Death First and Rebirth After
Mu Yu had two flying swords assumed the form of a flying claw with chain attached to its rear. He dug the claws into the ball and turned the chain into a rod so that he could swing the ball in circles. The remaining four came together as one spear, and Mu Yu plunged it toward the ball as he swung the ball back in the same direction. As soon as he punctured the ball, it switched to a shield to stop the spear getting any deeper.
“My turn.”
Mu Yu spun the spear to increase its piercing potential, breaking the shield apart. He hastily converted his claw to darts and sent them after the red star as soon as it was exposed. Once captured, the star tried to break free, but Mu Yu swiped it straight away.
The red star was so fragile once it was restrained that Mu Yu effortlessly crushed it to dust. The star’s destruction cracked the dark sky. At the same time, gravity was restored. The worrying part was Mu Yu couldn’t tell if he was upside down or not. Either way, the sudden onset of gravity resulted in him plummeting face first into the ground.
“Take it easy, will you?” Mu Yu complained as he rubbed his nose.
“How long did it take you to finish three hexagrams?!” Zhan Bing asked Fan Wen.
The stars were supposed to attack the examinee constantly for six hours and then stop for six to give them enough time to figure out a countermeasure. If the examinee lost consciousness under duress, they were failed.
“One month. The stars I controlled were wrapped up, so I nearly suffocated. What about you?”
“Same. He took less than six hours!” enviously exclaimed Zhan Bing. “If he keeps going at this rate, I reckon he has a strong chance of becoming a Heaven Stage disciple.”
Fan Wen concurred, but he didn’t voice it. Instead, he fronted. “He didn’t break the record for the third hexagram, though. Senior Brother Mu was an hour faster.”
Mu Yu picked himself up and found himself in a place with only the three doors he initially chose. “What’s this fourth hexagram now?”
Mu Yu was, in principle, qualified as a disciple already, but he believed a Lesser Heaven Stage disciple’s chances of meeting Chen Tiandao was painfully slim, so he wanted to get into the higher ranks. At the same time, he needed to be mindful to not join in conspicuous fashion. What sect wouldn’t brag to everyone if they found a gifted disciple?
“You have solved three hexagrams and qualified as a Lesser Heaven Stage disciple. In front of you are the three gates you chose at the beginning. If you choose to turn down a chance to attempt the fourth hexagram, you can leave via any of the doors. Should you choose to continue, you need to open two doors.”
The instructions came from the same individual who provided instructions at the start.
Mu Yu chose to open Life Gate and Death Gate since there was “life” and “death” in Life and Death in the Blink of an Eye.
“Life Gate and Death Gate? What, Life After Death? Is he out of his mind?” Fan Wen chaffed. “Well, nobody is going to stop someone with a death wish.”
“But that means…” Zhan Bing and Fan Wen nodded in agreement. “There have been many disciples who chose those two, but none of them succeeded. Each successive hexagram is more difficult than the previous one. He won’t be an exception.”
Life After Death meant one chose to challenge the hexagrams in random order. The fourth hexagram was going to be replaced with “Death Hexagram”, which was the eighth hexagram!
Because of associations with the word “death” seldom was Death Gate chosen. People either chose Wonder Gate or Pain Gate instead from the Ominous Door selections.
“Should we let him know the eighth hexagram is seriously difficult?” Zhan Bing asked.
“It’s too late. He’s doomed. We don’t know what the eighth hexagram is, but he’s screwed for sure. We don’t have the chance to save him at this point.”
Limit Gate disappeared. Life Gate closed, leaving just Death Gate open. The ominous aura oozing from Death Gate didn’t rustle Mu Yu’s feathers. He manifested a spark of black qi in his right hand. He didn’t know what was in store, but his plan didn’t change even if he did.
Quaint qi splashed out from the stars when Mu Yu entered Death Gate. The energy spread to every corner of the mountain, yet it didn’t alert anyone, and entered Formation Sect’s forbidden zone. Said forbidden zone was the headquarters of Formation Sect, where a select number of disciples were trained.
The forbidden zone was a forest. Though it was still summer, the gold and reds carpeted the grass and an individual. The individual opened his eyes when the ominous qi entered the forbidden zone. Orange light fired from his eyes, lightning up the forest and stirring the spiritual qi in the vicinity. It took a single second for him to make powder of the leaves on him.
“Someone is attempting the eighth hexagram?” remarked a middle-aged man, thrilled. Nobody had ever seen him excited before. The middle-aged man could see past mountains to watch Mu Yu. He pulled his eyebrows together. “He’s not a Greater Heaven Stage disciple, yet chose Life After Death? Hubristic idiot, you got my hopes up for nothing.”
The middle-aged man had been hoping to find someone who could solve the eighth hexagram so that he could pass on his knowledge. The man deemed only one able to solve the eighth hexagram to be worthy of his inheritance. Hence, he shut his eyes and resumed his former endeavour.
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