45: Trial Settlement

Lin Feng circulated his Cultivation Technique with all his might, the xuanming heavy water bead trembling slightly as it harmonized with and absorbed the surrounding fire Spiritual Qi, the interweaving of ice and fire tempering and compressing the Spiritual Qi that had already reached its limit.

"Boom!"

Under this internal and external assault, the solid barrier within his body burst open with a roar.

Qi Refining Seventh Layer, achieved.

Lin Feng opened his eyes and stood up, his Aura now more than twice as powerful and concentrated as before.

With every movement, he felt filled with power, and his control over the xuanming heavy water bead seemed even more intuitive.

Just then, a strange fragrance drifted out from the depths of the Molten Lizard's lair, instantly permeating the entire valley.

"The Earth Fire Lotus has matured." Lin Feng and Sun Hao exchanged a glance.

Almost simultaneously, the sound of things breaking through the air came from all directions.

"The Earth Fire Lotus is mine."

"Get lost."

"Li Xuan, must you fight me for it?" Zhang Kuang took the lead, his flaming giant axe pointed straight ahead, with seven or eight subordinates following closely behind him, their Aura aggressive like tigers descending from a mountain as they lunged toward the entrance of the lair.

"The Earth Fire Lotus belongs to those who are capable." Li Xuan's voice was cold, his figure appearing like a phantom on the other side, his long sword emitting a sharp, cyan glow.

The two sides immediately clashed.

Zhang Kuang's group had a violent offensive, with fireballs and wind blades filling the air, while Li Xuan's group defended tightly, their sword light like a net, launching cunning counterattacks.

Lin Feng and Sun Hao were forced to retreat repeatedly by this sudden and intense conflict, almost being pushed to the edge of the battlefield.

"Damn it. They don't care about anyone else when they fight." Sun Hao used his small bronze shield to block a splashing fire arrow, his expression grave.

Forget about snatching the Earth Fire Lotus; the two of them could barely even get close.

Zhang Kuang and Li Xuan were locked in a fierce battle, and their team members were also fighting each other in pairs.

For a time, it was hard to determine a winner, with neither side able to overcome the other, which instead firmly blocked the entrance to the lair.

Lin Feng's eyes swept across the battlefield rapidly.

Both sides were completely focused on each other and had no time to spare.

He took a deep breath and injected his Qi Refining Seventh Layer Spiritual Qi into the xuanming heavy water bead.

A visible pale blue cold mist spread out from Lin Feng as the center, precisely enveloping the two teams of Zhang Kuang and Li Xuan who were in the midst of a fierce battle.

"Argh."

"What's going on?"

"So cold. My fire spells..."

Zhang Kuang and Li Xuan clashed hard, each pushed back a step.

Both revealed expressions of shock and anger, turning their heads to look at the source of the cold.

"You're courting death!" Zhang Kuang's eyes were splitting with rage.

Li Xuan's gaze was as cold as a blade, staring fixedly at Lin Feng.

"Senior Brother Sun!" Lin Feng let out a low shout, his body turning into green smoke as he lunged straight for the few stalks of Earth Fire Lotus at the entrance of the lair.

Sun Hao roared, slamming his small bronze shield into the ground.

A yellow-brown halo surged, and he stood firmly behind Lin Feng to cover him.

Lin Feng's hand reached out like lightning, plucking the stalks of Earth Fire Lotus.

"Bastard."

"Leave the Earth Fire Lotus behind."

Zhang Kuang and Li Xuan were both furious almost simultaneously, ignoring each other and pouncing toward Lin Feng at the same time.

But having succeeded in one strike, Lin Feng did not linger.

He cast the Shadow Evasion Technique, his figure retreating rapidly to regroup with Sun Hao, and they dashed back toward the crevice they had arrived from.

Zhang Kuang and Li Xuan chased for a few steps but had to stop.

They glared at each other with suspicion, then stared hatefully in the direction where Lin Feng and the other had disappeared.

Neither of them dared to pursue with full force, fearing a sneak attack from the other from behind.

High in the air, Senior Sister Xiao's gaze had originally been looking down at the chaotic battle below with indifference.

But when Lin Feng's cold burst, wider and more powerful after his Breakthrough, carved out a small cold domain in this scorching environment and greatly affected the battle, a flash of undisguised surprise appeared in her cold, clear eyes.

"Qi Refining Seventh Layer? Did he just break through?"

"This cold air... to be able to release it in such a precise, wide-area manner, suppressing fire-attribute Spiritual Qi and interfering with others' movements..."

"Using cold to control heat, to actually be able to apply it to this extent? This boy's true strength far exceeds his cultivation Realm... he is extraordinary."

Her heart trembled slightly.

The increasingly intense and difficult-to-suppress inner fire and yang evil energy, brought about by long-term companionship with fire-attribute Spirit Beasts and practicing beast-taming Cultivation Techniques, actually felt a hint of coolness and comfort under the stimulation of this sudden, extreme coldness.

Evening of the third day of the trial.

Lin Feng and Sun Hao were hiding in a rock crevice, taking stock of their harvest from the past three days.

Molten Lizard Materials, some Earth Fire Lotus, Fire Velvet Grass... The pile of harvest in front of Sun Hao was not small, but his brow was tightly furrowed.

"Zhang Kuang's group snatched the most, and Li Xuan's people also scavenged quite a bit... I'm afraid my haul won't be enough to compete with them." Sun Hao sighed.

Lin Feng's gaze swept over Sun Hao's harvest, then looked at the more valuable loot in front of himself.

"If I give him my share... Senior Brother Sun will have a good chance of hitting first place. And me..." His thoughts raced, and he quickly made a decision.

"Senior Brother Sun," Lin Feng said, pushing most of the Earth Fire Lotus in front of him toward Sun Hao, "Take these."

Sun Hao was stunned and looked up abruptly: "Junior Brother Lin. How can this be? You fought for these, and you still need to compete for the dragon scale fruit."

"I have my own way to get the dragon scale fruit." Lin Feng's tone was calm, but his eyes were firm.

"If Zhang Kuang takes first place, his arrogance will only grow.

He shouldn't be allowed to take this first place too easily.

Senior Brother, you have enough strength; with these, you might just be able to compete for it."

Sun Hao looked at the precious spirit plants that Lin Feng had pushed over, his throat bobbing as he nodded heavily: "Alright.

I, Sun Hao, will remember this favor.

In the future, if you have any needs, I will not hesitate even if it means death."

Lin Feng did not linger and said to Sun Hao: "Senior Brother, wait here for a moment.

I'll go look around nearby."

After speaking, his figure flashed and disappeared into the darkening depths of the valley.

He found a quiet corner, sat cross-legged, and fully activated the heaven-stealing vine.

Before the sky was fully bright, Lin Feng quickly returned to rejoin Sun Hao.

At noon the next day, at the entrance of Myriad Beast Valley.

All the Disciples gathered here to hand in their harvest and calculate their contribution points.

"First place: Sun Hao."

Zhang Kuang's face instantly stiffened, turning into disbelief and astonishment, which then transformed into fury: "What? Impossible!"

Sun Hao was stunned himself for a moment, then ecstatic, patting Lin Feng's shoulder hard, too excited to speak.

"Second place: Wu Chen."

As soon as this name was announced, even Lin Feng was stunned.

He followed the sound and saw a completely inconspicuous Disciple.

The crowd was buzzing with discussion:

"Wu Chen? Who is that?"

"Never heard of him."

"How did he get so much?"

After receiving his ranking, Wu Chen silently retreated to a corner, like a shadow.

"Third place: Lin Feng."

Standing beside Lin Feng, Sun Hao heard this ranking, turned his head, his eyes wide, his face filled with unbelievable shock.

"Junior Brother Lin? Third place?"

"Last night, he clearly gave me most of the Earth Fire Lotus... With what he had left, logically, it would be impossible for him to squeeze into the top three."

"In just one night... what exactly did he do?"

He had thought that Lin Feng had given up his chance to compete for the top three in order to help him reach the top, and his heart had been filled with gratitude and a hint of guilt.

But now... Lin Feng had actually managed to fight his way back into the top three, relying solely on the extra harvest from one night.

What kind of astonishing luck and methods for finding spirit plants must this have required?