Chapter 91: The Third Trial Tests Intelligence
That day, Qin Du lost his composure and beat up the Sect Master of Lingxiao Sect. Afterwards, he found himself in a difficult situation.
Although the Sect Master of Lingxiao Sect was shameless, what he said was indeed reasonable. They had no way to prove that Lingxiao Sect had indeed committed those disgusting deeds. Especially Qin Zhi’s experience; apart from Zhang Yaozong and the other two, all the remaining villagers of Shuangyu Village were killed by Ming Zhaoshuang and others.
And those young women were indeed not in a position to come forward.
The problem was that Ming Zhaoshuang and the others went to the Talisman Saint’s Secret Realm too quickly, not even leaving behind a single Recording Stone.
This thus left Qin Du and the others with no way to act.
If they fought, they would lack legitimacy.
If they didn’t fight, they couldn’t swallow their anger.
Qin Du was so worried that a few more white hairs appeared, and he was at a loss as to what to do.
It was like this for several consecutive days, until someone suddenly told him that several Mortal Women were asking to see him outside.
Qin Du had a vague premonition. Normally, he disdained meeting such trivial people, but this time, he waved his hand, signaling the guards to let them in.
As expected, the young women asking to see him were the same ones that Ming Zhaoshuang and the others had rescued from Shuangyu Village that day.
And the one leading them was Wei Jiao.
She led the more than ten women behind her to kneel before Qin Du, bowed three times, and then said, “Sect Master Qin, I, on behalf of all the young women from Qiankun City and Kunlun City who were deceived and sold, thank Ao Tian Sect for your kindness.”
Qin Du helped her up and said, “This matter wasn’t just for you; our Ao Tian Sect also had grievances. Why the need for such a grand ceremony?”
In the final analysis, rescuing these young women was merely incidental.
They were all also acting for Qin Zhi.
Wei Jiao, however, refused to get up. She knelt on the ground, her fair face showing a determined expression.
She said, “The meeting between Sect Master Qin and the Sect Master of Lingxiao Sect has already been discussed among us common folk. We know the difficulties Sect Master Qin is currently facing. We know that we are mere ants and can’t do anything for Ao Tian Sect, but we still implore you…”
Wei Jiao prostrated herself again, her head bumping against the ground.
“We implore you to let us come forward to expose the crimes of Shuangyu Village and reveal the true face of Lingxiao Sect.”
Behind her, the remaining seven young women also bowed down, speaking in unison:
“We implore you to let us come forward to expose the crimes of Shuangyu Village and reveal the true face of Lingxiao Sect!”
The seven women repeated this three times. Although their voices trembled, they also conveyed an unshakeable resolve.
Qin Du advised, “Do you truly not care about your future reputation? If you come forward, you might be ridiculed by the world as impure and unchaste, harming the image of women.”
“Reputation? Chastity?”
Suddenly, a young woman behind Wei Jiao let out a scoff, her gaze fixed on Qin Du like a sharp sword blade.
She said slowly, “Do we need ephemeral reputations, or meaningless chastity? We don’t need these shackles! What we need is justice!”
Justice for us, and for all women in the world!
If Ming Zhaoshuang were here, she might recognize that the young woman before her was the one who stood alone with her sword.
She did not know her name, nor did anyone know her name.
Yet, they only knew that her words now were truly deafening.
The young woman’s eyes were bloodshot, her demeanor almost aggressive. “Sect Master Qin, we don’t need your sympathy, nor your pity. We only need your respect.”
“But true respect is not doing things we don’t even know about under the guise of acting for our own good.”
Qin Du was somewhat startled by her intense gaze and was about to say something when he saw her suddenly bend her spine and bow to him again.
She remained prostrate. “My words were excessive and offensive to the Sect Master. I hope the Sect Master will forgive my transgression.”
Qin Du raised his hands, unsure of where to place them.
Should he help Wei Jiao first, or this resolute young woman before him?
Finally, he ran a hand through his hair and said, “You, this…”
Seeing his hesitation, Wei Jiao continued, “Sect Master Qin, we know your good intentions, but we do not need them. We have the courage to face our past and the perseverance to move towards the future. We wish to end our own suffering with our own hands.”
“We implore Sect Master Qin to allow us to come forward and personally execute the demons!”
This was the lesson Ming Zhaoshuang had taught them that day, holding their hands.
Only by becoming self-reliant and by facing their suffering directly could they achieve true rebirth.
The ones who were wrong were not them, but those demons!
Nor was Ao Tian Sect wrong, but Lingxiao Sect, which allowed demons to wreak havoc in the mortal world!
They were willing to use their own bodies, their own suffering, to seek justice and freedom for all women in the world!
On the third day, the daylight was excellent.
Ming Chenxing and the others all broke through to the Nascent Soul stage, and except for He Qingqing, their conditions were still quite good.
They all also noticed that the scene before their eyes had changed again.
It was no longer sunny like the first trial, nor gloomy and terrifying like the second trial, but had completely shifted indoors.
Or rather, into a mecha-like room.
The surroundings were all enclosed, with no windows. Only assembled metal and bone-wood were scattered sparsely within.
Large characters appeared before the youngsters’ eyes.
“Third Trial, Chain Formation.”
At the same time, an exceptionally deep male voice sounded:
“Since you were able to pass through the trials of Feng He and Yixu, it means you have some skill. I know that few people in the cultivation world choose artifact refining, so I won’t make things difficult for you. My trial does not test artifact refining, nor do I want to play dirty tricks like Yi Xu.”
“I will test your intelligence. In the Thousand Mechanism Formation, there are traps and mechanisms that can kill you at any moment. But there are also clues and an exit. As long as you can escape to survival, you will pass the trial. As for breaking the formation, I never thought you would be able to break it. Come, Elder Ou Ziye of the Artifact Sect, please enlighten me, young friends.”
Upon hearing this, Ming Zhaoshuang’s mouth twitched, quite speechless.
In the end, she had transitioned from an infinite flow script to a breakout room script.
Testing intelligence, this old man named Ou Ziye was quite innovative.
Shen Liqian whispered, “The conditions for passing the trial are getting more and more difficult. At first, it was three days, then seven days, and later it became that you must escape to survival. This means that what Artificing Saint Ou Ziye said is definitely not false; he truly did not expect us to be able to break the formation.”
Fei Changxiu said, “Let them come! I don’t believe our intelligence is inferior to his!”
As soon as he finished speaking, he noticed everyone’s gaze turn towards him.
Ming Zhaoshuang sighed, “Senior Brother Fei, do you know that we are most worried about you?”
Qin Feilong’s eyes flashed with regret. “With your intelligence, passing the trial will be very difficult.”
He Qingqing rubbed her forehead. “Senior Brother Fei, please say less.”
Ming Chenxing also couldn’t help but say, “Others might be fine, but you…”
Fei Changxiu: “!”
What do you all mean! You look down on my intelligence!!
