Chapter 427 425: Revealing His Prowess

Lu Yue, the genius from the Sea Demon Palace, obtained a seal token with a casual wave of her hand. Her speed was astonishing.

In fact, several geniuses who were approaching the clearing objective were caught in the collateral damage of her casual attack, sent flying, and fell into a dangerous vortex.

"Such incredible skill!"

"A true genius of the Sea Demon Palace! Just as you'd expect from the Sea Hunter Race—she's too strong!"

The nearby geniuses all gasped in admiration.

The many spectators outside the Martial Pavilion were also thrilled.

After all, it wasn't every day you got to see a genius from the Sea Demon Palace!

Lu Yue might very well reach the Ninth-Layer of the Martial Pavilion!

"What a pity malicious attacks are forbidden here. Otherwise, you might not make it out of here alive!"

Lu Yue shot Luo Tian a dark and chilling glare.

A golden light surged from the Golden Token, enveloping her and transporting her to the Second-Layer.

'It really is a pity. Everything happening in here can be seen by the people outside. Otherwise, I'd make sure you were buried in this place!' Luo Tian thought to himself.

'The Sea Demon Palace was the one that instigated the Cyan Armor Race's attack on the Dongchen Continent!'

'Of all people, I'm the one who's offended the Sea Demon Palace the most!'

'I haven't been in the Outer Void for long, and I've already run into an old enemy from the Sea Demon Palace. This is not good!'

"Charge!"

"The time it takes to clear the levels is also part of the score!"

The crowd of geniuses swarmed forward.

For example, if several people reached the Seventh-Layer, they would be ranked based on their completion times.

Wu He, leading the pack, dove into the sea and quickly passed as well.

"Luo Tian, you're done for! You actually went and offended a disciple from the Sea Demon Palace. As of now, we don't know each other!"

Sun Jun drew a clear line between himself and Luo Tian. He and Zhao Yuran then moved together, charging toward the clearing objective.

Luo Tian couldn't care less about Sun Jun and Zhao Yuran's attitude.

He soon approached the clearing objective and obtained a seal token as well.

The first floor was simple. Basically, anyone confident enough to participate in the Martial Pavilion event could pass.

Luo Tian was enveloped by a layer of golden light and transported to the Second-Layer.

WHOOOOSH!

This was a world of storms.

Before him, seven or eight tornadoes swirled madly. A cyan orb of light drifted playfully at the center of the maelstrom.

When Luo Tian arrived, he saw many geniuses had formed True Essence Shields and were trying to force their way inside.

The tornadoes were packed together, making it quite difficult to pass through smoothly.

Getting caught in a tornado was dangerous. Even if one wasn't eliminated, breaking free would consume a massive amount of True Essence.

With fewer people, it wouldn't have been a problem. But in the current situation, the contestants were all interfering with one another, invisibly increasing the difficulty.

But to reach the higher floors in the shortest possible time, no one was willing to back down!

Fortunately, the Martial Pavilion event had a rule against malicious attacks; otherwise, the casualties would have been severe.

"Get out of the way!"

Lu Yue barked, and the other geniuses, somewhat intimidated, all made way for her.

After all, on the first floor, many had been caught in the wake of her casual attack and thrown into the vortex.

SWOOSH!

Lu Yue broke through with ease, passing the Second-Layer.

Wu He followed close behind. The True Essence Shield around him glowed with a faint golden luster, and when the whirlwinds struck, they produced the sound of scraping metal.

He charged straight through, ignoring the tornadoes, and passed the Second-Layer!

「Outside.」

Lu Yue's and Wu He's performances attracted a great deal of attention.

Their pace was the fastest of all the contestants.

Quite a few people were also paying closer attention to Luo Tian because of what Lu Yue had said.

"This boy is nothing special."

"He's only at the Earth Element Realm Second Layer. He'll be eliminated by the Fourth-Layer at best!"

Luo Tian's performance so far was unremarkable. Many other dazzling geniuses were performing better than him.

Mu Li was also somewhat disappointed as he watched.

He had previously estimated that Luo Tian's results might rival Sun Jun's, but now it seemed that hope was lost. He could only hope Luo Tian wouldn't be too pathetic and disgrace the Flying Cloud Sect.

"Huh? How did Luo Tian get to the Third-Layer?"

Someone suddenly exclaimed.

Just a moment ago, on the Second-Layer, the other geniuses had been scrambling to rush into the stormy area, while Luo Tian had been conspicuously lingering on the outskirts, looking relaxed and unhurried.

They looked away for a second, and suddenly, Luo Tian was being transported to the Third-Layer.

"What just happened?"

Mu Li had been focused on Sun Jun's and Zhao Yuran's performance just now, and hadn't paid much attention to Luo Tian.

On the other hand, Yan Lihui, Yi Jingwen, and others had a clear view of Luo Tian's performance.

In that brief moment.

Luo Tian had used an incomparably exquisite Body Technique to dart inside. Moving like the wind, graceful and agile, he had avoided the other geniuses and smoothly approached the clearing objective.

Several geniuses who had entered at the same time as Luo Tian hadn't even been able to clearly see his movements.

Luo Tian's speed was already on another level, and it was further enhanced by the windy environment.

Martial Pavilion Third-Layer, Wood Pavilion.

Before him was an enormous vine monster. It was as if it had a thousand limbs, spreading out in all directions.

The clearing objective was located at the vine monster's neck.

'A little interesting.'

Luo Tian smiled.

The trial on each floor of the Martial Pavilion was different. They could be summarized as: Water, Wind, Wood, Fire, Lightning, Ice, Cloud, Earth, and Sky.

The danger level increased starting from the Third-Layer, the Wood Pavilion.

Sun Jun walked over from a distance and said with some surprise, "You're faster than I thought. But the first two floors were just child's play. The Third-Layer is where we see who has real skill."

Sun Jun assumed Luo Tian had just arrived, unaware that he himself had arrived after Luo Tian.

"Yuran, let's go. Time to show him what we can do!"

Sun Jun said with a faint smile.

SWOOSH! SWOOSH!

The two of them charged towards the vine monster.

They coordinated seamlessly, each handling the vine attacks from one side as they approached the clearing objective without any major incidents.

"Not bad. In less than twenty breaths, we'll have it!"

Sun Jun said with a smile.

After all, they had practiced for this before the event.

Sun Jun and Zhao Yuran took out their Tokens, preparing to obtain the seal.

But just then.

They saw a familiar figure appear at the vine monster's neck. It was Luo Tian.

HUM!

Luo Tian obtained the seal and, in a flash of golden light, was transported to the Fourth-Layer.

Sun Jun and Zhao Yuran were both stunned.

They had moved before Luo Tian and coordinated with extreme efficiency, so how had he arrived first?

CRACK! POW!

Due to her distraction, Zhao Yuran was hit by a vine. Her True Essence Shield shattered, and a bloody gash was left on her body.

The two hurriedly regrouped and, after some difficulty, finally passed the Third-Layer.

Fourth-Layer.

The ground was scorched black. Raging flames filled the air, and enormous, scorching fireballs periodically rained down from the sky.

On this floor, one had to constantly maintain a True Essence Shield against the intense heat and flames, or they would quickly be burned to a crisp.

The moment he arrived, Sun Jun immediately questioned Luo Tian, "Did you cheat on the Third-Layer? How could you possibly have been faster than us?"

"Just because I'm faster than you, does that mean I cheated?"

Luo Tian scoffed, not bothering to engage with him.

'This Sun Jun is really something else. We're supposed to be teammates, yet he targets me at every turn.'

Sun Jun's expression darkened. "Don't try to deny it!" he snapped. "If you didn't cheat, there's no way you were that fast!"

He was convinced Luo Tian had cheated.

"There's no way you'll be faster than us on this floor!"

Sun Jun was full of confidence.

He and Zhao Yuran were each wearing a white bracelet. Upon activation, the bracelets released a faint chill that enveloped their entire bodies.

This Jade Bracelet was something they had prepared in advance to effectively counter the trial of the Fire Pavilion!

SWOOSH! SWOOSH!

Sun Jun and Zhao Yuran quickly flew into the distance.

Amidst a sea of raging flames, a crimson orb of light pulsed joyfully.

The geniuses charged into the flames one after another.

"'Luo Tian is only at the Earth Element Realm Second Layer; his True Essence Defense is weak. It'll be incredibly difficult for him to reach the clearing objective. He'll probably get his face scorched black.'"

Sun Jun laughed smugly at the thought.

"Who are you saying is going to get their face scorched?"

A voice suddenly came from the side.

Sun Jun and Zhao Yuran stiffly turned their heads to see Luo Tian breezing past them.

Even more astonishingly,

Luo Tian hadn't even formed a True Essence Shield. He looked completely relaxed and at ease.

"You…"

Sun Jun was so shocked he was speechless.

"Still want to say I cheated?"

Luo Tian scoffed, speeding past Sun Jun and Zhao Yuran and heading straight for the heart of the fiery sea!

With the strength of Luo Tian's physical Defense, the intense heat of the surrounding flames could barely harm him.

As he neared the raging inferno around the clearing objective, Luo Tian felt a scorching heat. He activated his Celestial Furnace Treasure Body, and a layer of crystalline, silvery light covered his skin, granting him extremely strong resistance to fire.

Still without activating his True Essence Shield, he plunged into the raging inferno without slowing down.

This scene stunned the other contestants on the floor and astounded the spectators outside the Martial Pavilion!

"He didn't even form a True Essence Shield, and just forced his way into the core area of the Fourth-Layer. Incredible!"

"Even for someone who practices Body Refining Techniques, reaching this level is incredible!"

"But compared to people like Lu Yue and Wu He, he's still far behind. Lu Yue and Wu He have already entered the Fifth-Layer!"

A buzz of discussion spread through the crowd.

Just then, as Luo Tian neared the Fourth-Layer's clearing objective, he was suddenly subjected to "deliberate interference" from another genius.

"It's Nie Nu!"

Someone shouted.

Nie Nu was also a relatively famous genius.

If people like Lu Yue and Wu He were considered first-tier geniuses,

then Nie Nu could be considered second-tier, with a good chance of placing in the top twenty.

HUM!

Nie Nu's True Qi erupted around him, forming a halo of fire that repelled the external flames.

But Nie Nu deliberately moved closer to Luo Tian and expanded his fiery halo, subjecting Luo Tian to its burning effect.

If Zhao Yuran had been targeted this way in the Fire Pavilion by another Fire Dao genius, she would have been overwhelmed, perhaps even eliminated!

"Move!"

Luo Tian shouted with a frown.

Nie Nu sneered, ignoring Luo Tian and continuing to do as he pleased.

「Outside the Martial Pavilion.」

After seeing Luo Tian's performance, Mu Li was pleasantly surprised.

"So his greatest strength is Body Refinement!"

A Body Cultivator with strong Defense has a certain advantage in the Martial Pavilion's trials.

But then he saw Nie Nu deliberately targeting Luo Tian, and his expression immediately darkened.

In the Martial Pavilion trials, all the contestants were competitors. It was normal for someone to deliberately interfere with a powerful threat, so long as no one was maliciously injured.

Moreover, Nie Nu's faction was a rival of their Flying Cloud Sect.

"What are Sun Jun and Zhao Yuran doing?"

Mu Li's brow furrowed slightly.

The pair had already had an unexpected setback on the Third-Layer, performing worse than Mu Li had anticipated.

Now, Luo Tian was being deliberately hindered by a genius from a rival faction, yet those two were actually smiling and enjoying the show from the sidelines. Mu Li nearly coughed up blood in frustration.