Long Chen had brought his group straight into a dead-end, seemingly without sensing anything. Hence, quite a few people shook their heads and sighed. He had already lost with this.
Although quite a few disciples in the academy had connections with the Chu family, when compared to the total sum of disciples in the academy, it was still a very small portion. So, the majority of all people actually hoped for Long Chen to win because Chu Kuang’s constant arrogance was extremely displeasing.
However, watching Long Chen take the wrong path, they sighed dejectedly. That hope in their hearts was extinguished.
Long Chen’s group quickly reached the dead-end. When Mu Qingyun and the others saw it, they were dumbfounded. A giant cliff cut off their path.
“Brother San…” Zhong Ling and the others were dumbfounded.
“Don’t waste words. Keep going.” Long Chen brought them straight up to the cliff. Long Chen then jumped onto the cliff and made a mark on it with his hand.
“Qingyun, give me a cross slash here,” shouted Long Chen.
“I…” Mu Qingyun was stunned.
“Don’t hesitate. Trust me. You can do it,” said Long Chen.
Mu Qingyun then clenched her teeth and unsheathed her sword. Two slashes came out in a row, leaving a giant cross-shaped scar on the cliff.
When Mu Qingyun struck, the disciples outside cried out in shock. “Sword-light! It was definitely sword-light, the specific divine ability of sword cultivators!”
As soon as Mu Qingyun attacked, it shook countless people. Even Heaven Master Yun Yang’s eyes were shining. According to his calculations, Mu Qingyun should have required three years of bitter cultivation in order to truly step onto the path of the sword cultivator.
Clearly, encountering Long Chen had caused her to completely transform. She had condensed sword-light far faster than he had expected.
Zhong Ling and the others exclaimed in shock. They saw light coming through the two scars on the cliff.
This terrifyingly giant cliff was actually only a few meters thick. Mu Qingyun’s attack had pierced through it.
“Li Cai!”
As soon as Long Chen shouted, Li Cai understood. He stamped on the ground, his leg instantly doubling in size. He then smashed toward the cliff like a cannonball, unleashing a punch.
BOOM!
A hole was blasted into the cliff. Li Cai had awakened his latent bloodline talent, and it gave him shocking physical power. With the cuts that Mu Qingyun had made, he easily pierced through.
“Let’s go!”
Long Chen immediately led them through this hole, and the disciples outside came to a sudden understanding. So Long Chen had intentionally led them here. After going through this cliff, their path had been shortened immensely, saving them a lot of time.
“Congratulations, Heaven Master Yun Yang. A powerful sword cultivator has appeared in your God Institute.”
“It’s Heaven Master Dong Ming!”
“Why has Heaven Master Dong Ming come here? Doesn’t he need to preside over the Immortal Institute’s competition?”
“There’s nothing to see in the immortal competition. One side actually just surrendered at the start. It’s already over, so I came over here to watch. Hehe, I didn’t think that I’d get to see such a marvelous sight. Heaven Master Yun Yang, congratulations.” Heaven Master Dong Ming laughed.
Along with Heaven Master Dong Ming were quite a few other instructors of the Immortal Institute, as well as some disciples.
Although the Immortal Institute and the God Institute weren’t friendly with each other, Heaven Master Yun Yang and Heaven Master Dong Ming were old acquaintances. Everyone also knew that the fighting between the two institutes didn’t affect their relationship.
“What is there to congratulate? It probably won’t be long before the Sword Dao Institute comes to take her. You also know that we can’t provoke the Sword Dao Institute. If they want one of ours, we have to offer them with both hands,” said Heaven Master Yun Yang with a smile.
Heaven Master Dong Ming first greeted the head judge and the two magistrates before sitting. “Can you help me arrange two more seats here?” Heaven Master Dong Ming looked to the disciples behind him.
Luo Bing and Luo Ning immediately rushed forward. Heaven Master Dong Ming had actually gotten them seats. Luo Ning gratefully said, “Heaven Master Dong Ming, you really are the best. You saved us so much time and brought us to watch the divine competition.”
“Haha, the main thing is that I want to watch as well. If your competition didn’t end, I couldn’t leave either. In any case, the other side didn’t have the heart to compete. Ending it was better,” laughed Heaven Master Dong Ming.
People couldn’t help smiling. This Heaven Master Dong Ming was really easy to like. He wanted to watch the divine competition, so he actually openly changed the rules. It was completely different from those instructors who stuck to the rules like they were edicts of the heavens. Furthermore, he didn’t bother concealing his intentions or coming up with excuses. He was even this brazen in front of the head judge.
Luo Bing and Luo Ning sat and watched as Long Chen charged through the maze. His speed exceeded Chu Kuang’s side.
Once they passed through the maze, they entered a spacious area. This was a channel so long that they couldn’t see the end.
As soon as they set foot inside of it, the channel lit up. One ferocious beast after another appeared within, their eyes scarlet like they were crazed, and they immediately attacked.
These beasts contained a devilish aura in their eyes. They were bloodthirsty and violent, completely different from the beasts the disciples hunted on the hunting grounds.
“They’ve entered the second phase, the Devil Slaughter Path. These beasts have been infected by the devil race’s blood. I wonder how many people…” Luo Bing shook her head, unable to keep speaking. The divine competition was different from the immortal competition. It was far bloodier, and there were always some casualties when it was held.
That was because the God Institute’s disciples focused on activating their bloodline power, and to do so, they needed to make breakthroughs under the threat of death. But the Immortal Institute’s disciples focused more on comprehending the Heavenly Daos. The two paths were different, and the further they went down these paths, the more the two paths diverged.
That was why the divine competition was bloodier than the immortal competition. In the cruelest competition of their history, one side lost over three hundred people. They had only had five hundred people at the start.
When Long Chen and the others entered the second phase, the disciples watching tensed up. This was a chaotic battlefield. What was tested was power, not luck.
In the face of these devilish beasts, Long Chen simply stood there. However, Mu Qingyun and the others instantly understood and charged forward.
Mu Qingyun reached the first beast. Her sword flashed through the air, striking like a bolt of lightning. As a result, that beast that was at the peak of Mortal Transcendence had its head cut off in an instant, its blood spraying into the air.
“Get into formation! Just do what we’ve drilled!” shouted Mu Qingyun, already charging toward the group of beasts.
