War Sovereign Soaring The Heavens

Chapter 3643: The Trial of Ten Stars Students

‘Ask for one from the dean?’ Duan Ling Tian was slightly tempted by Ding Yan’s solution. Nevertheless, he dismissed the suggestion in the end. After all, if he did that, he would owe Murong Sui Feng a favor. He disliked owing favors. In the end, he said with a faint smile, “I still plan to participate in the trial.”

“You…” Ding Yan thought about persuading Duan Ling Tian again, but when he saw Duan Ling Tian’s determined gaze, he gave up. In the end, he only said, “Then, let’s stick together during the trial. Those king-rank forces will refrain themselves if I’m with you…”

Before Duan Ling Tian could reply, Ding Yan hastily added, “Don’t misunderstand. I’m not trying to use you to gain trial points. I’m sure you’ve heard that only those who killed the monsters will be given points.”

Ding Yan had been worried Duan Ling Tian might misunderstand his intention when he proposed this idea so he quickly explained himself.

“They’ll refrain themselves because of you?” Duan Ling Tian looked at Ding Yan, puzzled. Then, he said with a laugh, “If my memories serve me right, I defeated you…”

Ding Yan hesitated for a moment before he said, “I’m not saying they’re afraid of my strength. I meant that my identity might give them pause.”

“Your identity?” Duan Ling Tian raised an eyebrow as he looked at Ding Yan curiously. “What about your identity?”

After all, if Ding Yan’s identity could make the king-rank forces in Skywind City refrain from acting, he would not have to live in a primitive-grade courtyard.

“When the time comes, you’ll see for yourself…” Ding Yan said vaguely, obviously reluctant to speak more about this matter.

Duan Ling Tian did not pursue the matter. Moreover, it did not matter to him what Ding Yan’s identity was since he could very well protect himself. As long as there were no Kings of Gods in the trial ground, he was confident about keeping himself safe. He might not even have to run from a group of advanced gods. This meant in the unlikely event that he could not deal with them, he would still be able to escape from them with ease.

“In any case, thank you for your kindness.” Duan Ling Tian nodded to Ding Yan before he went forward to collect his divine pills.

Duan Ling Tian was about to return to his courtyard after collecting the divine pills when…

“Duan Ling Tian!”

When Duan Ling Tian turned around, he saw a cyan-clad young man with a medium build and an ordinary appearance hurrying toward him.

“How can I help you?” Duan Ling Tian did not recognize the cyan-clad young man.

At the same time, Ding Yang’s Voice Transmission rang in Duan Ling Tian’s ears.

“He’s Zhong He Liang, a member of the Zhong clan. However, he’s not a lineal disciple of the clan. Hence, his status in the clan can’t compare to Zhong Ke Qi’s at all.”

Zhong He Liang said solemnly as soon as he arrived in front of Duan Ling Tian, “Duan Ling Tian, I’ve been sent by the Zhong clan to express our sincerity. If you’re willing to join our clan and swear using the Devil Heart’s Blood Oath to be loyal to the clan, the clan will forget about your conflict with Young Master Ke Qi. Otherwise…”

Zhong He Liang used silence to make his threats clear.

“Otherwise what?” Duan Ling Tian glanced at Zhong He Liang with a faint smile on his face. “Is your clan going to kill me just because I seized the prominent-grade courtyard from Zhong Ke Qi? Don’t forget that I earned the right to occupy that prominent-grade courtyard according to the rules of the Hidden Fog Academy.”

“Duan Ling Tian, you’re strong and talented. I’m sure you’ve heard of the saying ‘a wise man knows when to submit to fate’,” Zhong He Liang said as he shook his head, “This is my advice to you. Please give me an answer before the start of the trial. This is my Soul Pearl.”

When Zhong He Liang handed Duan Ling Tian his Soul Pearl, Duan Ling Tian naturally refused. “I don’t need it.”

“Very well.” Zhong He Liang no longer tried to persuade Duan Ling Tian. He left after putting his Soul Pearl away. As soon as he turned away, a sneer appeared on his face. When faced with Duan Ling Tian, he did not dare to go overboard. After all, he was no match for Duan Ling Tian at all.

Before Duan Ling Tian could leave again, several people from the king-rank forces in Skywind City stepped forward one after another to extend an invitation on behalf of the forces they belonged to. This included a member of the Zhou clan. Unlike the Zhong clan, they did not make excessive demands such as requiring Duan Ling Tian to swear on the Devil Heart’s Blood Oath. It did not matter to them if he only stayed in the forces temporarily, it would still benefit them.

Alas, Duan Ling Tian refused them. After all, he already had a plan. He was now in the Hidden Fog Academy, set to join the lord-rank Hidden Fog Sect in the future. It did not make sense for him to join a king-rank force now.

…

The trial for Ten Stars students in the Hidden Fog Academy was held annually. Rewards would be given to the top student of the trial.

Similar to the past, the Hidden Fog Academy was giving away many attractive rewards. The best among them was the Dragon Mark Divine Herb.

At this moment, a group of Ten Stars students was chatting in front of the Ten Stars Pavilion while they waited to depart for the trial.

“The academy is quite stingy this year. Last year, the academy rewarded the top student with three divine pills. However, this year they’re only giving away a Dragon Mark Divine Herb.”

“That’s right. Although the effects are the same, the Dragon Mark Divine Herb’s efficacy can’t compare to the divine pills.”

“What does it matter? You’re not going to rank first in the trial anyway. In any case, the rewards for the second and third place are better this year so everything is balanced out.”

The trial would last for three months once the Ten Stars students enter the trial grounds which were usually located in remote mountainous areas that were overrun by beasts and monsters.

Regardless of how many monsters were killed, there never seemed to be a lack of them at trial grounds. This was because the Hidden Fog Sect would frequently capture monsters and release them at the trial grounds.

Similar to before, before the commencement of the trial, the members of the Hidden Fog Sect had already released a huge number of monsters at the trial grounds.

At this moment, Duan Ling Tian was also standing among the crowd, waiting to be brought to the trial grounds.

Ding Yan who was standing next to Duan Ling Tian said, “The rules of the trials are…”

Duan Ling Tian learned that the trial grounds for Ten Stars students was called the Monster Forest. A Point Token would be given to all the students only moments before they entered the trial grounds to prevent students from cheating. Points will be given when the blood of the monster touched the token. The points gained varied according to the kind of monster one killed.

The members of the Hidden Fog Sect had cast a Formation in the forest that would ensure the points would only be given by killing the monsters that they had released there. The Formation could detect if a monster had recently been in a spatial ring or a Little World and only give points to token touching blood of a monster within 15 minutes of the kill. This was to prevent students from cheating.

The teachers of the Hidden Fog Academy would also patrol the trial grounds before the start of the trial to make sure no outsiders were inside.

Alas, these methods were not foolproof. After all, the Hidden Fog Academy could not completely prevent outsiders from entering the trial grounds. Only those at or above the level of Kings of Gods were restricted from entering the trial grounds.

Ding Yan said, “The Point Tokens not only recognizes its owner, but it recognizes the law that the owner comprehends as well. Hence, you can only gain points by using the law you comprehended to kill monsters.”

When Duan Ling Tian heard Ding Yan’s words, he felt that the Hidden Fog Academy really went to great lengths to ensure students could not cheat even if it was not completely foolproof. He thought it would be easier if the academy directly barred outsiders from entering the trial ground instead of just barring those at or above the level of a King of Gods.

When he asked Ding Yan about it, Ding Yan had said that the academy thought it was safer to lay a Formation that restricted those at or above the level of a King of Gods. After all, many Kings of Gods or those who were stronger who were skilled in Formation could easily deactivate a general Formation that barred others from entering. Moreover, although Ding Yan used the word ‘restrict’, in fact, the current Formation could not restrict Kings of Gods or those who were stronger at all. It would only sound the alarm if those at or above the level of Kings of Gods approached or entered the trial grounds.

Moreover, there were no Formation masters in the Hidden Fog Sect. In the end, they could only rely on using multiple restrictions to lower the chance of cheating.

At this moment, at one of the corners, a grey-clad young man approached Hong Jun.. He looked at the purple-clad figure in the distance with twinkling eyes as he asked Hong Jun, “Hong Jun, you were defeated by him? Is he really that strong?”