At that instant, Luo Zheng suddenly lunged forward. The palm slammed into the ground behind him with a heaven-shaking boom, leaving behind a gigantic handprint.
Without thinking, he rolled forward with the momentum, got to his feet, and kept running.
The Devil Race figure that had been conjured up spat out several incomprehensible Devil Race words before continuing to chase after Luo Zheng.
Luo Zheng was both furious and vexed. Why was this Devil Race figure singling him out for no reason?
Unfortunately, he could not stop to ask what was going on. Besides, this Devil Race figure was itself an illusory beast manifested from nothing and had no intelligence to speak of. Naturally, communication was impossible.
Outside Bloodcolor Mountain, everything had already descended into chaos.
Quite a few instructors had discovered through their Trust Jades that the Devil Race figure had actually run from the Fifth Layer to the Third Layer.
"Zhong Ming, what exactly is going on?"
"Wasn't this Devil Race figure supposed to be in the Fifth Layer? How could it possibly break through those illusion arrays and reach the Third Layer?"
Faced with the questioning, Zhong Ming stammered, "I—I don't know what happened either. Perhaps something went wrong with the illusion arrays on Bloodcolor Mountain."
"I demand that the Bloodcolor Trials be stopped immediately," one instructor said.
"Yes, they should be stopped. That Devil Race figure could probably kick everyone on the mountain out of the trials. We recommended removing this fifth-level illusory beast long ago. Keeping it there is completely pointless. Who knows what the higher-ups were thinking!" another instructor agreed.
"Wait, wait!" At that moment, an instructor stopped them.
"What happened?"
"Look. That Devil Race figure seems to be chasing Luo Zheng." The instructor switched the Trust Jade's image to one of the Aristocratic Clan Disciples, only to discover Luo Zheng fleeing for his life.
"Heh, so what? The strength this kid has displayed is indeed astonishing, but do you remember? Back then, when Lin Xietian entered the Bloodcolor Trials with the strength of the Marrow Refining Realm, he was so confident in his extraordinary power that he went looking for trouble with this Devil Race figure. In the end, didn't he still flee in a sorry state?" one instructor said.
Lin Xietian had been the most outstanding disciple of the Azure Cloud Sect in over a hundred years. In just three short years after entering the Azure Cloud Sect, he had become famous throughout the world. At nineteen, he passed the trial of the "Azure Cloud Road" and entered the "Cloud Hall." Both his talent and strength were rarely seen in the world, making him an undisputed super-genius.
The strength and talent Luo Zheng had displayed at this stage were both remarkably high, but in the eyes of the many instructors, he was still quite far behind Lin Xietian. Moreover, Lin Xietian had already been in the Marrow Refining Realm at the time—an entire realm above Luo Zheng.
Even Lin Xietian had fled in panic upon encountering the Devil Race figure. How could Luo Zheng possibly have the slightest chance of resisting?
That was what they thought, at least. As this year's greatest dark horse, Luo Zheng still commanded the attention of most of the instructors. They finally stopped arguing and quietly watched the images in the Trust Jades.
Seeing that the instructors had stopped singling him out for blame, Zhong Ming revealed a smug smile. This kid is a hundred percent dead. I'll see how you dodge the Devil Race figure's attacks.
Relying on his agile movement, powerful explosive strength, and a little bit of luck, Luo Zheng avoided the Devil Race figure's attack.
But continuing like this was no solution!
If he kept running, his final fate would be to be slapped out of the trials by the Devil Race figure.
Luo Zheng had little time to think, and his mind was already turning at lightning speed.
He had heard that the bodies of the Devil Race and humans were completely different, and that Devil Race members were far stronger than humans from birth. Thus, in ancient times, humans had suffered greatly when they went to war with the Devil Race.
But the Creator was fair. The Devil Race had one fatal flaw: they possessed two hearts.
Perhaps a single heart could not withstand their powerful bodies, which was why they had developed a second one.
This was not much of a problem in itself. With two hearts, Devil Race members could unleash even greater strength. The crucial point was that their second heart grew in their backs.
Their second hearts had no protection at all, covered only by a thin layer of skin and flesh. As long as that flesh was pierced and the heart shattered, the Devil Race member could be killed.
Thus, whenever they went to war, nearly all Devil Race members would wear heavy armor on their backs. The armor had a tall protrusion on the back specifically meant to protect that vulnerable area. Humans mockingly called this kind of armor a "turtle shell."
After maneuvering against the Devil Race figure all this time, Luo Zheng noticed that its back had no protection whatsoever.
As long as he could shatter the Devil Race figure's heart, he could defeat it. This was Luo Zheng's only opportunity.
Just as he was thinking this, a fierce gust of wind swept over from the side. The Devil Race figure's huge palm had struck toward him.
"Damn it, I can't dodge!"
By the time Luo Zheng tried to evade it, it was already too late.
There was no other path but to fight. Gritting his teeth, Luo Zheng flipped over and leaped onto the back of the Devil Race figure's hand. He then stepped on its shoulder and sprang into the air. His entire body flipped over the Devil Race figure's head, and at that moment, the tip of his nose was only a few inches from the two sharp horns on its head.
Following the motion of his free fall, Luo Zheng finally reached the Devil Race figure's back and successfully spotted a protrusion there!
"Now! Rosewood Inch Strength!"
A purple light flowed out from Luo Zheng's body. He poured every ounce of his strength into his fist, then slammed it heavily into that protrusion—the Devil Race figure's second heart!
As long as he infused Rosewood Inch Strength into it, he could completely destroy the Devil Race figure's heart.
But when Luo Zheng's fist struck the Devil Race figure's back, it felt as though he had hit something slick and slippery. The Devil Race figure's skin actually slid his fist aside.
I failed! Luo Zheng's heart jolted.
"Bang!"
The Devil Race figure turned around and slapped him. Luo Zheng's body flew dozens of yards away like a stone.
The instructors all let out sighs of dismay.
"Sigh, it's over. What a perfect opportunity."
"The Devil Race figure's skin is incomparably tough. How could a little fellow in the Viscera Refining Realm possibly break through it?"
"It's a shame, though. If he had been holding a Spirit Artifact, the one lying down now probably wouldn't have been him. It would have been that Devil Race figure."
The instructors watching through the Trust Jades could not help sighing. After all, in all these years, Luo Zheng was the only one who had posed a threat to this Devil Race figure. But when they thought about it, expecting a little fellow in the Viscera Refining Realm to defeat a fifth-level illusory beast was indeed somewhat unrealistic.
"Hey, hey, don't run!" one instructor shouted.
It turned out that the instructors could no longer view Luo Zheng's image directly. They could only observe him through the other participants. A few bold trial disciples had still been willing to follow behind the Devil Race figure and watch, but now that they had seen it take Luo Zheng down, those disciples naturally turned and ran.
Once they ran, the instructors could no longer see Luo Zheng either.
Most of the instructors understood that there was no need to keep watching. Luo Zheng's elimination had become inevitable.
Only Instructor Su, standing to the side, stared at her Trust Jade with a complicated expression. She had tampered with Luo Zheng's Disciple Token, so she could see his every move through the Trust Jade. This fellow's body was indeed extremely tough. After taking a slap from the Devil Race figure, he had actually suffered no serious harm.
Even now, he still refused to give up. This kid's will really was something! Just this alone made him stronger than many others.
Luo Zheng lay on the ground, his chest rising and falling as he took a heavy breath.
The force of that slap had been truly terrifying, almost smashing his entire skeleton to pieces.
Fortunately, his body was sturdy enough that he had actually endured the blow.
Moreover, his body absorbed most of the force completely and transformed it into a Warm Current that seeped through his body.
Even the small portion of force that remained was enough to cause severe damage to Luo Zheng's body.
As the ground trembled again and again, Luo Zheng felt the Devil Race figure walking toward him step by step.
Even though every part of Luo Zheng's body ached as if his entire frame would fall apart if he moved, he still had no intention of giving up.
As long as there was even the slightest chance, Luo Zheng would choose to counterattack.
Seeing its prey lying on the ground, the Devil Race figure slowed down. It even stopped to study Luo Zheng for a couple of moments before raising its foot and stepping down toward him. It actually intended to crush Luo Zheng to death while he was still alive.
The foot descended slowly. Perhaps the Devil Race figure thought Luo Zheng no longer had the ability to move and saw no need to hurry.
That was precisely what gave Luo Zheng room to act. He rolled along the ground, endured the agony throughout his body, and climbed to his feet. At the same time, he tried to leap up.
"It hurts!"
He had just taken a slap from the giant, and every bone in his body had been injured. In the agony, his body lost its agility, and he actually could not jump.
In that case...
In the crisis, Luo Zheng pulled the battered flying knife from his Sumeru Ring. Then, using every bit of strength in his body, he hurled the flying knife toward the Devil Race figure.
I hope it works! Luo Zheng prayed inwardly. If this attack still failed to cause any damage, then he, Luo Zheng, was destined to be eliminated from these Bloodcolor Trials.
What happened next shocked even Luo Zheng himself.
Before you continue