Urban Wolf King

Chapter 1267 1178: Which One Will You Choose?

Amid that peal of wild laughter, Wang Yan's body suddenly straightened, and he immediately took great strides, striding forward along the Iron Lock Bridge.

The Iron Lock Bridge swayed up and down, magma roared and surged beneath the bridge, yet Wang Yan neither turned back nor tried to flee; his eyes shone brightly, his ears pricked.

Even with that erupting magma roaring beneath his feet, Wang Yan's bright eyes were fixed tightly upon the giant waves.

Under Wang Yan's gaze, those waves seemed to feel fear; their momentum softened, their breath weakened.

The Iron Lock Bridge clanged and rattled, and in just a few steps Wang Yan caught up with Venerable Fuqing; with a few more steps he had gone past Venerable Ghost Valley.

This is fear: if you harbor it in your heart, it will turn into the demon that devours you; if you regard it as nothing, it is merely an insignificant ant.

At this moment the magma and the iron bridge were nothing more than an ant beneath Wang Yan's feet.

Setting one foot on the far side of the bridge deck, Wang Yan lifted his head and stood there, a faintly indifferent look on his face.

This indifference was utterly ordinary, without deliberate affectation, without wanton disguise, yet within this very plainness, Wang Yan's bearing of looking down upon the world was revealed.

The old man still standing where he had been looked at Wang Yan in the distance and suddenly went slightly blank; some peculiar color seemed to arise in his eyes.

Just then, Venerable Ghost Valley and Venerable Fuqing also crossed the Iron Lock Bridge and stepped onto solid ground.

However, compared with Wang Yan's ease like wind and clouds, the two of Venerable Ghost Valley looked utterly bedraggled, their figures disordered.

Now, when they looked at Wang Yan, their eyes immediately filled with dread.

The painful torment of standing on the Iron Lock Bridge just now could only be understood by one who had personally experienced it; both Venerable Ghost Valley and Venerable Fuqing were people who had been through many storms, yet they had found it hard to endure, almost to the point of collapse.

And Wang Yan was actually so unruffled—how could that not make the two of them wary and afraid.

At this moment, the old man slowly flew to stand before the three of them; his tone had already returned to calm as he said, "This round counts as passed by you three. However, in the next round, one of you must still fail and be eliminated."

Hearing this, Venerable Ghost Valley and Venerable Fuqing immediately cast aside their fear of Wang Yan and listened closely to the old man's words.

Right then, at the gate of the third inner palace, Venerable Zidan stood there, his face full of rage.

He glared at the three Bamboo Scroll Bridges in the distance and cursed angrily, "Bastard, why am I the first to be eliminated? I'm going to smash this damned bridge and seize the Fallen Lotus."

With that, Venerable Zidan kept striking at the Bamboo Scroll Bridge before him.

Only, though Venerable Zidan's attacks were astonishing, the Bamboo Scroll Bridge before him did not budge an inch.

At this moment, within the Bamboo Scroll Bridge, the old man waved his hand, sweeping it toward his back.

Behind the old man, another scene appeared once more.

What unfolded before everyone was a green garden, elegant and quiet, lush with emerald shade.

At this time, two young men in long robes were strolling along a path in the grove, conversing pleasantly; when they came to a pond, they saw a little fish happily swimming in the water, poking its head above the surface.

Of these two men, the one in white robes pointed at the fish and laughed, saying, "The dace swims at ease—this is the fish's joy."

The other man in green robes smiled and said, "You are not a fish; how do you know the fish's joy?"

The white-robed man said, "You are not me; how do you know that I don't know the fish's joy?"

The green-robed man said, "I am not you, so indeed I do not know you; you are certainly not a fish, and you do not know the fish's joy—that is complete."

For a time, the two young men quarreled noisily over whether the fish was happy or not.

In the distance, Venerable Ghost Valley and Venerable Fuqing had thought the first trial was perilous beyond measure and had no idea how terrifying the second would be.

Who could have known that such a tranquil grove would appear instead, and two young men would appear, speaking this string of headless, tail-less nonsense.

The two of Venerable Ghost Valley looked at each other in dismay, while Wang Yan's eyebrows twitched imperceptibly; he cast a deeply meaningful glance at the old man.

Pointing at the Illusion Realm before them, the old man said, "There are three roles here: one is Zhuangzi, one is Hui Zi, and the other is the fish. You three will each choose one role, personally experience it, and then tell me whether the fish is joyful or not."

Hearing the old man's words, Venerable Ghost Valley and Venerable Fuqing were immediately dumbfounded.

If they were to fight and kill, they would not find it difficult; but now they were actually being made to figure out whether a fish is joyful or not—what kind of trial was this supposed to be?

Wang Yan also knit his brows slightly, as though pondering something.

Seeing the three of them silent, the old man said, "Without the life-and-death brink you just faced, I fear you three won't be able to bring out your full potential. Therefore, the answer in this round that pleases me the most will earn a bonus: you may freely take one Magical Treasure from the other two."

At this, Venerable Ghost Valley and Venerable Fuqing, who had just been silent, immediately widened their eyes, greed flashing within.

Venerable Ghost Valley had long coveted Wang Yan's Chaos Bell; now, upon hearing the old man's terms, he almost didn't even think before pointing at Wang Yan and blurting out, "I want his big bell."

Venerable Fuqing also nodded and said, "Right, right, I want that giant bell too."

From the look of the two of them, it was as if Wang Yan's Chaos Bell were already in their pockets.

The old man glanced at Wang Yan and said, "And you? What do you want?"

Wang Yan raised an eyebrow and said, "Only one of us can win anyway, so let them choose."

Venerable Ghost Valley glanced at Venerable Fuqing and laughed. "Then I'll take Venerable Fuqing's Chasing Silk."

As soon as Venerable Fuqing heard this, he immediately covered his white long sleeves with one hand and snapped angrily, "Ghost Valley, you harbor ill intent."

Venerable Ghost Valley laughed and said, "I'm only acting according to the rules."

Venerable Fuqing's eyes turned cold as he said, "Fine, then I'll take your Ten Thousand Blades Saber."

At this, Venerable Ghost Valley's face also chilled; he gave a cold snort on the spot and said no more.

This Chasing Silk and Ten Thousand Blades Saber were precisely the Magical Treasures the two of them had used earlier when attacking Wang Yan.

Though not as powerful as Wang Yan's Chaos Bell, they were also Innate Treasures.

The old man looked at the three of them and said, "If there are no objections, you three may enter the Illusion Realm and choose your roles."

As soon as the old man's words fell, Venerable Ghost Valley was the first to plunge into the Illusion Realm. In a flash he flew onto the body of the white-clad Zhuangzi; his figure wavered, and he transformed into Zhuangzi.

Then Venerable Ghost Valley burst out laughing. "This time I'm sure to win, because you haven't realized that this old man is Zhuangzi himself. I've chosen his own person, so of course victory is mine. That big bell will be mine."