“Second brother is right! The Explosion Fruits can sense vitality from hundreds of meters afar. However, the fruits on every tree are controlled to explode in order, meaning no two fruits on the same tree can explode at the same time. Thus, if you’re not confident in evading the explosions, you can move a bit slower.”
Chen Yuxin didn’t think Ye Chen’s result would be too shabby, and explained some details to him.
“Actually, you don’t really have to tell me.”
Ye Chen liked challenges and explore the rules by himself. Before entering danger, nobody knew what circumstances they would have to face. And precisely because everything was known could such circumstances properly reflect one’s reaction and insight.
Li Feng sneered and said, “Junior SIster Chen, some people simply don’t know how to appreciate kindness. You need not waste your breath on them. Perhaps he has confidence to obtain good results?”
“Shut your mouth if you don’t want to bring calamity on yourself.” Ye Chen had already been quite tolerating of the latter’s mocking. However, he was no puppet, not to mention even a puppet would have felt somewhat angry. In response to Li Feng’s overbearing attitude, Ye Chen shot a quick glance at him. This glance made Li Feng’s body numb. He could still think, but he could not move his body at all. It was as if he was locked under a gaze of an ultimate predator, making him feel that the slightest movement would lead to his end.
“Junior Sister Chen, help me open the water clock.” Ye Chen said to Chen Yuxin.
‘Yes, yes!”
Chen Yuxin was also a little intimidated. To her fear, she could faintly feel that Ye Chen was perhaps ten times stronger than she’d imagined. Ye Chen’s focus a moment ago was merely her senior brother, but she had also felt a life-threatening sensation at that instance. It was sort of a subconscious sensation, one that couldn’t be justified through reason.
She started the water clock.
Shua!
With a flicker, Ye Chen’s figure turned into a blue light and entered the Orchard. His speed was not less than Li Feng’s at all.
“Fast!”
Apart from Li Feng and Chen Yuxin, the others didn’t feel any peculiarity at all. They were startled and indignant since Ye Chen dared to tell their second brother to shut up. In any case, the latter was a disciple of Dragon God Celestial Palace while Ye Chen was an outsider. Thus, they, of course, chose their second brother among the two. However, seeing Ye Chen’s speed, they were still astonished,
“Does speed mean anything? This is a test of reaction and insight…If you lack these two, speed will only make you more miserable.”
“Right! If he can score under four hundred, I’ll eat an Explosion Fruit.”
“Four hundred is still a good score. If he scores under five hundred, I’ll two Explosive Fruits. Did you forget most of us scored above thousand when we first took the test?”
The numerous discussions rose. The majority didn’t have much for Ye Chen.
“B*stard!”
As soon as Ye Chen left, Li Feng recovered from his body paralysis. His face was extremely dark. To tell him to shut up before Chen Yuxin was the same as humiliating him. But, what he couldn’t endure the most was that he was actually intimidated by a mere glance, rendering him incapable of retaliating.
His extreme resentment momentarily made him overlook Ye Chen’s strength and only think about how he had been humiliated. He glanced at Chen Yuxin and said somberly, “Just wait for the results! He’ll know how to humiliate oneself.”
Chen Yuxin said, “Second Senior Brother, you don’t really have to go against him. Regardless of how he is, he is a genius valued highly by Patriarch.”
“Chen Yuxin, why are so insistent on taking his side?” Li Feng said with a displeased expression.
Chen Yuxin let out a sigh. She could tell that the current Li Feng wouldn’t listen to reason due to his temper. But, she could feel that Ye Chen was truly strong. And if it really was as her Grandpa Yu had told her, the latter would not be his opponent at all.
Peng Peng Peng…
Sounds of muffled explosions continuously rang out, getting increasingly closer.
Inside the Orchard…
A dim shadow shuttled through the blazing flames. The shadow’s every flicker covered more than one li. The flames could only chase it from behind, incapable of touching it.
The source of these flames was actually the fruits shot from the trees. Following the flame’s trajectory, one could see beehive-like, bowl-sized fruits grown all over the trees. The longan sized-cavities within unceasingly shot oval-shaped fruits, which upon encountering strong wind currents or physical entity immediately exploded into blazing flames.
Although Ye Chen could not let his soul power out, his hawk-eyes absorbed the trajectories into the depths of his eyes, then quickly calculate the optimal path based on it.
Rumble!
Dozens of trees around him shot out more than a hundred fruits. They collided with each other, and a mushroom-shaped blaze soared into the sky while Ye Chen charged through it as if evading thousands of blades. Since he couldn’t use Zhen Yuan, the flame was only a finger away from him, almost enough to burn his clothes. But, it couldn’t catch up to him.
“Hm? That explosion tree ahead seems a bit different.”
The orchard had only one huge spherical pathway with the same beginning and end point. Upon covering one third of the path, there was a tree several folds taller than the rest by the pathway. The fruits on it were pot-sized, and the cavities within them were fist sized.
Swish Swish Swish!
Sensing the vitality, the huge tree shot out fist-sized, oval-shaped fruits. Although they still weren’t shot at the same time, the time interval between them was much shorter compared to before. One after other, they formed a white-colored current.
“Too crowded! Can’t cross directly.”
Ye Chen didn’t decrease his speed; instead, he unsheathed the golden sword from his waist. Sword light flickered, issuing countless strikes, and dozens of Explosion Fruits were cleaved in half. Although he couldn’t use Zhen Yuan, under his absolute sword speed, no fruit could approach him.
Before the cleaved fruits touched the ground and exploded, Ye Chen’s figure flickered indefinitely and sped past the huge tree.
“This Explosion Orchard is indeed tricky. Although it only tests reactions and insight, it also gives the feeling of a large-scale battle.”
In Ye Chen’s view, each fruit on either side of the pathway was an enemy. One had to avoid the enemies’ attacks and reach the destination. Although it looked simple, once it became habitual, it could increase one’s chance at survival in a large-scale battle. Even if one’s body were to be scared stiff, they would be able to subconsciously repeat these actions.
Ye Chen’s guess was correct. The true purpose of this Explosion Orchard was precisely to increase the survivability of palace disciples in a large-scale battle. It was a preemptive measure, something done by every fifth grade sect. After all, a large-scale war was entirely different from usual battles.
Ye Chen’s speed was high and he almost never slowed down. When he was a dozen li away from the checkpoint, faint sounds of explosion could be heard by the people outside.
“How is it possible! Clock is barely at three hundred mark!”
“It’s actually so much better than even second brother…It’s on a a completely different level.”
Hearing the sound of explosions getting increasingly closer, some people couldn’t help but glance at the clock.
Li Feng’s face turned dark, and he secretly clenched his fists.
Beside him, Chen Yuxin sucked in a breath of cold air. She originally thought that as long as Ye Chen could get a passable score, it would be a good result, since this was his first time. How could she have imagined that not only his score was passable, it was actually about to break her second brother’s record.
As expected, when the water clock pointed to three hundred and five, Ye Chen appeared.
Hiss!
Many sharp breaths could be heard.
“Three hundred and five! Don’t tell me he didn’t slow down at all!”
“Impossible! Then how could he escape the fire blade net?”
The group went into an uproar.
“Senior Brother Ye, you’ve created a new record—three hundred and five mark.” Chen Yuxin was dazed for a moment before she walked over with a faint smile.
Ye Chen said, “Not bad! This orchard is indeed a little tricky.”
“Hehe!” Chen Yuxin smiled bitterly. Only Ye Chen would call it a tricky. The rest of them had to try their hardest, not daring to relax at all.
“Haha, what shamelessness!” Right at this moment, Li Feng’s voice could be heard.
Ye Chen’s expression turned cold and said, “What did you say?”
“I said you are shameless,” Li Feng coldly smiled, “As for your win, you used Zhen Yuan. What does it count for?”
Hearing these words, the other disciples suddenly had a look of realization. Indeed, how could one obtain such a score if not using Zhen Yuan? Their gazes on Ye Chen instantly changed.
The Explosive Orchard restricted Soul Power, but didn’t restrict Zhen Yuan at all. It was on one’s own conscience. The disciples of Dragon God Celestial Palace didn’t use Zhen Yuan because through their numerous interactions, they could get an inkling of each other’s reactions and insight. There was once a disciple who used Zhen Yuan and was discovered later on. It resulted in him suffering endless ridicule and gradually being isolated. Henceforth, nobody dared to cheat. But, Ye Chen was an outsider, and might have no qualms to cheat.
“You’ll be responsible for your words.” Ye Chen’s voice turned cold.
Chen Yuxin said anxiously, “Second Brother!”
Le Feng coldly said, “Sister Chen, why are you still speaking up for him? He is clearly cheating.”
“Whether I cheated or not, you’ll know if you dare to take one move from me.” Ye Chen had decided to teach the former an unforgettable lesson and let him realize the immensity of the heavens.
“Hehe, flying into anger after being exposed? Let me see what your one move can do.”
Although he said these words, Li Feng didn’t dare look down on Ye Chen. He still remembered that one glance from before the test. Therefore, he decided to go all out and leave no room for the latter. He didn’t believe he couldn’t endure a single move from Ye Chen. After all, even their eldest brother couldn’t defeat in one move.
“Senior Brother Ye, please don’t be too harsh!” Chen Yuxin cold tell Ye Chen was angry. She could feel that the second brother would be suffering miserably, and could only hope that Ye Chen wouldn’t be too harsh.
Before she said these words, Li Feng was still alright. However, once he heard these words, he immediately took out his long blade and stared at Ye Chen with a murderous look
“Second brother is right! The Explosion Fruits can sense vitality from hundreds of meters afar. However, the fruits on every tree are controlled to explode in order, meaning no two fruits on the same tree can explode at the same time. Thus, if you’re not confident in evading the explosions, you can move a bit slower.”
Chen Yuxin didn’t think Ye Chen’s result would be too shabby, and explained some details to him.
“Actually, you don’t really have to tell me.”
Ye Chen liked challenges and explore the rules by himself. Before entering danger, nobody knew what circumstances they would have to face. And precisely because everything was known could such circumstances properly reflect one’s reaction and insight.
Li Feng sneered and said, “Junior SIster Chen, some people simply don’t know how to appreciate kindness. You need not waste your breath on them. Perhaps he has confidence to obtain good results?”
“Shut your mouth if you don’t want to bring calamity on yourself.” Ye Chen had already been quite tolerating of the latter’s mocking. However, he was no puppet, not to mention even a puppet would have felt somewhat angry. In response to Li Feng’s overbearing attitude, Ye Chen shot a quick glance at him. This glance made Li Feng’s body numb. He could still think, but he could not move his body at all. It was as if he was locked under a gaze of an ultimate predator, making him feel that the slightest movement would lead to his end.
“Junior Sister Chen, help me open the water clock.” Ye Chen said to Chen Yuxin.
‘Yes, yes!”
Chen Yuxin was also a little intimidated. To her fear, she could faintly feel that Ye Chen was perhaps ten times stronger than she’d imagined. Ye Chen’s focus a moment ago was merely her senior brother, but she had also felt a life-threatening sensation at that instance. It was sort of a subconscious sensation, one that couldn’t be justified through reason.
She started the water clock.
Shua!
With a flicker, Ye Chen’s figure turned into a blue light and entered the Orchard. His speed was not less than Li Feng’s at all.
“Fast!”
Apart from Li Feng and Chen Yuxin, the others didn’t feel any peculiarity at all. They were startled and indignant since Ye Chen dared to tell their second brother to shut up. In any case, the latter was a disciple of Dragon God Celestial Palace while Ye Chen was an outsider. Thus, they, of course, chose their second brother among the two. However, seeing Ye Chen’s speed, they were still astonished,
“Does speed mean anything? This is a test of reaction and insight…If you lack these two, speed will only make you more miserable.”
“Right! If he can score under four hundred, I’ll eat an Explosion Fruit.”
“Four hundred is still a good score. If he scores under five hundred, I’ll two Explosive Fruits. Did you forget most of us scored above thousand when we first took the test?”
The numerous discussions rose. The majority didn’t have much for Ye Chen.
“B*stard!”
As soon as Ye Chen left, Li Feng recovered from his body paralysis. His face was extremely dark. To tell him to shut up before Chen Yuxin was the same as humiliating him. But, what he couldn’t endure the most was that he was actually intimidated by a mere glance, rendering him incapable of retaliating.
His extreme resentment momentarily made him overlook Ye Chen’s strength and only think about how he had been humiliated. He glanced at Chen Yuxin and said somberly, “Just wait for the results! He’ll know how to humiliate oneself.”
Chen Yuxin said, “Second Senior Brother, you don’t really have to go against him. Regardless of how he is, he is a genius valued highly by Patriarch.”
“Chen Yuxin, why are so insistent on taking his side?” Li Feng said with a displeased expression.
Chen Yuxin let out a sigh. She could tell that the current Li Feng wouldn’t listen to reason due to his temper. But, she could feel that Ye Chen was truly strong. And if it really was as her Grandpa Yu had told her, the latter would not be his opponent at all.
Peng Peng Peng…
Sounds of muffled explosions continuously rang out, getting increasingly closer.
Inside the Orchard…
A dim shadow shuttled through the blazing flames. The shadow’s every flicker covered more than one li. The flames could only chase it from behind, incapable of touching it.
The source of these flames was actually the fruits shot from the trees. Following the flame’s trajectory, one could see beehive-like, bowl-sized fruits grown all over the trees. The longan sized-cavities within unceasingly shot oval-shaped fruits, which upon encountering strong wind currents or physical entity immediately exploded into blazing flames.
Although Ye Chen could not let his soul power out, his hawk-eyes absorbed the trajectories into the depths of his eyes, then quickly calculate the optimal path based on it.
Rumble!
Dozens of trees around him shot out more than a hundred fruits. They collided with each other, and a mushroom-shaped blaze soared into the sky while Ye Chen charged through it as if evading thousands of blades. Since he couldn’t use Zhen Yuan, the flame was only a finger away from him, almost enough to burn his clothes. But, it couldn’t catch up to him.
“Hm? That explosion tree ahead seems a bit different.”
The orchard had only one huge spherical pathway with the same beginning and end point. Upon covering one third of the path, there was a tree several folds taller than the rest by the pathway. The fruits on it were pot-sized, and the cavities within them were fist sized.
Swish Swish Swish!
Sensing the vitality, the huge tree shot out fist-sized, oval-shaped fruits. Although they still weren’t shot at the same time, the time interval between them was much shorter compared to before. One after other, they formed a white-colored current.
“Too crowded! Can’t cross directly.”
Ye Chen didn’t decrease his speed; instead, he unsheathed the golden sword from his waist. Sword light flickered, issuing countless strikes, and dozens of Explosion Fruits were cleaved in half. Although he couldn’t use Zhen Yuan, under his absolute sword speed, no fruit could approach him.
Before the cleaved fruits touched the ground and exploded, Ye Chen’s figure flickered indefinitely and sped past the huge tree.
“This Explosion Orchard is indeed tricky. Although it only tests reactions and insight, it also gives the feeling of a large-scale battle.”
In Ye Chen’s view, each fruit on either side of the pathway was an enemy. One had to avoid the enemies’ attacks and reach the destination. Although it looked simple, once it became habitual, it could increase one’s chance at survival in a large-scale battle. Even if one’s body were to be scared stiff, they would be able to subconsciously repeat these actions.
Ye Chen’s guess was correct. The true purpose of this Explosion Orchard was precisely to increase the survivability of palace disciples in a large-scale battle. It was a preemptive measure, something done by every fifth grade sect. After all, a large-scale war was entirely different from usual battles.
Ye Chen’s speed was high and he almost never slowed down. When he was a dozen li away from the checkpoint, faint sounds of explosion could be heard by the people outside.
“How is it possible! Clock is barely at three hundred mark!”
“It’s actually so much better than even second brother…It’s on a a completely different level.”
Hearing the sound of explosions getting increasingly closer, some people couldn’t help but glance at the clock.
Li Feng’s face turned dark, and he secretly clenched his fists.
Beside him, Chen Yuxin sucked in a breath of cold air. She originally thought that as long as Ye Chen could get a passable score, it would be a good result, since this was his first time. How could she have imagined that not only his score was passable, it was actually about to break her second brother’s record.
As expected, when the water clock pointed to three hundred and five, Ye Chen appeared.
Hiss!
Many sharp breaths could be heard.
“Three hundred and five! Don’t tell me he didn’t slow down at all!”
“Impossible! Then how could he escape the fire blade net?”
The group went into an uproar.
“Senior Brother Ye, you’ve created a new record—three hundred and five mark.” Chen Yuxin was dazed for a moment before she walked over with a faint smile.
Ye Chen said, “Not bad! This orchard is indeed a little tricky.”
“Hehe!” Chen Yuxin smiled bitterly. Only Ye Chen would call it a tricky. The rest of them had to try their hardest, not daring to relax at all.
“Haha, what shamelessness!” Right at this moment, Li Feng’s voice could be heard.
Ye Chen’s expression turned cold and said, “What did you say?”
“I said you are shameless,” Li Feng coldly smiled, “As for your win, you used Zhen Yuan. What does it count for?”
Hearing these words, the other disciples suddenly had a look of realization. Indeed, how could one obtain such a score if not using Zhen Yuan? Their gazes on Ye Chen instantly changed.
The Explosive Orchard restricted Soul Power, but didn’t restrict Zhen Yuan at all. It was on one’s own conscience. The disciples of Dragon God Celestial Palace didn’t use Zhen Yuan because through their numerous interactions, they could get an inkling of each other’s reactions and insight. There was once a disciple who used Zhen Yuan and was discovered later on. It resulted in him suffering endless ridicule and gradually being isolated. Henceforth, nobody dared to cheat. But, Ye Chen was an outsider, and might have no qualms to cheat.
“You’ll be responsible for your words.” Ye Chen’s voice turned cold.
Chen Yuxin said anxiously, “Second Brother!”
Le Feng coldly said, “Sister Chen, why are you still speaking up for him? He is clearly cheating.”
“Whether I cheated or not, you’ll know if you dare to take one move from me.” Ye Chen had decided to teach the former an unforgettable lesson and let him realize the immensity of the heavens.
“Hehe, flying into anger after being exposed? Let me see what your one move can do.”
Although he said these words, Li Feng didn’t dare look down on Ye Chen. He still remembered that one glance from before the test. Therefore, he decided to go all out and leave no room for the latter. He didn’t believe he couldn’t endure a single move from Ye Chen. After all, even their eldest brother couldn’t defeat in one move.
“Senior Brother Ye, please don’t be too harsh!” Chen Yuxin cold tell Ye Chen was angry. She could feel that the second brother would be suffering miserably, and could only hope that Ye Chen wouldn’t be too harsh.
Before she said these words, Li Feng was still alright. However, once he heard these words, he immediately took out his long blade and stared at Ye Chen with a murderous look
