By the time they reacted, quite a few ordinary disciples had slipped through the gate and entered the
third level of Bloody Mountain.
"Stop them!" cried one of the noble clansmen who was dressed in blue.
Seeing the scene, the other noble clansmen knew they wouldn't have anyone to rob if more
commoners slipped by.
It was worth pointing out that while these noble disciples were not strong, with the weapons and magic
tools their families provided, they could still fight.
They clustered together quickly to fill the breach and restore their checkpoint.
While this was happening, the disciples who were trailing after the towering man continued attacking.
The cruel and unrelenting enemies left them only the choice of brave resistance or dropping out of the
game. Anyone at this time could burst with increased strength.
So the scuffle escalated.
"Aaahh......!"
wailed a disciple as three noble disciples attacked, leaving him gutted. His enemy stood over him with
a bloody long sword that shimmered a brilliant green light.
Although each disciple was in the magic array, protecting them from real death, the pain was still real.
After screaming, the disciple was immediately encircled in a light, and he was gone.
But the noble disciples were not faring well. During the fighting, a noble disciple gently pushed against
a commoner to stop him. The ordinary disciple appeared unimpressive but was, in fact, more powerful.
The noble clansman felt a strange stab force its way into his body. He began to twitch, tremble, and fell
to the ground, dead. Countless dots encased him in light instantly, and he vanished, too.
Zen moved with a deft prowess, like lightning during a storm. Many disciples from noble clans tried
stopping him. He dodged the attacks easily, weaving between them as he advanced.
He managed to shake off the interception, and passed the chaotic checkpoint, nearing safety. The
outcome of the battle didn't concern him. He needed the time to accumulate more crystal fragments.
As he scanned the scene he had managed to escape, he caught sight of Nory in the crowd.
Nory was only at the bone refining level. The best choice for him was to stay and kill phantom beasts
on the first level. But, he appeared to be caught up in the middle of the scuffle, so, he must have
wanted to rush to the third layer too. That was beyond Zen's expectation.
Fortunately, Nory's strength was relatively weak among the people, and he didn't draw much attention.
He was struggling forward.
Suddenly, a noble disciple noticed Nory and crept up behind him silently holding a gory dagger. Raising
it as he neared Nory, he was about to have that dagger driven into his back.
If Nory were stabbed, he would be disqualified.
At this critical moment, Zen didn't stop to think; instead, he quickened his pace, sped, and seized Nory,
pulling him to the side.
Because of Zen's actions, the noble disciple's sneak attack failed.
Nory was oblivious to what happened. When he got his wits, he realized a knife fell to the ground, just
behind where he had been standing.
He had a look of alarm when he realized what almost happened. He gratefully said, "Zen, I ......"
he stopped short. Zen had no time to talk because the noble disciple was so angry he immediately
picked up his dagger and launched himself at Zen. The blade was coming straight at Zen's neck at a
deceptive angle, one that was difficult to escape. He wanted to kill Zen with a single blow.
"Go to hell! Purple Fist Strength!"
yelled Zen as he punched the noble clansman, striking his chest hard, knocking him and his dagger
backward to the ground. In the wake of Zen's attack, he felt seven slight explosions in his body, and
seven substantial bloody holes appeared on his chest. When Zen enhanced his strength, the Purple
Fist Strength had improved too. With terrifying destructive power, his attacks dealt fatal physical
damage to an enemy's body.
Another light appeared, floating around the noble disciple's body. Zen eliminated a child from a noble
clan with a single punch.
The melee was finally winding down.
The disciples that were strong enough had raced past and onto the third layer, while the ones who
didn't have time to rush or weren't strong enough were eliminated.
Of course, many disciples from noble clans were eliminated during the battle as well. The noble
disciples' number went from more than twenty to only a dozen left standing. Half of their people failed
the Blooded Test.
Knowing so many had failed depressed the noble disciples that remained. Their predecessors used
this method to pass the test, and had said robbing crystal fragments in this pass was the easiest way to
get into the Cloud Sect. Many of them had succeeded in the previous years.
So, most of them thought they would pass, even if they lay down to nap during the Blooded Test. They
never expected a single person to rush the barrier, or that so many others would get involved. They lost
control of the situation immediately and unexpectedly lost more than ten people at once.
Meanwhile, Zen eliminated a noble disciple.
The noble disciples were depressed, and they found no way to vent. Seeing what Zen did, they
promptly gathered together to launch an attack on him.
"Go!"
one shouted. Watching the noble clansmen surround him, Zen shoved Nory to a safe distance.
"Kill him!"
"It's so discouraging that my cousin was eliminated!"
"I didn't believe these common men would resist! Kill him!"
The noble clan disciples were so furious that they lost their reasoning. They raced at Zen, attacking him
madly.
Half of them were at the organ refining level, and half were at marrow refining level. Every one of them
wielded a powerful weapon. Each weapon was above the grade of medium mysterious weapon.
Zen remained unflustered in the face of the insanity rushing toward him. He knew if he panicked, there
would be more trouble than he had now.
His eyes narrowed to slits, and he observed the disciple in blue, secretly selecting him as a target.
As soon as the noble disciples began to rush him, Zen ducked in the opposite direction, bypassing the
bodies in front and headed past them at the man in blue.
Zen noticed they were all following the lead of the man in blue. Taking on the leader first, to defeat his
bandit followers, had proved to be the proper strategic choice. So, Zen got him first.
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