Chapter 147 - 146: Enemies on a Narrow Road

Chapter 147: Chapter 146: Enemies on a Narrow Road

Watching the messenger disciple’s retreating back, Lin Junshi casually brushed the debris from his hand.

He turned back to Zhao Zongzhen, his face having regained some of its usual composure, but the coldness deep in his eyes had not faded.

"Junior Brother Zhao, let’s wait here a moment. Once that Chen Yue enters Panshi Lane, we’ll just so happen to be passing by. If we go too early and scare the kid off, wouldn’t we be wasting this opportunity?"

Hearing this, Zhao Zongzhen slowly nodded, a faint smile appearing on his face as well.

Having learned that Cheng Fengjun had broken through to the Refining Organ Realm, the last of his worries vanished.

’Even if someone is exceptionally talented and has outstanding combat power for a new Marrow Refining Realm cultivator, what are his chances against Cheng Fengjun, who is also skilled in practical combat and has just broken through to the Refining Organ Realm?’

"Senior Brother Lin, you’ve thought of everything."

Zhao Zongzhen picked up a black Go stone and placed it on the board, commenting casually:

"With Junior Brother Cheng’s current strength, dealing with Chen Yue should be a sure thing. But that Chen Yue is a bit strange, after all. To be safe, we should go and watch. That way, we can also serve as witnesses.

If Junior Brother Cheng’s hand slips and he goes too far, we can be there to mediate and prevent any unnecessary criticism."

Lin Junshi burst into laughter again, a sound filled with delight and cold malice, as if he could already see the scene of Chen Yue being beaten to a bloody pulp in Panshi Lane, defeated and miserable.

"Junior Brother Zhao is absolutely right! Witnesses, of course we must be witnesses! How could we miss such a wonderful spar?"

A cold glint flashed in Lin Junshi’s eyes. "Junior Brother Cheng could fight and defeat those in the Refining Organ Realm even when he was still in the Marrow Refining Realm. Now that he’s broken through, even I would have to be cautious against him and wouldn’t dare claim victory. On what grounds does Chen Yue think he stands a chance?"

Zhao Zongzhen nodded slightly, not refuting him.

In its several-hundred-year history, the Panshi Sect had never lacked for astonishing geniuses capable of defeating those at higher cultivation levels.

The combat power Chen Yue displayed in the Bone Forging Realm proved he might be one of them. But Cheng Fengjun was the same type of person, and with a deeper foundation, he had broken through even earlier.

In Zhao Zongzhen’s eyes, Chen Yue’s downfall was practically a foregone conclusion.

The two spoke no more, and the only sound in the courtyard was the occasional crisp click of a Go stone on the board.

...

Outside Panshi Lane, the crowd’s gazes gradually withdrew from the deep, dark entrance as the first two disciples entered, refocusing on the front of the line.

The On-Duty Disciple glanced expressionlessly at the roster in his hand, then looked up at the quietly waiting Chen Yue. His voice was flat and devoid of emotion. "Next. Step forward."

Chen Yue did as he was told, taking two steps forward to stand before the On-Duty Disciple responsible for registration.

This disciple was about thirty years old with an ordinary face, but his eyes were sharp and his aura was steady. He was clearly also at the Marrow Refining Realm of Cultivation.

He asked in a businesslike tone, "Name, Cultivation, and weapon."

"Chen Yue, initial stage of the Marrow Refining Realm." Chen Yue reported his information, then paused slightly.

’Weapon?’

He was indeed wearing the long saber he had brought from Youlin County, but the Furious Wave Saber Technique was ultimately of a low grade. Facing the complex mechanisms and final Gatekeeper in Panshi Lane, it might not be as direct or fierce as using the Great Vajra Palm with his bare hands.

"Unarmed!"

The On-Duty Disciple recorded the word "unarmed" and, without looking up, continued, "You are already an Inner Sect Disciple. Are you here to challenge the completion record and compete for a top-ten ranking?"

"Yes," Chen Yue replied calmly.

The On-Duty Disciple nodded and pointed in a direction behind him.

"Since you are challenging the record, you must enter through this gate. The intensity and variations of the traps and mechanisms inside are different from the ordinary promotion path. Finally, you must pass a combat assessment with the on-duty Gatekeeper for your score to be recorded. You must temporarily store your weapon here."

He pointed to a nearby Weapon Rack that had a Restriction on it.

Chen Yue did as instructed, unfastening the long saber from his waist and placing it in the designated spot. The blade made a soft sound as it touched the wooden rack.

"Also, I must inform you that the final Gatekeeper for the record challenge path is assumed by whoever is on duty that day.

The on-duty disciples’ Cultivation, Cultivation Techniques, and combat styles all vary. Nothing is fixed, and it cannot be predicted or changed. It is a tenet of the Sect that luck is also an indispensable part of strength."

Chen Yue nodded, indicating he understood.

’Within the Sect, they can still talk about one-on-one duels and maintain some semblance of fairness. But the outside world is filled with all kinds of uncertainties.’

’Factoring luck into the assessment, while cruel, is also realistic.’

Without another word, Chen Yue turned and walked toward the deep, dark entrance.

Behind him, the On-Duty Disciple watched Chen Yue’s back, the corner of his mouth twitching upward almost imperceptibly, as if he could already envision Chen Yue being carried out unconscious.

...

The moment he stepped through the entrance, the light and noise of the outside world were instantly cut off.

Sparse Fluorite stones embedded in the stone walls on either side barely illuminated the rough, uneven stone path below.

The air was cold and damp, filled with the dull scent of earth mixed with rusted metal.

It was silent, save for the faint echo of his own soft footsteps and long breaths in the corridor.

Chen Yue didn’t rush forward immediately. He stood at the entrance, his eyes slightly closed, as the Vast Heart Rock Skill circulated naturally. The Power of Heart and Spirit in his Sea of Consciousness slowly spread outward, sensing the slightest disturbances in the airflow.

’Hidden compartment in the stone wall three steps to the left... The third stone slab on the ground ahead has uneven weight distribution, there’s a hollow space beneath it... Something is hanging from the stone ceiling to the upper right, swaying slightly with the air current...’

In just three breaths, Chen Yue had already formed a preliminary three-dimensional perception of the environment within a hundred-foot radius of the entrance.

He snapped his eyes open, a sharp glint flashing within them. Without further hesitation, his figure shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

Three hidden compartments in the left wall sprang open, firing dozens of short crossbow bolts with blunted tips.

The piercing sound of their flight filled the air, blanketing the spot where Chen Yue had just been standing and the few feet around it. But he had already sidestepped, and the bolts grazed the corner of his clothes before embedding themselves in the opposite wall with a series of dull thuds.

Chen Yue didn’t stop. Just as he was about to step on the third stone slab ahead, his figure suddenly became elusive. With a light tap of his left foot on the edge of the slab, he used the momentum to glide forward several yards.

Almost at the exact moment his toes left it, the stone slab flipped downward with a CLICK, revealing a pitch-black pitfall beneath!

WHOOSH!

A vicious wind pressed down from above as a massive battering ram came whistling down from the upper right with the force of a thunderbolt, sealing off his path forward. The timing was perfect, striking at the precise moment a challenger would have just avoided the pitfall, their old momentum spent and new momentum yet to be generated.

However, the instant the ram appeared, Chen Yue’s forward momentum didn’t decrease but instead increased. At the same time, his body suddenly tilted to the left, almost parallel to the ground, as he executed an exquisite technique from the Soaring Void Thousand Layer Step: Soaring Void Overlapping Shadows.

BOOM!

The battering ram slammed heavily onto the ground behind him, sending shattered stones flying and dust billowing. But Chen Yue was already far ahead.

On the path that followed, all sorts of traps and mechanisms appeared one after another, each interlinked with the last, multiplying the danger.

’Getting hit by these mechanisms wouldn’t be fatal, but the injuries would be anything but light.’

’The difficulty of the ordinary promotion path couldn’t possibly be this exaggerated. Only this record-challenge mode would take such ingenuity to its absolute limit.’

After about ten minutes, the narrow corridor suddenly opened up into a stone chamber roughly one hundred feet square.

At the far end of the chamber stood a humanoid metal puppet about nine feet tall.

The puppet was antique in design. It stood silently and motionlessly, yet it exuded a heavy and solid aura.

In the center of its chest was a palm-sized circular area that was slightly concave.

’A Puppet Spirit Soldier... The final test of the mechanism section.’ Chen Yue stopped.

According to the rules, he only needed to strike the circular mark on the Puppet Spirit Soldier’s chest to temporarily paralyze it and pass the test.

His gaze swept over the puppet. Just as he was about to step forward, he suddenly sensed something and looked up toward a thick, heavy stone door on the other side of the chamber.

From behind the stone door, a faint, scorching, and ferocious aura could be felt, firmly locked onto the chamber he was in.

’The Gatekeeper?’

Chen Yue’s eyes narrowed. He could feel that the aura behind the stone door was by no means from the Marrow Refining Realm.

’The Refining Organ Realm?’ A guess arose in Chen Yue’s mind.

He recalled the On-Duty Disciple saying that luck was also a part of strength. ’It seems my luck today isn’t very good.’

Chen Yue did not retreat. He took a step forward, his body moving like a bolt of lightning as he charged straight at the motionless Puppet Spirit Soldier. Qi Blood gathered in his right palm, and before the palm strike even landed, the sharp Qi it generated was already stirring the dust in the stone chamber.

...

「In the deepest part of Panshi Lane.」

This area wasn’t an enclosed space. The ceiling was open, and one could even faintly hear the voices of disciples from the distant entrance.

Dressed in gray robes, Cheng Fengjun stood quietly in the center of the Guardian Platform.

His hands hung naturally at his sides, but his entire aura was like an unsheathed sword, filling the entire Guardian Platform with a sharpness that felt as if it could tear through anything.

’He’s not slow, getting to the puppet stage so quickly.’

Sensing the fluctuations from the clash of Qi Force in the chamber ahead, Cheng Fengjun’s eyes flickered, but his expression remained cold.

A dozen or so breaths passed. The fluctuations of Qi Force from the chamber ahead disappeared, and then the stone door began to rise slowly.

Chen Yue stepped over the threshold of the slowly rising stone door. The space before him opened up into an area roughly two hundred feet square and thirty feet high, its four walls made of rough, hard mountain rock.

The moment he stepped inside, his gaze locked onto the figure standing in the very center.

Cheng Fengjun!

Chen Yue’s eyes narrowed slightly. ’Refining Organ Realm, just as I thought. But I didn’t expect it to be Cheng Fengjun.’

"Chen Yue!"

Cheng Fengjun spoke, his voice not loud, but possessing a metallic, grating quality that echoed clearly around them.

"If you surrender now, you can still avoid some physical suffering. I’ve never been particularly interested in beating you!"

His tone was flat, yet it carried a condescending scrutiny and undisguised contempt.

Chen Yue didn’t reply, but a slight smile touched the corners of his lips.

Seeing Chen Yue’s expression, Cheng Fengjun’s eyes narrowed, and then a smile appeared on his face as well.

HUMMM!

Faint blue curtains of water began to weave together on the surrounding rock walls, their surfaces shimmering and rippling gently.

...

「Outside Panshi Lane, in the open space before the gatehouse.」

The crowd murmured amongst themselves, their gazes occasionally darting toward the deep, dark entrance. They speculated on how many stages Chen Yue, who had just entered to challenge the record, would be able to pass, and which senior brother he would face as the Gatekeeper.

"Look! The water screen is lit up!"

Someone exclaimed, pointing to one side of the gatehouse at a massive stone wall that was normally dark and dull.

The stone wall had suddenly started to ripple with a faint blue light. Immediately after, a crystal-clear, moving image appeared on its surface, like a reflection in water.

In the center of the image were the two figures standing opposite each other on the Guardian Platform.