"Hmph! A paltry trick, and you dare act so recklessly!"
Hao Youcai didn't care in the slightest. Spiritual power surged in his hand as he reached for the Flying Sword.
With his cultivation, facing Lin Chen's attack was like an elephant watching a monkey brandish a spear.
All he had to do was flick his trunk, and it would be over.
And that was exactly what happened. Spiritual energy swirled around his hand, stopping the Flying Sword in an instant.
However, the moment it was caught, the Flying Sword split in two.
He seized one, while the other transformed into a streak of lightning and shot straight at his eye.
Hao Youcai hadn't cultivated an indestructible body, and his eyes were especially vulnerable.
He forgot about the Flying Sword in his hand and desperately jerked his head to the side.
The Flying Sword flashed past, its razor-sharp aura scraping his eye.
Hao Youcai let out a scream. A violent aura suddenly erupted from him, and he flung a hand toward Lin Chen.
Powerful spiritual energy burst forth with crushing pressure, forming a wall of air that slammed straight into him.
But Lin Chen had already retreated.
Enraged, Hao Youcai hadn't held back at all. If Lin Chen hadn't been prepared and fled on a streak of escape light as soon as he landed his blow, that palm strike would have cost him his life.
"You dare hurt me? I'll kill you!"
Hao Youcai had never imagined Lin Chen could injure him. His right eye was now in searing pain, and he had lost his sight in it.
The intense pain sent him into a frenzy, and he attacked everything around him.
Explosions boomed one after another, but not a single scream followed.
It was obvious he hadn't killed Lin Chen. He hadn't even managed to injure him.
He gradually calmed down, circulated his spiritual power to protect his injured eye, and opened his left eye.
Through his blurred vision, he couldn't see Lin Chen anywhere.
Just then, he felt a chill at the back of his head. A deadly, icy intent struck in an instant.
"Shield!"
His spiritual power erupted, transforming into a pitch-black barrier of light that clamped around him.
Almost at the same time, a thunderous impact rang out.
Lin Chen's Flying Sword slammed into the barrier.
Hao Youcai whipped around.
Blood ran from his right eye.
Seeing his ghastly appearance, Lin Chen kept up his sword incantation.
Spiritual energy surged as his Spiritual Sense took control.
Two Flying Swords struck in an unending barrage.
Clang, clang, clang...
Unfortunately, they couldn't break through his defenses.
"Hahaha... You little beast, your meager spiritual power can't break through my defenses!"
Hao Youcai simply sat down, circulating his cultivation technique to heal his wounds while raising a defense to hold Lin Chen off.
He wasn't in a hurry because this escape route he had chosen was protected by a Natural Barrier.
It could block communication and detection.
Even if they tore the place apart in battle, no one outside would know.
That was also why no one had come to help, even though Lin Chen had crushed the Jade Slip quite some time ago.
So as long as Hao Youcai healed his injuries, he could take Lin Chen in hand.
Most importantly, he wanted that Soul Origin Mirror.
For that mirror, he was willing to kill Lin Chen, a candidate taking part in the examination.
Lin Chen had his own plans, too.
He wanted to get more information out of Hao Youcai.
The man clearly knew some of the inside story. He even knew the Little Mirror was called the Soul Origin Mirror.
If Lin Chen could capture him, he could unravel many of the mysteries on his mind.
Most importantly, he could spend his spiritual power freely. He had tens of thousands of Spirit Stones in his pocket—he could wear Hao Youcai down if nothing else.
Both of them had the same idea.
They launched straight into a war of attrition.
Lin Chen remained calm and unruffled. Whenever his spiritual power ran low, he exchanged Spirit Stones for more.
If one wasn't enough, he used two. If two weren't enough, he used three.
In short, he could keep his spiritual power flowing without end, always at its peak.
He didn't worry about how much he spent. His two Flying Swords were as swift as thunder and as fierce as a raging storm.
Gradually, Lin Chen realized that the gap in their cultivation meant his spiritual power compared to Hao Youcai's was like a small stream against a vast reservoir.
Wearing the man down was simply unrealistic.
"Why hasn't Third Senior Brother arrived yet?"
After stopping his frenzied attack, he suddenly thought of the question.
Earlier, Qi Ruming had told him that as soon as he crushed the Jade Slip, Qi Ruming would sense it and arrive shortly.
Now a long time had passed, but there was still no sign of him.
Could it be this place...
He looked up at the sky and focused his Spiritual Sense into a thin thread, sending it far away.
Soon, he discovered a Natural Barrier that looked much like a Barrier.
"So that's it!"
Lin Chen withdrew his Spiritual Sense and Flying Swords, then turned to leave.
If this dragged on, he would be the first to die.
"Isn't it a little late to try to leave now?"
He hadn't gone more than a few steps when a sinister voice came from behind him.
A terrifying aura rose up as well.
It was like an erupting volcano, shaking heaven and earth.
Meanwhile, on the battlefield of the Heavy Mountain Path, Zhao Qingshan led the others in cutting down every last enemy.
The earlier explosion had cost them dearly, too.
Three were dead, and eight were gravely wounded.
The rest had all suffered minor injuries.
They had Zhao Qingshan's protective treasure, the Green Mountain Town Yuan Stone, to thank for that.
It had kept the casualties to a minimum.
"Those desperate bastards blew themselves up when they couldn't win. What kind of people do that?"
"If the sect master's Green Mountain Town Yuan Stone hadn't suppressed the explosion, we'd all have been blown to pieces."
"Yeah, it was almost like those guys knew we were coming and had everything ready in advance."
Some of the elders muttered quietly in the crowd.
"Something's not right. Lin Chen said he'd spotted Hao Youcai, then brought us here.
"As soon as we came in, dozens of people were waiting for us, and then there was a massive explosion at the critical moment. How could all that be a coincidence?"
Fortunately, someone came to report just then.
"Sect Master, we've finished the count. Hao Youcai is missing, and so is Lin Chen."
What?
Zhao Qingshan's expression changed abruptly. He looked at Ming Bufan in the crowd. "I told you to keep an eye on him. Where is he?"
"Master, the explosion just happened, so I rushed in..."
"Enough. There's no point in making excuses." Zhao Qingshan's face darkened.
He glanced at the people who had just been talking. "And you lot, before you suspect someone else, think it through. If you were in their place, would you do something so stupid?"
The elders lowered their heads.
When no one answered, Zhao Qingshan continued, "Now, all of you go look for them. If anything happens to Lin Chen, none of you will get credit!"
"Yes!"
The elders scattered in a hurry to search.
Ming Bufan stayed where he was, a trace of guilt in his eyes.
He truly cared about this Little Junior Brother.
But when it came down to choosing between his master and Lin Chen, Ming Bufan had chosen the former.
At the time, he hadn't even thought it over. He had left Lin Chen behind and rushed in alone.
And now his Little Junior Brother was missing.
The strangest thing was that Hao Youcai had disappeared, too.
"Master, could Little Junior Brother have spotted Hao Youcai and gone after him?" Ming Bufan asked quietly.
Zhao Qingshan stroked his beard and kept his eyes closed. Only after several breaths did he open them.
He said with a puzzled look, "I can't read the workings of fate at all. Everything about Fourth Junior Brother seems to be hidden."
At this, Ming Bufan's eyes suddenly lit up. "Master, I know a place with a Natural Barrier. Anyone who enters is hidden by it, so they can't be detected..."
"Then let's go! Why are you still wasting time talking?" Zhao Qingshan grabbed Ming Bufan and soared into the air.
Lin Chen still had no idea what was happening outside. At that moment, he was riding his escape light and fleeing at full speed.
"You little punk, stop right there!"
"You old bastard, I won't!"
With the Thousand-Mile Escape Shuttle and a never-ending supply of spiritual power, Lin Chen was incredibly fast.
Unfortunately, once he entered this Natural Barrier, he couldn't fly out.
All he could do was wage a hit-and-run battle in the sky, using his Flying Swords to harass Hao Youcai as he fled on his escape light.
"Think I really can't do anything to you? Space, be bound!"
Hao Youcai roared from behind and casually tossed out an object.
It expanded as soon as it caught the wind, instantly covering the sky above Lin Chen.
Like a huge transparent pot, it came down upside down.
By the time Lin Chen tried to fly out, it was already too late.
Before you continue