Brothers in Misfortune, Hurting Each Other

Having formulated his strategy, Shen Yun acted with thunderous speed, his Divine Sense striking Shangguan Ya's hand fiercely.

Caught off guard by the sudden attack, Shangguan Ya reflexively loosened her grip. The surging waves instantly swept the Illusion Heart Stone away without a trace.

"What happened!?"

Shangguan Ya's expression changed drastically as she hurriedly searched for the Illusion Heart Stone.

That was no different from looking for a needle in the ocean—utterly futile.

Without the Illusion Heart Stone, her situation became exceedingly difficult. Her tall figure swayed unsteadily as sweat streamed down her fair face.

Shen Yun rubbed a diamond-shaped stone between the fingers of his right hand, quietly watching her performance.

So it was an Illusion Heart Stone. Looks like Shen Feng has a problem too.

Shen Feng and Shangguan Ya had behaved in exactly the same way. How could there be such a coincidence in the world?

Since Shen Heng could betray them, having one more Shen Feng was hardly surprising.

Don't alert the snake in the grass yet. Let's see what they're trying to do.

Shen Yun chose to stay put. Right now, the enemy was in the open while he was hidden in the dark. Exposing himself for Shen Feng alone would be a complete loss.

There was a saying he deeply agreed with: if you failed to kill the tiger, it would surely come back to harm you. So when making a move, one had to strike a fatal blow.

As time passed, fewer and fewer people remained in the field.

Sweat covered Shen Qingruo's pretty face, and her body began to sway as though she might collapse. Just as she was about to reach her limit, Shen Yun placed the Illusion Heart Stone in her hand.

"Hold it. Don't let anyone see it."

Hearing his voice transmission, Shen Qingruo's beautiful eyes brightened slightly, and her delicate hand gripped the Illusion Heart Stone tightly.

The Heavy Water River still surged violently, but when it reached her, it became far gentler.

Did I drag Brother Shen Yun down again?

Shen Qingruo took a deep breath, preparing to return the Illusion Heart Stone to Shen Yun.

"Keep it. This thing is useless to me."

With Shen Yun's cultivation, even staying here for a week would not be a problem. Naturally, he had no need for an Illusion Heart Stone.

Seeing how calm and composed Shen Yun was, Shen Qingruo did not persist.

I've already fallen too far behind Brother Shen Yun. Once we reach the Sword Sect, I must work twice as hard and catch up to him.

Her gaze grew more and more resolute. She hoped that one day, she could be of help to Shen Yun.

After another incense stick's worth of time, Su Yu'er and Shangguan Ya were eliminated one after another, and the atmosphere at the scene became subtle.

"Yu'er did well. Get some rest and prepare for the next round."

Su Yu smiled. Although the Su Family disciples had been disappointing, at least his daughter had performed quite well and had not made him lose too much face.

Granny Aramaki's expression was frighteningly ugly, as if she had swallowed a dead rat. She glared at Shangguan Ya in exasperation. "Shangguan Nian is a traitor, and you're useless too. You've utterly disgraced me."

Seeing the Shen Family's Five people completely unscathed, then seeing the First Elder's smug smile, she was so furious her lungs were about to explode.

Shangguan Ya did not defend herself. Instead, she immediately made a military pledge. "Please give me another chance, Granny. If I cannot secure a Sword Sect Quota, I will return to the family carrying thorny branches on my back to beg forgiveness."

Hearing her promise, Granny Aramaki's anger subsided somewhat.

The First Elder looked over and said leisurely, "The Shangguan Family has three people in the top ten. With such excellent results, why are you angry, Fellow Daoist?"

The anger Granny Aramaki had just forced down came surging back up. She was so enraged that one Buddha was born and a second Buddha ascended to heaven, and she dearly wished she could smash his old face with her cane.

She glared viciously at the Shangguan Family disciples, her voice like a night owl's. "Get yourselves together. Whoever lets me down can go back to the clan and accept punishment."

Everyone hurriedly acknowledged her order, not daring to commit an offense against the wind while she was in such a rage.

Granny Aramaki looked toward the field. Shen Qiu, at the very front, looked more and more like an eyesore to her. She roared inwardly, That kid must be crippled. I'd like to see what expression the Shen Family will have then.

Perhaps he had heard her call. Shangguan Mo seemed divinely aided, and the distance between him and Shen Qiu steadily narrowed.

"The Second Layer of the illusion tests courage. Only a determination to press forward without looking back can allow one to cross the Heavy Water River."

Duanmu Tong spoke slowly, surprise in his eyes. He had not expected such performances from the two of them.

At this moment, the river had already submerged their chins. The situation was extremely perilous.

"What does a mere Heavy Water River amount to compared with the humiliation of failure? My Dao Heart will not bend despite a hundred setbacks!"

Shen Qiu charged forward bravely, carrying the resoluteness of one who had cast life and death aside. Even Azure Venerable looked at him in a new light.

I only said that casually. I didn't expect him to actually believe it!

Azure Venerable sighed inwardly. She seemed to have found a way to pull up seedlings to help them grow, and a smile rose at the corner of her lips.

A vicious look appeared on Shangguan Mo's face. Seeing Shen Qiu's outstanding performance, the Killing Intent in his heart overwhelmed his fear, and he lowered his head and gave chase with all his might.

"Today, I'll personally snuff out a genius. No one can stop me!"

One was hypnotizing himself, the other was boiling with Killing Intent. The two somehow forgot their fear at the same time, chasing each other through the Heavy Water River and leaving the spectators dumbstruck.

"They don't actually intend to break through the Second Layer, do they?"

The Second Layer of the illusion had been prepared for Foundation Establishment cultivators. In the past, even Qi Refining Ninth Layer geniuses who refused to believe it had still met their defeat here.

Trial Participants from previous years only competed over time. Fierce men like these two were a sight rarely seen once in several hundred years.

Shen Wude shook his head. "They truly aren't afraid of death. Do they not see the Whirlpool ahead?"

Not long after he spoke, Shen Qiu's expression changed dramatically. A powerful suction force rose from the heavy water, tossing him up and down under its pressure.

At some point, several Whirlpools had suddenly appeared ahead, like the gaping mouths of an abyss, ready to devour all things.

"Aaaahhh! Netherworld Demonic Art, explode for me!"

Shen Qiu let out a hysterical roar. His spiritual energy surged once more, gradually steadying his body.

Just as he was about to breathe a sigh of relief, he discovered that the spiritual energy in his Sea of Qi was draining away at a terrifying speed.

In the end, he failed to stand back up again. A Moment Later, his spiritual energy was exhausted, and his entire body began drifting with the current.

Shangguan Mo was no better off. He had immersed himself completely in his Killing Intent and failed to notice that he had already entered a dangerous area.

This bastard is truly damned. He dragged me into the ditch with him too.

He cursed inwardly, clutching the Illusion Heart Stone tightly as he tried to turn the tide.

But the outcome was cruel. He and Shen Qiu were sucked into the Whirlpools at the same time, like a pair of brothers in misfortune, before being churned together.

The two crashed into each other and began pulling at each other with all their strength. The sight was too miserable to behold.

"Get the hell away from me!"

Shen Qiu swung his palm. Even without spiritual energy reinforcing it, his body, tempered by the demonic art, was not to be underestimated.

The slap sent stars bursting before Shangguan Mo's eyes and blood streaming down his face. Worse still, he gulped down a great deal of heavy water, which wreaked havoc inside his body.

Crack!

The Sea of Qi he had just repaired split open again, leaving him so enraged his eyes nearly burst from their sockets.

"Kid, you're arrogant enough. Don't think you'll get off easy either!"

Shangguan Mo seemed to return to life in one final flash as he violently drove the Black Bee Needle into Shen Qiu's waist and abdomen.

At such close range, it was virtually impossible to guard against. Shen Qiu was struck instantly.

Sizzle!

The Black Bee Needle entered his blood and instantly melted into poison, beginning to destroy his Physical Body.

Shen Qiu wailed like ghosts and howled like wolves. The waves battered him repeatedly, and he fainted at once.

Shangguan Mo's Sea of Qi had ruptured, and he too lost the strength to resist. He could only drift with the current.

Thus, the two were like disaster victims, bobbing up and down in the Whirlpools, breathing out more than they breathed in.

Seeing their miserable state, Elder Yaoguang shook his head. This was the first time he had seen anyone make such a miserable mess of an Illusion Trial.

"Open!"

With a sweep of his Large Sleeve, his mana transformed into a giant hand and fished the two out of the illusion.

Without those two attention-grabbing figures, the trial became calm and peaceful.

The remaining people unsurprisingly claimed the top four places, while Shen Yun quietly took first place.

As for Shen Qiu and Shangguan Mo, they could only tie for fifth, leaving the onlookers shaking their heads and sighing.

Duanmu Tong was no longer calm and composed. It could not be blamed on him—encountering teammates as foolish as these, it already counted as profound Nurturing Qi Skill that he had not cursed them out on the spot.

I can only tamper with the Second Round!

Duanmu Tong took a deep breath. "The Second Round is the Comprehension Test. Each person will randomly draw a Cultivation Method, and the assessment results will be calculated according to the time it takes to get started..."

After explaining the rules, he took a Lottery Tube from his Cosmic Bag. "Now, the drawing begins..."