disciple's lips twitched. He had considered a deduction of one hundred points insignificant, but losing one thousand points was a painful blow. The points within the Azure Cloud Sect were tremendously useful. Whether for cultivation or obtaining secret manuals, points were required for exchange.

However, there were very few ways to earn points. One was to complete missions issued by the Azure Cloud Sect, while the other was to buy them with money. At first, one Square Crystal Stone could be exchanged for one point, but prices had risen over the years. Now, two Square Crystal Stones were needed for a single point.

Although this Wang Family Disciple belonged to a Scholar Clan, the Wang Family was a vast clan with countless disciples, and he was not one of its core disciples.

One thousand points was equivalent to two thousand Square Crystal Stones—a colossal sum to him.

Instructor Su smiled faintly and said to Instructor Xu, "That punishment sounds good. Then we'll handle it that way!"

Instructor Xu nodded, but inside he was furious. Good my ass. If I don't punish him this way, you'll make an even bigger fuss later. You really won't let this go. Still, at least I got to decide it myself...

After settling the matter, Instructor Su walked up to Luo Zheng and said, "I noticed there seems to be something wrong with your Disciple Token. Could you let me take a look?"

Luo Zheng was puzzled by this. What could possibly be wrong with his Disciple Token? But this instructor had helped him, and she was beautiful and sweet-looking. She had no reason to harm him. Thus, Luo Zheng simply handed over his Disciple Token.

Instructor Su accepted it with her jade-like hand and examined it carefully, turning it over and over. Only then did she return the Disciple Token to Luo Zheng and smile. "All right, I must have looked at it incorrectly just now. There shouldn't be any problem!"

The whole thing left Luo Zheng baffled. But he no longer had the energy to think about it. Being able to proceed smoothly with the Bloodcolor Trials was already something to thank the heavens for. He prayed that no further accidents would occur.

Afterward, Zhong Ming stood in the center of the crowd and began announcing the rules of the Bloodcolor Trials.

"The rules of these Bloodcolor Trials are very simple. Kill phantom beasts, and you'll obtain a crystal shard when you kill one. Bloodcolor Mountain is divided into five regions. The outermost region contains first-level phantom beasts. Killing them will yield Green Crystal Shards. The phantom beasts in the second layer are second-level phantom beasts, and killing them yields Yellow Crystal Shards. The third layer follows the same pattern: third-level phantom beasts yield Blue Crystal Shards. The fourth layer yields Purple Crystal Shards, while the fifth layer yields Black Crystal Shards."

"You must accumulate one hundred Green Crystal Shards to pass the assessment. Only thirty Yellow Crystal Shards are needed to pass, ten Blue Crystal Shards, three Purple Crystal Shards, and a single Black Crystal Shard."

Luo Zheng listened attentively to the rules of Bloodcolor Mountain. It seemed that killing the phantom beasts on the outermost layer was the easiest, since they were only first-level phantom beasts. However, he would have to kill one hundred of them, which was quite a large number. The most powerful fifth-level phantom beasts required only one kill to obtain a Black Crystal Shard and pass the assessment, but fifth-level phantom beasts were far too strong. Ordinary people were no match for them.

"Everyone, pay close attention. Everything that happens on Bloodcolor Mountain takes place within an illusion, but you will still be injured and feel pain. You will even die! However, these are all illusions. After you 'die,' you will be sent down from Bloodcolor Mountain and lose your qualification for the trials. You have only one chance, so make sure you seize it!" After Zhong Ming finished speaking, he waved his hand and said, "You may ascend the mountain now. As usual, the Aristocratic Clan Disciples will go up first!"

It was another privilege for the Scholar Clans!

Under such rules, those who went up first would certainly have an advantage. Unfortunately, the rules had been established by the Azure Cloud Sect, and the Azure Cloud Sect had countless ties with those Scholar Clans—and even with the Burning Heaven Palace. Thus, although the many commoners were displeased, they could not say anything.

At this moment, an Aristocratic Clan Disciple asked, "Can I bring my guards up the mountain?"

"Of course not!" Zhong Ming was instantly rendered speechless by the question. If people could bring helpers into the Bloodcolor Trials, there would be no need for anyone to participate. They could simply bring a few experts and pass with ease. Could that still be called a trial?

Wang Hengzhi said to the two people from his family who were participating in the Bloodcolor Trials, "Wang Qing, Wang Lan, remember what those two look like. Once you're up the mountain, find an opportunity to strike."

The two nodded and said to Wang Hengzhi, "Seventh Young Master, rest assured. We'll definitely make him roll down from Bloodcolor Mountain ahead of schedule."

Wang Hengzhi nodded, then instructed them again. "At the critical moment, you may use the killing weapon bestowed by the family. Understood?"

"But Seventh Brother, there's only one killing weapon. Once it's used, it's gone..." One of them hesitated.

The Wang Family was a family of master craftsmen. Their clan produced numerous skilled artisans, and Wang Dai, one of the three Grandmaster Artifact Refiners of the current dynasty, was a member of the Wang Family.

For that reason, every Wang Family Disciple possessed a life-preserving treasure known as a killing weapon. Its power was immense. Once released at a critical moment, it could reverse the course of battle. However, each family disciple had only one, making it extraordinarily precious. Thus, the two did not want to use their killing weapons merely to kill Luo Zheng.

Moreover, no one could truly be killed on Bloodcolor Mountain. Even if they killed Luo Zheng, it would only amount to driving him down the mountain.

"Don't worry. I'll help you apply for another killing weapon!" Wang Hengzhi was a direct-line disciple of the Wang Family, and his status was naturally far higher than Wang Qing's and Wang Lan's. The killing weapons that were priceless to them were commonplace to Wang Hengzhi.

"Brother Hengzhi, I never expected my family matter to trouble you so much," Luo Peiran said from the side.

Wang Hengzhi smiled faintly. "Peiran, this is a trivial matter. Besides, my elder brother still needs to trouble you to write a few more letters to Purgatory Mountain and put in a good word for him!"

"That's what I should do. My little sister is merely stubborn by nature. Given enough time, she'll likely come to understand. If she could marry into your Wang Family, it would be a lifelong blessing for her," Luo Peiran said.

Fortunately, the two were standing relatively far from Luo Zheng. If Luo Zheng had understood their conversation, he probably would have immediately fought Luo Peiran to the death!

In fact, Luo Yan had remained on Purgatory Mountain in the Azure Cloud Sect all this time. To this day, she still knew nothing of what had happened to her family, much less that her father had been killed.

Over the past few years, Luo Peiran had fabricated all kinds of reasons and excuses in his letters to keep Luo Yan in the dark. Now, he even wanted to deceive Luo Yan into leaving Purgatory Mountain and marrying Wang Hengzhi's elder brother.