End the Trial?
The next morning, as dawn broke.
Dongfang Yueming sat cross-legged and slowly opened his eyes. The breathing exercises he had done all night left him feeling refreshed. However, before he could get up, a commotion and commotion came from outside the door. He could vaguely hear words like "Ash Demon" and "dead".
He felt a chill run down his spine and quickly got up to open the door. A number of people had already gathered in the corridor, and the atmosphere was oppressive and heavy. Zhao Jin and Zhao Yi of the Great Yan Dynasty stood in the crowd, both of them with extremely pale faces, especially Zhao Jin, whose eyes were slightly red and who was tightly holding a palm-sized urn.
"Wang Bufan... is dead." Zhao Jin said in a low, hoarse voice when he saw Dongfang Yueming, his tone filled with disbelief and sorrow.
Dongfang Yueming looked at the small urn, his heart sinking. The boy who was alive and well yesterday, even a little noisy, had turned into a handful of ashes overnight. The ferocity and strangeness of this "Ash Demon" far exceeded his expectations.
Just then, a loud argument broke the silence. Zhao Yi pointed at Li Chong Wang Bufan's teammate from the unknown dynasty, and angrily demanded, "Why wasn't it you who died! You went out with him, why did he have to get into trouble!"
Li Chong, his neck stiff, retorted without backing down, "How can you blame me? It's all Wang Bufan's fault for being useless! I was chasing that man in black, and he couldn't keep up and fell behind! Later, he fought with the man in black, and he couldn't hold out until I got back to help. Who can you blame?"
"You're talking nonsense!" Zhao Yi roared in anger, his aura surging, and he was about to make a move.
Li Chong, undeterred, straightened his back and declared, "It was because he was incompetent! He deserved to die!"
Seeing that a conflict was about to erupt, Wang Xijing, the Marrow Cleansing Realm from the Great Yan Dynasty, spoke in a deep voice, "Enough! What time is it? Stop fighting amongst yourselves!" His gaze swept over the two of them, carrying an unquestionable authority, and he forcefully suppressed the dispute.
Although Zhao Yi was burning with anger, he dared not act rashly in front of Wang Xijing. He could only glare fiercely at Li Chong, suppressing his rage. Wang Xijing, on the other hand, remained expressionless, but a resolute glint flashed in the depths of his eyes. "No matter what, I must enter the Earth Spirit Sect!" Clearly, the death of his companion had not shaken his determination to pursue a higher realm.
Just then, Zhao Qingfeng, the mentor of the Great Yan Dynasty, also arrived after hearing the news. Looking at the somber scene before him, he couldn't help but sigh and wave his hand, "Disperse, everyone. This matter... sigh..." His words were full of helplessness.
The crowd dispersed silently, each lost in their own thoughts. Dongfang Yueming watched all this with a furrowed brow. The appearance of the Ash Demon and the death of Wang Bufan cast a heavy shadow over this so-called "trial."
At the same time, Zhao Qingfeng suppressed his discomfort and quickly found Deacon Zhang of the Earth Spirit Sect to inform him of Wang Bufan's murder.
After listening, Deacon Zhang showed no surprise or sympathy on his face. He simply said indifferently, "Chasing the Ash Demon is inherently risky. The path of Martial Dao is fraught with danger at every turn. If you can't even deal with a mere ' Ash Demon,' it only shows your own incompetence. You have no one to blame but yourself if you die." His tone was cold and indifferent, as if he were recounting a trivial matter.
Hearing Deacon Zhang's cold and ruthless words, Zhao Qingfeng felt a surge of anger rush to his head, and his fists clenched instinctively. But he ultimately suppressed it; this was the Earth Spirit Sect, what could he do?
Deacon Zhang caught a glimpse of Zhao Qingfeng's suppressed expression, a more obvious hint of disdain flashing in his eyes. He snorted coldly and turned to leave.
After Deacon Zhang had walked away, Zhao Qingfeng's tense body slowly relaxed, finally turning into a long sigh filled with helplessness and sorrow. He silently shook his head. Perhaps Deacon Zhang was right; the path of Martial Dao was inherently cruel, but he just couldn't accept it for the time being.
Time slips through your fingers like sand, and three days have passed in the blink of an eye.
Over the next three days, a sense of panic quickly spread through the temporary outposts of the Earth Spirit Sect. Following Wang Bufan, several more students from different dynasties met a brutal end, all dying gruesome deaths and ultimately turning to ashes. The people were filled with dread, and their once high enthusiasm for demon hunting had been replaced by the shadow of death.
Finally, the team leaders could no longer stand idly by. They gathered together, and after a heated discussion, they reached a consensus: they would jointly petition the Earth Spirit Sect to immediately halt the so-called "Demon Hunting Trial" and resume the normal Battle of the Python Gate. The lives of the students could not be sacrificed in vain!
The mentors left with solemn expressions, preparing to submit a petition to the Earth Spirit Sect.
Upon hearing the decision, Wang Xijing of the Great Yan Dynasty frowned deeply, a clear look of displeasure on his face. "Why end it?" he muttered to himself. "Just because a few useless people died, they're giving up this great opportunity? How hateful! Why haven't I even seen a shadow of the Ash Demon these past few days!" He longed for the qualification to directly advance to the final round and didn't care much about the lives of others.
Standing beside him Zhao Jin, pale-faced, whispered cautiously, "Senior Brother Wang... Zhao Yi... he was also murdered last night..." His voice trembled uncontrollably.
Upon hearing the news, a barely perceptible flicker of emotion flashed in Wang Xijing's eyes, but he didn't show much emotion. He simply nodded slightly without expression, then turned and walked away quickly alone, his back conveying a sense of coldness and determination.
Dongfang Yueming observed all of this and turned his gaze to Qin Rushuang beside him. He noticed that Qin Rushuang's expression was unusually calm, even somewhat abnormal, as if she had expected all of this. Her deep eyes seemed to conceal a knowing understanding of everything.
"It seems that Instructor Qin has probably already guessed the truth," Dongfang Yueming thought to herself.
Not far away, Xi Feng made no attempt to hide his complaints. "What bad luck! A perfectly good trial has been turned into a source of panic! Those who died were simply incompetent and deserved to die! Why should this affect us?" He felt no pity for the students who were killed, only anger at the possibility of the trial being canceled.