Trial 4

Xiao Fan's opponent now fleeing in horror, he, himself turned back around to look at the puzzle supposed to be solved to pass the second trial.

Like last time the puzzle was around a cliff, but it wasn't exactly the same, as like said before it was a puzzle, a puzzle which required him to move pieces on a stone tablet.

The tablet itself was carved on a door that was in the cliff.

'Maybe there's a tunnel on the other side of this door' Xiao Fan reasoned to himself when walking towards the tablet.

Xiao Fan, coming to the puzzle, didn't immediately use the answers he had been given by one of the hunters.

He would first want to try clearing it without others help.

There was no downside in doing so. There was also no real upside other than challenging his thinking a little.

'I need to move that piece out of there' Even without using cheats had Xiao Fan quickly discerned what this puzzle was.

There was one piece outside the tablet. That piece should be a long one, and its duty was to be a lock mechanism.

It should open when the stone piece would be drawn into the tablet so that it wasn't blocking the opening nor closing of the door.

Knowing what he needed to do, he got to work by trying out how every piece it the tablet worked.

Trying to shuffle one of the pieces, he noted that the puzzle couldn't be broken with brute force, for the pieces were made out of heavy metals or something.

He even confirmed this by punching the lock, and like hypothesised, the lock didn't care for his force output.

'Someone must have had a field day doing this puzzle' He appreciated someone doing something like this.

And as the person wanted to challenge the people who wanted to join the upper sect, he got to shuffling.

At the end of it, although the puzzle was hard, it wasn't too hard for Xiao Fan, who in five minutes had drawn the lock peace far enough that it could be only drawn one more time until it met the other end of the tablet.

However, he being one draw from finishing.

Had now realised that he had failed... he couldn't complete the puzzle like this since he couldn't move any more pieces if he didn't push the lock back into the lock.

¨Fck¨ He cursed out loud.

Then after venting his anger at some stuff around the area, he came back to the tablet to see what he had done wrong.

Looking at what he had done wrong, it took him a moment before realising that he only needed to shuffle a couple of pieces.

Realising what he needed to do, he got to work, and while congratulating himself, his hands moved a couple of pieces before he could see that the long piece wasn't blocking anything anymore.

¨I should do puzzle more often¨ He happily noted when dragging the door open outwards.

Opening the door, he saw what he had thought he would, as the door opened a hallway that was litten with torches on both sides.

A hallway that must lead somewhere.

The hallway surely being the right way, Xiao Fan continued his trials by walking the only direction given to him, forwards.

'I wonder how the hunters will be positioned here?' 'Will there even be hunters? Or is this the end of the trials?' Not having much to think about his thought began to wonder.

Walking forward in this hallway, everything went well before the torches around him began to lessen, as more and more of them were not lit.

'Oh, so it's my turn to be scared?'

¨Bring out your worst¨ He realising this welcomed any opponent hiding in this hallway to come out.

Evidently, an enemy was waiting for him, a single enemy; however, well strong enough to be a tough challenge.

Maybe a little too tough, because after seeing only the silhouette of the man, Xiao Fan knew that the hunter on the third trial was no other than Ye Qi.

There was no mistaking the identity.

The small silhouette added into the fact that until now the hunters had been feeling a little too stacked to him on the levels before.

The only conclusion in all of this could only be that his trial had been made awfully hard for him to clear.

¨Oh, you survived this far?¨ Ye Qi spoke although hiding so that his features couldn't be seen in the dark hallway.

¨Why wouldn't I? Your friends were no match for me, not even if you had double their numbers¨ Xiao Fan boasted in a manner that made clear he knew it was Ye Qi he was talking to.

Xiao Fan might be boasting, but inside of him, there was certainly a lot of wavering concerning about how could he get past here?

After surviving the beating received before had he come to know that Ye Qi wasn't someone he might not beat even if he would have a weapon and Ye Qi wouldn't.

The gap between them might not be a full realm, but there was a gap in them. And he very well knew how much power there was between realms.

Especially so when the gap was between a Body Activation and Body Strengthening realms.

Because while the gap between Body Warming and Body Activation was mostly in terms of movement speed and enhanced feelings and sensation of things around oneself.

The gap between Body Activation and Body Strengthening realm, on the other hand, was one of pure difference in raw power.

But currently, he couldn't think about such things a lot, since they wouldn't bring him any solace.

Now he needed to think about how could he survive.

¨Boasting so hard, yet so scared?¨ Even Ye Qi, who wasn't the brightest person, knew what Xiao Fan was going through now.

Ye Qi wouldn't himself either want to be in the boots of Xiao Fan, he himself even detested doing something like this, but in his opinion, Xiao Fan had brought this on himself.

¨Scared about what? That you will sneak attack me again? Is that why you are hiding in the shadows, to sneak on me again?¨ He taunted.

¨You do have a swift tongue¨ Ye Qi grew angry again, and so took the bait.

Xiao Fan seeing Ye Qi walking towards him until he came below one of the remaining lamps still lit was relieved.

¨Meanwhile, your sneak attacks aren't that swift. You know that you need to attack me when you come out of the shadows, right?¨ Xiao Fan insulted Ye Qi even more.

¨Argh! Stop annoying me for one second¨

Xiao Fan could see how when saying this Ye Qi's face was already getting some red on it.

Then to finish annoying this hot head ¨Are you blushing there? Was that why you were in the shadows? I'll let you know that I have enough women in Zhuan An and Fei Sun already, and I don't want men!¨

Then knowing that this was enough, Xiao Fan didn't stay to look what would Ye Qi do, he knew he needed to run.

And so his next action after delivering those remarks was to turn around on his heels and run towards the place where he had come from.

Ye Qi would surely follow him when he got his head back together.

Ye Qi wasn't a man to take such words and cool down, especially after what he had said before the finishing blow.

Of course, Xiao Fan didn't get to know was he running or how fast was that speed, but he didn't want to look over his shoulder, as he preferred to focus on running.

Xiao Fan at the least got back to the door and to the other side of said door.

Then pushing the door to be closed a little, he did see that Ye Qi was very much so coming from him, he wasn't too close nor too far away.

However, he thought it was enough for the plan he had hatched when talking with Ye Qi inside the tunnel.

And so when Ye Qi came crashing onto the door and then got outside he saw nothing, Xiao Fan had escaped his clutches?

¨Come back here if you are a man!¨ He roared this and other words into the forest.

When doing so, Ye Qi didn't realise that Xiao Fan was much closer than he would have ever thought. But who would think that Xiao Fan had jumped onto the door's ledge and was now watching Ye Qi scream right under him?

The first part of his was plan working.

For the next part, Xiao Fan, without making a single noise wave had started the second part.

He would slip right through Ye Qi's radar back into the hallway.

His body slipped between the cliff and the door, making no noise that would expose his plan.

When on the other side, he didn't risk it and walked on the hinge side of the door deeper into the hallway, still hearing Ye Qi shouting for him to come back.

'You come back' He laughed to himself.

Soon Xiao Fan had made his way back to the spot wherefrom he had exchanged words with Ye Qi, and later he was on the other side of the hallway.

Waiting for him there in the darkness was a wall at the end of it, but Xiao Fan thinking better knew that this was a second door.

So without further ado, he pushed the door open, which also let light into the hallway he was inside.

¨Hey!¨ Came a roar from behind him.

It was no other than Ye Qi shouting from all the way on the other side of the hallway.

¨Too late, you are too late!¨ Xiao Fan shouted and laughed, already slipping to the other side.

And as he spent no more time on Ye Qi, he focussed on what was in front of him.

This time what was in front of him was a field; it was a smaller field than the training field, but this field was much more decorated.

There were nicely taken care of trees around the cliff beside him, while in front of him there was an enclosed arena-like structure.

Enclosed as in sizeable wooden building was eclosing the arena from both sides of the cliff.

On its massive balconies, a few people were waiting for him, most of them strangers to Xiao Fan, but there were also those he knew.

Meng Chin was happily looking at him from an upper balcony. Fei Sun, Zhuan An, and their families were also looking at him from the balcony below Meng Chin.

Then there was a person next to Meng Chin, who wasn't showing single happy emotion, that person was Ye De.

Meng Chin next to him even tried to ridicule Ye De by looking at him, but Ye De wasn't registering this at all.

Nevertheless, taken enough notes, Xiao Fan could realise that the trial should be over for him and that this place was the finish line.

Then what other there was to do than smile and walk forward to meet Ye De?

He should have something to say to him.

Most likely Ye Qi wouldn't be showing up from the cave, for what reason was there? Certainly, everyone would realise what sham this trial would have been if someone on the level of Ye Qi would be hunting him.

What he didn't expect, however, was that it was Ye Qi being the sham hunter and that he didn't care about that part when enraged.

Or so it would go, as when Xiao Fan was halfway towards Ye De, a person came running out of the cave behind him.

Moreover, the person, who burst out from there was no other than Ye Qi.