Heavenly Dao Engine
Chapter 893 - 893 0542 Gold Statue_2

Chapter 893: Chapter 0542: Gold Statue_2 Chapter 893: Chapter 0542: Gold Statue_2 Qi Tian’s mind stirred, and he immediately ran towards the City Lord’s Mansion with the crowd. While he was running, he pulled off Zhang Shengfan’s identity token and held it in his hand. Soon, he arrived at the City Lord’s Mansion along with the throng of people, where even more cultivators were rushing over upon hearing the news.

Seizing the opportunity, Qi Tian casually tossed the identity token onto the ground behind him. His timing was exceptionally cunning; the moment he stepped away, someone stepped onto the token with their trailing foot.

At this time, everyone was hurrying over, and who would notice a small identity token? Even if someone stepped on it, they wouldn’t pay any attention.

Crack, crack, crack, several people stepped on the identity token in succession. Qi Tian used the “Transporting Whirlwind” technique to control the token as it tumbled on the ground, making it seem as though it had been kicked around by the crowd. Under his deliberate manipulation, those who stepped on the token were not ordinary people; they exerted a considerable amount of force. With their continuous heavy steps, the rather durable identity token broke into seven or eight pieces scattered in all directions.

Only then did Qi Tian react as if he sensed something was wrong and hastily reached for the identity token that had been at his waist, exclaiming, “Oh no, where’s my identity token?”

Qi Tian pushed against the stream of people moving outwards, and after struggling for a while to emerge from the crowd, he finally managed to collect the pieces of his token. Looking at the token in his hands, which was still missing a piece, Qi Tian showed a distressed expression. “Damn it, my identity token is ruined like this, how will I go home now?”

Many cultivators passed by Qi Tian, giving him various looks. The identity token was an important proof for cultivators in the Imperial Family Secret Territory, and damaging his token here could pose a serious problem for Qi Tian.

After feeling upset for a while, Qi Tian collected his token and set off towards the City Lord’s Mansion once more. By this time, an announcement had been posted outside the mansion, recruiting morally upright and highly competent cultivators as guards for the City Lord’s son. All the cultivators in the city were invited to register.

When it was his turn to register, Qi Tian took out his broken identity token and pleaded, “Sir, my token got knocked out of my hands when I was coming in to register. By the time I found it again, it was like this. Do you think I can still sign up?”

The cultivator in charge of registrations said impatiently, “If your identity token is damaged, go get a new one issued quickly. After you’ve had it replaced, you can come back to register.”

Qi Tian protested, “Sir, you don’t understand my plight. It takes several days to replace an identity token. By the time I get it replaced, the recruitment for the son’s guard will be over. Sir, can’t you make an exception? I’m really very powerful. If I can’t become the son’s guard, it would be the son’s loss.”

“Haha, you really talk big. There are so many cultivators in this city, and those who wish to serve as the son’s guard are as countless as the sands of the Ganges. There are many who are stronger than you; on what basis do you say that if you can’t be the son’s guard, it’s the son’s loss?” The recruiting cultivator spoke dismissively.

“If you don’t believe me, test me right now and see if I have the true skill,” Qi Tian said with an air of full confidence.

The cultivator responsible for recruitment might have been infuriated by Qi Tian’s attitude; he casually pointed at a statue at the entrance of the City Lord’s Mansion and said, “This is the Gold Statue set up by the Lord City Master himself. The Lord City Master claims his word is as good as gold, saying that anyone who can lift this statue will be granted one wish of theirs. Go ahead and lift this Gold Statue. If you can truly lift it, you can bypass the assessment and directly become the young master’s bodyguard.”

Not only did Qi Tian hear the words of that recruiting cultivator, but many other cultivators nearby also did. There were simply too many cultivators desiring the position of the young master’s bodyguard, and the competition among them was fierce. Knowing that there was such a shortcut, everyone wanted to take this quick path. Thus, before Qi Tian could step forward, someone had already rushed to the Gold Statue ahead of him.

“Don’t anyone dare compete with me, let me go first.”

As the man spoke, he squatted down and grabbed the Gold Statue. It was only when his hands touched the Gold Statue did he realize that although it seemed easy to lift, it was in fact fraught with difficulties. To say nothing of the rest, just trying to get a grip on the Gold Statue was an extremely tough job.

Various arrays must have been pre-setup on the Gold Statue. When someone’s hand attempted to touch it, the arrays on the statue would activate. The initial array would release a strong repulsive force, and the closer one got to the Gold Statue, the stronger the repulsive force became. When the palms were about to touch the statue, this repulsive force could exceed four thousand pounds per hand, and four thousand pounds for both hands. Such tremendous force drove one to despair.

This was just the beginning of the difficulty. When both hands eventually touched the Gold Statue, the repulsive force did not disappear. Instead, it continued to exert pressure constantly. Additionally, new prohibitions were triggered on the Gold Statue; a fire-burning array was activated. The places where the palms touched released extreme heat. If one couldn’t hold on, the slightest relaxation of the grip would cause the Gold Statue to fall to the ground. But even holding on wasn’t necessarily a good thing, as the hands might get scorched.

That wasn’t all. Once someone overcame these two obstacles and tried to lift the Gold Statue, the Gravity Array on it would engage. For every inch you raised it, the Gold Statue would gain an extra five hundred pounds. By the time you lifted the statue above your head, the Gravity Array, along with the statue’s own weight, would make its total weight exceed twenty thousand pounds. Such massive weight, combined with the statue’s repulsion and scorching effect, was definitely not something that an ordinary cultivator could withstand.

The cultivator who had hurried to lift the Gold Statue before Qi Tian had not yet managed to lift it when he could no longer bear the burden. The Gold Statue slipped from his grip, smashed onto his feet, and he immediately opened his mouth, crying out in pain. The wretched scream was so dreadful that it made anyone who heard it shiver and feel a chill down their spine.

The recruiting cultivator walked over to the side of the Gold Statue, gave it a push, and easily flipped it over. Then, he grabbed the wailing fellow, casually threw him aside, and said, “Disgraceful trash, get lost.”

Seeing the recruiter easily demonstrate such skill, everyone was profoundly shocked. The Gold Statue at the entrance of the City Lord’s Mansion was a legend in the city, known to few. Most of the cultivators here had personally attempted it, and those who succeeded were very few. Without exception, everyone who succeeded managed to find a post at the City Lord’s Mansion—like this recruiter, who entered the City Lord’s Mansion through this very method.

The recruiting cultivator gently set the Gold Statue back down, then looked disdainfully at the multitude of cultivators showing signs of fear and said, “Don’t just stand there like fools; if anyone is confident enough, feel free to come and try. Today, the City Lord is recruiting bodyguards for the young master with a limited number of positions, but if you can lift the Gold Statue, that limit won’t apply to you, and you can become the young master’s bodyguard directly. Does anyone want to give it a try?”

No one came forward to court misery, and the recruiting cultivator’s gaze fell upon Qi Tian. He said, “Kid, didn’t you want to try? Don’t you think highly of your own abilities? Come on, just lift this Gold Statue, and I’ll immediately give you a spot as a bodyguard.”