A Card In Hand

Chapter 13: Fuxi

One day later, at the Trial Temple.

At the Newcomer’s Trial Plaza.

“With only thirty minutes remaining, any new trainees who fail to return on time will be considered unqualified.”

Supervisor Dou Guang suddenly issued an early notice.

“But Supervisor, don’t we still have three hours?” the already returned new trainees voiced their concerns for their peers, bewildered by the sudden change.

Some promising new talents, particularly those from major families, were in the midst of their final sprint, hoping to gain more experience in the trial grounds.

They had not expected Supervisor Dou Guang to abruptly announce the end of the trials.

“This decision comes from Supervisor Lei Bao, the General Supervisor. Any objections?”

Dou Guang’s statement quashed any thoughts of resistance among the trainees.

The General Supervisor held the authority to decide the qualifications of new trainees.

Who would dare to challenge him?

Moreover, this session’s General Supervisor, Lei Bao, was notoriously temperamental.

It was well known.

Standing up to him now was akin to seeking death.

The plaza erupted into chaos; some trainees hurried off to find family elders or mentors dispatched to the temple to assist, hoping to somehow contact their companions still in the trial grounds.

Those without such resources could only silently pray for their comrades’ timely return, as they had no other recourse.

Amidst the noisy crowd, a seemingly simple and robust chubby youth was frantically pacing.

The Iron Clan had five members participating in this trial.

He was the only one who had returned.

Among the other four,

One was the future successor of the Iron Clan’s main family line in Silverlight City.

If this future patriarch failed to return on time, marking his record with a glaring unqualification, it was hard to tell how many would suffer for it!

“If you can hear my plea, Tie Zheng, please come back soon. I can’t bear this blame alone!”

The chubby youth, named Fuxi, was a junior member of the Iron Clan from Silverlight City.

At sixteen, having awakened his talents at ten, he possessed the powerful gift known as “Strength of Nine Bulls,” and was one of the key juniors being cultivated by the Iron Clan’s branch in Silverlight City.

Fuxi knew all too well the severe consequences if the main family’s future successor failed to return on time.

Tie Zheng had awakened his talents before the age of eight.

His potential was extraordinary.

Barring unforeseen circumstances,

He would be the next family patriarch.

If Tie Zheng were to receive a mark of disqualification in the trials, the main family line would undoubtedly vent their humiliation on Fuxi and the other four contemporaneous new trainees, especially Fuxi, who returned early.

He was in the most perilous position.

“Twenty minutes remaining!”

Supervisor Dou Guang had the assistants bring out a massive and conspicuous hourglass.

“Oh no!” Fuxi was so anxious he began wringing his hands.

This trial was meant for Tie Zheng to face alone for personal growth, hence the family had not assigned any elders to accompany him.

With no one to turn to, Fuxi was at a loss for what to do.

If possible,

He genuinely wished he could shatter that giant hourglass with a punch.

Of course, this was merely a fantasy.

He knew that if he dared to touch the hourglass, he would be doomed immediately, and possibly implicate Tie Zheng as well.

“Ten minutes remaining…”

Many family potentials began returning to the plaza, nearly all arriving precisely at the ten-minute mark.

Fuxi watched them with envy and jealousy. Surely, the accompanying elders of these families had used some summoning secret.

How else could their timing be so exact?

Whoosh!

A portal of light appeared, hovering over the area designated for the Iron Clan.

Fuxi was overjoyed.

Could it be that Tie Zheng also had someone secretly covering for him from behind?

It didn’t matter whether it was true or not, as long as the boss returned on time. As a junior member of a family branch, why bother thinking so much?

An excited Fuxi hurried forward… yet the figure emerging from the portal was not Tie Zheng but a bear-like creature with a docile demeanor.

Li Ao was behind it, kicking its rear to indicate it should not block his path.

“Li Ao?”

An anxious Fuxi suddenly remembered he had such a cousin.

“What’s up?”

Li Ao looked puzzled.

“Did you… did you see Tie Zheng?”

Fuxi hurriedly approached Li Ao, clutching at him like a drowning man grasping for a lifeline.

“Who’s Tie Zheng? Aren’t you my big boss?”

Li Ao took a moment to recall the events of a thousand years ago, then shook his head and waved his hands dismissively, “Oh, I remember now, there is such a person… Why worry about someone at his level? He’s one of the top ten elites; rest assured, they would have someone specially notify him, he won’t be late!”

“Really?”

Fuxi was skeptical.

“Do I need to lie to you?”

Li Ao spread his hands.

“Alright, alright, I know you’re a good kid and you never lie! By the way, how did you get back?”

Fuxi was utterly unaware that his once naïvely simple cousin had been replaced by a thousand-year-old demon.

“I saw many people returning early, so I followed them back.”

Li Ao actually remembered there was a loophole in the trial task.

“Quick thinking, well done!”

Fuxi patted Li Ao on the shoulder happily.

Crack.

Stone fragments fell from Li Ao’s shoulder.

Fuxi stared in bewilderment at Li Ao’s shoulder, then at the ground where the energy-transformed stone debris immediately melted and disappeared upon peeling off.

Li Ao was also somewhat surprised.

How much strength did you use in that punch just now?

Do you realize you have the strength of nine bulls?

It’s easy to kill someone like that!

Luckily, I have Stone Body Protection.

Otherwise…

It took Fuxi a long while to realize, and he jumped up in excitement, “Li Ao, have you awakened? What talent?”

Seeing another punch coming, Li Ao quickly dodged to the side, “This is an ability I got after making a contract with a war beast. I haven’t tested it for awakening, so I don’t know if it’s a real awakening!”

After saying that,

He kicked the wandering rock bear.

The rock bear immediately understood and cooperatively stood up on its hind legs, raised its paws, opened its mouth, and roared to show its presence, just short of thumping its chest like a gorilla.

“What level?”

Fuxi noticed that although the rock bear was ugly, it was quite pleasing to the eye.

“Black Iron.” Li Ao replied without looking up.

“It’ll do for now; next time I’ll get you a Bronze one!”

Upon hearing it was only Black Iron, Fuxi immediately lost interest. Black Iron was fine for a pet, but for a war beast, it had to be at least Bronze level or there was no future.

Fuxi didn’t realize Li Ao intentionally got a Black Iron level war beast to confuse the enemy; otherwise, with all the crystal cores harvested in the trial grounds, not just one but a hundred rock bears could have been upgraded.

“What good loot did you get?”

Li Ao saw Fuxi looking triumphant as if saying, ‘aren’t you going to ask me?’ and reluctantly played along.

“A Fanged Wild Boar, Bronze level.”

Fuxi could hardly wait to announce it to the world, yet he tried to maintain a low profile.

“Impressive!” Li Ao remembered that in his previous life, this big boss only managed to get two Black Iron war beasts during the newcomer trials.

“It’s okay, it was just luck that came knocking! You know, I was sleeping when suddenly an injured Fanged Wild Boar came running over. It was critically wounded and near death, begging me to make a contract to save its life. I didn’t want to make a contract with it, boars are so ugly, they spoil my brilliant image, but you know, my only fault is that I’m too kind-hearted!”

Fuxi was ready to boast for three days and nights, but seeing that the hourglass was almost out and Tie Zheng hadn’t returned yet, he got a fright, “Oh no, we’re running out of time!”

Before he could finish his sentence, the trial plaza flashed with over a dozen light portals.

One of them,

Appeared right next to Fuxi and Li Ao.