Chapter 44: Completing the Trial

Despair washed over everyone's faces. Such an invincible puppet monkey was clearly beyond anything they could handle.

None of their attacks had the slightest effect on it—how were they supposed to fight this?

Just at that moment, the door leading to the eighth floor swung open.

Everyone, who had just lost all hope, suddenly realized something.

As it turned out, the seventh floor wasn't meant for them to defeat this mechanical puppet monkey; it was merely a test for them to sprint toward the eighth floor while enduring the puppet's protection and obstruction.

Regaining their hope, everyone sprang into action, scrambling and shoving as they dashed toward the entrance of the eighth floor.

Yang Feng was particularly lucky. Being closest to the door of the eighth floor, he immediately circulated his breathing technique and bolted straight through.

Upon entering the eighth floor, the roars of the mechanical monkey behind him vanished entirely, blocked completely by the barrier!

His wristband added another five hundred points to his tally.

A short while later, seven more battered figures stumbled out through the door.

After waiting a bit longer, when no one else emerged, they realized that those left behind on the lower level would no longer be able to make it up.

There were eight people on the eighth floor, and apart from Yang Feng, everyone else looked thoroughly battered.

Having learned their lesson from the seventh floor, no one dared to act recklessly again.

Yet, after the seven of them waited for a long time, there was still no movement whatsoever on the eighth floor.

Finally, Yan Xue could no longer hold back and walked toward the inner gate of the eighth floor.

Seeing this, the others followed closely behind.

However, the moment they crossed the threshold into the eighth section, everyone felt a tremendous wave of pressure!

The eighth floor was completely empty except for a gigantic skull of an unknown creature.

The overwhelming pressure was radiating directly from this colossal skull.

The door to the ninth floor was located right behind the giant skull. As long as they could walk past it, they would successfully clear the eighth floor!

Easier said than done; while it sounded simple, executing it was exceptionally difficult.

Yan Xue, Nangong Hang, and the others all wore agonizing expressions, as if they were trudging forward with a massive mountain strapped to their backs.

Yang Feng and Bai Wu, however, appeared completely at ease, because both of had already reached the Grandmaster realm, and Grandmasters never cowered before mere pressure!

Thus, amidst the complex gazes of the remaining five, the two of them walked straight through to the ninth floor.

The ninth floor presented yet another mechanical puppet, but this one was a tier-two mechanical puppet.

To pass this trial, one had to defeat this mechanical puppet.

Bai Wu wore a complex expression and let out a bitter laugh. Although he had made it to the ninth floor, his physical stamina was completely exhausted. Moreover, facing a tier-two combatant, even at peak condition, he would be no match for the opponent.

Left with no choice, he could only reluctantly choose to give up!

"Good luck!" Bai Wu suddenly said to Yang Feng as he prepared to leave.

Yang Feng nodded in acknowledgment.

He was likely the only one capable of clearing this trial.

Stepping into the ninth-floor doorway, Yang Feng had already figured out how this so-called secret realm helped them improve their strength.

Every single checkpoint here pushed their potential to the absolute limit, forcing them to circulate their breathing techniques under various extreme conditions, constantly plunging candidates into a struggle between life and death to gain insights!

Doing this would undoubtedly yield massive progress for the candidates.

However, he didn't need this kind of tempering. No one knew how many levels this cultivation secret realm actually had. Although he still had stamina to spare, if this continued, sooner or later he would encounter a checkpoint he couldn't defeat!

There was a chance he might even get injured by then!

That would make the losses outweigh the gains!

As Yang Feng stepped onto the ninth floor, the tier-two puppet immediately sprang into action!

It unleashed a tier-two martial skill and charged straight at Yang Feng.

While a tier-two puppet was slightly weaker than a living tier-two martial artist, its defensive power far surpassed that of a human tier-two!

Facing this metallic brute, Yang Feng ultimately unleashed his tier-two Thunder-Shattering Breathing Technique combined with the Grandmaster-tier Collapsing Fist, managing to smash the tier-two puppet apart piece by piece!

Finally, he arrived at the tenth floor!

In the surveillance room, Luo Yang and Cheng Yan watched Yang Feng's retreating figure with complicated expressions.

"As expected, he's even stronger than Wang Teng. Back then, when Wang Teng first attempted the trial, he couldn't even get past the ninth floor, yet Yang Feng actually made it to the tenth!"

Cheng Yan exclaimed with emotion.

"Then do you think Yang Feng can get past the tenth floor?"

Luo Yang asked.

"The tenth floor requires facing attacks of multiple elemental attributes; one must have mastered a tier-two advanced breathing technique to even stand a chance of passing.

From what we've seen, Yang Feng has displayed a tier-two breathing technique. If I'm not mistaken, it should be the tier-two intermediate Thunder-Shattering Breathing Technique. It's quite impressive, but clearing the tenth floor will still be rather difficult!"

Cheng Yan analyzed objectively!

"So you mean Yang Feng won't be able to make it through?"

Luo Yang inquired.

"Correct, I don't think he'll pass. A martial artist can only cultivate a single breathing technique per stage. Since he has already learned the Thunder-Shattering Breathing Technique, it will be extremely difficult for him to clear this during the second tier."

Cheng Yan explained.

Luo Yang nodded. It was common knowledge that martial artists could only practice one breathing technique per stage!

Rationally, he thought the same, but deep down, he had a hunch that this young man would create another miracle.

"Care to make a wager? One hundred thousand Federation dollars! I bet Yang Feng clears the tenth floor!"

Cheng Yan was somewhat surprised, but since someone was practically rushing to send him money, he naturally wasn't going to refuse.

"Deal!"

Just as the two finalized their wager and eagerly anticipated Yang Feng's performance, Yang Feng unexpectedly chose to walk out through the exit door.

This left both of them completely bewildered!

"What is going on with this Yang Feng? He clearly still had the stamina to continue, why did he suddenly stop?" Cheng Yan asked curiously.

"I have no idea!"

Questions filled both of their gazes!

They even began to wonder if Yang Feng had sustained injuries earlier that they had failed to notice.

Upon exiting the secret realm, Yang Feng ran into the two instructors.

Yang Feng was somewhat surprised by this encounter.

"Is there something the two instructors need?"

Yang Feng asked.

"Why did you stop the trial?" Luo Yang questioned.

"Because I figured I couldn't beat the tenth floor, so I gave up." Yang Feng directly chose to lie!

Both Luo Yang and Cheng Yan frowned. Although they also believed Yang Feng couldn't pass, their judgment was based on knowing the contents of the tenth-floor trial.

For Yang Feng, who hadn't even attempted it yet, to declare himself incapable was completely unreasonable!

Geniuses were inherently proud; the stronger their strength, the higher their pride—this had basically become a theorem.

Having overseen so many special recruitment trials and encountered countless geniuses, neither of them had ever seen anyone escape this theorem; every single one of them possessed the stubborn attitude of refusing to turn back until they crashed into a southern wall.

How was it that Yang Feng turned back without even hitting the wall?

This baffled them completely.

Seeing the two exchanging glances, Yang Feng asked directly, "Is there a problem?"

Luo Yang had no choice but to say, "Come with me first, I'll show you something!"

Without asking further, Yang Feng followed the two instructors.

Promptly led by the instructors, Yang Feng laid eyes on a large square pool up ahead.

The pool was quite spacious, measuring about twenty meters in length.

Soaking inside the pool were none other than the candidates who had participated in this martial arts examination!