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“A banner guardian surprisingly does not reach even Heavenly Spirit level. This is unacceptable. The Pixiu Clan has committed a crime. A weakling like this can go take on the bronze toaster.”
Elai impatiently waved her hand. There was no shortage of such casual executions, and she issued her command with smoothness and ease.
Judging from that woman’s evil and ruthless eyes, Qi Lin could tell no words of retort nor any show of timidity could satisfy that lofty and cruel nature. Fortunately, he did not utter a word as he calmly accepted the bronze toaster sentence.
“You will not plead for leniency?” Elai’s brows rose, and she could not help but speak out.
She had sentenced countless people, including those without any backbone, who fell to their knees, begged forgiveness, and even soiled themselves, as well as those who had backbone, who spouted endless curses and showed awe-inspiring strength, only to similarly soil themselves at the moment of execution. But no matter what, both kinds of people gave Elai enormous pleasure.
However, Qi Lin’s silence made the woman feel uncomfortable. If it could only be described as despair, but she could see an indifferent spirit in this young man’s eyes.
Not only her, the others were also stunned to silence by Qi Lin’s indifference.
“Your Servant is willing to bear the bronze toaster punishment to show General Elai that I am no weakling.” Qi Lin said with steady, resounding strength.
Everyone was shocked.
Elai’s expression was slightly taken aback, showing a bit of bewilderment. The woman grinned: “I have seen those who begged for life and those who begged for death. But never have I seen someone like you, who asks to prove himself!! Good, very good. On the basis of your words alone, those other ants cannot compare to you. However, big talk truly has its own confidence. Show me. If you can bear the bronze toaster sentence, then I, Elai, will acknowledge your position as banner guardian.”
“Many thanks, general.” Qi Lin cupped his fist and bowed.
The guards very quickly lugged an enormous, terrible execution devise over.
A bronze cylinder absolutely coated in oil was lain over completely red coals. These coals malevolently assumed the form of every kind of fire beast, burning fiercely, heating the bronze column to a thoroughly red color. The coals were not of the ordinary variety or pill fire. This kind was such that even a Golden Core cultivator could not bear it. The pill fire could incinerate hearts, even melt bone and flesh.
The high temperature of the pill fire seemed to burn the air in the surrounding several hundreds of meters completely away, making people feel short of breath. The air itself warped into a clump.
The one who was sentenced was made to walk fifty paces along this bronze toaster. Due to the high temperature and abundance of oil, anyone who walked on its surface, even a Golden Core cultivator, would inevitably fall into the coals below and be burnt to a crisp, turned to charcoal in the pill fire.
This type of brutal execution in the historical record was concocted by King Zhou and Daji, who had been on an excursion through the forest. As it so happened, a storm had blown by, and there was a tree toppled by lightning and set ablaze. But the strange thing was that there were many ants traveling from one end to the other. However, the ants that were unable to bear the heat tumbled from the trunk into the flames. While King Zhou merely thought the ants to be stupid and unentertaining, Daji devised the extreme bronze toaster torture from this event.
Seeing this horizontal bronze toaster, Qi Lin inwardly felt relief. Fortunately, this was not the bronze toaster from the TV dramas. He honestly did not have much confidence in passing that kind of brutal torture where he was bound to a burning hot toaster and made to suffer searing flames.
Upon seeing the “bronze toaster,” all the disciples present were immediately ashen-faced, their eyes full of fear. Even the insufferably arrogant cultivators of the Shang Suan’ni Tribe were scared limp.
To cross over the pill fire, this was more wretched than death.
Many looked sympathetically at Qi Lin.
Shang Yangjun was exceptionally nervous. She used all her strength to endure the terror in her heart. She feared for him, and she reassured herself that Qi Lin was definitely able to cross.
“Fifty paces. Should you be one pace short, I will have you bisected as punishment for ‘lying.’ Your corpse will be put on display for seven days.” Elai malevolently smiled.
“Begin!”
The guards stripped all of Qi Lin’s clothes, leaving only his underpants.
Qi Lin’s body was neither bulky nor thin, but in the dangerous wildlands, to not have a developed physique was to be sickly and weak. Such a body would be mocked by others.
This build caused Elai to scoff even more.
Qi Lin walked up stairs. The enormous heat surged against his face, burning even his pores, and his body felt the terrible flames. His skin, bones, and organs seemed to melt. Incredible, is this the core fire inside Golden Core Bagua Realm cultivators? As expected of flames that can forge magic treasures. Qi Lin’s eyes were hazy for a moment, his consciousness seemingly evaporated.
Qi Lin gazed at the fifty paces long bronze cylinder, at the burning coals below, which were more merciless than Samadhi True Fire. He took a deep breath and secretly undid the Five Elements Shackles, using the Nine Yins Nine Yangs with all his might. Expansive Primordial True Qi immediately flooded his body, lowering the scorching temperatures in his body like a drizzle.
But this was like pouring a cup of water onto a burning cart of firewood. The most Ninth Deva True Qi could resist was ten steps. After ten steps, the body of the cultivator would fail because of heat or other fire-related reasons. Afterwards, their consciousness would collapse, and their True Qi would fade in the end.
Fortunately, Qi Lin practiced the Yin Yang Fortune Body, and he had the power of Yin and Yang. His body was practically at the most perfect state in the world. Although others could not see it, Elai still sensed something different about him, owing to her nature as a Divine Name Star General.
Qi Lin took a deep breath and stepped onto the flaming red bronze pillar.
Sizzle!
The soles of his feet immediately emitted black smoke, and the smell of something roasting filled the air.
The barbarian tribe disciples were all alarmed, scared stiff. Some even shut their eyes and did not dare look. “I will gouge the eyeballs of anyone who dares to close their eyes.”
Those disciples opened their eyes wide out of fright. The woman nodded in satisfaction then looked back to the young man on the bronze toaster.
Not bad, he actually did not scream from the first step.
“Forty-nine more.” Elai grinned evilly.
Second step, third step.
Qi Lin’s soles emitted smoke. He felt like his legs did not exist while the smell fo burning flesh assailed the nostrils of everyone present. Qi Lin struggled to make progress. On the eleventh step, he slipped on the yellow oil that was coating the pillar. Qi Lin’s body staggered and was about to tumble off the pillar. Everyone gasped. Only one thought was on their minds – he was done for.
The grease on the pillar was extracted from an immemorial deep sea whale and was extremely slippery. Even an expert cultivator would be very hard-pressed to maintain a stable center of balance on the whale fat. Once balance was lost, a fall was unavoidable. Qi Lin’s expression sunk. The soles of his feet formed a seal, and he used the ground to activate the Dual Modes Seal. The mystery of “movement and stillness” in the Dual Modes Seal was displayed. His legs moved while his torso steadied, the exchange like an antelope’s antlers, impossible to trace, perfectly hidden.
The others only saw a blur of events. Qi Lin, who should have fallen into the core fire, unbelievably was standing firm atop the pillar again.
“Huh?”
“Impossible.”
“What incredible body techniques.”
“How did he do it?”
The executioners were also stupefied. Many First and Second Trigram Golden Core Realm cultivators had suffered sentences on this bronze toaster, but even cultivators as strong as them had tumbled into the core fire, turning into a screaming piece of charcoal in the end.
Elai gawked, “Eh?” Her smile slowly faded.
“Alright, I got this.” Fifteen steps. Qi Lin was slowly acclimating to the bronze toaster. Using the Dual Modes Seal’s movement and stillness along with the rapid alternation of Yin and Yang, the remaining dozens of steps were manageable so long as his feet did not burn off before then.
Qi Lin felt sensation begin to return to his feet. Enormous pain radiated from the soles of his feet, but he did not want to show any pain that would satisfy Elai’s perverse obsession.
Thirty paces.
Forty paces.
Forty-five.
Forty-six.
Qi Lin drew nearer and nearer to the other end of the bronze toaster, with only a few steps left. All the disciples stared wide-eyed, not daring to even breathe. They clenched their fists tight, and they were drenched in cold sweat for him. If not for Elai, some even wanted to cheer him on.
What should have originally been the scene of an execution had unexpectedly turned into the stage for the demonstration of iron-blooded faith. Elai’s smile became increasingly twisted, and she suddenly snapped her fingers.
Just at the fiftieth and last step, an invisible ray of killing intent sliced towards the sole of Qi Lin’s foot, to sever his ankle.
This is bad!!
All of Qi Lin’s focus had been on walking the bronze toaster, and he was completely unguarded against his surroundings. He watched helplessly as the awe-inspiring power headed towards his ankle, unable to even muster a mouthful of True Qi.
His ankle was about to be cut, and Qi Lin’s face was ashen.
Just at this moment, a weak ray of light shot forth from the side and knocked aside Elai’s killing intent, immediately dispelling it into nothingness. Qi Lin had escaped disaster, and he seized this opening to take the final step.
Having taken fifty steps, all sensation in his legs was already gone, and he could not help but fall forwards.
As he lay on the ground, a gentle breeze lifted him, and then an arm propped him up. Qi Lin immediately smelled a pleasant scent.
A woman with white eyes appeared before him.
“You have crossed through this ordeal. Cultivate well in the future. If you are unable to advance further, you will find it difficult to escape death.”
The woman serenely laid her hand against the nape of Qi Lin’s neck.
What??
A mysterious power was transmitted from the woman’s nail into him. His neck’s acupuncture point was immediately numb, and then he lost consciousness. No matter how he struggled, he could not muster any strength. His mind sunk into the world of tenderness that the woman constructed, but before he fainted over, he heard Elai’s ferocious question.
“Wang Xu, you dare spoil my matters!!”
Wang Xu?1
Guiguzi?!!2
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1.Daji was mentioned!
2. The white-eyed lady who reminded me of a Hyuga showed up!
Sadly, I don’t think this is the same fox from Maiden Galaxy 🙁
I feel that if Taigongwang hasn’t shown up so far, she’s not likely to do so. Too bad.
Now, I’m just worried that Sun Wukong might crash this party, she’s still too weak to face 5+ on one, but she hasn’t shown herself to be very collected…
I don’t think Sun Wukong’s going to enter the city proper. She’s been good at listening to the white ape’s counsel, but who know how long that will last.