Heavenly Dao Engine-Chapter 43 - 00 - No Disgrace

Chapter 43: Chapter 0043 – No Disgrace

Chapter 43 -0043 – No Disgrace

A new day begins, and I, the scribe, am here to implore everyone again for bookmarks and recommendations.

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The intimacy with Spirit Qi, more often than not, is a form of talent.

Those with high talent have tremendous advantages over others; those with mediocre talent can only accept their fate.

In Huangque Hall, all the external disciples generally have a poor affinity for Spirit Qi, typically at the yellow level, and even at that, they are still at the lower end of this level.

Zhou Kunlin is in a slightly better position as his best test result was Yellow level, second grade, which is already an impressive achievement. To his knowledge, many inner seniors at the Sky Eagle Hall couldn’t match him in this respect.

However, Zhou Kunlin intended to make a breakthrough this time around. He had lost once during the previous test, so he was determined to outperform Qi Tian and Liu Haoshuai, especially Qi Tian, this time around.

He wanted Qi Tian to lucidly realize who the real first on the Sparrow List was. Only then will Qi Tian show him some respect in the future.

Soon the test reached the second grade of the yellow level. Chen Ziyu suddenly perked up, knowing Zhou Kunlin’s situation and afraid that he might overwork himself. As expected, Zhou Kunlin persevered in the environment of the second yellow rank, refusing to raise his hand indicating he was unable to carry on, despite gritting his teeth for thirty seconds.

Chen Ziyu clearly saw that Zhou Kunlin was struggling. He wanted to let him out, but considering the high stakes wager of ten thousand taels Zhou Kunlin had placed, he sighed and shook his head instead. He didn’t stop the Spirit Instrument from running but let the rune ring jump upward to its next position, reaching the top of the hemisphere. In an instant, the testing environment within the hemisphere switched to the first-grade yellow level.

Within less than a second, Zhou Kunlin’s face was contorted in painful grimace. The rune ring started to flash on and off. Before Chen Ziyu could turn off the Spirit Instrument, the Spirit Instrument’s internal protective mechanism activated automatically due to the tester’s dire situation; the Spirit Instrument stopped running on its own, the runes dissipating from the surface of the hemisphere. The vibrant fiery red glow within the Spirit Instrument vanished, with light restoring its clarity.

Chen Ziyu hurriedly opened the Spirit Instrument to let Zhou Kunlin out.

Zhou Kunlin stood up with clenched teeth, struggling to take a step forward from the Spirit Instrument. Chen Ziyu could clearly see Zhou Kunlin’s skin, exposed to the elements, had turned a shrimp pink. He looked like he had been cooked alive.

As Zhou Kunlin stepped out of the Spirit Instrument, he staggered and almost fell. The mere one or two seconds he spent in the first grade yellow level environment felt like an eternity inside a burning furnace. He thought he could endure it by gritting his teeth, relying on his willpower. However, despite his robust will, his body had reached its limit. If the Spirit Instrument hadn’t stopped automatically, the consequences awaiting him would have been dire. His skin being burnt would have been the least of his worries. His internal organs being incinerated was not an exaggeration.

Chen Ziyu quickly supported Zhou Kunlin, whispering to him, “Junior Brother Zhou, you have performed remarkably well, even better than me. When your skills mature, becoming an Elder in Huangque Hall, or even the Hall Master, are both within your reach. When that time comes, I hope Junior Brother Zhou would take good care of me.”

“What are you whispering about?” Liu Haoshuai approached them, looking at Zhou Kunlin being supported with disdain.

He scoffed at Zhou Kunlin, “I told you were trash. You couldn’t even handle the environment of the first grade yellow level, yet you’re acting like an old lady needing support, you really are something.”

Zhou Kunlin’s mouth twitched; he snorted, “You…hiss”

He wanted to rebuke Liu Haoshuai, but his lips had been dried and scorched due to the exposure to the first-grade yellow level fire attribute environment, and they had glued together. When he opened his mouth to speak, the separation of his lips caused a thin layer of skin to rip off, resulting in excruciating pain.

Seeing Zhou Kunlin’s bloody lips, Liu Haoshuai laughed out loud. “Trash will always be trash. Get out of the way and let me show you what a real genius looks like.”

Zhou Kunlin wanted to say something, but he was unable to speak. His lips were burning with pain. He had to tend to his injuries immediately.

Chen Ziyu sighed and allowed Zhou Kunlin to step aside to heal himself. He then returned to the Spirit Instrument to start testing for Liu Haoshuai.

“Don’t waste time, start directly from the first yellow level.” Liu Haoshuai commanded just as the crack of the Spirit Instrument was about to close.

“Are you sure?” Chen Ziyu asked.

“I’m sure, I’m a genius. My Fire attribute affinity is well above the mysterious fifth grade. If I wasn’t concerned about scaring you guys, I would have started directly from the mysterious level,” Liu Haoshuai confidently responded.

Chen Ziyu considered it for a moment before nodding in agreement. Such life and death matters are no joke to Liu Haoshuai, and the Spirit Instrument has protective features for those who are tested. It can shut down automatically in an emergency, so he was confident that Liu Haoshuai would, at most, experience some discomfort. He did not need to worry too much about Liu Haoshuai’s safety.

Chen Ziyu activated the Spirit Instrument, and the test indeed began directly at the Yellow first-level.

This chapt𝓮r is updat𝒆d by ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom.

The outer disciples below the stage all stared wide-eyed. In Huangque Hall, nobody had yet broken the record set by Zhou Kunlin in terms of Spirit Qi affinity. They actually found it hard to believe that Liu Haoshuai possessed such skill.

It wasn’t clear who started it, but someone began loudly counting down.

“Thirty, twenty-nine, twenty-eight…”

As seconds passed, Liu Haoshuai not only remained unscathed within the Spirit Instrument but also waved arrogantly at the crowd while laughing triumphantly.

Thirty seconds passed swiftly, and Liu Haoshuai was still safe inside the Spirit Instrument. The two rings of the Spirit Instrument began rotating again, and the runes flashed anew, forming a mysterious level test space.

Seeing this, the outer disciples let out exclamations of shock. For the first time in history, they had a prodigy like Liu Haoshuai in Huangque Hall who exceeded the yellow level in Spirit Qi affinity and reached the mysterious level.

“Mysterious level! Surely this surpasses Senior Brother Zhou. Poor Senior Brother Zhou has lost in terms of meridians to both Qi Tian and Liu Haoshuai. Now his Spirit Qi affinity level also falls short of Liu Haoshuai. No wonder Liu Haoshuai would call him a ‘failure’.”

“Are you courting death? How dare you call Senior Brother Zhou a failure! Be careful he doesn’t find out and beat you to a pulp.”

…

The conditions within the semi-sphere constantly were adjusting. Liu Haoshuai, within the Spirit Instrument, looked as relaxed as ever. He noticed Qi Tian watching and gestured towards him.

Qi Tian strolled over, to which Haoshuai arrogantly retorted: “Qi Tian, open your dog eyes wide and see who the real genius is.”

With a faint smile on his face, Qi Tian replied, “Alright, I’ll keep my eyes glued.”

The runic rings atop the semi-sphere kept jumping, and soon reached the Fifth Grade of the mysterious level. Liu Haoshuai’s relaxed mood was gone and he looked extremely serious. Evidently, he was mustering up all his True Essence to compete with the test environment created by the Spirit Instrument.

However, the Fifth Grade of the mysterious level wasn’t Liu Haoshuai’s limit, he still could hold on. Soon, the runic rings jumped again, and the environment switched to the Fourth Grade of the mysterious level.

Liu Haoshuai’s face distorted in strain. The mysterious Fourth Grade was his limit. His past attempts told him that he wouldn’t last thirty seconds even at his full potential. Accurately evaluating his fire attribute Spirit Qi affinity, his skill level was around 4.5 in the mysterious grade, barely stepping into the Fourth Grade, but not entirely there yet.

Seeing Liu Haoshuai starting to falter, Qi Tian’s smile grew wider. Standing outside the semi-sphere, he shouted to Liu Haoshuai, “Liu Haoshuai, weren’t you going to prove your genius to me? Please don’t disappoint me. Persistence is the key. Prove it to me, make me eat my words. Come on, Liu Haoshuai, you’re the best!”

“Everyone, brothers, sisters, don’t just stand there and marvel, let us cheer Liu Haoshuai together! Let’s all chant together, ‘Liu Haoshuai, Come on!'” Qi Tian turned his back to the stage and yelled to the crowd.

No one was a fool, and everyone recognized Qi Tian’s intention to provoke Liu Haoshuai, forcing him to stubbornly persist. Although some people disapproved of Qi Tian’s tactics, more people enthusiastically joined in, bellowing, “Liu Haoshuai, Come on!”.

Qi Tian turned back, facing Liu Haoshuai who was struggling within the Spirit Instrument, and shouted “Did you see that? We all, including me, are cheering for the genius that is you. Liu Haoshuai, you can’t disappoint us.”

Liu Haoshuai was at the brink of going mad. He had called over Qi Tian to witness his incredible feat, not to stir the pot. He felt as if Qi Tian was roasting him over a fire – What was this mockery?

Qi Tian, you bastard, why aren’t you following the script I’ve written? Why are you always stirring things up?

Liu Haoshuai was truly in an awkward situation due to Qi Tian’s instigation. As someone who cared a lot about face, he was stuck in this scenario with so many people cheering for him. If he hesitates or fails to persist at this point, he would become the laughing stock. He couldn’t accept that. So he grit his teeth and persisted.

Qi Tian, you bastard! I will remember every bit of today’s humiliation. The day I catch you, I guarantee you’ll wish you were dead.

Previously, Liu Haoshuai could only endure around ten seconds in the environment of the mysterious Fourth Grade. Today, gritting his teeth, he had already lasted fifteen seconds, breaking his personal record. This would’ve elated him otherwise, but considering that this record was forced upon him by Qi Tian, it did not bring him much joy.

Qi Tian kept carefully monitoring Liu Haoshuai’s actions and noted when Haoshuai was about to give up. He chuckled and said, “Liu Haoshuai, I see that you are really hanging by a thread. If you can’t keep going, just step out! It’s not shameful at this point to step out. I won’t laugh at you or call you ‘worthless’.”