Chapter 82: The Candle Never Dies

Li Muxian’s gaze shifted as he glanced at the palace-clad woman, allowing Li Yuanling to pull him aboard the wooden boat.

Budebushuo ， Yanqianzhedixiatiesuomuzhoudechangjing ， Daoshikanqilaiqueshitingciji 。

Although he knew this kind of thrill was vastly different from what he’d imagined.

At this moment, after everyone on the platform had boarded the wooden boats, the palace-clad woman—who had remained motionless at the platform’s edge—turned her head and called into the darkness below the cliff:

“Set sail!”

Her voice echoed endlessly through the darkness, and the iron chains began to writhe rapidly once more, propelling the five wooden boats slowly toward the abyss’s depths.

Each wooden boat was equipped with four soft seats wrapped in cotton furs, indicating a maximum capacity of four passengers per vessel.

Li Yuanling sat on one of the soft seats; before departure, she picked up the fire-striker on the table before her and lit the candle placed upon it.

Li Muxian sat opposite her and glanced around at the surrounding darkness.

The other four wooden boats nearby had also lit their candles, glowing like faint yellow fireflies in the pitch-black underground space.

At this moment, Li Yuanling’s gaze fell upon the table, where a line of inscribed characters was clearly visible; she parted her red lips and slowly read aloud:

“First trial: After entering the rotating wheel, maintain the boat’s candle flame unextinguished.”

“A flame lasting ten breaths earns one mark; twenty breaths earn two marks; half an incense stick earns five marks; one full incense stick earns ten marks.”

“If the flame endures beyond one incense stick, one additional mark is earned per breath—after thirty breaths, the wooden boat will pause briefly before entering the second trial.”

…

After reading all the inscriptions on the table, Li Yuanling’s eyes flickered, then she summoned threads of true qi from her palm to shield the candle flame.

Simultaneously, she lifted her gaze to Li Muxian across from her and blinked:

“I heard that the person who accumulates the most marks in this underground ‘Floating Boat City’ receives a mysterious item—and if they break the record, they might even get something unimaginably valuable.”

Hearing this, Li Muxian glanced at her, crossed his arms, and said:

“As a princess of Great Li, surely you don’t lack for valuable things?”

Li Yuanling tilted her head, studied him for a moment, then a knowing glint flashed in her eyes as she smirked:

“I don’t lack them, of course—but who ever turns down more good things?”

Li Muxian raised an eyebrow slightly, surveyed the surroundings, and shook his head:

“This place does have a few unique qualities, but overall, it’s just another ordinary spot.”

He rubbed his chin and added:

“Still, since we’re here already and I’ve got nothing better to do, I don’t mind playing along with you—so you won’t go around saying your sworn brother isn’t a decent man.”

At this, Li Yuanling blinked, murmured something under her lips—no one could tell what.

Just then, the wooden boat gliding through darkness arrived before a massive horizontal iron wheel frame.

Li Yuanling looked up and saw wooden boats, each lit with candles, approaching from all directions in the darkness.

The iron chains attached to the boats slid into grooves on the wheel frame; with a series of mechanical clicks, they were all secured in place.

She swiftly counted: including their own boat, thirty wooden boats were now fixed to the wheel frame.

Soon, as a melodious bell rang, the iron wheel frame suddenly began spinning rapidly, accelerating until within seconds only blurred afterimages remained.

At first, Li Yuanling feared Li Muxian might be flung off—but when she saw him sitting calmly across from her, expressionless as ever, she let out a soft “hmm?”

She hadn’t expected someone who appeared to possess no true qi at all to be so composed—more so than she was.

“Stop staring. Focus on yourself first.”

Li Muxian glanced at her; the wheel’s speed increased further, and cries of alarm rose from the other wooden boats.

Still, Li Yuanling’s martial cultivation was strong enough to handle this challenge; she maintained her candle flame while sitting perfectly still.

Even, she cast Li Muxian a smug glance—as if to say, this was nothing.

Soon, ten breaths passed, then twenty… time neared one incense stick.

Around them, candles on other boats kept extinguishing; by the end, only seven boats still burned with flame on the entire wheel frame.

Among them, near Li Muxian and Li Yuanling’s boat, another vessel also kept its candle lit.

Two men sat aboard it: the martial arts giant who had shouted earlier, and a thin, middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man wore a long sword at his waist; he glanced toward Li Muxian’s boat and narrowed his eyes slightly.

He seemed surprised that this young couple could endure the wheel for a full incense stick.

Soon, one incense stick passed—the iron wheel continued spinning.

Then, from above the wheel, a series of palm blasts suddenly descended, precisely targeting the seven boats still lit.

Li Muxian looked up at the wheel’s center, where an old man in black robes sat, his martial true qi surging violently; each palm strike sent forth a blast, and with time, the force of each blast grew stronger.

At first, Li Yuanling could still shield her candle with her own true qi—but after twenty breaths, she clearly began to struggle.

By the twenty-fifth breath, the old man’s palm blasts had become extremely fierce.

Li Yuanling watched as the true qi surrounding her candle was blown apart; the flame began to flicker violently, nearly extinguished, reduced to a crimson ember.

She cried out in alarm, certain she had reached her limit.

Yet at that very moment, the nearly extinguished candle flame suddenly flared back to its original brightness; even as the remaining palm blasts swept over it, the flame remained utterly steady, burning as before.

The black-robed old man seated above turned his gaze toward Li Muxian’s boat, frowning slightly—how had the flame, which he was certain had died, managed to survive? This surprised him.

Still, he gave no further thought, and instantly unleashed several more palm strikes.

Now, only three boats on the entire wheel still burned with flame—including the one carrying the sword-wielding middle-aged man.

“The next round will be too much.”

The martial arts giant handled the candle, so the sword-wielding man had leisure to observe the other two boats.

He had seen Li Yuanling’s candle nearly die; he was certain she could not survive the next, even stronger blast.

 Geweidalao ， Suoshitaiduo …… Qianxiadeyigeng ， Zhinenghoumianyoushijianzaibushangle ， Baoqianbaoqian 。

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( Benzhangwan )