Chapter 170: Chapter 160 Nine Bends_2
The path underfoot was uneven and bumpy, swaying even under normal circumstances, let alone when needing to keep the water from spilling with both hands.
Zhou Leng maintained his balance while moving forward, simultaneously manipulating True Qi.
One step, two steps, three steps...
Before long, Zhou Leng passed through this uneven road.
Not a single drop of water was spilled from his hands.
The students from the Western Sea Martial Arts Academy kept their eyes on the water in Zhou Leng’s hands, their expressions changing slightly upon seeing this scene.
Apart from Wei Xiangqian, the other three had spilled some water on this stretch of the road.
A few steps later, Zhou Leng crossed the line for the "Second Bend: Rolling Path."
Ahead, ten large spinning barrels lay horizontally, forming a makeshift bridge, each barrel rotating at different speeds, some counterclockwise, others clockwise.
An ordinary person, not carrying anything in their hands, would stumble and fall just walking on it.
Zhou Leng stepped onto the first counterclockwise-rotating barrel, adjusting his feet to match the barrel’s speed and maintain balance.
He then swiftly moved onto the second barrel and proceeded one by one.
As he advanced, Zhou Leng’s body and arms swayed constantly, but he managed to maintain True Qi control, without spilling a single drop of water.
After passing the second bend, Zhou Leng moved towards the "Third Bend: Rapid Wind."
Ahead was a rectangular passageway, with strong winds blowing from all directions—up, down, left, and right.
He was not allowed to merge the two water masses or crouch to let his body block the wind; there was no way to block all the wind.
The four previous individuals held the water in front of their chests to block as much wind as possible from one direction.
Zhou Leng had observed carefully and followed his own plan.
Rather than placing the water in front of his chest, he rotated his hands rapidly around the two masses of water before entering.
The afterimages of his hands formed a continuous arc as if creating two rings.
The rotation of the water masses driven by True Qi caused them to spin rapidly.
He stepped forward.
His two hands kept turning, manipulating strong True Qi to keep the water spinning.
At a glance, the two water masses spun in mid-air, with his hands circling around them ceaselessly.
"Amazing!"
Several students couldn’t help but voice their admiration. They had considered this method but lacked the True Qi strength and control level to accomplish it.
In the passageway, the strong winds caused garments to flutter, yet Zhou Leng walked leisurely.
No matter how strong the winds were from all directions, they were neutralized by the rapidly spinning True Qi and water.
Zhou Leng walked straight through without spilling a drop of water.
Soon, he reached the "Fourth Bend: Flying Stones."
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Ahead was another passage, not filled with wind but with fist-sized stones being catapulted by demonized equipment.
Dense like flying sand and stones.
Using True Qi to protect the body was forbidden; True Qi could only gather between his hands.
Even at the Body Refining Stage, without True Qi protection, being hit by stones on vulnerable spots like the scalp or ears would cause bleeding for sure.
This meant that challengers had to simultaneously dodge or block stones aiming at their weak spots while avoiding disrupting the water masses, increasing the difficulty yet again.
The four individuals before him were bruised and battered by the stones, some even bleeding from their scalps.
Zhou Leng took one simple look and walked straight in.
Whenever stones flew towards his hands and forearms, he would dodge.
As for hits on other parts, he neither dodged nor avoided.
Skin hard as steel, impervious to blades and bullets.
Stones banged against his body randomly, but Zhou Leng was entirely unconcerned.
Even when hitting his scalp, they caused no harm.
Thus, Zhou Leng braved the stones and walked out of the fourth bend.
"What a tough guy..."
"Must have cultivated hard skills."
"Typically, one starts hard skills training only in the Late Stage of Body Refining or Vitality Stage, and he’s just advanced..."
"He likely has a talent for hard skills and started training early."
"It’s possible..."
Seeing this, all the students from the Western Sea Martial Arts Academy understood, quelling their inner flame.
This Zhou Leng not only had great strength, abundant True Qi, good Lightweight Skill, superb True Qi Manipulation, but even practiced hard skills—truly no weaknesses.
If there was a flaw, it would be his young age and lack of combat experience.
Thinking of this, they silently watched.
The last challenge was real combat.
Watched by everyone, Zhou Leng continued proceeding, through the Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth bends.
Finally, Zhou Leng stood before the "Ninth Bend: Chaotic World."
This ninth bend was an amalgamation of various previous tests.
Twenty cylindrical barrels rolled on the ground at twice the previous speed.
Fierce winds blew from all directions.
Flying stones with rebounds from barrels created more chaos with crackling sounds.
There were thick pillars sweeping horizontally across the passage; upon encounter, one had to jump, as there was insufficient space below to duck and no room to the sides.
Additionally, there were sudden large fists springing out from the sides.
If unable to dodge and got hit, you’d fall inside, losing not just the water masses but also risking injury.
The first three individuals all fell at this final stage, leaving little water left in their hands.
There were also flashing strong lights that caused short-term blindness.
An ordinary person entering this could be tormented to death.
Wei Xiangqian managed to pass because of his extensive experience.
Those in the higher levels before often ventured through the Ninth Bend a thousand times each.
Even so, they dared not claim a guaranteed success.
Because they couldn’t use Lightweight Skills, couldn’t run fast, and had to pass slowly, only using Stepping Technique.
There were certain spots where multiple attacks could suddenly form.
They didn’t happen every time.
But if unfortunate enough to encounter them, you’d definitely fall— even those in the Vitality Stage would fail.
Wei Xiangqian had good luck and didn’t run into it.