The Twelve Plank Bridges

"There are twelve boardwalks here. Each person chooses one. Let's go!"

As Gongsun Hong spoke, his figure leaped into the air, like a nimble swallow, and floated ten feet away, landing steadily on the central pier.

He glanced back at the crowd, his gaze lingering briefly on Yi Yun. "It's your turn."

Yi Yun clearly sensed a fighting spirit in Gongsun Hong's eyes.

Yi Yun understood Gongsun Hong's thoughts. He was an extremely proud person and could not accept the fact that he was completely crushed in the first trial. Moreover, Gongsun Hong always believed that he was the strongest among everyone. Gongsun Hong was not convinced that he had lost to Yi Yun, who had taken a shortcut.

He wants to reclaim that first place.

"Let's go too."

The young trial participants leaped onto the pier, some full of confidence, others cautious.

Yi Yun was one of them. When Yi Yun went onto the bridge, he clearly felt that many people's eyes were on him.

Clearly, Yi Yun's performance in the first trial has attracted a lot of attention. Now, although people no longer believe that Yi Yun will be easily eliminated, they also do not believe that Yi Yun will achieve any more amazing results.

Yi Yun didn't care about this hostility; after all, they couldn't possibly attack him in this Empress Secret Realm.

On the pier, a fierce wind rose. Gongsun Hong took the lead and used the Shadow-Stealing Sword Steps. Three afterimages cleared the way in front of Gongsun Hong, and hundreds of Sword Qi flew around him. These Sword Qi cut through the storm, which greatly reduced the pressure on Gongsun Hong. He moved forward with ease and without much effort.

This scene left everyone speechless with astonishment. Even Yi Yun thought that Gongsun Hong's strength was indeed extraordinary.

Moreover, Gongsun Hong is older than Yi Yun. If Yi Yun were to actually fight Gongsun Hong, he would have no idea who would win or lose, nor could he predict the outcome. Yi Yun himself has many hidden trump cards, but Gongsun Hong, as the number one inner disciple of the Lihuo Sect, probably has just as many trump cards.

"Huh!"

Just then, a piercing scream rang out, and the storm exploded violently. A Black Shadow over two meters long burst forth from the storm, lunging towards Gongsun Hong, who was in the lead!

This Black Shadow, with a metallic sheen, resembled a wolf, except for a pair of steel wings on its back, allowing it to move freely through storms.

Metal Savage Beast!?

Gongsun Hong was greatly alarmed, but he was highly skilled and reacted quickly. He shrank back and three Sword Qi roared out!

"Sizzle sizzle sizzle!"

The Metal Savage Beast was sliced apart by the Sword Qi, its limbs severed, and then it was torn to pieces!

"Boom!"

With a loud bang, the mangled remains of the Metal Savage Beast exploded.

Gongsun Hong breathed a sigh of relief. If he hadn't reacted quickly and been ambushed by the Metal Savage Beast, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

Although this Metal Savage Beast is fast, it is clearly weak in defense. As long as you avoid its sneak attacks, killing it is not difficult.

Just as Gongsun Hong was secretly rejoicing, a point of light separated from the remains of the Metal Savage Beast and landed on Gongsun Hong's arm.

Gongsun Hong felt a slight stinging sensation in his arm as the light entered his skin, turning into a fine line, like a tattoo.

"Hmm? This is..."

Gongsun Hong was slightly taken aback. What were these patterns?

All eyes fell on Gongsun Hong's arm. The young man from the Shentu Family pondered for a moment before speaking, "Young Master Hong, this pattern seems to be a small part of Emperor's Mark."

Shen Tu's words gave Gongsun Hong a hint. He compared it with the Emperor's Mark on the other side of his arm and found the same line in the Emperor's Mark.

Gongsun Hong was overjoyed. Did this mean that every time he killed a Metal Savage Beast, a fine line would fall down, and these lines would slowly form an Emperor's Mark?

If things continue like this, as long as enough wild beasts are killed, one will be able to obtain a new Emperor's Mark.

It seems that within this Empress Secret Realm, opportunities to obtain the Emperor's Mark are everywhere.

Thinking of this, Gongsun Hong glanced at Yi Yun. Yi Yun had only obtained thirty-six Emperor's Mark. Gongsun Hong felt that he would catch up with him sooner or later.

"So this pier was also a stroke of luck!"

"I wonder how many wild beasts one would have to kill to obtain an Emperor's Mark. Judging from the size of those tiny lines, it would probably take dozens of wild beasts to condense just one."

The talented individuals present quickly analyzed the situation in their minds. Clearly, the further they went, the more likely they were to encounter wild beasts and obtain more Emperor's Mark. However, the danger also increased accordingly, and they might accidentally fall off the pier.

Killing a wild beast strong enough to condense into an Emperor's Mark is by no means an easy task.

"Martial arts geniuses in the Tianyuan Realm are as numerous as carp crossing a river. If I don't fight, I might just fade into obscurity. I'm going to take a gamble!"

A young man from a prominent Lineage jumped out and chased after Gongsun Hong.

"That's exactly what I was thinking!"

The young man from the Shentu Family chuckled and rushed forward as well.

Behind him, Lin Xiaodie and Lin Fengyue followed, and even Lin Yu was eager to try.

"Yi Yun, are you going to go?"

Lin Xiaodie looked at Yi Yun.

Yi Yun smiled and said, "Let me take a look first."

Just as the Metal Savage Beast lunged at Gongsun Hong, Yi Yun instantly activated his Energy Vision to examine the Metal Savage Beast's internal structure.

It is not a real wild beast, but rather a metal puppet created by Ancient Empress using formations and energy to alter the metal's form.

It contained only a tiny Energy Core, which was nothing compared to the ancient relic inside the giant wild beast.

Moreover, Yi Yun discovered that these metal puppets seemed to have no weaknesses; the only way to kill them was through overwhelming firepower.

In this way, Yi Yun could no longer take shortcuts, so he decided to observe first.

"The Empress Secret Realm must be considered from all aspects; it can't be judged solely by eyesight. Although I possess the Purple Crystal, don't expect to obtain the core inheritance within the Empress Secret Realm just by finding weaknesses..."

Yi Yun pondered to himself that although he had passed the first trial perfectly, the situation he would face afterward was still very serious.

He cannot blindly rush in; he must analyze the situation carefully in order to find a path to the Empress's treasure within the perilous Empress Secret Realm.

Yi Yun thought this, his movements naturally slowed down, but correspondingly, many young talents rushed forward, including Lin Yu.

"Yi Yun, your good luck won't last forever!"

Seeing that Yi Yun had no intention of rushing out, Lin Yu smiled disdainfully and plunged headlong into the vast storm of fragments.

Yi Yun watched Lin Yu's retreating figure expressionlessly. What kind of person was the Ancient Empress? To obtain the rich rewards from the secret realm she created, one had to pay a sufficient price. There was no such thing as a free lunch.

Gongsun Hong was incredibly powerful. He charged ahead, drew his sword, and used the Shadow-Stealing Sword Steps, creating thirty-six Sword Qi clones around his body.

Wherever the clones passed, Sword Qi crisscrossed.

"Bang!"

Another Metal Savage Beast was struck by Gongsun Hong's Sword Qi and torn to pieces!

After the Metal Savage Beast died, it transformed into an energy pattern, which was engraved on Gongsun Hong's arm.

Gongsun Hong took a deep breath, his eyes showing no joy whatsoever. Compared to a complete Emperor's Mark, these Dao patterns combined were far inferior.

If things continue like this, he might have to kill thirty to forty Metal Savage Beast to condense a complete Emperor's Mark. This would consume a lot of his vital energy, and by the time he was exhausted, he probably wouldn't even be able to condense two Emperor's Mark.

That won't do!

Gongsun Hong was considered to be in a better situation. Behind Gongsun Hong, the others were struggling even more. It was already difficult to resist the storm, let alone fight against the Metal Savage Beast in the storm. They were so careful that they fell off the pier.

Vortex--

The storm roared, growing ever more ferocious, and the group had approached its core, where more and more wild beasts were swirling around.

"Roar!"

A beastly roar exploded like a thunderclap from a clear sky, and a pier beside the people trembled violently, as if it were about to completely break.

On this pier, a boy screamed as his body was slammed away by a tremendous force!

"That is!?"

People's pupils contracted as they saw a giant eagle, several dozen feet long, flap its wings and swatt the boy away!

The eagle's wings were as sharp as knives, and the blood on the boy splattered, staining the sky red—a shocking sight.

"Ah--"

The boy screamed, but his body was involuntarily swept into the storm, like a kite with a broken string. His voice was also torn apart by the storm, becoming intermittent.

"Dead?"

People exchanged glances, unsure of what fate awaited the young man, and a chill ran through them.

At this moment, after knocking the boy away, the giant eagle did not attack anyone else; it simply flapped its wings and flew away.

"Horrible..."

People breathed a sigh of relief, still shaken; this level of wild beast was simply beyond their capabilities.

The heart of this storm contains far more than just the metal wolves; there are many different kinds of wild beasts, some large, some small, some strong, and some weak.

Some wild beasts don't attack people unless provoked, but if you accidentally provoke them, you'll end up like that boy.

"When we attack wild beasts in a storm, we not only have to withstand the pressure of the storm, but also distinguish which wild beasts we can't defeat in this chaotic environment. If we can't distinguish them and attack randomly, people will die..."

Many of the young people looked grim; this trial was far too difficult.

It also assesses ability, insight, reaction speed, and endurance.

What's most absurd is that, according to the Empress Secret Realm, this wasn't actually a trial at all, but merely a passage from the first trial to the second.

Is it really that difficult to build a passageway?

Many people, seeing that the Emperor's Mark on their arms was less than one-fifth complete, already had the thought of giving up.

In this Empress Secret Realm, obtaining even a single Emperor's Mark is no easy feat!

Their previous thinking was too naive.

...(To be continued~^~)