Ch 363: The Final Trial: Love And Hate
The Fourth Test ended unusually quickly, as if in an instant, the curtain had fallen. In this thrilling test, seven people unfortunately lost their lives, while only the final twenty-nine remained on the field.
That mysterious voice sounded again; it seemed full of anticipation for these twenty-nine: “Congratulations, the final twenty-nine, you have successfully reached the final test. As long as you can successfully pass this final stage, your wishes will be fulfilled.”
Liu Ke stared at the remaining twenty-nine, a wave of anxiety rising in his heart. Of the original one hundred and forty-four, only twenty-nine remained; such a high elimination rate made him understand that the difficulty of the final round was definitely extraordinary.
Just as everyone was still feeling apprehensive about the previous four tests, the voice immediately announced the rules of the final round: “The final test is about hatred and love. The rules are as follows: Each team will engage in a life-or-death battle; only the surviving team members can realize their wishes.”
Upon hearing these rules, everyone was astonished. They never imagined that the final test would be so brutally simple, a completely naked slaughter.
At this moment, someone in the crowd suddenly asked loudly: “Then what were the previous four tests for?”
The voice answered slowly and calmly: “The rules of this round haven’t been fully explained yet. Under the rules of hatred and love, each of your teams needs to choose one person to protect, and this person cannot use any abilities or cultivation techniques during this round. However, other team members can use any cultivation techniques and abilities. The time limit for the final test is unlimited, and it will officially begin in half an hour.”
Just then, Liu Ke and his team began to discuss seriously. Liu Ke looked around at the remaining people, secretly assessing everyone’s strength. He found that among this group, the strongest were himself, Gu Yuan, and Zhang Shang. As for Li Shan, Narcissus, Liu Weiwei, Monkey, Bai Ya, and Xu Chunhua, their strengths were more or less the same.
Zhang Shang was the first to speak: “Then how should we distribute our efforts?”
Gu Yuan stroked his chin, pondering for a moment before saying: “Our numbers are indeed the most, which is both our advantage and our disadvantage. Now that our team has the most survivors, we will certainly become the primary target of the other five teams. However, this does not mean they all possess miraculous powers. Liu Ke possesses the Sacrifice Ritual mark and the power of the Tianqing Blood Emperor, while Zhang Shang has precognitive abilities. As for me, I will be the one who needs to be protected. Although I cannot use my Insect Gu temporarily, my martial arts remain, and both of your abilities are far stronger than my Insect Gu.”
As soon as Gu Yuan finished his suggestion, Monkey rubbed his hands and chuckled obsequiously: “Brother Gu Yuan’s words are reasonable. Your foundation in martial arts is strong; even if you can’t use Insect Gu, self-preservation is stronger than us half-baked individuals. Besides, Brother Liu Ke and Brother Zhang Shang’s skills, protecting you is certainly no problem.” His words were full of flattery, but he didn’t mention what he could do.
Liu Ke frowned and looked at Monkey. This man had been hiding behind others since the second round, always thinking of retreating when things got tough, yet now he was taking advantage of the situation.
But there was no time to dwell on this now. He said in a deep voice: “Let’s do it as Gu Yuan said. Zhang Shang, your precognitive ability is crucial; keep an eye on the surrounding movements. Li Shan, Narcissus, you two protect the left flank; Liu Weiwei, Bai Ya guard the right flank; Xu Chunhua and I will be beside Gu Yuan, ready to fill in. Monkey, you…”
“I! I! I’ll help everyone watch the rear!” Monkey immediately responded, shrinking to the back of the team before Liu Ke could finish, his posture suggesting he was afraid of being pushed to the front.
Half an hour passed in the blink of an eye; as the mysterious voice fell, the air around them suddenly solidified. People from other teams in the distance had already moved; several dark shadows rushed towards them, clearly intending to pick off the easiest targets. Zhang Shang suddenly shouted: “Three people in the front left, using Fire Attribute Techniques!”
Liu Ke immediately cast three marks, and at the same time shouted to Li Shan: “Be careful! Although the people coming from the opposite side won’t!”
Although Li Shan did not know martial arts, he possessed immense strength. He stamped his foot, preparing to withstand the attack, but one of Liu Ke’s marks blocked his attack.
In the chaos, Monkey, as Liu Ke had expected, cowered at the back, looking around. When he saw enemies charging towards his side, he actually hid behind Bai Ya, causing Bai Ya to be distracted protecting him, and the right flank was instantly exposed.
A poisoned hidden weapon flew through the gap, aiming straight for Gu Yuan, who was surrounded by everyone!
“Careful!” Liu Ke tried to block it, but it was too late. He could only watch helplessly as the black needle sank into Gu Yuan’s heart. Gu Yuan groaned, his body collapsing softly, his eyes filled with unbelievable astonishment.
Almost the moment he breathed his last, a strange red light swept over Liu Ke and the others. Zhang Shang’s face turned pale: “The rules… are real…” Before he could finish, his body suddenly exploded, turning into a pool of blood. Li Shan and Narcissus cried out in alarm and tried to support each other, but they also disintegrated in the red light, unable to even let out a complete scream.
Liu Weiwei and Xu Chunhua’s legs went weak with fright. They tried to retreat, but the red light had already enveloped them. Liu Ke watched helplessly as those around him disappeared one by one. The Blood Emperor’s power raged wildly within him, but he had no room to resist. Only he and Monkey remained. Monkey had already collapsed to the ground in terror, weeping and wailing: “It wasn’t me… it’s not my fault…”
The red light finally reached Liu Ke’s feet. He stared fixedly at Monkey’s terrified face, then looked towards where Gu Yuan had fallen. Before his consciousness faded, only one thought flashed through his mind—it turned out that the most terrifying thing was not the enemies’ cultivation techniques, but the cowardice and selfishness hidden within the team.
When the red light finally faded, only Gu Yuan’s cold corpse and the lingering smell of blood remained. The Monkey, who always wanted to hide in the back, ultimately failed to escape the annihilation caused by him.
Beside Gu Yuan’s corpse, the poisoned hidden weapon was still faintly glowing. Seeing this, the other teams temporarily stopped their offensive, watching this sudden annihilation from afar, their eyes filled with a mixture of shock and greed—with the largest team gone, the remaining slaughter would undoubtedly be much easier.
At this moment, a cold laugh suddenly came from the eastern team: “It seems that the test of ‘hatred and love’ has first tested ‘hatred’!”
The speaker was a man with a face full of scars. His team only had three people left; he was licking his lips, sizing up the other teams: “They couldn’t even protect their own people; they deserve to die.”
In the western team, a woman in green clothes frowned: “No, that hidden weapon just now… came from the south.” She pointed to the diagonally opposite team: “It was Zhao Kui’s team.”
Someone from Zhao Kui’s team immediately retorted: “Nonsense! You were the ones who attacked first!”
The shouts instantly ignited the tense atmosphere. Since Liu Ke’s team had been annihilated, the remaining five teams had no more scruples, and immediately started fighting each other.
Flames and ice cones intertwined, fists and weapons clashed, screams rose and fell, far more ferocious than when they were dealing with Liu Ke’s team.
No one looked at Gu Yuan’s corpse anymore, nor did anyone care about the lingering smell of blood.
This test, which was named after “wishes”, ultimately became a pure act of plunder.
After an unknown amount of time, when the last person fell into a pool of blood, only corpses littered the central area. The mysterious voice sounded again, but with a hint of imperceptible mockery: “Congratulations… oh, it seems no one could pass the final round.”
