CHAPTER 82: CHAPTER 75: DOOR FRAME

"East China Martial Arts Academy is also participating in the Eighteen Schools Joint Exam, right?" Zhou Leng asked.

"I’ve seen previous joint exams, including East China Martial Arts Academy."

Zhou Leng nodded.

The three continued chatting for a bit, then Zhou Leng returned to the rest area, waiting and simulating possible techniques for the Yin Yang Copper Man Array in his mind.

When the time came, Zhou Leng entered the Yin Yang Copper Man Array.

Two copper men, identical to the previous ones, charged forward from left and right.

Soon after, the two copper men abruptly split apart, swinging copper legs and iron arms, attacking him from both sides.

Zhou Leng glanced at the 100% displayed on the screen, dodging while observing.

"Their movement speed is faster, punching speed is faster, and rotation speed is faster too..."

An overall upgrade.

Once Zhou Leng grasped the basic pattern, he started attacking.

No matter which one he attacked, the total percentage would decrease.

However, the Yin Yang Copper Man Array has a very annoying feature.

Always one in front and one behind or one on each side.

No matter which one is attacked, you will definitely be attacked from the other side.

One can only rely on stepping techniques to dodge, striking out little by little without being greedy.

One too many punches, and you’ll take at least four or five more hits.

If you’re not greedy, you can avoid a few more punches.

When the number on the screen reduced to 20%, the two copper men sped up again.

Zhou Leng’s True Qi finally ran out, but with the return of the Mystic Tide Technique, his True Qi quickly recovered to half.

Zhou Leng adhered strictly to the instructor’s guidance: protect the head and vital parts, and even if other parts of the body are struck repeatedly, they can be endured.

If the head is hit, at best you’ll be dizzy and get beaten up afterward; at worst, you’ll be knocked out, resulting in immediate failure.

The cost of protecting the head is that the rest of the body receives continuous hits.

The pain spread throughout his body.

This is the most crucial moment.

If you lose concentration, you might fall into a series of attacks and crumble immediately.

Zhou Leng kept adjusting, gradually suppressing the pain and distractions, focusing solely on the battle.

Punch by punch, palm strike by palm strike, while occasionally taking a hit.

When his True Qi was about to run out, the number on the screen hit zero.

"Congratulations to Zhou Leng for passing two layers of the Copper Man Array, please proceed to claim your reward."

Zhou Leng looked at his body.

Covered in bruises and injuries.

"But..."

As Zhou Leng walked, he carefully inspected his skin.

"If this had happened a month ago, my body would have numerous lacerated wounds from such attacks, but this time, the wounds are minimal."

"Apart from the Pill strengthening my body, it must be the effect of the ’Ten Reversed Beast Fist’..."

Zhou Leng walked to the prize room, went through facial recognition, verified his identity, and signed the document.

The staff handed over two boxes of medicine.

"One box of Replenishing Essence Pills, one box of Blood Cleansing Pills. As for the one thousand yuan consecutive victory reward, it will be transferred to your ’Martial Arts City’ account within three days."

"Don’t forget, if you pass a new level each month consecutively, you can get the consecutive victory reward just like the Mountain and River Origin."

"In November, it’s the Three Talents Copper-man, and the Four-Phase Copper-man for December, and so on."

Zhou Leng thanked them, took the two boxes of medicine, and walked out, popping a Great Nourishing Pill into his mouth.

As he walked, he manipulated his remaining Qi Blood to slowly heal his wounds.

Upon reaching the entrance, he saw Xu Qingjin standing ahead with his back turned, his left arm bandaged and suspended.

"Xu Qingjin?"

Xu Qingjin turned around, with a purple left eye, a blue right eye, and a handsome pig-headed appearance came into view.

Zhou Leng couldn’t hold back and started laughing.

Xu Qingjin also chuckled, showing her small white teeth.

Zhou Leng took a closer look; she had several injuries that were clearly more severe than his own.

"Open your mouth."

Xu Qingjin didn’t hesitate and immediately opened her mouth, with curiosity in her eyes.

Zhou Leng tossed a Great Nourishing Pill into her mouth.

"You..." Xu Qingjin’s eyes widened.

"I have over a hundred of these now," Zhou Leng said.

Xu Qingjin nodded and swallowed the Great Nourishing Pill.

"Did you pass?" Zhou Leng asked.

"I got knocked out." Xu Qingjin smiled without a hint of resentment and touched the back of her head on the side of her ponytail with her right hand.

"Good, you didn’t give up, you’ve always had tenacity."

"Did you pass the second Copper Man level?"

"Passed."

"Wow, that’s amazing! Ah..." Xu Qingjin exclaimed, retracting the corners of her mouth.

"What’s wrong?" Pig Head No. 2, Cao Jiajia, limped over.

"Zhou Leng completed the second Copper Man Array," Xu Qingjin said.

"So impressive? Your injuries are so light, you must have taken plenty of Pills, your body’s strength has increased by at least 50% since entering Demon City."

Cao Jiajia truly was a martial enthusiast, her muscles more robust than even Zhou Leng’s, with a single glance detecting the subtleties.

Zhou Leng looked at Cao Jiajia. She was also very strong, but she had a few particularly severe wounds, even her legs were seriously injured.

"I’ve indeed been taking more Pills recently, almost 10 Replenishing Essence Pills now," Zhou Leng said.

Cao Jiajia said, "I couldn’t make it to the last 15% of the first level. I suspect the earlier levels not only test basic skills but also the endurance and will during injury. When facing a slightly stronger opponent, someone like me finds it difficult to turn the tables."

Cao Jiajia looked at Zhou Leng and said, "You’re different. Even when your entire body is injured, you remain clear-headed, determined, and unaffected in battle. Just like in the ring, those slightly stronger than you might still be taken down by you."

Xu Qingjin said, "Jiajia, let’s take you back to the dormitory first."

"Mm." The three walked out while chatting.

Soon, they stepped out of the Martial Arts Bureau, there was a long row of taxis parked by the roadside.

"It’s time to go to work." The taxi drivers beamed.

The three got into a taxi, chatting about their experiences with the Copper Man Array.

Zhou Leng offered a few pointers, enlightening the two people, who hadn’t even noticed such important details.

On the way, Cao Jiajia saw someone in the class group asking about Zhou Leng, and she directly replied, "He’s passed the second level," then continued chatting with Zhou Leng.

At the Yin Yang Copper Man Array’s exit, Ji Changnian, with bruises but a clean face, walked out slowly with an iron-blue complexion.

When it hit 50%, he realized that even with a bruised and battered face, he couldn’t defeat the two Copper-men and had to concede.

He collected the rewards for the first level and opened the class group to check others’ achievements.

Suddenly, he looked down carefully.

"That Zhou Leng, he actually cleared the second level? He’s over 500 on the Freshman Chart, while I’m 135."

Ji Changnian was silent for a while, then slowly walked forward.

"I don’t believe it."

Ji Changnian frowned.

He entered Rucheng to aim for the Three Eagles Plan of the Martial Guard Department.

If no one from the Rucheng Affiliated Martial Arts Hall meets the standards for the Three Eagles Plan, the spot will be transferred to Rucheng.

This ensures Rucheng has at least one Three Eagles spot each year.

To enjoy both the benefits of the Martial Arts Academy and the Martial Arts Hall, one must compete for the Three Eagles Plan; otherwise, achieving high scores to enter Rucheng would be in vain.

"The Three Talents is completely beyond my reach; if I can’t obtain the Three Eagles either..."

Ji Changnian searched in the group with the keyword "Zhou Leng."

Two hours later, Zhou Leng’s class group suddenly became active.

"Quickly look at the Freshman Chart, especially at rank 209! I refuse to believe you won’t shout after seeing it!" Wei Hong suddenly spoke up.

The class hurriedly went to "Martial Arts City" to browse the Rucheng Freshman Chart.

They turned to rank 209.

Zhou Leng.

Rucheng Martial Arts Academy Affiliated Martial Arts Hall.

Martial Arts Index: 8.01.

"Zhou Leng made it through a level of the Copper Man Array?"

"No. He was previously ranked 503. Clearing one level couldn’t have raised him nearly 300 places, he must have cleared the second level."

"@Zhou Leng come out quickly!"

After a while, Zhou Leng, having completed his Qi Manipulation in the Meditation Room, replied in the group.

"I indeed passed the second level."

"666..."

"His Martial Arts Index broke 8; when the monthly test results come out, he can advance further."

"This year’s Master is secure!"

"It suddenly occurs to me, Chang Luan also said he wanted to compete for Master."

"He’s competing for nothing; the person’s already run away."

"Probably because he couldn’t compete, so he left?"

"That’s possible."

"Zhou Leng, you’re now a martial arts expert; our class’s ’National Outstanding Martial Arts Class’ depends on you."

"Don’t scare Zhou Leng. The Outstanding Class evaluated by the Martial Arts Department covers all colleges nationwide; only three are selected a year, mostly monopolized by Yunhua Jinjing. Where can we hope to win?"

"It’s said that once you become an Outstanding Class of the Martial Arts Department, the whole class receives a collective reward—not just getting the soup, but directly chewing the meat."

"Pick an easier wish, like advancing to the Innate Realm."

Zhou Leng also opened Martial Arts City to look. The previously grey "Eighteen Copper Men Array" lit up.

Clicking to enter, an eighteen-tiered pagoda emerged, with a small figure climbing, stopping at the second tier.

Zhou Leng looked at his significantly lessened injuries and walked to the cafeteria.

Once Zhou Leng left, the cafeteria staff again whispered, "A mere insect."

"This year’s Cafeteria Martial Saint, advancing further, completed 16 rounds at dinner."

Zhou Leng entered the mysterious world and approached the Frost Giant Tree.

Under the shining white light, Huang was digging a pit and burrowing.

Zhou Leng’s eyes brightened. It’s only been a few days since the third Golden Page appeared; could there be a fourth one already?

Zhou Leng hurriedly walked forward, and upon approaching, saw an unbelievable scene.

Huang was dragging a golden door frame, pulling it out and even deforming it.

The golden door frame continuously rose and stood tall.

Huang let go, and the golden frame slowly ascended and expanded.

A five-meter-tall golden door frame stood before the Frost Giant Tree.

The top of the golden door frame was onion-shaped, and the frame’s surface was engraved with intricate patterns and texts.

Upon closer inspection, they were slowly rotating cubical Divine Text.

This made one’s head spin.

Quietly standing in the front, the door frame exuded an indescribable aura that made Zhou Leng’s heart race and body heavy.

Huang cheekily circled Zhou Leng, then placed its two front paws on Zhou Leng’s abdomen, wagging its little tail madly.

"Thank you... Huang. Thank you... Elder Tree."

Truly, Zhou Leng hadn’t expected this could be dug up.

"This is..."

Zhou Leng suddenly remembered the contents of the third Golden Book.

It mentioned a supreme treasure that can temper one’s will.

"Gate of Purgatory..."

Just as Zhou Leng finished speaking, the Gate of Purgatory suddenly manifested a blue vortex, generating a powerful suction.

"Hmm?" Zhou Leng spun around, being sucked inside.

Huang looked bewildered, raised its head, and gazed at the Frost Giant Tree.

Zhou Leng’s vision went dark, and upon opening his eyes, he looked ahead.

A black Giant hung upside down in front, resembling a massive mountain, towering over ten thousand feet high.

The colossal figure sat inversely on a black lotus platform, the platform above, the body below.

Its lowest part was just a pink fleshy face, devoid of any features, like a mere skin.

Suddenly, patches of round skin on its face flipped over, sinking into the flesh.

On its entire face arose countless holes.

From each hole rose black eyes.

Upside-down Lotus Giant.