Above the Galaxy
Chapter 188 - 138, Yama Canyon!

Chapter 188: Chapter 138, Yama Canyon!

Blocked by a great river in front, an earth dragon flips its body behind.

Above the river’s surface, the dense crowded heads of piranhas appeared.

The scent of blood from just now had given them a taste of sweetness, so even more piranhas crowded in this direction.

This was like driving people to their deaths.

Outside the Martial Arts Hall, the onlookers watching the assessment couldn’t help but inhale sharply upon seeing this scene.

"Isn’t this too inhumane? Who can get through such an assessment?"

"Luckily I didn’t go, otherwise I would have been eliminated long ago...."

"Right, who was the first to be eliminated just now? That guy’s going to be famous, right?"

"I don’t know about fame, but if everyone from our school gets stuck on the first challenge... our school will become famous...."

-----

Little Fatty was also very worried for Tang Fei and complained, "Isn’t this too difficult for people? How are they supposed to get across?"

If Big Brother can’t get across, then it’s definitely a problem with the person who designed the challenge, not with Big Brother.

Sheng Xinhua, on the other hand, was calm and composed, reassuringly saying, "If others can make it across, he naturally can too. If others can’t make it, it doesn’t matter if he can’t either...."

She saw that Tang Fei and Phoenix had been standing at the back of the crowd, not looking panicked at all. It seemed they had already made up their minds.

For some reason, she had quite a lot of confidence in Tang Fei.

Perhaps, she hadn’t had much expectation to begin with.

Little Fatty pressed his hands together and prayed with his eyes closed, "May the Bodhisattva bless us."

"Do you believe in Buddha?" Sheng Xinhua curiously asked.

"I didn’t before, but I do now," Little Fatty replied.

"..."

Tang Fei was actually able to understand the organizer’s arrangement.

Any assessment always had a time limit.

If the assessment time was not fixed and there were no other forcing methods, letting you contemplate by the river...

Would it be one year or ten years? Who could be sure?

This was demanding that you solve the most difficult problems in the shortest time...

Want to enter White Crane Academy without a bit of difficulty?

Tang Fei estimated the time it would take for the earth dragon to catch up based on the speed of sound transmission, and said to Phoenix, "We have three minutes, in these three minutes, don’t worry about what’s behind us, think of a way to cross the Water Bridge...."

"Understood," Phoenix nodded and said, "With the great river in front of us, only this Water Bridge is provided... this Water Bridge should be testing the balance and thickness of Yin Yang Qi..."

"I haven’t been on a Water Bridge before, so I don’t understand what kind of state it really is... But, I think you should use the technique of controlling True Qi to manipulate your own body, to cross the Water Bridge in a special way...."

"Yes," Tang Fei nodded and said, "However, it’s not that simple. The examinee ahead obviously thought of this and tried to use gliding to cross the Water Bridge, but after just sliding a few dozen meters, he immediately sank... The system doesn’t recognize such a way of crossing the river."

He paused for a moment, then added, "Perhaps his method was correct, but it triggered some hidden conditions that we are not aware of."

"What exactly do they want to test with it?" Phoenix asked, furrowing her brows.

"Wait a little longer," Tang Fei said.

"Wait for them to cross first?"

Phoenix understood Tang Fei’s nature too well. Sometimes he was fearless, as if there was nothing in the world he wouldn’t dare to do, astonishingly brave, but sometimes he was timid and feared death, always trying to hide as far back as possible...

She looked around and said, "It seems everyone has the same idea as you..."

"As long as we act like we’re more fearless of death than anyone else, they start to get anxious..." Tang Fei said seriously.

In this regard, he was very experienced.

Who was he? A freshman in his first year at college, just an Old Land refugee... It was only natural that he might fail the assessment.

Would anyone consider him a strong competitor?

If you lose, you lose; who would say, ’Look at that guy, he didn’t even get first place’...

Even from the encouraging words of his teacher, Ran Ran, who was extremely close to him, one could not hear a trace of sincerity, let alone these outsiders who did not understand him very well.

But others had been waiting two, three, even four years...

They had waited far too long and prepared far too much for this day.

They were waiting for an opportunity to make a name for themselves.

Of course, they were not willing to miss it lightly.

Indeed, the examinees looked at each other, each waiting for someone else to make the first move and test the waters.

They knew nothing about the great river and the floating Water Bridge above it; the more people who tested, the more information they would get and the more countermeasures they would find.

Unfortunately, everyone thought the same...

Hearing the rumbling noise behind them along with the sound of collapsing land, somebody finally couldn’t hold back anymore.

"I, Chu Xiong, am willing to find the way for everyone."

A simple-faced, burly man shouted, and then his body leapt up, lightly landing on the Water Bridge.

His body was enveloped in a green glow, a display of Yin Yang Qi pushed to the extreme.

Although his build was very heavy, the extremely thick Yin Yang Qi made his landing exceptionally agile.

One step, two steps, three steps...

He moved forward step by step, and his body did not fall.

Soon, his figure disappeared from everyone’s sight.

"Did he succeed?" someone exclaimed.

"I understand now, this test is all about Yin Yang Qi... It tests both its depth and its fluidity..."

"Everyone just needs to properly circulate their own Yin Yang Qi and walk step by step... But be careful, always maintain balance..."

"Neither too heavy nor too light, water is the utmost soft substance, so what we have to do is... become one with it..."

"We are the water, and the water is us... Follow its undulating frequency, and then step by step, cross the Water Bridge..."

------

Everyone participating in this assessment is an extremely competent student of the school, able to draw inferences from one instance and apply that knowledge broadly.

They instantly understood the key to crossing the river after witnessing Chu Xiong’s success.

"Chen Wuer is willing to lead the way for everyone."

A skinny young man cupped his fists towards the crowd and then leaped onto the Water Bridge.

His body was also enveloped in a blue glow. After feeling the resilience of the Water Bridge, he immediately adjusted the operation of the Yin Yang Qi within his body as well as the force he was exerting, advancing step by step.

Soon, his body too vanished from sight atop the Water Bridge.

His success inspired many others, proving that everyone’s thinking was right.

"Zhao Ziyu will go first."

"Brother Zhao, I’ll be right behind you."

"I’m coming too..."

-------

The crowd began to leap onto the bridge one after another.

Most followed that pattern, synchronizing their breath with the Water Bridge and merging into one, disappearing atop the Water Bridge.

Some, whose foundations of Yin Yang Qi were not firmly established or who could not maintain balanced control, fell one by one into the river, wailing as they were instantly devoured by the waiting piranhas.

Red sprays of water blossomed on the river’s surface.

The Earth Dragon grew ever closer, charging at them with a speed visible to the naked eye.

In a matter of seconds, no land would remain beneath their feet.

On the riverbank, only Tang Fei and Phoenix remained. True to their word, they really had hung back until the very end.

Tang Fei glanced at Phoenix and said, "Shall we set off too?"

Phoenix nodded and responded, "Let’s go."

Both of their bodies leaped simultaneously and then landed steadily on the Water Bridge.

From a young age, Phoenix had practiced the Supreme Heart Method, the Imperial Court Scripture, which filled her body with robust and solid Yin Yang Qi that circulated smoothly.

Therefore, as soon as she was on the Water Bridge, she immediately adjusted her inner breath to match the undulations of the bridge, light as a swallow, step by step moving towards the other side.

Tang Fei had been practicing an unorthodox Cultivation Technique given to him by an old man since childhood. His True Qi was inevitably not as smooth and natural, sometimes even experiencing momentary stagnation.

In the Old Land, with no one to verify, it seemed to pose no issue.

After arriving at New Star, however, where Martial Artists were everywhere, this problem became extremely lethal.

Fortunately, he met his close friend Shen Xinglan, who offered him reminders and warnings about the operation of his True Qi. Moreover, Phoenix had covertly "borrowed" the entry-level Cultivation Technique, the Imperial Court Scripture, from the Royal Family for Tang Fei’s use.

After half a year of day and night arduous practice, Tang Fei had long since repaired the deficiencies and shortcomings of his Foundation Establishment with the Imperial Court Scripture, enriching and strengthening his Yin Yang Qi, unifying his intentions.

Had it been the old Tang Fei, perhaps crossing the Water Bridge might have been difficult.

But now, with the path already explored by the brave ones ahead and the tips for crossing shouted out, the Water Bridge was like walking on flat ground to him...

Tang Fei followed close behind Phoenix, becoming the last student to cross the Water Bridge in the assessment.

Boom...

The ground they had been standing on collapsed, large chunks of soil plunging into the river.

The whole world turned into a vast expanse of white...

As soon as they landed, Tang Fei heard ghostly wails.

Looking around, he found they were transported to the entrance of a deep and terrifying canyon.

In the canyon, eerie ghost fires flickered, and ghostly figures flitted about.

Their noses were filled with a strong smell of sulfur. In the distance, the tops of mountains spouted scalding flames and lava, threatening to engulf them at any moment.

Black shadows occasionally darted past, followed by devilish laughter.

They were evidently elated to receive this batch of guests.

"What place is this?" someone asked aloud.

"There’s a plaque over here..." called someone at the front.

It wasn’t a plaque, but rather a huge stone standing at the entrance to the canyon.

Everyone crowded around, and saw four large characters written in fresh blood: Yama Canyon.

The characters were wild and hurried, as if the blood was still dripping down.

Written just like that.

"Yama Canyon, could this place be Hell?"

"Even if this is Hell, we still have to make our way through..."

"There’s only this one path... It seems this is the assessment for us..."

-------

Phoenix patted Tang Fei’s shoulder and whispered, "Are we going to linger at the back this time?"

"No," Tang Fei shook his head and said, "This time, we’ll go in the middle."