Chapter 388 - 359: Small Magic Competition (Middle)
Chapter 388: Chapter 359: Small Magic Competition (Middle)
In a long-distance race, Tong Mu was naturally no match for the disciples with greater mastery of the Divine Movement Skill.
But a distance of a hundred zhang could be covered by a cultivator in a few breaths. Thus, even though the other disciples gave it their all, it was difficult to overcome the initial disadvantage.
Zong Song was the only exception. By the halfway point, his speed had already surpassed Tong Mu’s, and the distance between them closed rapidly.
With less than twenty zhang to the finish line and the sound of footsteps behind him growing louder, Tong Mu remembered Zhao Lin’s advice. He veered to the left, shifting over two spaces and positioning himself directly in front of Zong Song.
Zong Song was startled and quickly changed direction, trying to overtake Tong Mu from the other side.
Tong Mu remembered Zhao Lin had only told him to block once. Thinking of nothing else, he just closed his eyes and charged forward.
WHOOSH...
Two figures crossed the finish line at almost the exact same time.
A moment later, the rest of the disciples crossed the finish line one after another.
"Tong Mu is first, Zong Song is second."
Although the gap between them was minuscule, with Elder Wu’s keen eyes, he could still tell who had finished first.
"Elder, he blocked me just now!"
Zong Song stepped forward, protesting indignantly.
"Is that so? The course is so wide. How could one person block you?"
Elder Wu said with a stern expression. He had, of course, seen what happened, but Tong Mu had only veered off course for a couple of steps. It was impossible to tell whether it was intentional.
More importantly, he hadn’t specified beforehand whether blocking was allowed, so he naturally had to stand by the rules he had established.
"Well..."
Zong Song didn’t dare complain further. He turned and shot a fierce glare at Tong Mu.
"You know, Tong Mu’s starting stance might have been ugly, but it really worked!"
"It really is! I tried it, and it’s faster than a standing start!"
"How’d he even come up with that?"
Seeing Tong Mu take first place, the disciples’ attitudes shifted, and they began to imitate his starting stance. Whether it was just psychological or not, they all felt it worked.
"Senior Brother Zhao, this is for you."
Tong Mu ran back excitedly, holding the Nourishing Essence Pill he had just received, and tried to give it to Zhao Lin.
"You keep it. I’m not short on pills."
Zhao Lin declined with a smile.
"How could I? I only won this race because of you, Senior Brother."
Tong Mu insisted.
"I have plenty of pills. Besides..."
Zhao Lin lowered his voice. "There are still two more events. Don’t worry."
"You’re participating in the next two events, Senior Brother? Then you’ll definitely win."
Tong Mu’s eyes lit up, and only then did he put the pill away.
The second trial was to escape an Illusion Array.
Elder Wu had already set up an Illusion Array on the field and used white powder to draw a circle thirty zhang in diameter.
This trial piqued the disciples’ interest, and many second-year disciples who had never experienced an Illusion Array before stepped into it.
"Senior Brother Zhao, I want to give it a try. Shall we go together?"
Li Sancai said, eager to try.
"Alright."
Zhao Lin nodded and turned to look at Zhu Cong. "Want to go?"
"No way."
Zhu Cong shook his head frantically. "I heard there are monsters inside. I’m scared."
Zhao Lin couldn’t help but chuckle and walked onto the field with Li Sancai.
In a short time, seventy or eighty disciples were standing inside the array, waiting eagerly for it to activate.
"Is everyone ready?"
Holding a five-colored Array Plate, Elder Wu reminded the crowd, "The Array is now activating. As soon as three people escape, I will shut it down."
"Three, two, one!"
The Array Plate emitted a low hum, and the Illusion Array activated.
The expressions on the faces of the disciples inside the array changed instantly.
To them, the sky suddenly darkened to an inky blackness. They couldn’t see a thing, but their ears filled with all sorts of strange sounds.
RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE...
WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH...
HISSSSSS...
Some heard the sound of rolling boulders and fled in a panic, covering their heads. "A boulder’s coming! Run!"
Others heard the sound of a volley of arrows and immediately dropped to the ground, not daring to move a muscle.
Still others heard the hissing of venomous snakes and stood frozen, trembling in fear. "Aah, snakes!"
Only Zhao Lin remained composed, unfazed by the visions before him.
The power of this Illusion Array was nothing compared to the Three Yin Illusionary Killing Array of a Ghost Cultivator.
This wasn’t because Elder Wu couldn’t create a more powerful array, of course. He did it to protect the disciples. The array contained only illusions, with no actual magic attacks.
Zhao Lin didn’t release his Divine Sense to probe his surroundings. Inside the array, directions were inverted, and one’s Divine Sense would be disrupted, making it impossible to determine the correct path.
Furthermore, if he were to release his Divine Sense, the array could use it to conjure even more terrifying illusions.
Despite this, the illusions continued to appear one after another.
Some of the bolder disciples steeled themselves, ignored the dangers before them, and simply pressed forward, only to find the scene change once again.
Some saw long-departed relatives and couldn’t help but break down in tears.
Others saw old enemies and began to shout curses, even lashing out with their fists and feet.
Still others saw a woman they had long admired. But just as they approached her, she transformed into a skeleton...
Every kind of emotion—joy, anger, sorrow, and bliss—flickered across the faces of the disciples.
The disciples inside the array scrambled about like headless chickens, flailing their arms and legs, while the spectators outside watched with great amusement.
"Haha, everyone, look! Jia Hui is normally so composed. Why is he rolling on the ground like an idiot?"
"Pan Shi too! He’s just standing there grinning like a fool."
"And look at Senior Brother Song! A minute ago he was arrogantly boasting that first place was his for the taking, and now he’s squatting on the ground, crying his eyes out with snot running down his face..."
Mockery aside, they knew in their hearts that if they were the ones in the array, they would likely fare even worse.
Zhu Cong looked completely baffled. He asked, "Senior Brother Tong, why are they acting like this? Don’t they know it’s an illusion?"
From outside, he couldn’t feel the terror of the Illusion Array at all. He just thought their behavior was pathetic.