Chapter 3709 — The Oppressive Might Trial
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 3
Not only had Meng Zhou succeeded in establishing his foundation—Wei Zhao had also taken careful note of Kang Jingming and Zhong Yongliang just now, and both of them were by now early-stage Foundation Establishment experts as well. Setting all else aside, judging purely by cultivation resources, their clinging at the very outset to Xu Lingchong's thick and sturdy leg had indeed been a wise move.
And counting Wei Zhao himself, within a mere month four of this batch of Threefold Pavilion newcomers had already succeeded in establishing their foundations—something unimaginable in former years. Naturally, this was chiefly thanks to the Foundation Establishment Pills.
"This fellow merely got lucky. Even if he did establish his foundation, it's nothing remarkable—no need for the two of you to take it to heart. The pressing task is to face this oppressive-might trial and strive for a good opening. That is what matters. Still, safety comes first; when the time comes, act according to your strength and do not charge in blindly," Wei Zhao admonished the two with a solemn expression.
He was a man of experience and knew that in a trial of oppressive might one must never let distracting thoughts crowd the mind, or trouble would easily follow.
Especially this time, facing the Law Enforcement Hall's grand oppressive array, which besides the usual true-qi pressure also carried a faint spiritual oppression—under the twofold assault of body and spirit, a single slip would bring collapse. No carelessness could be tolerated, and still less any blind bravado.
Xiao Che and Qiao Hongcai both nodded. They were not men who failed to know when to advance and when to yield. Points mattered, to be sure, but first one needed a life with which to contend for them. The newcomer trial had six stages in all; this was only the first, and there was ample time ahead.
Upon entering the circular raised platform, one immediately felt a heavy weight descend. Not only was one's whole body crushed and battered by powerful true qi, but the spirit too felt as though a heavy yoke had suddenly been clamped upon it; every nerve snapped taut in an instant, as if it might break at any moment.
And as the spirit came under suppression, the true qi within the body likewise began to stagnate by degrees, which in turn made the crushing pressure upon the flesh all the more severe and further increased the burden on the spirit. The two played upon each other, forming a most terrifying vicious cycle.
Wei Zhao could not help sighing inwardly: this oppressive-might trial was indeed far more arduous than the one at the Summit of the Hidden Houses in the mortal realm.
Once all the Threefold Pavilion newcomers had entered and settled into place, Hu Yunfeng exchanged a glance with several Law Enforcement Hall experts likewise seated, then signaled for the first stick of incense to be lit. The first stage of the oppressive-might trial had officially begun.
Whatever one's level of strength, the oppressive-might trial had always been an excellent means of testing innate talent and potential. Especially a grand array like this one, capable of applying pressure to body and spirit at once, which laid every person's talent and potential bare for all to see, making it easy to rank them against one another.
After all, if pressure were applied to the flesh alone, it would be purely a matter of how abundant one's true qi was; that could measure only each person's present strength, never their potential for future growth.
In other words, even a good-for-nothing built up entirely on pills, with no so-called potential for growth to speak of, could still score highly in such a trial of mere bodily pressure, so long as his strength sufficed.