To allow the audience below a clearer view, this fifth trial was conducted on the first tier of the raised platform. The instant Mo Xingtu swept his right arm downward, the Fourth Prince shot through the three rows of crimson-robed maidservants like a fleeting shadow, his fingers occasionally darting toward the boxes holding the medicinal herbs.
A moment later, the Fourth Prince was back beside the Biying Wugu Beast lying on the steps, groaning softly. He rubbed and kneaded his palms together, molding the herbs into a large, perfectly round ball. He forced open the spirit beast’s maw, and the lump of herbs was tossed directly into that gaping, foul-smelling mouth.
“Roar!”
The Fourth Prince flicked his toe, and the Biying Wugu Beast roared, its massive body soaring several meters into the air.
The crowd below had not anticipated such a sudden move from the Fourth Prince; gasps erupted from them as they followed the airborne spirit beast upward with their eyes, only to track its descent moments later.
“Bang!”
The Fourth Prince slammed his right palm squarely into the Biying Wugu Beast’s abdomen. The spirit beast shrieked again and shot high into the air, while simultaneously, a streak of intensely fiery, crimson light was seen sinking into its body. Witnessing this, a fresh wave of exclamations erupted from the crowd gathered around the estate.
The spirit beast thrashed its limbs in panic and plummeted once more.
“Bang!”
The Fourth Prince seized the Biying Wugu Beast’s foreleg with his left palm, swinging it to deliver a crushing blow with his right palm to the creature’s lower abdomen. Thus, the spirit beast ascended for a third time with a miserable cry.
The Fourth Prince, who always maintained an image of elegance before the masses, now wore an unprecedented mask of cold ruthlessness. The heights to which he tossed the Biying Wugu Beast grew progressively lower, and the movements of his hands grew faster, until finally, his palms flickered over the beast’s body like butterflies flitting through blossoms.
“Bang!”
“Aow!”
“…”
The sounds of violent impact and shrill agony mixed together, continuous and unending.
That poor Biying Wugu Beast was tossed about by the Fourth Prince as if it were a mere toy. Having had its power sealed and then forced to ingest poison, the unfortunate creature had no ground for resistance. After a short while, the Biying Wugu Beast’s cries grew hoarse, finally devolving into mere whimpers.
The audience was dazzled, their gazes tracking the spirit beast’s every movement, punctuated by involuntary cries of shock. Their emotions were completely stirred, leaving them breathless with fascination. In a daze, it was as if they had somehow transformed into the Fourth Prince himself, fully exerting dominance over the spirit beast.
“Excellent! The Fourth Prince’s strength has been fully demonstrated in this fifth trial. Using Fire Spiritual Power to directly counteract the drug’s effects and detoxify it is even faster than refining the spiritual medicine.” Even the judge who had moved from the referee’s stand to the first tier of the steps nodded frequently, and Fu Errong praised him endlessly.
“Indeed, compared to the Fourth Prince, those four young girls lag a full step behind,” Mu Zisi said, stroking his beard with considerable feeling.
“This is mainly because the Fourth Prince’s cultivation has reached the Spirit Fusion Realm (Rong Ling Jing Jie). Even if those four young girls who are only at the Spirit Channeling Realm (Tong Ling) wished to perform such a feat, they would be willing but unable,” Lian Tianxin stated.
“Brother Tianxin, after Zixuan, it’s time for your disciple to take the stage. Do you think he can succeed?” Cheng Feiliu laughed heartily, quite pleased. While referees are forbidden from letting personal feelings interfere with the outcome, seeing one’s own protégé perform so brilliantly naturally brought him immense joy.
“It’s hard to say.”
Lian Tianxin smiled faintly.
It was truly hard to say. Seeing the methods Cheng Zixuan displayed had slightly diminished his confidence in Nie Kong. Yet, upon reflection, if the young fellow could succeed in compounding medicine under such unfavorable conditions during the fourth trial that morning, perhaps a miracle could occur in this fifth trial as well.
Of course, if it were Nie Xingyun answering now, his response would certainly lack any hint of doubt.
“Tch!”
In front of the referee stand, Mu Xiaoling watched Cheng Zixuan’s blindingly fast movements, unable to help but purse her lips and mutter, “That Biying Wugu Beast is truly unlucky to have run into our Fourth Prince. Activating the drug’s effects could have been done right on the ground; must he toss it up and down like that? Isn't he tired?”
Yu Qingguan’s expression remained unchanged, though his eyes flickered briefly, clearly sharing the sentiment. Qu Xinyi smiled, pursing her lips. “If he didn’t do it this way, how would our Fourth Prince attract enough eyeballs and attention? He has to do something like this several times every year, you know.”
The little loli stood entirely on the same side as Mu Xiaoling and the others, shaking her small fists. “People like him are the most detestable! Once they have a little bit of skill, they flaunt it nonstop, only to then put on an air of gentle humility. It’s sickening. I hope the Big Liar can beat him later.”
Surprised by Gu Qi’s bluntness, Qu Xinyi and Yu Qingguan couldn’t help but exchange amused glances. Mu Xiaoling laughed, “Gu Qi, are you no longer mad at Nie Kong?”
“Who said that?”
The little loli tilted her chin up, her dark eyes immediately snapping wide. “That Big Liar is also a big scoundrel, but he’s just a tiny bit better than this poseur. Yes, just a tiny bit.”
Saying this, the little loli stuck out her index finger, then pressed it down with her thumb, revealing only a pitifully short sliver of her nail, indicating that Nie Kong was only marginally better than Cheng Zixuan.
“Aow!”
The Biying Wugu Beast, which had been whimpering weakly, suddenly let out a howl—an exceptionally loud one, startling everyone watching, including Mu Xiaoling and Gu Qi. Looking up again, they saw that the spirit beast’s struggling movements in mid-air had intensified.
Bang bang bang bang…
The Fourth Prince’s palm strikes against the beast’s body increased in frequency, stirring up visible rings of afterimages around the creature, mesmerizing to the eye. Simultaneously, the Biying Wugu Beast’s roars grew increasingly fervent, as if the vitality suppressed by the toxins within its body was rapidly recovering.
“Bang!”
Suddenly, the Fourth Prince changed his palm strike into a punch, hitting the beast’s neck. The Biying Wugu Beast’s sturdy body crashed down heavily, gouging a deep pit in the high platform. The spirit beast opened its mouth and let out an angry roar, then violently flipped over and bolted toward an opening on the side of the platform.
A middle-aged man stepped forward briskly, seized its tail, and swung it into the air before quickly fitting a thick chain tightly around its neck. The Biying Wugu Beast growled unwillingly but ceased resisting, being obediently led back to the judges by the man.
“He succeeded this quickly? It will be very difficult for Nie Kong to defeat him,” Mu Xiaoling worried inwardly…
…
“Six hundred strikes! It only took him ten minutes. His strength is truly impressive!”
The tick-tock sound abruptly ceased. Nie Kong murmured to himself behind the high platform, immediately followed by an earth-shattering cheer erupting from the inner courtyard. The applause converged into a surging, overwhelming torrent, the powerful sound waves nearly lifting the roof off the large wooden shed.
“Nie Kong!”
Before the applause could subside, someone was already calling Nie Kong’s name…