After a few hours had passed, more people began to show up.


    All of them were in a bad state—battered clothes, disheveled hair, and tired expressions.


    It was clear that they had been through a lot; some of them even had burned parts of their bodies.


    Like before, Long Wei appeared before them and gave them a healing pill to help them recover faster, then disappeared.


    "Sigh, I finally recovered all my Qi!" Chen Tian eximed, feeling relieved and grateful for the healing pill.


    He was d to finally be back to full strength.


    His spiritual Qi was back to its peak.


    Looking around at the other participants, he couldn''t help but smirk in his heart.


    Everyone watched him as he fought against Zou Yang and Qiu Xufeng, but none of them offered any help.


    That''s why it felt satisfying to witness them experience the consequences of their actions.


    He then looked around the room, his gaze sweeping across the space. Now that he had recovered, he had the chance to meticulously observe his surroundings.


    He found himself in a ce that looked like arge, circr room, simr to a deep, empty space around its edges.


    The ground beneath his feet was decorated with finely crafted blocks, giving off a subtle glow of ancient energy.


    "Is this the ce of the second trial?'' Chen Tian thought as he looked all over the ce.


    As he looked he then he noticed something. All the participants here have already formed groups of four or groups of two.


    "They already formed groups between themselves." He tilted his head and searched for the people he hated the most here.


    After a while, he eventually located them.


    "So they almost regrouped, but they''re still missing one; maybe the other guy left for the ice trial," Chen Tian thought as he looked in a particr direction. "


    On one side of the ce was Qiu Xufeng, Zou Yang, Li Mei Ling, and Wang Hao, and thest person was this woman named Yin Yun.


    "If my memories are right, she was a core discipline and one of the top ten beauties of the Qinghe Continent.


    Oh, her strength isn''t bad.


    Half-step Meridian Opening Realm,"


    Yin Yun was hiding her cultivation level; no one was able to see through her except for Chen Tian.


    In front of him, such tricks were but a child''s y.


    He continued looking around the ce, but after some time passed, Chen Tian lost interest.


    "Sigh... I don''t think the next trial will start now. I don''t have anything to do right now." Chen Tian thought, and then he decided to learn the second step of the Heavenly Lightning Steps.


    The second step of the Heavenly Lightning Steps diverges from the initial step in a profound manner.


    It demands that the practitioner possess an unparalleled mastery of the lightningw, reaching an awe-inspiring level of 20%.


    Previously, such a feat was deemed utterly impossible to achieve until the Meridian Realm stage of cultivation.


    However, Chen Tian was different; against all odds, he could use a proficiency of 35% in the lightningw.


    Which is why he decided to learn it, as it will be of great help in the uing trial.


    Sitting back cross-legged, he started practicing the technique.


    "It shouldn''t take too much time since I already know it fundamentally; I could learn it before the next trial starts."


    With that, Chen Tian immersed himself in learning the second step of the Heavenly Lightning Steps.


    *****


    In a room that was familiar, there were two statues—one of a dragon and the other of a phoenix. Inside the room, two individuals were observing the ongoing trial.


    "Su Linhua, did all participants finish the trial on your side?" Long Wei asked.


    Su Linhua nodded. "Yes, not many people took part in the ice trial initially, so it concluded more quicklypared to yours."


    "So... how did this little girl do?"


    "Like I predicted, she didn''t feel anything inside the ice maze; her Qi wasn''t freezing like the other participants, so she was able to finish the test without any problem," Su Linhua answered with a smile.


    "Oh! Then she indeed has that bloodline; isn''t that good for you?


    You''re incredibly fortunate! It''s highly unlikely toe across someone like that in this mortal world," eximed Long Wei, his eyes widening with excitement.


    Su Linhua shook her head and said, "Even if she has that bloodline, it''s still not fully awakened, and she will need my help to do so."


    "So you''re sure that she can sessfullyplete the ice trial?"


    "100%, She''s the best candidate. If she can''t aplish it, nobody else here stands a chance," she dered, casting a confident smile in Long Wei''s direction.


    "But the next part will need you to seed in choosing the best from the Fire Trial. Are you sure that the person can handle it?" Su Linhua asked, her voice filled with doubt.


    Long Wei''s smile faltered slightly, but he quickly regained his confidence. "I have faith in him. He has shown great potential. I believe he is capable of passing this trial."


    Su Linhua sighed and nodded. "Alright, if you say so. I just hope you''re right.


    I still fail toprehend what you found in that young man!


    He appears entirely normal; the only thing particrly remarkable about him is his appearance.


    The only positive aspect is that he has a girl like her as his Dao partner.


    That boy should have saved the heavens in his past life to get such luck."


    "Sigh... I understand your concerns, but sometimes appearances can be deceiving.


    The boy you''re referring to may seem ordinary on the surface, but he has something that makes him different," Long Wei said with a hint of confidence. "


    "Are you referring to him destroying your will?


    Stop lying, Long Wei; there''s no way a Qi Refinement boy could do that." Su Linhua couldn''t believe Long Wei''s statement about the boy''s abilities.


    "Forget it, I can''t change your mind; you will see for yourselfter that I wasn''t lying." Long Wei gave up confining Su Linhua; he knew that she would not believe him.


    Even he couldn''t believe the boy''s extraordinary abilities.


    "How much longer will it take for your trial to reach its end?" Su Linhua inquired with a spark of curiosity in his eyes.


    "Not too much longer," Long Wei replied confidently, his voice filled with a hint of anticipation.


    "There are 30 participants left trying to figure out the way out of the maze, as for the number that passed it was only 50. So I don''t think it will take too much time for the trial to end."


    Su Linhua''s smile grew wider, and her eyes shone with excitement.


    "Hah, just a little more then..."


    "Yeah, just a little more," Long Wei murmured.


    "What about you? How long till the ice trial ends?" Long Wei then asked her the same question.


    "My trial is almost at its end; since I didn''t have many participants in the first ce, my trial is going to end quicker.


    20 participants have passed the ice trial, and there are still 15 still trying." Su Linhua exined.


    Good," Long Wei said, his voice filled with satisfaction. "We''re making progress. Once the ice and fire trial is over, we can move on to the next challenge."


    Su Linhua nodded in agreement, her excitement evident on her face.


    They hade a long way and were waiting for that day. Now it was only a matter of time.


    They just have to wait.


    "Oh, do you have any idea why that thing is reacting so much?" Suddenly, Su Linhua''s attention was drawn in a certain direction.


    She asked Long Wei why that thing was violently reacting.


    "Hm?" Long Wei also looked in the direction Su Linhua was pointing.


    He noticed a strange object emitting a bright red light and vibrating intensely.


    "Oh that! I don''t know why it suddenly started acting weird since the trial began." He also wanted toprehend the reason behind its behavior.


    Well, I never knew what the use of that thing was; even at my prime time, I wasn''t able to figure it out, but it still had a great amount of energy, so I took it with me."


    As they both looked at the mysterious object, it inexplicably emitted a bright red glow.


    It was the first time since he got that thing that it reacted like that.


    Despite years of infusing Qi into the object and employing numerous ancient techniques, it had remained unresponsive. Consequently, Long Wei had deemed it worthless.


    Little did they know that this unexpected thing was the best treasure in the entire universe.


    Long Wei was still looking at the mysterious object, puzzled.


    "Forget it, let''s continue with our job; I need to go and participate in the trial," Su Linhua said.


    "Mm, I also need to go; let''s meet up at the end of this trial." Su Linhua nodded, then disappeared from her ce.


    A few momentster, Long Wei trailed behind her and vanished from his location.