…..
Qian Wu felt depressed, and angry at the same time.
Being at the peak of the Rebirth State, naturally he was not resigned to falling at the back. However, this segment was testing on the quality of one's bodily strength.
To put it in another way, even he were to be in a higher state, but if his bodily strength was lacking, there was still no way for him to be outstanding in this segment.
But this does not mean that Qian Wu's bodily strength was not strong enough.
The reality was that Qian Wu's strength was far higher than those of the same state. He was not brought up in the palace since young, hence he was not pampered during his childhood and did not have the typical arrogance that the others had.
But he still lost to two contestants.
One of whom was the youth clothed in the dark green robe, while the other was Nangong Mu.
He did not care too much about the youth winning him in this segment, as he was clear of the youth's status and identity.
He was similarly in the peak of the Rebirth State too, and more importantly, he was a "wild beast"!
The War Pinnacle Empire.
An empire which advocated the importance of fighting strength.
It was different from the other three empires, while the War Pinnacle Empire valued the importance of academic study too, it was even more biased towards "martial arts".
And the youth was a perfect representative of the War Pinnacle Empire.
The top one genius from the War Pinnacle Empire.
Yan Qing.
A human being who was brought up by a pack of wild beasts since young. Similarly, he was reputable for possessing a gifted "inextinguishable" body.
To compare one's bodily strength quality with Yan Qing?
Qian Wu had never thought about that before, but never ever would he expect that it was not only Yan Qing who was ahead of him. There was still a Nangong Mu.
How was this possible?
So, Qian Wu was desperate.
He focused all his attention and effort and climbed upwards vigorously. All of his energy was spent on the wall of the cliff, and all he thought about was to rush up ahead, almost entering the state of "reconciliation with nature".
But, what was the meaning of the falling stones?
As a being in the peak of the Rebirth State, how could Qian Wu be struck by the piece of rock? It was impossible, but Qian Wu did not pay attention as to what was above his head.
He responded in time in the end.
"Aiyo, who….. Threw the stones?!" Qian Wu moved after scolding. He used his hands to block the falling stone, then expertly flipped his body above it.
Unfortunately…..
There were two pieces of rock!
Qian Wu was able to flip over the first one, but was unable to do so for the second one.
"....." Qian Wu looked helplessly at the nearing stone. He was speechless.
His face collided against the rock, or rather, the rock collided onto his face? In short, Qian Wu's inner being collapsed. His nose turned sour, and tears were almost flowing out of his eyes.
"Cheating, this is cheating!" Qian Wu screamed silently in his heart as he fell down the cliff.
As the contestants looked at Qian Wu from a distance, they thought to themselves, "Indeed, the second segment wasn't that easy. Unexpectedly, they were stones?"
…..
Yan Qing dodged the two rocks that Fang Zhengzhi had thrown.
However, it was because of them that he had stagnated. While he only stagnated for a second, Nangong Mu still overtook him in that moment.
"I Yan Qing, since born, have never lowered my head before, let alone allow anyone overtake me!" Yan Qing glanced at Nangong Mu who was above him, and bent his arm which was inserted into the cliff wall.
Next, his body was arched into a shape of a bow.
"Hong!" A loud sound erupted.
Yan Qing's body shot out.
Using merely his palm, he was able to hurl his body up. It was even situated on a vertical cliff wall.
If one were to use a noun to describe the situation.
It would be madness.
"Ka Cha!" When Yan Qing landed against the cliff wall, he used both palms to create two gaps forcefully within the cliff wall.
Shattered stones splashed down.
Then, Yan Qing's body resembled that of a black panther as he sprinted up against the cliff wall. He used all four of his limbs, and everytime each limb landed on the cliff wall, a crack appeared within the wall.
"....." Fang Zhengzhi initially thought of throwing two more rocks to further increase the difficulty, but it could be seen that there was insufficient time left.
Because Yan Qing's speed was too swift.
Within a few breaths, he had once again caught up with Nangong Mu.
And Nangong Mu naturally noticed Yan Qing who had rushed up. His hollow eyes emitted a ray of cold and unbending light.
Similarly he used all four limbs as he rushed up against the cliff wall vigorously.
"You still have some fighting spirit!" Fang Zhengzhi naturally understood Nangong Mu's thought process.
If Yan Qing were to be a wild beast who was radiating a fierce vibe, then Nangong Wu would then be a quiet "red carp" in the river.
A span of two years?
Red carp, finally turning into a dragon?
"Good, you're both first place!" Just when Yan Qing and Nangong Mu touched the tip of the cliff with both hands, Fang Zhengzhi announced the results.
"First place? Both?" Yan Qing shivered momentarily upon hearing the news. The wild beast atmosphere started disappearing from his body. Very quickly, he nodded his head and flipped over the cliff wall.
"What's your name?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.
"Yan Qing from the War Pinnacle Empire, here!" Yan Qing bowed his body lightly, as he hugged his tanned palms, and paid his respects towards Fang Zhengzhi.
"Hm, not bad!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head, and looked at Nangong Mu, "Both of you have passed the second segment of the selection test!"
"Thank you envoy!" Yan Qing and Nangong Mu voiced their appreciation in unison upon hearing that.
After thanking Fang Zhengzhi, Yan Qing turned his eyes towards Nangong Mu, his tanned skin faintly radiating a ray of crystal light.
"You're named Nangong Mu?"
"That's right." Nangong Mu answered calmly.
"There are only a few people who can ignite my fighting spirit. Hope to have the opportunity to exchange moves with you in the next segment!" Yan Qing's voice seemed to contain a little excitement.
"Sure anytime!" Nangong Mu nodded his head indifferently.
Yan Qing did not say anything else, as he walked aside and found a spot to sit down.
And Nangong Mu glanced around Fang Zhengzhi's body before quietly moving aside.
Fang Zhengzhi noticed Nangong Mu's actions and grinned lightly. He knew that Nangong Mu was not stupid, yet he knew that Nangong Mu did not have the full confidence currently.
Fang Zhengzhi did not say anything else as he looked down at the cliff once again.
Very quickly.
Yan Xiu sprung up.
Simiarly he gave Fang Zhengzhi a silent look before walking to Nangong Mu's side. He stood at his original position, without uttering a word.
"Third place, Yan Xiu, Chief of Western Liang of the Great Xia Dynasty!"
"Fourth place….."
"Fifth place….."
"....."
"Ninth place, Qian Wu of the Holy Barbarian Empire?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the gloomy Qian Wu, as his heart let out a silent sigh.
He actually caught up?
He had clearly seen Qian Wu falling off just now.
Yet he was able to re-climb. Needless to say, it could be counted as a miracle. Even so, Qian Wu who had displaced miraculous strength, ultimately only managed to attain the ninth place.
"Tenth place, eliminated!"
"Eliminated? Why, weren't there supposed to be twenty victorious contestants for the second segment?" One of the youths could not believe the situation after spending so much effort climbing.
Because, when they were at the bottom of the mountain, the three Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples had stated very clearly.
For the second segment, they would only allow the first ten contestants!
"Only ten!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head.
"Then….. Why am I….."
"Because, one of the spots belong to me!" Fang Zhengzhi grinned as he smiled indifferently.
"Brother Kong Qing's spot?!"
"What? Brother Kong Qing is participating in the third segment of the selection test?!"
"Isn't Brother Kong Qing already a disciple of the Heaven Dao Pavilion? Why is there a need to participate in the third segment? What... what is going on?"
Upon hearing Fang Zhengzhi's announcement, the surrounding contestants did not know how to react. A disciple of the Heaven Dao Pavilion participating in the selection test?
That was never heard of before!
Also, most importantly, wasn't this obviously unjust?
"How can we be compared to Brother Kong Qing?"
"That's right!"
"Competing with Brother Kong Qing? This….. I was still waiting to enter the Heaven Dao Pavilion so as to learn from Brother Kong Qing then!"
A majority of them could not understand the reason, as dozens of funny and weird reasons appeared in their minds.
Insider?
Blackroom deal!
But, to participate in the third segment together with the other contestants, what was the motive? If one were to say that he was an insider, won't this insider be hidden a little too deep!
"Because, he's not even Kong Qing, he is an impersonator!" At this moment, a voice echoed from below the mountain cliff.
"Impersonator?!"
"Who is slandering Brother Kong Qing again?"
"Didn't he prove just now that Brother Kong Qing was real?"
Upon hearing the voice, the contestants looked down the mountain cliff. Nobody believed the voice, as such a commotion had already happened once.
Was there a second person who wanted to suffer the same ending as Si Mafeng?
This was what everyone was thinking.
However, a gigantic silhouette flew up the mountain cliff at this moment, and everyone stared at it, eyes wide in disbelief.
Green Flame Beast!
Of course, this was not the most important part. More importantly, there was a person standing on the Green Flame Beast. His hair seemed messy, and he was only wearing a layer of undergarments.
As the cold wind blew, the holes in his tattered undergarment were even more pronounced.
He looked slightly pathetic.
However, when everyone had seen his appearance more clearly, they opened their mouths wide in unison, as if they had just seen a ghost.