Chapter 156 - Eastsea's Little Zhangkong
The park was enormous, so it was only after half an hour did Wu Zhangkong lead them to a smaller park within the park.
They were greeted with a wide expanse of greenery. There was a small building in the center, tiny in comparison to the other buildings they had seen on the way there. Along with the vast emptiness that surrounded it, the scene looked disproportionate.
When they reached the building, the students were surprised to see that it didn’t have a name plaque. They couldn’t make heads or tails of just what this place was. Is the second part of the exam really being conducted here?
The building was dark blue, and its walls shimmered like a mirror, each wall seemingly cut from a block of glass. There was a bizarre sense of beauty to this reflective-like quality. Every angle refracted the light in a different way. It was breathtaking.
No one guarded the dark blue double doors that were also made of glass. Wu Zhangkong walked up and pressed onto the glass.
A blue light suddenly appeared. It projected an image that was accompanied by an amused voice. “Oh, long time no see! It’s Eastsea’s Little Zhangkong!”
Wu Zhangkong coldly said, “Open the doors.”
The voice answered back willy-nilly, “You’re still so boring.”
With a crisp ring, the doors wordlessly opened up.
Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, and Gu Yue stood there dumbfounded. Eastsea’s Little Zhangkong? What in the devil?
Zhangkong is Teacher Wu’s name, and ‘Eastsea’ should be referring to Eastsea City right? But… this way of calling him is just… Ahem.
Entering the door, they saw the same dark blue walls, but there was now a shining white floor and gentle fluorescent lights overhead. They came together to paint a scene of calm and order, further emphasizing the lack of people. A circular metal platform holding three metal wristbands hovered over.
“Put them on,” instructed Wu Zhangkong.
Xie Xie curiously asked, “Teacher Wu, what does it do?”
Wu Zhangkong answered back, “It’s to identify you. If you wear it, you won’t be considered an enemy by the defense systems here.”
Xie Xie gasped. “So high-tech!”
Without wasting any more words, Wu Zhangkong lead the trio over to another dark blue glass door. A bright blue light swept out once more, but without the voice this time. After scanning them and taking note of their wristbands, it quieted down.
Past the door was a long tunnel with several bends in it. As Wu Zhangkong lead them through the tunnel, he passed through another glass door and disappeared in a flash of light.
Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, and Gu Yue instinctively stopped. This is...
“Spatial technology?” Xie Xie exclaimed. He had been born to a large clan so it was only natural that he had a deep understanding of just how advanced the continent’s technology was now. He clearly remembered that spatial technology was still in its development stage, and was far from being implemented into practical uses. Yet, what they had just experienced was the result of spatial technology!
“Forward.” Wu Zhangkong’s voice resonated from all sides.
Exchanging glances with his two companions, Tang Wulin lead the way forward.
After entering the area Wu Zhangkong had just been in, an odd feeling swept over them. Tang Wulin felt as if his whole body was being wrapped up in pure energy. In the next moment, he found himself in a completely different place.
It was a dark blue space. Dark blue stalagmite and stalactite crystals surrounded him. The walls were made from a silver-white metal. The crystals and metal came together to refract light in astonishing ways.
Shortly after, Xie Xie and Gu Yue appeared by his side with two flashes of light.
“Wow! It really is spatial technology! Our final exam location is so high-tech!” Xie Xie’s voice was full of awe.
Wu Zhangkong was leaning against a wall. A moment later, some unknown mechanism seemed to have been activated as one wall suddenly split open to reveal a large screen with a myriad of symbols on it. A keyboard popped up and Wu Zhangkong began typing. The sounds of his typing was like the pitter-patter of rain that struck down with lightning speed.
“Identity confirmed. Eastsea’s Little Zhangkong.”
“Test difficulty: medium. Participants: three. Commencing in ten seconds.”
“Ten…”
“Nine…”
“What’s going on? Why is it starting a countdown?” Xie Xie asked, startled.
Wu Zhangkong turned to stare at them. “Don’t tell me you still want more preparation time? Just go do what you always do.”
“Eight, seven, six... Three, two, one. Begin!”
Three blue lights descended onto the trio and in a flash, they disappeared.
Tang Wulin felt that energy wrapping him up again. This time, though, the feeling was far stronger and lasted longer.
Tang Wulin hastily circulated his soul power and sped up his blood flow when he felt the sensation that he was being pulled apart. He could now clearly hear his own heartbeat continuously accelerating.
Each powerful beat of his heart fended off the pain, allowing him to calm down and steady himself.
After some unknown period of time had passed, another light flashed and Tang Wulin lost control of his body. He was enveloped with a sense of weightlessness.
Not good!
He didn’t hesitate to release and shoot his Bluesilver Grass downwards to latch onto something while he frantically took in his bearings.
The first thing he felt was the world spinning around him. He then felt a strong pull on his body. His Bluesilver Grass had finally attached itself to something. As two other lights descended near him, he hastily exerted all his strength in controlling his Bluesilver Grass to slow his fall and act as a spring for his other two comrades.
The elastic force of the grass disappeared just as he gently landed on the ground.
Xie Xie and Gu Yue were nowhere to be found. He was alone now, and astonished to discover that this place was somewhat familiar to him. The ground was white and there was no sky, yet, there seemed to be no boundaries to this world.
This place resembled the world he had met Old Tang in. It was different, of course. This place had far more things present and couldn’t possibly be the space within his consciousness.
This...
Just what is this place?
“Welcome to the Hall of Heroes. First trial, medium difficulty. Name: Tang Wulin. Age: 10.”
“Test objective for the first round: survive for thirty seconds.”
Without even giving Tang Wulin a second to understand what was going on, a beam of light appeared in front of him, revealing a pretty girl. She had gentle eyes and wore a kind smile.
“Begin!” The electronic voice announced.
The girl’s eyes lit up and a powerful light enveloped her body. As the light grew brighter, a yellow ring rose from beneath her feet.
Tang Wulin saw her figure flicker and in an instant, she appeared right in front of him. She struck out a palm straight toward his stomach.
This footwork! It’s similar to Teacher Wu’s!
Having experienced Wu Zhangkong’s strange footwork before, Tang Wulin was prepared when the girl charged him. With a wave of his hands, dozens of strands of Bluesilver Grass shot out in front of him to create an all-encompassing defense.
A three-legged cauldron materialized in front of her all of a sudden. Too quick for Tang Wulin to even react, the cauldron descended with an eruption of black gas.
The ground trembled and a loud rumble resounded, jolting Tang Wulin into launching his Bluesilver Grass net upward. He was completely powerless to resist his opponent.
Taking advantage of the opening, a delicate palm struck out.
It was too late for Tang Wulin to even attempt to dodge. The moment her soft palm pressed into his stomach, he felt an attractive force. Combined with the sudden straightening of her arm, it delivered an explosive strike that sent him flying.
Fortunately, he was wearing the Thousand Refined Cloud Titanium vest. When the palm had struck him, every piece of the vest had locked together and distributed the palm’s force evenly. Even after distributing the force, Tang Wulin felt as if his stomach had been struck by a battering ram.
Of course, with a body far stronger than that of his peers, he could endure it.
He wasn’t given a chance to even stand up, however, as the black cauldron was already rushing toward him. Tang Wulin simultaneously noticed that there was a purple light within the girl’s eyes. A bout of dizziness struck him, and his attempts to remount his defense paused.
The black cauldron struck like thunder, but Tang Wulin retaliated with an explosive right punch.
A golden-scaled punch met the cauldron, their collision creating a rumbling boom.
He had long since activated his bloodline power. Even while he was dazed, he had managed to force his fist forward.
However, it was impossible for him to exert his full strength in such conditions, so he was sent flying once again.