410: Chapter 54 Testing

Wang Ye's attempt to sneak out in the middle of the night with Zhuge Qing was unsuccessful.

Because they ran into Ma Xianhong, who had anticipated their move, along with a group of Superior Roots members under his command.

Looking at Zhuge Qing and Wang Ye, who were completely blocked, Ma Xianhong said expressionlessly, "Gentlemen, if you didn't plan to stay, you could have just told me. Sneaking away in the middle of the night like this, are you looking down on me?"

Wang Ye sighed helplessly, "If I told you, would you let us go?"

Ma Xianhong replied, "Whether you leave or not is irrelevant to me. However, these friends behind me feel that it would be a huge waste not to spar with the two of you who shone so brightly during the Luotian Grand Ritual!"

With that, he looked up at Meng Li, who was standing on a treetop not far away, and smilingly extended an invitation, "Mr. Meng, would you like to join us for a warm-up?"

Zhuge Qing and Wang Ye were simultaneously startled.

Because they hadn't detected Meng Li's presence until just now.

Meng Li smiled, "I just heard the commotion and came to watch the fun. I don't plan on leaving for now. Forget about joining in; you all enjoy yourselves."

As soon as he finished speaking, Hari Chagai, the Towering man who was one of the Superior Roots members, stepped forward toward Wang Ye.

Seeing this, Wang Ye placed the bag on his shoulder on the ground and sighed, "I knew this place wouldn't be short on trouble."

At this moment, Hari Chagai raised his hand, circulated his Qi, and launched an attack against Wang Ye.

Wang Ye saw that he was large and sturdy, immediately knowing he was a power-type fighter, so he chose to redirect the force along the momentum, but he nearly failed.

Because Hari Chagai's speed exceeded his expectations.

Just as Wang Ye was surprised, Fu Rong, another Superior Roots member, leaped into the air holding a fruit knife, intending to strike Wang Ye down with a powerful downward slash.

Zhuge Qing, who had set up a Qimen Formation, immediately activated a Wind Rope Spell, directly binding Fu Rong as she dove down.

But in less than a second, Fu Rong rotated the knife in her hand and easily cut the Wind Rope.

Upon landing, Fu Rong coldly reminded them, "You two, be careful!"

Seeing this, Hari Chagai seemed to recall something, shouted, "Oh my!", and quickly dodged to the side.

Almost simultaneously, Fu Rong swung the fruit knife in her hand, unleashing a sharp Sword Qi toward Wang Ye and Zhuge Qing.

Wang Ye and Zhuge Qing were prepared due to the warning and managed to dodge successfully, but they couldn't help but be astonished.

Because the Sword Qi sliced through a thick tree, cutting it in half at the waist.

Meng Li, standing on the treetop, twitched the corner of his eye, stepped, and moved to another tree to continue watching the excitement.

At this time, Zhuge Qing was ambushed by the combined efforts of Zhong Xiaolong and Zhang Kun, two members of the Superior Roots, and was pulled underground by Zhang Kun using his Earth Travel Immortal ability.

"Lao Qing!" Wang Ye exclaimed in alarm, wanting to help, but he was attacked from the front and back by Hari Chagai and Fu Rong.

Helpless, he had no choice but to use Luanjin Dun to immobilize the two of them.

A moment later, Zhuge Qing escaped from underground using the Earth River Chariot Spell, but due to an incorrect formation coordinate, he suffered a backlash, leaving him quite miserable and uncomfortable.

Before he could recover from the negative status, Ma Xianhong walked up behind him: "Brother Qing, why put yourself through this?"

Zhuge Qing's heart tightened, wanting to use a Spell, but Ma Xianhong warned him in a stern tone, "Don't turn around!"

"Turning around means you are officially declaring war on me. Let's be direct: what we want to experience is not the Qimen of your Wuhou School, but the method Daoist Wang used to defeat you during the Luotian Grand Ritual. We want to obtain it!"

"However, one thing needs to be made clear: I genuinely hoped you all would join us and become one of our members."

"At that time, you could have access to both my Divine Mechanism Hundred Refinements and Daoist Wang's ultimate technique."

Zhuge Qing's expression froze.

Because he clearly felt his heart waver.

The temptation of the Eight Peculiar Skills was too great!

Especially since one of them was a Qimen technique!

Ma Xianhong's words continued, "You can also choose to wait and see. Who knows, maybe Daoist Wang can create a miracle and knock us all down."

Meanwhile, Wang Ye was trapped in a one-against-five situation, unable to voice his suffering.

Luanjin Dun was indeed powerful, arguably a bug, but its specific effect depended on the user.

With Wang Ye's current cultivation, restraining five Superior Roots members simultaneously was already extremely taxing.

There were far more than five Superior Roots members present.

Wang Ye had no choice but to first choose to incapacitate one person.

However, just as he was preparing to act, a pebble flew toward him.

The thrower was Zhong Xiaolong, a Superior Roots member who was outside the immediate conflict, standing next to another member, Zhao Guizhen.

Wang Ye's gaze darkened, and he exerted all his strength to expand the range of his Qimen Formation, enveloping Zhong Xiaolong and Zhao Guizhen, then forcibly moving them into the existing formation for suppression.

This move succeeded, but it also reached his absolute limit.

The next second, Wang Ye was left panting heavily from the immense load.

Meng Li, watching from a distance, secretly shook his head. Wang Ye was truly risking his life!

Or rather, without sufficient cultivation, Wind-After Odd Gates was a life-draining technique.

It allowed the user to control every change within the Qimen Formation, but the user was also inside the formation and would be affected by these changes. It was just that because the ability was buggy, the user often overlooked this point, letting it turn into hidden damage.

If not treated and eliminated promptly, by the time it erupted, it would most likely be beyond saving.

However, Meng Li remembered that Wang Ye had backing, so he was too lazy to interfere.

In that brief period, the situation on the scene underwent a dramatic reversal.

Zhuge Qing saw Wang Ye's perilous situation, finally suppressed the greed in his heart, resolutely attacked Ma Xianhong, and then used a wind-based Spell to blow Wang Ye far away, creating a barrier with a fire-based Spell to block Ma Xianhong and the others, leaving himself to cover the retreat.

During the process, Zhuge Qing pointed out the difference between himself and Wang Ye.

Wang Ye habitually thought of others first; he, however, would consider himself first.

Afterward, Wang Ye offered to stay behind and teach Wind-After Odd Gates as a condition to secure Zhuge Qing's departure.

Just as the two thought this was the end, Ma Xianhong revealed his hand, saying that the previous events were merely a setup to probe their natures.

Their actions of considering each other passed the test, allowing them to decide whether to stay or go freely, and Wang Ye did not have to hand over Wind-After Odd Gates.

Wang Ye felt speechless and took his bag, preparing to leave.

Zhuge Qing, however, chose to stay.

Then, he pointed at Meng Li, who had been watching the excitement for a long time, and asked Ma Xianhong, "Sect Master, Lao Wang and I passed the test. What about this gentleman?"

Ma Xianhong was momentarily stunned, then looked at Meng Li: "Mr. Meng, it seems Brother Qing is quite interested in you."

Saying this, he glanced at Hari Chagai, Zhong Xiaolong, and the other Superior Roots members, smiling, "I estimate they feel the same."

"Why don't you show us a few moves?"

Meng Li tilted his head, "Sure. I'm actually a bit restless from watching the fun just now. Whoever among you is interested can come out and spar with me."

"Since I brought it up, I'll go first."

"Zhuge Qing of the Wuhou School requests your guidance!"