When the seventh-hand flying knife fell into Liao Yong’s body, his half-black and half-white face twisted. The other parts of his body began to bulge and swell. A pair of wings, one black and one white, sprouted from his back.

　　The surface of his body glowed as the black and white lightning mixed with his blood.

　　The three-color lightning intertwined and covered Liao Yong’s body in an instant. It was condensed into a giant thunderbird that was ten feet in size. It resembled the legendary ancient beast called the Thunder Roc!

　　[Editor’s note: The word used here is actually “thunder peng”. The peng is a giant bird in Chinese mythology, which we felt corresponds closely enough to the roc that English-speakers are more likely to be familiar with.]

　　The body of the Thunder Roc was blood-red with wings of black and white!

　　As soon as the transformation was complete, it made a sharp scream as it flew toward Shi Mu at great speed.

　　Shi Mu was in midair and his pupils shrank slightly. However, his face showed no slight of fear or worry.

　　Shi Mu’s body was now covered with golden scales from his head to his feet in an instant using his totem transformation. The black staff in his hand was radiant once again and suddenly, black and red afterimages emerged.

　　“Spirit Snake Trench!”

　　“Azure Climbing Technique!”

　　“Azure Falcon Technique!”

　　“Art of The Hawking Fowl!”

　　The black staff in the mighty sky was now covered in a shadow of red flames, appearing around Shi Mu. The first four moves of the Eighteen Staves Through Heaven were displayed at the same time.

　　The flow of Shi Mu’s qi was now three or four times faster than usual. Instead of feeling any pain, all he could feel was a rush of adrenaline.

　　The combination of the first four variations of the technique condensed into a huge black cloud wrapped by red flames. It was composed of countless black staves that collided with the giant Thunder Roc.

　　After an earth-shattering loud noise, a violent wave broke out in midair and colorful rays rushed around!

　　The entire platform trembled, along with the shroud of the cyan light curtain. The surface of the light curtain cracked above, like it was going to collapse anytime soon.

　　In the middle of the air, the red-browed youth was stunned and immediately took out a cyan-colored flag and swung it.

　　A blue light column flew out of the flag and merged into the light curtains, which stabilized it.

　　Among the light curtains, the dense black staffs and three-color lightning were still intertwined, drowning both Shi Mu and Liao Yong’s shadows within it. From the outside, no one could see what was happening clearly. All they felt was a horrible fluctuation in the air.

　　Everyone in the vicinity was stunned at what they saw. The disciples on both sides of the platform all had different reactions, and the faces of several guards on the high platform also showed slight shock.

　　After a while, the electro-optical black mist dissipated, revealing what was going on inside.

　　Shi Mu was half-squatted on the ground with his Wishful Steel staff clutched tightly in his hand. He looked quite disorientated. His robe was torn and he was gasping for air.

　　On the opposite side, Liao Yong was lying down on the ground motionless, as if he had fallen into a coma.

　　All was silent for a long while but all at once, the audience burst with excitement. There were some roars of anger and frustration as well.

　　The disciples on the challenger’s side were overjoyed. Although Shi Mu had a hard time and both parties sustained heavy injuries, Shi Mu had won the battle.

　　Jiang Shuishui looked at Shi Mu and her eyes flashed a few times, as if she was thinking of something.

　　Many of the upper disciples fixed their gaze on Shi Mu, all with different expressions.

　　Although Shi Mu did not show much of his strength, this battle was a blockbuster. He would be well-known in the minds of the crowd now.

　　Zi Ling remained happy with a bright smile on her face, as if she was not surprised by Shi Mu’s success. Zhao Ji, on the other hand, looked at Shi Mu with indifference, but quickly removed his gaze after that.

　　Under the ring, Ma Long took a deep breath as she clenched her fists and cheered.

　　“Victory!”

　　“Hmph! There’s no need to be excited. Shi Mu would never lose to someone like that. It’s no big deal!” Cai said proudly and adjusted his stance on Ma Long’s shoulder.

　　“The challenger Shi Mu has won against Liao Yong!”

　　On the platform, the red-browed youth flew down and checked on Liao Yong before he stood up to announce the result.

　　Shi Mu’s body swayed twice, barely able to stand up. He bowed respectfully to the red-browed youth and then walked slowly to the platform on the other side of the ring. He had now successfully taken Liao Yong’s spot.

　　He turned a blind eye to the eyes on him and sat down on his knees as he took out a herbal pill. Upon eating it, his body lit up with red light l, and his injuries seemed to be healing.

　　Shi Mu’s eyes were heavy from exhaustion. The injuries on his body were not severe but he had a secret plan plotted in his mind.

　　He glanced at the gambling table from the corner of his eye, then closed his eyes shut.

　　At the gambling table, there were sighs of disappointment and frustration.

　　However, there were also a few people who were happy.

　　Ma Long was one of them. At the moment, she could not contain her laughter and smile as she had bet a hundred top-quality spirit stones. Aside from the sixty spirit stones from Shi Mu, she had earned about two hundred top-quality spirit stones.

　　Those around here were envious as they turned their gaze toward her.

　　Speaking of her, she was the leader of her younger generation. She had a smooth journey since she was young and was envied by those around her. Ten years ago, she was selected through the tribe to lead a group of young warriors into East-Saint to participate in the trials of disciples in Qinglan.

　　As a result, she had faced countless ruthless trampling in the trial. Except for her, the others did not succeed in the selection and some even perish during the trials.

　　She had been working extra hard for the past ten days, but due to ranking far behind the other disciples, the resources garnered were extremely limited for her. In addition, her result was unsatisfactory in the first knockout round and she was barely able to stay in the Holy Land.

　　However, it was different for her today. Anyone who possessed that many top-quality spirit stones would be able to head to the Holy Spirit Pavilion and pick a martial art that suited them best. They would be able to purchase some medical herbs for their training.

　　As soon as she sensed it, she immediately turned around toward the platform that was not far away from her at Shi Mu, who was sitting there on his knees.

　　“Haha! Congratulations to this fine lady right here! That’s some good vision you have! The next battle will be starting soon, so place your bets!” Duan Mu said behind the gambling table and waved his hand. He took out a large bag of spirit stones and handed it over to Ma Long.

　　Compared to the spirit stones he earned from the ones he won from Liao Yong, the money paid to Ma Long was naturally insignificant.

　　“Thank you elder Duan Mu!”

　　Ma Long took over the spirit stones. With a sweep of her spirit sense to confirm that there would be a total of five hundred top-quality spirit stones, she collected them and kept them safe.

　　Through Cai’s vision, Shi Mu was able to see what was going down clearly and could not help but contain her smile.

　　After the red-browed youth lifted the unconscious Liao Yong out of the ring, the trial continued.

　　The victory of Shi Mu once again inspired the challengers to take on the battle. Every now and then, dozens of them would dash on stage, including elder disciples and new disciples such as the Wu brothers. Unfortunately, except for the two old disciples who were lucky enough to win the challenge, the rest were defeated.

　　The second round of trials continued for a while until finally, no one came over the stage and challenge. The trial was put to an end by the announcement of the red-browed youth.

　　Among the challengers, about half of them entered into the ring to challenge their opponents. In the end, only five people won. Among them were only two elder disciples and all of them were ranked 80th. The new disciples included Zhao Ji, Zi Ling, and Shi Mu. The three of them won and the result was unexpected.

　　Shi Mu’s name and fame had gradually spread but his performance was far less than that of Zhao Ji and Zi Ling. The limelight was naturally overshadowed by the first two challengers.

　　After the end of the second round of competition, it would be a full three days before the third round of the trials began.

　　In this round of trials, the order among the 108 disciples would change gradually, directly affecting their status in the yellow region and the cultivation resources of the Holy Land. Therefore, this round of competition was also the most intense battle.

　　Early this morning, under the Qinglan list near the huge cyan block, the crowds who came to watch the game were surrounded by waves of people.

　　Shi Mu walked out of the Xuanling Tower and fell onto the cyan platform.

　　“Shi Mu, the scene today is more lively than a few days ago!” Cai shouted at the sight of the crowd with excitement.

　　“It’s bigger than the last one so it’s natural that it is more lively. It seems that there will be a few bad battles today,” Shi Mu’s said as he suddenly felt eyes on him.

　　“In any case, your strength is beyond compare and if anyone would come and challenge, you might as well go for it!” Cai said.

　　“Big brother Shi Mu!” Just then, a crisp female voice sounded.

　　As soon as he turned around, he saw Ma Long in a fiery red shirt waving her hand as she walked toward him.

　　“Lady Ma Long, you’re here,” Shi Mu said.

　　“Big brother Shi Mu, the spirit stones that you earned over the past few days are still here with me…” Ma Long said in a low voice as she walked over to Shi Mu.

　　Before Ma Long could even finish her words, she was interrupted by Shi Mu.

　　“It’s fine. You can get a hold of it first. Sorry for being such a burden to you,” Shi Mu said with a warm gentle smile across his face.

　　“Sister Ma Long, what are you and Shi Mu whispering about?” Before Ma Long could even respond to Shi Mu, a crisp voice suddenly rang out from his side.

　　She turned around and saw Zi Ling walking toward them with her hands out.

　　“We weren’t whispering! I was merely asking big brother Shi Mu if he had seen you,” Ma Long blushed slightly as she unnaturally whispered.

　　“Not sure if you’ve prepared but have you decided on who you want to challenge?” Shi Mu asked.

　　“Me…? I haven’t thought about it yet but what about you, brother Shi Mu?” Do you have any plans to rush into top ten in the ranking? I heard the rewards are incredible!” Zi Ling looked at Shi Mu with her big eyes and asked.