Volume One: The Young Demon Lord, Chapter 22: The Trial Begins
At that moment, a beast’s roar echoed once more from behind the shattered door. Qi Yu’s expression grew solemn as he raised his foot and kicked the entire head of the blue lion into the iron gate.
“Awoooo!”
It was a wolf’s howl!
In the human realm, wolves are pack animals, which meant...
“Awoooo!”
“ Awoooo!”
The howls of wolves rose and fell within the iron gate. The blue lion’s head was flung out by the vibrations.
Immediately, dozens of wolf-like demonic beasts burst forth from the iron gate. Each of these demonic wolves stood nearly two meters tall, baring razor-sharp fangs at Qi Yu.
Old Jiang trembled all over, horrified. “This is bad—it’s a pack of demonic wolves!”
Ji Gang sneered coldly. “The teleportation token is in that pack of demonic wolves. Let’s see if Qi Yu has the skill to get it.”
Old Jiang turned around, displeased. “Ji Gang! You said there was just one more beast. How did it turn into a whole pack of demonic wolves?”
Ji Gang stood up slowly and said softly, “Old Jiang, if these disciples are sent into the demon den, the demonic beasts won’t tailor any rules for them. The outside world is fraught with danger; one small misstep could mean death. So, I’m just preparing him for how to face the constant threats.”
After speaking, Ji Gang saw Old Jiang remain unmoved, so he continued, “Old Jiang, if he truly is to perish by the jaws of the demonic wolves, you can step in to save his life.”
Clang!
Suddenly, the sound of a sword singing through the air came, and both Old Jiang and Ji Gang turned their heads.
Inside the arena, Qi Yu gripped the Cold Cicada Sword, facing the wolf pack. With a single slash, he struck!
The God-Slaying Sword Technique—the first true strike!
Swish!
A silver crescent moon of sharp energy cut across the sky like a razor-sharp blade tearing the heavens. In an instant, the entire arena was enveloped in sword energy, suffused with a crimson glow.
Limbs and heads of the demonic wolves flew through the air; severed heads rolled across the ground.
The sword light gradually faded.
Qi Yu’s face remained expressionless as he severed wolf after wolf’s head, but even after the last one fell, no teleportation token was found.
Hidden in the shadows, Old Jiang’s anger erupted. He grabbed Ji Gang’s collar and demanded, “Ji Gang, where is his teleportation token? With the strength he’s showing, reaching the fifth floor of the Sealing Demon Tower wouldn’t be a problem! Why hasn’t he found the token? Did you never put it there to begin with?”
Ji Gang struggled, his heart gripped by fear. Indeed, he had not placed the token there because he believed Qi Yu wouldn’t survive the demonic wolf pack.
Seeing Ji Gang’s silence, Old Jiang saw through the truth and said coldly, “Ji Gang, you’ve broken sect rules—prepare for the sect’s punishment!”
Ji Gang sneered. “Old Jiang, don’t forget—I did this with your permission. We’re both in the same boat!”
Old Jiang fell silent for a moment, then said suddenly, “Ji Gang, if I’m not mistaken, Qi Yu’s teleportation token is with you, isn’t it?”
Ji Gang asked, “Old Jiang, what do you mean by that?”
Old Jiang gathered spiritual energy in his hidden hand and suddenly struck Ji Gang’s chest. Ji Gang groaned and staggered back several steps. Before he could react, Old Jiang kicked him hard, sending him tumbling down into the arena below.
Thud!
Ji Gang fell into the arena where Qi Yu stood.
At the same time, Old Jiang’s hoarse voice echoed from above.
“Ji Gang, you do your part, and I’ll do mine. I thought you just wanted to make things difficult for Qi Yu, but I never expected you wanted him dead!”
“Qi Yu, the reason you can’t find the teleportation token is because this man took it! All the faults and mistakes boil down to him!”
Old Jiang finished speaking, a faint smile curling at the corner of his mouth. “In the same boat? That’s impossible—dead men don’t argue!”
Inside the arena, Ji Gang struggled to stand and shouted up at the broken opening. “Jiang, you’re ruthless! Don’t forget, you helped sabotage Qi Yu in secret! When I see the Second Elder, you’ll be done for! Just wait!”
“Finished cursing?”
Suddenly, a chilling voice came from behind.
Ji Gang’s spine chilled. Turning around, he saw Qi Yu’s cold eyes and immediately flew into a rage. “Qi Yu, you worthless wretch! I am an official of the Sealing Demon Tower. Aren’t you going to salute me?”
Qi Yu asked coldly, “Where is the teleportation token?”
Ji Gang frowned and pointed at Qi Yu. “Is that how you talk to me?”
Swish!
Before he could finish, a flash of sword light appeared, and two of Ji Gang’s fingers dropped to the ground.
“Ah!”
Ji Gang screamed in pain, clutching the bleeding hand. Gritting his teeth, he cursed, “Qi Yu, how dare you lay a hand on me!”
Qi Yu said, “When you released so many demonic wolves, you meant to kill me.”
Ji Gang was stunned but quickly defended himself, “I was testing you—for your own good!”
Such people are the worst—clearly trying to kill others while pretending to be righteous!
Qi Yu stepped forward with a sneer. “If you truly meant well, you’d come down yourself. Don’t worry, I’ll split your skull and take the teleportation token!”
Ji Gang’s eyes widened in horror. “No, no, no, Qi Yu, spare me! This was all ordered by the Second Elder. If you let me live, I guarantee your trial will go smoothly!”
At that moment, Old Jiang’s voice rang down from above. “Qi Yu, I can guarantee your trial will go smoothly as well!”
Qi Yu’s tone was cold. “When you were scheming to kill me, you already crossed the path of death!”
Swish!
A residual shadow dashed swiftly to Ji Gang’s side.
Clang!
Ji Gang’s pupils contracted sharply as he raised both arms to form a barrier.
However, Qi Yu’s sword light shattered the barrier like a fragile clay pot.
Swish!
The sword light swept across Ji Gang’s neck, sending his head flying high, blood spurting forth.
His body collapsed to the ground, dropping a palm-sized teleportation token.
Qi Yu picked up the token and crushed it with his fingertips. A luminous screen appeared, and as it faded, Qi Yu found himself on the second floor of the Sealing Demon Tower.
It was identical to the first floor’s arena. But now, Qi Yu was alone; the other disciples had already moved on to other floors.
Soon, the iron gate ahead opened, and a wild boar demonic beast snorted and charged out.
Qi Yu chuckled lightly—was the guardian official easing up?
As the wild boar charged, Qi Yu thrust his sword, piercing its skull. The bloodied teleportation token fell to the ground.
He crushed the token, and a light screen appeared. From within the iron gate burst a shadow tiger demonic beast.
As the shadow tiger lunged, Qi Yu stabbed with his sword.
The tiger’s skull was shattered and its body crashed to the ground.
He retrieved the teleportation token and crushed it.
...
Before long, Qi Yu reached the seventh floor.
By the fifth floor, only two disciples remained from the original ten, and by the seventh floor, only he remained!
Qi Yu appeared from the luminous screen. Before him stood a heavy iron door. Beyond it, along with beastly roars, came the grinding sound of iron chains.
Rumble!
As the iron door opened, a fierce aura of death spilled out.
“Roar!”
“Clatter!”
Amidst the beastly roars and clanking chains, a gigantic crocodile-like demonic beast crawled out, its length spanning dozens of meters.
A thick iron chain was fastened around its body.
A third-rank demonic beast—the Ironclad Crocodile!
Qi Yu faced the massive Ironclad Crocodile, which resembled a mountain, yet he did not retreat. Instead, he stepped forward toward it.
Roar!
Hiss!
A dazzling sword light flashed in the arena.
The Ironclad Crocodile lunged forward with surprising speed, dragging its chain as it tried to swallow the slender figure whole.
But the figure vanished mysteriously, and a streak of light descended from the sky, piercing through the Ironclad Crocodile’s head!
The enormous beast crashed to the ground, dropping a teleportation token.
Qi Yu stepped forward, picked up the token, and crushed it.
The light screen flared, and as it vanished, Qi Yu disappeared from the seventh floor and arrived on the eighth.
The heavy iron door before him slowly opened, and a figure that was not particularly large stepped out.
It was a leopard-like demonic beast, covered in black fur, slightly larger than an ordinary leopard.
Though small, the demonic energy emanating from it was chilling, like falling into a frozen abyss.
A third-rank demonic beast—the Shadow Leopard!
“Awooo!”
The Shadow Leopard suddenly transformed into a streak of black lightning, attacking Qi Yu!
Qi Yu’s pupils contracted sharply as he raised his sword to stab, but in the next moment, a sharp pain erupted in his right shoulder as a leopard’s claw clawed it fiercely!
Such speed!
Qi Yu was terrified but swung his sword in response. Almost simultaneously, another claw slashed across his back, sending a burning pain surging through him!
Qi Yu staggered backward, blood pouring from his wounds, quickly staining his clothes red.
The black leopard suddenly stopped, raised a paw, and licked it with its tongue. Yet its sapphire-blue eyes remained locked intently on Qi Yu.