Lu Qingyun began to introduce the maidens to one another.
"This is Qian Jingjing. She's from the Spirit Sword Manor."
"This is Fairy Ling Xiu. She's from the Flying Armament Sect. She is also my sworn sister."
He did not know introduce Leng Qiuyue since both Qian Jingjing was acquainted with her.
Ling Xiu looked at Qian Jingjing with a smile, "Brother Qingyun is my sworn brother. Therefore it is only proper that I should call him Brother Qingyun."
She was hinting to Qian Jingjing and Leng Qiuyue that only she had the right to call him her brother.
Qian Jingjing hummed coldly as she looked at Fairy Ling Xiu, "Just another pretty face."
Ling Xiu flashed a dangerous look at her as she smiled coolly, "I've heard that the Spirit Sword Manor is one of the four powerhouses in our region. It seems that it is true after all. After all, you are the only survivor and it is all thanks to my Brother Qingyun."
It was pure sarcasm.
Qian Jingjing looked at Lu Qingyun as she pulled his sleeve, "Brother Qingyun, I was the one that aid you right? During the first trial, I am the one that saved you and Maiden Qiuyue."
Lu Qingyun nodded awkwardly, "Yes, yes…"
Qian Jingjing giggled as she looked at Ling Xiu, "Did you hear that? Hehehe."
Liu Xiu said sarcastically, "You should be trying to aid your team instead."
Qian Jingjing frowned softly, "Brother Qingyun is my new team now."
Lu Qingyun, Leng Qiuyue, Ling Xiu: …
Lu Qingyun immediately said, "This doesn't sound right…I am from the Heavens Ridge Villa. Only Qiuyue is my team."
Qian Jingjing looked at Lu Qingyun with an affirmative look, "Now we are now."
When Lu Qingyun had suddenly appeared to save her in a nick of time, she was actually quite touched. Against the Earth Elemental Golem, she had actually used her most powerful profound technique, the Rippling Five Heavens Spirit Sword to no avail. At her most desperate hour, Lu Qingyun was like a shining white knight that had suddenly appeared.
She pointed her finger at Ling Xiu, "Brother Qingyun. On the other hand, you ought to be wary of her. I have heard that her Flying Armament Sect is now allied with the Clear Sky Pavilion against your Heavens Ridge Villa. Haven't you heard?"
Lu Qingyun put his hand on her fingers before he said gently, "I have heard but she is still my sworn sister."
Ling Xiu murmured, "Brother Qingyun…"
Qian Jingjing hummed softly, "You are too trusting. One day, it will be your downfall!"
Leng Qiuyue smiled, "Yes Brother Qingyun is too trusting. Why is he trusting you then?"
Qian Jingjing was rendered speechless, "Cos I'm different from the others!"
Leng Qiuyue said coldly, "Weird. All the villains are saying that they are different. Who really knows?"
While they were talking, the black portal began to shimmer again. This was an indication that there were cultivators that were now traversing the black portal to their location.
All the attentions of the cultivators in the platform were now looking at the next wave of the lucky cultivators that had made it through the black portal.
Yu Tianjian and two other cultivators were the next group to emerge from the black portal. Unlike Lu Qingyun, Gongsun Ya and Qian Jingjing, they looked haggard and were covered with wounds.
They had indeed run into some difficulties and had encountered two sixth rank desolate beasts. They were originally a group of twenty-seven cultivators but all that remained were just the three of them.
As Yu Tianjian staggered on the platform, he caught sight of Lu Qingyun who was looking his way and was stunned. How did this good-for-nothing cultivator reached the black portal ahead of him?!
Lu Qingyun smiled weakly when he saw Yu Tianjian.
Qian Jingjing said, "It seems that there won't be more survivors from this trial."
Lu Qingyun shook his head, "There will be more cultivators later. Actually we may have experienced the most difficult portions and are actually paving the way for the cultivators that are behind us."
"Oh?" Qian Jingjing said with a doubtful look.
Lu Qingyun explained, "The most difficult part of that maze is the starting and the end. It is only after I have completed the maze that I have finally realized what is going on. If you move at a reasonable pace, not too fast or too slow, you may be able to complete this trial without much difficulty."
And tens of minutes later, sure enough just as Lu Qingyun had said; tens of cultivators began to emerge from the black portal.
Qian Jingjing exclaimed with an admired look, "Brother Qingyun, you are indeed so smart." The admiration that she had for Lu Qingyun kept increasing and Lu Qingyun was like her idol now.
After several hundreds of cultivators had emerged from the black portal, the black portal had suddenly disappeared. It was because the one hour that was given was up.
Once again, the beautiful features of Shen Yufeng had appeared in the sky as her voice echoed. "Not bad. There are four hundreds cultivators that manage to reach the black portal in a timely fashion. Altogether we have slightly more than two thousands and four hundreds cultivators for the third trial now."
Almost all the remaining cultivators were now unnerved by Shen Yufeng's alluring voice. Although she had the most beautiful voice but they were really afraid of what she would say next for the third trial. Although the majority of the remaining cultivators had an easier time for the second trial but it was not easy for them to make the decision for the second trial. Many had split their teams into two and had lost the other half of their teams.
Lu Qingyun was now standing with Leng Qiuyue, Qian Jingjing and Ling Xiu as he awaited the details of the third trial.
There was a sadden look that was on Ling Xiu. It was because she knew that her brother Ling Chong had failed to reach the black portal and was now disqualified. Her brother was stronger than her and it was only due to luck that she had remained in the trial. Her other two team mates were eliminated during the first trial. Therefore she was now the only candidate of the Flying Armament Sect.
Qian Jingjing was also the only candidate that had remained from the Spirit Sword Manor.
And now these two maidens were quietly looking at Lu Qingyun for leadership.
Leng Qiuyue had a look of annoyance on her countenance. It was because these two maidens were acting as though they were the same team as her senior brother. Moreover they were calling him Brother Qingyun in such an intimate way.
Shen Yufeng's voice was echoing through the platform, "I'm sure that all of you are eagerly waiting for the third trial to start. I trust that some of you have rested more than enough and are aching to flex some of your muscles. Therefore I have decided to make the next trial a little more fun and a little harder…"
The cultivators: …
"This is too ridiculous!"
"What does she mean by a little harder and a little more fun…"
"She is so scary…"
"No wonder she isn't wedded to anyone…"
"I got a bad feeling over this…"
"I feel like committing suicide on the spot…"
It was not as though Shen Yufeng could actually hear them but she was laughing jovially before she said teasingly to the cultivators, "This will be a most entertaining trial…"
"Most entertaining trial?…" Many of the cultivators were a little startled when they had heard her.
All of a sudden the platform that they were at was sinking rapidly into the ground until they were now surrounded by tall walls of earth all around them.
Everyone was trying to hold their balance as the ground was shaking violently as it sunk into the earth.
"What is going on?"
"We are sinking into the earth?!"
Lu Qingyun thrust his sword into the ground to hold himself steady as the platform was sinking way too rapidly.
30m…
40m…
50m…
The platform continued to sink…
All of a sudden Lu Qingyun was startled as the bodies of the three maidens were all cuddling around him for support. They were all grabbing his arms, back and hands.
Lu Qingyun had a flustered look as their soft bodies were all pressing against him. He thought weakly, "Can't they use their sword like me as a support…"
100m…
Finally the platform had stopped sinking.
There were many cultivators that were on the ground as they had lost their balances when the platform was sinking too fast.
Slowly, one by one the fallen cultivators had picked themselves up as everyone was looking miserably at their new surroundings.
Because the platform had sunk quite deep into the earth, the scene in front of everyone was now quite dark except for the bright light that was at the very top.
Lu Qingyun muttered to the maidens, "I wonder what this trial is going to be…"
There was no reply from anyone of them.
It was because all the maidens had suddenly realized that they were now all in Lu Qingyun's embrace and he was holding onto them tightly so that they would not fall to the ground. They were all flushing hotly and were exchanging awkward looks with one another.
Although the ground had stopped shaking now, none of the maidens wanted to be the first to break the silence and were all quietly enjoying in the bliss of his embrace.
Lu Qingyun naturally did not know what they were thinking as he waited in great anticipation for the third trial to begin. After all, he was here to show off his cultivation progression and to show everyone that he was not a good-for-nothing cultivator.
"Relax. The trial has not started yet." The echoing voices of Shen Yufeng could be heard.
One cultivator said aloud, "I don't believe. Every time she had said that, the trial had already started…"
"Let's be prepared for the worst first…"
Shen Yufeng's echoing voices said, "A hundred portals will open in all directions that will take you to an underground city where desolate beasts will roam the streets. The rules are really simple. Making a killing blow will give you 2 contribution points. Anyone that is able to get 3 contribution points can approach the trial completion portal that is in the middle of the underground city to go to the fourth trial."
Many of the cultivators could not resist muttering their thoughts aloud.
"So we only have to kill two desolate beasts right?"
"It sounds easy enough."
"Did she mention the desolate beast ranking?"
"I've thought that it will be hard but it turns out to be really easy."
"In this trial, you are allowed to kill another cultivator and you will get 1 contribution point." Shen Yufeng suddenly said with a grin. "You have two hours to complete the trial. The countdown starts now."
When she had said that, a hundred yellow portals had opened in all directions.
"Did she say that we are allowed to kill the cultivators?!"
All of a sudden everyone was looking nervously at one another. Although there were a hundred portals but there were more than two thousands of them.
The cultivators that still had their teams intact were now grinning. This meant that they would gang up to attack a lone cultivator to gain 1 contribution point.
Several of the cultivators were now shaking their heads, "I know that there must be a catch somewhere…"
Even Lu Qingyun was startled that they would be allowed to kill one another for contribution point.
After a quick thought, he raised his voice to say loudly. "Everyone listen to me. If we form an armistice with one another and focused on helping one another to slay the desolate beasts, we can all reach the fourth trial together…"
Yu Tianjian hummed coldly, "Look, who is talking? It is actually a coward who is giving a brainless suggestion. If we help one another to gain the contribution points, there are bounded to be some who will quietly leave the group once they have gained 3 contribution points. So what will happen then? Also, there will be many that will not give their very best to fight the desolate beasts if the contribution point does not go to them."
Another cultivator hummed, "He is Lu Qingyun the good-for-nothing cultivator. Hehe. Is he too scared to fight us?"
Immediately after he said that, hundreds of cultivators were all laughing at Lu Qingyun for his suggestion.
Lu Qingyun was smiling awkwardly to himself, "I was just trying to help everyone…"
Qian Jingjing held Lu Qingyun's hand with an affectionate smile, "Brother Qingyun, I like your plan. Why don't we group up to get contribution points from the desolate monsters?"
Ling Xi said with a firm look at him, "Brother Qingyun, I like your suggestion too."
Leng Qiuyue was nodding, "If the others do not like your suggestion, that is their business. We do it our way."
Lu Qingyun nodded slowly, "Alright then. We will pick a random portal and group together then."
All of a sudden Yue Lingxi had quietly approached them and she was laughing softly, "I will be hunting for you in the underground city. So be careful. If you are wise, you can turn around to kill these three maidens and you will get your 3 contribution points. Or maybe you will be backstabbed by them instead."
Lu Qingyun smiled weakly, "I appreciate your warning."
Yue Lingxi hummed coldly before she walked away. As she walked away, she was silently thinking. "I hope that you can be wary of the people around you."
Lu Qingyun did not know that Yue Lingxi had actually approached him to warn him of the three maidens and to be on his guard.
"Brother Qingyun, so which portal should we take?" Ling Xiu asked.
Leng Qiuyue and Qian Jingjing were both looking at him with anticipations.
Lu Qingyun rubbed his chin as he looked intently at the one hundred portals that were around them. While they were talking, more than half of the cultivators had already dashed for the portals.
It was because the first one to enter the portals would have the advantage of terrain and they would be able to avoid the other cultivators. They could even setup an ambush for the cultivators that were passing through the portal as well.
Lu Qingyun gritted his jaws before he replied quietly, "We shall wait a little longer first."
–
–
–
Qin Keqin almost flipped when she saw Lu Qingyun was holding onto the three maidens when the platform was sinking fast into the ground.
She turned to Shen Yufeng and said coldly, "Can you create a divine lightning to strike my Yun'Er dead?"
Shen Yufeng returned a weak smile, "That is not part of the rules…"
On the other side of the stage, the Three-Destinies Old Man was raging against Lu Qingyun, "This Lu Qingyun is such a lecherous fellow! Did you see that he is hugging three maidens at the same time?! This is too shameless. Did he not know that we can all see him?"
Xuan Danfeng nodded, "Yes, so what is wrong?"
The Three-Destinies Old Man stared at her, "What is wrong? He is totally shameless, I tell you!"
Xuan Danfeng looked at him curiously, "It is not your business, am I right? Why are you so worked up for?"
The Three-Destinies Old Man started to stammer, "Erm…well…I am just upset for the unfortunate maiden that is in love with him, that's all."
Xuan Danfeng chuckled, "Don't worry. That unfortunate maiden will not let him off so lightly when she sees it. She is probably here, am I right?" She naturally knew that Qin Keqin was here.
The Three-Destinies Old Man was suddenly grinning and his mood had improved. He was thinking, "She is right. Yuqin must have seen what he is doing and she is probably quite upset now."
"You know," he was suddenly saying to Xuan Danfeng. "That Lu Qingyun should up his game and hug more maidens. The more the merrier."
Xuan Danfeng looked at him curiously, "I thought that you are flipping tables just a while ago. Why are you so jovial now?"
The Three-Destinies Old Man was laughing jovially, "Because something jovial has just happened."