Chương 77: Chapter 76 – Challenges of the Inner Sect

POV Change: After Zi Shui found the 7th challenge in the outer sect, he had entered it numerous times. Some attempts had been even shorter than his first when he tried something new. Other runs had been lengthy but left him so lost in the maze he had been forced to give up. Finally, on the 11th try, 4 days after first encountering the challenge, Zi Shui completed it. That very moment he emerged victorious, he had sat down to initiate a breakthrough to the 9th layer of the qi gathering realm.

When he succeeded, he took a day to recover and stabilize before finally returning to report to his fellow seekers. Everyone rejoiced not only for his breakthrough and the find but also because 7th meant that there was a 6th challenge out there! Soon after the celebrations ended, everyone had rushed out in a flurry to go find it. But that find was just the start of Zi Shui's good fortune. Since then, the group responded to the elders' withdrawal from the challenges with a reorganization.

Somehow he had turned into one of the final contenders to lead the seekers when another stroke of luck let Zi Shui find the 8th trial and thus secure his role as leader. The disciples hoped some of his luck would brush off on the group as well. The sequence of events had even managed to let him win the heart of the lady he admired! She was a tall, muscular maiden who usually kept to herself because such traits were considered unladylike. Yet Zi Shui had fallen for Rong Lan's earnestness and shy smiles.

She preferred to attempt the trials, but their shared fondness for the challenges had brought them closer until he worked up the courage to confess. The 4 months until he reached the peak of qi gathering had been the happiest of his life. But their ambitions meant neither would be happy if he held himself back for her. She had just reached the 9th layer and needed time, but he was ready to attempt a breakthrough to the foundation establishment realm.

The other trial seekers had even pooled some resources and helped him buy a foundation establishment pill to increase the chance of his breakthrough. They all wished to see the trial seekers expand into the inner sect from where the news of the first trial being discovered had just reached them. Steeling his resolve, Zi Shui accepted their good intentions and promised Rong Lan to wait for her in the inner sect before going into seclusion. He succeeded with some luck, avoiding too much damage to his dantian.

The following weeks of stabilizing his cultivation and moving into the inner sect had been frantic. But eventually, once he had claimed a mountain and set up an abode, he had gone searching for the first trial of the Challenger in the inner sect. A decent crowd of disciples waited there. It was normal for him, but to hear the whispers of many around him, they didn't even know who the Challenger was! He didn't know whether to laugh or cry at how ignorant they were. Were they living with their eyes and ears shut?

But he did his best to extoll the great one's deeds. A few of them had laughed at him and begun to make aggressive motions when a few seniors who had already attempted the challenge intervened. Zi Shui couldn't help but be reminded of how the sect had been in the previous years when he witnessed their shortsightedness, but he was glad the challenger was already showing others the way. The seniors who intervened told the would-be bullies to first try the challenge before mocking others.

When they emerged pale and shivering from the trial, Zi Shui had already lost all thoughts of mocking them and instead turned to what fresh horror the challenger had put forth. The stone before the challenge warned everyone to be particularly careful of their mental state and to absolutely not push forward recklessly. It was restricted to those of the 3rd layer and below of the foundation realm. Unlike the others, Zi Shui knew to heed the words.

Despite that, when he stepped within the marked zone, he had frozen involuntarily from sheer terror! It was all he could do to lift his foot back out and retreat. Sweat poured down his face and his heart pounded crazily in his chest. It took him a brief while to recover, but once he regained his calm, he knew the Challenger had come up with another true challenge. The benefit of this trial was that multiple trial takers could attempt it at the same time.

In a large ring all around him, he could see various stages of progress. Seeing others so close to the pedestal at the center was a source of motivation in itself. But like the warning said, Zi Shui didn't push himself to catch up. It had taken him 5 whole days to reach the pedestal, but he didn't give up like some of the others. The pedestal allowed him to enter an adjoining area with a small patch of herbs. They were said to be mildly useful for healing mental wounds.

The herbs were largely ineffective, and nobody would bother stealing them while being watched. Zi Shui harvested a few handfuls. The Stone of Victors at the exit noted not just the time he took and his cultivation but also the distance from the center he had reached. Since he had reached the end, his name had been entered into a small piece of jade that listed only the victors.

He could view both types of records, those who completed and those who didn't, although he didn't particularly care as he didn't know anybody. The stone at the end also recommended buying a simple manual from the sect library, which helped soothe mental trauma. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. After making a note of the manual, he carefully examined his mental state and recognized the signs of stress mentioned in the warning.

He was too poor to afford the manual, but he did his best to find other simpler, cheaper methods to heal mental scars. Fortunately, it lined up with one of his dearest wishes. He was ferried by a senior to the outer sect so he could meet Rong Lan after over a month. A week in her presence refreshed Zi Shui completely. He also shared his experience with his comrades in the Trial Seekers.

He warned them to earn a bit of contribution points before attempting the first challenge or prepare some methods to alleviate stress beforehand. His news had lit a fire under them, and Zi Shui noticed that even those who might never have ascended were suddenly within realistic reach of the foundation realm. It only brought a smile to his face. On the long trek back to the inner sect, he completed his recovery and was eager to try the next challenge.

Without wasting any time, he arrived at the scene of the 2nd challenge. The warning was much more lax this time, and only one person could enter at a time. On the other hand, for the first time, the challenge had a requirement other than being at the 4th layer or below of the foundation realm. Those who wished to enter needed to bring with them a seed of the 1000 Crimson Spider Lily. Whether by coincidence or design, the meadow of the 2nd challenge was absolutely covered in them.

It was a pretty enough flower but with very low amounts of qi and no special use other than possibly as feed for qi gathering realm beasts. No foundation establishment realm cultivator would waste their time on endeavors with such low returns. Once Zi Shui completed some research, he returned to the challenge to attempt it properly. He brought the seed and entered. There was nothing around him, and even the marked area was meager, barely large enough for two people to stand in.

On a display before him was a simple pathway described. The challenge was to imbue the seed with qi and then guide it along the given pathway to force the seed to bloom. Zi Shui was initially confused. Wasn't this a very basic method all herb growers could use? It was used to force the growth of a herb to direct all the qi into a specific part or to force a plant to mature early and produce flowers or seeds.

But to do so for such a basic spirit plant as the 1000 crimson spider lily would only let it live for a few breaths of time once he stopped moving the qi. But thinking the technique might be directed at herb growers, Zi Shui considered that growing a plant directly from seed in the given span of a stick of time was where the challenge lay. He was quickly proven wrong when he completed a circuit along the pathway in the seed lying on his palm.

It sprouted a small green shoot before his eyes but immediately crumbled into dust as he began the second circuit. He frowned, wondering what went wrong. Fortunately, he had brought many seeds and began another attempt. He carefully moved his qi to complete the first circuit and recognized the problem. The seed naturally changed after a circuit of qi, and adjustments were needed to continue engraving the same pattern.

After burning through 5 more seeds with similar failures, Zi Shui couldn't deny that it was no simple challenge. A bell chimed, and the array went dark around him, indicating that he was out of time. He exited with a bowed head, a little disheartened that he had failed. This challenge wasn't just for herb growers. Anybody who could hold the pathway while constantly adapting to a particular seed's unique nuances would emerge from the trial with an impressive control over their qi.

As he was leaving, Zi Shui felt a pat on the shoulder from a friendly-looking senior. Zi Shui raised his head to look up at the senior's handsome face. The man didn't say any words but gave a small smile and another pat on his shoulder. But his eyes were saying to Zi Shui, "Don't give up. Keep trying." Zi Shui breathed deeply, somehow feeling lighter, and gave a serious nod. The smile on the senior's face broadened as he returned his nod. No words were spoken, but Zi Shui was ready to try again soon.

Although he wondered where that faint squeaking was coming from. PoV Change: Zhao Ren watched the young man walk away with a determined stride, dejected no longer. This wasn't a simple challenge, and he could tell the young man was only at the first layer of the foundation realm. There was a reason Ren had set the restriction for this challenge at the 4th layer and below. Disciples would still benefit from the exercise even if they attempted it early.

More importantly, they could practice from the comfort of their homes without having to visit the challenge each time. Once they successfully grew the flower, they could come back to the challenge and try again. The array Ren had developed would score their achievement, and those above a minimum score would be entered into the record that others had taken to calling the Stone of Victors. The array had been very difficult to create, but it was worth it to allow the disciples more freedom.

Ren still remembered that miserable time when he couldn't just reach most locations in the sect within half a day and couldn't bear to inflict the same adversity on others. Unfortunately, he couldn't do the same for the first trial, as it depended entirely on the snakeskin. Ren had wanted to use the skin shed by Yu Ran's mother ever since he endured that torturous training. The problem had always been just how strong it had been, but Yu Ran's hatching had solved that problem.

It had absorbed a portion of the aura from the snakeskin when it began emerging from the egg, damaging it permanently. Ren just set up a few arrays to restrict it even more, but there weren't many arrays that could defend well against killing intent. So instead, he included arrays to bolster and evacuate anyone who failed the trial. When he passed by it just a short while ago, he had checked the record and been surprised to see just how spread out the results had been.

Almost as many 1st layer disciples had cleared the challenge as 3rd layer. But then again it made sense for a challenge that tested one's willpower even if the skin wasn't exuding nearly the same levels of killing intent. It was still a beneficial trial to experience, as lowly foundation realm disciples rarely had an opportunity to encounter killing intent in such a tame and safe setting. After witnessing the few attempts at the 2nd challenge, Ren flew towards his 3rd challenge.

As far as he knew, no one had reported finding it. So it came as an even bigger surprise when he saw the familiar figure of his brother, Bao Hua, attempting the 3rd challenge in the inner sect all by himself!