"What is the other option?" Ling Yun and Xiao Rou exchanged a glance and asked calmly. They were both surprised by the first option proposed by the Black Dragon. Go back like this? Without having to go through the perilous trials again? This was a rare opportunity, but they didn't know if it was a trap. However, judging from the Black Dragon's appearance, he didn't seem to be lying. Moreover, even if he wanted to harm the two of them, Kazar could simply use force to eliminate them without going through all this trouble.
“There is another option,” Qazar said slowly, his third eye suddenly turning to look at the flashing object in the sky. “You can fight me in less than thirty seconds and then kill me, and then you can pass the test of the third hall.”
At this point, the black dragon suddenly sneered and flapped its wings. A fierce gale immediately swept over, making the clothes of the two people flutter loudly. Ling Yun and Xiao Rou understood that this was Kazar deliberately showing off his strength and demonstrating to the two of them. Let alone killing a black dragon in thirty seconds, it was a question whether they could even escape from the black dragon's giant claws in ten seconds.
Ling Yun pondered for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Respected Mr. Qazar, I would like to ask, is the test of the third hall based on strength?"
"Yes, why are you asking this?" The black dragon stared at the tiny creature, not understanding why he didn't hurry up and make a choice within the limited time, instead of asking a question whose answer he already knew.
"We choose the second option, esteemed Mr. Qazar," Ling Yun suddenly said coldly. As soon as he finished speaking, he and Xiao Rou leaped into the air simultaneously, soaring upwards like two shooting stars. With a loud crack, before they even arrived, a dazzling electric shock emanated from Ling Yun's hand, striking the black dragon's massive jaw hard, instantly producing a burnt smell.
Aww!
The black dragon was truly enraged. How dare these two insect-like humans abandon such a golden opportunity to escape and challenge it first? Didn't they know that it could kill them with just one of its claws? The power of the lightning had almost no effect on the black dragon, but it profoundly provoked its dignity, and Kazar's anger was ignited.
Suddenly, he extended two enormous claws and swung them through the air. With a seemingly simple movement, he gripped Ling Yun and Xiao Rou, who moved with lightning speed, tightly in his two giant claws, one in each hand. Then, with a slight exertion of force from the claw tips, a faint black light rose from them.
Ling Yun and Xiao Rou's faces immediately flushed with an unnatural redness and pain. The silver light on their bodies kept flashing, and their mental energy field was activated to the maximum extent. They struggled to resist the enormous force applied to their bodies, but they could not move Qazar's giant claws even an inch!
Thump! The huge pulsating sound suddenly slowed down, and the pulsation, like a demonic sound, clearly jumped into Ling Yun and Xiao Rou's ears. The flashing object suddenly changed, displaying a huge cross.
The countdown has finally reached the last ten numbers.
Chapter 343 True Power
"Why? Why did you choose to fight me? Tell me?! You are nothing but two lowly insects, how could you have such audacity? Should I forgive your ignorance or admire your foolish courage?" Kazar roared angrily, his dragon claws clenching tightly once more. He did not use any special abilities, but with his own powerful physical strength alone, he rendered the two completely immobile.
With a creaking sound, Ling Yun's bones groaned under the strain. If it weren't for his incredibly strong body after the energy purification and his rapidly increasing power, he would have been reduced to a pile of minced meat by now.
Ling Yun felt extremely uncomfortable. Being gripped by the dragon claw felt like being tightly coiled by a powerful giant python. Even breathing became difficult, and with each breath, his lungs felt a burning pain. Time suddenly became incredibly slow, and every second felt like several hours. However, Ling Yun knew that this was just his illusion. The intense physical pressure even caused him to experience mental hallucinations, a sign of extreme instability in his mental energy field.
Xiao Rou was in no better shape. Unable to move, she couldn't use most of her special abilities and could only rely on her mental energy field to withstand the attack. Sensing the immense power, the Dark Armor automatically emerged from the girl's body to protect its master. Blazing electric sparks, like writhing electric snakes, constantly irritated the dragon's claws. Each strike was equivalent to thousands of volts of electricity and hundreds of degrees of temperature, but the black dragon's giant claws remained unmoved. This level of attack was nothing more than a tickle to Kaza.
"Speak!" Qazar said coldly, slightly loosening his grip on Ling Yun's hand. "You have five seconds left, enough time to choose again. I can crush you like an ant. I just want to know, why didn't you choose to leave, but instead chose to fight me? And what gave you the courage? Someone as powerful as me should only be met with respect and obedience!"
"Heh..." Ling Yun chuckled with difficulty, feeling a little better as he struggled to breathe. He said, "Just because you're stronger than us, does that mean we should respect and obey you? What kind of logic is that? If the world only has power and might, then should the weak forever live a life of subservience to the strong?"
"Oh?" Qazar's crimson pupils narrowed. "Go on, you have three seconds left!"
Ling Yun's weak voice suddenly rose: "The test of the third hall is strength. What is strength? Is it merely that we defeated those dark knights and monsters you summoned? No, defeating them only means we possess powerful abilities, not true strength. The strength you are testing is not simply physical force, but also mental strength. A true strongman not only possesses the physical strength to protect himself, but also the courage to defy authority and face death. True strength is not about whether I can defeat others, but whether I have the courage to go against the current when facing the most dangerous and difficult times, remaining fearless even when facing beings stronger than myself. Life and death are predestined, wealth and honor are determined by fate. Just because I am afraid, will you let me go? No, my strength is solely my own. I am unique, and no one can make me submit!"
His eyes suddenly lit up: "This is why I, Ling Yun, challenge you, the mighty Black Dragon Kazar. I may die by your hand, but I will never submit. You can kill me, but can you kill my heart? My confidence, my courage, my wisdom, combined, that is my true power!"
"You really don't want to kill it?" the black dragon said with a slight smile, its giant claws suddenly loosening their grip a little.
"You can give it a try?" Ling Yun said calmly.
“Very well, time’s up,” Qaza said indifferently. “You can all die now.”
The glittering object flickered one last time, slowly changing from a "1" to a "0" before disappearing into the air. The pitch-black sky gradually turned blood red, as if the entire sky were on fire. The heat waves from the intense heat flowed across the plaza like overflowing seawater. Suddenly, flames appeared out of thin air, then transformed into a vast sea of fire. From time to time, deep red liquid lava dripped from the sky, like a rain of fire.
Kazar looked up at the blood-red sky: "The Lava Sea has already infiltrated this place. Since you've chosen to be my enemies, you naturally have the courage to face death. True power isn't something you can just talk about, so even if you die, it's your own choice." With that, it suddenly raised its two dragon claws and, with a whoosh, forcefully hurled the two people into the sky. The plaza was merely the transformed form of the third temple, and the Lava Sea had already swallowed it, so Kazar had essentially thrown the two of them into the Lava Sea.
Ling Yun's mood suddenly became unusually calm. Facing death so close at hand, he felt a sense of emptiness, without fear, anger, or excitement. Instead, he felt a joyful sense of liberation and enlightenment. His body was freed, and he quickly turned around in mid-air. Without even looking, he tightly embraced Xiao Rou, who was also rapidly approaching him. Their eyes met, and in an instant, they exchanged a thousand words. Truly, silence spoke louder than words. Ling Yun and Xiao Rou held each other tightly in the air, then suddenly accelerated and shot towards the blood-red sky, smiles appearing on their faces. Then, they plunged deep into the blood-red lava, creating two tiny ripples.
Qazar watched the two leave, its scarlet eyes suddenly blinking. Its massive black body stood out starkly against the backdrop of flames and deep red. It flapped its wings and muttered to itself, somewhat dejectedly, "This wasn't fun at all. It's over so quickly? I had prepared so many questions, but unfortunately, I won't need them. However, these two little guys still touched me a little. Good luck to you."
Suddenly, a beam of red light shot out from the black dragon's body. Its massive form vanished in a flash. As soon as it left, a fiery red ocean swept everything away, instantly turning the entire plaza into a world of light and fire.
The instant he plunged into the sea of lava, Ling Yun tightly closed his eyes, his arms embracing the soft and fragrant body in his embrace. A strange thought suddenly arose in his mind: being burned to death by lava must be the happiest thing, because in an instant one turns into ashes, and instant death is painless. When the temperature reaches its extreme, it will bring life a painless release.
Ling Yun suddenly felt a bone-chilling cold, as if he had fallen into a bottomless ice cave. Instead of feeling like he had fallen into molten lava, he felt an endless, strong, cold wind sweeping over him, as if he had entered not scalding magma, but an unfathomable ice cellar.
He didn't open his eyes, instead thinking: Have I already turned to ash? Why am I still conscious? Could it be that my genes have enabled individual cells to survive? But even cells turn to ash in magma!
As Ling Yun was lost in thought, he suddenly felt a solid ground beneath his feet, as if he were standing on solid ground. Ling Yun was startled again, thinking that he had sunk to the bottom of the Lava Sea. Just as he was about to pay attention, he suddenly heard Xiao Rou's sweet voice: "Husband, we have already left the third hall. This is not the Lava Sea. Open your eyes and look."
"What?!" Ling Yun suddenly opened his eyes and looked around in surprise. The two of them were now standing in front of a towering palace. They were tens of thousands of meters in the air. Looking down, the sea of lava seemed to be slowly submerging the third palace. They didn't know when, but they had come out of the space in the square and even crossed tens of thousands of meters directly to the front of the fourth palace.
The highest temple appeared infinitely large in view. From the position of the fourth temple, the temple no longer seemed as ethereal as it appeared from the depths of the passageway, but rather exuded a mysterious and ancient aura. A misty fog continued to descend, filling even the vicinity of the fourth temple with a snow-white mist, making it look like a fairyland.
Ling Yun slapped his forehead: "Wife, we're not dead, are we? I remember Kazar threw us into the sea of lava, how did we end up here?"
“I don’t know either. I opened my eyes and saw us standing here.” Xiaorou shook her head, then suddenly realized something. “Honey, maybe you solved the test of the third hall, so Qaza just threw us here. The so-called death was just to scare us… What you said at the end was so good, honey. I was really impressed.”
As she spoke, a look of admiration and worship suddenly appeared in Xiao Rou's eyes. No matter what, Ling Yun was infinitely tall and perfect in her heart.
"Ahem..." Ling Yun accepted his girlfriend's admiration with a bit of embarrassment. He didn't seem to have done anything wrong. He had just spoken some of his innermost thoughts. He thought he was going to die for sure, so he was fearless. Then he ended up here in a daze. If he became an idol for this, he would feel a little guilty. But since it was Xiao Rou's admiration, Ling Yun gladly accepted it. He had to give his girlfriend a perfect image so that they could decide who would be in charge at home in the future.
"We've passed the Palace of Wisdom, the Palace of Courage, and even somehow made it through the Palace of Strength..." Ling Yun counted on his fingers, making it sound quite plausible. Then he looked up at the palace in front of him, which was exactly the same as the previous three palaces. "Wife, this is the final test. I wonder what we'll encounter inside?"
"Why don't we just go in and see?" Xiaorou said. She never had any doubts. Since she had to go through the challenges and accept the test, she might as well just try and find out. Why waste time talking nonsense? "You won't know anything by guessing here. You're just wasting your time."
"That's true..." Ling Yun smiled shyly, wondering when she had become so indecisive. Perhaps it was because she knew she was going to die but still managed to escape? Thinking this, Ling Yun took Xiao Rou's hand and stepped into the hall.
The hazy, drowsy feeling returned, but this time, the time it took to break through the seal seemed particularly long, as if a whole night had passed. Just when Ling Yun thought that the test of the fourth hall was the seal itself, he finally felt a sense of relief, and he and Xiao Rou found themselves hand in hand in a pitch-black space.
This is like an unnamed space simulated in a palace, with endless void in front, behind, left, right and above. Only the ground is a bright blue plane, and at the end of the plane are two light gates, each three meters high.
Both of them were startled when they saw the portal and couldn't help but look at each other in bewilderment. Could there be another compartment in the fourth hall? Or perhaps it was divided into two different parts, one for life and one for death, giving them a 50% chance of making a choice?
Ling Yun fell into deep thought. Each hall seemed to hold hidden secrets, and the true nature of the test remained a mystery until the very end. Even in the third hall, he had guessed that the test was for strength, but he only understood the true meaning of strength at the last moment. Now, it seemed that the fourth hall also held secrets, but he was still clueless upon entering. Judging from the two gates of light, perhaps the final test was indeed a gamble? He could only choose one of the two options.
Based on past experiences, this is entirely possible. The so-called gambling actually refers to luck. Luck is inherently an ethereal concept, but it takes on a different meaning for people with superpowers and ordinary people. For those with superpowers, luck often means opportunity and chance. When their power reaches a certain limit and encounters a bottleneck, they need an opportunity or chance to break through it. Otherwise, the potential for growth in their power will be very small. Moreover, based on experience, luck has played a significant role. It could even be said that whether a person with superpowers can grow depends largely on luck. This may seem absurd, but it is true.
If the test is based on luck, then the chances of good and bad are each fifty percent. Since there are two doors, if two people each enter through one door, then one of them will inevitably encounter a bad chance. Therefore, the two cannot separate, and the temple would not present such a death-defying test.
The only remaining option is for the two of them to pass through a certain door together. Whether it will be good or bad, whether they will live or die, is truly up to fate. Judging from the consequences of failing the test, failure means death. Fortunately, Lingyun and Xiaorou have never failed before, and they had already escaped death once in the third hall. After experiencing a near-death experience, people inevitably take life and death less seriously, so they don't have any more concerns.