Chapter 360: Clearing the Ten Trials, The Hero's Twilight

Zhou You turned to leave Kunpengzi's stall, and only after walking a long distance did he break into a cold sweat.

He knew that from this moment on, his every move was under the other's surveillance, like walking on thin ice.

The upside was that Kunpengzi was also exposed before him, no longer as mysterious as before.

It remained the same old saying: fear stems from the unknown; once the light shines in, fear vanishes completely.

"."

Kunpengzi stroked his chin; he knew of Du Yan Lu Zhigang, but today was the first time he had seen his true face.

He had assumed this fellow was just another pawn like other martial artists, but he had not expected this person to have research on Jinshi Writing as well.

Having chatted for a moment just now, Kunpengzi was moved to take him on as a disciple.

This was by no means a good thing; Kunpengzi's disciples were all expendable materials with an extremely high scrap rate, and being favored by him meant one's fortune was unpredictable.

As for "Lu Zhigang" wanting to kill the Five Birds, he was purely in a spectator mindset and did not intend to interfere.

Regardless of whether Lu Zhigang succeeded or failed, lived or died, he had ways to extract the clues of the Tripod Script from the other's memories.

"Moyunzi, where have you hidden yourself? I have searched for you so bitterly."

Kunpengzi walked out from the darkness, appearing and disappearing in the streets and alleys, his primary goal still being Moyunzi.

The former Yan Ping had already become the enemy who posed the greatest threat to him.

Kunpengzi guessed that Moyunzi Yan Ping was hiding in Gongliang City, only he had never been able to find any clues about him.

Zhou You did not yet know that he had caused Kunpengzi to lose sleep and appetite by relying on two alter egos.

He had already arrived at the mansion of the two great clans, now the Five Birds Palace.

One had to admit that the Five Birds were grand; unlike the clans with their high thresholds, ordinary people could not enter.

The Five Birds Palace opened its gates wide, welcoming all martial artists in the city to visit, and Zhou You entered after casually reporting a name.

After the former luxurious environment was leveled, the rebuilt architectural style leaned toward being cold and towering, possessing a momentum that seemed to pierce the clouds.

The Five Birds Palace consisted of five modules: Yingchao, Hua Yan, Ou Zhao, Tie Cong, and Ku Lin, each occupied by one of the Five Birds.

There were especially many martial artists visiting today because a good show was being staged inside the palace.

"The Ten Trials are on! Master Mao of the Jiba Martial Arts Hall has cleared 8 trials in a row; he is only 2 trials away from breaking through."

Hearing the martial artists running to tell each other, it turned out that after the Five Birds moved in, they had organized an extremely bloody death match: the Ten Trials.

As the name suggests, participants must fight ten enemies in succession and can only be released after winning ten consecutive matches.

The members of the Ten Trials were all original martial artists of Gongliang City, who had been captured alive after being defeated and reduced to prisoners.

The opponents in the ten trials included Beast Charms, exotic beasts, and fellow martial artists who were also prisoners; they killed each other, which was extremely tragic! Wasn't this just like beast fighting for people's entertainment?

Zhou You gained a further understanding of the Five Birds' cruelty.

The venue for the Ten Trials was inside Yingchao, and this time the challenger was Mao Laoliu of the Jiba Martial Arts Hall.

Once upon a time, Mao Laoliu was a top-three figure in the Gongliang City martial arts circle; now, reduced to the point of being like a beast for people to watch and humiliate, it was truly lamentable.

In the bustling crowd, a young man followed his master, constantly watching the surging heads in the arena, his line of sight severely blocked.

"Sit down calmly and wait until the match starts to watch."

The master was an old man wearing a bamboo hat, who pulled the young man closer to his side.

"Master, my father died at the hands of his disciple; the old beast has his day too, I want to watch him die."

The young man was surnamed Wu; his father, Wu Yanyi, was beaten to death by Mao Lang in a competition, and the family fortune declined as a result. Later, he followed his mother to the countryside, and after going through turmoil, he apprenticed under the old man.

The old man sighed, "Look at his state, fighting match after match, exhausted and drained; is that not enough to vent your hatred?"

The young man surnamed Wu shook his head, "Not only must he die, the Mad Beast must also perish."

He still remembered that day, his father's corpse was a horrific sight, his mother fainted several times from crying, and the sky of their home collapsed all at once.

In martial arts duels, why was it not enough to take a life, but the corpse had to be made into such a horrific sight? The seeds of hatred were planted from a young age and could not be forgotten to this day.

Zhou You withdrew his gaze and thought silently, I didn't expect Senior Brother Wu's son to have grown so big.

He had just heard the conversation between the master and disciple, and upon hearing it, they were indeed acquaintances.

Looking again at Mao Laoliu in the arena, he was much older and haggard, his whole body covered in new and old scars.

The crowd looked at him and whispered, discussing information about him.

"Mao Laoliu is very fierce; he almost broke out of the encirclement, but he was unlucky to run into the Five Birds."

"Ying Laoda and Sun Laoer have an extremely powerful move, the Eagle Collective Strike; joining forces, they are invincible, breaking his unique Qi-blood divine weapon, the Diamond Stance, and capturing both him and his disciple alive."

"The Mad Beast fights without regard for his life; he was actually captured alive too?"

"It was Bailao Laos; he is skilled in piercing and, alongside the fifth, Xiao Gu, is skilled in assassination; he took down Mao Lang in a single encounter."

Mao Laoliu was truly unlucky; if it had been any other martial artist, even Wang Jianxiong, encountering the Five Birds would only have resulted in defeat and capture.

High platforms surrounded the city in a circle, reaching over a hundred meters above the ground in the arena, and were packed with watching martial artists.

Martial artists began to count on their fingers, "8 matches; the first was a Near-Submerged Transformation Charm that ate 300 living people raw, the second was a ten-meter-long Beast Charm Mountain Bear, the third was a fellow captured martial artist..."

Zhou You's eyebrows twitched when he heard the martial artist's name; this was also one of the Gongliang City martial arts circle, and he had some friendship with Mao Laoliu, but unfortunately, he was captured, driven to kill each other, and eventually died at the hands of Mao Laoliu.

8 trials, every battle was extremely dangerous; to weaken Mao Laoliu's resistance, the Five Birds not only did not give him enough to eat, but also did not allow him to be treated when injured; small wounds healed partially on their own, while most festered and stank, the blood flowing out turning black.

Just as the young man surnamed Wu's master said, Mao Laoliu was already exhausted and drained.

When the Five Birds threw him into the Ten Trials, they never intended for him to leave alive.

In the discussions among the surrounding martial artists, it was also mentioned that since the establishment of the Ten Trials, no one had ever successfully cleared them alive.

"Is the opponent for the 9th trial him?"

The crowd began to stir; a person was seen stepping into the arena, without any restraints, actually a free man.

It was strange; participants in the Ten Trials were all prisoners, whether they were charms, wild beasts, or martial artists, they all had to wear chains before entering to prevent sudden outbursts or escape.

Someone immediately recognized this person's identity as a top-notch expert among the rebel army, 'Jade Shell Golden Turtle' Pei Li.

In several siege battles, Pei Li charged at the front with remarkable results; the master of the Hengquan Hall died under his fists.

As a main force of the rebel army, his status was on par with the Five Beasts, yet he had unexpectedly stooped to participate in the Ten Trials.

"Master Mao, I have long admired your great name and have come specifically to seek your guidance."

Pei Li cupped his hands in a salute, his attitude extremely courteous.

Mao Laoliu kept his mouth shut; he needed to conserve his strength for the fight and did not even have the energy to waste on extra nonsense.

The wind blew, and the large patch of gray-white hair on his head bloomed like a white chrysanthemum, adding a touch of desolation and loneliness.

Someone in the crowd whispered, "The Five Beasts threatened him with his family; if he wins, his whole family survives, but if he loses, his entire household will be executed. Even someone as strong as the Vajra, Mao Laoliu, has no choice but to fight for his life."

(End of this chapter)