[Chapter 93]
There was no doubt about Chou Gang's strength. ·
It had been a few years since he entered the half-step Connate realm. He only needed to cross that bottleneck and convert his True Qi into True Essence to become a Connate lifeform.
However, he had been stuck at the half-step Connate realm for many years. No matter how hard he cultivated on the Xiao Yufeng, he could not break through that bottleneck.
Martial artists all understood one principle when it came to cultivation.
Only by constantly experiencing blood and fire would one be able to achieve the most effective breakthrough.
If one continued to cultivate on the Xiao Yufeng, it would take ten years or even longer to break through this bottleneck.
Therefore, Chou Gang wanted to seize this opportunity to cross the bottleneck and enter the Connate realm openly.
Even Chou Gang was afraid of that Variant Demon.
The demon's aura had invaded his body and caused the most primitive fear to rise from the bottom of his heart.
It was as if there was a voice constantly telling him to run.
However, he mustered up his courage and approached the demon under everyone's watchful eyes.
Soon, Chou Gang crossed the first circle that Su Lingyun had drawn.
As he approached, the two ugly eyes on the head of the demonic beast looked at him.
Although this demon was very weak and did not have the ability to hurt people, its innate demon aura had not weakened at all.
"Guga." The demon's mouth, full of fangs, opened and closed as if it was mocking Chou Gang.
The blood drained from Chou Gang's face, revealing the color of a sheet of paper. His body instinctively wanted to run.
However, he was, after all, the fourth ranked expert of the Outer Sect. At this moment, he took two deep breaths of air and gathered all the courage in his body. He stiffly twisted his legs and moved forward with a strange pace.
The second circle …
The third circle …
When Chou Gang reached the fourth circle, the demon suddenly opened its bloody mouth and howled at Chou Gang.
"Guga —"
In the face of the Demon Clan's howls, the courage that Chou Gang had accumulated with great difficulty dissipated completely at this time.
Chou Gang turned his head abruptly, but due to the uncoordinated movement of his feet, he was unable to escape. Instead, he tripped over himself and fell to the ground. After that, he used both his hands and feet to crawl out of the third circle in a sorry state.
Seeing Chou Gang's performance, everyone fell silent.
Everyone was in the Imperial Capital, far away from the Asura Battlefield. They were also separated by the White Emperor City, which was guarded by a million Emperor soldiers. Their understanding of the Demon Race was very vague.
He only knew that the Demon Race was abnormally strong. Furthermore, the Demon Qi that they emitted was extremely terrifying.
They thought that this fear could be overcome.
But now, after seeing the Demonic Beasts with their own eyes, they finally understood that overcoming this fear was not an easy task.
Chou Gang's strength was obvious to all in Xiao Yufeng's outer sect. The strength that he usually displayed was also obvious to all.
But if an existence like Chou Gang was so fearful in front of the Yao, then what about the others?
Anyone who could become a martial artist would have a tenacity that refused to admit defeat.
Although Chou Gang's failure made some people think of retreating, there were still some people who didn't believe in heresy and stepped into the circle.
This time, the one who tried to approach the demonic beast was an outer disciple in the Marrow Refining Stage.
This outer sect disciple was not well-known, and his strength was not ranked high on Xiao Yufeng's list.
But in a situation where no one was optimistic, this outer sect disciple who was only in the Marrow Refining Stage actually stepped into the sixth circle in a row.
Every time he stepped into a circle, he got closer to the Demon Race.
The sixth circle was only a few feet away from the Demon Race.
But after the sixth circle, the outer sect disciple stopped in his tracks. Suddenly, his legs began to tremble violently.
Even so, this outer sect disciple whose strength was far inferior to Chou Gang's, performed very well. He controlled his fear very well, turned his head, and retreated at the same speed. He was not as pathetic as Chou Gang.
Seeing this scene, the outer sect disciples on Xiao Yufeng understood a principle.
Courage had never been linked to strength. It was like a mantis blocking a car. Although it was overestimating its own strength, who could deny the mantis's courage?
Every time someone tried to approach the Demon Race, Su Lingyun would record the number of circles they had taken. Finally, she would choose the five people who had taken the most circles to participate in the Demon Slaying Trial.
The fact that the outer sect disciple in the Marrow Refining Stage could actually step into the sixth circle made many people regain their confidence. After all, many people felt that their strength was far greater than that of the outer sect disciple in the Marrow Refining Stage.
One after another, hundreds of outer sect disciples tried. Among them, the one who performed the worst was the one who had broken down mentally when he stepped into the first circle. The one who performed the best was Hao Shige.
As the number one outer sect disciple, Hao Shige set a good example at this time.
Facing the Demon Race, he held the three-foot-long Qingfeng Sword in his hand and walked slowly. In one breath, he stepped into seven circles. It was only on the eighth circle that his movements slowed down.
After being roared at by the Demon Race, Hao Shige turned his head with an ashen face and quickly turned back.
Although everyone knew that Hao Shige couldn't withstand the Demon Race's enormous Demon Qi, he had still stepped into the eighth circle. Moreover, even when he turned back, his face didn't look too good. At least, his walking posture didn't change at all.
No matter how one looked at it, it was enough to prove Hao Shige's courage.
After Hao Shige jumped out of Su Lingyun's circles, he raised his hands and circulated his Qi. Then, his face returned to normal and he wore a relaxed smile.
However, his eyes faintly swept over Luo Zheng's face.
Many of the outer disciples noticed this detail.
Not long ago, during the mountain peak challenge, Hao Shige, as the number one outer sect disciple, should have participated. However, he was in seclusion at the time and missed the opportunity to meet the people of Vulture Peak.
Ever since Hao Shige came out of seclusion, he heard the entire Xiao Yufeng outer sect discussing one person.
That person was Luo Zheng.
Hao Shige had long heard of Luo Zheng.
Today, Luo Zheng had just become an outer sect disciple of Xiao Yufeng, and he had already challenged Xu Lie, the number 30 disciple of Xiao Yufeng. His performance was exceptionally dazzling.
However, at that time, Hao Shige didn't pay much attention to this matter. As the number one disciple of Xiao Yufeng, he knew very well that there were too many outstanding people in this world. He, Hao Shige, also appeared out of nowhere and challenged several people in a row before finally becoming an outer sect disciple.
However, during the mountain peak challenge, Luo Zheng defeated several people of Vulture Peak by himself and even defeated the number one disciple of Vulture Peak, Liu Cunshi.
This was something that Hao Shige never expected.
After seclusion, Hao Shige finally broke through the bottleneck of the half-step Xiantian realm and stepped into the Xiantian realm.
Next year, he would be promoted to Xiao Yufeng's inner sect.
However, after coming out of seclusion, everyone believed that Luo Zheng was Xiao Yufeng's number one outer sect disciple. Even though Hao Shige had stepped into the Xiantian realm, he was still no match for Luo Zheng.
This kind of rumor was very grating to Hao Shige's ears.
Therefore, he wanted to find an opportunity to let Luo Zheng know who was the real outer sect disciple.
Many outer sect disciples noticed Hao Shige's provocative gaze. As the person involved, Luo Zheng naturally knew.
Luo Zheng also knew what Hao Shige was thinking. He had no interest in the title of number one outer sect disciple, so he naturally didn't feel anything about Hao Shige's provocation.
However, he had to participate in the demon slaying mission.
As a martial artist, the pressure on Luo Zheng's shoulders was much greater than many people's.
Everyone wanted to increase their strength in the shortest time possible, but in comparison, Luo Zheng was even more urgent than them!
He had promised Luo Yan that he would definitely bring her out of Purgatory Mountain. If he wanted to save Luo Yan, he would definitely face many obstacles. Only with absolute strength would he have the qualifications to do so. Otherwise, all promises were empty words!
"Is there anyone else who wants to try?" Su Lingyun's pleasant voice drifted through the square.
Those outer sect disciples who dared to try were all brave people. Most people didn't dare to try. On one hand, it was a matter of fear. On the other hand, it was because they didn't think they were strong enough and didn't have the confidence.
Su Lingyun was slightly disappointed. In the end, her gaze fell on Luo Zheng.
Su Lingyun knew very well that Luo Zheng definitely wouldn't let go of this opportunity to sharpen himself. Previously, he had shown great enthusiasm for the mission issued by the Blue Cloud Sect.
However, she didn't know what this kid was doing. He still wasn't willing to come out? A hint of doubt appeared in Su Lingyun's eyes. That was why her question was actually a reminder to Luo Zheng: It's time for you to go up.
Luo Zheng smiled. He walked out from the crowd and slowly arrived at the center of the square.
Xiao Yufeng's outer sect disciples' gazes all landed on Luo Zheng's body.
After Luo Zheng turned the tide in Vulture Peak's challenge, he already became a legendary figure in the hearts of the outer sect disciples.
That was why everyone was looking forward to Luo Zheng's performance.
"Brother Luo Zheng, you can do it!" Mo Can who was standing in the crowd suddenly shouted.
"You can do it!" Zhou Xian also shouted.
Luo Zheng nodded towards them. He gave the fiend race not far away a look, and then he slowly walked over.
Strictly speaking, the fiend aura emitted by the fiend race could actually be classified as a kind of "intent". However, the intent of the fiend race was different from other "intents".
Most "intents" could be used as a means of attacking people. However, the fiend aura emitted by the fiend race could invade people's souls, constantly hinting at how terrifying they were.
If a fiend race and a fiend race were both equally powerful and equally terrifying, the fiend race could borrow their fiend aura to amplify their terror by ten times, or even a hundred times! This was the innate ability of the fiend race.
Luo Zheng's soul was very powerful. Ordinary "intents" couldn't harm his soul at all.
However, this fiend race wasn't trying to harm Luo Zheng. The message conveyed by the fiend aura was constantly hinting to Luo Zheng that it was an extremely terrifying race!
When Luo Zheng stepped into the first circle, the fiend aura hit him in the face. Luo Zheng's heart almost reflexively raised a sense of fear.
This degree of fear wasn't high. Luo Zheng smiled slightly. After relaxing his entire body, he stepped forward without looking back and stepped into the second circle.