Chapter 4676: The Begin of the Trial
“You… aren’t going to follow your master’s way to breach the formation? Aren’t you in a hurry to find Zi Ling? Shouldn’t you choose the safer method here?” Eggy asked.
“The information I have received earlier tells me that I have to clear all of the trials in order to enter the Hidden Dragon Martial Sect. In fact, there’s even a strict sequence to how I should challenge the trial,” Chu Feng said.
“There’s actually such complexity behind this? You must be careful then. If you fail here, you won’t be able to save Zi Ling anymore.”
Despite Eggy’s words, her tone was extremely gentle. Her words carried no hints of blaming Chu Feng.
Having known Chu Feng for so long, she knew and trusted Chu Feng far better than anyone else did. Since Chu Feng had made up his mind, regardless of whether it was right or wrong, she would walk down this path together with him.
“Kikiki… You actually chose to challenge the full formation. Young man, your courage is praiseworthy. There’s a different set of rules for courageous individuals like you.”
A mysterious voice suddenly sounded from the formation.
“Different set of rules? Elder, what kind of rules are there?” Chu Feng asked.
“If you clear the full formation, you’ll be able to obtain the Hidden Dragon Soul Armor. However, if you fail even a single trial, you’ll lose your life here,” the voice replied.
“The price of defeat is death?”
Eggy’s eyebrows shot up.
“Elder, didn’t you mention that the price of loss is eternal banishment from this cavern? Why did the consequences suddenly become more severe?” Chu Feng asked.
“That’s only if you choose a single trial. If you had gone down that route, your memories will just be erased, and you won’t be able to step onto this land ever again. However, you have chosen to walk down a different path. Naturally, the price of defeat is different too.
“Lad, you have chosen your own route… There’s no room for regret anymore. Face the trials!” the mysterious voice said.
Chu Feng’s surroundings suddenly began warping, and before he knew it, he had already landed in the midst of a forest.
There was a peculiar-looking woman lying next to him. This woman looked similar to a human, but her purple skin and green eyes suggested that she was of a different race.
Chu Feng took a look at himself and noticed that his body had undergone some changes too. He had transformed to be of the same race as this woman.
“Eggy, Yu Sha, are the two of you fine?” Chu Feng called out.
In truth, Chu Feng could sense the situation in his World Spirit Space, but he still chose to ask the question just to be careful.
“We’re fine, Chu Feng. Has the trial started?” Eggy asked.
“It’s started. Based on the sequence of my choice, this trial should be ‘Compassion’,” Chu Feng replied.
“Oh, isn’t this simple? Since it’s compassion, all you have to do is help everyone in need. Chu Feng, look at that woman beside you. She seemed to be poisoned. You should hurry up and save her,” Eggy reminded.
The woman lying next to Chu Feng was indeed poisoned, and she was in a very bad condition. So, Chu Feng released his spirit power to diagnose the woman.
However, at the moment he released his spirit power, a tight frown formed on his forehead.
“Is this how they’re going to play this game?” Chu Feng muttered helplessly.
“Chu Feng, what’s wrong?” Eggy asked.
“The poison in this woman’s body is no ordinary poison. Normal means won’t be able to save her, though I do know one way that’ll work,” Chu Feng said.
“What is it?” Eggy asked.
“To offer her my meat,” Chu Feng replied.
“Your meat? What do you mean? What a moment… you mean your flesh is her antidote? She has to eat your flesh in order to recover?” Eggy exclaimed in horror.
“Yes, that’s right,” Chu Feng replied.
“What the heck! They must be out of their minds! What kind of ridiculous trial is this? They aren’t testing for compassion here; it’s just an excuse to torture people!” Eggy exclaimed angrily.
“But since it’s for your Zi Ling, you have no choice but to bear with it then,” Eggy advised with a deep sigh.
Even if Eggy hadn’t said a word at all, Chu Feng would have still unhesitatingly chosen to offer his meat. He created a small knife with his spirit power and slit it into his own finger.
“Ssss!”
As soon as the formation knife pierced through Chu Feng’s skin, his face warped in pain.
“What’s wrong, Chu Feng? Is it very painful?”
Eggy immediately noticed something was amiss just by listening to Chu Feng’s voice.
As it turned out, while Chu Feng’s abilities were still intact, his body was in a very peculiar condition at this moment. His senses had grown extremely sensitive that even a slight injury could bring him excruciating pain.
“I’m fine.”
Fearing that Eggy would worry, Chu Feng chose not to reveal the truth. He gritted his teeth and sliced off a small piece of meat from his own body.
Perhaps it was out of worry that the woman would find it disgusting or was afraid of it, he even disguised it with his own spirit power before placing it into the woman’s mouth.
As soon as the meat entered her mouth, the woman swiftly regained her spirit. She swallowed the meat down, and the poison in her body really began to dissipate.
“Your meat can save lives! Your meat can save lives!! I’ve finally found our savior!”
The woman shouted in agitation as she quickly kneeled down and kowtowed to Chu Feng.
On the other hand, Chu Feng was eyeing his surroundings, and what he noticed made his face warp awfully.
“Do you need to go this far?” Chu Feng remarked helplessly.
To his shock, he realized that there were many others from the same race as the woman rushing out from the forest, headed in his direction. Every single one of them was suffering from the same poison, just to differing degrees.
Putting aside his flesh and blood, even if he were to feed them his bones too, he still wouldn’t be able to save all of them.
“My gosh, why are there so many poisoned people here? Surely they don’t expect you to feed all of them your flesh and blood, right?”
Eggy and Yu Sha could also see what Chu Feng was seeing, and Eggy exclaimed in horror.
Soon, these people had already surrounded Chu Feng tightly.
After the woman told all of them that Chu Feng’s meat could treat their poison, these people all kneeled down and begged desperately with him to save their lives.
“What should we do? This is a trial that assesses one’s compassion. If you leave them to the lurch, you won’t be able to clear the trial,” Eggy said worriedly.
“Chu Feng, if you distribute your flesh and blood carefully, is it possible for you to save everyone?” Yu Sha asked.
“That’s impossible. There are far too many people here. Even if Chu Feng slices his flesh to the size of a small ant, he still wouldn’t be able to save everyone. Not to mention, it’s likely that they have to consume a minimum amount in order for the antidote to be effective,” Eggy replied in Chu Feng’s stead.
“But isn’t Chu Feng a world spiritist? Can’t he regrow his flesh and blood?” Yu Sha asked.
“Regrow? Even if he’s able to do it, can he really bear with the excruciating pain? Besides, what if there are even more people beyond what we see who are poisoned too? There’s no way this is right. There must be some other solution here. Should we try looking for another way to treat these people?” Eggy asked.
Yu Sha was only considering how they could resolve the problem on hand, but Eggy was worried about the pain Chu Feng would have to go through, and she had a feeling that things weren’t as simple as they looked on the surface.
“Everyone, I’m the reincarnation of a great god. I’ve descended here today in the body of your brethren to save you. However, I need you to tell me what happened, or else I won’t be able to save you.”
With a lofty tone, Chu Feng began questioning the people kneeling around him. He knew that he had to understand the circumstances first in order to make the best choice here.
Blind sacrifice for others without knowing the circumstances was not compassion. It was just foolishness.
