Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Not only was the second tier losing members, but the third tier was also losing members.
Once again, Ling Han was the only person left.
Everyone found this quite amusing. Was this person an omen of bad luck? Were the tiers that he joined all going to crumble?
No, no, no. It was because he was too powerful, while the others were unable to hang on.
The 100 or so prodigies rapidly decreased to less than 50 people, all struggling ahead.
The four prodigies in the first tier retrieved their weapons at almost exactly the same time. It was clear that they didn’t dare to be careless and fight the stone statues with their bare hands. Otherwise, it was possible that they would be kicked out of the formation. It would be extremely embarra.s.sing if that occurred.
They were hailed as prodigies, yet at the same time, they couldn’t accept any failures. Otherwise, the halo around their heads would disappear.
‘It hurts!’ Ling Han exclaimed in his mind.
In the beginning, he could only just feel the strikes. Afterward, he could feel a little bit of pain. Right now, however, he felt true pain. Being struck by the fists of the stone statues was like a child being heavily smacked in the bottom by an adult—it hurt that much.
Thankfully, hurting and actually being injured were two completely different matters. He was still fearless right now.
However, this was only the fourth stage. When Ling Han reached the fifth stage, it was extremely likely that he would feel genuine pressure. At that time, the attacks of the stone statues would truly be a threat to him. They would be able to injure him, at the very least.
‘This is incredible. The power of the stone statues is only at the early stage of the consummate level of the Mountain River Tier. It’s probably the might of the Regulations.’
However, the power of regulations unleashed by these stone statues had already exceeded the level of the Mountain River Tier. It was because of this that they possessed such a lethal might.
The 50 or so people slowed down once again, with only Ling Han’s speed remaining unchanged. His advance was especially steady, and the third tier that had him as its sole member started to catch up to the second tier. After a short while, he became a member of the second tier.
At this moment, there were only two tiers left.
Fifth stage!
Just as everyone expected, a fourth divine pattern appeared on the fists of the stone statue. Blood sprayed through the air, and a dozen or so people were immediately knocked out from the second tier.
Fortunately, the people who were able to make it to this stage were all prodigies among prodigies. They all had techniques to protect their lives, and thus not a single one of them died, even though they suffered extremely severe wounds.
Meanwhile, Ling Han finally felt pressure. When he was struck by the stone statues’ fists, even his physique was unable to remain unscathed. Instead, blood started to seep from his skin.
It hurt like h.e.l.l!
Ling Han stopped fighting against them head on. Instead, he increased the power of his attacks as he used his movement techniques and unleashed his Annihilating Dragon Star Arrow to obliterate the stone statues in the distance. As for the stone statues closer to him, he cut them down using his Fast Technique.
Only the offensive power of these stone statues had increased, after all, and their defenses hadn’t changed a single bit.
After increasing the power of his attacks, he finally raised his speed for the first time.
He overtook the second tier and started to close in on the first tier.
The spear-wielding man and the others had naturally left the stone statue formation already, and they couldn’t help but grimace as they watched Ling Han’s progress. It was as if they had seen a ghost.
‘This person is far too freakis.h.!.+’
Even Xia Wuque paled in comparison. There was truly no shortage of prodigies in the world. There was always a higher mountain behind a peak.
Xia Wuque and the three others all glanced back when they sensed a fifth person coming up from behind them. When they saw who it was, their eyes almost popped out of their heads.
After reaching their level, they were genuinely supercilious. This wasn’t because they were arrogant, but because they were confident in their invincibility. So what if they were up against hundreds or thousands of people? They believed they were invincible, and they could crush anyone who stood in their way!
Thus, they had treated only the three other people in the first tier as their opponents. They had never paid attention to anyone in the second tier or lower.
Were they worthy?
Right now, however, someone had advanced from the second tier, and was gradually catching up to them.
This wasn’t the most important part. The most important part was that this person was actually only at the high extreme of the Mountain River Tier!
How could they stand being caught up to?!
Xia Wuque was the most affected by this, and his face almost became green. He hadn’t taken Ling Han to heart before, yet Ling Han was actually reeling him in now. Wasn’t Ling Han slapping him across the face?
As prodigious as he was, it had only ever been him who had slapped others across the face. Since when had he been slapped in the face by others?
He gritted his teeth and forcefully raised his speed.
This significantly increased the burden on him.
If this were the tenth stage, he would be able to give one last push and charge toward the finish line. However, this was only the fifth stage, so he would definitely run out of energy by making a push here. It was hard to say whether he would be able to make it to the end of the stone statue formation.
However, he couldn’t tolerate letting Ling Han catch up to him, especially since Shui Yanyu was watching from the sides. His dignity and pride wouldn’t allow it.
His battle prowess was truly powerful, and golden light exuded from his body. His arms turned faint golden in color, and it was as if they were forged from G.o.dly metal. He was unscathed even though he faced the attacks of the stone statues head on.
He naturally couldn’t maintain this state for a long time, and thus he unleashed his full speed as he charged forward. He had to make the most of his “invincibility” state to increase the distance between him and Ling Han. That way, even when he came out of this state later, he would still have enough time to recover.
‘Dumb c*nt!’ Ling Han said in his mind. Xia Wuque was treating him as a powerful rival, yet he didn’t take him to heart at all.
How could he view someone as his rival if they didn’t form five Mountains and Rivers and didn’t become a 10-star genius?
Although Ling Han hadn’t taken that step yet, he was fully confident that it was only a matter of time.
He came to a realization that this stone statue formation was most likely prepared for 10-star geniuses. After reaching the consummate level of the Mountain River Tier, one would be able to advance a stage with each extra star of power that they possessed. If one were a 10-star genius, they would be able to reach the 10th stage.
Thus, it was very likely that no one present could pa.s.s this formation—apart from him.
Of course, he wasn’t a 10-star genius yet. In fact, he was still a long way from reaching the consummate level of the Mountain River Tier. However, didn’t he have a powerful physique and a freakish recovery ability?
These gave him the chance to pa.s.s the formation!
What he was more curious about was, would there be a reward for successfully pa.s.sing this stone statue formation?
Sixth stage!
The attacks from the stone statues became increasingly vicious. Power was only a part of battle prowess—this statement held very true here. However, this was only under extremely special circ.u.mstances. This was as cultivators couldn’t wield Regulations as the stone statues could.
If one were at the Mountain River Tier, how would they be able to comprehend the Regulations of the Sun Moon Tier? This wasn’t a matter of time, but rather something decided by one’s cultivation level.
After reaching this stage, there was no need to separate them according to tiers anymore.
That was because there were only the five of them left—Ling Han, Xia Wuque, Shao Sisi, Su Jing, and Du An.
Who would be the first prodigy to be kicked out? Who would persist until the very end? Who would be the super genius able to barge through?
The spectators were all gripped with curiosity. They could clearly leave first, yet none of them was willing to do so. They all waited outside the formation, determined to watch on until the last moment.
The sixth stage put them under extreme pressure!
Even Ling Han was slightly afraid of the stone statues’ attacks. If he were struck by a full-power punch, then even he would bleed! It was already so for him, so the other four prodigies were naturally under even more pressure.
However, the four of them had an advantage in cultivation level, with their power and battle prowess both being far above Ling Han’s. Thus, although their defenses were weaker than Ling Han’s, they were still able to make up for this shortcoming by being more powerful. They gave the stone statues absolutely no chance to strike them.
The five of them were drenched in sweat. They weren’t merely being tested on their strength right now, but also on their willpower.