Opening the Formation
As Yi Yun was pondering this, he saw a young man in red standing atop the six-pointed star formation.
The boy was probably thirteen or fourteen years old, dressed in fine clothes, clearly from an extraordinary background.
"Activate the formation, let me test my skills!" The young man was extremely confident. "The Cold Iron Blood Pearl Formation, level ten difficulty!"
As the boy spoke, several other boys around him burst into laughter, "Hahaha, Young Master Ji Chang, what a bold move! Starting with level ten difficulty!"
"This Cold Iron Blood Pearl Formation is quite dangerous; one wrong move and you could break your bones and tendons!"
As people spoke, they lit up the formation.
Beside the six-pointed star-shaped open space, there was a stone platform with a row of crystals inlaid on it. These crystals were all red, and the red color became deeper as you went up. The top crystal was as red as blood.
There are thirty crystals in total, divided into three groups of ten.
People lit up ten blood-red crystals, which is what is known as level ten difficulty.
This level 10 difficulty requires the martial artist to face the attack of ten Cold Iron Blood Pearl simultaneously. This Young Master Ji Chang is only fourteen years old; truly, a hero emerges from among the young!
As soon as the formation was activated, the Cold Iron Blood Pearl immediately began to fly around at an extremely fast speed!
The droplets of blood strung together in the sky, forming pale red afterimages, like irregular straight lines that dazzled the eye!
The boy took a deep breath and rushed in!
The young man moved nimbly within the formation, like a lithe leopard; the ten blood beads couldn't even brush against the hem of his clothes.
The array lit up for about the time it takes for An Incense Stick to burn before gradually dimming.
The boy in red walked out of the formation unharmed.
His complexion was only slightly flushed, clearly indicating that he still had plenty of energy left.
"Young Master Ji Chang is truly remarkable; no wonder he ranked third in the Jingzhou Su'nan Examination Hall!"
"Of course. The examination halls in southern Jiangsu are filled with strong contenders. Young Master Ji Chang's third-place ranking is truly remarkable. In my opinion, Young Master Ji Chang should be recognized as National Scholar!"
Several young masters from Jingzhou chimed in with their comments. The Hua Hua chair was being carried by people, and since they were all from Jingzhou, it was only natural for them to flatter each other.
These young men were all between thirteen and fifteen years old. It's rare for members of prominent Lineage to join the Brocade Dragon Guard before the age of fifteen.
They were young, full of vigor and ambition, and thought they were the center of the world.
"Hey you guys, why don't you come up here and have a go?"
The young men who had just spoken looked at a group of youths not far away.
These young men had slightly rough skin and wore clothes sewn from animal hides. They were burly and hadn't spoken a word since the beginning, remaining silent in the corner with a very weak presence.
They were much older. The youngest was sixteen or seventeen, and a few were over twenty.
Clearly, they are warriors from the Great Wilderness.
The warriors of the Great Wilderness have far fewer cultivation resources, so how could their cultivation speed compare to that of the young masters of the great Lineage of Jingzhou? In addition, the Tai'a Divine Kingdom almost never holds Divine Kingdom Grand Selection in the Great Wilderness, so most of these Great Wilderness disciples who join the Brocade Dragon Guard are over sixteen years old.
For example, Hu Ya also entered the Brocade Dragon Guard at the age of eighteen.
For martial artists, being young is an advantage.
Given the same cultivation level and equal strength, a fourteen-year-old boy can naturally look down on an eighteen-year-old youth.
These warriors from the Great Wilderness have been at the Brocade Dragon Guard camp for several days.
These days, they feel ostracized by the young masters of Jingzhou.
These noble young men naturally formed a faction known as the Jingzhou Young Masters Faction. They were numerous, powerful, and strong, while the Brocade Dragon Guard members from the Great Wilderness were clearly at a disadvantage.
When the barracks were assigned, the Jingzhou Young Masters Faction occupied the best locations, while the young men from the Great Wilderness could only occupy corners.
When the Bone Relic, the Jingzhou Young Masters Faction took more than the rest.
Even when eating in the canteen, the Young Masters' Faction would pick out the meat with high energy and value, leaving the meat with low energy to themselves.
When they arrived at the training ground to see General Yan, the Jingzhou Young Masters Faction surrounded the Sky-Drum and the Cold Iron Blood Pearl Formation. They cultivated and competed inside the formation, while the disciples from the Great Wilderness were relegated to the side to watch.
In fact, seeing the strength of the Jingzhou Young Masters Faction, these young men from the Great Wilderness had to admit that they were very powerful, but that did not mean they were afraid.
The children of the Great Wilderness mostly possess a wild spirit in their bones!
Growing up in the harsh Great Wilderness, they were not easily defeated. Now that others had come to their doorstep to provoke them, how could they possibly tolerate it? A dark-skinned young man stepped forward.
He looked to be seventeen or eighteen years old, with a lean build and eyes like lightning.
He gave off the feeling of a wolf from the Great Wilderness. "My name is Hei Sha, from the Black Stone Tribe. If you want to challenge me, I'll take it!"
"Hey! A challenge?" The young men smirked at the word. "We're not challenging you. You're not worthy of our permission to utter the word 'challenge.' We're just playing around!"
The arrogant words of the Jingzhou Young Masters Faction caused a twisted vein to bulge on Hei Sha's forehead!
Just playing around!?
Okay, then I'll play along!
Hei Sha didn't take the throne on a whim. Among the younger generation of the Black Stone Tribe, although he wasn't the strongest, he was the fastest!
In the Black Stone Tribe, he was known as Black Lightning.
He might not be able to beat the Sky-Drum, but he was absolutely confident within the Cold Iron Blood Pearl Formation!
"Come on up!" Young Master Ji Chang said, his gaze towards Hei Sha carrying a hint of disdain. "Let's both come together. That's the fairest way to compete!"
As Young Master Ji Chang spoke, he glanced at Yi Yun out of the corner of his eye.
The gaze wasn't obvious, but Yi Yun, with his keen mind, noticed it. He suddenly realized that perhaps this Young Master Ji Chang was making trouble for the disciples of the Great Wilderness because he was dissatisfied with his status as a national hero as a National Scholar artist from the Great Wilderness.
The Tai'a Divine Kingdom is a country that values status highly. Although Yi Yun, as National Scholar, was born in the Great Wilderness, his status was higher than that of Young Master Ji Chang, who came from a prominent Lineage!
Whether it's Young Master Ji Chang or any other Jingzhou Young Masters Faction, if they openly provoke Yi Yun and clash with Yi Yun, and the two sides start fighting, they will be considered to have committed insubordination. If they are held accountable, they will certainly not come out on top.
Therefore, they dared not show off in front of Yi Yun, but they were not convinced. So, they attacked other warriors of the Great Wilderness to give them a warning.
How could the Jingzhou Young Masters Faction, prominent figures from powerful Lineage, be suppressed by a group of barbarians from the Great Wilderness? They had fought fiercely and still failed to obtain the title of National Scholar; why should it be given to Yi Yun?
"To be honest, level 10 difficulty is too boring. What do you think?"
Just as Hei Sha and Young Master Ji Chang were standing in the center of the formation, Young Master Ji Chang suddenly spoke.
Hei Sha raised an eyebrow. He suddenly realized that this Young Master Ji Chang hadn't used his full strength just now; he was still holding back!
First, feign weakness to avoid intimidating the opponent, then increase the difficulty to defeat them in one fell swoop!
Hei Sha immediately understood Ji Chang's thoughts. Indeed, once he stood on the formation, it was like an arrow on a bowstring, ready to be released. Even if Ji Chang increased the difficulty, he had to continue!
A simple tactic of feigning weakness to force oneself into a corner!
Although the trick is simple, don't forget that Ji Chang is only a thirteen or fourteen-year-old child, yet he has such thoughts!
These young masters from prominent Lineage are not to be trifled with!
Hei Sha took a deep breath, a hint of fighting spirit flashing across his gaunt face.
Ji Chang had spared no effort, but he was also extremely confident in his own Movement Technique.
Alright, let's settle this within this formation!
"Level 11 difficulty, unlocked!" Young Master Ji Chang waved his hand casually.
Beside the array control panel stood a young master from the Jingzhou Young Masters Faction, who said with a grin, "Young Master Ji Chang, if the difficulty isn't enough, just say so, and I'll increase it for you."
As he spoke, the young master pressed the eleventh crystal!
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Eleven Cold Iron Blood Pearl whistled and flew up. The eleventh level difficulty not only had one more Cold Iron Blood Pearl than the tenth level difficulty, but it was also faster.
The extreme speed caused the Cold Iron Blood Pearl to emit a sharp whistling sound.
Ji Chang and Hei Sha moved at the same time!
The two of them moved incredibly fast, leaving afterimages in their wake, making it impossible to tell what was real and what was not!
Yi Yun watched Ji Chang and Hei Sha from the side. Every move they made was clearly seen by Yi Yun, as if their speed had slowed down in Yi Yun's eyes.
"Those who can be rated as elites of the Brocade Dragon Guard are indeed all extraordinary." Hu Ya said beside Yi Yun, having spoken very little on the journey.
Yi Yun nodded, "That's right, Hei Sha is very fast, even slightly faster than Ji Chang. This must be a talent."
"Unfortunately, Hei Sha has too many unnecessary movements. His effective evasion is probably less than 40%, while Ji Chang's effective evasion is 60-70%. This huge difference cannot be made up for by simply being a little faster."
Yi Yun was speaking, Ji Chang suddenly shouted, "Add another level, twelve difficulty!"
Even while dodging at high speed, Young Master Ji Chang was still able to talk, laughing wildly!
"Okay!"
The young master in charge of the array plate smiled maliciously and pressed the twelfth crystal!
Level 12 difficulty!
The whistling sound of the Cold Iron Blood Pearl became even sharper, and with the addition of another Cold Iron Blood Pearl, Ji Chang and Hei Sha were under even greater pressure.
Hei Sha's forehead was already sweating!
Just then, a tall, middle-aged man appeared at the entrance to the training ground. He smiled, watching with great interest the scene unfolding on the Cold Iron Blood Pearl Formation...
Book Recommendation: Mad Martial Emperor, Author: Dou Dou Who Was Punished to Stand, Book ID: 3511168. This is a fantasy novel about a strong person who is reborn and defeats other chosen ones.
...(To be continued.)