Chapter 425: Ten-Mile Lotus Pond (Two-in-One)

Waiting by the lotus pond, Zhou Kai and Shui Nianshuang wore dark expressions.

They never expected Sheng Xia's group to completely ignore their two teams and leave them hanging.

The most infuriating part was that they couldn't even go back for them.

Because Sheng Xia and the others really were "eating."

If they went back, not only would they be unable to fight, they would be forced to stand aside and watch, which would be even more humiliating.

"You're going a bit too far."

Shui Nianshuang's face darkened.

She assumed this was Sheng Xia's idea.

"Weren't you the one who said our team members ate too little on the road and were getting hungry?"

Sheng Xia didn't bother explaining.

She hadn't eaten dessert in a long time, and she was still savoring the aftertaste.

Shui Nianshuang turned to a man in a white coat standing behind her and lowered her voice. "Beat their team to a pulp later."

"Understood."

The man placed a hand over his heart and gave an elegant bow.

"Ahem—"

Steward Long coughed lightly, halting the farce, and spoke. "Everyone, let us begin the trial."

"The lotus pond before you is also known as the Ten-Mile Lotus Pond. It holds a total of ten thousand lotus leaves," he continued. "They are born in the morning and die by dusk. Judging by the time, only about an hour remains before they completely wither."

"What you must do is battle upon this lotus pond within this hour. Anyone who falls into the water is eliminated, and anyone whose feet leave the lotus leaves for more than three seconds is eliminated. When only one team remains on the field, the trial ends."

"Beneath this pond lies a treasure of our Long family. Every day, the six people who remain on the lotus leaves before nightfall will receive a blessing from this treasure."

"As for its effects, the winners of the match will understand later."

After his introduction, Steward Long smiled at the crowd. "Are there any questions?"

Everyone remained silent.

Whether there were any issues could only be known after fighting.

But Yan Jing spoke up. "Why are there no Long family members on the pond?"

According to Steward Long, anyone who remained on the lotus leaves before nightfall would receive a blessing. It was obvious such benefits would surely be reserved for the family's own members.

Steward Long chuckled. "Normally, there would be our people on it, of course. Today, because you are visiting, we cleared the field."

"Furthermore, do not feel that you won't be able to enjoy such benefits in the future. Our Long family sets aside one-third of the year to let those on good terms with us take turns enjoying the blessing."

"As long as you sign the contract at the end, you may visit our Long family at least once every three years."

Zhou Kai said impatiently, "How can you even ask such a simple question? What, are they supposed to put their own people on it while we're here? Stop trying to grab attention."

Yan Jing ignored Zhou Kai, staring at the lotus pond before him. "That means six people from the Long family get to occupy this lotus pond for around two hundred days a year, from childhood to adulthood."

He looked at Steward Long, a smile in his eyes. "But I haven't heard of any famous powerhouses in this generation of the Long family. Even the current family head isn't an expert from the previous generation, but the generation prior. In that case, you've hidden at least two generations of geniuses. Hidden them very deeply."

Steward Long's expression immediately shifted.

The minds of the surrounding people also suddenly began to turn.

Sheng Xia's gaze darted around, and she immediately stepped forward with a smile. "After so many years, it's only natural for the Long family to have some geniuses."

She grabbed Yan Jing and pulled him aside, laughing awkwardly. "I believe your noble family's heavenly prodigies will surely shine brilliantly in the upcoming ranking battles."

"Alright, let's begin the trial."

But Yan Jing clearly still had questions. Ignoring Steward Long's gradually darkening expression, he asked, "Are the rules only what you just mentioned, Steward Long? Are there no other prohibited actions?"

"No."

Steward Long replied coldly.

"Alright, alright, please continue, Steward Long."

Sheng Xia desperately pulled Yan Jing to the side.

Only when Steward Long's expression began to recover did Sheng Xia heave a sigh of relief.

She glared fiercely at Yan Jing, who looked completely unconcerned beside her. She felt a surge of anger in her heart but couldn't vent it, making her stomach knot up.

He was definitely doing this on purpose.

After traveling with Yan Jing, she had gained a tiny bit of understanding of his personality and quickly came to this conclusion.

But she absolutely could not let Yan Jing clash with the Long family here.

Because this was the Long family.

And right next door was the Mu family.

The two families also had a very good relationship.

This was just an ordinary trial. If both major families were really dragged into it, the impact on the Third Ring Domain would be no less than a massive earthquake.

Thinking of this, she felt utterly powerless and sighed helplessly.

How in the world had this guy managed to survive until now? How could he stir up a pile of trouble wherever he went—

"—Since that is the case, let the trial begin."

Steward Long gave Yan Jing a cold look, then took a string of bells from his robes and gently shook them.

At the sound of the bells, several figures leaped high into the air, soaring toward the Ten-Mile Lotus Pond.

Although everyone landed in different spots, it was clear they were divided into three teams.

Moreover, all three teams had spread outward with a specific individual at the center.

"Mr. Yan, how do we fight—"

Xie Lingling called out to Yan Jing, but before she could finish, she suddenly sensed that something was wrong.

A peculiar force suddenly transmitted upward from the lotus leaf beneath her toes. It wasn't massive, but it carried a unique resilience, like a sudden gust of wind, causing her whole body to tilt. She nearly fell into the water.

The others beside her felt the same. Their expressions changed drastically as they focused all their attention on stabilizing their bodies.

Only Yan Jing stood perfectly still on the lotus leaf. Feeling this unique force, he gained a flash of insight.

It was the martial dao.

This was very similar to the clever force the Old Man had displayed when sparring with Fei Yu after his injuries healed, though it was clearly a bit inferior to Old Master Liu's.

If what Old Master Liu had displayed were the techniques of Martial Cultivation...

Then the master of this treasure could only be considered an expert body cultivator.

Sensing this force, Yan Jing did not use any weird energy. He simply used Heracles's strength combined with technique to confront it, only to discover that the resilient force began to gradually increase.

It was like a mechanical bull from his previous life: the longer one clung to its back to avoid being thrown off, the more violent its bucking became.

Although he was only standing on a single lotus leaf, Yan Jing felt as if a giant beast—whose back alone was ten miles long and ten miles wide—was beneath his feet, using all its might to throw him off.

To make matters worse, he couldn't grab onto its back; his only foothold was a small lotus leaf.

What would happen if he used weird energy—

He tried to mobilize his weird energy, only to find that the force suddenly multiplied several times over.

"So that's how it is—"

Yan Jing chuckled.

This trial was actually very beneficial to him; this trip was already a huge profit.

If the previous trial had trained intuition, this one trained power control.

He had his Weird Killing Momentum to review his actions, and the threads wandering through his body for assistance, so his control over his power wasn't weak. But as his Tier advanced and the physical strength brought by Heracles grew day by day, his training in this aspect truly needed strengthening.

This was undoubtedly an opportunity.

In the distance, the other three and Steward Long watched from the shore.

"It seems the people in my team are much smarter than yours."

Zhou Kai laughed, standing with his legs spread wide, heat rising from his muscular body.

Right now on the field, only the people in his team had completely refrained from using weird energy, slowly adapting to the intensity of the lotus leaves beneath their feet.

But the other three had no intention of praising him.

"Still so fond of putting on a show—" Shui Nianshuang sighed. "This competition isn't something you can win by cheating."

Steward Long chimed in at the right moment. "The leader of the team Miss Shui brought is quite extraordinary. Among everyone I've seen, his comprehension and adaptability should rank highly."

Out on the lotus pond, there was a black speck in the distance. With everyone's eyesight, they could easily see it was the man in the white coat. Right now, he was taking a step on the lotus leaf, making him the first person to step forward.

Taking a step meant being able to take the initiative and attack.

Clearly, the man's control over his power was extraordinary.

"Steward Long praises him too highly." Shui Nianshuang gave a shallow smile, then looked at Zhou Kai. "What's wrong, do the people you brought not even know how to cheat properly?"

Zhou Kai's face darkened. "Trash—" he muttered.

But immediately after, he looked toward a certain spot. His expression cleared as he sneered, "At least I'm not the worst off."

Hearing this, Shui Nianshuang followed Zhou Kai's gaze into the distance and couldn't help but laugh. "Little Xia, is this the person you brought?"

Yan Jing was currently surging with weird energy. As the other people on the field retracted their weird energy one by one, he was about to become the only guy left on the lotus pond still emitting weird energy fluctuations.

Seeing this, Sheng Xia's expression turned rather ugly.

Steward Long glanced at Sheng Xia and sighed. "Miss Sheng shouldn't be angry, either. The candidates for this trial were not chosen by your own will. Just write it off as bad luck."

Before he could even finish speaking, Sheng Xia ran straight to the edge of the lotus pond, conjured an invisible barrier to shield herself and the pond, and called out, "Mr. Yan! Mr. Yan!!!"

Yan Jing was immersed in controlling his power. Hearing Sheng Xia's voice, he raised his eyes and spoke calmly. "Is something the matter, Miss Sheng?"

"Um—"

Sheng Xia hesitated for a few seconds. Seeing Yan Jing about to close his eyes again, she finally let out a long sigh. "I know you're angry with the Mu family, but you really can't destroy the Long family's lotus pond! The current head of the Long family has an extremely explosive temper. It will absolutely cause massive trouble!"

She felt that starting from the rain pavilion just now, Yan Jing's series of abnormal behaviors had been a deliberate attempt to provoke a conflict with the Long family.

And the reason he was using weird energy now, on a lotus pond that clearly forbade it, was because he wanted to destroy the pond.

His earlier, deliberate question about whether there were any other prohibited actions only cemented her judgment.

Yan Jing paused in surprise.

He did indeed act a bit differently in the Third Ring Domain compared to the Fourth Ring Domain.

But that wasn't because of the Mu family.

It was simply because he was in a better mood, so he talked a bit more.

He never expected Sheng Xia to misunderstand him like this.

Were his words usually that unlikable?

That made no sense; his friends obviously liked him a lot.

Yan Jing blinked, then spoke calmly. "I am merely training myself. Please rest assured, Miss Sheng, I won't deliberately cause any trouble."

"As for the Mu family, since Teacher Shen isn't here, I have no interest in them."

Hearing this, Sheng Xia finally breathed a sigh of relief. She nodded. "As long as you're happy."

She dropped the barrier, feeling thoroughly exhausted.

This was supposed to be a perfectly ordinary trial; why was it so tiring?

Zhou Kai and Shui Nianshuang looked at Sheng Xia in confusion, wondering why she had such an expression.

"I get it. You told him off." Zhou Kai smiled maliciously. "Don't feel embarrassed. Just like Steward Long said, it isn't your fault."

Sheng Xia couldn't be bothered to respond to them. She just stared at Yan Jing, still feeling a bit uneasy.

Even though Yan Jing had said he wouldn't do anything deliberately—

The weird energy fluctuations over the lotus pond were clearly growing stronger and stronger.

Ji Yongxin, the man in the white coat, was the first to feel it. Looking at the lotus leaf beneath his feet, he felt puzzled.

He clearly hadn't used any weird energy, yet for some reason, the force transmitting from the lotus leaf below had intensified.

Aside from him, the people in the other two teams also sensed it. Someone had finally prepared themselves and taken a step, only for their body to lurch from the suddenly increased force, nearly plunging them into the water. Luckily, they hastily pulled their foot back, barely avoiding the fate of being the first eliminated.

Ji Yongxin looked into the distance at Yan Jing, whose body was surging with weird energy. With a look of sudden understanding, he muttered, "Trying to attack by transmitting force? Interesting—"

He promptly withdrew his footing as well, standing there and watching Yan Jing with a calm gaze. "But how long can you hold out?"

After all, compared to the aftershocks everyone else felt, the force experienced by Yan Jing—who was at the very epicenter of the power—was clearly the strongest.

However, in the very next instant, the weird energy fluctuations around Yan Jing surged once more!

If Yan Jing's weird energy fluctuations had previously only been at the First Tier, they had now clearly escalated to the Second Tier.

Although it was only an increase of one tier, the entire lotus pond seemed to instantly boil over.

With the lotus leaf beneath Yan Jing as the center, ripples spread outward circle by circle. Ji Yongxin, who was relatively close, instantly felt the power beneath his feet skyrocket. That lotus leaf began to shake frantically, trying to buck him off.

He snorted and exerted his physical strength to suppress the force, then glared at Yan Jing. "If you have the guts, then do it agai—"

Before he could even finish his sentence, Yan Jing's weird energy skyrocketed again!!

From the Second Tier, stepping into the realm of the Third Tier!

This time, someone finally couldn't hold on. In the distance, a person in Zhou Kai's team let out a cry of alarm as they were violently flipped into the water. This commotion jolted awake the others who were resisting their lotus leaves. Fine beads of sweat broke out on Ji Yongxin's forehead. With the lotus leaf's power enhanced to such a terrifying degree, even he didn't dare to distract himself by taking a step anymore; he had to devote his full strength to stabilizing his body.

Suddenly, as if remembering something, he looked toward Yan Jing's vicinity.

He saw that over there, Yan Jing's teammates were standing as steady as stone Buddhas, appearing completely unfazed!

Yet they were the people closest to Yan Jing!

How could this be—

Ji Yongxin stared at Yan Jing in disbelief.

On the shore.

Naturally, the others also noticed this scene.

Zhou Kai's face looked terrible. He had just been mocking Sheng Xia, yet now he had been thoroughly slapped in the face, and his man was the first to fall into the water.

Shui Nianshuang chuckled. "Sheng Xia, your people are quite good at showing off."

Steward Long spoke coldly. "In this situation, there is only one possibility. He used some sort of method to shoulder the Lotus Power of the other five people."

"But—"

"He is acting far too arrogantly."

Steward Long felt a sense of disgust toward Yan Jing at this moment, and his critique was merciless. "Even the heavenly prodigies of our Long family, who comprehend Lotus Power on the leaves day in and day out, can only bear the power of one extra person at most. He has only been on the lotus pond for a few minutes, yet he is single-handedly shouldering the burden of five people while recklessly raising his weird energy fluctuations. It is merely the bravery of a common man."

He assumed that Yan Jing wanted to rely on this method to rapidly deplete the numbers of the other teams, then retract his weird energy to fight them with a numerical advantage.

But the lotus pond was no ordinary object. Once it sensed weird energy fluctuations, even if the weird energy disappeared, it would not stop until it threw the person off.

In his eyes, Yan Jing's current behavior was undoubtedly suicidal.

But Sheng Xia saw it differently.

She recalled Yan Jing's words from just now—"training myself"—and her pupils subconsciously contracted.

A few minutes later, just as the crowd on the lotus pond gradually adapted to this level of fluctuation, Yan Jing's weird energy unexpectedly surged yet again!

Stepping from the Third Tier into the Fourth Tier!!!

"Splash! Splash! Splash!!!"

In an instant, three or four people plunged into the water in unison.

Ji Yongxin, who had just managed to step out again, couldn't help but pull his foot back once more, glaring at Yan Jing with resentment.

He had originally planned to show off in front of Shui Nianshuang. But now, let alone showing off, he couldn't even move an inch.

"Keep pushing yourself; see if it doesn't kill you—"

Right now, just feeling the aftershocks felt incredibly perilous, leaving him at risk of falling into the water at any moment. He refused to believe that Yan Jing could possibly hold on.

However—

One minute, two minutes, three minutes—

Seven or eight minutes passed.

Two more people plunged into the water.

But Yan Jing remained as steady as an old hound. There wasn't even a trace of tension on his face; with his eyes closed, he looked thoroughly relaxed and carefree.

"How the hell is this guy still holding on—"

Ji Yongxin muttered through gritted teeth, but in the next instant, his pupils abruptly shrank.

For the aura surrounding Yan Jing intensified once again!!!

This time, stepping from the Fourth Tier to the Fifth Tier!!

"Splash!"

Caught completely unprepared, Ji Yongxin was flipped straight into the water.

And even before him, all the others had already fallen in.

By this point, across the entire lotus pond, only the six people of Yan Jing's team remained.