Chapter 362: Chapter 362

The Trial Stele's top ten may seem simple, but it is anything but easy. The Stele has stood here for who knows how many years; if reaching the top were so simple, why would some names on it not change for decades?

Ding Fan slowly made his way to the base of the Trial Stele.

Ding Fan's trial was aimed at gaining a priority purchase right at this auction. Only by obtaining this right would it be possible to buy the Comforting Grass.

"This man is just in his early twenties, what skills can he have? Talking about making it into the top ten, I think he's just boasting."

"You can't really say that. Nalan Xiong made it to the top of the list, didn't he? And he's only twenty-seven or twenty-eight. Maybe this guy does have some real skills?"

"Damn, the world isn't full of such stunning and decisive individuals! There's only one Nalan Xiong!"

At the moment, people around were pointing and discussing Ding Fan.

"Cheng Bufan, can your sworn brother really make it into the top ten?" Hearing the surrounding discussions, Qi Luomei also grew curious.

"I think so," Cheng Bufan nodded and said.

Qi Luomei slowly nodded. Recalling the day Ding Fan had killed the six sons of West Mountain, judging from that combat power, making it to the list shouldn't be a problem; the real question was whether he could break into the top ten.

After all, only the top ten would be noticed at the auction.

At this moment, all eyes were on Ding Fan…

Some were expectant, some were just watching the excitement, and naturally, some were waiting to see him fail…

Ding Fan took a deep breath, then suddenly leaped up.

When the crowd saw Ding Fan spring up, they couldn't help exclaiming in surprise, as usually, others would prepare before such a jump, like bending their knees or sprinting.

But Ding Fan in front of them was freakish; he hadn't bent his knees at all and seemed to have shot up abruptly.

As the crowd gasped at Ding Fan's method of jumping, Ding Fan reached a certain height. He gathered his True Qi and with a loud shout, unleashed a powerful blast of True Qi.

Ding Fan's True Qi was formidable, and the surrounding trees rustled in the air stream. Those spectators close by could even feel the remnants of the True Qi.

"Powerful!" Qi Luomei's eyes brightened.

Although Qi Luomei was haughty, she recognized quality. The Inner Strength released by Ding Fan was, by no means, inferior to that of Qiu Yangzi who had gone before him.

Given Ding Fan's performance, advancing into the top ten shouldn't be an issue.

After releasing his power, Ding Fan landed directly on the ground.

Ding Fan was eager to see his results. After landing, he turned to look at the Trial Stele.

However, this time was different from previous occasions, as the Trial Stele was unusually silent, as if no one had just tested.

The crowd was stunned; having stood there for so many years, with countless challengers, nothing had happened before.

As everyone waited anxiously, a red line swept over the stele from bottom to top, then there was no more movement.

Ding Fan was baffled. Regardless of whether he had succeeded or not, shouldn't there be some indication?

"It seems like there's a problem with the Trial Stele…" someone nearby suggested.

Ding Fan frowned slightly, valuing the top ten greatly, as only that would make the auction house take him seriously.

"Younger brother, if it doesn't work, try again," Cheng Bufan suggested to Ding Fan.

"It won't work…" said the man who had spoken earlier. "One can only test here once every three years. Even if your friend tries again, it definitely won't have any effect."

"It doesn't matter. Let's assume I didn't succeed," Ding Fan said indifferently.

Now that the situation had turned out this way, saying anything else was pointless, Ding Fan pretended not to care, probably worrying that Cheng Bufan would get frustrated for him.

With things as they were, Cheng Bufan looked at the Trial Stele and realized that that was probably all that could be done.

"Damn Stele, problems could have arisen earlier or later but had to occur now!" Cheng Bufan grumbled displeasingly.

"Why bother about it?" Ding Fan smiled lightly. "Let's just continue on our way."

Cheng Bufan nodded, and the three of them turned to go back, intending to continue on their journey…

About half an hour after Ding Fan and his group had left, Jing Yi and Fang Ruo arrived at the base of the Trial Stele.

"Go on, relax your mental state. I believe you can do it," Jing Yi said to Fang Ruo.

Fang Ruo nodded, then walked resolutely towards the Trial Stele.

"Miss, are you here to test as well?" At that moment, a man in his thirties with an average appearance approached.

Fang Ruo nodded slightly. "Yes. Do you need something?" Content orıginally comes from 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵~𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖~𝙣𝙚𝙩

The man, standing in front of Fang Ruo, blushed immediately when she questioned him, and his legs even began to tremble slightly.

Beauty indeed has a lethal effect, just like Fang Ruo before him.

With her tall figure and ethereal aura, her delicate yet cold appearance made her seem like a fairy untouched by worldly dust. Standing in front of such a beauty, how many could remain calm and composed?

"Miss... the trial stele has broken," the man finally managed to stabilize his mind and said.

"Broken?" Fang Ruo was taken aback, she looked up at the trial stele, somewhat skeptical of the man's words.

"It is broken. Earlier, someone came here for the trial. After his trial ended, a red line appeared on the stele, and it disappeared from the lower right to the top. From start to finish, that person's trial score was never announced..." the man explained.

Jing Yi slowly walked up to the trial stele, gently touching it with her hand, feeling the changes in the stele.

Over the years, Jing Yi had focused on cultivating her mind, viewing the world with her heart, and feeling the universe with her spirit. Although her martial art cultivation was not high, if it came to comprehension, perhaps few in the world could rival Jing Yi.

About three minutes later, Jing Yi finally opened her eyes, looking astonished.

"How... how is this possible?!"

"Master? What happened?" Fang Ruo, seeing Jing Yi's astonished expression, asked from the side.

Jing Yi was someone Fang Ruo knew well. She was always composed and handled matters calmly; for her to show such drastic changes, it must be no ordinary matter.

At that moment, Jing Yi did not even bother with the Jing Yi beside her, she instead leaped up immediately.

Her leap was astonishingly high. She jumped directly to a position level with the highest point of the trial stele.

Fang Ruo watched Jing Yi's actions with curiosity, understanding what her master was about to do.

After inspecting the top of the trial stele, Jing Yi finally landed back down.

"Master, what exactly happened?"

Fang Ruo approached and asked.

Jing Yi calmed her emotions and then turned to Fang Ruo. "Fang Ruo, the trial stele isn't broken. Go, take your trial!"

At this moment, when Jing Yi asked Fang Ruo to take the trial, Fang Ruo felt obliged to comply. She walked under the trial stele, found a Stone Sphere, and wrote her name on it.

Then, Fang Ruo threw the stone sphere with her name on it into a small hole and stood under the trial stele.

The crowd around started to look over.

Fang Ruo was young, and these people did not expect her trial to succeed, but to see such a graceful beauty attempting the trial was a treat to their eyes nevertheless.

Fang Ruo stood under the trial stele, bent her knees, mustered her strength, and then she leaped up sharply.

Fang Ruo was naturally very beautiful, and with this leap, her hair danced in the air, making her look like a Nine Heavens Fairy.

After reaching a certain height, Fang Ruo then concentrated her True Qi and shouted.

A roar... a long howl, resembling the cry of a dragon or the roar of a tiger, echoed across the entire valley, making it vibrantly resonate.

The onlookers, who were just there for entertainment, had not expected such a delicate beauty to possess such terrifying cultivation. Just from the sound of the Inner Strength's howling, it was evident that Fang Ruo was exceptionally extraordinary.

After releasing her Inner Strength, Fang Ruo then steadily landed back down.

"Wow... is she really that formidable!" The surrounding crowd was utterly astonished by Fang Ruo's trial performance.

"A-tier! That's insane..."

"Such a beautiful woman with such high cultivation, my god, it's simply unbelievable..."

At that moment, a red line stopped at the A-tier on the trial stele, and finally, Fang Ruo's name also directly landed in the third place on the trial stele.

Jing Yi did not seem surprised by this rank. She then inquired about who had come here for the trial when the trial tower was supposedly broken.

The crowd simply described Ding Fan's appearance.

"Let's go," Jing Yi, having asked enough questions, then said to Fang Ruo.

Fang Ruo nodded and followed Jing Yi obediently.

"Master, I don't understand why you were so surprised at the trial stele earlier," Fang Ruo finally couldn't resist asking out of curiosity.

Now that there was no one around, Jing Yi did not intend to keep Fang Ruo in the dark.

"Do you remember they mentioned that the trial stele was broken before your trial?"

Fang Ruo nodded. "I remember."

Jing Yi said, "Actually, the trial tower wasn't broken; it's just that someone's cultivation was too high, exceeding the stele's judgment capability. Now there's an extra small stele at the top of the trial stele, I don't know why there's an extra one... and you all didn't observe carefully. Originally there were a hundred names on the trial stele, now there are only ninety-nine..."

"So it has come to this," Fang Ruo observed, looking at Jing Yi.