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Chapter 7: Surviving Nine Deaths Inside, Already Dao Companions Outside?

There was no secret that the wind could not carry.

The two of them were academy prodigies, so every move already drew attention, let alone something as explosive as holding hands.

Of course it could not stay hidden.

“They… are together?”

Lin Yueyao felt as if the sky had collapsed.

She had still been imagining Ning Bei coming to beg her forgiveness as he used to.

Yet she suddenly heard that Ning Bei and Qin Jiujiu were together… no, that was impossible.

She refused to believe it was true.

“Why would we lie to you? We saw it with our own eyes.”

Several disciples exchanged grins, their eyes at Lin Yueyao full of mockery.

Ning Bei had always treated Lin Yueyao so devotedly, yet she kept giving him the cold shoulder, and they had long since tired of watching it.

Wasn’t that bullying an honest man?

“Move, I’m going to find Ning Bei and get an explanation!”

Lin Yueyao grew anxious.

She did not believe Ning Bei would truly change heart; she could feel how much he had always liked and cared for her.

How could someone so loyal to her just fall out of love overnight?

As for the threat of breaking the engagement, she had mentioned it before and neither family had even discussed it, so how could he take it seriously?

Wasn’t he simply jealous?

I can explain it to you, all right?

Lin Yueyao tried desperately to charge inside, but the disciples simply refused to let her pass.

Besides, the assessment was about to begin.

Clang…

A shrill clash of gong and drum suddenly echoed in every direction.

The previously noisy atmosphere fell silent at once.

In the center of the arena, a waist-high projection stone lit up and threw a curtain of light into the sky.

Inside the screen appeared the figures of Ning Bei, Qin Jiujiu, and ten others, the twelve disciples chosen for the test.

The final victor would become the chief disciple.

“So fast, the opening ceremony hasn’t even started and they’re already inside the Divine Mirror?”

“I wonder who will find the Divine Tree first and pluck its Sacred Fruit!”

“Whoever takes the fruit, they are all the academy’s pride; I just hope nothing goes wrong.”

“Shoo, you jinx; nothing happened in the past few years.”

“That’s hard to say; the Divine Mirror’s difficulty is random, and no one knows what level it will be this time.”

The crowd discussed animatedly while watching the images on the screen.

Boom!

At that moment the projection stone suddenly quivered, and a dark purple light shot skyward.

The gentle landscape in the image transformed in an instant into a harsh inferno.

Whoosh!

Exclamations rose from everyone.

“Holy crap, is this… the Inferno difficulty?”

“No way, Inferno difficulty? It hasn’t appeared in over a hundred years, has it?”

In an instant everyone was dumbstruck, and even the Elders turned uniformly pale:

“What’s going on… how could Inferno difficulty appear?”

“Hurry, go inform the Grand Preceptor.”

The crowd erupted into chaos.

No one had expected the chief disciple test to be the first Inferno difficulty in more than a century.

Inside the image.

“Inferno difficulty?” Ning Bei’s expression shifted as he looked at the other eleven. “It seems we are lucky enough to meet the academy’s greatest Divine Mirror trial in a hundred years; do you think we should join forces?”

“Join forces? Forget it… I want to push my own limits.”

A disciple named Wang Teng shook his head first and refused.

With that he stamped his foot and shot toward the depths of the secret realm.

“Teaming up is safer, but this is an assessment!”

“Right, only one of us can win… let’s split up and search for the Divine Tree first!”

With Wang Teng taking the lead, the others also ignored Ning Bei’s suggestion.

After speaking, they too dashed off impatiently.

Although Inferno difficulty had not appeared for a century, its terror was something they had only heard about.

No one had ever seen it with their own eyes.

Therefore, the ignorant felt no fear!

“Are you choosing to act alone as well?”

Ning Bei showed little reaction to the others, then turned to Qin Jiujiu, who had not left.

Qin Jiujiu smiled and said firmly, “Let’s go together.”

“All right.”

Ning Bei returned the smile, and the two walked side by side.

Seeing this, the Elders outside grew frantic: “This is no time to show off…find a way to contact Wang Teng and the others, tell them to team up at once and stop caring about the test!”

“I’m afraid we are helpless; we must wait for the Grand Preceptor.”

The Elders paced like ants on a hot pan.

They knew full well that even the most gifted disciple faced near-certain death in an Inferno-difficulty Divine Mirror test.

And these twelve were the seedlings of Heavenly Martial Academy.

Tch!

Seeing his sister team up with Ning Bei, Qin Yu ground his teeth, then noticed the girl beside him was distracted.

“Yueyao, what’s wrong?”

“…Nothing.”

Lin Yueyao came back to herself and shook her head.

Hearing that Ning Bei and Qin Jiujiu were together had already thrown her into turmoil, and now seeing them act in tandem made their relationship seem even more special.

It made her feel uncomfortable; even though she believed Ning Bei had not changed heart, she still felt hollow inside.

“Are you worrying about Ning Bei?” Qin Yu pressed, a hint of jealousy in his voice.

Lin Yueyao froze, then lifted her pretty face. “Why are you still concerned about him? This is an Inferno-difficulty Divine Mirror test…aren’t you worried about your own sister?”

“O-of course I’m worried, but I believe in Jiujiu!”

Qin Yu defended himself awkwardly.

He looked at Ning Bei on the screen and clenched his teeth… “Dare to get close to my sister, I’ll finish you sooner or later, bastard.”

Inside the image.

A savage beast burst out of the ground and blocked Ning Bei and Qin Jiujiu’s path.

At the same time, the other ten encountered various kinds of giant beasts.

What they shared was that each beast was at least Foundation Establishment realm, and this was only the outer zone… the test had just begun.

The dangers to come were easy to imagine.

Remember, five of the twelve had not even reached the Foundation Establishment realm yet!

“Jiujiu.”

Ning Bei shot the girl a look and charged straight at the tusked beast.

“Mm!”

Understanding, Qin Jiujiu circled to the creature’s left; a green glow welled in her palm and instantly became a sharp sword shadow.

Sshh!

A cold beam tore through the air with a sudden hiss.

As the beast lunged at Ning Bei, the beam pierced its waist at an unbelievable speed.

Crunch!

The beast split in two at once, yet no blood flowed; it turned into mist and vanished.

After all, within the Divine Mirror every danger was power given form and possessed no life.

After disposing of the beast, the pair continued forward.

The others were not so lucky.

“Damn, starting off with Foundation Establishment realm beasts?”

The previously confident Wang Teng now regretted not teaming up.

The dangers ahead would certainly surpass the Foundation Establishment realm.

“Senior Brother Wang.”

Just then a familiar voice sounded behind him.

“Zhao Ming?”

Wang Teng turned and looked back, a little surprised.

Panting, Zhao Ming said, “Senior Brother Wang, this place is far too dangerous; how about we join forces?”

“…Fine!”

This time Wang Teng did not insist on being brave.

“Great.”

As if clutching a life-saving straw, Zhao Ming pointed behind him. “Senior Brother Wang, that monster has been chasing me; I can’t beat it, hurry and smash it for me.”

Boom!

As Zhao Ming finished speaking, a giant beast erupted from the ground.

Its enormous form blotted out the sky and radiated a heavy oppressive aura.

Late Foundation Establishment realm?

Wang Teng stood there stunned.

“Dammit, Zhao Ming, you son of a…!!”

Only at early Foundation Establishment, Wang Teng swore furiously and then fled.

His actions drew uproarious laughter from those outside.

“Haha, Zhao Ming really screwed Senior Brother Wang!”

“Senior Brother Ning and Senior Sister Qin are still the most in sync…one glance and they know what to do.”

“They’re Dao companions; how could they not be in sync?”

“?”

Hearing that strange remark in the crowd, Qin Yu froze and pointed at the disciple.

“What the hell are you spouting? Who are you calling Dao companions?”

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