The Second Trial

Lyu Dongfang's mouth opened and closed repeatedly, Hu Manni cast her eyes down and remained silent, and even Liu Guansheng, who had been drenched head-to-toe in snake blood, didn't dare to let out a single peep.

Though they did not know her background or her name, no one doubted the truth of her words.

Or rather, no one dared to doubt them.

With the Spiritual Resurgence, families that had lain dormant for many years had resumed their cultivation, striving against one another, none willing to back down.

But in the face of absolute strength, no one would be stupid enough to actively seek death.

Everyone had lost the ability to speak. They stared blankly at the woman in green robes, the hairs on their backs standing on end one by one.

The giant snake's corpse was still warm, its menacing python body resting just a few meters away from them.

Adrenaline surged wildly through their bodies, and the instinctual fear of colossal beasts deeply embedded in their genes surfaced again and again.

Fishing a giant python with bare hands and blowing its head open with a bamboo rod... this was an exaggerated scenario that only ever appeared in anime or novels.

Back when they practiced martial arts, they had heard that if one reached the absolute pinnacle of martial arts, they could dodge bullets.

The Liu and Lyu families had previously made their living on the Yellow River, so they naturally knew what heights humans could achieve if they broke through their physical limits.

—For instance, the children of the Liu and Lyu families practiced holding their breath underwater from a young age and rubbed their bodies with special water weeds. Day after day, year after year, once they grew up, they could hold their breath underwater for half an hour without needing to come up for air. They could even open their eyes and see clearly in murky water.

But the power of the person before them had clearly exceeded the boundaries of humanity, hadn't it?!

Was this the true caliber of someone who came down from Longhu Mountain??!

Qin Yue stood not far away, staring unblinkingly at Ma Guniang, her heart pounding furiously against her chest.

She had seen it clearly just now. The moment the snake emerged from the water, Ma Guniang had killed it by instantly piercing its eyeball with a single thrust of her rod.

With nothing but a thin bamboo rod and an incredibly ordinary fishing line, she had hoisted a multi-ton python into the air.

This was no longer something that physics could explain.

Although Great Xia as a whole was much more peaceful compared to foreign countries, with the increase in spiritual energy, many clan-led factions were slowly beginning to re-emerge.

If Great Xia could also master such formidable power... then even if people wanted to cause trouble, they wouldn't be able to.

In Ma Guniang's eyes, was there actually any difference between her, these people, or even this dead snake?

Qin Yue closed her eyes and slowly exhaled. Something inside her seemed to break through a shackle, shattering with a soft, crisp snap.

Standing next to her, Lyu Dongfang and Hu Manni seemed to sense something. They instinctively looked over and gasped.

Martial artists could perceive the subtle changes in one another.

Liu Guansheng also noticed this. His expression shifted slightly as he let out a low exclamation, “Holy shit!”

It was this single exclamation that broke the silence. The downward gaze of the woman standing on high suddenly drifted lightly over to them.

It was deeply meaningful.

Qin Yue secretly thought to herself that things were bad, Lyu Dongfang felt a chill run down the back of his neck, while Liu Guansheng still had a completely bewildered look on his face.

...

Before the second trial had even begun, a massive commotion had already been caused on-site.

When the local department heads responsible for organizing the event saw the giant snake, they fainted one after another, and three of them had to be carried away on the spot.

Fortunately, the trial grounds were located in a remote area with no villages or human habitation within a dozen kilometers. Otherwise, if any video footage leaked, the authorities would have to deal with another internet explosion.

The trial grounds were cordoned off. Without Ma Guniang's permission, no one dared to touch the giant snake, leaving it to lie quietly on the gravel beach.

—Thankfully, winter was fast approaching, so there weren't many mosquitoes or flies by the river, and the carcass wouldn't rot and stink so quickly.

The second round of the trial was scheduled to take place at night. The coordinator on-site clapped his head and immediately changed the trial location with great delight:

Right here!

Could there be a safer place in the entire world than this?

Anyway, that senior had only said not to disturb her. At worst, they could just add another rule to the trial!

Ma Guniang sat on a prepared futon, focusing entirely on tying a line to her new bamboo rod.

Her movements were slow, appearing somewhat unpracticed, yet they carried a sense of leisurely elegance.

“Splash!”

The fishing line entered the water, kicking up a splash. Figures bobbed up and down beneath the surface, quickly disappearing from sight.

Holding the bamboo rod, Ma Guniang did not care in the slightest. She merely rested her chin in her hand, squinting her eyes as she dozed.

Occasionally, she would look up to enjoy the performance, as if everything happening here was nothing more than a passing breeze, entirely unrelated to her.

Yet Qin Yue felt an inexplicable sensation, as if this were the calm before the storm.

She couldn't even fathom what the other party's purpose was in coming here.

But standing by her side, she did not say a single word, remaining as silent as a human statue.

Only after a long while did Ma Guniang speak up, as if merely making idle conversation:

“It seems my initial judgment of you was indeed correct. In just a few months, you have managed to condense your essence and qi, opening the first vital gate within your body, equivalent to Qi Refinement level 1. Once you have completely opened all the vital gates in the 《Small Twelve Bone Forging Method》, you will be able to expand a sea of qi within your dantian, condense spiritual energy, and have a hope of reaching Foundation Establishment.”

“Thank you, Senior Ma, for gifting me the cultivation technique that day. If not for that, I would not have today's cultivation.”

Qin Yue felt apprehensive, but she did not dare to miss a single word, committing them to memory and carving them into her mind:

“However, I wonder if this technique can be passed on to others?”

“Since this technique has been given to you, it is your property. You have served me with care these past few days, and this old woman has taken note of it.”

Ma Guniang gave her fishing rod a shake and said in a perfectly natural tone:

“My Demon Suppression Division has always rewarded good and punished evil, teaching all without discrimination. Though time has marched on and few still remember the name of the Demon Suppression Division, the current authorities cherish the common people and maintain clear rewards and punishments. They are infinitely better than the yamen officials of old, and they possess quite a bit of the style of my Demon Suppression Division. The 《Small Twelve Bone Forging Method》 relies on condensing blood and qi to temper the body and strengthen the constitution, while nurturing the self with noble righteous qi. It could not be more suitable for those in the public service to practice. Using your hands to pass this method to the authorities cannot be considered a disgrace to its origins.”

Did this count as gaining official clearance right in front of Ma Guniang?

From now on, could government personnel also openly and legitimately practice the bone forging method?

“Senior Ma, this is too...”

Waves of emotion crashed through Qin Yue's heart. She pursed her lips tightly, her short hair swaying slightly, unsure of what to say, as her gaze fell back onto the center of the river—

There was no bobber on the fishing line, making it impossible to see what was happening underwater. However, as the line shook violently, Ma Guniang's eyes flickered. She suddenly stood up and pulled the line straight up, flinging the two people tied to the end several zhang away, where they crashed heavily onto the shore!

“Splash! Splash!”

“Splash! Splash!”

A massive dark shadow emerged from the water once more. A brown giant soft-shell turtle, even sturdier than the one from this morning, leapt straight out of the water, snapping its jaws as it chased after the “bait.” Out of nowhere, another section of a bamboo rod flew through the air, piercing into the giant turtle's skull with a soft “squelch,” as if stabbing through tofu!

With the bamboo rod impaled in its head, blood gushing out, the giant turtle tried to flee, but a thin fishing line flew over and wrapped around its head, dragging it straight onto the shore!

“Boom!!”

“Crash!!”

“Boom!”

The giant turtle plummeted from the sky.

It was a similar scene, and the exact same cause of death.

The half-dead giant turtle landed right next to the giant python's corpse. Liu Guansheng and Lyu Dongfang, who had been tied up back-to-back to be used as bait, had liquid dripping down their faces—it was hard to tell if it was river water or tears of relief from surviving a near-death experience.

Just moments ago, when they saw the giant turtle in the river opening its mouth toward them, they had almost wet their pants.

—Senior, you really didn't need to keep your word so literally.

You said you'd hang us up as bait, and you actually did it?!

If she had been just a second slower, the two of them would have become turtle food!

The two men, who had always considered themselves to be unyielding and tough, let out loud, synchronized sobs.

Ma Guniang glanced at Hu Manni, who was standing not far away, looking as though she were on the verge of tears. Only then did she flick the fishing rod in her hand:

“No need to accompany me in fishing anymore.”

Were we even doing this voluntarily?!

You call this accompanying you to fish?!

The two wanted to cry but had no tears. They couldn't wait for someone to untie them, so they squeezed together and stood up back-to-back, desperately hopping away like a pair of wriggling fat caterpillars—

It seemed that as long as Ma Guniang was present, neither of them would dare to cause any more trouble.

A faint smile played on Qin Yue's lips.

...

The second trial began as scheduled. On the remote gravel beach of the Yellow River, giant floodlights illuminated the area as bright as day for the first time. The corpses of the giant snake and the giant turtle lay side by side. The thirty-odd participants stood in dead silence, with not a single person daring to utter another word of complaint.

Who would dare?

The two who had caused trouble in the morning had been hung on a fishing line and dunked in the Yellow River for most of the day. If not for their family-inherited breath-holding skills, they would have long since become Yellow River floaters, alright?

Just who on earth was that woman?!

Everyone's heart was pounding like a drum. Even though their minds were racing with thoughts of sending messages back home for a private investigation, none of them dared to cast so much as a second glance toward the riverbank.