Chapter 17: Invisible Pressure
Paved with ordinary limestone slabs and decorated with neatly trimmed verdant grass on both sides, it looked like any other road in the empire. The road turned and twisted, stretching away as far as the eye could see.
Participants who had registered for the initial exam seemed pretty confident and relaxed as they stood in line. Refining had strengthened their body, so for them, running was child's play. Most of them were quite sure that they would breeze through the exam.
The white-bearded old man gave a signal, and the exam began.
All candidates broke into a run. Just then something strange happened. The lead runners stumbled and sank to the ground, making a perfect pratfall.
Only a few people reacted quickly enough to recover their balance. They pulled themselves together and carried on running forward.
This incident gave the others an indication that there was something unusual about this road. They were more careful where they set foot on the road. Although no one else fell, since the candidates were being careful, their speed reduced. It looked as if they were carrying a thousand pounds of weight.
After the first few batches set off on the road, it was Zen's turn.
He approached the edge of the square and stepped out slowly. Instantly he felt an invisible pressure. As he tried to lift his foot, he found that his legs felt leaden.
It was an odd feeling.
Once he had stepped on to the road, the pressure encased him completely. Every inch of his skin felt weighed down. Even his eardrums throbbed!
Although the road seemed normal, the air pressure seemed much higher.
As Zen had entered the organ refining level, he was able to control his breathing. With enough food to supply his body with energy, he could easily run for ten days.
But the high air pressure made this simple task seem daunting. The running would wear him out quickly. He wasn't sure how long he would last. Since he had lit up two dragon scales and his body had been refined, Zen felt as though there was no reason for him not to get a good mark.
Zen steadied his breathing, then with a light cry he mustered every ounce of strength, tightened every muscle against the pressure, and ran forward.
Many of the participants had adjusted to the pressure almost instantly. They continued to run at a brisk pace as if the pressure didn't affect them at all.
But most participants were unable to continue.
Participants at the bone refining level ran out of strength after only three hundred feet. As their bodies gave up, they fell on the road. They were so exhausted that even raising their heads had become an effort.
Even though some continued to run, they were panting and staggering. The effort to maintain their pace against the invisible pressure was clearly visible. It appeared as though they would drop at any moment.
After having run for seven or eight miles, Zen noticed that some participants began to drop back as time wore on, and the crowd gradually thinned into a line.
He concentrated on his steps. Then he adjusted his breathing to tune up his body as this was the only way to stay in a condition to cover a longer distance.
“Zen!”
Zen looked over his shoulder when he heard someone call his name. A silk-robed boy waved to him. It was Nory, the boy he had met the day before. His attire was more suitable to the challenge today as compared with yesterday.
“Hi, Nory!” Zen replied with a smile.
“You are doing well!” Nory gasped. “Impressive! Even though you are running under such high pressure, you look as if you are sauntering in your backyard.”
“You are not doing so bad yourself. If I'm not mistaken, you are only at the bone refining level. Not many at your level can keep up with the challenge,” Zen said.
The pressure had proved to be demanding for people at the bone refining level. However, participants at the organ and marrow refining levels were easily able to rise above it.
It was amazing that Nory could stay at the front of the line.
Nory pulled a face and raised his hand. He showed Zen a bangle around his wrist. “Last time, I didn't even make one mile in the initial exam. Now, thanks to this bangle, I can run this far. It helps me counteract half the pressure.”
“Bangle?” Zen glanced at the accessory on Nory's wrist. It looked rather unimpressive as it appeared to be a plain gold bangle. Who could have guessed that it could counteract the invisible pressure?
“It must be a mysterious weapon, right?” Zen blinked at Nory as he asked.
Nory grinned, “Yes. It is a mysterious weapon. It cost me two cubic crystals, almost all my savings.”
“Two cubic crystals? That's all? Is a mysterious weapon that cheap?” Zen asked incredulously. If what Nory had said was true then he could buy dozens of mysterious weapons, considering that he had hundreds of cubic crystals lying in his space ring.
“Nah, you misunderstood me,” Nory added quickly, “The rent is two cubic crystals. After I pass the exam, I will have to return the bangle.”
Zen didn't know what to say. The renting business was flourishing because of the initial exam. The youngsters in the Imperial Capital were making every effort to pass the exam. “But if we use an external object, won't that be considered cheating?” Zen wondered.
Cloud Sect intended to use the initial exam to weed out the weaker applicants. Wouldn't it be a bit unfair if weapons were not banned during the exam?
Nory smiled, “Bro, what you haven't considered is that Cloud Sect has many disciples, so many geniuses. The Sect won't pay too much attention to the initial exam. We aren't outer disciples. No energy will be wasted on the trifles in the initial exam. As long as we don't kill each other, they don't give a fig what weapon you use or whether you get into a brawl here.”
With the help of Nory's explanation, Zen realized that while Cloud Sect did have very strict rules and regulations, they were for their formal disciples. This initial exam was a sieve with a large mesh to strain out those who didn't fit the bill.
As soon as Nory finished his explanation, he gasped. The bangle could only counteract half the pressure, but the remaining pressure still made running hard for Nory.
“Stop talking. Just focus on your pace,” Zen reminded him.
Nory nodded. He clenched his teeth and kept moving forward. He grimaced as he challenged his limits.
Zen was running rather comfortably. Since a while had passed, he had gotten accustomed to the pressure. Now, he could even ignore the pressure completely.
As time wore on and people began feeling the effects of the pressure, exhaustion began settling it. They started falling behind. Instead of a long line of runners, the road now had groups of scattered participants on it. Zen looked around and found that he and Nory were the only two people on this section of the road.
A moment later, Zen noticed a hulking figure speeding forward. A big man, as strong as an ox was approaching quickly with fast, large steps.
Soon the big man caught up with Zen. Just as he was about to pass Nory, he changed direction and hurtled toward Nory. Before Zen could warn his friend, the big man's shoulder bumped hard against Nory.
Nory had been concentrating on his pace as his strength was being strained to the limit. He had lowered his head and had been running forward desperately.
This bump came out of the blue. A scream escaped Nory's lips as he lost his balance. After staggering for a few steps, Nory fell.
“What are you doing?” Zen demanded angrily. Since Nory had no beef with this man, his behavior was way out of line. Before Zen could finish, the man sped up and turned in Zen's direction.
Seeing the man closing in quickly, Zen's expression changed. Secretly, he commanded all his strength to flow all over his body.
A brittle smile spread over the man's face. According to what he could gauge, Zen was just at the organ refining level. Since he had already entered the marrow refining level, the man was confident that he had certain advantages in terms of his strength and body. A malicious grin appeared on his face when the man saw that Zen was standing still, waiting for the attack. Apparently, Zen had no idea who he was dealing with. The man was certain that the collision would break every dang bone in Zen's body.
When the man thought of the result of the clash, he felt his blood began to boil. He increased his force by fifty percent. But as soon as he cannoned into Zen, his expression changed. This collision should have sent Zen flying onto the ground like a sandbag. The force should have shattered all his bones and killed him.
Instead, the man felt as though he had run headfirst into a hill, while Zen remained unmoved from his spot. Had the force the man used been redirected back to him?
The recoil sent the man stumbling back several steps. His expression couldn't have been more shocked as if he had seen a ghost. How could this brat get such a tough body? It was like his body was made of steel rather than of flesh and blood.
Zen ignored the man's astonished glare. As usual, the attack on his body unleashed warm currents. Zen could feel the warmth flooding his body. He glanced at Nory before turning to the man and coldly saying, “We've got no beef with you. Why did you do that? You want a fight?”
The man fumbled for a purple pill in his pocket. As soon as his fingers closed around the object, he pulled it out and swallowed it. “True, I have no beef with you. But someone wants you to fail the exam,” he said with a laugh.
“Who is that?” Zen asked stiffly.
The man didn't reply to Zen's question. He turned and ran off with a grin. “You'd better quit the exam as soon as possible. Or else, not only are you going to fail the exam, but you will get yourself killed.”
Zen stared at the man's retreating back with a grim expression.
Solving the riddle was a cinch for Zen. He knew who was behind all this.
Since he didn't know anyone in the Imperial Capital, the only person with motive to do this was Perrin. Perrin had resorted to low tricks to prevent Zen from joining Cloud Sect. Zen's face grew cold as he thought about this.