Top-tier Unruly Master-Chapter 1586 - 1623: The Third Trial

After two hours had passed, Ding Fan finally slowly opened his eyes and, upon seeing Long Ren beside him, couldn’t help but smile wryly.

"Big brother, how do you feel?"

Seeing Ding Fan awaken, Long Ren asked with deep concern.

"It’s nothing, my strength has merely recovered to the sixth level." Ding Fan said with a slight bitter smile. After checking his body, Ding Fan helplessly realized that his strength had only recovered to the sixth level, which was somewhat unsatisfactory.

"As long as you’re okay, brother, your strength will recover slowly. It’s already impressive that you’ve regained your sixth-level strength after spending a day and night in the Lake of Purity!" Long Ren said, somewhat relieved.

Hearing Long Ren’s words, Ding Fan smiled faintly, suddenly reminded of something. The selection contest should still be ongoing, and Ding Fan immediately asked:

"I wonder if the selection contest has ended?"

"Not yet, brother. We’re waiting for you. Can you continue the contest now?" Long Ren asked with some concern.

Long Ren knew that the selection contest had been delayed for a day and a night. If it didn’t continue soon, the sect disciples would have much to say. Long Ren didn’t want to impose his will, especially since exceptions had already been made for his brother in the contest. If Ding Fan was fine, it was indeed time to resume the competition.

"I’m fine now, we can continue the contest." Ding Fan stated directly.

"Alright, brother, we’ll talk after the selection contest." Long Ren said, feeling somewhat happy at Ding Fan’s response.

"Okay!" Ding Fan replied directly.

Ding Fan knew he had comprehended the mystery of the flowerbed array in the Lake of Purity, and Long Ren and the others would be very curious. He certainly needed to share his insights, but now wasn’t the time. The pressing matter was to complete the selection contest since it had been paused for a long time.

At this moment, all the disciples looked at Ding Fan, having lost any previous disdain. Though Ding Fan was not much older than them, they realized the gap between themselves and this elder brother wasn’t minor. Being a Grade Nine Alchemist alone was remarkable.

But Ding Fan wasn’t just skilled in alchemy; he could also stay in the Lake of Purity for almost a day and a night, something no ordinary cultivator could achieve. The way people looked at Ding Fan was now filled with respect and intrigue, and they were all very curious about the opportunity in the Lake of Purity...

Very soon, the selection contest resumed. The disciples lined up behind Ding Fan continued to walk toward the flowerbed in the Lake of Purity, but the best among them could only reach the tenth stone step. None could compare with Ding Fan, not even Lu Ferng or Leng Jian.

The cultivators who followed Ding Fan were now more shocked by him. Earlier, they found his performance unbelievable, but hadn’t personally felt the power prohibitions of the Lake of Purity and thus couldn’t grasp how difficult it was to achieve what Ding Fan did. Having walked through the lake themselves, they now fully understood the immense power within, realizing it is impossible for an ordinary human to do what Ding Fan did!

Very soon, the second trial of the selection contest concluded. Ding Fan unsurprisingly won first place, Lu Ferng took second place, and Leng Jian secured third place. The fourth and fifth places were occupied by two strong male cultivators, while two well-built female cultivators with substantial cultivation took sixth and seventh places.

Next came the third trial of the competition, which tested the cultivators’ True Qi levels and combat abilities. Since survival in the Xuantian Secret Realm relied primarily on combat ability, it was a dangerous place where a cultivator of insufficient strength wouldn’t last long without dying.

The sect naturally wouldn’t waste such a precious spot on a weak cultivator, as it would be squandering a valuable opportunity.

Soon, a middle-aged man stood in front of the disciples, wearing a strange smile, and said:

"The format of the third trial is simple. The more moves you can withstand from me, the higher your score. Defeating me would be ideal, but I doubt any of you can achieve that, haha..."

The disciples were indignant at the middle-aged man’s words, but also a bit helpless. From their observation, the middle-aged man had at least reached the mid-Spirit Division stage, making it impossible for them, mere Emergence Stage cultivators, to defeat him.

Fortunately, the rules of this contest did not require defeating the examiner, but just withstanding more of his moves to score higher, which made things somewhat easier.

Ding Fan stood there with a calm demeanor, showing little interest in the middle-aged man. Although he was not yet at the Spirit Division stage, with his swordsmanship, defeating the examiner was not out of the question. Ding Fan’s swordsmanship had always been his trump card, not often used for ordinary matters. After his intense cultivation, he had yet to formally test the progress of his sword skills, making this contest a good opportunity.

Quickly, one young cultivator after another was defeated in front of the middle-aged man. The highest score so far came from a young cultivator who managed to withstand several moves before being defeated.

The faces of the disciples turned grim. Many had not scored well in the first two trials, so they pinned their hopes on this challenge. However, they were shocked by the high cultivation level of the middle-aged examiner, who had given no one more than seven points so far.

Worse, the examiner’s performance was inconsistent. He seemed to raise his game against stronger disciples, applying more force than before, making it hard to score high.

The mood among the disciples turned despondent. But soon, they grew excited, even started cheering, as the next contestant was the disciple they had the highest hopes for, the most outstanding disciple of the Thirty-Six Caves, Lu Ferng.

"Let’s hope Brother Lu Ferng can turn the tide, showcase the strength of the next generation of the Thirty-Six Caves, and earn us some respect back!"

"Brother Lu Ferng is sure to succeed, especially since he is just a step away from reaching the Spirit Division stage!"

"Go, Brother Lu Ferng!"

"Go, Senior Brother Lu Ferng!"

"..."

For a moment, all the disciples were cheering for Senior Brother Lu Ferng. Many disciples had previously been quickly defeated by the middle-aged man, so to the disciples, this was more than just a competition; it was a matter of dignity. Having so many disciples crushed by the middle-aged man made every disciple in the Thirty-Six Caves feel very uneasy and, at the same time, quite ashamed.

At this moment, everyone’s hopes were pinned on Cultivator Lu Ferng. Seeing Lu Ferng step onto the stage, they were both excited and nervous. If Senior Brother Lu Ferng were also crushed by the opponent, it would be a severe blow to them. After all, these cultivators were the best disciples of each Sect.

This kind of devastating situation was not something they often encountered.

Soon, Lu Ferng stepped onto the martial arts venue, facing the middle-aged man, he bowed and clasped his fists, saying respectfully:

"Please, Elder."

"Heh, please!"

The middle-aged man let out an amused sniff and responded. He was curious about the so-called number one of the Thirty-Six Caves juniors and was eager to see what skills he possessed.

Swish, swish, swish...

Before the middle-aged man’s thoughts could finish, Lu Ferng had already charged at him like an arrow leaving the string. The blade in his hand gleamed as he approached the middle-aged man, lifting his blade to strike, a cold light flashed.

Clang!

Just as Lu Ferng’s blade was about to hit, the middle-aged man swept his arm abruptly, with a longsword closely aligned with his arm, precisely blocking Lu Ferng’s attack. A sly smile appeared on the middle-aged man’s face as he couldn’t help but say:

"You do have some skill, catching me off guard with great burst strength, you’ve scored three points already."

"Thank you!"

Lu Ferng’s expression didn’t change as he coldly expressed his gratitude. Then, holding the blade, he spun around. As he rotated, the gleaming long blade spun with him, slashing towards the middle-aged man’s middle. The cold blade was swift, like a tornado, but the edges of this tornado weren’t just fierce winds but were extremely sharp blades, ready to inflict a large wound if they caught anyone.

Clang, clang, clang...

The middle-aged man watched Lu Ferng’s blade technique with a bit of admiration but didn’t dodge. Instead, holding the longsword, he charged head-on into the countless, almost indistinguishable blades. The sound of intense metallic clashes continually echoed...

"..."

"Wow, Senior Brother Lu Ferng is indeed formidable! He already gained the initiative; the examiner can only defend!"

"Yes, Senior Brother Lu Ferng’s blade is exceptionally powerful and swift!"

"Moreover, Senior Brother Lu Ferng scored three points instantly, which is the fastest score so far!"

"Maybe Senior Brother Lu Ferng can even defeat the opponent!"

"That’s uncertain, but getting a perfect score of ten seems very possible..."

"That’s for sure, Senior Brother Lu Ferng is really making our Thirty-Six Caves proud!"

"Go, Senior Brother Lu Ferng!"

"Go, Senior Brother Lu Ferng!"

"..."

As the disciples watched Lu Ferng engage in a fierce and evenly matched battle with the middle-aged examiner, they were naturally thrilled, feeling a sense of pride and vindication!

At this moment, among the disciples, Leng Jian observed Lu Ferng and the middle-aged examiner on the martial arts platform, his heart heavy. He realized that Lu Ferng was indeed skilled, managing to hold his ground against the examiner, which was quite remarkable. At least, he thought he might not be able to compete with Lu Ferng.

However, Leng Jian was uncertain if Lu Ferng could defeat the middle-aged examiner. Though Lu Ferng was indeed impressive, much stronger than the previous competitors, defeating the mid-divine stage examiner was not an easy feat.