The Frenzied Golden Baboons’ Trial

Two frenzied baboons discovered the group.

With a furious roar, the first eight individuals to arrive were abruptly dragged onto an open clearing, forced into combat.

The surrounding area was simultaneously sealed off.

The group: [???]

Xia Yi, however, refrained from a killing blow, having limited the two frenzied baboons’ strength to the peak of the Second Stage, a power equivalent to the half-step Core Formation realm.

Zhen Aoyu, who arrived last, could only watch from outside the sealed area as the eight combatants faced the two frenzied golden baboons.

One of the golden baboons immediately spotted the burly Yuan Lieshi, though it was unclear if his ape-like appearance drew its ire or if his sheer size simply made him a more obvious target.

Regardless, the golden baboon wasted no time, initiating a ‘zero-frame’ attack and unleashing a swift, unrefined ‘Turtle Fist’ (TL Note: A colloquial term for a wild, powerful, yet unrefined punch, often used in Chinese martial arts novels.) towards Yuan Lieshi.

Yuan Lieshi: “Woah!”

The golden baboon’s sudden, unexpected strike left Yuan Lieshi no time to defend, sending him flying with a single punch.

Immediately afterward, a golden beam of destructive light erupted from the golden baboon’s mouth, aimed directly at the airborne Yuan Lieshi.

This was the cultivation world, a place devoid of the ‘invincibility after being knocked down’ mechanic found in games.

With a resounding explosion, the spot where Yuan Lieshi landed was instantly engulfed in a cloud of dust and smoke.

The golden baboon’s combo attack was so fluid that the others hadn’t even had time to react.

The other golden baboon, not to be outdone, raised its spirit-energy-enhanced, muscular forearms and brought them down in a powerful, crushing blow towards the stunned crowd.

Fortunately, Huangfu Ming swiftly threw out a massive jade seal, intercepting the golden baboon’s downward smash.

“Everyone, these two demonic beasts are formidable! Please, let us work together and prioritize taking down one of them!”

Huangfu Ming’s shout jolted the remaining participants into action, and they promptly unleashed their attacks, focusing their fire on the golden baboon that had assaulted them.

In that instant, a flurry of skills and spells soared through the air—lightning whips, iron mountain tackles, and various other techniques—all hurtling towards the golden baboon.

To the collective astonishment of the onlookers, all their spells and techniques were parried by the golden baboon’s spirit-energy-hardened forearms, producing a crisp, metallic clang, like blades bouncing off steel.

The ‘clink-clink‘ sounds were incessant, clearly indicating the baboon’s ‘poor flesh quality’ (TL Note: A humorous phrase implying the target’s body is too tough and resistant to damage, like hitting metal rather than flesh.).

Yet, the golden baboon remained completely unharmed; in fact, their attacks seemed only to further enrage it.

The group: [???]

Even though they had held back, it seemed utterly outrageous that this demonic beast had withstood so many attacks without suffering a single scratch.

The golden baboon, unconcerned with their thoughts, instantly aimed another ‘Turtle Fist’ at Huangfu Ming, who had been the first to block its attack.

“Boom!”

“Imperial Brother!”

Huangfu Ming was sent flying, prompting a startled cry from Huangfu Hui.

“Roar!”

However, the only response she received was the golden baboon’s furious roar as it leaped into the air, spewing several golden destructive orbs from its mouth, which hurtled towards Huangfu Ming’s location.

Fortunately, Huangfu Hui intervened in time, a silken ribbon coiling around Huangfu Ming and pulling him back, allowing him to narrowly evade the explosive barrage of golden orbs.

“If any of you continue to hold back, none of us will pass this trial!” Huangfu Ming, wiping a streak of blood from the corner of his mouth, warned the others, who were secretly feeling relieved.

He then took the lead, flinging his jade seal towards the golden baboon that was attempting to charge them.

While Huangfu Ming’s path of direct combat had plunged him into a bitter struggle, Huangfu Liu and Huangfu Hui, who had chosen a different route, found themselves in a silent predicament.

They stared at the test papers in their hands, pondering whether they were still human, or perhaps if the test designer was even human.

Though he recognized every single character, he couldn’t comprehend why, when combined, they formed an indecipherable riddle.

He had chosen the alchemy test, as pill refinement was his forte.

As a Second-Grade Alchemist…

‘If a demonic beast transforms into human form, should they consult a human doctor or a veterinarian?’

‘If a poison pill expires, can it still kill someone?’

Such questions, for him, were simply too advanced.

On the other side, Huangfu Hui was equally stumped, his mind reeling from one particular question.

Proficient in array formations, he had naturally chosen the array test.

Yet, he couldn’t fathom why anyone would combine a killing array with a life-preserving array, then ask when the person entering the array would die.

While Huangfu Liu and Huangfu Hui were losing their minds over their tests, the situation wasn’t much better.

Over in the combat arena, Huangfu Ming and Huangfu Jiashu were also having a difficult time.

After enduring another round of the golden baboon’s seamless combo attacks, which left them barely able to function, Huangfu Ming and the others finally resolved to hold nothing back.

They unleashed a furious barrage of attacks upon one of the golden baboons.

Fortunately, the ‘kind-hearted’ Yuan Lieshi had kept the other golden baboon occupied, allowing the group to successfully blast one of them to the ground.

Already at their limits, the group then ‘very kindly’ helped Yuan Lieshi subdue the golden baboon he had been distracting, knocking it to the ground as well.

Only then did the group collapse onto the ground, panting heavily.

“Did… did we… succeed…?”

“It… it should be…”

“Could any human possibly devise such a hellish trial?”

“I should have chosen the literary path. Back then, I too was well-read, you know.”

“Were the books you perused actually ‘proper’?”

Just as the group believed they had successfully cleared the trial, two golden beams of destructive light swept across the clearing, intersecting as they bore down upon them.

Completely incapacitated, the group watched in horror as the golden baboons rose to their feet once more.

Facing the incoming beams, all they could do was offer the two golden baboons an ‘international friendly gesture’, utter a few choice words about the designer of this special stage, and then be eliminated in a flash of golden light.

****

Outside the secret realm, Xia Yi, who was in the midst of dispelling the Evil Cold Yin Fire from Pei Yunxiang, suddenly sneezed several times.

It made him wonder if he had caught a cold from being ‘doused’ too many times.

Nevertheless, even after being struck head-on by the golden baboons’ beams, two individuals miraculously managed to survive.

“Imperial Brother, what do we do now?”

These were none other than the siblings Huangfu Jiashu and Huangfu Ming.

“Third Sister, do not panic. Your brother has a brilliant plan.”

Although both the two individuals and the two baboons were at their last gasp, it was clear that the golden baboons were in a slightly better state.

Watching the two golden baboons slowly advance towards them with menacing glares, Huangfu Jiashu anxiously inquired:

“Imperial Brother, this is no time for suspense! Quickly, tell me what your plan is!”

Hearing his sister’s plea, Huangfu Ming calmly replied, “Imperial Sister, you merely need to help me stall one of them, and then you can take the opportunity to dispatch the other. That way, we shall clear the stage.”

Huangfu Jiashu: “Isn’t that just me doing all the fighting?! At a time like this, you’re still joking!”

“Then there’s no other way! We’ll have to face them one-on-one!!”

“You made it sound so inspiring, yet in the end, it still comes down to one-on-one!!”

Having exhausted nearly all their means, the two could only grit their teeth and brace themselves to confront one golden baboon each.

After unleashing every technique at their disposal, the two barely managed to defeat both golden baboons.

As the two golden baboons dissolved into streams of light, restoring the siblings’ depleted states, the two, still shaken, proceeded towards the final trial.

They recalled that the golden baboons’ massive iron fists had been merely 0.01 centimeters from them.

Had it not been for a stroke of luck, where the two golden baboons accidentally struck and killed each other with their own ‘beastly’ punches…

The siblings would likely have been eliminated as well.

With the departure of Huangfu Jiashu and Huangfu Ming, only Zhen Aoyu remained in the clearing.