Chapter 257 - 255: The Trial of the Heaven and Earth Calamity

"Fifty thousand Points? Who is that?"

Luo Tian was shocked.

The higher the Points, the greater the difficulty. An elite Upper Sect disciple could usually reach thirty-five thousand Points.

On the Slaughter Points Ranking, the person in second place had thirty-seven thousand eight hundred Points, a huge gap from first place.

Luo Tian’s rank had dropped from third to thirty-third.

"Right now, only one of the ten Core Disciples has participated in the Slaughter Grotto Heaven. He’s the one in first place," Ning Xin said.

"So it’s one of the ten Core Disciples! He’s so strong!"

Luo Tian sighed.

You could judge the other person’s strength just from their Points.

To the current Luo Tian, the ten Core Disciples were an insurmountable mountain.

Comparing himself to the ten Core Disciples was just asking for a beating.

In fact, Luo Tian’s current level was only that of a new Upper Sect Disciple.

Within this circle, Luo Tian’s performance crushed everyone else’s, earning him the title of the number one new Upper Sect Disciple!

Next, Luo Tian looked at the second leaderboard—the Survival Points Ranking.

There were fewer names on it, and the Points were generally lower than on the Slaughter Points Ranking. The first-place score was thirty-four thousand five hundred Points.

’It seems the Survival Grotto Heaven really is a bit harder, relatively speaking.’

Luo Tian felt that he had a greater advantage in this area.

Suddenly, two clusters of light vanished from the entrance of the Survival Grotto Heaven.

Two disciples were teleported out. They were covered in injuries, their robes stained red with blood. One of them even had more than half his clothes burned away, revealing a body full of scorch marks.

Their names also appeared on the ranking.

The two seemed to have taken the trial together, and their scores were similar. One had thirty-one thousand Points, and the other had thirty thousand eight hundred Points.

"Junior Luo, let’s go give it a try."

Ning Xin said to Luo Tian.

Luo Tian glanced around.

He didn’t see Wang Fu or Ying Feihang, which made him breathe a small sigh of relief.

If it was going to be like the Slaughter Grotto Heaven, with people obstructing and interfering with him, it would be very difficult to get a high score. He might as well not participate.

"Alright!"

The two of them quickly approached the Four Grotto Heavens, stepped into the Light Cave, and their figures vanished.

"That’s Luo Tian, the number one new Upper Sect Disciple. His score in the Slaughter Grotto Heaven wasn’t bad, seventeen thousand seven hundred Points."

"I wonder how many points he’ll get in this second Grotto Heaven."

"I don’t think it’ll be too high. The Survival Grotto Heaven is much harder than the Slaughter Grotto Heaven, and the death rate is higher too. It’ll be good if he can even get fifteen thousand Points!"

A few Upper Sect Disciples who had some impression of Luo Tian discussed him for a bit.

Soon, their focus shifted to Ning Xin.

Ning Xin had also been the number one new Upper Sect Disciple. In just over four months, her Cultivation had reached the Eighth Layer of the Spirit Sea Realm, and her strength was immense, approaching the level of an elite disciple.

"Ning Xin should have a shot at breaking thirty thousand Points!"

A senior disciple speculated.

Thirty thousand Points was Ning Xin’s limit. As long as she could succeed, her final total Points might break one hundred thousand.

’Luo Tian, how dare you be so close to Ning Xin, entering the trial with her.’

In a corner of the crowd, Li Zhiyun saw this scene, his face filled with resentment.

He had lost six thousand Spiritual Essence Coins in a bet half a month ago and had to sell everything he owned just to scrape the money together.

’Luo Tian, you made me lose six thousand Spiritual Essence Coins and stole Ning Xin from me. I will definitely make you pay for this!’

Li Zhiyun’s gaze turned Yin Cold.

The most direct method was to enter the Survival Grotto Heaven later and cause trouble for Luo Tian.

The death rate in the Survival Grotto Heaven was high. The slightest carelessness could lead to death inside, but that meant Li Zhiyun himself would also be at risk.

Just then, someone was teleported out, and a trial spot opened up in the Survival Grotto Heaven.

Li Zhiyun’s eyes lit up, and he prepared to enter.

SWOOSH!

But someone else reached the Grotto Heaven’s entrance first and stepped inside.

Li Zhiyun was too far from the Grotto Heaven’s entrance to make it in time. He snorted under his breath, ’Luo Tian, you got lucky!’

In truth, he was still hesitant. Plotting to harm a fellow sect member was a capital offense if discovered.

"Li Mu, why are you..."

In front of the plaza, the graceful woman suddenly cried out.

Because the one who had just stepped into the Four Grotto Heavens was none other than Li Mu!

"Li Mu, why are you still trying to compete with Luo Tian!"

The graceful woman sighed.

She could already see that Luo Tian’s future would be extraordinary. He was on a completely different level than them.

Besides, there was already a considerable gap between Li Mu and Luo Tian. Participating in the same trial as Luo Tian was simply asking for humiliation.

’Huh? I remember Li Mu once said he has a Secret Technique that allows him to unleash his Divine Power in the Survival Grotto Heaven...’

The graceful woman suddenly recalled something.

...

「Inside the Survival Grotto Heaven.」

Luo Tian was teleported to a stretch of grassland.

He looked around but didn’t see Ning Xin. It seemed she had been teleported somewhere far away.

’What kind of test will there be?’

Luo Tian was both expectant and wary.

RUMBLE! CRACK!

Suddenly, the ground began to tremble, and the earth beneath Luo Tian’s feet split open.

A chasm over ten meters wide appeared in an instant, its depths bottomless, as if leading to an abyss of death.

SWISH!

Even before the chasm fully formed, Luo Tian activated the Wind Manipulation Technique, transforming into a gust of wind and moving more than ten meters away.

’If I fell in, there’s a sixty to seventy percent chance I’d die!’

Luo Tian stood at the edge of the chasm, looking down.

This was only the beginning, yet the trial he encountered already had such a high death rate.

At the start of the Slaughter Grotto Heaven, he had only faced a few weak Blood Corpses that any Upper Sect Disciple could easily defeat. It was almost impossible to die.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

A fierce wind suddenly swept through the world, pushing Luo Tian toward the chasm.

’Is it starting again?’

Luo Tian immediately turned, moved away from the chasm, and headed elsewhere.

BOOM! CRACK!

The earth quaked again. Fissures appeared on the ground ahead, and another chasm abruptly opened up.

Luo Tian’s speed didn’t decrease in the slightest. He activated the Wind Manipulation Technique, and his figure floated out over the gap!

As an Earth Level Upper Grade Body Martial Skill, the Wind Manipulation Technique was exceptional in flexibility, short-distance bursts, and long-distance travel.

Moreover, in windy conditions, the Body Technique would be amplified!

Therefore, the fierce winds in the Survival Grotto Heaven had a limited effect on Luo Tian and even helped him to some extent.

SWOOSH!

His feet landed, and Luo Tian easily crossed the chasm that was over ten meters wide.

After that, Luo Tian continued to use the Wind Manipulation Technique, fleeing in all directions.

This was the nature of the Survival Grotto Heaven.

You had to dodge and evade everywhere. The longer you stayed, the higher your Points would be.

It was said that an elite Upper Sect Disciple once tried to face the dangers of the Survival Grotto Heaven head-on instead of dodging and evading.

As a result, in less than the time it takes an incense stick to burn, he was severely injured and almost died in the Survival Grotto Heaven.

This was something Ning Xin had told Luo Tian.

So Luo Tian didn’t hesitate in the slightest. He ran! He ran without stopping!

After running for some distance, Luo Tian suddenly saw a figure.

’It’s not Senior Sister Ning... it’s... Li Mu?’

Luo Tian got a clear look at the person.

He had a history with this person. ’Don’t tell me Li Mu has also become one of Ying Feihang’s lackeys and is here to obstruct me?’

"Luo Tian?"

Li Mu saw Luo Tian as well.

A look of indignation flashed in his eyes, but he didn’t approach Luo Tian.

"Luo Tian, my score in the Survival Grotto Heaven will surpass yours!"

Li Mu said in a deep voice.

His score in the Slaughter Grotto Heaven was only thirteen thousand points, four thousand Points lower than Luo Tian’s. The huge gap was a major blow to Li Mu.

But he was very confident about the Survival Grotto Heaven.

He had mastered a Secret Technique that would be extremely useful inside the Survival Grotto Heaven.

Li Mu’s goal this time was to get twenty thousand Points, surpassing Luo Tian’s seventeen thousand seven hundred Points from the Slaughter Points Ranking, and take the title of the number one new Upper Sect Disciple from him.

"Oh? Then we’ll just have to wait and see."

Luo Tian replied nonchalantly.

As long as Li Mu wasn’t here to deliberately cause trouble, Luo Tian didn’t care about anything else.

SWOOSH! WHOOSH! SWISH!

The two of them continuously fled across the plain, avoiding the natural disasters from the Survival Grotto Heaven.

Li Mu wanted to compete with Luo Tian, so he stayed near him. He wanted to personally watch Luo Tian get teleported out first.

’What a powerful Body Technique! His Body Technique is even more profound than when we were competing for the Upper Sect Disciple spots!’

Li Mu was shocked.

After entering the Upper Sect, he had exchanged for an Earth Level Low Grade Body Technique, thinking he had compensated for his weakness and surpassed Luo Tian.

But in comparison now, his Body Technique’s speed seemed clumsy in front of Luo Tian.

「Time slowly passed.」

The dangers from the Survival Grotto Heaven grew greater and greater.

Not only would the ground suddenly split open, but it would also spew lava. The sky not only had gales but also began to pour down rain, with occasional bolts of lightning striking down!

At first, Luo Tian could handle it easily just by relying on the Wind Manipulation Technique.

But now, he needed to use the power and Defense of his Celestial Furnace Treasure Body to avoid an unexpected failure.

BUZZ! BOOM!

A jade-like cyan luster appeared on the surface of Luo Tian’s body. It was smooth and translucent with exquisite patterns, and a Cyan Jade Light Membrane condensed on his skin.

He emanated a powerful suppressive force of qi and blood, like a small mountain that could not be shaken by wind or rain.

Under these circumstances, Luo Tian was once again handling everything with ease.

Li Mu had been observing Luo Tian the whole time.

At this moment, he was even more shocked.

’My Body Technique can only operate at sixty percent efficiency in such a harsh environment, but he seems completely unaffected!’

Li Mu’s expression darkened, and he felt a little embarrassed.

In contrast, Luo Tian’s face was calm, and he seemed to be coping effortlessly.

But suddenly, the ground beneath Luo Tian split open, and a pillar of crimson, scorching lava shot into the sky, spraying outward in an umbrella shape.

"Hahaha, that’s what you get for not taking this seriously! You’re in for it now!"

Li Mu gloated and burst into laughter.

If he were hit head-on by that pillar of lava, even a Core Disciple could perish.

According to Li Mu’s observation, it would be difficult for Luo Tian to dodge it completely. He would at least be hit by the lava and suffer serious injuries.

But Luo Tian glanced unhurriedly at Li Mu before moving to the side.

SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT!

A small splatter of lava rained down, landing on Luo Tian.

The True Qi Body Protection on the surface of his body was instantly melted, and right after, the Cyan Jade Light Membrane condensed by his Celestial Furnace Treasure Body was melted as well.

But in the end, the lava only left some burn marks on Luo Tian’s skin. The splashes that landed on his Defensive Treasure Armor were completely blocked.

For a Martial Artist, such burns were practically insignificant.

Luo Tian’s self-healing ability was also strong, and the marks completely disappeared after a few breaths.

"Haha... Gack?"

Li Mu, who was in the middle of laughing, was instantly dumbfounded when he saw this result.

’It only left burns after splashing on him?’

’Was that lava just boiled water in disguise?!’

Li Mu even felt the urge to test it himself; maybe the lava’s temperature was very low.