Chapter 183 : Taiqing Prodigy

Chapter 183: Taiqing Prodigy

Sensing the sudden rupture of the Companion Contract, the Golden-Luster Zhi’s eyes became bloodshot, revealing a gaze of uncontrollable madness.

Although it knew this battle was merely a Struggle Test, watching Shen Qiong—who had lived and fought alongside it day and night—die so miserably before its eyes, the thread of reason in its heart instantly snapped.

Yet, even with rage soaring to the heavens, the Golden-Luster Zhi still retained a shred of rationality.

That golden flood dragon was overwhelmingly powerful. Even if it activated its Gold-Water Void Escape, it had no certainty of killing it.

The Golden-Luster Zhi chose instead to seize the opportunity, to repay tooth for tooth, dragging down the physically weakest enemy cultivator before it fell in defeat.

“ Moo!”

It exhaled through its nostrils, casting Gold-Water Void Escape. The Xuanming Gold Needle hidden in its mouth instantly quivered and vanished, translocating into Chen Beiwu’s lungs and kidneys before detonating.

“ Shoo, shoo, shoo!”

Chen Beiwu’s face twisted in panic as countless web-like golden lines erupted across his skin. A spray of gold-blue blood mist, mingled with fragments of internal organs, burst from his mouth.

“ Moo!” (“Won!”)

Seeing this, the Golden-Luster Zhi’s lips curved faintly upward.

Though they had lost this Struggle, at least it was a mutual-wounding conclusion.

With the Xuanming Gold Needle piercing his organs, coupled with the Golden Fiend Water Poison eroding body and spirit, the opponent was doomed to die.

The only regret of the Golden-Luster Zhi was that it could not witness the enemy’s tragic state before death.

As that thought flashed by, its body trembled and collapsed to its knees. Its eyelids grew heavier and heavier, the world before it dimming, leaving only a faint blur of white light.

“ Moo—!!”

In the next instant, the cultivator’s face within the white glow made the Golden-Luster Zhi’s eyes widen in horror as it let out a despairing roar.

It forced itself up on one last breath, trembling claws stretching toward Shen Qiong’s broken body in the distance.

Why?

Clearly, its Gold-Water Void Escape had targeted the enemy—yet the one pierced through by the Xuanming Gold Needle was none other than its own contracted cultivator.

At the same time, Shen Qiong lowered his head, gazing at the golden threads blooming from his pierced lungs and kidneys. Raising his eyes once more to the stunned Golden-Luster Zhi, a bitter smile spread across his face.

It was only when the battle ended that he realized everything he had seen before was an illusion.

He had not defeated Chen Beiwu to reach the fourth trial. Instead, he had foolishly stood still, directly enduring the combined killing strike of himself and his Companion Beast.

His cousin Shen Zhaoxue had been right—given his aptitude, breaking through two trials of the Struggle Realm was already his limit.

The cultivator phantom that appeared in the third trial was not an opponent he could ever withstand.

“Chen Beiwu, I’ll remember you!” Shen Qiong muttered.

He could accept defeat, but not such a humiliating one—played like a toy by a mere projection, unable to see through the illusion from start to finish.

With those words, darkness consumed his vision, and his consciousness was ejected from the Struggle Platform.

Meanwhile, more than ten prodigies who had also broken through two trials to reach the third were all struck by dread.

Indeed, not only in the Bixiao Immortal Sect’s testing ground, but other arenas too had their prodigies face the projections of Chen Beiwu and Gold Egg.

Their endings were the same as Shen Qiong’s—only at the last moment did they realize that the foe they had fought with all their might was not a cultivator phantom at all, but their own contracted Companion Beast.

“Damn it, what kind of illusion is this? Even my Moon-Lantern Spirit Eyes couldn’t see through it!” One man and beast collapsed together, powerless before such absolute illusion.

“Chen Beiwu, a despicable coward who only dares to sneak attack from behind illusions—don’t let me encounter you next time!” A youth, grievously wounded and drained of mana, half-knelt beside the corpse of his Companion Beast.

“You must be joking! To meet such monsters in just the third trial of the Struggle Platform!” A slender female cultivator, missing an arm, glared unblinkingly at the distant figures of Chen Beiwu and the domineering flood dragon.

Illusion, body, technique, speed, skill—all flawless.

Even if she and her Companion Beast had broken the strange illusion, she still found no chance of victory.

“Chen Beiwu, a man with such a dark heart.” A delicate young girl lowered her gaze to the beast claw piercing through her chest, her tone calm as though unbothered by her defeat.

Unlike the real Gold Egg, the Struggle Realm’s Gold Egg projection delighted in wielding its innate Spiritual Art, Truth or Illusion, to toy with opponents—securing victory at the smallest price.

Thus, unbeknownst to Chen Beiwu, the projection of Gold Egg in the Struggle Realm had already spread his fame and notoriety alike, leaving an unforgettable stain in the hearts of more than ten Immortal Alliance prodigies.

Bixiao Immortal Sect Test Grounds.

Watching the scenes within the Struggle Realm involving Chen Beiwu’s projection, the Golden Core cultivators present all sighed with mixed feelings.

The Struggle Realm was a sixth-tier Daoist artifact forged by a Dao Venerable of the Shangqing Immortal Sect, designed to temper the Immortal Alliance’s prodigies.

That Chen Beiwu could serve as the guardian prodigy of the third trial showed that, in the Struggle Realm’s evaluation, he possessed the qualifications to pass three trials and enter the Upper Three Immortal Sects.

A cultivation talent of such caliber was worth heavy investment from any Immortal Sect.

‘A pity,’ Pei Heng sighed inwardly.

These days were different. Though he thought highly of Chen Beiwu, it was useless.

The Yuxu Immortal Sect ranked high among the Thirteen Immortal Sects. With orderly inheritances and a steady stream of talents, recruiting a few fewer geniuses meant little to them.

Unlike other Immortal Sects, which lacked outstanding talents and had recently been secretly offering high rewards to recruit—behavior that could hardly be called anything but vicious competition.

At this thought, Pei Heng glanced at Zhao Wuchen.

The Bixiao Immortal Sect, plagued by nepotism, mismanagement, and harsh treatment, had recruited weaker and weaker candidates in recent years, causing its ranking to plummet, overshadowed by the Yuxu Immortal Sect.

This year, with the Zhao Clan rising to power, reforms had been pushed to rejuvenate the sect.

Thus came Zhao Wuchen’s lavish resource spending and market disruption in recruitment—a strategy Pei Heng simply could not match.

Ai Jing, however, narrowed his eyes, his divine sense locking more firmly onto Chen Beiwu’s image on the screen.

The prodigy his master spoke of—one capable of upholding the prestige of the Dongxuan Immortal Sect—was no ordinary youth. His potential rivaled even the Prodigies of the Grotto-Heavens.

If Chen Beiwu was truly that hidden dragon, then no matter the cost, Ai Jing would recruit him into the sect.

Struggle Realm.

Chains slithered around the azure-gold arena as a jade stele floated, inscribed with glowing words.

【Challenger】: Chen Beiwu

【Cultivation】: Qi Refining—Beyond Limits

【Opponent in Struggle Realm】: Immortal Alliance Candidate #23933, Qi Wei (Cultivation: Qi Refining—Beyond Limits)

Chen Beiwu narrowed his eyes, gripping his baleful bow, his expression solemn.

Within his divine sense, the phantom condensing in the distance was no human—but a savage dragon eager to devour.

“Roar!”

As yin and yang qi surged, a crocodile-dragon more than two zhang long appeared. Twin short jade-like horns adorned its head, its entire being exuding an unmistakable draconic might.

【Species】: Taiqing Treasure Crocodile

【Attribute】: Water

【Bloodline】: Third-Tier, Superior Grade

【Cultivation Years】: Forty-Nine Years

Beside the Taiqing Treasure Crocodile stood a youth of refined features and tall build, clad in a robe of Yin-Yang Two Rites. His spirit wandered the heavens, exuding an ethereal aura.

‘Interesting—Chen Beiwu’s third-trial opponent is him!’ Zhao Wuchen’s interest stirred.

Though Qi Wei of the Taiqing Immortal Sect had not forged a Flawless Dao Foundation, he was nonetheless a renowned Nascent Soul True Monarch of the Immortal Alliance.

Facing him, Chen Beiwu might very well fall at the third trial.