novelraw Chapter 482: Sear, Sear, Sear! So Hot!
Chapter 482: Sear, Sear, Sear! So Hot!
Another day passed, and the debate finally drew to a close. True to all expectations, Yu Zhao held on to the very end and took first place alongside the still-imprisoned Lu Jiu Yuan. As predicted, Su Qing Wan and Du Wu Xiang both made the top ten. To fight for third place, they turned from allies to opponents and clashed fiercely. In the end, Su Qing Wan edged him out with her sonic attacks and claimed third.
When Yu Zhao stepped out of the Four Voids Domain, she was met by a blaze of fervent stares and thunderous cheers. Startled, she pieced together from the crowd’s chatter that everything she had done within had been under their watchful eyes. She looked instinctively toward Lu Jiu Yuan. He, having grasped how serious this was, wore a face as dark as ink; when he noticed her glance, he shot her a cold glare.
Yu Zhao answered him with a small smile, then went to the front of the Lingyin Sect ranks and said to Senior Qun Fang: I have not disgraced the sect.
Senior Qun Fang’s face rarely showed such gentle warmth as she praised her: good child, this time we truly have you to thank.
Elder Tie Shan, swallowing his embarrassment, rumbled out a compliment: Yu Zhao, you did very well.
Ancestor Sui Bian rolled his eyes at him and drawled: did anyone need you to say that, and have you forgotten whose disciple Yu Zhao is? Then, no longer sparing Elder Tie Shan’s black-and-red face a glance, he turned back to Yu Zhao with a smile bright as spring wind: you worked hard.
Yu Zhao lifted a brow at the unusual tenderness in his voice, thinking to herself: [Why do I feel Ancestor is acting differently toward me, somehow gentler than before?]
Before she could dwell on it, the voice of the Qingxu Sect’s Sect Master rolled down from the high platform: the debate is formally concluded. Those who have entered the top ten, come to receive the Array Tokens that grant entry to the Eye of Bifang.
Ancestor Sui Bian said with an easy smile: go on then; this is your moment of honor.
Yu Zhao nodded and, under countless eyes, walked up the platform to accept from the Qingxu Sect’s Sect Master the Array Token that signified passage into the Eye of Bifang.At that moment, Lu Jiu Yuan’s gloomy voice sounded by her ear: Yu Zhao, I truly underestimated you.
She replied without fuss: you flatter me.
He warned in a low growl: outside, you are not my match.
She answered with a single light syllable: oh.
That one word nearly choked him. Yu Zhao, however, understood very well: [At present I cannot defeat Lu Jiu Yuan. That is a fact.] Yet the very timing of his remark meant her performance had already made him feel threatened. To Yu Zhao, that was a form of recognition, and gave her no reason to be angry. Realizing his misstep, Lu Jiu Yuan shut his mouth, annoyed.
The Pinnacle Sect Master instructed the ten: imprint your soul marks upon the Array Tokens; they will shield your souls against erosion by the Otherworldly Flame.
The Otherworldly Flame within the Eye of Bifang was rumored to be Bifang’s primal source fire, fearsome beyond measure. Souls with the least fragility would evaporate in an instant under that heat even without approaching it. Wearing the Array Token was essential. Nor were the tokens ordinary tools: forged from spent Bifang Pearls and, through formation arts, imbued with the soul of a guardian spirit, they only achieved their full effect within the Eye itself. Precisely for this reason, after speaking, the Pinnacle Sect Master emphasized that they must be returned afterward.
The ten responded as one, then, escorted by the Pinnacle Sect Master and the nine sect masters, set off toward the entrance to the Eye of Bifang. The entrance lay on the summit of the Divine Mountain; at their level, they reached the cave mouth in only a few breaths. The opening arched in a perfect curve, its interior suffused with a faint red glow that, from afar, resembled a newborn sun. Even outside, the waves of heat rolled forth.
Just as they were about to step inside, the Pinnacle Sect Master spoke again, voice grave: once you enter the Eye of Bifang, you will behold a boundless sea of fire. Suspended above that sea is a chain. Walk from the chain’s beginning to its end and you will see the Bifang Pearl. During this, Bifang’s Otherworldly Flame will drive stray thoughts from you; this is what people call Bifang’s blessing. He paused to let that sink in before continuing: the chain above the sea is no physical thing, but the embodiment of Bifang’s will. The purer your focus, the steadier the chain. The more scattered your thoughts, the more it will sway, and it may even break. Should you fall into the sea of fire, the Array Token will not fully protect your soul; not one of you may be careless.
Natives like Lu Jiu Yuan and Su Qing Wan were unsurprised, but Yu Zhao and Du Wu Xiang started; they had not known there was danger inside the Eye. Still, having come this far, there was no turning back. Schooling their expressions, they nodded solemnly.
The Pinnacle Sect Master gave a final wave: time is short; go.
Lu Jiu Yuan shot forward like lightning and vanished into the cave in an instant. Yu Zhao took a deep breath and stepped through as well.
The moment she entered, red filled her sight. When she opened her eyes again, she was standing on the top of a tall stone pillar; beneath her stretched a vast ocean of flame. Even with the Array Token guarding her, a hidden pain like the scorching of the soul pressed against her being.
A startled cry snapped her attention sideways: sear, sear, sear, so hot!
On the neighboring pillar, a chubby man hopped in place as great drops of sweat rolled off him and turned to mist, his breath hissing between his teeth. Yu Zhao recognized him as Bai Yuan of Canghai Cliff, seventh place in this debate.
Casting her gaze around, she saw Lu Jiu Yuan, Du Wu Xiang, and the others each standing atop their own pillar. Before every one of them stretched a slender chain spanning the fiery sea. One end anchored to each pillar, the other disappeared into the far blaze.
Yu Zhao gave the fire a measuring look, steadied her mind, and set her foot upon the chain. It trembled so faintly it was hardly felt, then calmed. She took a second step; still steady. In a few more strides she had already pulled well ahead.
The others, reassured by the sight, began to move onto their chains as well. Lu Jiu Yuan’s steps were even and sure; his confidence in himself was plain. Du Wu Xiang frowned slightly, thinking of something, then moved out too.
Just when they thought the chain would hold steady, change struck. Bai Yuan had only walked two steps when the chain underfoot began to lurch violently. His body swayed and he nearly lost his balance. He tried to stabilize himself by stirring his spiritual power, but the sea of fire roared to a boil the instant his power moved. The chain’s bucking grew worse, as if ready to snap at any moment. The high color brought by the heat fled his face, leaving it bloodless.
A voice barked across the fire: Fatty, make mind and intent one!