Chapitre 345: A familiar face.
Ba-Shei and Sirius exploded forth with all their power the moment the figures in front of them fully formed, Sirius using a powerful gust of wind and Ba-Shei using his own body to push their opponent a good distance away from the others. Little Gray took no such action so Yao Jun guessed that his three companions had silently agreed that Little Gray would be best suited to stick close to Yao Jun while also taking care of his opponent. His law of space would allow him to easily protect Yao jun if anything happened, and it was also better suited for unleashing attacks that weren't as wide-ranged as Ba-Shei and Sirius' attacks.
Yao Jun checked on the three battles of his companions, and they too were occasionally sneaking glances at the other enemies. But they could luckily breathe a sigh of relief after a handful of seconds when they noticed that the other enemies didn't seem to pay any attention to anyone other than the person directly in front of them. This made it highly unlikely that the other enemies would target Yao Jun, so Sirius and the others could dedicate much more of their concentration to focusing on the sole enemy in front of them.
Yao Jun was more occupied with whether or not Little Gray and the others would be able to manage themselves in this fight. They may be Divine Beasts with a strengthening technique like Crumbling The Nine Heavens, but it still wasn't terribly easy to fight an opponent that was more than an entire realm above you. But luckily, it was just his worrywart side that flared up for a second, none of his companions seemed to have any problem handling themselves. It wasn't to the point of winning a crushing victory, but they had no trouble keeping themselves safe while whittling down their targets.
Since his actual companions didn't have any problems for the moment, he turned his head and placed his attention on Zhuan Yi. He didn't really know anything about her, the earlier fights they had gone through hadn't exactly been ones where she could properly show her skills. The only thing he had been able to tell up until this point was that she most likely specialized in dealing with enemies one at a time rather than group battles. As such, this duel of hers would be a good chance for him to properly inspect what laws she used and how she truly fought.
Yao Jun was able to act quite leisurely, but Zhuan Yi wasn't afforded that same luxury. She was just as tall as her opponent, her arms were actually a bit longer in fact, but the faceless enemy in front of her had six of them while she only had two at the moment, so she was feeling a bit hardpressed and disadvantaged.
But she felt a touch relieved that she had at least one thing to rely on, her superiority in speed. Even if the opponent attacked with all six arms, she was still able to move her arms around to block in time. But each time she blocked an attack, she was reminded of the fact that things would never be as simple as you wanted them.
Her arms hurt, they ached so much that she thought that her bones might be burning from the inside out. It was a feeling she hadn't felt for many a year already. And because of that, she was caught off-guard for a split second, was a split second too slow in raising her right elbow into its horizontal position. The opponent's sixth fist still landed on her elbow since his attacks were so slow, but it was so close to the tip of her elbow that it ended up sliding past her arm and grazed her chest.
And in that instant, she could swear that her chest caved in on itself. For the first time in her life, she could relate to the expression that she so often heard from humans, it felt as if her organs ruptured. She wanted to yelp in pain and curse profusely, but the enemy's first fist was already heading for her head again so she couldn't allow herself another moment of negligence.
She grit her teeth and endured the almost nostalgic pain, putting some power in her right foot to slide half a step to the side. The fist that was heading for her head missed her by a few centimetres, her right arm rising in an arching manner so that the back of her hand and the back of her forearm collided with the side of two of the other fists that were coming for her.
Her forearm and fist bent slightly thanks to the contact, to the point where it almost looked like they wanted to wrap around the two fists. But as a result, the two punches were pushed aside so that they too missed her, leaving her with only two arms to worry about for a short moment. As for the two punches launched by the two arms, they were lined up in a straight vertical line to make it a touch harder to properly block them. But it was, in fact, this idea behind the attack that made it much easier for Zhuan Yi to evade them.
She turned her body sideways, leaning her back against the four arms that had already slid past her. The two other fists grazed her chest, the flash of pain making Zhuan Yi silently regret the fact that she chose to grow her bosom as much as she had. But it was much better than being hit by the full force of the attack so she was still able to step sideways and fully close the distance between her and the opponent.
The right arm that had been bent strangely as it redirected two attacks returned to normal as she lashed out with it. The back of her arm slid along the opponents two outstretched arms as she herself straightened her arm out, her fist reaching the target's chest without any obstruction.
And the moment her fist made contact with the opponent, the faceless figure's gelatinous chest actually started to twist around her hand. But the edges of the swirl that appeared on the chest cracked and crumbled in a strange manner so the attack clearly wasn't fruitless against the formless body.
The figure's two feet left the ground and its entire body was launched several steps back. Zhuan Yi glanced at her outstretched fist, which seemed to have become just a slight touch thicker, clenching it a few times while her lips curved up into a satisfied arc.
She raised her gaze slightly and focused it on her opponent, who was standing up from the ground after he finally stopped flying backwards. She pulled her outstretched arm back slightly but kept her fist a short distance away from her body, raising her left arm and holding it much closer to her chest as she curled her hand into a fist. She had been a bit disadvantaged at first, but now she had gotten more accustomed to it so she was confident that she could start guiding the battle towards a more favourable position.
But that thought had just barely graced her mind when it was instantly shattered by reality. The feature-less opponent took a step forward, and then his entire body blurred. She lost sight of him almost instantly, only a fierce gale at her side alerting her to the fact that he had already reached her side and was lashing out with three of his arms.
She didn't even have the time to move her eyes to his new position, she could only push out her left arm and raise it to block the incoming attacks. Her hand blocked the fist coming for her face and her elbow blocked the fist coming for her chest, but her arm wasn't long enough to block the third fist so she could only bear it as the clenched hand crashed into her waist.
Her waist bent under the force of the attack, and then it gave out and was gouged out. The opponent's fist tore straight through her waist, a mess of blood and flesh scattering through the air as a fist-sized gap appeared in her left waist. A part of her waist was torn out without mercy, but the attack allowed Zhuan Yi to learn an important fact. The opponent was now much much faster than he was at first but his attacks weren't even 50% as powerful as the first punches he sent out.
But even so, the gouging out of her waist made it so that her left foot lost contact with the ground, her body pushed several steps to the side while she spun around somewhat uncontrollably. And as she worked on halting her spin while also preparing a new defence, her eyes just so happened to slide over Yao Jun.
From the first moment she saw him, she was sure that Yao Jun was far from normal. If she had to put a word on the feeling then it would be dangerous, he felt like a walking bomb that was just waiting to go off. She hadn't been quite able to place the source of that feeling before, not even with her hypothesis of what his actual identity might be. But as she caught that quick glimpse of him now, she was finally able to pinpoint the source of that sensation.
It was his eyes, those pitch-black eyes that seemed to take in everything without the slightest trace of emotion. Even now, as his three companions were facing tough fights, and she herself had gotten a good part of her waist gouged out, there wasn't the slightest change in his eyes. She had seen black eyes that resembled a starry sky before, beautiful pupils that stole your breath. She had also seen lifeless black eyes before, filling you with the chill of the grave with just a single glance.
But his eyes were nothing like that, they were just a simple black emptiness, they took in everything and buried it all, giving nothing back but unchanging darkness. Dangerous, they were the eyes of a dangerous existence.
But wasn't that exactly why she had approached him from the start? Wasn't it to bet on the fact that he was actually such a dangerous existence with boundless hidden strength? Needless to say, a dangerous existence was risky to handle, a wrong move meant eradication. But it was much like wielding a sword, sometimes you had to wield something dangerous to accomplish your goals, and with enough skill, or perhaps sincerity and trust, in this case, you could assure that things wouldn't end in your eradication.
Zhuan Yi's thoughts were just about to continue spinning when they were abruptly cut off, a fist had found its way to her temple while she was unexpectedly caught up with her own thoughts. Her spinning was instantly stopped, but what replaced it was both her feet leaving the ground and her head getting smashed into the ground. And as it was caught between the fist and the ground, the stress became too much for her skull to bear. Her entire head exploded like an overripe watermelon, splattering blood and flesh everywhere. But strangely enough, not the smallest trace of brain matter could be found within the scattered remains of her head.
The faceless man pulled back his arm and straightened his back after he finished smashing open Zhuan Yi's skull. His empty face turned towards Yao Jun, his six hands clenching with a subdued squelching sound. It stepped forward, its cultivation lowering the moment it took its first step, but a voice from behind made its decreasing cultivation halt for a second.
"Now that's pain on a scale that I don't think I've ever felt before. What is it you humans usually say in this situation, that hurt like a bitch?"
The headless body of Zhuan Yi rose, the voice emanating from every inch of her body rather than from where her mouth should be. The scattered chunks of her head and the fistful of flesh that had been torn out from her waist melted into a transparent goo, flowing back to her and melting into her body. The hole in her waist and her head instantly reformed themselves, but her body wiggled a little, her chest decreasing in size. Her reformed eyes were a glimmering orange in colour for a second, but they quickly changed back to the dark-silver they were previously.
There were a few additional eyes floating around on her cheeks for a few seconds, but all of them quickly vanished as she reorganized the body to the state she was used to. The six-armed enemy turned around to face her, but its cultivation had already degenerated to the early stage of the Heavenly Deity realm so it was much slower compared to previously. Its cultivation started to rise again as it spun around, but Zhuan Yi had no intention of letting go of a chance as good as this one.
She lunged forward and instantly crossed the distance, her form more reminiscent of a wave than a human body. Parts of her waist and chest extended outwards, bearing an appearance similar to lamprey's as they latched onto the six arms of her opponent and locked down its defence. A new pair of arms also sprouted from her shoulders, all four of her hands turning into drills that were immediately stabbed into her enemy's defenceless body.
Unlike the previous hit she landed, these drills didn't cause the body of the faceless enemy to crumble so it seemed like she was aiming for something else this time. And sure enough, only a short instance after she stabbed her drills into the enemy, she located the core that she was looking for. A glint similar to that of a mad beast flashed through her eyes, her four drills reversing their direction.
The small transparent core hidden within the opponent was torn up and summarily absorbed by the four drills, Zhuan Yi's arms growing noticeably thicker for a second before they returned to normal. Without the core, the six-armed figure dissolved into a puddle of white foam, bubbling quietly for a bit before it sank back into the earth.
Zhuan Yi pulled back her four arms and the six lamprey-like appendages she had grown, the extra appendages all returning to her body and vanishing without a trace. She spat out a quick breath of satisfaction, glancing down at her chest and thinking for a second before she decided to let it grow back to its previous bountiful state.
She raised her gaze after she finished adjusting her body, her eyes landing on Yao Jun. But to her annoyance, or perhaps it would be better to say as expected, his expression had barely changed despite the show she had put on.
"People are generally a bit more shocked, or perhaps squeamish is the correct term you humans use, when I do something like that. Can I take that as proof that you had already formed your own guess earlier?"
Yao Jun wasn't the first human who had gotten to see the peculiarity of her race's true body, well, most of the humans who saw it usually died shortly after. But she could count on one hand the number of people who hadn't reacted rather strongly to the sight, the number was even fewer when she only accounted for the people who didn't react when she restored her entire head. And just like she guessed, Yao Jun shrugged his shoulders in response.
"I didn't at first, but I became a bit suspicious about the true identity of this tomb's owner when we only faced the same type of enemy during the entire first three days of the trial. And thinking about how you said you had to reach the sanctum and meet the ancestor of your race, it became a bit clearer what might be going on. Well, it helps that I'm acquainted with a type of Demonic beast quite similar to you."
All the enemies that attacked them during the first three days of the trials, and even the newest enemies they were facing here, were all slime-like creatures that simply took human form. You could just consider it a coincidence, an existence created by the arrays here. But one of Yao Jun's own Demonic beasts was a slime-type Demonic beast so he was a bit more familiar with their kind than the average person.
Of course, he had no concrete proof of his guess, it was only when Zhuan Yi displayed her skills now that he became certain. But just the fact that he had already formed a guess made him much more resilient towards any surprise he might feel from the strange display, so it was inevitable that Zhuan Yi would receive little to no response from him when she finally unveiled the truth.
"Acquainted with a type of Demonic beast quite similar to me? I can assure you, that similarity will be, and forgive me for using such an unfitting term, skin-deep, at best. If the engravings of my ancestor are true, then I would be amazed if there are more than a handful of races similar to ours out there."
Zhuan Yi's lips curved somewhat crookedly as she spoke. She seemed to pick her words quite carefully, choosing the ones that would incite the most curiosity in Yao Jun. After all, she was from what might be one of the rarest races in existence, it was only natural that she would feel immense pride in this fact and try to make people curious and starstruck. But sadly for her, the person she was trying it on was Yao Jun, and he simply turned his gaze over towards Little Gray and the others.
"Hm, how curious."
He said so, and Zhuan Yi could indeed detect some sincerity in his words, but it was clear that he had no interest in letting a slight bit of curiosity distract him, at least not right now. Having her point of pride so summarily ignored was quite a new, and somewhat hurtful, experience for Zhuan Yi, but she wasn't so childish that she would be hung up on it and instead turned her own gaze onto Sirius and the others.
But their battles were quite different from hers. Their concentration didn't lapse for a single second, and rather than block or dodge while they looked for an opening, they were the ones who pressed the attack to create openings. They clearly had a plethora of experience when it came to combat. And unlike her, whose special abilities were nigh useless thanks to the enemies they faced here, they all had laws that were extremely suited for taking on any enemy who didn't have laws that opposed theirs.
But they didn't have any good opportunities like Zhuan Yi, who was lucky enough to catch her opponent while it was adjusting itself to take on Yao Jun. As a result, their battles ended up dragging on for a bit longer, only ending a bit over an hour after Zhuan Yi finished her own battle. Of the three, only Ba-Shei had suffered some slight injuries, and that was mainly due to him being a bit too ferocious and wild, even if his opponent was a bit more doll-like than a normal enemy.
"We have finished taking care of the enemies, shall we move on, Milord?"
Sirius bowed respectfully as he spoke, the two fragments of the Supreme Law of Defence that he had made the battle much easier for him compared to the two others, it was to the point where he didn't even have a scratch. Yao Jun nodded his head, but a voice boomed through the sky just as Sirius was straightening his back.
"You've cleared the second trial, the trial of adaption. The third trial, the one of strength will take place on the arenas, prepare yourselves."
The seemingly endless plain around the group rose up as the voice echoed across the area. It rushed towards them and crashed down upon them like a wave, Yao Jun just barely sensing a slight ripple running through the surrounding space as darkness covered everything.
But the darkness receded as quickly as it came, the surroundings unfolding around them like a blooming flower. The endless plain had been replaced with a glittering blue ocean dotted with several hundred islands, each one containing a small stone arena that was currently occupied by between 10 to 50 people. At what seemed to be the centre of all these small islands was one large island that was covered in a strange dome that was shaped like multiple waves crashing into each other, an arching structure bobbing up and down around the entire dome.
Yao Jun turned his head a few times, but he couldn't see Little Gray or the others. In fact, he couldn't see anyone else around him at all, he seemed to be standing on the sole island that didn't house an arena. He narrowed his eyes slightly and just barely caught a glimpse of Ba-Shei on the closest island to his right, he was currently in the process of violently waving his hand to catch Yao Jun's attention. Yao Jun flashed him a small smile and softly waved his hand, but his eyes remained narrowed as he muttered to himself.
"I don't think it's a coincidence that I'm the only one who ended up here, could be a special trial."
He was really just muttering to himself to better understand the unexpected situation. But what he didn't expect was that he would actually receive a response, and it would be delivered by an extremely familiar voice.
"A special trial, yes, you can probably look at it like that. Everyone else has struggled and fought, adapting to their opponents and showing off their strength and skills so that they can reach this place. Everyone but you, that is. You've only stayed back and allowed your companions to do all the fighting, you've barely even raised a hand. Tell me, do you think you deserve the same chance as them to reach my sanctum?"
Yao Jun's entire body stiffened with a violent tremble as the soft voice entered his ears. Rage, guilt, sorrow, he couldn't quite put a finger on exactly what emotion he felt right now, they were swirling around so fast that it was impossible to pinpoint exactly which one was most prominent. He turned his head with slightly stiff motions, and the person that entered his vision looked exactly as he remembered him.
A rugged and manly face, chestnut brown hair that just barely reached his ears, and a pair of earnest and bright green eyes. He didn't radiate the same sharp aura, nor was he clad in the usual purple robes, but that was unmistakably the Yun Yantian that Yao Jun was so exceedingly familiar with. Without a doubt, the figure that stood only a few steps away was the friend that Yao Jun had led straight to his death. But Yun Yantian, or the figure that had taken his appearance, didn't pay one whit of attention to the slight quivering of Yao Jun's body and simply repeated his question with a stern and disproving expression.
"Well? Have you done a single thing to make yourself as worthy as the rest of them? Have you shown a whit of perseverance, adaption, strength, done anything other than relying on others to get here?"
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone