At the eastern gate of Lingxie City, a chilling silence seemed to reign, only broken by the distinct, rhythmic sound of the water clock dripping. On the wide leather field outside the city, thousands of Lingyu City disciples stood or sat, their eyes darting alternately between the hourglass placed at the gate and their fellow disciples surrounding them, expressions growing progressively more tense.

The once-empty city walls were now packed with figures, equally silent, watching with bated breath. These were the residents of Lingxiu City, who had trailed the movements of the large contingent of Lingyu City disciples, determined to see the outcome.

Nie Kong sat cross-legged, eyes closed, quietly waiting for time to pass.

Around him were disciples from Lingxiu City he didn't recognize. These were deliberately positioned by the instructors, scattering the disciples from the six halls into separate sections. However, though Nie Kong found their faces unfamiliar, when they looked at him, an involuntary flicker of apprehension crossed their eyes.

This was hardly surprising. In the Illusionary Space, Nie Kong had drawn all the spirit beasts to him, leaving the inner city disciples utterly embarrassed and flustered. Even if they hadn't witnessed it directly, they had certainly heard the accounts and seen the miserable state of those inner city disciples. Now, participating in this martial contest together, who knew if this fellow would concoct some strange, bizarre medicine that could incapacitate others without them realizing? It was best to be cautious and avoid provoking him!

Nie Kong was fully aware of their thoughts. The official commencement of the martial trial was likely only ten minutes away. Judging by their expressions, he knew for certain that after ten minutes, they wouldn't dare to initiate an attack against him first. This suited him perfectly; Nie Kong was happy to keep things light.

In the hourglass, the water level dropped faster and faster, and the tension in everyone’s hearts tightened in tandem. Eyes began to occasionally flick toward the two instructors standing beside the water clock.

Upon arriving outside Lingxiu City, Deputy Hall Master Xi Yan and the hundred instructors had departed, leaving behind only a dozen or so to maintain order. Eventually, most of those dozen also left, leaving just two middle-aged instructors waiting dutifully by the hourglass.

Everyone knew that Deputy Hall Master Xi Yan and the others must be hidden somewhere along the route ahead, discreetly observing the special circumstances of this martial trial. The awareness that two pairs of eyes could be watching them at any moment suppressed the urge for many to attempt any underhanded tactics that violated the rules of the contest. After all, no one wanted to risk forfeiting their qualification for the trial over something with virtually no chance of success.

Consequently, the vast majority of Lingyu City disciples were extremely welcoming of the Deputy Hall Masters' decision, as it maximized the assurance of fairness.

"Drip, drip!"

As the water level dwindled, the sound grew increasingly hollow. Except for Nie Kong, almost every seated Lingxiu City disciple stood up, their bodies already taut, constantly monitoring their surroundings. For a moment, the air at the eastern gate of Lingxiu City seemed to freeze.

The atmosphere was taut to the extreme!

Moments later, the sound of the water clock abruptly stopped. The two instructors shouted in unison.

Almost the instant their voices rang out, nearly fifty figures shot forward like arrows loosed from a bow. In the blink of an eye, these individuals were already twenty or thirty meters away.

Seeing their action, the Lingxiu City disciples who had been defensively watching each other paused in stunned silence, then snapped back to reality: How foolish! To make a move when people are this tightly packed together is practically handing an attack opportunity to someone else. Cursing themselves inwardly, most of them started moving forward, throwing caution to the wind.

When they had run out a good fifty meters, the figures ahead had already vanished into the mountain forest. Everyone involuntarily slowed their pace, lest they be ambushed.

Behind them, at the eastern gate of Lingxiu City, more than a dozen figures remained stationary. Nie Kong, sitting in the center, showed no sign of moving. These disciples dared not move first! What if, the moment they set off, Nie Kong suddenly jumped up and struck them from behind? They would have no time to even weep.

This was all due to the formidable reputation Nie Kong had established in the Illusionary Space. Although he had driven out the inner city disciples using spirit beasts, everyone couldn't help but connect that feat to Nie Kong’s own formidable strength. Caution was necessary when dealing with such a person.

But Nie Kong wasn't moving, and they couldn't just stand around forever. Seeing the other Lingxiu City disciples moving farther and farther away, these dozen or so grew anxious. They exchanged glances, begrudgingly began to retreat outward, planning to rapidly accelerate once Nie Kong was a sufficient distance away to catch up and seize tokens from the others.

"And where are you all off to?"

Nie Kong suddenly lifted his head, blinked, and slowly opened his eyes, looking exactly as if he’d just woken up.

The group froze. One of them snorted heavily, "Nie Kong, the trial has already begun. If you aren't leaving, we won't keep you company!"

"Oh? Have they all gone?" Nie Kong turned to survey the now empty surroundings and smiled, "Since they've all left, why don't you all stay behind?"

The man hadn't even finished saying, "Damn it?" before his body went limp with a soft thud, collapsing onto the ground as if he had passed out.

Thud!

Thud!

Thud!

Almost simultaneously, all twelve Lingyu City disciples fell to the ground. Nie Kong stood up with a faint smile, walked directly to one disciple, knelt down, opened his hand, and retrieved the spiritual token within, clutching it in his palm. He then moved to the next fallen Lingyu City disciple.

"One token, two tokens, three tokens..."

Seeing Nie Kong so casually confiscating other people's tokens, a moment of stunned silence passed over the onlookers on the city wall before an uproar erupted. People gasped in astonishment.

"Is that Nie Kong? What exactly did he just do?"

"He knocked down all twelve Lingyu City disciples silently without even moving a finger? That was too easy!"

"He's a Spirit Pharmacist; did he use some kind of drug?"

"Impossible! He was just sitting there the whole time; he truly didn't move a muscle!"

Those Lingyu City disciples who were still lingering outside the forest instinctively looked back upon hearing the commotion behind them. The moment they saw Nie Kong collecting the tokens, their hearts leaped in fear. They forgot all about caution, frantically scrambling into the woods.

Immediately afterward, cries of surprise and shouts of reprimand began to echo.

"Thirteen tokens. Not bad!"

Nie Kong nodded in satisfaction, stuffing the stack of spiritual tokens into his robes. Just as he turned to leave, two figures suddenly blocked his path—they were the two middle-aged instructors who had been guarding the water clock. Their expressions at this moment were far from pleasant.

One middle-aged instructor glanced at the thirteen motionless Lingyu City disciples on the ground and said in a deep voice, "Nie Kong, what drug did you use just now?"

The other's brow showed a flicker of anger: "In the Dharma Hall, Deputy Hall Master Xi Yan explicitly prohibited the use of potent stupefying drugs. You are clearly acting in defiance of orders!"

"Stupefying drugs?"

Nie Kong blinked innocently. "Impossible, esteemed instructors. Is this a potent stupefying drug?" As he spoke, Nie Kong kicked the thigh of the nearest Lingyu City disciple. The man yelped in pain, flipped over, and sprang up, his face a mask of confusion.

Nie Kong continued his movement, kicking each Lingyu City disciple in turn until all were awake.

"My token! Where is my token?"

"Heavens! My token is gone too!"

"Damn it, we've all been poisoned! It must be Nie Kong who took our tokens!"

"Nie Kong, give our tokens back!"

All thirteen woke up, surrounding Nie Kong, their faces filled with indignation. It seemed as if they would all pounce if Nie Kong made the slightest move.

"My apologies, brothers," Nie Kong said with a cheerful grin. "Your tokens are indeed in my possession, but I can't return them because you no longer have any use for them. You have already been disqualified from this martial trial; why do you still need tokens? If you dare to attack now, you will be disrupting the order of the competition, which is a serious offense!"

The thirteen Lingyu City disciples were dumbfounded. Yes, according to the rules of the martial trial, once a token was legitimately taken by someone else, the original owner lost their qualification to continue participating. Even retrieving the token wouldn't help, and they would face severe consequences for disrupting the competition.

Outside of the "Ten Great Prohibitions," any method—direct confrontation, ambush, or setting a trap—was considered a legitimate means. Clearly, Nie Kong had used some kind of drug, but it wasn't the potent stupefying drug capable of instantly killing a Spirit Master!

In short, Nie Kong had committed absolutely no violation of the rules!

Realizing this, the complexions of the thirteen Lingyu City disciples turned somewhat pale. If their tokens had been taken while on the road, they might have felt slightly better. But they hadn't even taken the first step toward the inner city, and their tokens had been effortlessly seized. How could they accept it?

But given the current situation, they couldn't stop Nie Kong from leaving.

"Esteemed instructors, I will take my leave now," Nie Kong said with a slight curve to his lips, cupping his hands toward the two middle-aged instructors, and leisurely floated toward the mountain forest opposite.

The two instructors looked at each other with wry smiles. This disciple was truly troublesome. Last time, when he lured spirit beasts in the Illusionary Space, it was the same; this martial trial was no different!

What kind of medicine had he refined that could make Spirit Masters lose consciousness without realizing it, leaving no chance to detect it or take antidotes? If he proceeded like this along the route, wouldn't everyone fall, and every token be lost?

However, the drug Nie Kong used was not a prohibited stupefying drug, and those affected didn't require an antidote or suffer any aftereffects; a single kick was enough to wake them up. It perfectly adhered to the rules of the trial, making it difficult for them to intervene. Watching Nie Kong's retreating back, the two couldn't help but feel concern for the other Lingyu City disciples participating in the trial, hoping this fellow Nie Kong would stop in time and not snatch everyone's tokens first.

"Nie Kong!"

Seeing Nie Kong leave, the thirteen Lingyu City disciples felt a pang in their hearts and subconsciously cried out, preparing to chase after him. But after taking only a few steps, four pairs of gazes swept over them, forcing them to halt their charge abruptly. The meaning conveyed by those looks sent shivers down their spines.

The dozen or so disciples lost all thought of pursuing the tokens; each one looked as if they had suffered a great loss, only able to watch Nie Kong's figure drift farther and farther away.