Zhao Mengli had left, yet she left behind numerous hostile gazes.
Because Chen Xi had just admitted himself that he’d accidentally caused that chaotic battle. In other words, it was caused by him!
Zhao Mengli said that she forgave him because Chen Xi dared to admit it, but Chen Xi was clearly aware that even though she had forgiven him indeed, it had aroused the hostility of everyone else towards him at the same time.
The reason was very simple. Since she intended to forgive him, then why did she have to do it now? Moreover, she asked him this question in front of everyone. Obviously, she did this so that everyone would see and hear it before becoming hostile towards him.
This was called channeling enmity.
She plotted against him in a subtle manner.
So Chen Xi sighed emotionally that Zhao Mengli was a woman that wasn’t willing to suffer the slightest loss.
Of course, Chen Xi wouldn’t take all of this to heart because it was a test. Just as Zhen Lu had said, there was no taboo in being vicious, killing, or anything else. Thus, utilizing any and all methods were perfectly reasonable.
As for them regarding him as an enemy, if worst came to worst and they dared to come look for trouble with him, then he would slap them all back to where they came from. Perhaps Chen Xi felt slight fear towards their origins and background, but now, he was about to become a student of Dao Emperor Academy, so why would he care to avoid all of this?
…
Under Wang Daolu’s lead, everyone quickly arrived before a vast lake.
The lake water was clear, translucent, and its waves glistened. It occupied an extremely vast areas while numerous pitch black stone pillars that were around 300m tall stood towering at the center of the lake. When looked at from afar, it was like a stone forest existed within the lake.
At this moment, there was a 300m wide ancient Dao Platform on the bank of the lake. Atop the Dao Platform were numerous figures seated upright there, and there was around ten of them that consisted of both men and women.
Obviously, they were the great figures of Dao Emperor Academy. All of them wore loose clothes and a girdle, and they possessed calm bearings. They didn’t emanate might that could shake the heavens, and the aura in their bodies was rather flat. However, when one looked over toward them, it caused one to feel as if one had seen numerous immovable and lofty mountains. They were merged with the heavens and the earth, overlapped with the Grand Dao, and it caused others to be unable to refrain from feeling a wisp of reverence.
A slightly white haired and handsome middle aged man in a loose linen robe sat at the seat of the host. His figure was ramrod straight like a pillar that held up the heavens while his shoulders were broad like a mountain that lay across the land. As he sat there casually, he seemed like the magical staff of the Monkey King, and he emanated a great and awe-inspiring aura.
He was the Dao Emperor Academy’s Outer Court Dean, Zhou Zhili!
A senior that had attained a cultivation at the Half-step Immortal King Realm for countless years. According to rumor, he was already a renowned figure in the Immortal Dimension a million years ago during the age when the Fiendgods roamed freely through the world, and he possessed extraordinary ability and stood proudly amongst the top of the three dimensions!
The others near Zhou Zhili were teachers of Dao Emperor Academy, and all their strengths were at the Saint Immortal Realm. If they were in any other continent within the Immortal Dimension, then their cultivation would be sufficient for them to be the master of a continent and possess monstrous authority.
But in Dao Emperor Academy, they were merely teachers. Thus, this obviously showed exactly how deep the resources and reserves of Dao Emperor Academy were.
Swoosh!
When Wang Daolu arrived here with all the disciples, numerous gazes instantly swept over from the Dao Platform, and all these gazes didn’t carry any frightening might, yet it caused the hearts of every single disciple to constrict slightly.
This was a group of Saint Immortals, and the person in the lead was the one that managed the outer court, the Half-step Immortal King, Zhou Zhili. Even if all of them were outstanding geniuses with peerless natural talent, they didn’t dare reveal any arrogance when facing these old seniors.
“All of them are here.” Wang Daolu walked forward and cupped his fists towards Zhou Zhili who sat at the center.
“I appreciate it.” Zhou Zhili nodded, and then he stood up before he raised his eyes to look at the seven hundred disciples that stood solemnly before him. He said, “This lake is called the Heart Reflection Lake, and the pillars at the center of the lake are called Dao Sharpening Stones. The third round of the test will be held here.”
His voice was calm, stern, and not loud, yet every disciple felt that it was like hearing the tune of the Grand Dao that struck directly at their hearts.
Instantly, the gazes they shot at Zhou Zhili became even more reverent.
He was an expert that was renowned even during the primordial era when Fiendgods roamed the world freely, and he was an elusive figure that was usually very difficult to meet.
“The Heart Reflection Lake will test your cultivations in the Dao Heart, whereas the Dao Sharpening Stone will test your potential and natural talent. All of this combined is what is called Martial Dao Will. The content of the test this time is very simple. Sit upright atop the Dao Sharpening Stone, and your results will be greater the longer you persist atop it. In the end, two hundred disciples will be eliminated.” Zhou Zhili’s calm voice drifted through the surroundings. “The Grand Dao is a difficult path that’s not easy to seek. Thus, one should advance courageously through the rapids and compete for supremacy with all, so that you may bring peace to the three dimensions. All of you are top geniuses of the three dimensions, and you’re bound to lead the movement of the entire three dimensions in the future. I hope all of you will treasure the fortune before your eyes.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhou Zhili waved his hand.
Wang Daolu immediately walked forward and instructed. “The test will begin now. Start traversing the Heart Reflection Lake. If anyone is still at the bank of the lake after the time for an incense stick to burn, then they’ll be directly eliminated from the test.”
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
His voice hadn’t finished resounding through the air when numerous figures had flashed out, and they were rushing to the front as if they wanted to be the first to step foot into the lake. Chen Xi was amongst them as well.
Swish!
A fiery red figure surpassed everyone as if it was teleporting, and it directly entered the Heart Reflection Lake and gave rise to an expanse of ripples.
It was the Phoenix Clan’s Zhao Mengli.
The figures that were originally racing against each other to charge into the lake had stopped abruptly when they saw this, and there was actually no one that dared to follow behind her.
On the other hand, many people directly flashed around the lake before heading towards the center.
Swish! Swish!
Numerous figures stepped into the lake from the bank of the lake in all directions, and they approached the Dao Sharpening Stone at the center of the lake.
However, when a total of ten figures had stepped onto the lake, no one continued stepping foot onto it. All of them waited silently at the bank of the lake, and they seemed to intend to wait for those ten people to arrive atop a Dao Sharpening Stone before they made a move.
Amongst those ten people that stepped into the lake were Zhen Lu, Zhao Mengli, Ji Xuanbing, Zhongli Xun, Ao Wuming, Xuanyun Yun, Mu Yuchong, Moqi Yan, Zuoqiu Yin…
Practically all of them were disciples from top powers.
Chen Xi was a step too slow and hadn’t stepped foot onto the lake.
If one looked down from midair, one would notice that the Heart Reflection Lake was perfectly round like a Tai Chi circle, whereas, those ten people were approaching the Dao Sharpening Stones at the center of the lake from ten different directions of the Tai Chi circle.
The distance between each of them was roughly maintained at 3km.
After all, traversing the Heart Reflection Lake seemed to be easy, yet it was actually extremely dangerous. The lake water wasn’t really lake water, and it was condensed into form by a rare treasure called Darksoul Water. Once one stepped foot onto it, it wouldn’t strike the body, but the Dao Heart instead!The calmer the lake water was, the smaller the blow to one’s Dao Heart was, and it was easier to traverse the lake. Conversely, if the lake water surged with tempestuous waves, then it meant the blow would be greater, and it would be extremely easy to be drowned by the lake water and washed away, That meant that one was eliminated from the test.
It was common knowledge that even if a stone fell into a lake, ripples were unavoidable, and it would spread to all other directions. If a group of people were to step foot into the lake, then it would probably cause waves that wouldn’t just affect one’s self, it would also affect the others.
This was a lake created from Darksoul Water, so not to mention waves, even circles of ripples created a terrifying blow to one’s Dao Heart.
It was precisely out of consideration for this that Zhao Mengli and the others entered the lake from different directions before approaching the Dao Sharpening Stone, and they didn’t dare move forward alongside each other so as to avoid being affected by the ripples caused by another.
Of course, the foundation of this test was still one’s cultivation in the Dao Heart. If one’s cultivation in the Dao Heart was sufficiently strong and firm, then one’s figure wouldn’t be washed away no matter how strong the impact one faced was.
“Their advance is really slow. If this continues on, then probably only half the disciples here will be able to step foot into the lake within the time for an incense stick to burn. What should we do?” All the disciples waiting at the bank of the lake frowned with heavy expressions. They noticed that no matter if it was Zhao Mengli, Ji Xuanbing, or Zhen Lu, their footsteps were rather slow as they moved through the lake.
Their bodies shook with every step they took. But comparatively speaking, they walked extremely steadily, and they didn’t show any signs of stopping. This obviously showed that their cultivations in the Dao Heart was rather formidable and sufficient to deal with the impact of the Darksoul Water.
“Even they’re moving so slowly. So it’ll probably be even more difficult for all of us to pass through.” Someone sighed lightly. Even though all of them were familiar with all the minor details of the third round of the test, they hadn’t experienced it themselves after all. It was the first time they were participating in it, so being slightly nervous was unavoidable.
Liang Ren and Gu Yueming were slightly nervous as well. They puckered their lips while staring at Zhao Mengli and the others, and they seemed to intend to seize this opportunity to gain some experience from them.
Only Chen Xi was rather calm.
His cultivation in the Dao Heart had attained the Heart Soul realm since a long time ago, and practically no one amongst his peers could compare to him. After all, the Immeasurable Virtue technique he cultivated was a cultivation technique that cultivated Heart Energy, and this was a unique inheritance of Oracle Mountain!
“There’s no need to be nervous. Didn’t Senior Tie say that our Martial Dao Will is sufficient to smoothly pass through this third round of the test?” Chen Xi consoled Liang Ren and Gu Yueming via voice transmission.
The two of them nodded and didn’t say anything. However, their expressions calmed down greatly. Obviously, they recalled Tie Qiuyu’s serious guarantee from before.
“Prepare yourselves. We’ll make a move in a while. We can’t continue waiting here for too long, otherwise, it’ll become more and more dangerous as time passes.” Chen Xi swiftly spoke via voice transmission once more because he noticed that Zhao Mengli had was already about to ascend up a Dao Sharpening Stone.
Meanwhile, it wasn’t just Chen Xi, the other disciples at the bank of the lake were already distributed around the ten positions in the surroundings of the lake and were waiting silently. So long as someone ascended a Dao Sharpening Stone, then they would definitely set out without the slightest hesitation.
The place Chen Xi stood at was at the direction that Zhao Mengli had chosen earlier, and this direction had the most disciples gathered here as well, a total of over eighty.
In other words, at the moment when Zhao Mengli ascended the Dao Sharpening Stone, there would at least be over eighty disciples that competed with Chen Xi for the opportunity to step foot onto Heart Reflection Lake!
Moreover, amongst these eighty plus people were a great deal of disciples from top powers like the seven great ancient clans, the Buddha Dimension, Dragon Dimension, and Phoenix Clan. Liang Ren and Gu Yueming had left a long time ago when they noticed this, and they’d chosen a different direction.
It couldn’t be helped, they knew they weren’t so abnormal like Chen Xi, nor were they able to compete and win against disciples of the top powers, so they naturally wouldn’t waste time here.