First!

Shi Qingfeng began his charge through the final fifty meters.

Boom! Boom!

He was certainly no braggart; his strength was formidable. The bronze men had now reached the Eighth Layer of Body Refining, yet none could withstand even one of his blows. They were smashed to pieces just as before.

Without pausing, he charged into the sixty-meter mark and claimed the first point.

"Not even a challenge! Not even a challenge!" Shi Qingfeng roared with laughter, never slowing his stride.

The Ninth Layer of Body Refining bronze men appeared!

"Back off!" Shi Qingfeng's eyes blazed red with fighting spirit. Even the Ninth Layer of Body Refining bronze men could barely resist him; he sent them reeling in every direction.

He advanced another ten meters, entering the Tenth Layer of Body Refining formation.

The jump from the Ninth to the Tenth Layer of Body Refining was a qualitative leap. The Blood Refining Realm bronze men were at least twice as strong!

"Hahaha! They're just dead things, not truly in the Blood Refining Realm. What can they do to me?" Shi Qingfeng laughed wildly, clenched his fists, and plunged into battle with the bronze men.

His talent was truly terrifying. With the peak strength of the Ninth Layer of Body Refining, he could actually stand up to the Blood Refining Realm bronze men! They had no intelligence and were controlled by mechanisms, but what he was doing was still breathtaking.

Even Zhou Heng and Shen Xinqi, who disliked Shi Qingfeng's character, had to admire his strength.

Shi Qingfeng fell at the eighty-third meter!

In other words, he had cleared the Tenth Layer of Body Refining formation and made it three meters into the Eleventh Layer formation. It was only three meters, but enough to inspire awe.

"Passed!" Zhu Xun gave a satisfied smile. That was a very good result; among the Outer Sect disciples, it was probably just enough to rank in the top ten!

"Next!" He pointed to Chang Kang.

Chang Kang looked somewhat wary. The first seventy meters posed no difficulty for him, of course, but could he press forward as fearlessly as Shi Qingfeng against the Tenth Layer of Body Refining bronze men?

"Begin!"

Chang Kang sprang forward and drifted lightly into the corridor. His footwork was exceptionally nimble. The Seventh Layer of Body Refining bronze men were too slow with their punches to brush even the edge of his clothes.

Fifty meters, sixty meters, seventy meters!

Chang Kang's pace suddenly slowed. The Tenth Layer of Body Refining bronze men stood ahead, a formidable test for him! Footwork was his specialty, but in such a narrow space, there was no room to dodge!

"Chang Kang, are you scared?" Shi Qingfeng hadn't been seriously hurt. After a brief recovery, he had regained most of his strength and immediately sneered at Chang Kang.

Chang Kang couldn't bear to lose to Shi Qingfeng, so he immediately charged ahead.

Thud! Thud-thud! Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!

Faced with the terrifying strength and speed of the Tenth Layer of Body Refining bronze men, Chang Kang, whose strength lay in his footwork, was badly battered. He advanced only five meters before the bronze men pummeled him and sent him crashing to the ground, blood spraying.

Zhu Xun stopped the mechanism and said, "Not bad. You passed!"

With his keen eye, he could naturally tell where Chang Kang had fallen short.

Next came Zhang Zijun, followed by Shen Xinqi. Everyone was puzzled by the order. Why had Zhou Heng been left until last? What was so special about him that he had been saved for the grand finale?

But Zhang Zijun and Shen Xinqi's performances surprised everyone again!

Zhang Zijun: eighty-seven meters!

Shen Xinqi: ninety-two meters!

Both of them had beaten Shi Qingfeng's result. Shen Xinqi, in particular, had actually cleared the Eleventh Layer of Body Refining formation. It was astonishing!

Zhou Heng noticed that when the bronze men struck Shen Xinqi and Zhang Zijun, a faint white light flickered across their bodies. It was so subtle that, had his senses not been exceptionally keen, he would never have caught the fleeting flash.

That white light had absorbed most of the force, allowing them to make it farther!

It must have been some kind of protective gear. Quite miraculous!

Zhou Heng knew nothing about Zhang Zijun, but Shen Xinqi clearly came from a powerful background to possess such gear. By the same token, Zhang Zijun's background probably wasn't ordinary either.

"The last one!" Zhu Xun gestured to Zhou Heng, curiosity in his eyes. He truly wanted to know why Yu Dongcheng thought so highly of Zhou Heng.

Zhu Xun wasn't the only one who was curious. The other youths were just as baffled. What kind of strength did Zhou Heng have? Shi Qingfeng wore a sneer. This was a test of raw strength. The Seventh Layer of Body Refining was the Seventh Layer of Body Refining; there was no way he could pull off anything remarkable.

Zhou Heng was just as before, a faint smile on his face as he walked to the entrance of the corridor.

"Begin!"

He stepped forward. Thud, thud! Two bronze men immediately attacked him.

Flying Cloud Steps!

Zhou Heng turned lightly, moving with effortless grace, and slipped past them.

Thud-thud-thud-thud! The bronze men embedded in the walls attacked one after another, but nothing could impede Zhou Heng's stride. He soon passed the fifty-meter mark.

"Hmph. He's just relying on strange footwork, but that's as far as he'll get. We've already seen how that goes!" Shi Qingfeng sneered, shooting Chang Kang a mocking look.

"Shi Qingfeng, what did you say?" Chang Kang immediately jumped to his feet. He might have suffered in the bronze man formation, but in a real fight, he wasn't afraid of Shi Qingfeng at all.

"Enough arguing. Let's see what that guy can really do!" Zhang Zijun said, his hands clasped behind his back. He sounded just as unconvinced.

With everyone watching, Zhou Heng began the stretch beyond fifty meters. This was the real test!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The bronze men attacked again and again, but Flying Cloud Steps were so profound that he could maneuver freely even in such a cramped space, as if strolling through a courtyard.

Sixty meters, seventy meters!

He charged straight through the Eighth and Ninth Layer of Body Refining formations without stopping!

"How is that possible?"

"Not a single punch or palm strike—he's relying entirely on nimble footwork. This is absurd!"

"Unbelievable! The bronze men's moves may be fixed, but so many of them attacking together leave almost no blind spots! Does that mean even a true Ninth Layer of Body Refining martial artist couldn't hurt him?"

"Hmph. That's only the Ninth Layer of Body Refining. The real test comes next!" Shi Qingfeng folded his arms across his chest. He tried to sound nonchalant, but jealousy showed on his face. Zhou Heng's performance had far exceeded his expectations.

"Impressive!" Shen Xinqi and the others nodded at the same time. They couldn't accept that a "weakling" at the Seventh Layer of Body Refining could stand shoulder to shoulder with them—or even surpass them.

At that moment, Zhou Heng continued forward without hesitation.

The bronze men's strength and speed surged.

Zhou Heng's mind was clear. Every movement of every bronze man lay within his grasp. As he unleashed Flying Cloud Steps, he moved like a slender serpent, not even a leaf clinging to him as he passed.

They struck empty air! Again and again, they struck empty air!

Every bronze man missed. The mechanisms made them punch again, wasting their efforts to no avail.

Seventy-six meters!

Chang Kang's face darkened. Zhou Heng was relying on footwork too, and he was only at the Seventh Layer of Body Refining, yet he had already surpassed Chang Kang's limit! Zhou Heng was beating him in the very field where he excelled. That slap in the face had landed hard!

Eighty meters!

Zhou Heng could no longer stop. He stepped into the Eleventh Layer of Body Refining formation!

He struggled a little here. The bronze men attacked faster, forcing him to spend more effort tracking their movements. Flying Cloud Steps were certainly miraculous, but even they couldn't cover every angle against a storm of wild punches!

Eighty-one meters, eighty-two, eighty-three, eighty-four!

He had surpassed Shi Qingfeng!

Like Chang Kang, Shi Qingfeng's expression turned ugly.

"How can his footwork be so profound?"

"Looks like he might even clear the entire Eleventh Layer of Body Refining formation!"

"Good heavens, is he really only at the Seventh Layer of Body Refining?"

Gasps and exclamations rose all around. By now, no one questioned why Zhou Heng had been saved for last. Who had ever seen such a freak at the Seventh Layer of Body Refining?

"Hmph, he's only relying on his marvelous footwork. That doesn't mean his actual strength can stand up to someone in the Blood Refining Realm!" Shi Qingfeng stubbornly clung to his argument, conveniently ignoring that even if he had made it to eighty-three meters, that hardly proved he could truly stand against the Tenth or Eleventh Layer of Body Refining.

Shen Xinqi and Zhang Zijun said nothing. Zhou Heng was closing in on their results, making their hearts tighten.

For geniuses, being surpassed was absolutely unbearable.

Ninety meters!

Zhou Heng's face showed utter exhaustion. His True Essence Power consumption was negligible, but overusing his mind was just as taxing, leaving him so weary he wanted to drop and sleep.

Not yet!

He suddenly let out a long shout. Flying Cloud Steps unfolded once more as his spiritual sense spread out, tracking every movement of the bronze men and calculating a path through them.

Whoosh!

Like a fish slipping through water, he bent and twisted his body beyond its limits. He danced on the edge of a blade, every step exquisite, dodging attack after attack by the narrowest margin as he pressed on.

Ninety-two meters! Ninety-five meters!

He had surpassed everyone!

Zhou Heng didn't stop. In terms of points, ninety meters and ninety-nine meters counted the same—both earned four points. His goal was five!

Everyone held their breath. The thought of someone at the Seventh Layer of Body Refining clearing the Twelfth Layer of Body Refining formation was simply too thrilling!

"Impossible! Impossible!" Shi Qingfeng gritted his teeth. He was the one who least wanted Zhou Heng to steal the spotlight. His lower abdomen throbbed faintly!

Ninety-eight meters! Ninety-nine meters! One hundred meters!

Zhou Heng successfully cleared the entire Bronze Man Formation!

Even Zhu Xun hadn't expected such a result. He stood stunned for a good while before finally saying, "Passed!"

Seven people had now earned bonus points: Zhou Heng came first with five points; Shen Xinqi came second with four; Zhang Zijun and Shi Qingfeng tied for third with three; Chang Kang came fifth with two; and the remaining two youths at the Eighth Layer of Body Refining each earned one point.

Another twenty-three had been eliminated and could only leave in disappointment.

"Follow me. There's only one final test left!" Zhu Xun swept his gaze over the group and strode forward.

The twenty or so youths hurried after him. Apart from Shen Xinqi and a few others, everyone looked extremely tense. Each test had eliminated half the candidates, and that was more than enough to make anyone anxious.