Chapter 426: A Naughty Bridge
“What a stingy blacksmith….” Bai Xiaochun thought as he flew into the exit. Even as he was being teleported away, he already missed the frigid sea. In the short time he had spent in it, he already advanced to the very peak of the mid Gold Core stage.
Before coming to this place, he would never have even dared to hope that such good fortune would come his way.
“If only I’d had just a bit more time, I could have broken through!” After reluctantly leaving the third trial by fire, he found himself in the fourth.
This fourth level corresponded to the green portion of the rainbow, and as soon as he arrived, he tucked away his regret at having left the third trial by fire, and looked around vigilantly. A moment later, his vigilance turned into surprise.
Here, the sky was blue and dotted with fluffy white clouds. A gentle breeze touched his face, and everything seemed very peaceful and devoid of danger.
“Hm, something’s not right,” he thought. According to the information he had collected, the fourth trial by fire was related to thunder and lightning. Even just reaching this point got one very close to being in the top 1,000.
“That’s my goal, the top 1,000….” He looked around hesitantly, but then thought about how simple the third trial by fire had been, and he puffed his chest out and sped into motion.
However, in the instant that he took a step forward, the previously sunny sky suddenly filled with countless black lightning bolts which shot down toward him.
Face falling, Bai Xiaochun fell back as the lightning converged up ahead of him, ripping the air apart into the form of a rift that a person could pass through.
Beyond that rift, Bai Xiaochun could see another dimension.
It was a world filled with lightning, similar to the black lightning from moments ago, but blindingly bright.
There was so much lightning dancing about that it was impossible to count the number of bolts. Furthermore, there was a shocking, gigantic bridge made of lightning itself that stretched out through the dimension!
It was impossible to say how the bridge had been built, but it seemed to have been formed by countless bolts of lightning merged together in shocking fashion.
Astonishingly, it was possible to see a person about halfway across the bridge, trudging forward with great difficulty. It was none other than Zhao Yidong!
With every step that he took, vast quantities of lightning would rain down to block his path and even try to knock him off of the bridge.
The sight of what was happening caused Bai Xiaochun to gasp, but at the same time, he realized that this lightning bridge was going to be quite a headache.
“First was the fire, then the stone, then the ironworks. I can’t believe there’s actually a bridge of lightning here in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect. What a bunch of showoffs.” Feeling a bit annoyed, he decided that after getting back to the River-Defying Sect, he would have to sit down and talk with the patriarchs about getting some dimensions like this set up.
After standing there watching for a moment, he gritted his teeth and said, “I have to get into the top 1,000!”
Looking like he was staring death straight in the eye, he leaped through the rift and into the world of lightning.
Almost immediately, bolts of lightning snaked together to form a huge net which began to descend upon him.
It happened so quickly that, before he could try to take evasive action, the lightning slammed into him, provoking an agonized shriek. Down on the bridge, Zhao Yidong heard the sound, looked back, then shook his head scornfully.
“Another fool who overestimates himself,” he said. With that, he gritted his teeth and continued forward.
However, even as Zhao Yidong looked away, the lightning dissipated from around Bai Xiaochun. His clothing had been ripped up, and his hair was standing on end. He was even shivering a bit. Having been struck by countless bolts of lightning left him feeling almost like he was vibrating, and yet, he was unharmed.
After a moment, he let out a long breath, and his eyes began to shine brightly. A pleased expression appeared on his face, and he couldn’t help but let out a faint moan of pleasure.
“Feels great….” Just now, he had come to find that being struck by lightning caused the countless impurities that had built up over his years of consuming various medicinal pills to break down and seep out of his pores.
It was almost like being cleaned or purified, as if countless tiny little hands were massaging him all at the same time. The prickly sensation was quite pleasant, and was something he had never experienced in all his years of practicing cultivation.
When people on the outside noticed the expression on his face, they were struck mute. Although most of them had various speculations about how Bai Xiaochun would handle this trial, none of them could have imagined that things would turn out this way.
“Is he… even human!?”
“How shockingly tough must his skin be to not only not feel pain when being struck by lightning, but to actually enjoy it?”
“There are limitations placed on the lightning in there, but each bolt is comparable to the mid Core Formation stage. And those which strike the bridge include some in the late Core Formation stage!”
As everyone gave voice to their shock outside, back in the lightning dimension, Bai Xiaochun’s eyes glittered as he realized how comfortable he felt. He could sense the spiritual power in his body thrumming, and there were even some qi passageways that he normally had difficulty finding that were now completely visible.
Because of the cleansing of the lightning, his cultivation base had also increased slightly. Excited, he began to move forward along the bridge, which caused countless bolts of lightning to converge and then slam into him. And yet, that only caused him to sigh in satisfaction yet again.
“This place is awesome!” he said, probling his skin a bit to confirm that he really wasn’t injured. As far as he was concerned, this trial by fire really was too simplistic. With that, he began to edge back and forth at the bridge entrance, letting out moans of contentment as the lightning struck him. As for Zhao Yidong, he was so shocked his eyes were bulging.
“Did he really come to challenge this trial?” Gasping, he looked at Bai Xiaochun, and then himself, and then simply gritted his teeth and proceeded onward.
Eventually, the lightning bolts actually seemed to be a bit weak, so Bai Xiaochun finally stepped onto the bridge.
Zhao Yidong looked back, his lips twisted into a cold smile….
“Done showing off? Who cares that you’re attuned to lightning? The lightning outside of the bridge is completely different. Being able to deal with that lightning doesn’t mean that when you get onto the bridge you’ll be able to do the same thi–” However, before Zhao Yidong could finish speaking, an even louder moan escaped Bai Xiaochun’s lips.
More impurities were forced out of him, after which he took a deep breath and looked around at the bridge with shining eyes.
“This is one naughty bridge, alright. Very naughty!” With that, he took another step forward, and then shivered and moaned again. With each step, he moaned, the sound of which was distinctly audible to everyone watching on the outside. Soon, embarrassed expressions could be seen on their faces, and many exchanged awkward glances.
That was especially true of many of the female disciples, all of whom were blushing.
“Completely shameless!!”
“This bridge is obviously supposed to test the limits of the fleshly body. But once this guy shows up, everything changes!”
“Dammit! He’s just showing off the toughness of his skin. How cocky!!”
As of this moment, Big Fatty Zhang, Master God-Diviner, Chen Manyao and Song Que, despite how well they knew Bai Xiaochun, were all smiling wryly. As for Master Cloud-Dao, he was there in the Hall of Devil Slayers, gaping in shock.
Bai Xiaochun wasn’t really sure what was going on. However, every time he challenged a trial, unique circumstances unfolded that ensured that his name was being spread throughout the sect in a very short time.
Not only was he thoroughly enjoying the pleasurable sensations, but he was delighted to have the accumulated impurities forced out of him, and realized that, once again, he was hovering on the verge of a breakthrough.
As he continued on happily, he soon reached Zhao Yidong, and when their eyes met, Zhao Yidong’s expression couldn’t have been grimmer.
The sensation of being passed up so casually left him clenching his fists in anger.
Waving his hand enthusiastically, Bai Xiaochun said, “Greetings Elder Br–”
However, Zhao Yidong simply snorted coldly and looked away. Gritting his teeth, he took another step forward, trembling when the lightning slammed into him.
Bai Xiaochun hurried forward and clasped Zhao Yidong’s shoulder. “You’re doing it the hard way! Look, I’ll show you. You have to make some noise! That makes going forward a lot easier.”
“Screw off!” Zhao Yidong yelled.
Bai Xiaochun was instantly enraged, and shot an angry glare at Zhao Yidong. He had come with good intentions, only to be treated completely rudely! Giving his own cold snort, he walked forward, moaning the entire way to the end of the bridge. Then he turned and glared at Zhao Yidong one last time before jumping into the exit.
Zhao Yidong could only grit his teeth in anger at the ease with which Bai Xiaochun had proceeded through the trial. He took a few more steps, and then realized that he had reached his limit, and it was time to give up. But then he thought back to what Bai Xiaochun had said moments ago, and hesitated. Finally, he decided to give it a shot. Opening his mouth, he exhaled sharply out as he took another step forward….
Although he wasn’t sure if it was an illusion or not, he actually felt less pressure than before. Furthermore, the breath which he had just exhaled contained some impure vital energy.
Shocked, he gritted his teeth and then decided to imitate Bai Xiaochun’s method. As he went forward, more lightning bolts hit him, but he was still able to go about 30 more meters before he couldn’t hold on any longer, and had to teleport away.
In the moment before he left, though, his eyes shone with excitement as he realized that he now had the key to passing the bridge.
“Next time, I’ll definitely succeed!!”