Chapter 700 – Test (2)
The test finally began.
Shangguan Wu and Huang Tayun exchanged glances before they respectively went to the left and right sides of the Wall of Storm.
Ye Qingyu noticed that they were each holding an exquisite ring which was embedded with a dazzling yellow gemstone.
"This is your last reminder…" Huang Tayan darted a cold look at the group in front of the wall and spoke in a faintly disdainful tone, "Get ready for a baptism of storm. This could be a nightmare you'll never forget, lower domain ants."
At the other side of the wall, Shangguan Wu frowned slightly.
He already sensed that Huang Tayun did not bear goodwill for the Heaven Wasteland diplomatic corps.
Why does Supervisor Huang have this sort of attitude as a fellow human?
Shangguan Wu was rather surprised.
But he did not say anything.
"No need to trouble you, Supervisor Huang. We may begin." Ye Qingyu, who stood closest to the Wall of Storm, spoke with a defiant fortitude in his tone and a resolute look on his face.
"Okay. The test of the Wall of Storm officially begins," Shangguan Wu announced from the other side.
As soon as he spoke these words, he and Huang Tayun simultaneously twisted the yellow gemstone rings in their hands. A wisp of pale yellow mist spurted from each embedded gemstone and instantly entered the Wall of Storm.
Hoo!
Wind emerged.
The moment the yellow light rays entered the walls, the originally silent Wall of Storm seemed to be awakened by a strange amount of energy. The green surface of the wall began to slowly operate, and an irresistible storm abruptly burst out from within in a flash.
This suddenly-striking storm was like an ancient, mythical beast which at long last had awakened, its howl rattling the highest heavens and the entire land.
Everything outside the plaza became insignificant in this very moment, as if all that was left in this universe was the unparalleled storm power which was approaching head-on.
Everyone's face discolored instantly.
The Wall of Storm was finally awake.
Within the test area.
The several hundreds of Heaven Wasteland experts immediately felt a magnificent and uncontrollable force surging head-on. It was something they could neither imagine nor resist. Amid a sea of cries, fifty to sixty bodies were sent hurtling into midair by the storm without time to put up any resistance at all. They were catapulted several hundred meters and landed painfullyt on the plaza.
Ye Qingyu, as well as the others who were nearest to the Wall of Storm, could not help feeling immensely startled. Without time to think of anything else, they swiftly activated their maximum strength to withstand the furious and violent power of wind.
"Is this the strength of the Storm Martial Emperor?"
Ye Qingyu was astounded by it.
At the same time, he vaguely felt as if something familiar had appeared.
Although such an extreme storm which arrived head-on was furious and violent like no other, he somehow felt a tiny sense of excitement when the pressure came upon him like a landslide, as if his body craved and enjoyed this sort of terrifying pressure.
"Ah…" Many people uttered exclamations of defiance and resistance, but were ultimately unable to hold out and were lifted off the ground.
Despite exerting every ounce of their strength, and some even combusting their origin power, many of the experts remained too weak to resist and were tossed through the air one after another.
In only a short time, less than thirty people remained within the red line zone.
"Ah!"
A Brute Race expert with a burly figure, ape-like arms, and giant fists suddenly let out a fierce howl.
Kneeling on both knees, his clothes tattered instantly as he dug ten fingers viciously into the ground, allowing his fingernails to break within the crevices. His fingertips, which supported his body's resistance against the impact of the storm, were worn down by the soil layer until they each oozed a dark-red stream of blood that was more than half a meter long. He was certainly sparing no effort to hold on.
Several breaths later, however.
The Brute Race expert's face was hideous and his eyes blood-red. His ten fingers had been near-completely worn down while several parts of his arm muscles had ruptured. Flesh and bone mixed together as blood stains covered his arms. Every muscle on his body had swollen to the limits and his skin presented a dreadful reddish-black color.
"The Brute Gods above, Lord Ye… I've done my best… I…" The Brute Race expert was only left with half of his fingers and was slowly dislodging from the ground. Completely drained, he was on the verge of fainting when, like a fallen leaf in a harsh wind, he was catapulted a hundred meters off by the storm and entered a state of coma upon landing.
The watching crowd was distressed by this sight.
"Hahahaha, I just knew you lowly worse-than-scum bastards cannot withstand even a blow and are biting off more than you can chew… hahahaha." Huang Lin taunted and derided contemptuously, making no secret of his elation.
The crowd scowled.
Huang Lin was ever more elated.
However, the crowd did not say a word and instead turned their heads toward the test area once more. Everyone was grim-faced as they fully focused their eyes on the middle of the plaza.
They were waiting for something.
Or perhaps, they were expecting something.
Three breaths later.
The Wall of Storm shone brightly.
The world abruptly became clear.
The storm power, which had come like a pack of savage beasts straight out of Asura's purgatory, abruptly dissipated.
Everyone's eyes widened as they looked toward the test area.
Especially the Heaven Wasteland contingent. Their hearts instantly hung in suspense as if something was grabbing them hard.
Within the red line zone.
Closest to the wall were three figures which were standing firm despite bearing the brunt of the attack.
Ye Qingyu, Wen Wan, and Ximen Yeshui.
Behind them was the former top expert of the Snow Empire imperial family's offering temple and martial maniac, Hu Jue [Translator's note: Hu Yu in earlier versions.] His sturdy figure, too, stood firm on the left side of the zone, as his extremely vigorous yuan qi power surged and his black changshan flapped in the wind.
However, he seemed yet to regain his senses from the terrifying storm earlier. He looked at the Wall of Storm with shock-filled eyes before he raised his head, as if deep in thought, and gazed at the chaotic windstorms, which tore apart stars and space outside the silver wind layer in the heavens.
Behind him were Empress Yu Xiaoxing and First Princess Yu Junqing. Their clothing fluttered in the wind as golden light mad up of imperial qi indistinctly surrounded their bodies.
This was an inborn protective light shield which was only activated when an incoming attack which contained the power of laws was felt.
As the leader and first Empress of the Heaven Wasteland Domain, Yu Xiaoxing was the object of the people's faith and reverence, and thus her body acquired a mysterious imperial Dao power which would protect her at critical moments. When the Greater One Sect tried searching her memory, it was this power which obstructed and rendered them helpless. Now that she had climbed from being the Crown Prince of the Snow Empire to Wuzhao Emperor of the entire Heaven Wasteland Domain, her bodily imperial qi had increased several times over. She was, therefore, able to persist despite not being the strongest.
The First Princess Yu Junqing, meanwhile, had always been unsurpassed in strength, and so passing the test was naturally expected of her.
Beside these female experts was a tall yet thin and light figure, with white hair and brows, who stood quietly and as steadily as a mountain range. He wore a snow-white robe which was embroidered with a lifelike stalk of snow bamboo at its hem using silver thread, and his entire body was emanating a frosty aura as if he was an icy mountain.
Yan Buhui.
Very few people among the diplomatic corps knew that Yan Buhui was a member of the team for the domain rating, for he had always kept an extremely low profile and even deliberately concealed his identity. Unless absolutely necessary, he would lay low and be close to invisible among the contingent.
His strength was rated as the most improved after the changes to the Heaven Wasteland's tides of strength, and even Ye Qingyu was shocked by his improvement. Hence, getting through the test was also well expected of him.
Behind Yan Buhui was a burly Brute Race expert who was holding a giant black hammer. His muscle lines were well-defined, while blue veins were bulging on his arms. On his bare legs, blood was oozing out of several wounds and soaking the slabs beneath his feet. This was none other than the king of the Desert Brute Race, Shi Potian.
He was a member of the Heaven Wasteland diplomatic corps too.
He was taking huge gulps of breath.
There were two distinct drag marks on the ground beneath his feet. Evidently, he had been forced back a few steps while withstanding the storm, and had to strenuously make use of his hammer and leg strength to hold firm within the zone.
A puce light flickered on the ground beside the giant hammer marks.
It was, on close inspection, a giant turtle shell densely covered with puce dragon scale patterns. On its back were three prominent longitudinal ridges, in between which were scutes that bulged like saw teeth and appeared to be extremely stiff and sharp.
The turtle shell, which was more than ten meters tall, sat on the ground as firmly as a mountain range and looked very odd.
Shi Potian gently tapped on it.
"Eh… is it ooooover?" a stuttering voice was heard.
The turtle shell moved slightly before a giant turtle head stuck out from below and swept a highly cautious glance all around. Comprehending the situation, it bellowed ecstatically, "I… I held out… haha…"
Laughter was heard among the diplomatic corps.
The Southern Waters Demon Race experts, in particular, laughed all the more joyfully and excitedly.
This was because the giant puce turtle was none other than the War God of the Sea Demon Race, [Dragon Turtle Big Demon].
He was naturally endowed with extraordinary talents and a long lifespan. His shell, said to be the hardest shield in the universe, was implanted with dragon scale runes unique to the sea races, and weighed 2.5 million kilograms. There was a legend that he was once physically suppressed by an ancient divine mountain for several dozen years during the warring period of the Heaven Wasteland Domain but remained completely undamaged.
By relying on his natural gifts, he had easily resisted the might of the Wall of Storm.
He stood up cheerfully, and, with a flicker of the purple light on his body, transformed into a hunchbacked old man.
Everyone's eyes then followed along the red line and saw that behind the nine experts was another figure, which trembled slightly yet remained standing tall at four to five meters. He was draped in hide armor and as sturdy as a bear, and fortitude showed on his square face which had a ghastly knife scar on the right cheek.
This person was Jin Tuodao, the top expert of the White Mountain Black Waters Brute Race for several hundred years.
The [Black Wind Long Knife] he was holding, which gave off a dazzling golden light and was imprinted with black runes, had left a mark which was a meter long and half a meter deep in the ground, allowing his red battle boots to dig firmly into the soil.
Ten. A total of ten people.
Success!
